NB730040-12-03372 Smart Grid Technical Writer

THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN FAR SUBPART 12.6-STREAMLINED PROCEDURES FOR EVALUATION AND SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS-AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; QUOTATIONS ARE BEING REQUESTED, AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION DOCUMENT WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation is a Request for Quotation (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-60 The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 711510 with a small business size standard of $7M. This acquisition is set aside for small business. STATEMENT OF WORK Project Title: Technical Writer/Editor, Smart Grid Program DESCRIPTION OF TASK Background The Smart Grid is a key component of the Obama Administration's energy plan and its strategy for U.S. innovation. By integrating digital computing and communication technologies and services with the power-delivery infrastructure, the Smart Grid will enable bidirectional flows of energy and two-way communication and control capabilities. A range of new applications and capabilities will result. Anticipated benefits range from real-time consumer control over energy usage to significantly increased reliance on solar and other sources of clean renewable energy to greatly improve reliability, flexibility and efficiency of the entire grid. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA) set development of the Smart Grid as a national policy goal, and it assigned the National Institute of Standards and Technology the "primary responsibility to coordinate development of a framework that includes protocols and model standards for information management to achieve interoperability of Smart Grid devices and systems ..." To date NIST has issued the first release of a Smart Grid interoperability framework and roadmap for its further development. It has also launched a Smart Grid Interoperability Panel (SGIP) to assist NIST in carrying out its EISA-assigned responsibility, including working with regulatory bodies on evaluating and implementing standards in this and subsequent releases of the NIST interoperability framework. A public-private partnership, the SGIP is designed to provide "a more permanent process" to support the evolution of the interoperability framework and further development of standards, according to the report. With NIST, the report explains, the panel will "identify and address additional gaps, assess changes in technology and associated requirements for standards, and provide ongoing coordination" of standards organizations' efforts to support timely availability of needed Smart Grid standards. Nearly 700 organizations have joined the SGIP. Over 1,742 individuals from membership organizations have signed up to participate in the panel's technical activities. Engaging, timely communications with stakeholders for the NIST Smart Grid program is an essential necessary element for the program to achieve its goals. These stakeholders are extremely diverse and include President Obama, the Secretary of Energy and other senior-level federal officials; state and local electrical power regulators and companies; elected officials; electronic and IT equipment manufacturers; and consumers. To ensure that stakeholders are fully informed about the very wide range of activities affecting development of standards and deployment of Smart Grid infrastructure components, the NIST Smart Grid program requires professional communications services from a contractor with demonstrated technical knowledge of the fields of physical science (especially energy research), electronics, and information technology, as well as proven ability to translate complex technical materials into engaging Web sites, reports, and other communications products intended for a broad public audience. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS The Contractor shall have at least five (5) years of experience in journalist writing and editing. It is desirable for the Contractor to be familiar with technical details of the Smart Grid program and/or the energy, physics, electronics, computer science disciplines. The Contractor must be able to work with multiple stakeholders and to prioritize workload to meet frequent deadlines. The Contractor shall provide full-time communications services, both written documents (to be submitted electronically) and advice for managers. The Contractor must be able to attend meetings and read research results which describe the physical sciences, engineering, physics, electronics, energy, computer science, or information technology, and to gather information in the above disciplines and to synthesize them into other written materials. The Contractor shall produce text and accompanying graphics for the Smart Grid Program Website, reports, fact sheets, announcements, newsletter articles, and other written and/or multimedia materials describing the Smart Grid Program and related activities. The Contractor must produce all written materials in clear, readable, engaging, and understandable Standard English in a journalistic style appropriate for an audience of college educated laypersons. All property, data and information provided by the Government in the performance of this task remains the property of the Government and shall be surrendered to the government upon completion or termination of this requirement. Likewise, all deliverables generated under this requirement remain the property of the Government. All written material produced under this contract become the property of the U.S. Government and as such will be in the public domain. The Contractor will be required to attend weekly meetings at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD, and to travel to selected meetings of the Smart Grid Interoperability Panel, which will be held in the United States, but may be on the West Coast, Mid-West, or East Coast. NIST expects that this will be between 3-5 meetings per year. The Contractor must perform the requirements of this Statement of Work, and in doing so must provide, for example, their own office supplies, phone service, writing software, and other support equipment or tools. The Contractor shall not respond to any media inquiries. The Contractor shall immediately relay any/all inquiries from the media to the Technical Information Contact and/or Contracting Officer. The Contractor shall not grant or give interviews, comments, or any other response without the knowledge and approval of the NIST Director of Public Affairs. SPECIFIC TASKS The Contractor shall: 1. Develop text and accompanying relevant graphics describing NIST's Smart Grid Program activities for publication on the NIST Website; 2. Provide approximately four (4) fact sheets describing specific programs or topics areas related to the Smart Grid that help the Program meet its communications and strategic goals; 3. Provide approximately twenty (20) announcements or newsletter articles that describe accomplishments of the Smart Grid Program, SGIP, or others involved in Smart Grid activities to stakeholders such as policy makers, regulators,' standards development organizations, manufacturers or consumers; 4. Serve as the editor for an electronic newsletter (4-6 pages) in conjunction with the SGIP Communication, Education, and Marketing Committee; 5. Provide a description of communications plans and tactics keyed to the Smart Grid Program's major strategic goals; 6. Provide editing for short reports or correspondence on an occasional, as-needed basis; 7. Attend weekly meetings (approximately 1 1/2 hours) of the Smart Grid Program at NIST in Gaithersburg, MD, and provide a summary (usually 2 pages) of each meeting of Smart Grid stakeholders, including highlights and action items; 8. Attend selected meetings of the SGIP, to gather information to be included in fact sheets, newsletter items, and other materials; 9. Provide at least three (3) ghost written magazine articles, op-eds, speeches or other materials for the MIST National Smart Grid Coordinator that help achieve Smart Grid Program communications goals; and 10. Provide phone communications advice, on an as-needed basis, pertaining to current and/or upcoming projects for Smart Grid Program managers designed to help the program meet its strategic goals. These iterations should be summarized in a monthly report. DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERABLE DATES Standards for Acceptance of Deliverables: The Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COR) will provide comments on each deliverable within 5 calendars days from receipt of a given deliverable. The Contractor shall make any needed changes to the deliverables within 5 calendar days from receipt of electronic or written comments from the COR. The Contractor may invoice the Government monthly for work submitted, and will be compensated for work that is compliant with the performance standards set forth in this requirement. Deliverable Due Date 1 Text and relevant graphics for the Smart Grid website (Section 3.a) Dates mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the COR. 2 Fact sheets (Section 3.b) Dates mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the COR. 3 Announcements or newsletter (Section 3.c) Dates mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the COR. 4 Edit a Quarterly newsletter (Section 3.d) Quarterly - Dates mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the COR. 5 Descriptions of communications plans and tactics (Section 3.e) Dates mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the COR. 6 Editing for short reports (Section 3.f) Occasional, as needed basis. Dates mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the COR. 7 Weekly SGIP Meeting minutes (Section 3.g) Email within 2 business days after completion of the meeting 8 Attend selected Meetings of the SGIP to gather information (Section 3.h) Dates/locations to be determined. 9 Ghost written magazine articles, op-eds, speeches or other materials (Section 3.i) Dates mutually agreed upon by the Contractor and the COR. 10 Summarize communications advice in a monthly report (Section 3.j) Due by the fifth day of the next month. PERFORMANCE Period of Performance The date of award through September 30, 2013. Place of Performance Performance will be at the Contractor's facility, with the requirement to attend weekly meetings which will be held on site at NIST, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899. Additionally, the locations for required travel for attendance at the SGIP meetings will be determined and coordinated between the NIST COR and the Contractor. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY All materials prepared by the Contractor will be reviewed by the designated experts within the Smart Grid program and/or the chairman, or designee, of the SGIP or other Smart Grid task groups as appropriate. Acceptable quality will include the following measures: No more than 10 percent of the written product shall be deemed factually inaccurate by subject matters experts reviewing the text; No more than one rewrite is required to meet the agreed to style, format requirements, flow, and readability required for the NIST Web site, SGIP panel newsletter or other specific formats. Performance will be monitored by the assigned Smart Grid Program COR to ensure that acceptable levels of writing quality as described above have been achieved. TRAVEL NIST will pay for the Contractor's air fare or other transportation expenses, and travel costs to attend selected meetings of the SGIP or other meetings important to the Smart Grid effort as determined by the Smart Grid Program COR. NIST will not pay for travel to the NIST headquarters. Travel shall be conducted, and be reimbursed in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR), and will not exceed the maximum per diem rate (meals and lodging), and transportation costs, for the travel locale, in effect at the time of travel. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, DATA, AND/OR INFORMATION The contractor shall attend Smart Grid Program meetings at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD at least once a week, but will be able to telecommute for most of the work week. The ability to call into these meetings can be allowed, but it will be expected that the contractor attend at least four of these meetings at the NIST headquarters. The contractor shall provide their own office supplies, phone service, writing software and other support equipment or tools required. RIGHTS This contract describes a "work made for hire." All written material produced under this contract become the property of the U.S. government and as such will be in the public domain. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Prospective Contractors must submit the following via electronic quotation to Willie Lu at contact@example.gov no later than Thursday, September 6, 2012 at 2:00 pm EST. Technical Volume I - The offeror shall submit the following as a part of Technical Volume I: File 1 - Resume File 2 - Three (3) to Five (5) lay language, journalistic writing samples which describe research results in the disciplines of physical science, engineering, electronics, energy, computer science, or information technology. File 3 - Professional References, which are considered Past Performance (see information below). Volume II - Business Volume: A firm fixed price per each deliverable stated in Statement of Work Deliverables and Due Date Section. BASIS FOR AWARD AWARD WILL BE MADE TO THE PARTY WHOSE SUBMISSION OFFERS THE BEST VALUE TO THE GOVERNMENT, NON-PRICE (OR TECHNICAL), PRICE, AND OTHER FACTORS CONSIDERED. THE GOVERNMENT WILL EVALUATE INFORMATION BASED ON THE FOLLOWING EVALUATION CRITERIA: 1) RESUME 2) WRITING SAMPLES 3) PAST PERFORMANCE, AND PRICE. THE NON-PRICE FACTORS, WHEN COMBINED, ARE MORE IMPORTANT THAN PRICE. PAST PERFORMANCE AND PRICE WILL BE EVALUATED ONLY ON SUBMISSIONS DETERMINED TO BE TECHNICALLY ACCEPTABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE NON-PRICE EVALUATION CRITERIA. EVALUATION OF NON-PRICE FACTORS WILL BE CONDUCTED USING THE INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY THE CONTRACTOR IN THE QUOTATION. PAST PERFORMANCE WILL BE EVALUATED TO DETERMINE THE OVERALL QUALITY OF THE SERVICE (FOR EXAMPLE, ABILITY TO MEET DEADLINES, RECEIVING/ACTING ON EDITS, ACCURACY, GRAPHICS/VISUAL SKILLS, AND RELIABILITY ON OTHER SUCH PROJECTS) PROVIDED AND PRODUCTS PRODUCED BY THE CONTRACTOR. EVALUATION OF PAST PERFORMANCE WILL BE BASED ON THE REFERENCES PROVIDED IAW FAR 52.212-1(B)(10) AND/OR THE PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTOR'S RECENT AND RELEVANT PROCUREMENT HISTORY WITH NIST OR ITS AFFILIATES. PROSPECTIVE CONTRACTORS SHALL PROVIDE A LIST OF AT LEAST THREE (3) REFERENCES TO WHOM THE SAME OR SIMILAR SERVICES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED. THE LIST OF REFERENCES SHALL INCLUDE, AT A MINIMUM: THE NAME OF THE REFERENCE CONTACT PERSON AND THE COMPANY OR ORGANIZATION; THE TELEPHONE NUMBER OF THE REFERENCE CONTACT PERSON; THE CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER; THE AMOUNT OF THE CONTRACT AND THE ADDRESS AND THE TELEPHONE NUMBER OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICER IF APPLICABLE; AND THE DATE OF DELIVERY OR THE DATE SERVICES WERE COMPLETED. Evaluation Criteria will include: 1. demonstrated experience writing about research results in the physical sciences, electrical engineering, and information technology in an engaging style for lay readers; 2. quality of the written samples provided as measured by the degree to which the samples represent interesting text that is well organized, clear, easy to read, concise and appropriate for a given format; 3. feedback from professional references on the reliability of the contractor in meeting deadlines, producing text that meets the assigned need, and being responsive to editors' requests for revisions. The following Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provisions apply to this acquisition: 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items; and 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items. The following FAR clauses apply to this acquisition: 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items; 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items including subparagraphs: (1) 5.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government; (8) Utilization of Small Business Concerns; (16) 52.219-28 Post Award Small Business program Rerepresentation; (17) 52.222-3 Convict Labor; (18) 52.222-19 Child Labor - Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; (19) 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; (20) 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity; (21) 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (38 U.SC. 4212); (22) 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; (23) 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (38 U.S.C. 4212); (and (30) 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-Other Than Central Contractor Registration. 52.227-17 Rights in Data - Special Works. The following Department of Commerce (CAR) clauses Department of Commerce Clauses apply to this acquisition: 1352.201-70 Contracting Officer's Authority; 1352.201-72 Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COR); 1352.209-70 Organizational Conflict of Interest; 1352.209-72 Restrictions Against Disclosure; 1352.209-73 Compliance with the Laws; 1352.231-71 Duplication of Effort; 1352.233-70 Agency Protests; and 1352.227-70 Rights in Data, Assignment of Copyright.