Commercial Data / Commercial Datasets

The United States Census Bureau is conducting market research to identify potential vendors for commercial data acquisition through a Sources Sought Notice (not a binding solicitation) posted on March 6, 2026, with responses due by March 24, 2026, at 3:00 PM EST. The Census Bureau seeks companies that currently produce and maintain commercial datasets across 16 primary categories, including voter registration data, housing and property information, geographic data, contact information, education data, business data, healthcare data, and vehicle information. Key qualifications include demonstrated experience delivering data to government and commercial customers within the past three years, the ability to provide complete and accurate datasets with appropriate metadata and linkage keys, and compliance with strict data governance requirements. Respondents must complete a Data Matrix identifying their role as original creators, licensed resellers, or databrokers/aggregators, describe their data collection methods and delivery capabilities, and provide information on pricing models and licensing terms. The Census Bureau's objectives include reducing duplication of data purchases across the agency, establishing shared enterprise access to acquired datasets, and promoting adherence to data and metadata standards for interoperability and machine readability.

This Pre-solicitation Notice carries no set-aside designation and identifies no incumbent contractors or specific award values. Responses are limited to 12 pages in Microsoft Word format and must be submitted via email to the Contracting Officer (Kristina Hartman) and Contract Specialist (Harjot Kaur). The notice emphasizes that the Census Bureau is specifically seeking commercial data producers and excludes firms offering data analysis, data science, or staffing services. For the near-term voter registration data requirement, vendors must confirm possession of all required data elements while ensuring removal of sensitive voter activity data revealing party affiliation, political preference, primary voting records, and special election voting information prior to delivery. All data deliverables must be provided within 20 calendar days after contract award in fixed-length ASCII format via secure file transfer protocol, with ongoing technical support and a 48 business hours resolution timeframe for support issues.