Inactive

INTRODUCTION This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding ... INTRODUCTION This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small business sources. This notice is strictly for market research and information purposes only. Your responses will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible small business concerns. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences – Except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology), as those domestic sources having no more than 1,000 employees. The Product Service Code for the requirement is R425 – Profession Engineering/Technical Support. While planning and hosting of a workshop is a primary task for the requirement, the requirement is about and in support of engineering services for functional recovery following natural hazards making the NAICS and PSC codes identified the most appropriate. Background: “Functional recovery” describes a new performance target to mitigate risk from natural hazards. It is currently being developed for earthquake hazards but will eventually be applied across natural hazards. The functional recovery performance level indicates that an asset, after an earthquake, could be recovered in time to avoid significant losses, disruptions, and downtime for critical societal activities. A committee of experts developed a document outlining options for improving functional recovery of the built environment (FEMA P2090 / NIST SP1254). As part of the development of that report, stakeholder workshops were held in 2020 to gather information from knowledgeable subject matter experts (NIST SP1269). Data were gathered at the workshops to identify “need by” timeframes–the point by which some level of recovery is needed before serious or catastrophic impacts to individuals and communities (e.g. population dislocation) are felt by the loss of a function or service. This information is being used to develop a preliminary goal matrix for the application of the functional recovery performance objective, to set forth recovery categories and target recovery times for various types of societal activities or services At the June 2022 12th National Conference held by the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute (EERI), NIST personnel presented a proposal for recovery time frames at a mini-workshop and sought feedback from conference attendees. More systematic data collection is required to ensure the proposal for a functional recovery framework can be widely acceptable and applicable across the U.S. Scope of Requirement: NIST requires impartial support for research and development of guidelines for functional recovery performance objectives. The Contractor shall provide technical assistance in compiling and disseminating information to assist in the formulation of performance target goals to engineers and others interested in enhancing the structural performance of buildings to enable a timely recovery after the earthquake. The main emphasis will be to gather data to inform development of a functional recovery goal matrix by establishing target recovery times and categories for building assets. Consideration of lifelines may be included to the extent that they support building recovery. Target recovery times shall be established for key functions and services provided by a building, rather than linked only to the asset type. The contractor shall create up to three matrices, each based upon a different level of seismic hazard (i.e., design-level versus maximum considered earthquake). Each matrix shall include categories for recovery, proposed timeframes for recovery, and may include examples of services, functions, or assets that are associated with a particular category. Each matrix developed for this task order may resemble this type of information. Data shall be derived with input from a project director and steering committee, a workshop, data-collection surveys, and supporting research. Products from this effort shall include a literature review white paper, summary of workshop findings, summary of data collection, and draft and final project reports which describe and characterize the matrices and provide commentary and recommendations for their application and/or further development. Key Requirement Tasks: The required work includes the following key requirements and task areas: Impartial Services: NIST requires an impartial third-party to provide the required services to ensure that NIST may appropriately contribute to the development of guidance, codes, and standards for earthquake risk mitigation. It is essential that there be no perceived or actual conflicts of interest so that rigorous and trusted technical science and engineering contributions are made. Further, it is critical that there are no perceived or actual conflicts of interest as this work will assist in guidance development. Functional Recovery Expertise and Collaboration Capability: The contractor must have significant expertise in the areas of engineering, social science, and policy to facilitate the required effort. This includes familiarity with recent activities and advances in the development of the functional recovery performance standard to date and expertise in the functional recovery field. Additionally, the contractor must have existing relationships with industry and non-governmental organization to facilitate and support collaboration between NIST and other relevant functional recovery organizations. Workshop Organization and Execution / Data Collection: The contractor must have significant expertise in managing and facilitating multi-disciplinary stakeholder workshops to ensure event effectiveness. The workshop experience should be related to the fields of earthquake engineering, social science, policy, and disaster planning and management to facilitate the required effort as the topical aspect of the requirement is critical to ensuring the appropriate participants and effective data collection. The contractor must have expertise in developing data collection instruments to collect key data that captures perspectives from various stakeholders. Data Analysis and Dissemination The contractor must have expertise in analyzing data collected at stakeholder workshops and surveys and disseminating the results to relevant stakeholders to enhance the impact and application of the findings. This is important to ensure that guidance developed based on the findings is rigorously supported and considered relevant stakeholders. The contractor must have expertise in developing technical reports in the field of earthquake engineering, social science, and policy to effectively communicate the findings with relevant stakeholders. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this sources sought notice may be submitted via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Roller@nist.gov. Questions are due by or before 11:00 AM ET on August 30, 2022. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS All responsible small business sources able to provide the services described above are asked to email a response to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Roller@nist.gov and Mr. Keith Bubar, Contracting Officer, at Keith.Bubar@nist.gov by or before 11:00 AM ET on September 2, 2022. Please include the following information in the response: Name of company authorized to provide services, along with their address and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, and email address). The company’s primary NAICS, size classification, and socio-economic status (i.e., Small Business, Woman Owned Small Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.). Brief description of capabilities in relation to the three key task areas identified in this sources sought notice. Information on any GSA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) or other Government-wide contracts through which the company offers these services, if applicable. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider. Responses are limited to a maximum total of eight (8) pages in MS Word or searchable PDF format. IMPORTANT NOTES This notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response; however, NIST will recognize as restricted or proprietary data which is clearly marked such.