National Institute of Standards and Technology, Acquisition and Assistance Division, Building 301, Room B117, Gaithersburg, MD 20899

R -- MANUFACTURING EXTENSION PARTNERSHIP (MEP) SERVICES SOL 52SBNB6C9227 DUE 081396 POC Linda Shariati (301) 975-5053 The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to obtain services from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. The services are to advance and disseminate policy and program learning and evaluation results about the NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program on industrial modernization service provision and service providers in the United States. The project will involve two inter-related elements: (1) partial support for a new seminar course on policy, practice and evaluation in industrial modernization, including the development of a resource-base which will be made available, through electronic means, to MEP-affiliated staff and other audiences in the United States; and (2) development of procedures to identify and collate advances in, and learning about, industrial modernization in the United States. This element would include holding a national workshop on this theme in the Fall of 1997. The Contractor shall address the fugitive and poorly documented nature of many current evaluation efforts, by bringing them to a national focus and motivating their authors to write about their methods, findings and consequences and to allow the opportunity for peer review and exchange. During the first part of this element, the Contractor shall identify ongoing and new studies in the field and begin to involve a range of people in workshop planning and participation. The Contractor would review the plans and themes of the workshop with NIST staff and seek detailed guidance from NIST personnel and other knowledgeable experts to identify invitee and focus detailed sessions. The Contractor shall be responsible for course scheduling and logistics, initial marketing of the course, finalizing the course design and curriculum, preparing materials, developing the world wide web site for dissemination of information, offering the course, preparing a final report and evaluation of the results of the course, identifying on going and new studies, preparing and issuing invitations to the workshop, holding the workshop, reviewing and editing papers, and publishing a final report. The Contractor shall have 5 years of experience synthesizing, summarizing and disseminating information on the application of program evaluation techniques to industrial modernization programs. The Contractor shall have 5 published articles in professional journals and attended annual meetings focusing on issues of industrial modernization program evaluation. The Contractor shall have an established knowledge, liaison and reputation with the many organizations and service providers. This experience and database of information is important to the quality and success required to satisfy the Government's need. The overall project is planned to start in July 1996 and continue through December 31, 1997. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. Requests for a copy of a solicitation in reference to this acquisition will be disregarded. See numbered note 22.. (0180)

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