B-2 RFQ attachment - SOW.doc

STATEMENT OF WORK

Workshop for Seismic Practice Needs for Buildings and Lifeline Infrastructure Located in the Central and Eastern United States

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Earthquake Engineering Group (EEG) in the Engineering Laboratory (EL) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) conducts experimental and analytical research on the seismic performance of the built environment to support NIST’s role in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP). This acquisition of services is required so that EEG can develop and support a nationally applicable research plan that incorporates stakeholder needs and encompasses the entire scope of work required to address relevant issues in a systematic process.

For decades, building and lifeline infrastructure systems located in the central and eastern United States (CEUS) have utilized code provisions developed for buildings located in the western Unites States with a high seismicity, with some provisions being modified for consideration of anticipated regional and seismological differences for the CEUS. To achieve a more accurate measure of resilience for the built environment in the CEUS, a comprehensive evaluation of current design and construction practices and needs is required. In this context, resilience addresses preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery actions.

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this requirement is to obtain contractor services to support the development of a report that identifies topics that detail needed research and associated outcomes required to advance seismic design and construction practices for new and existing buildings and lifeline infrastructure located in the CEUS. The results of this report will improve the performance of the built environment in the CEUS for a major earthquake. In so doing, the Contractor will be responsible for hosting a theme-focused workshop. The final report based on workshop feedback will outline a systematic process with balanced, applicable topics that NIST can conduct in the future.

The objective of this project is for a contractor to develop and host a theme-focused workshop to develop research topics that detail the anticipated engineering principles, basic and applied research, and implementation activities required to advance seismic design and construction practices for new and existing buildings and lifeline infrastructure located in the CEUS. The impact of the efforts associated with this report is to improve the performance of the built environment in the CEUS for a sizable earthquake. The Contractor shall convene a group of experts experienced in seismic design and construction in the CEUS to develop a succinct list of needed research topics. The Contractor shall develop and host a workshop to develop a final report that identifies these research topics.

The topical report shall outline a systematic process with balanced, applicable topics that NIST can conduct in the future. This report represents the first effort required to evaluate and provide regionally accepted guidelines for seismically designing, evaluating, or retrofitting these systems to support the role they play in enhancing the resilience of the community they serve. Tentative topics include the following, but are not limited to:

· Policies and practices for the design and construction of new buildings and lifeline infrastructure;

· Policies and practices for the evaluation and retrofit of existing buildings and lifeline infrastructure;

· Identification of vulnerable typologies of the built environment and retrofit solutions

· Identification of pilot areas/cities to be evaluated for seismic retrofit

· Analysis of regional hazards, including their temporal, consequential, and spatial occurrences;

· Regionally-adjusted ground motions for design and geo-hazards evaluation

· Decision support frameworks incorporating life cycle considerations and data collection;

· Societal needs to enhance resilience; and

· Recommendations for prioritizing topics.

SCOPE OF WORK – GENERAL

The Contractor shall develop and lead a team of experts to develop a comprehensive, concise report of research topics that detail needed research and associated practices required to advance seismic design and construction practices for new and existing buildings and lifeline infrastructure located in the CEUS.

SPECIFIC TASKS/REQUIREMENTS

Task Number

90 days

300 days

Task 1. Kickoff Meeting with NIST

The Contractor shall host a Kickoff meeting with NIST. The Kickoff meeting shall be held virtually at a time mutually agreed upon between the contractor and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The Kickoff meeting, more than one if needed, shall not exceed four (4) hours in length.

The Contractor shall develop a project management structure; it shall include all groups identified in any task.

· The Contractor shall submit, for approval by the NIST COR, a written description of the project management structure, including a flowchart(s) indicating interaction between all groups.

The Contractor is permitted to host a website for maintaining all project-related data.

Task 2. Assemble Steering Committee

The Contractor shall assemble a Steering Committee (SC) of between six and ten members consisting of individuals that fully meet the requirements described in this section. This committee shall be responsible for developing the topical report outline and supporting white papers, planning a workshop for finalizing the research topics, identifying key participants of the workshop, and preparing the final report.

The SC shall be composed of eminently qualified academic and practicing experts in seismic design and construction in the CEUS that encompass a diverse representation of the needs of the built environment. At least half of the committee shall be licensed engineers, and at least half of the committee shall be involved with the development of seismic code provisions for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). It is permitted to have members that primarily practice in the western United States, but they shall have either: 1) a main or satellite office or 2) projects within the last 5 years located in the CEUS. All members will be reviewed and approved by NIST prior to final acceptance of the SC.

The Contractor shall resubmit the Project Management Structure from Task 1 that includes all members of the SC, for approval by the NIST COR. The COR shall notify the contractor in writing within 5 business days of approval or disapproval. If any part of the plan is not approved, the contractor will have 2 business days to respond and shall submit a new or revised Project Management Structure for the COR to review and approve.

The Contractor shall host a project kickoff meeting with the SC after receiving approval by NIST of the updated Project Management Structure.

Task 3. Identify Workshop Participants

The Contractor through the SC shall identify key stakeholders needed for engagement in this project and who will participate in the Workshop. The Stakeholders that are identified shall include, but are not limited to:

· Standards development organizations (SDO);

· Building department officials;

· Practitioners knowledgeable about buildings and lifeline infrastructure (e.g., water, power, communications, transportation);

· Regional natural hazards (e.g., wind, earthquake);

· Regional construction types and practices; and

· Individuals engaged in related community resilience work (e.g., social scientists, urban planners).

NIST reserves the right to identify additional participants.

Task 4. Develop Draft List of Topics to be Included in Workshop

The Contractor through the SC shall develop a draft list of primary research topics that fully meets the essential requirements described in this Statement of Work.

· The Contractor shall, for approval by NIST COR, submit the draft list of research topics.

Task 5. Develop Report Outline and Workshop Format

The Contractor through the SC shall develop a report outline and supporting workshop format.

· The Contractor shall, for approval by NIST COR, submit the draft report outline. The COR will review and respond to the contractor with any comments, questions or requests for additional information within 5 business days. The contractor shall have 2 days to respond to the COR with a draft report outline.

· The Contractor shall, for approval by NIST COR, submit the draft format of the workshop. The COR will review and respond to the contractor with any comments, questions or requests for additional information within 5 business days. The contractor shall have 2 days to respond to the COR with the draft format of the workshop.

· The Contractor shall, for approval by NIST COR, resubmit the Project Management Structure from Task 2 that includes identified workshop participants in Task 3. The COR will review and respond to the contractor with any comments, questions or requests for additional information within 5 business days. The contractor shall have 2 days to respond to the COR with a Project Management Structure.

Task 6. Develop White Papers for Workshop Sessions

The Contractor through the SC, including other key participants identified in Task 3, shall develop white papers to provide technical context to the report outline and workshop format determined in Task 5. White papers should be succinct not exceeding 4 pages, exclusive of any figure or tables, and describe the importance of the issues identified in Task 5. White papers can be used as the introduction to each outline section in the final report.

· The Contractor shall, for approval by the NIST COR, submit all white papers that will be included in the workshop and the workshop structure. The COR will review and respond to the contractor with any comments, questions or requests for additional information within 5 business days. The contractor shall have 2 days to respond to the COR.

After approval, the identified workshop participants shall receive all papers for preparation for workshop.

Task 7. Host Virtual Workshop The Contractor through the SC shall organize, facilitate, and manage a virtual workshop to discuss the draft research topics identified in Task 5 (and Task 6) with key participants and workshop attendees identified in Task 3. This task includes providing all logistical support and documenting the discussions at the workshop relative to the draft report outline. The workshop shall be hosted virtually, possibly spanning over multiple days if required as identified in Task 5. In totality, the number of hours for the virtual workshop shall not exceed 16 hours.

The Contractor through the SC (and any facilitator(s)) shall synthesize all session discussions identified in Task 5 (and Task 6) and develop summaries identifying important conclusions from the workshop session.

· The Contractor shall, for approval by NIST COR, submit the discussion summaries.

Task 8. Revise Research Topics The Contractor through the SC shall revise the proposed research topics identified in Task 5 (and Task 6) based on the workshop discussion summaries from Task 7.

· The Contractor shall, for approval by NIST COR, submit the proposed research topics.

Task 9. Develop Final Report The Contractor through the SC shall update the outline and produce the final report on the proposed research topics in Task 8.

· The Contractor shall, for approval by NIST COR, submit the draft of the final report.

Review submittal shall be in Microsoft Word format and have line numbers clearly identified, with the first line of every page starting at unity (1).

· The Contractor shall submit the final print-ready report to NIST in PDF format within 30 days after receipt of NIST review comments.

DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall submit the draft format of the workshop.

The Contractor shall resubmit the Project Management Structure from Task 2 that includes identified workshop participants in Task 3.

The Contractor shall submit the final print-ready report and submit in PDF format within 30 days after receipt of NIST review comments.

Reporting Requirements The Contractor shall be required to provide written progress reports on a quarterly basis (first quarter starts on date of award), in addition to the Deliverables cited above. The Contractor shall submit the progress report within fifteen business days after the quarter ends. The progress report shall cover all contract-related activity, including, but not limited to, accomplishments, problems encountered, problem resolution, and any unresolved problems during the reporting period. Progress reports shall be submitted electronically via Email to the COR, Technical Point of Contact (TPOC), and CO who will be identified at the time of contract award.

Contract Type The type of contract anticipated to be awarded as a result of this requirement and any solicitation released shall be a Firm-Fixed-Price type of Purchase Order contract.

Government-Furnished Property, Material, Equipment, or Information (GFP, GFM, GFE, or GFI) All property, data and information provided by the Government in the performance of this task remains the property of the Government and shall be surrendered to the government upon completion or termination of this requirement. Likewise, all deliverables generated under this requirement remain the property of the Government.

No Government-furnished property, data, or other information is involved in this purchase order.

Security

This work for this purchase order does not involve confidential or proprietary data. The certification and accreditation requirements of Clause 1352.239-73 do not apply and a security accreditation package is not required.

Media Inquiries: The Contractor shall not respond to any media inquiries. Any inquiries from the media shall be immediately relayed to the NIST COR and/or Contracting Officer (CO). There shall be no interviews, comments, or any other response without the knowledge and approval of the NIST COR.

Travel There shall be no travel required for any work supporting this purchase order, nor will any Contractor travel cost be reimbursed by the Government. All meetings required for this purchase order shall be held virtually.

Special Material Requirements

There are no special material requirements for any work supporting this purchase order.

Other Unique Requirements

When project meetings are conducted, the NIST COR reserves the latitude to invite other participants to them.

As a minimum, the following shall be included in this purchase order, unless approved by NIST COR, not to exceed two (2) hours each:

1. The Contractor shall host and conduct a kickoff meeting within 30 days of approval by the NIST COR of the Steering Committee.

2. The Contractor shall host and conduct a progress review meeting 30 days prior to the Workshop.

3. The Contractor shall host and conduct a progress review meeting 30 after the workshop.

Place of Performance

The Place of Performance shall be at the Contractor’s work site/place of business. All work supporting this purchase order shall be performed virtually and will use online video conferencing tools as required.

Period of Performance

The Period of Performance shall be 12 months from 09/01/2021 through 08/30/2022.

Key Personnel This work requires at least one (1) contractor Key Personnel employee who will be the Project Manager (PM) of the contract. The Key Personnel employee(s) shall possess a minimum of ten (10) years of experience in this, or a related, field. The Contractor shall submit resume(s) or curriculum vitae (CV) of proposed key personnel.

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