Summer_Interns_RFI (004).DOCX

Request For Information /Sources Sought Bureau of Labor Statistics Data Summer Interns

The Department of Labor (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is conducting market research and seeks information and sources to facilitate a summer intern program. This Request for Information (RFI)/sources sought Notice 1625-20-Data-Interns is currently classified under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as 561311 Employment Placement Agencies with a size standard of $27.5 million.

The anticipated period of performance for this Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) is five years.

DISCLAIMER:

This RFI/Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for market research information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI/Sources Sought that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this Sources Sought Notice.

A. Statement of Objective Contractor shall facilitate summer internships for current college students in data science or a related field to work on innovative projects related to BLS data.

B. Historical Information BLS is the principle source of federal labor and price statistics to support public and private decision making. BLS primarily analyzes directly collected data, often resulting in large amounts of textual data (e.g., product descriptions) that is coded into standardized classification systems. Additionally, as technology improves, BLS is looking to incorporate new best practices into its current methods of collecting, creating, and disseminating our gold standard data. By bringing in summer interns with expertise in the areas of technology, program management and/or human factors, we not only advance our current approaches but provide BLS staff exposure to new techniques and technologies which they can continue to use well after the internships have ended.

C. Requirement BLS is seeking a contractor to set-up a BPA with to provide interns with specific skills and expertise in data research, product management, human centered design, software design and software engineering to provide research, prototypes, and evidence based recommendations for methodologies and approaches to various challenges faced by BLS including but not limited to: automating processes, machine learning, auto coding, constructing indexes and improving data user experiences. The contractor shall recruit, screen and match qualified students from top universities with specific expertise aligned to the project descriptions provided in task order(s). For an example of these types of projects, see the Fiscal Year 2019 Performance Work Statement (PWS).

C. Instructions to Contractors

1. Please review the requirement and respond if you are an interested party.

1. Include both a capabilities statement and complete all sections of the Market Research Questionnaire, in Section D below. Your response should not exceed 25 pages.

1. Both large and small businesses are encouraged to participate in this market research. Joint ventures or teaming arrangements are encouraged and are up to each industry partner. Multiple teaming arrangements are acceptable. Please express your intentions in the questionnaire and capabilities package. If applicable, please specify your small business classification in any response.

1. If you desire to participate in this market research request for information, you should reply via email with the corresponding questionnaire responses and your capabilities statement to lee.jasmine@bls.gov and deangelis.michael@bls.gov no later than Thursday, December 12, 2019 at 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST). Proprietary information should be clearly marked. All submissions shall be submitted via e-mail. The naming convention for submission should include the company name and RFI Data Interns, For example - ABCINCRFIDataInterns.docx. The email subject line shall be “Company Name - RFI Data Interns Response.” The electronic format may be in Microsoft word or compatible with Microsoft Office suite of software.

1. Questions about this requirement should be submitted no later than Tuesday, November 26, 2019 at 11:00 AM EST to the emails listed above. The email subject line shall be “Company Name Data Interns Questions.”

D. Data Interns Market Research Questionnaire:

A. Please review and respond to the following questions on size standard.

· Please indicate your business classification for NAICS code 561311 Employment Placement Agencies with a size standard of $27.5 million:

|_| Small Business |_| Other Than Small Business If another NAICS code seem more suitable please provide and state classification.

· If your business classification is Small Business, do you anticipate remaining under the size standard of $32.5 Million for the next two years?

|_| Yes |_| No

· If your business classification is Small Business, do you qualify under any of the following certification programs and socio-economic categories?

|_| HUBZone |_| Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) |_|Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) |_| 8(a) B. Market Research Questions:

1. Do you have an established internship program for technology, program management, human factors or related field summer student interns that would meet the requirements in the Fiscal Year 2019 PWS? If so, please describe the process.

2. Have you attracted student interns from top universities, both graduate and undergraduate programs, to your program? What is your strategy?

3. Do you have an established process for screening applicants to evaluate the required skills and expertise and to collect information required to match applicants to summer projects? If so, please describe the process.

4. Do you have a GSA schedule that allows for ordering summer student interns?

5. How do you facilitate your summer student data science intern program?

6. Cost/pricing specific questions

a. What is the price per intern? Is this consistent for both undergraduate and graduate students?

b. Do you charge any additional fees besides a price per intern?