SB1341-16-RQ-0124_SOW.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards and World Materials Institute Forum Support

I. BACKGROUND

The Material Measurement Laboratory (MML) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develops and maintains the scientific competences necessary to provide the nation with a central basis for uniform physical measurements, measurement methodology, and measurement services fundamental to the processing, characterization, properties and performance of materials, and to other essential areas in materials science.

As part of its mission, international activities are essential to promote the advancement of international standards and maintain relationships with NIST’s sister institutions abroad. The Versailles Project on Advanced Materials and Standards (VAMAS) is one such activity. The purpose of VAMAS is to develop the technical basis for international standards through collaborative research. Another activity is the World Materials Institute Forum (WMRIF), a body of executive leadership from publically funded materials research institutes around the globe and national measurement institutes aimed at fostering better international communication and scientific collaboration. The NIST MML Director will assume the Presidency of the WMRIF and related Secretariat duties in 2015. NIST is also playing key management role in the VAMAS program.

VAMAS supports world trade in products dependent on advanced materials technologies, through International collaborative projects aimed at providing the technical basis for harmonized measurements, testing, specifications, and standards. The VAMAS technical committees, called Technical Working Areas (TWA), are at the center of all VAMAS activities.

Fifteen TWAs are currently active (www.vamas.org). The NIST's work in the field of advanced materials provides the underpinning measurement science, standards and leading-edge measurement tools needed to establish quantitative processing-structure-property relationships of advanced materials, in ways that enable U.S. industry and other government agencies to discover, develop and optimize advanced materials and to harness their properties for technology innovations. As shown at the VAMAS and WMRIF websites, this effort includes monitoring of the various technical international round robin testing programs, pre-standard test method development, and issuing periodic reports disseminating the results to various standard-setting bodies such as American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), International Standards Organization (ISO), and the Committee of European Normalization (CEN).

WMRIF promotes material strategies in order to address major societal issues including those related to the environment, energy, healthcare, and safety. WMRIF is committed to accelerate the establishment of a structure to achieve these objectives based on global networking. WMRIF activities emphasize:

Scientific collaborations between WMRIF institutes A jointly created technology outlook

Education and training for young scientists Shared use of databases

These activities are executed through five working groups which consider, collaborations using large scale activities, development of young scientists, materials database development, sustainable energy and the environment, structural materials reliability and materials simulation.

II. SCOPE OF WORK

The Contractor shall provide technical support, scientific analysis and standards expertise to NIST that fosters its participation and leadership in VAMAS. This effort includes technical review and analysis of international pre-standardization cooperative research activities on materials systems sponsored by VAMAS, as well as technical support, analysis and recommendations needed for NIST/MML leadership to effectively participate in and contribute to VAMAS steering group meetings. The expected outcome from this requirement is the collection and scientific analysis of technical information furnished to the contractor through NIST, and communication and liaison with other technical experts in international scientific organizations.

In addition, the contractor shall support NIST’s leadership in the WMRIF. This effort includes making technical recommendations and analysis that assists the WMRIF Secretariat in organizing General Assembly and Young Scientist Workshops. The contractor shall support coordination and technical analysis of the written products of WMRIF working groups.

Additionally, the contractor shall support the WMRIF President in crafting communications of a technical and scientific nature to other technical experts in the WMRIF network, as well as preparation of and analysis of scientific materials for WMRIF documents and roadmaps, and provision of technical and analysis materials needed for the WMRIF website.

The period of performance for Contractor support is for one base year and up to two option years in order to complete the objectives of the VAMAS and WMRIF projects.

The contractor shall not submit deliverables to VAMAS or WMRIF working groups or members without approval of the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). All deliverables shall be submitted to the NIST COR or TPOC. The Contractor shall only work on documents approved by the NIST COR or TPOC. The contractor shall not accept documents from VAMAS and WMRIF representatives.

III. SPECIFIC TASKS

Task 1: For VAMAS activities, the Contractor shall:

a. Serve as the lead scientific advisor to NIST for developing and executing the technical program for VAMAS Steering Committee meetings. Primarily, this effort involves developing a technical program, including recommendations for speakers and technical topics for each SC meeting, designing effective technical sessions, expert discussion panels and report outputs, as well as arranging the meeting date, time and location of Steering Committee (SC) to accommodate member participants. The contractor shall develop an agenda and shall accurately record the complex technical discussions of the meeting, a task that shall require the format used by VAMAS (refer to VAMAS.org). The basis of the agenda shall be on previous meeting minute action items and new action items as identified by member participants and communicated through the NIST COR or

TPOC.

The locations of SC meetings are determined by the SC membership at the subsequent meeting. The next SC meeting shall be held in conjunction with the Mexican-US Materials Research Society summit in August of 2016 in Cancun Mexico. Steering Committee meetings have between 20 and 30 attendees. The Contractor is not responsible for making any reservations, acquiring audiovisual equipment, or badging meeting participants.

b. Serve as a key scientific advisor to assist in the development and execution of a joint meeting between VAMAS the International Committee for Weights and Measures (CPIM) to be held on June 21-22, 2016 near Paris France. The contractor shall provide scientific recommendations to develop a technical agenda for the meeting as well as recommend national and international expert speakers for the scientific program, which shall cover topics in the materials sciences. In addition, the contractor shall attend the meeting in order to analyze the technical discussions, and ultimately prepare a summary of the meeting’s scientific conclusions and technical decisions. Refer to www.vamas.org for the format of VAMAS summary reports. Technical guidelines for the agenda will be defined by the COR or TPOC. The Contractor is not responsible for making any reservations, acquiring audiovisual equipment, or badging meeting participants.

c. Provide expert scientific review of at least eight (8) but not more than twelve (12) technical reports from the Technical Working Area (TWA) chairpersons for technical accuracy and provide comments on each technical report. The contractor shall make technical recommendations that may be required for reports to be clearly stated, accurate and technical sound. Refer to section IV, Standards for Acceptance of Deliverables for number of days for the Government to review deliverables and for the Contractor to incorporate any comments and provide updated deliverables.

d. The contractor shall compile, revise and distribute the reports from task 1.c in preparation of the SC meeting. The contractor shall ensure that the report revisions are scientifically accurate, conform to VAMAS requirements, and include sound scientific recommendations for future TWA activities. In addition, analyze and extract key technical information from the eight (8) to twelve (12) TWA to provide NIST and the SC with scientifically sound recommendations for roundtable discussion. Refer to section IV, Standards for Acceptance of Deliverables for number of days for the Government to review deliverables and for the Contractor to incorporate any comments and provide updated deliverables.

e. In order that they can provide real-time technical and scientific analysis, the contractor shall attend the annual steering committee meeting and related workshops and record action items (both technical and administrative) in consultation with the NIST TPOC, participants and the COR.

TASK 2: For WMRIF activities, the Contractor shall:

a. Serve as a lead scientific advisor for the development and execution of the WMRIF General Assembly meeting. The primary contribution is to assist in the conceptualization and formation of the meeting technical program, including recommendation of topics in the materials sciences as well as potential expert speakers. In addition, the contractor shall schedule the meeting date, time and location of the meeting based on the availability of General Assembly members. Also develop an agenda in the format used by WMRIF (refer to WMRIF.bam.de). The basis of the agenda shall be on previous meeting minute action items and new action items identified by meeting participants. Refer to section IV, Standards for Acceptance of Deliverables for number of days for the Government to review deliverables and for the Contractor to incorporate any comments and provide updated deliverables.

The time and location of General Assembly meetings is determined by Assembly members at the subsequent General Assembly. The Contractor is not responsible for making any reservations, acquiring audiovisual equipment, or badging meeting participants.

b. Serve as a lead scientific advisor to assist in development and execution of the next WMRIF Young Scientist workshop, to be held in the summer of 2016 in Tsukuba Japan with 30 expected attendees. The contractor shall provide scientific recommendations to develop a technical agenda for the meeting as well as recommend national and international speakers for the scientific program, which shall cover topics in the materials sciences. In addition to the core technical functions, the agenda shall be in the format used by the WMRIF and include previous meeting minute action items and new action items as identified by meeting participants and communicated through NIST. The contractor shall provide scientific recommendations to the NIST TPOC in support of the panel of international experts that evaluate Young Scientist technical presentations. The scientific recommendations shall include evaluation of data presented, comparing conclusions with scientific articles in the published literature. The Contractor is not responsible for making any reservations, acquiring audiovisual equipment, or badging meeting participants.

c. Attend at least three (3) but not more than four (4) WMRIF meetings, analyze and provide expert review of technical proceedings (technical presentations recorded at the meeting and printed in a bound volume) generated from the meeting, and develop meeting summaries that distill and analyze the meetings’ technical discussions, events and leadership decisions.

d. The NIST COR or TPOC will provide the contractor with at least six (6) but not more than twelve (12) WMRIF working group reports. The contractor shall evaluate the working group reports for technical accuracy, provide technical comments on each report and provide technical recommendations for future work in support of the NIST mission that parallels the WMRIF mission. Refer to section IV, Standards for Acceptance of

Deliverables for number of days for the Government to review deliverables and for the Contractor to incorporate any comments and provide updated deliverables.

e. The contractor shall audit the WMRIF website to identify materials and postings that are out of date and make recommendations on which items and information to post to and take off the website. The contractor shall review the materials provided by the COR intended for an initial refresh of the WMRIF website for technical accuracy. The contractor shall collect final versions of the technical material from the WMRIF working group reports in tasks 2, and review such materials for technical accuracy and scientific expediency before they are posted on WMRIF website. Technical materials to be reviewed and posted, include WMRIF working group reports, material provided by the COR regarding the Young Scientist Workshop, and technical summaries from the General Assembly meeting.

IV. DELIVERABLE AND DELIVERABLE DUE DATES

The contractor shall provide all deliverables to the COR according to the following:

a. Task 1:

1) Task 1.a: SC agenda is due at least eight (8) weeks in advance of the SC meeting.

2) Task 1.a and 1.b: Meeting minutes are due no later than 14 days after completion of the meetings.

3) Task 1.b: workshop agenda for VAMAS-CIPM at least (8) weeks in advance of the meeting.

4) Task 1.c: Technical comments on technical reports no later than 14 days after receipt of the report.

b. Task 2:

1) Task 2.a: FY15 WMRIF General Assembly Meeting agenda and details of technical workshop at least (8) weeks before the meeting.

2) Task 2b: Workshop agenda for the FY16 WMRIF Young Scientist Workshop at least

(8) weeks before the meeting.

3) Task 2c: Meeting minutes and extract NIST action items associated with the General

Assembly, due three (3) weeks after the meeting.

4) Task 2d: Technical comments on technical reports no later than 14 days after receipt of the report.

5) Task 2e: Materials for WMRIF website refresh no later than 4 weeks after contract award. Complete website review and provision of updated materials as necessary on a monthly basis.

Standards for Acceptance of Deliverables: All deliverables shall be delivered via e-mail to the COR and TPOC as a MS Word attachment. The COR and/or TPOC will provide comments on each deliverable within 7 calendars days from receipt of a given deliverable. The Contractor shall make any needed changes to the deliverables within 7 calendar days from receipt of electronic or written comments from the COR.

V. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance will be from one (1) year from award of this requirement. The Government may award up to two (2) options to continue providing support to the VAMAS and WMRIF projects. The total period of performance may be up to three years. The tasks performed in the option periods are anticipated to be the same as those specified in this Statement of Work. The amount of travel is expected to be the same as well: Up to four trips per option year. Each trip should last up to six (6) days.

Performance will be on site at NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD campus, or at the contractor’s facilities. Normal working hours are 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on workdays. Travel to NIST will not be reimbursed.

Facility/Building/Campus Closures: During anticipated closure of the NIST Campus due to declared training holidays, administrative leave granted to the entire government staff, or other closure, contract employees may not be required to perform services.

VI. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY

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.

At time of award, the Government will provide the Contractor with:

Office space equipped with a government owned laptop and a phone for conducting the work specified above.

Access to the VAMAS and WMRIF websites.

Eight to twelve TWA reports.

Six to twelve WMRIF working group reports.

VII. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

Documents produced under this task order shall meet the technical criteria of clear expression, scientific and technical soundness, and sufficient for circulation to VAMAS, the WMRIF, other international standards organizations (e.g., ISO, etc.) as expressed in the ANSI Style Manual Eight Edition (http://cdn.ans.org/standards/resources/downloads/docs/ansi-stylemanual.pdf).

VIII. TRAVEL

Travel expenses shall be inclusive of airfare, hotel accommodations, and per diem for trips authorized by the NIST Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and determined necessary for successful performance of the required work. Travel reimbursement will be refunded in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), and will not exceed the maximum per diem rate (meals and lodging), and transportation costs, in effect at the time of travel. Approval by the Contracting Officer is required for all trips, in order to determine if travel costs are fair and reasonable. The Government will provide the contractor with at least eight (8) weeks of notification for all meetings and workshops. Travel dates and locations are still being finalized for VAMAS and WMRIF. The following trips are required:

CIPM-VAMAS Workshop, Paris, France, June 21-22 2016 WMRIF Young Scientists Workshop, Tokyo, Japan, Summer 2016 VAMAS Steering Committee Meeting, Cancun, Mexico, August 2016 VAMAS Steering Committee Meeting, 2017, Location TBD.

IX. CONTRACTOR MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

The contractor shall have a PhD degree in materials science and at least two (2) years of experience working in international organizations and with international materials standard development protocols. The Contractor shall also have at least 15 years in industry or government service related to the development of measurement science for materials systems.

X. GENERAL INFORMATION

Safety: The Contractor employee shall be responsible for knowing and complying with NIST installation safety prevention regulations (http://www-i.nist.gov/mml/safety/policies/index.htm.)

Such regulations include, but are not limited to, general safety, fire prevention, and waste disposal.

Security: NIST is a restricted campus. An identification badge is required for access for entry into buildings and also is shown to the armed Security Police when entering the campus.

Identification Badges: Contractor employees shall comply with NIST identification and access requirements. The Contractor employee is responsible for absences due to expired identification and access documents. Each Contractor employee shall wear a visible identification badge provided by the NIST Security Office. The badge must show the full name, title, and if required by NIST, the words “Contractor” in front. The Contractor employee shall turn in the NIST identification badge and vehicle pass to the TPOC, COR, or Contracting Officer (CO) upon termination of their services under this contract.

Vehicle Registration: All Contractor employees must register their vehicles with the NIST Security Office to gain access to the campus. A valid driver’s license, Government-furnished civilian ID, proof of insurance and current registration must be presented to the NIST Security Office, at which time a NIST vehicle pass will be issued. The pass shall be displayed on the vehicle’s rear view mirror in accordance with instructions. The Contractor employee shall follow NIST procedures for removal and turn-in of the vehicle pass upon termination of services under this contract.

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