Expert Panel RFI.doc

Sources Sought Independent, Expert Panels and Workshops The Department of Labor (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics is conducting market research and seeks information and sources to facilitate independent expert panels, public events and peer-reviewed reports. This sources sought Notice 1625-OSM-20-NAT-0000 is currently classified under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as 541990, Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services (Size Standard of $16.5 Million).

DISCLAIMER:

This Sources Sought Notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this notice 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.

1.0 Statement of Objective (SOO)

The government is conducting this market research to identify potential vendors for future requirements. The BLS has awarded three contracts of this type in the past three years, and issuance of this sources sought notice is independent of a current, known, need.

2.0 Background Information:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision-making (for more information see https://www.bls.gov/). As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities by providing data and services that are accurate, objective, relevant, timely, and accessible.

BLS constantly seeks to improve processes, procedures and products to provide the highest quality statistics possible. At times, this requires the input of external experts to provide input on areas for opportunity based on an in-depth investigation of the current state-of-affairs, both within the BLS and in the economy the BLS seeks to measure. This input is used to make critical decisions about allocation of resources and areas of priority focus.

3.0 Instructions for Contractors

Please review the below overview of the requirements and respond if you are an interested party.

Include both a capabilities statement and complete all sections of the Market Research Questionnaire, Attachment 1. Your response should not exceed 15 pages. All contractors responding to this announcement must demonstrate their experience in the tasks outlined in Section 4.2 below. Responses must be specific to each of the listed tasks to demonstrate that the respondent has the requisite skills and experience. Respondents should include a high-level work plan outlining a proposed phased approach. Pertinent factors for consideration of qualifications are the primary contractor’s demonstrated experience with the following:

· Recruiting experts in the field of economics, statistics, mathematics, data science and survey methodology to participate, with only token compensation to ensure unbiased perspectives, in panels lasting one to two years..

· Receiving focused questions from a federal statistical agency and using them to develop one or more public workshops which assemble experts in the relevant fields

· Identifying data users and stakeholders of federal statistics and including them in the process of collecting feedback on the area of focus.

· Assembling a variety of inputs to create a series of cohesive recommendations that are documented and justified in an extensive report.

· Coordinating an in-depth review of the report that includes experts in the relevant fields who were not involved in the process.

4.0 Submissions and Questions

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.

If, you desire to participate in this market research, you should reply via email with the corresponding questionnaire responses and your capabilities statement to lee.jasmine@bls.gov and adams.chantel@bls.gov no later than Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 2:00PM EST. Proprietary information should be clearly marked. The subject line shall be [Company Name] Response for Expert Panel Sources Sought Notice 1625-OSM-20-NAT-0000. The naming convention for document should include the company name and Expert Panel Sources Sought Notice, for example [Company Name] ExpertPanelSourcesSoughtNotice.docx. The email subject line shall be “Company Name RFI Expert Panel Response.” The electronic format may be in Microsoft Word or compatible with Microsoft Office suite of software.

Questions about this requirement should be submitted no later than Thursday, March 26, 2020 at 2:00PM EST email listed above. The email subject line shall be [Company Name] Questions for Expert Panel Sources Sought 1625-OSM-20-NAT-0000. Telephonic inquiries will not be accepted. All inquiries must be submitted in the form of a question. Responses to all questions will be made available via the portal where this notice was issued without identifying the source of the inquiry.