Announcement: SOA releases passing candidate numbers for May 2024 Exam SRM.

Edition

Compile Mortality, Socioeconomic, and Demographic Data for Future Research

The Society of Actuaries Research Institute (SOA) Diversity Equity and Inclusion Strategic Research Program studies issues that are unique to various dimensions of U.S. population diversity on topics that are relevant to actuarial practice. The SOA has a dataset pf county-level population mortality data and socioeconomic data from 1982 through 2019  and is currently updating that work through 2022.

The SOA Diversity Equity and Inclusion Strategic Research Program would also like the ability to analyze U.S. population mortality experience by a variety of additional demographic and other factors. To that end, the SOA is seeking a researcher or contractor (referred to as “researcher” for brevity from this point forward) to enhance the SOA’s current dataset by identifying relevant publicly available data sources or other datasets to which the researcher has access, collaborating with the SOA to identify relevant data elements, extracting the desired data elements, and appending them to the SOA’s population mortality and socioeconomic county-level dataset. Desired demographic and other factors include, but are not necessarily limited to:

  • Race
  • Ethnicity
  • LGBTQ+ identity
  • Gender identity (in addition to sex)
  • Family composition (specific definitions to be determined based on data availability)
  • Additional data elements to be determined based on availability

Potentially relevant, publicly available data sets include, but are not necessarily limited to:

  • National Center for Health Statistics by the CDC
  • Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) by the CDC
  • WONDER by the CDC
  • United States Census by the U.S. Census Bureau
  • American Community Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau
  • American Housing Survey by the U.S. Census Bureau
  • Survey of Consumer Finances (SCF) by the Federal Reserve
  • Additional large-scale data sets that are not listed above

In addition to the enhanced dataset, the researcher will deliver a report that defines the data elements included and identifies the data sources.

Proposal Requirements

To facilitate the evaluation of proposals, the following information should be submitted:

  • Resumes of the researcher(s), including any graduate student(s) expected to participate, indicating how their background, education and experience bear on their qualifications to undertake the research. If more than one researcher is involved, a single individual should be designated as the lead researcher and primary contact. The person submitting the proposal must be authorized to speak on behalf of all the researchers as well as for the firm or institution on whose behalf the proposal is submitted.
  • An outline of the specific data sets to be used, with emphasis on any issues that require special consideration and possible limitations of a data set.
  • A description of the expected deliverables and any supporting data, tools, or other resources.
  • Cost estimates for the research, including computer time, salaries, report preparation, material costs, etc. Such estimates can be in the form of hourly rates, but in such cases, time estimates should also be included. Any guarantees as to total cost should be given and will be considered in the evaluation of the proposal. While cost will be a factor in the evaluation of the proposal, it will not necessarily be the decisive factor.

Please note that as a policy, the SOA Research Institute generally does not provide funding to cover academic institution overhead expenses.

As a guide for developing the project budget, please review the Historical Project Cost Guide (see Appendix)

  • A schedule for completion of the research, identifying key dates or time frames for research completion and report submissions. The SOA is interested in completing this project in a timely manner. Suggestions in the proposal for ensuring timely delivery, such as fee adjustments, are encouraged.
  • Other related factors that give evidence of a proposer's capabilities to perform in a superior fashion should be detailed.

Selection Process

The SOA will appoint a Project Oversight Group (POG) to oversee the project. The POG is responsible for recommending the proposal to be funded. Input from other knowledgeable individuals also may be sought, but the POG will make the final recommendation, subject to SOA leadership approval. An SOA staff research actuary will provide staff actuarial support.

Questions

Any questions regarding this RFP should be directed to Research-DEI@soa.org.

Notification of Intent to Submit Proposal

If you intend to submit a proposal, please email a brief, written notification by Friday, September 6, 2024, to Research-DEI@soa.org and include a link to this Request for Proposals.

Submission of Proposal

Please email your proposal to Research-DEI@soa.org; proposals must be received no later than Monday, September 16, 2024. It is anticipated that all proposers will be informed of the status of their proposal by the y November 2024.

Conditions

The selection of a proposal is conditioned upon and not considered final until a Letter of Agreement is executed by both the SOA and the researcher.

The SOA reserves the right to not award a contract for this research. Reasons for not awarding a contract could include, but are not limited to, a lack of acceptable proposals or a finding that insufficient funds are available. The SOA also reserves the right to redirect the project as is deemed advisable.

The SOA plans to hold the copyright to the research and to publish the results with appropriate credit given to the researcher(s).

The SOA may choose to seek public exposure or media attention for the research. By submitting a proposal, you agree to cooperate with the SOA in publicizing or promoting the research and responding to media requests.

The SOA may also choose to market and promote the research to members, candidates and other interested parties. You agree to perform promotional communication requested by the SOA, which may include, but is not limited to, leading a webcast on the research, presenting the research at an SOA meeting, and/or writing an article on the research for an SOA newsletter.

Conflict of Interest

You agree to disclose any of your material business, financial and organizational interests and affiliations which are or may be construed to be reasonably related to the interest, activities and programs of the SOA.

Appendix: Historical Project Cost Guide

The cost ranges below are intended as a guide for budgeting project costs for proposals in response to SOA Research Institute Request for Proposals (RFPs). Please note these figures span the 33rd to 66th percentiles for all types of projects as well as projects that involve a specific approach (lit review, survey, etc.). They are based on historical costs over several recent years. Expected costs for some RFPs may fall outside these ranges depending on the nature of the work and resources required for completion.

All Contracted Projects

This category includes all contracted projects that the Institute has undertaken within the last several years.

The 33rd–66th percentile project costs range is $25,000 – $50,000.

Literature Reviews

This category includes projects that involved only a literature review or the cost for the portion of a larger project that included a literature review.

The 33rd–66th percentile project costs range is $15,000 – $20,000.

Surveys

This category includes all projects that had a survey as their primary component.

The 33rd–66th percentile project costs range is $28,000 – $55,000.