CLDP Conferences

SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT: CLDP Conferences and Training Workshops THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to conduct market research to determine the degree of interest and capability of U.S. Small Businesses possibly providing international logistical support services to the U.S. Department of Commerce. The NAICS code for these services is 561920. Background The Commercial Law Development Program (CLDP) is a U.S. Department of Commerce initiative funded in part by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State to help achieve U.S. foreign policy goals. CLDP usually provides technical assistance to designated countries by sponsoring technical skill training workshops, conferences, consultative tour visits, and short term law based programs domestically and overseas to include austere regions and areas of conflict. In order to carry out their mission, CLDP relies on the logistical capabilities of contractors to setup, coordinate, organize, and handle all the administrative event related tasks that go into putting on conferences, workshops, training seminars, programs, etc. for the CLDP at locations worldwide. U.S. Small businesses responding to this Sources Sought announcement should have the organizational skills and logistical no how (comparable to what is listed below) to arrange for the following: 1) Participant travel, lodging and ground transportation to, from and during the events. Participants will be traveling from different locations throughout the world and ascending on one location where the conference (workshop, seminar or program) will take place. Contractors must be able to ensure travel arrangements are made and help each participant secure all necessary travel documents, visas, and passports so travelers arrive safely and promptly without interruption; 2) Contractors must be knowledgeable of the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and be able to not only make travel and lodging arrangements but issue per diem allowances (based on FTR regulations) to participants and be experienced processing expense vouchers as necessary; 3) Vendors must be skilled at arranging for (i.e. seeking out, renting, leasing or just securing) conference space, breakout rooms and training sites and ensuring the proper setup and breakdown of these venues before, during and after an event; 4) Contractors must be able to coordinate the printing, collating, and distribution of documents, fliers, pamphlets, and booklets at the event (if necessary) and be able to seek out, secure, lease or rent conference equipment for speakers such as podiums, lecterns, overhead projectors, monitors, easels, microphones, speakers, etc.; 5) Businesses must provide translators and interpreters who speak and interpret different languages which are key to the success of CLDP conferences. Translators and Interpreters must be available (no matter where the event takes place in the world) to speak and interpret languages such as, to name a few, Bulgarian, Chinese, Spanish, Indonesian, Georgian, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Albanian, Urdu, Serbo-Croatian, Tagalog, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese, etc.; 6) Vendors must be able to make shipping arrangements domestically and overseas to ship such things as pamphlets, booklets and other event related materials to locations throughout the world. In some cases, securing advertisement space in newspapers and other mediums may be necessary for conferences and workshops; 7) Contractors must be able to seek out and secure venues and arrange for breaks and lunches at or in close proximity to the conference site; 8) Vendors must have the financial resources to provide logistical support upfront (travel tickets, passports, visa fees, hotel rooms, per diem allowances, ground transportation, rental and leasing fees, printing fees, etc.) before being reimbursed by the Government which be in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act. The costs for these conferences and their arrangements may run up to $500K and last five (5) days or longer (even months). Vendors must have the financial resources to provide logistical support for multiple projects at one time; 9) Contractors must ensure each event is properly coordinated and runs smoothly; thus, contractors may need to travel overseas or domestically to provide oversight; 10) Vendors must have excellent communication skills and be able to keep the Government apprised at all time of the status of the logistical arrangements for each event. If you are a U.S. small business with experience, the logistical skills, and no how comparable to what is listed above and you are interested in being part of this market survey, please provide Kevin T. McGhee, contact@example.gov, at the U.S. Department of Commerce with a copy of your company's corporate capability statement addressing in detail the points listed above by Wednesday, April 14, 2010 by 12:00pm Eastern Time. In addition to those points above, please state the number of years your company has been planning events, list the type of events, whether these events took place domestically, overseas or both and the average number of attendees at the events. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL.