Disaster and Failure Studies Support for NIST

Sources Sought Notice Amendment 0001: The purpose of this amendment is to provide answers to anonymized questions received. Please find the questions and answers in the attached document. The sources sought response deadline remains unchanged (January 18, 2022 at 11:00 AM ET). _______ Original Sources Sought Notice: INTRODUCTION This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified business sources. This notice is strictly for market research and information purposes only. Your responses will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. NIST is seeking responses from all responsible small business concerns. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 541715 (Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)), as those domestic sources having 1,000 of fewer employees. Background: The U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Engineering Laboratory (EL) promotes U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness in areas of critical national priority by anticipating and meeting measurement science and standards needs in ways that enhance economic prosperity and improve the quality of life. Measurement science research and services include the development and dissemination of performance metrics, measurement and testing methods, modeling and simulation tools, technical data, guidelines, and the technical basis for standards, codes, regulations, and practices. NIST conducts disaster and failure studies in support of this mission. NIST is a non-regulatory agency and does not set building and fire codes, standards, or regulations. NIST's Disaster and Failure Studies Program (DFS) conducts studies in the following areas: Performance of buildings and infrastructure as it relates to: Earthquakes Wind-related hazards (hurricanes, tornadoes, and other windstorms) Fire related hazards (community scale fires in the wildland-urban interface, structural fires, post-event fires from earthquake, and other hazards where large-scale fires may result) Water-related hazards (storm surge, flood, and tsunami) Human-made hazards (accidental or intentional) Failures in service and during construction Evacuation and emergency response procedures, including occupant behavior and fire protection Disaster resilience of structures and communities, including prevention, mitigation, response, and recovery at the scale of a single facility, a neighborhood, a community, and a region. The primary focus of the DFS is on events that occur within the United States and its territories; however, NIST may conduct reconnaissance of international disaster or failure events when lessons can be learned that are relevant to U.S. construction. NIST's involvement in international disaster or failure studies generally will be undertaken in cooperation with other U.S. agencies, industry or private organizations, governments of other nations, or international organizations, for the purpose of establishing and/or improving U.S. practices, codes, and standards. NIST also may provide technical assistance on a reimbursable basis in the reconstruction process for international disaster and failure events at the request of other U.S. agencies, industry, private organizations, governments of other nations, or international organizations. Scope of Requirement: NIST is seeking information from all responsible small business concerns capable of providing disaster and failure study support services. An indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for these services is anticipated. Through a series of specific task orders, the Contractor would be tasked to provide support and subject-matter expertise related to conducting disaster and failure studies. Key Requirement Tasks: The goal of this requirement is for the Contractor, through a series of specific task orders under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, to assist in conducting disaster and failure studies. The required work includes the following key task areas: Data Collection Support: This task area will require collection, transportation, preservation, storage, maintenance, management, and security of data and artifacts. Data may be related to hazard or threat events (e.g. wind velocities, ground motion, explosive blast pressures, storm surge heights, etc.); safety and performance of buildings and structures; the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of buildings and structures; evacuation and emergency response procedures; and sequencing of contributing factors and timely of event outcomes. Data collection will include interviews of building occupants, emergency responders, and other persons. Subject Matter Expertise: This task area will require the Contractor to maintain a directory of experts for potential study teams who are able to rapidly respond; field teams may need to be deployed within 48 hours after an event. The Contractor shall provide subject matter expertise for field assessment of damaged buildings and infrastructure, modeling and simulation of failure scenarios, and full technical support of study deliverables and research and development. Expertise in the following disciplines is required: materials science and engineering, structural engineering, fire protection engineering, firefighting, building and fire codes, architecture, earthquake and wind engineering, engineering for coastal inundation hazards, occupant behavior, evacuation, epidemiology, emergency response, and geographic information sciences. Technical Documentation, Translation Services, and Data Management: This task area requires writing, technical editing, graphic support (including GIS), and translation services relevant to preparation of reports, newsletters, outreach materials, datasets, photos, and videos pertinent to NIST's disaster and failure studies. The Contractor shall also provide development and maintenance support for a disaster and failure database which will serve as an archival repository for documentation. QUESTIONS REGARDING THIS NOTICE Questions regarding this sources sought notice may be submitted via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Roller@nist.gov. Questions are due by or before 11:00 AM ET on January 10, 2022. Questions will be anonymized and answered via sources sought notice amendment following the question submission deadline. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS All responsible small business sources able to provide the services described above are asked to email a response to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at Lauren.Roller@nist.gov by or before 11:00 AM ET on January 18, 2022. Please include the following information in the response: Name of company authorized to provide services, along with their address and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, and email address). The company's primary NAICS, size classification, and socio-economic status (i.e., Small Business, Woman Owned Small Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, etc.). Brief description of capabilities in relation to the three key task areas identified in this sources sought notice. Information on any GSA Federal Supply Schedules (FSS) or other Government-wide contracts through which the company offers these services, if applicable. Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider. Responses are limited to a maximum total of ten (10) pages in MS Word or searchable PDF format. IMPORTANT NOTES This notice is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response; however, NIST will recognize as restricted or proprietary data which is clearly marked such.