Sources Sought for NCSES Facilities Survey.pdf

National Science Foundation Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support

401 Dulany Street Alexandria, Virginia 22314

SOURCES SOUGHT

FY 2027 and FY 2029 Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities

THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST

FOR PROPOSAL (RFP). IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE

CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT

OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT, TASK

ORDER, OR OTHERWISE AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO

PAY FOR THE PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION

SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. THE

INFORMATION REQUESTED BY THIS SOURCES SOUGHT WILL BE USED BY NSF TO FACILITATE

DECISION MAKING AND WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED OUTSIDE THE GOVERNMENT.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense..." NSF is conducting market research to identify qualified, experienced, and interested sources to support the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES).

The NSF encourages all qualified businesses (large and small), including joint ventures, to respond to this Sources Sought. Additionally, small businesses in all socioeconomic categories (including, 8(a) Business Development Program, Small Disadvantage Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, Service‐Disabled Veteran‐Owned, Women‐Owned Small Business concerns) are encouraged to respond to help make a final small business set‐aside determination, if any.

The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541611, which has a size standard of $24.5 million.

Please see the attached Specifications to provide a capability statement that adheres to the requested information below.

Interested and qualified vendors should submit a response to this Sources Sought. Please follow the instructions and include all content requirements below:

a. Instructions:

1. Responses should be concise and compliant with the content requirements.

2. Responses must not exceed 5 pages.

3. Responses should be provided in 12‐point font with a Times Roman font type.

4. Generic sales brochures, videos, and other marketing information materials will not be reviewed.

5. Do not submit cost or price information with the response.

6. Provide relevant, applicable references, including references performed under a joint venture, of previous work or solution implementations that relate to the NSF’s requirement.

b. Content:

1. Cover Page with Corporate Information as follows:

Corporate Information:

i. Company name and address

ii. Name of company representative, business title and email

iii. Small business socioeconomic status under 541611

iv. UEI Number

v. Applicable contract vehicles your company has (e.g., Federal Supply

Schedules (FSS), Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs), Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contracts) available for use by NSF

2. Demonstration of your capability by addressing the following elements:

• Your organization’s experience in collecting data from national-level establishment censuses/surveys, including identifying and engaging problematic respondents, estimating for unit and item nonresponses, and ensuring submission of high-quality data and high response rates. For reference, the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities requires a 95% response rate.

• Your organization’s experience disseminating data on behalf of the Federal government and/or working within the Federal statistical system.

• The Facilities Survey sometimes requires methodological studies on new metrics or data collection methods. Describe your organization’s ability to supply capable and experienced survey staff with knowledge of the technical and methodological issues associated with administering large scale internet-based data collections, and the ability to conduct survey related methodological, technical, and analytical studies.

• Such methodological studies (and the resulting survey changes) require approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the burden hours required by the public. Describe your company’s experience with obtaining approval from OMB to conduct methodological studies and adopt the resulting improvements.

• Your organization’s experience with projects involving R&D research accounting, space surveys, and higher education institutions.

• Your organization’s experience in state-of-the-art database development, maintenance, and documentation practices that reflect an understanding of the confidentiality, data security, and access issues associated with government survey data files.

If your firm has the potential capability to perform these contract services, please respond to this RFI with your submission by July 15, 2026.

Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged. Any questions related to the preparation of a response to this Sources Sought shall be submitted in writing to the point of contact listed below.

NSF may contact respondents to this Sources Sought for additional information or one‐on‐one due diligence sessions.

Submission Instructions: Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above‐listed services are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought by July 15, 2026 at 12:00PM ET. All responses under this Sources Sought must be emailed to Derek Bowks at dbowks@nsf.gov.

mailto:dbowks@nsf.gov