Inactive

This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE for market research purposes. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS. Founded in 1901, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST... This is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE for market research purposes. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS OR A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS. Founded in 1901, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is a non-regulatory federal agency within the United States Department of Commerce (U.S. DOC). The mission of the National Institute of Standards and Technology is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. The Standards Coordination Office (SCO) within NIST, initiates and manages a variety of programs, tools and activities to enhance U.S. industry competitiveness on issues related to technical standards and conformity assessment and enhance federal agencies coordination in their participation in the development and use of standards and conformity assessment. SCO monitors and participates in standards development and conformity assessment activities globally, consult with other federal agencies on standards policy issues, offers workshops and educational seminars for domestic and international audiences within the federal and state governments and academia, and provides standards-related research and information services. The NIST/SCO has a requirement for a Contractor to collect, assess, compile, and make recommendations on information that will be received in response to a Federal Register Request for Information (RFI). The RFI will seek information on the policies of the People’s Republic of China and coordination among industrial entities within the People’s Republic of China on international bodies engaged in developing and setting international standards for emerging technologies. A firm fixed price purchase order with a one year period of performance is anticipated for the Contractor to perform a qualitative review of information, compile the information into a comprehensive report and incorporate derived conclusions and recommendations regarding the following: The role of the People’s Republic of China in international standards setting organizations over the previous 10 years, including leadership roles in standards drafting technical committees, and the quality or value of that participation; The effect of the standardization strategy of the People’s Republic of China, as identified in the ‘‘Chinese Standard 2035’’, on international bodies engaged in developing and setting standards for select emerging technologies, such as advanced communication technologies or cloud computing and cloud services; An examination of whether international standards for select emerging technologies are being designed to promote interests of the People’s Republic of China that are expressed in the ‘‘Made in China 2025’’ plan to the exclusion of other participants; An examination of how the previous practices that the People’s Republic of China has used, while participating in international standards setting organizations, may foretell how the People’s Republic of China is likely to engage in international standardization activities of critical technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum information science, and what may be the consequences; and/or Recommendations on how the United States can take steps to mitigate the influence of the People’s Republic of China and bolster United States public and private sector participation in international standards-setting bodies. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS This sources sought notice seeks responses from certified 8(a) companies only. The NAICS code for this effort is anticipated to be 541618 with a small business size standard of $16.5M. REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS Interested 8(a) sources must submit the following information in response to this notice: Relevant documentation which demonstrates your company’s expertise in each of the following areas: standards policy, international standards and regulations, trade policy. Documentation which demonstrates your company’s ability to write reports using qualitative and quantitative information and make derived conclusions/recommendations. A summary of the company’s project management expertise and the company’s ability to manage, track, troubleshoot problems, and report on the project; Are any of your project managers/analysts knowledgeable about standards policy and/or trade policy as it relates to technology? Please discuss; A summary of the company’s risk mitigation processes when managing performance issues and delays on projects; Company name, address, DUN and Bradstreet number for the company’s active SAM.Gov registration; Documentation of the company’s 8(a) status; Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in performing its market research. Responses are limited to 10 pages and must be emailed to carol.wood@nist.gov not later than the due date and time identified in the notice.