SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- Request For Information: Development and Implementation of a single authoritative import injury questionaire data source - ITC-RFI-12-0001
- Notice Date
- 3/29/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- United States International Trade Commission, Office of Facilities Management, Procurement, 500 E Street, SW, Room 414, Washington, District of Columbia, 20436
- ZIP Code
- 20436
- Solicitation Number
- ITC-RFI-12-0001
- Archive Date
- 5/22/2012
- Point of Contact
- Michael Pigram, Phone: 2022053386
- E-Mail Address
-
michael.pigram@usitc.gov
(michael.pigram@usitc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Attachment 1: Overview of Current Questionaire Data Management Practices Request For Information (Word Document) Project Title : Development and implementation of a single authoritative import injury questionnaire data source. Purpose The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information from industry to improve the U.S. International Trade Commission's (USITC) understanding of market capabilities, and to identify potential small business vendors capable of providing support and consulting services. It is issued solely for market research and planning purposes. It does not constitute a request for proposal or a commitment to issue a request for proposal. The USITC is not responsible for any administrative cost incurred by a vendor in response to this announcement. The USITC is interested in services to develop a cost-efficient electronic questionnaire data (see link 1 below for current template questionnaires) management and reporting system for import injury questionnaire data that ensures data integrity, provides real-time data, and allows for multiple input and user facilities. The USITC envisions a single authoritative system to manage questionnaire information that seamlessly integrates technology and work processes to support the investigative work of Commission managers and staff. The information provided in response to this RFI will broaden the USITC's knowledge base, allowing it to assess the availability of commercial data management software and business consulting services and assess the tradeoffs and alternatives available for determining how to proceed with the project with the ultimate goal of increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of its import injury work process. Introduction and Background The USITC's mission is to: (1) administer U.S. trade remedy laws within its mandate in a fair and objective manner; (2) provide the President, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), and Congress with independent, quality analysis, information, and support on matters relating to tariffs and international trade and competitiveness; and (3) maintain the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States. As part of the USITC's mission, the Commission conducts antidumping and countervailing duty (AD/CVD) investigations under title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930. In AD/CVD investigations, the Commission determines whether an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened with material injury, or whether the establishment of an industry in the United States is materially retarded, by reason of imports of the merchandise that are under investigation. The Commission develops an extensive record during these proceedings, including a substantial amount of confidential business information from questionnaires issued to U.S. producers, foreign producers, U.S. importers, and U.S. purchasers, and also develops a staff report (see link 2 below for example of Commission staff report). To expedite the investigative process, the Commission has developed generic questionnaires that are modified for each investigation to reflect the investigation- and industry-specific requirements. The USITC is located at 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. Objectives The overall objective of this effort is to implement a single authoritative source for quantitative trade, financial, and pricing data that allow automated extraction by all members of the investigative team. The specific objectives of this effort are: •· Reduction of manual data entry •· Reduction in the time and resources needed between data collection, entry, validation, updating, analysis, and presentation •· Improvement in the ease of creation, modification, and updating of data tables and data download •· A team-oriented exchange of data while maintaining real-time data access and overall data integrity. This process is taking place in an IT environment that is transitioning from one that has been driven by individual Office needs into a more unified and simplified IT environment that greatly reflects broader Agency needs. MS Office products are part of all user software profiles. Staff on AD/CVD investigations currently uses multiple individually developed database and analysis tools, with a variety of approaches to organizing and storing data. The current process by which data moves from questionnaire respondents to final staff reports involves several stages, is characterized by overlapping areas of responsibility and use, is continuously updated and augmented, and requires substantial direct involvement from investigative, statistical, and support staff (see attachment). Best practices and recommendations must allow for the USITC's focused, but gradual transition in technology, process, and culture. Considerations The following should be considered when assessing and recommending applications and solutions: •· Recommended application(s) must be off-the-shelf technology. •· Recommended application(s) and associated processes must be able to address the analytical, output, and response time needs of team members. •· Recommended solution(s) must be user-friendly and intuitive, not overly complex or technical to be accessible to a wide range of skill levels, and improve the ability to respond to changing needs with speed and transparency. •· Recommended application(s) and processes must allow for multiple people to simultaneously updated and access the data from different locations. •· Recommended solution(s) must integrate with the existing ITC infrastructure, presently Windows 7 and Redhat Linux 6.x. •· Recommended solution(s) must be portable. •· Recommended solution(s) must be remotely accessible. •· Recommended solution(s) must provide a user interface for correcting data. •· Recommended solution(s) must include the ability to reproduce any electronic submissions in a PDF format. Required RFI Components •· Company business information: name, address, Web site; contact person's name, position, email, phone number; and brief description of the capabilities of the organization. •· Demonstrated experience and technical capabilities statement addressing your firm's ability to meet the stated objectives. •· Provide an overview of the leading 2 to 4 solution options your firm would recommend that takes into account the current practices, environment, and ultimate objectives. •o Provide associated costs/benefits and advantages/disadvantages of each identified option. •o Describe the migration strategy that incorporates USITC transition issues identified above for each identified option. •· Provide a description (not to exceed 2 pages each) of 3 to 5 past projects completed or substantially performed during the past 5 years for which your firm performed services similar to those required by this solicitation. •· Responses may also include any concerns that should be considered by the USITC as part of any potential RFP. Due Date: Responses are due May 7, 2012. Questions to this RFI must be submitted, via email to the Contract Specialist cited below on or before April 16, 2012. Responses to the RFI must be submitted via e-mail to the Contract Specialist cited below on or before May 7, 2012. Contract Specialist: Michael Pigram Email: Michael.Pigram@usitc.gov U.S. International Trade Commission Office of Procurement-Room 315 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436 Industry Day To help industry better understand the intent of the RFI and the information contained herein, the USITC will host an Industry Day at USITC Office (500 E Street SW, Washington, DC) on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 10:00 AM EST. Attendance at Industry Day is not mandatory. Please RSVP by Monday, April 16, 2012 if you plan to attend Industry Day. Links •· Link 1: http://www.usitc.gov/trade_remedy/question.htm •· Link 2: http://www.usitc.gov/publications/701_731/pub4278.pdf
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