Broad Based National Award Program

Document Type: Sources Sought Notice General InformationThis is a SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE to determine the availability of broad-based nonprofit entities which are leaders in the field of quality management and which have a history of service to society that have the capability, experience, and expert knowledge in the area of administering a national awards program, as well as performing other critical and mission support services for the education mission of the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program at NIST. BackgroundThe Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Program was created by Public Law 100-107 which was signed into law on August 20, 1987.  Public Law 100-107 permits contractual arrangements to be made with “one or more broad-based nonprofit entities which are leaders in the field of quality management, and which have a history of service to society.”The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award annually recognizes U.S. organizations for performance excellence. The Baldrige

Performance Excellence Program (BPEP), as the program is now known, is a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and manages the Baldrige Award.  The Award promotes awareness of performance excellence as an increasingly important element in competitiveness and information sharing of successful performance strategies and the benefits derived from using these strategies.RequirementsExperience with and understanding of the Baldrige National Quality Award process and annual cycle with an ability to adhere to the established deadlines. Ability to maintain confidentiality to the Award applicants. Have a rigorous internal computer security program that protects any government or program data and appropriately vets any subcontractors. Individual staff must be capable of being granted authorization to limited NIST moderate risk data through the NIST Associate Information System. Information provided by Award applicants is rated moderate risk and must be handled and treated as such. A secure storage and work room is required.Ability to balance a wide range of projects throughout the year with different subsets of internal and external customers, being agile during these times of increased virtual presence. Provide Customer Service in a manner that well represents BPEP and NIST to a wide range of Baldrige community members including several hundred volunteer examiners, judges, and overseers, as well as students, Baldrige Executive Fellows, Award applicants and recipients, and conference attendees. Because of BPEP’s bi-yearly update of the Framework for Performance Excellence and few smaller printing projects, a potential contractor needs printing and inventory management skills, including storage, sales, and distribution. To manage the administratively complex wide range of activities associated with the Award Program, a potential contractor must have a unique mix of project management, financial management, and contract management skills and abilities.  Knowledge of Federal and commercial contracting regulations and the ability to execute contracts supporting annual conferences; hotel and transportation for the Fellows and examiners traveling either for training of in support of the Award process. The site visit hotels have a quick turnaround after the Judges selections. Knowledge of the government Federal Travel Regulations needed along with the ability to process travel reimbursements for the volunteer examiners, judges, and overseers. Financial and accounting expertise are needed to support, under likely a no-cost contract, receiving fees and sales, paying invoices, maintaining a credit balance for the government, and transferring funds to the government when directed.Support the BPEP in minimizing costs whenever possible, without sacrificing timeliness or quality. Contracting Office AddressDepartment of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition Management Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Building 301, Room B121, Mail Stop 1640, Gaithersburg, MD, 20899-1640NIST is seeking responses from all responsible sources. Small businesses are defined under the associated NAICS code for this effort, 541611, as those domestic sources having $16.5M in sales. Please include your company’s size classification and socio-economic status in any response to this notice.Instructions to Responders: NIST is seeking responses only from responsible broad-based nonprofit entities which are leaders in the field of quality management, and which have a history of service to society.Responsible nonprofit sources that currently possess such capabilities (including the ability to balance and effectively manage multiple projects management, contract management and have prior experience administering a national awards program using this expertise) are encouraged to respond to this notice by providing the following information:1.    Name of company(ies), their addresses, and a point of contact for the company (name, phone number, fax number and email address) that provide the services for which specifications are provided, including an indication if the company(ies) can provide all, or some, of the services.2.    Brief narrative providing evidence of the ability to administer a national awards program, including any prior experience at the state, regional, or national level 3.    Brief narrative of knowledge of Baldrige Framework for Performance Excellence, including any participation of key personnel in formally associated programs 4.    Capabilities Statement discussing core competencies of key personnel to be utilized on any potential contract, including years of experience with the following: project management; financial management; federal and commercial (including hotel) contracting; travel management; publication management; and customer service5.    Ability of all staff proposed to obtain NIST approval for access to selected BPEP information systems. Staff will all sign non-disclosure statements annually to support the confidentiality commitment NIST makes to the Award applicants6.    Capability of organization’s system security to meet federal government security protections up to a moderate risk level within a 30-day transitional period. If already have NIST or other Federal access or approval, please provide details7.    Current socioeconomic status of your company including applicable North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) codes8.    Indication of whether the services required are currently on one or more GSA Schedule (i.e. Multiple Award Schedules [MAS]) contracts and, if so, the GSA MAS contract number(s). 9.    Indication of whether your organization currently has an active registration, including on-line representations and certifications at the System for Award Management (www.sam.gov) website.  Potential contractors must have a valid, current registration to be eligible for award.10.    Any other relevant information that is not listed above which the Government should consider in developing its minimum specifications and finalizing its market research.Interested parties that have the capabilities to meet the Government’s basic requirements are requested to email capabilities statement of no more than 10 pages, describing their abilities to meet all requirements to monica.brown@nist.gov no later than the response date of July 10, 2020 12:00pm for this sources sought notice. The report should include relevant information to your capabilities including any requirements that cannot be met or is deemed close to but not meeting an identified requirement. All information provided by organizations will become property of NIST and will not be returned.The synopsis is for informational and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government.  This is not a solicitation for proposals and no contract will be awarded from this announcement.No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement and any follow-up information requests.  Respondents will not be notified of the results of their capability statement assessment but may be contacted for additional information.