HYPOTHETICAL_TASKS_REGIONAL_INNOVATION_v5.docx

Hypothetical Tasks

The statement of work will include three hypothetic tasks for which the offeror is asked to provide proposals. The proposed plan for each hypothetical task shall be presented in a summary format; an outline or bullet format is acceptable if it conveys the necessary information. Plans shall summarize the offeror's strategy and technical approach by specifying objectives, probable methodologies, data sources, applicable analytic approaches, anticipated difficulties, and proposed approaches for overcoming those difficulties. Plans shall also include a schedule of activities. Plans should divide a task into sub-tasks as appropriate, and need not adhere to the sub-task structure, if any, listed in the hypothetical task orders. Plans shall describe the categories of personnel and levels of effort (labor hours) required, and shall include resumes of illustrative personnel for the task, but shall not contain any discussion of costs. Cost information related to the hypothetical task orders is requested separately as part of the business proposal.

In responding, offerors shall assume that they have just received a copy of the statement of work from the NSF Contracting Officer and shall deliver within one two weeks a task plan with a level of detail commensurate with the overall scope of the work for the task. Evaluation of the offeror’s technical proposal will be based in part on the quality of its response to the hypothetical statements of work. Reponses to the hypothetical task statement of work are at proposal closing and are counted against the technical proposal page limits.

a. Hypothetical Task 1. Workshop on Regional Innovation Systems

Background

The National Science Foundation’s National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) fulfills the legislative mandate of the National Science Foundation Act to “. . . provide a central clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on science and engineering resources, and to provide a source of information for policy formulation by other agencies of the Federal Government.” As a U.S. federal statistical agency, NCSES is charged with providing policy-neutral information to the President, federal executive agencies, and the Congress.

According to the widely-used definition from the OrganisationOrganization for Economic Cooperation and Development and Eurostat, an innovation is a new or significantly improved product (both goods and services) or process, a new marketing method, or new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization, or external relations. A crucial defining factor for innovation is that the product, process, marketing method, or organizational method must represent something new or a significant improvement world-wide, in the relevant industry or market, or in the firm.[footnoteRef:1] [1: Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Statistical Office of the European Community, The Oslo Manual, Guidelines for Collecting and Interpreting Innovation Data, 2005. ]

The diffusion of innovations through firms, industries, and regions is a key component of the economic impact of innovation that involves networks of innovators and other actors. An innovation system includes the impact on innovation from the activities of external institutions. A focus on innovation systems highlights the role of interactions between institutions in the creation, diffusion, and application of ideas, skills, and knowledge. This system-oriented approach may be applied at the national, international, or regional level.

NCSES wishes to review what is known about the regional features and dynamics of successful U.S. innovation systems and what the most important gaps in our understanding are. There are several reasons this topic is increasingly important:

· Despite the impact of global supply chains that increasingly result in production activity and the activity of R&D teams separated by great distances, it is apparent that development, implementation, and eventual diffusion of innovations can benefit from geographically-clustered elements.

· A geography-based focus on the resources, processes, and results associated with the development, implementation, and diffusion of innovation can be viewed as an analysis of the regional features of the innovation system.

· Economic development strategies have increasingly focused on these regional innovation systems and the role of regional and local institutions to stimulate local/regional economic activity and develop, attract, and retain high-skilled workers.

· National-level data sources are insufficient for measuring the regional features of innovation systems.

Statement of Work

The Contractor shall organize a two-day workshop to consider U.S. national priorities and user needs for data on regional innovation measurement. The workshop shall address this issue primarily in the context of enabling clearer view of what NCSES can contribute in this area.

The workshop shall, at a minimum, consider the following issues:

· What models are most useful in explaining how innovation and diffusion happen and are successful at the regional level?

· What data are most important for developing and testing models of regional innovation systems and what are the most critical gaps in currently available data?

· What is the role of human capital, including skilled workers and immigrants, in regional innovation? What is the role of local institutions (e.g. universities, community colleges, businesses, governments, research labs) in innovation? What information would be useful for regional decision makers to have that is not now available?

· What data are available from the Federal government on regional innovation?

· What types of data are collected on regional innovation in other countries and how is it used?

· What opportunities and challenges have changes in data science and the availability of unstructured data opened up for regional innovation measurement?

Given the discussion, what new or improved data might be developed on regional innovation and diffusion?

The workshop shall include up to 25 persons with relevant experience and expertise. Up to six of these may be from outside the United States.

Subtask 1. The contractor shall prepare written background materials for distribution to workshop participants in advance of the workshop. Such materials may, but need not, include a review of relevant literature or commissioned analytic papers by experts on concepts and data challenges in regional innovation measurement.

Subtask 2. The contractor shall organize and administer the workshop.

The contractor shall nominate three persons from among whom NCSES will select the workshop organizer. Nominees may be consultants, subcontractors, or other persons.

The contractor shall propose a process whereby the organizer, in consultation with the NCSES Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and other personnel (e.g., expert consultants, additional NCSES staff, contractor-supplied personnel) shall develop a proposed workshop agenda, moderator script, and list of invitees. The contractor shall propose a subset of invitees who will also prepare discussion materials and make presentations to the group. NCSES will make the final selection of participants and make final decisions as to the workshop agenda.

The contractor shall make all necessary arrangements for meeting facilities and catering, including identifying a meeting location.

The contractor shall invite the participants and arrange and pay for their travel and per diem.

Subtask 3. The contractor shall prepare an executive summary of the workshop proceedings suitable for posting on the NCSES web site and a workshop proceedings report for NCSES internal use. The contractor shall deliver a draft of the executive summary for NCSES review within 10 working days after the completion of the workshop and a draft of the workshop proceedings report within 20 working days. In each case, the COR will supply the contractor with a list of suggested changes and corrections. The contractor shall make changes to the executive summary and shall submit a revised and corrected copy of the summary and proceedings report within 10 working days after receiving the COR’s list. The contractor shall distribute the executive summary to the workshop participants and afford them 10 working days to make comments and corrections. Within five working days, and in consultation with the COR, the contractor shall submit a final version of the executive summary to the NSF COR. Within ten working days of receiving the COR’s list of suggested changes, the contractor shall deliver a final version of the workshop proceedings report.

NCSES requires that the workshop task be completed no later than one year after the date that this task order is awarded. The contractor shall deliver the final workshop report and any other proposed written products as soon as they are completed.

Technical Proposal Instructions

Subtask 1. The technical proposal shall discuss the content and character of the background material to be distributed and explain the rationale for including these materials and the process by which they will be selected and developed.

For materials to be developed by contractor staff, the contractor shall propose a senior staff member who will take lead responsibility for preparing those materials and include a paragraph describing the most important attributes of the person(s) selected to play major roles in developing these materials.

For materials to be developed by expert invitees to the workshop the contractor shall identify the topic of the proposed materials, propose specific individuals to develop them, explain how the contractor will manage development of these materials such that they are suitable for purposes of the workshop, and briefly explain the rationale for nominating these specific individuals. The proposal shall also name and describe an alternate expert to prepare these materials in case the preferred nominee is unavailable.

Subtask 2. The technical proposal shall discuss the key choices involved in planning the workshop and the main considerations involved in making these choices.

The technical proposal shall include a paragraph describing the qualifications and experience of each of the three persons proposed as a possible workshop organizer, explaining why that person would be suitable for this role.

The technical proposal shall sketch a possible agenda for the workshop that can be used as a starting point for planning. The proposal shall briefly describe the advantages and disadvantages of this agenda as a framework for organizing the workshop. The technical proposal shall also describe an alternative workable structure for the workshop and discuss its advantages and why it was not preferred.

The technical proposal shall include a list of at least 30 possible workshop participants. The list shall indicate the participant’s areas of relevant expertise, current institutional affiliation, and, as necessary, significant prior institutional affiliations.

The technical proposal should discuss other organizational choices, if any, that the contractor believes are important to the success of the workshop. The submission for this task should be approximately 7-10 pages long.

Business Proposal Instructions

For cost estimation purposes, offerors shall assume that the following:

· The workshop(s) will run for two days at a location in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area.

· Attendees will include the workshop organizer, NSF staff members, and any subject matter specialists or senior analysts whom the contractor has employed to help plan and organize the workshop.

· In addition, 25 knowledgeable persons from outside NSF shall attend the workshop. For cost estimation purposes, it is assumed that seven of these persons reside in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area and up to six of these persons come from outside the United States to attend the workshop.

· The contractor will pay for travel and per diem for attendees other than NSF employees.

· Attendees who are nonfederal employees are entitled to $280 reimbursement for travel days and $480 for days attending the workshop. For more detail on this policy: https://inside2.nsf.gov/pubs/2000/ib0013/ib0013.htm.