U.S. Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/OFA/AGFS/AMD -- OFA51, 1305 East West Highway -- Station 7604, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

R -- REGIONAL COMMERCIAL INFORMATION PROVIDER SOL 00-91051 DUE 082600 POC Sandra Souders, (301) 713-0854 R -- The U.S. Dept. of Commerce/BISNIS has a requirement for a contractor (Regional Commercial Information Provider) to provide BISNIS with U.S. export and partner leads, useful market updates, and practical industry and regional reporting for the Volga-Vyatka Region, which includes but is not limited to the oblasts of Kirov and Niizhny Novgorod and the republics of Chuvashia, Mariy El, Mordovia, Tatarstan, and Udmurtia. Special emphasis should be given to opportunities for U.S. companies in industry sectors related to agribusiness, chemicals, defense conversion, manufacturing and materials supply, telecommunications, transportation and other strong prospects in connection with leading industry activity. The contractor will actively promote BISNIS programs among the business community and media in his/her region(s) of responsibility, including U.S. government and international programs, and especially among alumni of other U.S. government programs. Trade and investment leads will be used in BISNIS Trades & Tenders and Search for Partners publications, and will be collected using BISNIS' company questionnaires. The contractor will also be expected to assist BISNIS trade specialists while traveling in the region to collect market intelligence and attend conferences, trade shows, etc. The contractor will be required to provide BISNIS with a number of reports (i.e. regional, market, industry and practical information useful to U.S. businesses). Completion of regional and other market reports may require brief regional travel. The contractor will also be required to contribute to the BISNIS Russian language web page. Period of Performance will be from October 1, 2000 through September 30, 2001, and if both parties agree, a one (1) year option to renew. Applicants must meet the following criteria: 1) Have extensive experience performing research and preparing reports on commercial issues for a Western commercial audience; 2) Be skilled at identifying pertinent issues and also at organizing thoughts and ideas in a straightforward manner, and indicate a commitment to ensuring the validity of information contained in reports; 3) Have experience working with U.S. government programs, especially those to facilitate US-Russia trade and investment, as well as experience preparing commercial information for the U.S. government or other U.S. commercially focused organizations and also have knowledge of U.S. policies; 4) Have widespread, active contacts with the business community and government leaders, as well as with U.S. business and business-related NGO community, in the region(s) for which the contractor is responsible, or indicate a strong motivation and ability to develop and maintain such a network; 5) Show fluency in written and spoken Russian and English, including ability to write reports using standard business English; 5) Have an office located at a site in the city of Nizhny Novgorod that is professional and easily accessible to both local firms and U.S. companies interested in investment and commercialopportunities in the region, or be able to quickly set up such an office; 6) Have a working e-mail account for communication between the contractor and BISNIS; 7) Be able to work independently; show individual initiative in the workplace (individual should be able to initiate, complete, and submit required deliverables according to the terms of the contract without prompting by contracting agency, and should generate ideas for potential BISNIS reports and projects to facilitate U.S. trade and investment in the region); exercise an exceptional degree of professionalism (including quick responsiveness to communications from BISNIS or other sources); show strong individual initiative (generate ideas for potential BISNIS reports and projects to facilitate U.S. trade and investment in the region. Qualified applicants are invited to submit a written request for the solicitation package to the address above, to be received no later than fifteen (15) days from date of this notice. All applicants must submit information as to their capabilities and any other pertinent data. All responses will be evaluated on a "best value basis". Requests/Responses should be faxed to (301) 713-0806. Award will be made using simplified acquisition procedures. (Reference No. 00-91051) Posted 08/11/00 (W-SN485197). (0224)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0080 20000815\R-0015.SOL)

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