1333ND24RNB480016-IDIQ SOW for ADIIS-5.2.24.pdf

1333ND24RNB480016

STATEMENT OF WORK

1. BACKGROUND

The U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC) National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) strives 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 NIST Innovation and Industry Services (IIS) Office is responsible for the NIST suite of external partnership programs, including the Technology Partnerships Office, the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), the Office of Advance Manufacturing (OAM), and the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program (BPEP).

The NIST Technology Partnerships Office (TPO) serves NIST customers by leading technology transfer processes that NIST researchers use to develop innovations from concept to practical application. TPO structures collaborative relationships between NIST researchers and regional, national, and global partners, fosters entrepreneurship and small business growth, and provides economic analysis to support the process. TPO also serves federal technology transfer customers and innovation ecosystems through several initiatives of the Federal Laboratory Consortium (FLC) and the National Science and Technology Council’s Lab-to-Market Subcommittee (L2M).

The FLC is the formally chartered, nationwide network of over 300 federal laboratories, agencies, and research centers, that fosters commercialization, best practice strategies, and opportunities, for accelerating federal technologies out of the labs and into the marketplace. The L2M initiative was identified as an administration priority and funded by Congress to increase the economic impact of federally funded research and development by accelerating and improving the transfer of new technologies from the laboratory to the commercial marketplace.

The MEP is a program of the DoC NIST. The MEP National Network™ comprises NIST MEP, 51 MEP Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and its more than 1,400 trusted advisors and experts at nearly 600 MEP service locations, providing any U.S. manufacturer with access to resources they need to succeed. MEP Centers are funded by a combination of Federal, State, local and private resources; and focus on helping small and medium-sized manufacturers (SMMs) generate business results and thrive in today’s technology-driven economy.

The MEP’s mission is to enhance the productivity and technology performance of U.S.

manufacturing by acting as a trusted, strategic advisor to promote business growth and connecting manufacturers to public and private resources essential for increased competitiveness and profitability. Centers tailor services to meet critical needs, ranging from process improvement and workforce development to specialized business practices, including supply chain integration, innovation, and technology transfer. The MEP's foundation is built upon its partnerships. Centers are the hub for manufacturers, connecting them with government agencies, trade associations, universities and research laboratories, state and federal initiatives, and a host of other resources to help them grow and innovate.

The major areas of emphasis for potential task order requirements under this acquisition include research, marketing and deployment of efforts related to the four pillars of the MEP strategic plan:

Empower Manufacturers: Assist U.S. manufacturers in embracing productivity-enhancing, innovative manufacturing technologies; navigating advanced technology solutions; and recruiting and retaining skilled employees.

Champion Manufacturing: Actively promote the importance of a strong manufacturing base as key to a robust U.S. economy and protection of national security interests; create awareness of innovations in manufacturing; create enabling workforce development partnerships to build a stronger and more diverse workforce pipeline; and maximize market awareness of the MEP National Network.

Leverage Partnerships: Leverage national, regional, state, and local partnerships to generate substantial increases in market penetration; identify mission-complementary advocates to help MEP become a recognized manufacturing resource brand; and build an expanded service delivery model to support manufacturing technology advances.

Transform the Network: Maximize the MEP National Network’s knowledge and experience to operate as an integrated national network; increase efficiency and effectiveness in employing a Learning Organization platform; and create a resilient and adaptive MEP National Network to support a resilient and adaptive U.S. manufacturing base.

The Manufacturing USA program is a corollary program at NIST that also supports the U.S.

manufacturing base. Manufacturing USA is a national network of 16 manufacturing innovation institutes reaching across more than 2,300 industry, government, and academic members to accelerate development of game-changing technologies, with a goal of restoring U.S. global leadership in advanced manufacturing. The institutes provide members with access to state-of-the-art facilities and capital-intensive equipment, shared R&D and intellectual property, collaboration and networking opportunities across the innovation ecosystem, and workforce training and skills development customized to support new technology areas. Each institute is a public-private partnership, operated by an industry-led consortium with funding by a federal agency sponsor matched by states and industry. The program enables companies to work together, along with research universities, to develop new manufacturing technologies that all companies can use for production of their individual products and collaborate on workforce development and training.

The OAM Manufacturing USA network is coordinated by the interagency Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office (AMNPO) and is supported by representatives from federal agencies with manufacturing-related missions (i.e., NIST, the Departments of Defense, Education, Energy, Agriculture, Labor, NASA, and NSF) as well as corporate and academic fellows. By coordinating federal resources and programs, AMNPO enhances technology development and advanced manufacturing workforce development in U.S. manufacturing industries and helps companies overcome technical obstacles to scale up new technologies and products which might otherwise be “stranded in the lab” or developed in other countries. In FY 2017 NIST established the first Manufacturing USA institute selected through an open-topic competition, the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL). NIST’s role is to:

• Oversee the planning, management, coordination and congressional reporting of the

Manufacturing USA Program

• Convene and support the network of institutes, providing shared services and promoting best practices to identify and address challenges and opportunities that span technology areas and cut across agency missions.

• Manage Commerce-sponsored manufacturing innovation institutes selected through a competitive process on topics proposed by industry.

NIST’s OAM is responsible for coordinating Manufacturing USA, established by NIST, Department of Energy, Department of Defense and other government agencies working with the private sector, which enhances the impact of the institutes by helping to share best practices, amplify a shared vision of manufacturing excellence, identify and address gaps in the U.S.

manufacturing technology base, identify common interests and activities that can help train the next-generation of skilled workers, transition newly developed manufacturing technologies and processes to the U.S. industrial base, and leverage expertise across multiple disciplines and contributing agency programs.

Finally, another IIS program at NIST is the BPEP. Established by Federal Law in 1987, the BPEP’s mission is to enhance the performance and competitiveness of U.S. business by sharing guidance and best practices across industries and identifying role models. Congress expanded the Baldrige Award’s scope to include health care and education organizations in 1999, and nonprofit and government organizations in 2007. Community was added in 2022 within the CHIPS Act.

The Baldrige Excellence Framework is a globally emulated, non-prescriptive, regularly updated leadership and management guide that also provides the criteria and evaluation tool for the annual Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the only Presidential Award for performance excellence. The framework and the Award are the most prominent of multiple products and services the program offers to educate organizations and their leaders in achieving and sustaining excellence.

2. SCOPE OF WORK

The purpose of this procurement is to obtain Marketing, Branding, Communications and Strategic Analysis Support Services for the NIST IIS Office. The IIS Office requires a Contractor to provide functional and technical support services for the marketing, branding, communications and strategic analysis support services it manages and operates across its suite of external partnership programs.

3. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. The Contractor shall be required to maintain regular, frequent and responsive contact with the task order Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) at all times during the execution of a given task order to ensure that all task order requirements are being met.

https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/publications/baldrige-excellence-framework https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-criteria-thirty-years-evolution-revolutionary-change https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-criteria-thirty-years-evolution-revolutionary-change https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-award https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/products-services https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/products-services

2. The Contractor may be required to expand and improve the current development and delivery capabilities of the national network of MEP Centers. The Contractor may be required to establish mechanisms to improve the development, delivery and quality of products and services and to foster coordination of those organizations that comprise this network.

3. Task orders may include a requirement to survey, or a survey may be the most appropriate technical approach for some task orders. The Contractor shall not survey more than ten non-federal individuals or organizations for any given survey.

4. Domestic and/or foreign travel may be required for a given task order. The need and type of travel will be identified in each order. The Contractor and their employees must have the credentials necessary for international travel.

5. A NIST contracting officer will solicit, negotiate and award each task order.

6. Unless a face-to-face meeting is specifically required by a task order or is agreed to by the relevant parties, update meetings shall be executed via teleconference or webcast.

7. Unless otherwise indicated in a given task order, the contractor shall submit a monthly progress report for each task order to the task order COR, and to the task order Contracting Officer, at a minimum using an agreed upon Microsoft Office format.

Progress reports shall include a narrative summary of progress to date by task, accomplishments, discussions of any deviation from task order requirements, problems encountered and steps taken to resolve them.

8. Firm fixed price task orders shall be awarded under the collective IDIQ contract.

4. POTENTIAL TASK ORDER REQUIREMENTS

The following categories represent the scope of work that the Contractor for a given task order may be required to perform.

Task 1. Research and Strategy Development Initiatives

Provide research and analysis on manufacturing topics, including those pertaining to the launch of semiconductor/microelectronics initiatives stemming from the CHIPS + Science Act, and technology transfer topics. Information from the research will be used to inform strategic program priorities and develop plans for competitive awards portfolio.

Potential task order requirements may include but are not limited to:

a. Research about manufacturing client needs, wants, purchasing behavior.

b. Research about manufacturing market trends, technological change or business drivers

c. Research about customer needs around specific MEP and Manufacturing USA products, services, initiatives, and/or programs.

d. Research about MEP/Manufacturing USA Center/network best practices, success models or business models

e. Research about federal technology transfer best practices, stakeholder needs, and/or economic and other impacts.

f. Research customer needs and Baldrige efforts to support domestic manufacturing, resilience, and ecosystems of excellence, including the attractiveness of the Baldrige Award and educational outreach products and services.

g. Data analysis

h. Strategy development for specific products, services or programs

i. Dissemination of results of research in the form or reports, training, workshops, webinars, speaking engagements, web content, articles, blogs, etc.

Task 2. Marketing Support

The Contractor may be required to perform marketing, strategy development and deployment support functions to accomplish promoting the MEP, Manufacturing USA networks, and Baldrige ecosystem as well as accomplishing multiple initiatives, including the new CHIPS + Science Act related outreach for MEP or Manufacturing USA, technology transfer efforts, and Baldrige.

Potential activities include but are not limited to:

a. Marketing strategy and planning

b. Branding, brand strategy, event branding

c. Blogs

d. Infographics

e. Website content and design

f. Photography

g. Video production

h. Marketing materials

i. Graphic design

j. Templates

k. Input on marketing automation and marketing tools

l. Technical writing and editing including MEP/Manufacturing USA annual reports, success story writing and editing.

m. Event support (e.g., keynote speakers, travel, materials, exhibiting, sponsorship)

n. Public awareness and social media outreach strategy and content

o. Support the deployment of offerings across the enterprise to focus on sustainability and resilience, and be more accessible, user-friendly, and inclusive.

Task 3. MEP Center and Manufacturing USA Institute Support

The Contractor may be required to support MEP in a variety of areas related to Center/Institute operations.

a. Board development for MEP Centers/Manufacturing Innovation Institutes (Institutes), to include but not be limited to, training for MEP Center/Institute Board leadership

b. Training and coaching for each Center/Institute

c. Marketing support for each Center/Institute

d. Consulting on any aspect of Center operations, to include but not be limited to:

a. Center strategic planning

b. Center succession planning

c. Center leadership support

d. Center business continuity/resilience support

e. Local manufacturer partnership development or maintenance. MEP/OAM’s responsibilities include, among other things, the development of partnerships with local manufacturers to the respective MEP Centers and Institutes. Contractor support may be required to facilitate the development of new such partnerships and to maintain existing partnerships.

f. Training for Centers/Institutes leaders as well as MEP and OAM employees

Task 4. Deployment and Execution of Strategic Plans

The Contractor may be required to perform deployment and execution functions to accomplish the current MEP and/or Manufacturing USA Strategic Plans as well as to support the development and execution of future MEP and/or Manufacturing USA Strategic Plans.

The Contractor may be required to provide research, consulting, and support activities on the national level.

a. Program strategy development

b. Partnership development

c. Program support for new products and services

d. Training and skills development and system learning related to national products, services, programs.

e. Designing and facilitating working group meetings

f. Start-up assistance to MEP Centers in adopting new national programs.

g. Coaching Center/Institute staff on national programs – coordination on resources, coaching on best practices and approach.

h. Troubleshooting partnerships

i. Identifying and disseminating information on best practices, success models and effective business models for national programs

j. Participating in events and workshops

k. The Contractor may be required to provide systems and platform development and deployment support functions to support for knowledge management sharing and systems for the MEP National Network and in support of multiple initiatives, including the new CHIPS + Science Act related supply chain, workforce development and advance technology adoption for MEP or Manufacturing USA, and technology transfer efforts.

Task 5. Evaluation and Assessment of Projects, Programs and Client Impacts

The Contractor may be required to perform evaluations of the MEP, Manufacturing USA program, and BPEP programs as well as other initiatives. The Contractor may be required evaluate and assess Center/Institute performance and conduct research on various performance matters.

a. Program evaluation and assessment

b. Client impact analysis

c. Client profiling

d. Analysis of MEP Center/Manufacturing USA Institute metrics and performance

Task 6. MEP National Network, Manufacturing USA Network, Technology Partnership Office, and BPEP Meetings and Event Support

The Contractor may be required to perform meeting support functions for network meetings and events.

a. Participation in national/regional meetings and events (for example, the MEP National Network Forum)

b. Development and revision of national program content, program management tools and guidebooks, video content

c. Development and revision of program marketing (flyers, website content, video, etc.)

d. Recruitment of keynote speakers and thought leaders to present during network meetings and events.

e. Tracking program statistics (# programs, companies, schedule)

f. Printing and/or electronically posting program materials; suggestions to create a repository of educational resources.

g. Partnership and sponsorship strategy in collaboration with NIST’s Conference

Services event contractor

5. DELIVERABLES

Deliverables will be defined in each task order.

For each task order, the Contractor shall submit a monthly status report to the task order COR, task order Contracting Officer, and any others designated for receipt of same in a task order no later than the 10th of every month. At a minimum, the Monthly Status Report (MSR) may be required to address status of task order requirements, any problems encountered, corrective actions taken, and summary of task order obligations and payments received. The monthly report may be required to be readable in Microsoft Word and may include embedded tables and/or graphs that are readable in Microsoft.

For Each Task Order:

Examples of deliverables that may be required under task orders include, but are not limited to:

o Market analysis and trend analysis related to MEP/Manufacturing USA Strategic Plan o Report(s) detailing various focus areas.

o Development and delivery of training materials o Provide reports of current and future trends o Provide marketing and research consulting to support nation-wide programs.

o Development of new market research tools which support greater manufacturing extension and innovation deployment.

o Delivery of marketing and research training courses and perform logistical development.

o Provide monthly progress reports.

o Attend conferences and events and present results.

For the IDIQ Final Report

A final management report summarizing all work performed under the IDIQ shall be delivered to the NIST COR no later than 15 days prior to the end of the IDIQ contract period of performance.

The report shall include, at a minimum, total dollars awarded under to the contractor under its IDIQ contract, number of task orders awarded, total cost of Contractor employees utilized, and the total cost of subcontractors utilized. This is to help the contracting officer determine the Contractor’s compliance with FAR 52.219-14.

7. TRAVEL

Requirements for Contractor travel will be identified within each task order.

The Contractor shall obtain the written approval of the Contracting Officer prior to incurring any travel costs.

NIST may reimburse the Contractor for authorized travel costs in accordance with FAR 31.205- 46, Travel costs.

8. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance (or ordering period) of the basic IDIQ contract is five years from the effective date of award. Each task order will specify a period of performance applicable to the order.

9. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Work under this contract may require the Contractor to work on-site at NIST Gaithersburg and at the Contractor’s site. The place of performance will be defined with each task order.

Task Orders may require the Contractor to work on-site at NIST MEP in Gaithersburg, MD, for brief or extended periods of time. Some task orders may require the Contractor to interact face-to-face with multiple MEP Centers within the United States and Puerto Rico, that are participating on certain projects or tasks.

The following shall apply to on-site work at NIST Gaithersburg:

(i) Work Hours

Regular work hours for contractor personnel work shall be specified in each task order.

Normal core duty hours are between 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, with the exception of Federal holidays or other official closures.

(ii) Facility Closures

In the event that NIST is closed due to national emergency, inclement weather or for any other unscheduled closure, Contractor personnel shall not report for on-site work. The Contractor may utilize the NIST status line, 301-975-8000 or 1-800-437-4385, ext. 8000, to determine whether NIST is open. This status line is generally updated at 5:00 AM Eastern Time on regular business days;

(iii) Federal Holidays

Contractor personnel will not be allowed to work on-site at NIST unless prior written approval is granted by the COR and, if appropriate, the Contracting Officer. A list of Federal holidays is provided at http://www.opm.gov/operating_status_schedules/fedhol/2012.asp;

(iv) Safety

The Contractor shall comply with NIST safety policies identified in task orders. Safety training will be provided by NIST for all on-site Contractor personnel if necessary. Such regulations include, but are not limited to, general safety and fire prevention.

(v) Security badge ID http://www.opm.gov/operating_status_schedules/fedhol/2012.asp

Contractor personnel shall wear a visible Visitor’s or Security badge ID when working on-site at NIST. The badge will be provided by NIST. Contractor personnel shall immediately report any lost or stolen badges to the task order COR. Contractor personnel must surrender their badge to the task order COR when they will no longer be performing under that task order or another task order.

(vi) Contractor personnel shall not use NIST facilities or NIST property in connection with conducting activities not associated with task order requirements under any given task order.

(ix) Misconduct/Disruption of Services.

At any time during the performance of this contract, appropriate NIST personnel may require contractor personnel whose actions (e.g., intoxication, debilitation resulting from drug use, insubordination, theft) result in clear disruption or threat to NIST, its employees, or its property.

10. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY AND DATA

Documentation, including, but not limited to materials, data, literature, provided by the Government during the performance of this contract remain the property of the Government and shall be surrendered to the Government upon completion of any given task order or termination of the contract.

Each task order will indicate what Government furnished property and/or data will be provided to the contractor.

Within 1 month following expiration of the IDIQ contract or expiration of the last task order (whichever is later), the Contractor shall delete all electronic and paper records. The Contractor shall send notice in writing to the COR and to the Contracting Officer to indicate that electronic files have been erased and/or files are returned or destroyed. Deletion of electronic files requires the use of overwrite technology to securely erase data from all media (hard drives, servers, external storage, etc.) that conforms to DoD 5220-22M specifications (Military-Grade) or better.

11. SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE

Any and all electronic and information technology (EIT) procured through this effort must meet the applicable accessibility standards at 36 CFR 1194, which implements Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, and is viewable at http://www.section508.gov.

All products, platforms and services delivered as part of this work statement that are EIT, or contain EIT, must conform to the Revised 508 Standards, which are located at 36 C.F.R. §

1194.1 & Apps. A, B, & C.

All requirements are applicable to support services and documentation deliverables. All functional performance criteria apply when using an alternative design or technology that achieves substantially equivalent or greater accessibility and usability by individuals with disabilities, than would be provided by conformance to one or more of the requirements in

Chapters 4-6 of the Revised 508 Standards, or when Chapters 4-6 do not address one or more functions of EIT.

These services may include but are not limited to ensuring that written documents and other products are compliant with section 508 of the act and accessible for users with physical disabilities.

Electronic content shall comply with Section 508. Electronic content that is public facing shall conform to the accessibility requirements specified in Section 508.

Task orders will include specific Section 508 requirements that apply to that task order.

12. PAYMENT SCHEDULE

This will be addressed in individual task orders, if applicable.

13. PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide technically qualified personnel to perform the required work for each task order.

The Contractor may utilize foreign nationals if they deem it appropriate to do so. H1B Visa holders must work for their Visa sponsors.

Key personnel requirements for individual task orders will be described in the SOW for the individual task order, if applicable. However, the contractor shall provide the following key personnel at the IDIQ contract level:

Project Director:

The Contractor must provide a Project Director to oversee and manage the IDIQ contract and related task orders. Specific task orders may also require individual Project Managers at the task order level.

The Project Director shall perform the following requirements, at a minimum:

• Manage Contractor contract and task order requirements.

• Act as primary interface between the Contracting Officer, COR(s) and Contractor personnel (including subcontractor personnel)

• Ensure that the contractor meets task order requirements

• Proactively identify issues/problems and take appropriate action to remedy them.

• Maintain awareness of current NIST IT, safety, security, intellectual property, government property, and conduct requirements and ensure that contractor personnel are aware of requirements and any changes made during the period of performance.

Qualifications:

This position requires a minimum of 15 years of general project management experience and masters degree in business and/or marketing.

14. SECURITY AND CONTACTOR IDENTIFICATION

Contractor personnel may be required to conform to facility and systems access security policies, procedures and protocols, consistent with the Federal Government workforce at all places of performance and wear a conspicuous identification badge. Contractor personnel may be required to comply with all NIST security and systems training requirements.

To gain access to a government facility, Contractor personnel must be able to obtain a Personal Identification Verification (PIV) badge (to be issued by NIST). The Contractor may be required to immediately report any lost or stolen badge to the COR, CO, his/her designated company representative, and the NIST Security Office. Additionally, Contractor personnel must present a valid State vehicle registration (for each vehicle) to apply for a NIST vehicle registration/parking permit.

Contractor personnel shall be required to identify themselves as a contractor when interacting with others associated with applicable the task order (e.g., e-mails, telephone communications, meetings).

15. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE OF DELIVERABLES

Inspection and acceptance or rejection of deliverables will be performed by the task order COR.

Specific performance standards, acceptance criteria, and timelines for reviews and resubmissions may be defined in each task order.