TERMS OF REFERENCE / STATEMENT OF WORK
1. Title:
The Impacts and Role of Employment Insurance Benefits in the Context of Canada’s Income Security Architecture for Working Age Adults
2. Closing Date:
This Request for Proposals (RFP) will close on: January 31, 2008.
Proposals must be submitted to the Project Authority, Lisa Plante: before 16:00 (EST / EDT) January 31, 2008.
Proposals will not be accepted after this time.
3. Purpose:
To inform future policy development with respect to Canada’s income security system for working age adults and their families, this project will focus on one element of the system –the Employment Insurance (EI) Program (with a particular focus on part I programs and policies that address the income component). The research will update and build on recent analysis that has examined the important role that EI plays in replacing lost employment income for those who have contributed to the program and then experienced unemployment, and examine the role that EI plays in supporting the economic security of Canadians. Specifically, the project should seek to examine a range of key research/policy questions under several themes such as income redistribution, income adequacy and income stability.
In order to learn from a range of methodological approaches, HRSDC is prepared to fund up to three (3) separate contracts under this RFP, should several research proposals be of interest. Individual contractors will be awarded no more than one contract under this RFP.
4. Background:
Canada’s income security system comprises a complex array of federal and provincial instruments that achieve a range of mutually reinforcing objectives and supports Canadians at all stages of the life course. These objectives include financial assistance for unemployed Canadians while they look for work or upgrade their skills, benefits for parents while they take time to care for newborn and newly adopted children and assistance for family members who take time from work to care for gravely ill family members. For children, new initiatives have been put in place over the past decade to address common federal, provincial and territorial policy priorities – most notably the National Child Benefit Initiative, which was introduced in 1998 to address child poverty and promote parents’ participation in the workforce. For seniors, considerable progress has been made over the past 25 years in terms of their economic security. This has been accomplished through the continued development of an effective public pension system and significant federal investments in this area.
Despite improvements in supports for children and seniors, little attention has been given to the population of working age adults and their families. For example returning to work following a period of time receiving social assistance for low- and modest-income earners can mean a decline in financial viability which is largely attributed to loss of income supports and benefits such as subsidized housing and prescription drugs. For older working age adults who lose employment as a result of structural adjustments in the labour market many choose not to return to the labour force and instead remain unemployed. Emerging labour shortages and an aging population highlight the need to ensure that returning to work is a positive and financially viable experience for all working age adults.
Given this broader policy context, there has been increasing policy focus from many stakeholders, think tanks, and research organizations on Canada’s income security architecture for working age adults. Recent reports released by a number of organizations have proposed a range of recommendations designed to make the federal/provincial income support system for adults more responsive to current and emerging labour market and demographic realities. This project is intended to contribute to a policy development by providing a greater understanding of the Impacts of the Canadian income security system by focusing on one element of the system –the Employment Insurance (EI) Program (either part I or part II of the program).
5. Project Requirements:
Reports will:
· Provide a literature review that summarizes debates within the literature;
· Define key concepts, theoretical underpinnings, and research methodologies;
· Provide a report of research findings;
· Identify key knowledge gaps; and,
· Identify policy-relevant areas for future research.
Final reports will consider all of the following areas of analysis, though the authors are not limited to these questions as long as the additional question(s) is/are of importance to HRSDC:
Income Adequacy
· What role does the EI Program play to alleviate the incidence, depth, and persistence of low-income in Canada?
· Has the relative importance of this role been rising or falling over time?
Income Stability/Family Income Dynamics
· What role does EI play for individual and family income stability? Has this been evolving over time?
· Is there a differential impact of EI on income stability for individuals/families with certain socio-economic characteristics compared to others?
Income Redistribution
· How has the distributional impact of EI evolved over time, both in terms of individual and family income?
· What is the impact of EI, if any, on family income inequality? Has this been changing over time?
· Is there a significant regional dimension regarding EI’s potential impacts on income inequality?
· What are the underlying factors that have contributed to these changing impacts? Can the relative impacts of these factors be quantified?
The Income Security Architecture and EI
· How effectively are individuals at making transitions after they become displaced from employment and receive EI benefits? For example:
▬ How well are the main elements of the income support system working together in a coordinated, integrated manner to support Canadians as they face certain transition – i.e., fluidity of movement from one element of the system to another (e.g., EI to SA, EI to CPPD), depending on their circumstances?
▬ Are they able to efficiently and effectively find new employment? Are these jobs comparable in terms of salary/wages and opportunity for career/wage progression? Are these jobs relatively better than would have been the case in the absence of the EI Program?
▬ Are there significant differences in the abilities of individuals in different income groups to make program transitions or transitions back into the workforce? What are the barriers/challenges to successful transitions?
Given the breadth of the issues to be examined, a number of data sources could potentially be used in conducting this analysis, including the Longitudinal Administrative Database (LAD), the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID).
The project is to be completed using existing secondary data sources, including but not limited to Statistics Canada data. Proposals in which the bidder suggests to collect new qualitative or quantitative data will not be accepted. New data includes the collection of quantitative (surveys, etc.) and qualitative (focus groups, key informant interviews, case studies, etc.) data.
Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) strongly emphasizes the dissemination of the research it funds. To support this information sharing, multiple workshops, conferences and speaker series relating to the research findings may be arranged. An invitation for future participation in potential workshops, conferences and speakers series as a subject matter expert on the research topic developed in this RFP is a possibility.
6. Budget:
· The cost of the project shall not exceed the available budget of $75,000, including applicable taxes (GST/HST) and all other related expenses.
· If applicable, an amount of $3957.00 will be paid to the contractor to cover the costs of accessing data at a Statistics Canada Research Data Centre (RDC).
· If applicable, up to $2,000 (including GST) will be available for any travel and accommodation expenses related to the presentation of research findings as per Federal Government (Treasury Board) guidelines: http://www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/pubs_pol/hrpubs/TBM_113/c_e.asp. Contractors will be reimbursed for travel related expenses upon submission of all travel related receipts and invoices to HRSDC.
7. Proposal Requirements:
Proposals considered for contract award must:
· Provide a succinct project description and contextualize the proposed research;
· Present the conceptual/theoretical framework to be used in the research;
· Include a description of the research methods to be utilized. This should include a detailed framework outlining the author’s own methods for selecting appropriate literature for the review, as well as an indication of all potential research limitations;
· Propose feasible research and include appropriate activities, timelines and budget (see also Budget in Section 6). A detailed statement of the work planned for carrying out this project, including the identification of specific outputs and a schedule for their completion. Bidders should provide an outline of the level of work allocated to each contractor and subcontractor involved in the project;
· Demonstrate how the researcher(s) is/are qualified to carry out the various components of the proposed research. CVs must be provided for all members of the research team, along with the estimated time spent by the staff on each component of the paper. If a member of the team is replaced after the contract is signed, the contractor must advise the Policy Research Directorate (PRD) at HRSDC immediately in writing, and provide the name and CV of the proposed replacement to justify their competence. Failing to do so may result in the termination of the contract; and,
· Bidders must submit a detailed statement of their estimated costs associated with the proposed work, including the per diem rates of all researchers who will be involved in the project. Proposals which suggest a budget greater than the available budget will automatically be excluded from the evaluation.
In efforts to ensure the excellence of research that HRSDC funds, research proposals may be subjected to external (primarily academic) peer review, in addition to review by HRSDC staff.
8. Selection Criteria:
a) Mandatory Requirements:
· The principle analysts must hold an advanced degree (MA, PhD, or equivalent) in at least one of the following areas:
· Economics
· Sociology
· Another discipline relevant to the topic.
· Does not exceed budget constraints. A detailed budget for the project must be provided. The bidders shall provide a cost breakdown for all components of the research project, including professional fees and other incidentals.
b) Rated Requirements and Basis of Selection:
The basis of selection will be the highest combined rating of technical merit, contractor characteristics and proposed budget:
· Proposals will be assessed and awarded points to a maximum of 155, as per the Selection Matrix in Appendix A. A minimum score of seventy (70) percent is required in each of the technical section and the contractor characteristics section of the Selection Matrix. Proposals that do not meet the minimum 70 percent in either of these sections will not be considered for contract award.
· Proposal(s) with the highest combined technical merit and contractor characteristics rating (weighted at 80%) and proposed budget (weighted at 20%) will be recommended for contract award.
· Final awards will be decided by HRSDC upon completion of an internal and/or external (primarily academic) review process. All bidders will be informed of the decision.
9. Deliverables and Schedule of Payments:
In undertaking the project, the contractor must carry out several activities including the following:
Date / Event/Deliverable / Amount or percent of total contract*TBD / Initial (in-person or telephone) meeting with the Director General of the Policy Research Directorate (or designate) on the design of the project, timelines, and deliverables. / $0
TBD / Microdata Research Agreement, Statistics Canada RDC / $3,957.00
TBD / Preliminary Point-Form Report: The preliminary report should outline the organization of the final report and provide a point-form indication of the content of each of the sections. / 20%
TBD / Draft Report: The draft report should be as complete as possible in that it should address all of the research requirements and be presented according to HRSDC’s style guide (see Appendix B), such that it is ready for internal (HRSDC) and external (academic) review. / 50%
TBD / Final Report and Power Point Presentation of Research Findings: The final report should incorporate all of the changes suggested by internal (HRSDC) and external (academic) peer reviewers. The final report will be published as is with no further editing provided by HRSDC. Therefore, text editing and correctness of grammar and spelling will be the responsibility of the contractor. See Appendix B for all style and format guidelines. / 30%
* i.e. total of professional service fees in contract
Researchers must propose deadlines for the above mentioned deliverables based on their own schedules.
Payments will be based on the deliverables. Payment will be made within 30 days after receipt of an invoice and upon acceptance of each deliverable by the Project Authority after review and edits.
10. Communications:
Prospective bidders may direct questions about this RFP to:
Any questions must be posed in writing, and all questions and answers will be shared with all known prospective bidders.
11. Contract Terms and Conditions:
Please see Appendix C for further bidding instructions, information and conditions related to this RFP.
Copyright & Intellectual Property: Intellectual property will remain with the contractor but no publication should be released without notifying HRSDC prior to its release. HRSDC requests the contractor allow HRSDC to publish the document on the internet as part of a series of papers commissioned through HRSDC.
Language Requirements: The report should be produced in English or French.
Work Environment: HRSDC will not provide an office for the completion of this contract.
Contractors Role: The contractor will commence work upon signature of the contract and must complete the project within a reasonable timeframe and as negotiated with the project authority The contractor’s role is to perform according to the project requirements and detailed description of work and deliver the acceptable deliverables to the Project Authority by the specified dates outlined as per the schedule of events.
Other: HRSDC reserves the right to withdraw or amend the terms of this RFP at any time. Contracts that require access to Statistics Canada Research Data Centers (RDC), or approval of the DataBank Review Committee will be considered void if such permission / approvals are not granted.