SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- RETAIL/SERVICES TRANSACTION DATA
- Notice Date
- 4/28/2016
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541910
— Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, U. S. Census Bureau, Suitland, Acquisition Division, Room 3J438, Washington, District of Columbia, 20233
- ZIP Code
- 20233
- Solicitation Number
- ECON-16-001
- Archive Date
- 6/15/2016
- Point of Contact
- Paul W Boesch, , Matthew Gore,
- E-Mail Address
-
paul.w.boesch@census.gov, Matthew.S.Gore@census.gov
(paul.w.boesch@census.gov, Matthew.S.Gore@census.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- In accordance with FAR Part 10, the following Request for Information (RFI) is issued for Market Research purposes only. The U.S. Census Bureau will use the information gathered through this RFI to determine opportunities for the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis to supplement existing data economics and demographic data products, to conduct research to improve survey methodology, and to enhance existing data analysis practices. Additionally, the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis are also gathering information on data integration software with the ability to house many datasets--including Census datasets as well as outside sourced datasets--that would be used in multiple phases of the production of our statistical products. Companies can submit response based upon just a commercial database or just data integration and analysis software or both. This RFI does not constitute as a Request for Proposal (RFP) nor is the Census Bureau is not soliciting or accepting offers at this time. The submitted vendor information will not be considered and evaluated as an offer. All provided information will remain confidential and utilized only for market research purposes directly related to the work described through this notice. This notice is not an obligation by the Census Bureau to issue a RFP at any time. The Census Bureau is not responsible for any cost incurred by a contractor in responding to this announcement. The purpose of the included RFI questions is to allow the Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis learn more about best practices of qualified sources for the acquisition of commercial databases and/or data integration and analysis platforms. Although answers to these questions are optional, the Census Bureau encourages companies to submit responses based on their knowledge and experience with this service in the commercial marketplace. Based on the information provided, and as part of its ongoing market research, the Census Bureau may contact individual respondents for additional information. Interested vendors that are capable of providing the services must submit their responses to the provided questions and all other required information to paul.w.boesch@census.gov and matthew.s.gore@census.gov no later than 12:00pm (EST), May 31, 2016. All submitted responses must include your company DUNS identification number, business size, and information about any available Federal contracts/schedules, GWACs, Interagency Agreements, etc. that may be used to acquire your products or services. Vendor responses must be submitted as a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF-compatible attachment and shall not exceed ten (10) pages (8.5" x 11", 12-pitch font size). Any questions regarding this request must be directed to Paul Boesch, Contracting Officer at: paul.w.boesch@census.gov. No questions and information will be accepted by telephone or mail. The following information should also be included in your responses document: 1. Company name, address, and Web site. 2. Contact person's name, position, email and phone number. 3. Brief description of the organization, including business size (e.g. approximate dollar amount of transactions covered in calendar year 2015) and type of services provided. If company has a current GSA contract, please provide the contract number. 4. Available Databases (Db). For each, include: a. Db name, b. Db coverage c. Data dictionary of all variables/elements to include the data source(s) and update frequency (daily, monthly, quarterly, etc.) for each variable/element***, and d. List available delivery formats (encryption software, compression software, data transfer - electronic transmission, tape, DVDs, etc.) 5. Available data integration and analysis software. ***Note regarding Db elements: The Census Bureau has particular interest in the following elements - company name (optional), geographic identifier (preferably zip code or county code), industry or merchant category code (MCC), aggregated transaction value, transaction date/period. You may include marketing literature or brochures (pdf format) with your response. Part A: Database Questions 1A. Description of Database The U.S. Census Bureau is investigating the acquisition of aggregated transaction level receipts data from purchases made or services rendered in retail and/or service businesses. Note that these aggregations should not contain any information identifying the individual purchaser. The data would be used to research and develop methodology to produce a supplement to or improve existing Census Bureau data products covering the retail and service sectors of the economy by increasing timeliness and geographic, industry, and product detail. Describe your company's capabilities to provide this information. Include in your response: • Data collection modes (e.g., scanner data, point of sale data, credit card transactions data, data feeds). If multiple modes are used. • Types of transactions included/excluded in the database (e.g., cash, credit, debit, electronic funds transfer (EFT), check, gift cards, etc.). Establishment level transaction data that includes all card transactions by establishments is preferred. Those databases that have a larger share of national transactions would be preferred. • Methods used to classify the retail/service businesses into various industry categories (e.g., grocery stores, department stores, online retailers, barbershops, hotels, etc.) and the relationship of your coding system to existing national coding systems such as the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), the Merchant Category Code (MCC), or other classification coding system. • Geographic representation of the retail and services businesses used as the source of the data (e.g., Nationwide, selected states/region, etc.). The preferred unit of regional geography is a zip code or county name/code. • Geographic representation of the consumer conducting the transaction or an estimated location. The preferred location unit of the consumer is at the MSA, county or zip code. • Product-level detail available in the database and its relationship or ability to be aligned with the North American Product Classification System (NAPCS). Is UPC-level product data available? • The extent to which your database includes various types of retail and service businesses (e.g., small, medium, large businesses, or chain and non-chain) and retail and service industries (e.g., grocery stores, department stores, online retailers, barbershops, hotels, etc.). Within retail, please specify how e-commerce transactions are classified. • Specify how business transactions classified as different from consumer transactions. Please specify how international transactions are classified. • An indication of the penetration within the various retail and service industries using metrics such as average numbers of transactions in a given period and/or total value of transactions in a given period. • Specify known gaps or limitations of your data related to the questions answered above including proprietary and/or confidentiality limitations that would require you to exclude select types of transactions from any provided files. If missing data is an issue, please detail how it is accounted for (e.g., imputation methodologies). • Please specify how that database has changed over time. (E.g., limitations of the data or major changes in the sample of establishments or firms included). • Level of editing and data cleaning applied to data before providing data to purchasers. For more information on our Economic Indicators, visit https://www.census.gov/economic-indicators/ For more information on our Economic Census, visit https://www.census.gov/econ/census/ 2A. Data Aggregation Capabilities What is the periodicity of the data (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually Does your company have the ability to extract and aggregate data by company/establishment, industry, type of transaction (cash, credit, debit, business, consumer, international, e-commerce, etc), and/or geography (zip code or county FIPS code) for historical and future time periods? Describe your company's capability to provide data along these dimensions. 3A. Ability to manipulate transaction data The Census Bureau's preference is to obtain transaction data excluding non-revenue items such as sales taxes and tips. Are you able to provide this data and at what levels of aggregation (e.g., by store, product, week)? If not, indicate the differences between your transaction value and our preferred value. 4A. Data sources What are the major sources of the transaction data contained in your database? How does your company evaluate these sources to ensure the accuracy of the data provided? How does your company handle changes to the input to your dataset (e.g., store closures or openings, companies no longer providing data, etc.)? Are any statistical methods (e.g., smoothing, imputation) employed in these scenarios and is that methodology available for our review? 5A. Database Product Purpose What is the primary purpose of the transaction level databases maintained by your company? Does your company have experience(s) providing ready-available databases to government agencies? If the answer is yes, please provide: • A brief description of previous experiences; • Name of the agency(ies) and a point of contact; and • Any lessons learned that could assist the US Census Bureau in procuring commercial databases. 6A. Non-disclosure Does your company have a standard non-disclosure agreement for the use of the data supplied? If the answer is yes, please provide a copy. 7A. Licensing Does your company have a standard license agreement for the data usage? If the answer is yes, please provide a copy. 8A. Minimum Purchasing Requirements Is there any minimum requirement to engage your services? Does your company require clients to buy at least three months of data / two databases /five data fields, etc.? Would your company resell transaction level data in its entirety, providing names and addresses of businesses? 9A. File Retention The Census Bureau may require indefinite retention of all raw files purchased, and all derivative files created, without any requirements or fees for re-licensing. Would your company meet this requirement? Please define and identify any implications to this approach. 10A. Data Security What commercial/industry standards does your company employ for mitigating, managing and preventing data breaches or data losses? 11A. Pricing Describe your company's pricing policy. Please provide as much detail as possible, including, to the maximum extent possible, the estimated cost of the database(s) on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and/or yearly basis, as applicable. Does your company have differential pricing based on the amount of content being purchased? 12A. Test Files Should the Census Bureau pursue a Request for Proposal (RFP), interested parties would be expected to submit test files for specified industries (merchant category codes) and/or geographical areas. Please describe any conditions your company would have for submission of test files, if any. 13A. Additional Information Please provide any additional information your company considers to be useful to the Census Bureau during the market research process, including industry-preferred strategies for the acquisition of commercial databases described in this request. Part B: Data Integration and Analysis Software Questions The Census Bureau is interested in a data integration and analysis software with the ability to house many datasets--including Census datasets as well as externally sourced datasets--that would be used in multiple phases of the production of our statistical products. The software would have an adaptable interface or dashboard, allowing users to navigate from a main page to the data or analysis tool relevant to their current task. The software should allow for both exploratory and advanced data analysis as well as data visualization analysis. The software should be easily updateable and allow for improvements based on user feedback. Additionally, the software should create a collaborative environment where work, comments, and progress is shared and not needlessly replicated. 1B. Dataset Integration Requirements The software should be built upon a platform that allows multiple external datasets in varying formats to be loaded and saved in a consistent format. Datasets need to be updated immediately as new data is made available, preferably using an API. For example the tool needs to be able to store all published estimates from the economic indicators of the US Census Bureau, raw data and published estimates from the Census Bureau's household, government, and business surveys, published estimates of the GDP and personal consumption from the Bureau Economic Analysis, weather data from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration as well as other external datasets. Users need to be able to create custom datasets through dashboard manipulations. nternal datasets can be saved and shared with other users. Workflows showing modifications and updates to datasets should be available. All datasets housed in the software need to be accessible through dashboards and used in data analysis. The datasets can be viewed as spreadsheets that provide basic descriptive information like number of rows and columns names. Both the external and internal datasets needs to be stored in a directory structure that is organized and consistent. In addition to housing published estimates, the Census Bureau is also interested in software with the ability to house operational data related to data collection activities in the field. The Census Bureau directs survey field operations for more than a dozen major Federal surveys across the U.S.; we manage a field staff of approximately 10,000 interviewers. Significant amounts of operational data are analyzed to conduct these operations efficiently. Examples include data required to assign work to interviewers; optimize routing for a dispersed field staff; and determine staffing levels, schedules, cost, and workloads. We are further interested in mechanisms for efficiently storing and disseminating interviewer training materials and instructions. The Census Bureau considers these elements integral to its ability to maximize survey response rates, ensure survey data quality, and control survey costs. Software should be able to store production data from multiple surveys, tests and pilot studies. Describe how your software would meet these requirements and any additional dataset management features that your software offers. 2B. Exploratory Data Analysis Capabilities Describe the environment in the software where exploratory data analysis can be done. Describe the data filtering and feature selection tools available in your data analysis capability. Can datasets be viewed as spreadsheets? Can plots such as scatterplots, bar charts, histograms, time series, and heat maps be generated from the data? Can analysis output be saved? Can the analysis and/or datasets be exported from the software to software like Excel, html, or a text editor? Does the software allow users to drill down to individual industries, enterprises, governments, geographies, addresses, or employees? Can users autocode data into categories that they can then create tabulations from? 3B. Data Visualization Capabilities Describe the data visualization aspects of your software. What types of visualizations can be generated? Within visualizations: can data points display identifying information upon mouse-over? Are missing data points clearly identified in visualizations? Can external events that impact the data, such as policy or legal changes, holidays, and natural disasters, be identified in visualizations? Can visualizations be easily updated when the user wants to view a subset of data (e.g., source, time period, geography, and/or industry)? Can users annotate specific points in visualizations? Can visualizations be exported for use outside of the software? 4B. Compatibility with open-source software Can the software allow for data analysis done with R, Python, and other open-source software? Can the software house an iPython notebook type environment or R-console in which code can be written and executed? 5B. Collaboration Capabilities One of the goals of incorporating this type of software into our work is to increase collaboration across users and decrease identical work being done by multiple users. Does your software allow for outputs, datasets, code, and functions to be shared among users? Does the software track workflows and allow users to annotate work? For example, if a user identifies an outlier in a dataset and knows the cause, can that user leave a note on that data point that all future users can view? Similarly, if a supervisor notices a data quality issue associated with a particular field interviewer, can they insert searchable notes regarding that interviewer that permits another supervisor responsible for other surveys to view? Can users can create visualizations that reference live data that are updated automatically and shared across users virtually in a dashboard type of feature? 6B. Data Accessibility If you can provide both the database and the data integration software, can the data be accessed and be used outside of the software or do you require that the data only be used within the software/tool? 7B. Storage Describe the storage practices for the data used in the integration software. Is data stored in a cloud environment or on your own physical servers? Describe the technical specifications for the cloud environment and/or the physical servers. 8B. Software Is the software accessible via a cloud or does it need to be installed directly on a PC? Is licensing required? The Census Bureau uses both VDI and desktop environments; would the software be accessible in both environments? 9B. Data Security Describe the access control and user authentication mechanisms used in your data library and software. What type of authentication is required to access the software? Does the data access control system manage access at the file, record, and/or field level? Can specific datasets and services be restricted to certain users? 10B. Support What level of customer service is provided with the software? Are support staff available through chat windows, email, phone calls, and/or regular in-person working sessions? Is ongoing support part of the fixed-fee amount or is it a separate charge? 11B. Technical Specifications Provide the technical specifications for this software. Include where applicable hardware requirements, operating systems, firewall rules, network configurations, and any staging and production environment requirements. Describe how much data the system can efficiently process and how many users can be accommodated. 12B. Additional Information Please provide any additional information your company considers to be useful to the Census Bureau during the market research process, including industry-preferred strategies for the acquisition of data integration and analysis software described in this request.
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