Fellowship_RFI.docx

Request for Information /Sources Sought Bureau of Labor Statistics Office of Survey Methods Research Fellowship Program

The Department of Labor (DOL) Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is conducting market research and seeks information and sources to conduct a fellowship program for the Office of Survey Methods Research (OSMR). This Request for Information (RFI)/sources sought Notice 1625DC-20-N-00005 is currently classified under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) as 541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services, with a size standard of $16.5 million.

The anticipated period of performance consists of one base year and four, one year option 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 The objective of this requirement is to accomplish the following:

1. Fund one contractor to provide one OSMR BLS Fellow with expertise in statistics, mathematics, or data science;

2. Establish and manage the entire process as it relates to the fellowship, including advertisement, selection, payment of salary and benefits, training, networking, and evaluation of the program.

B. Historical Information and Requirement This requirement is currently provided by The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) under 1625DC-19-P-0038.

The follow-on requirement is to provide a list of highly skilled doctoral-level statisticians and data scientists for a nine to 12 month assignment at the BLS Office of Survey Methods Research, to provide/manage a process whereby BLS personnel can select a suitable candidate from the list, and to provide the pay and benefits to the successful candidate, which will be referred to as a Fellow throughout this RFI.

The Government will not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government. However, the Government shall exercise control over access to BLS restricted information.

The services that BLS is requesting are listed below.

The Contractor must provide the following services:

a. Establish fellowship policies and procedures providing a fair and open recruitment process

b. Openly promote the opportunity for a BLS Fellow who must be highly qualified in the area of statistics, mathematics or data science

c. Recruit highly qualified candidates in statistics, mathematics or data science with experience in presenting research orally and in writing for the nine to 12 month fellowship assignment

d. Manage the application, selection, and placement processes, while also allowing OSMR to have inputs into the selection process

e. Provide the salary and benefits to the successful Fellow

f. Plan and implement a nine to 12 month professional development program for the Fellow, which shall include travel to relevant statistics conferences such as the Joint Statistical Meetings, workshops, and/or short courses

g. Monitor and evaluate fellowship assignments, activities and learning goals The contractor shall conduct the following activities under an award: review and establish policies and procedures for a fellowship; promote the fellowship and the recruited BLS Fellow; recruit candidates; manage the application, selection and placement processes; plan and implement a nine to 12 month professional development program for the Fellow; monitor and evaluate fellowship assignments, activities, and learning goals; and conduct ongoing outreach and collaboration with the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Office of Survey Methods Research (OSMR). The fellowship is expected to run from September 2020 through August 2021. Thus, the successful BLS Fellow must be ready to work at BLS starting in September 2020. These tasks and responsibilities are further outlined in the performance work statement (PWS).

The contractor shall implement a competitive multi-tiered merit review process to select the Fellow. The contractor shall provide a list of possible Fellow candidates to BLS, where the final candidates have been evaluated on their educational and professional credentials and references, a demonstrated competence in statistics, economics or data science, an ability to communicate orally and in writing, and their leadership ability. The ultimate goal of the recruitment process will be to provide the best statistician, economist or data scientist from the applicant pool in keeping with the mission and interests of OSMR and BLS.

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. The sum of capabilities statement and Market Research Questionnaire should not exceed 25 pages. Any attachment related to a GSA schedule or Best-in-Class (BIC) acquisition solution does not count towards the 25 page limit.

1. All entities 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 must reply via email with the corresponding your capabilities statement and Market Research Questionnaire, with all sections completed, to liu.jason@bls.gov and deangelis.michael@bls.gov no later than April 10, 2020 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (ET). Proprietary information should be clearly marked. All submissions shall be submitted via e-mail. The naming convention for submission should include the entity name and RFI Online Diary, for example – ABCINCRFIOSMRFellowship.docx. The email subject line shall be “Entity Name - RFI OSMR Fellowship Response.” The electronic format may be in Microsoft word or compatible with Microsoft Office suite of software.

1. Questions about this requirement must be submitted no later than April 3, 2020 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time (ET) to the emails listed above. The email subject line shall be “Entity Name – OSMR Fellowship Questions.” BLS plans to post answers to all questions received at the same point of entry for which the RFI is posted (for example: EBuy, beta.sam).

D. Market Research Questionnaire:

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

· Please indicate your business classification for NAICS code 541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services with a size standard of $16.5 million:

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

· If your business classification is Small Business, do you anticipate remaining under the size standard of $16.5 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? If so, which one(s)?

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

1. Does your entity have a GSA schedule that allows for this requirement to be performed? If so, please provide the GSA schedule number, the full schedule as an attachment, and reference the section(s) that are applicable to the performance of this requirement. No page limit exists for any document(s) provided under this question.

2. Could this requirement be performed under one of Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Category Management’s Best-in-Class (BIC) acquisition solutions? If so, please provide the name of the solution and a description of how the referenced solution is applicable to this requirement. Include the document(s) related to the solution as an attachment and reference the section(s) that are applicable to the performance of this requirement. No page limit exists for any document(s) provided under this question.