National Science Foundation, Division of Contracts, Policy and Oversight, Contracts Branch, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 475, Arlington, VA 22230

R -- SURVEY OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DUE 071197 POC Wayne K. Thomas (703) 306-1242 E-MAIL: click here to contact the contracting officer via e-mail, wthomas@nsf.gov. THIS IS A MARKET SURVEY FOR WRITTEN INFORMATION ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION ANNOUNCEMENT FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT WILL BE MADE FOR ANY COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH PROVIDING INFORMATION IN RESPONSE TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT AND ANY FOLLOW-UP INFORMATION REQUESTS. NO TELEPHONE CALLS REQUESTING A BID PACKAGE OR SOLICITATION WILL BE ACCEPTED OR ACKNOWLEDGED. THERE IS NO BID PACKAGE OR SOLICITATION! THIS IS A MARKET SURVEY WHERE THE GOVERNMENT IS SEEKING WRITTEN INFORMATION ONLY. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is seeking sources for the design, conduct, and data processing and tabulation for an existing survey, the Survey of Industrial Research and Development. The contractor will be expected to develop or procure the sample frame; design the sample; develop survey questions, questionnaires, and processing software; collect, computerize, aggregate, and analyze data; impute for unit and item nonresponse; inflate the sample to national estimates; generate standard errors or coefficients of variation forkey statistics; prepare tables, reports, documentation, and methodology descriptions; establish an expert advisory panel; and help prepare background material for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) survey clearance requests. The most important among these activities, and the one that will be given the most emphasis during a competitive procurement process, if a competition is conducted, will be the capability of the contractor to develop or procure a comprehensive frame of companies from which to chose an efficient sample of research and development (R&D) performers. In addition to the activities listed above, the contractor will be expected to provide advice to the Government on changing the nature of the survey from enterprise- or company-based to establishment- or plant-based; provide advice and expertise in coordinating the NSF survey with related surveys conducted by other Government agencies; and develop or commission research and papers relating to survey issues and procedures (e.g., the effects of the change from the current standard industrial classification (SIC) coding system to the new North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) discussed below). The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Science Resources Studies has sponsored and managed a survey of industrial R&D since 1953. The 1953 56 surveys were conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), U.S. Department of Labor. Since 1957, the Bureau of the Census, U. S. Department of Commerce, has conducted the survey. The NSF survey is the primary source of information on R&D performed by industry within the U.S. The survey results are used to assess trends in R&D expenditures. Government agencies, corporations, and research organizations use the results to investigate productivity determinants, formulate tax policy, and compare individual company performance with industry averages. The Survey of Industrial Research and Development is an annual sample survey of about 25,000 firms that intends to include or represent all for-profit, nonfarm, U.S. or foreign owned R&D-performing companies, either publicly or privately held. The survey's primary focus is on industry as a performer of, rather than as a source of funds for, R&D performed in the U.S. Industry statistics are developed from data collected from individual companies or enterprises. Since the survey is enterprise- or company-based rather than establishment-based, all data collected for the various subparts of each enterprise (plants, divisions, or subdivisions) currently are tabulated in the major standard industrial classification (SIC) of the company. The resulting industry estimates are reported using the SIC of the companies within each industry and national totals are estimated by summing the industry estimates. Beginning with the 1998 cycle of the survey, data will be tabulated using the new North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). Companies that conduct a large amount of R&D receive a survey questionnaire every year. Remaining firms are subjected to probability sampling and may or may not receive a questionnaire for a given survey year. Among the organizations purposely excluded from the survey are trade associations and not-for-profit consortia. The content of the survey has been expanded and refined over the years in response to an increasing need by policy makers for more detailed information on the Nation's R&D effort. For example, questions on energy R&D were added in the early seventies, following the first oil-shortage crisis. On the other hand, the frequency of collection of certain data items has been reduced in recent years in an attempt to alleviate some of the respondent burden that has been placed on industry from all sources. For large firms known to perform R&D, a detailed questionnaire is used to collect data for odd-numbered years and an abbreviated version is used to collect data for even-numbered years. To further limit reporting burden on small R&D performers and on firms that are included in the sample for the first time, an even more abbreviated form, which collects only the most crucial data, is used each year. The contractor will be expected to continue to refine survey instruments to collect topical data while controlling respondent burden. Two reports are produced annually from the survey. The first, a Data Brief announcing the availability of survey results, contains analytical information and highlights topical survey results. The second, the Detailed Statistical Tables (DST) report, contains the full set of statistics produced from the survey and detailed information about the history of the survey, survey methodology, comparability of the statistics, survey definitions, and other technical aspects of the survey. Also replicated in the DST report are survey questionnaires, instructions, and other survey documents. The two reports are published on paper and also on the World Wide Web. The SRS home page address is http:/www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/stats.htm. Among the statistics in these reports are estimates of total R&D, the portion of the total financed by the Federal Government, and the portion financed by the companies themselves (or by other non-Federal sources such as State and local governments or other industrial firms under contracts or subcontracts). Total R&D is also separated into its character-of-work components: basic research, applied research, and development. Other statistics include R&D financed by a domestic firm but performed outside the United States, R&D contracted to organizations outside of the firm, and the funds spent to perform energy-related R&D. The reports also provide statistics on domestic net sales, number of employees, number of R&D-performing scientists and engineers, and cost per R&D scientist and engineer. The contractor should be experienced in designing and conducting surveys including, but not limited to the design of the survey sample, questionnaires, mail-out materials, reminder and follow-up letters; the designing, programming, and producing of complex statistical tables; and the analysis of survey results. Project managers should hold at least a bachelor's degree in economics, statistics, survey methodology, or a related field. Professional expertise at the Ph.D. level should be available for survey design and analysis. All information must be mailed to: National Science Foundation, Division of Contracts Policy and Oversight, Contracts Branch, Room 475, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230. Deadline for receipt of information is July 11, 1997. (0149)

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