Sources Sought NCSES HERD.pdf

National Science Foundation Division of Acquisition and Cooperative

Support 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, 7th Floor Alexandria, Virginia 22314

SOURCES SOUGHT

2026-2029 Higher Education Research and Development Survey and Federally Funded

Research and Development Centers R&D Survey

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 a national-level establishment census/survey, including identifying problematic respondents, gaining respondent cooperation, and ensuring submission of high-quality data and high response rates.

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

• Your organization’s capability to develop, operate, and maintain an internet-based data collection instrument that allows respondents to upload or manually key data.

• Your organization’s ability to supply capable and experienced survey staff with knowledge of the technical issues associated with administering large scale internet-based data collection, and the ability to conduct survey related methodological, technical, and analytical studies.

• Your organization’s experience with projects involving financial accounting, R&D research accounting, 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 Sources Sought with your submission by Monday, January 12, 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 Monday, January 12, 2026 at 10:00AM ET. All responses under this Sources Sought must be emailed to Derek Bowks at dbowks@nsf.gov.

mailto:dbowks@nsf.gov