Case Study for Performance-based Safety Assurance

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is soliciting a firm-fixed-price contract for a case study on performance-based safety assurance of a reactor protection system, aimed at improving the efficiency and consistency of licensing reviews for digital instrumentation and controls in nuclear power plants. The solicitation, issued under number 31310026Q0107 and posted on August 5, 2026, with a response deadline of August 21, 2026, is 100% set aside for small businesses under NAICS code 541330 (Engineering Services), with a size standard of $25.5 million in annual revenue. Offerors must hold a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and CAGE code, and are required to certify their small business status through SAM.gov. The contract will be awarded using a trade-off process, where technical approach and past performance are more important than cost, and qualifications of key personnel are a critical factor; cost is evaluated but is the lowest priority among the evaluation criteria. Proposals must be submitted in two volumes via FedConnect: Volume I containing the technical approach, key personnel qualifications, and past performance, limited to 10 pages for past performance only, and Volume II with a detailed cost breakdown in Excel format. Submission must conform to strict formatting rules, including font size, margins, and accessibility standards under Section 508, and all documents must be compatible with standard office software. The performance period for this contract is one year from September 14, 2026, to September 13, 2027, with an optional one-year extension through September 13, 2028, and a potential six-month unilateral extension under FAR 52.217-8. Deliverables are defined in six tasks and include phase progress reports, ontology and defeater libraries, a Safety Assurance Case user manual, and a technical letter report, all required to be commercially available tools or software. The contractor must comply with stringent security requirements, including obtaining prior NRC approval for access to restricted or proprietary information, returning badges within three days of personnel termination, and certifying destruction or return of all Privacy Act records at closeout. Organizational conflicts of interest are strictly prohibited, including restrictions on competing for NRC work stemming from this contract’s outcomes for up to one year after completion. Key personnel must meet minimum academic and experiential thresholds, and substitutions require written