"Technical Inquiry and Technical Data Maintenance for NREL's Alternative Fuels Data Center and Clean Cities Program Technical Assistance"

BACKGROUND The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Deployment and Market Transformation Center (D&MT) is responsible for providing support of several activities of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) related to accelerating the use of alternative fuels and other advanced vehicle and fuel technologies. Providing unbiased technical information, tools, and resources is a requirement of several pieces of federal legislation, including the Alternative Motor Fuels Act (AMFA) of 1988, the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, and the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992 and 1995. NREL has the lead responsibility for providing this technical resource, which has taken the form of vehicle and fleet evaluations, data collection and research, development of on-line tools and resources, and overall integration and management of this base of knowledge in the Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC). In particular, NREL efforts support the Clean Cities Program and Clean Cities coalitions and coordinators in their localized deployment efforts to assist local fleets in converting to the use of alternative fuel and advanced vehicles. Assistance takes the form of a wide variety of technical and outreach activities to support the displacement of petroleum in transportation by increasing understanding and awareness of alternative and advanced fuel and vehicle technologies and the sharing of best practices among coalitions by providing all necessary technical information and resources. Resources are provided via a variety of methods to include but not limited to the AFDC web site, other relevant industry websites, through the Clean Cities Technical Response Service (TRS) as well via NREL staff. OBJECTIVE NREL is seeking one or more organizations to assist with inquiry response, writing and editing both print and web content as well as the maintenance and management of data related to the field of alternative fuel and advanced vehicles, fuel production and feedstock, and fuel and vehicle related DOE programs. The major tasks associated with this effort include: - Responding to inquiries ranging from general to complex and specialized in nature, while providing appropriate technical information and resources. Inquiries may be from Clean Cities stakeholders or Coordinators, industry, researchers, analysts, DOE, National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and NREL or the public, and will be related to deployment, production, distribution and use of alternative and advanced fuels and vehicles. - Assisting NREL in the maintenance and management of database content related to alternative fuels and advanced vehicle technologies. Key areas of focus include relevant federal, state and local legislation and incentives, fueling stations and information on alternative fuel and advanced vehicles. - Assisting NREL with maintenance of existing web content as well as the creation and/or development of both print and web content on alternative and advanced fuels and vehicles. Tasks will require identifying resources and information about, and maintaining knowledge of, the deployment of alternative fuels and advanced fuel and vehicle technologies, the related industries, and applications through reading and researching, Web searches, electronic newsletters, industry contacts, etc. For the purposes of this activity, alternative fuels include those established by EPAct, including ethanol, natural gas, propane, electricity, biodiesel, and hydrogen. Examples of advanced fuel and vehicle technologies to be covered include other fuel blends such as E10 (10% ethanol/90% gasoline) and B20 (20% biodiesel/80% diesel), other biodiesel blends, diesel, light- and heavy-duty hybrid electric vehicles, light- and medium-duty passenger diesel vehicles, idle reduction technologies, fuel efficient vehicles, and other fuel economy measures. AREAS OF EXPERTISE Individuals or organizations responding to this Sources Sought request must describe capabilities, attributes, and skills in the following specific areas of expertise: Technical Inquiry Response To support NREL in this effort, an organization must demonstrate the capability to provide timely response and knowledgeable, experienced technical staff to field inquiries via the use of a sophisticated phone system. The organization being sought shall have the capability to answer questions on all aspects, from general to technical, of alternative fuels and advanced technology vehicles where the representation of fuel neutrality is absolute in a helpful, courteous and informed manner. The organization must be capable of answering questions via: 1. Technical knowledge and expertise gained by having worked in the alternative fuel and advanced transportation field; 2. Monitoring of industry information, development, and technical contacts; 3. Searching for and interpreting alternative fuels and related information found on the web; 4. Historical experience with the Clean Cities Program, and other related programs, and through past involvement with the alternative fuels community and Clean Cities coalitions and stakeholders; 5. Searches of various databases, such as information in NREL's AFDC and its database of alternative fuel documents, laws and incentives affecting alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles (AFVs/ATVs); and 6. Knowledge from, and referrals to, known experts in the alternative and advanced fuel and advanced technology vehicle fields. Inquiries are submitted via the telephone and email and are from a variety of sources, including Clean Cities Coordinators, stakeholders, industry, researchers, analysts, DOE, NETL, NREL and the public. Inquiries are tracked through an NREL (client provided_ web-based form. Responses may require direction to on-line resources, summaries of multiple data sources and knowledge, or other forms of information, which requires a high level of comfort and degree of experience doing research using the internet. The organization will be responsible for accurately entering information related from each inquiry into the on-line form including the verification/addition of requester profile information, and detailed descriptions of both the request and the response provided. The organization will describe its ability to identify and translate resources into the appropriate level of information for the audience. Maintenance of Knowledge and Information NREL is tasked with maintaining information and resources on alternative and advanced fuels and vehicles which must always be as current and accurate as possible. The organization shall be required to maintain current knowledge, and have available information at its immediate disposal on all elements related to alternative and advanced fuels and vehicles. The organization shall demonstrate experience and capability in this area. Technical Data Development and Maintenance NREL is responsible for developing and maintaining technical data, on-line tools, and other technical resources that enable the implementation of alternative fuels and other advanced vehicle and fuel technologies. Part of that responsibility requires that a number of databases of information be maintained for industry, fleets, and others searching for information about alternative fuels and related topics. NREL is seeking organizational capability, and demonstrated expertise and involvement in data maintenance and management related to all aspects of alternative fuels and advanced transportation technologies. Tasks may include maintaining NRELs data for: - Alternative Fueling Stations. It is important to maintain the most accurate and timely information possible with regard to availability of alternative fuel and advanced vehicle fueling station information because the data influences decisions to purchase and implement alternative fuel and advanced vehicles. Part of this work will require the organization to verify the accuracy and relevance of the active fueling station records in the AFDC stations database and add records for stations not currently in the database. Knowledge and understanding of alternative fuel and advanced vehicle infrastructure must be demonstrated. - Laws and Incentives (L&I). It is important to maintain the most accurate and timely information possible with regard to enacted legislation and incentives at both the state and federal levels that affect decisions to purchase and implement alternative fuels and vehicles, as well as advanced technology vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles. Enacted incentives and laws at the federal and state levels related to alternative fuels shall be identified through research. Enacted legislation must be accurately summarized in the L&I database. Skills and previous experience in identifying L&I at the state and federal level and a demonstrated understanding of enacted, authorized and funded legislation must be demonstrated. The organization shall also demonstrate their ability to interpret legislation into terms that are easily understandable Technical Reviews and Writing As described above, NREL is responsible for the maintenance of existing publications and web content as well as the creation and/or development of new resources related to alternative and advanced fuels and vehicles. This provides decision makers the knowledge and information needed to convert their fleet to an alternative fuel or choose an advanced technology vehicle. NREL seeks organizational capability and demonstrated expertise in writing, editing and reviewing content related to all aspects of alternative fuels and advanced transportation technologies. - Web Site Review. Reviewing content on relevant web sites maintained by NREL, so that information on the sites is accurate and timely may be required. Demonstrated breadth of knowledge in the field and the relevant DOE programs will be required. - Writing and Content Reviews. Reviewing the content of existing Clean Cities publications and providing editorial input may be required. Demonstrated breadth of experience in writing and editing content for publications related to alternative and advanced fuels and vehicles, fuel production and feedstock, infrastructure and laws and incentives information must be demonstrated. Expert technical reviews will not be required. In addition, original writing and content development may be required. Organizational capability in developing technical content appropriate for a variety of audiences must be demonstrated. RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS The response to this sources sought document is limited to six (6) pages of single spaced text of 12-point Times New Roman font, with minimum 1" margins all around. Brevity is encouraged. All responses shall be submitted in writing via e-mail to judi.powers@nrel.gov. Electronic format shall be in Microsoft Word or converted to .pdf. Responses to this notice must be received by the response date (February 1, 2013, 5:00 p.m. MST). Responding to this request identifies your organization as an interested party only. Questions will not be accepted. Your submittal is not in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP).