REQUEST FOR JOINT VENTURE PARTNER U.S. Department of Commerce, National Technical Information Service located at 5285 Port Royal Road, Room 1006, Springfield, VA 22161. REQUEST FOR JOINT VENTURE PARTNER. POC Mr. Walter L. Finch, Associate Director for Business Development. For 35 years, the International Trade Administration (ITA) of the Department of Commerce published the U.S. Industrial Outlook . Since 1998, it also co-published three editions of an enhanced U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook (USITO) in paper and electronic formats (CD-ROM and downloadable files) through an NTIS joint venture that has now expired. Accordingly, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS) of the Department of Commerce, acting on ITA's behalf, seeks to enter into a new joint venture with one or more partners to continue providing the USITO as an information tool to its current audiences and to extend its reach to new audiences by publishing the USITO in a combination of media, which may include a number of paper and electronic formats. If the mainproduct is electronic, production of the hard-copy version may be on a "print on demand" basis. Like its predecessor, the U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook is a single reference source for information on U.S. industries, how these industries affect the U.S. economy, and where they are going in an increasingly global marketplace. Government analysts will continue to write most of the chapters, with participation from independent analysts and industry experts. Under the terms of the joint venture: 1) NTIS and the joint venture partner would share in the cost of producing the USITO in its electronic formats (i.e., CD-ROM, Web based system). This may include editing, coding, designing, and/creating a CD or web based system of the USITO for electronic distribution. Some editing and online work may also be shared by ITA. 2) The joint venture partner and ITA would share in writing the industry chapters. The joint venture partner would provide chapter coverage for key industries which ITA lacks resources to cover, either by providing in-house industry experts to write chapters or sections, or by helping to locate and/or paying freelance industry experts to do so. 3) The joint venture partner would share in the costs of editing, design/composition, and production of any printed copies, whether a regular print run to be marketed or on a print-on-demand basis arising from the electronic distribution. The incentive for the partner and NTIS is the sharing of revenues from sales to respective markets. Please prepare a description of your company's capabilities and experience in publishing, both in paper and electronic formats, and in promoting and selling business, educational, and/or scientific publications to national wholesale and retail distributors. Please send your descriptions within 15 days of the date of this announcement to the attention of Walter L. Finch. This is not a procurement. NTIS will enter into joint venture partnerships in accordance with the authority granted to NTIS in the National Technical Information Act of 1988 (15 U.S.C. 3704b) and in accordance with the guidelines published in the June 13, 1989 Federal Register. Joint ventures do not involve procurements using government funds. NTIS has for more than fifty years fulfilled its mission of acquiring and disseminating information obtained from both government and private sector sources worldwide in response to the needs of government agencies, authorized agents and subcontractors and the general public. As a self-supporting government agency, NTIS operates a clearinghouse for the information it collects, delivering bibliographic databases, and content selected by consumers in paper and electronic format, and also able to support the fulfillment needs of users for the delivery of historic or archived materials produced in print-on-demand paper, demand microform or CD-ROM, or via on-line electronic access. If you have any questions, please send them via an e-mail to estober@ntis.fedworld.gov, or by telephone at (703) 605-6526, FAX (703) 605-6742. WEB: NIST Contracts Homepage, http://www.nist.gov/admin/od/contract/contract.htm. E-MAIL: Elaine Stober, Product Management and Marketing Specialist, estober@ntis.fedworld.gov. Posted 05/26/00 (W-SN459265).

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