This Sources Sought Notice is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The purpose of this notice is to identify potential qualified Small Business concerns that may be interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy welcomes all qualified Small Business concerns with the appropriate qualifications and past experience to submit Corporate Capability Statements that demonstrate their ability to successfully accomplish the goals of the project as listed below. The U.S. Small Business Administration does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses to this notice or otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. Acknowledgement of receipt of responses will not be made; no formal evaluation of the information received will be conducted. The U.S. Small Business Administration may later on issue a Request for Proposals. However, should such a requirement fail to materialize no basis for claims against the U.S. Small Business Administration shall arise as a result of a response to this notice.

Background:

The U.S. Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy examines the role and status of small business in the economy and independently represents the views of small business to federal agencies, Congress, and the President. It is the source for small business statistics presented in user-friendly formats and it funds research into small business issues. For more information on the Office of Advocacy, including past research projects, visit http://www.sba.gov/advocacy/847.

The research described in this notice assesses the regulatory compliance costs on small businesses estimated in Regulatory Impact Analyses (RIAs) and Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (RFAs). In accordance with Executive Order 12866, Executive Order 13563, and OMB Circular A-4, executive agencies prepare RIAs when promulgating significant regulations. These analyses include estimates of the anticipated costs and benefits from regulatory actions. When promulgating regulations that may have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities, federal agencies are required to provide Regulatory Flexibility Analyses (RFAs) describing the impacts on small entities and analyzing regulatory alternatives that minimize small entity burdens. Agencies often prepare RFAs in conjunction with, or as part of, RIAs, which is permissible as long as RFA requirements are satisfied. The Office of Advocacy has released several research reports assessing the costs of regulations on small businesses. The reports have typically found that the relative burden, such as the cost per employee, is higher for smaller businesses. This research will update and extend previous research from the Office of Advocacy on the costs to small businesses of regulations.
Objective:

The primary objectives of this research are to:

1. Assess the information about costs to small businesses provided in RIAs and RFAs
2. Analyze the relationship between relative burden, such as cost per employee, and business size

The Contractor would survey the information provided in RIAs and RFAs about costs to small businesses for a group of major regulations selected by Advocacy. The Contractor would, in collaboration with Advocacy, select a subset of those regulations for further analysis. The Contractor would use the information provided in the RIAs and RFAs of those rule to analyze the relationship between relative burden, such as cost per employee, and business size. The analysis would address topics such variation in relative burden across industries or types of regulations. Of critical importance in the project is experience analyzing federal regulations and creating RIAs and RFAs.
Capabilities:

The Corporate Capabilities Statement shall address the capabilities necessary to accomplish the objective outlined above as well as the additional tasks and characteristics given below:

• Experience and expertise in analyzing federal regulations and creating RIAs and RFAs. Please provide Federal Register citations for published analyses.
• Experience and expertise performing quantitative analysis of the kind of economic and industry data used in RIAs and RFAs. Please provide resumes of proposed staff that clearly indicate the proposed staff's relevant qualifications and experience.
• Experience writing technical reports comparable with articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Please provide resumes of proposed staff that clearly indicate the proposed staff's relevant qualifications and experience.
• Advanced technical training in applied economic analysis and demonstrated experience as subject matter experts. For example, a Ph.D. in economics would be considered acceptable. Please provide resumes of proposed staff that demonstrate these minimum qualifications for key personnel, such as project leads.

Submission requirements:

Any interested qualified Small Business concern should submit a Corporate Capability Statement, which demonstrates the firm's expertise, past experience, and ability to fulfill the objective described above, to the identified Advocacy point of contact listed herein. The submission should not exceed 20 pages, excluding resumes. Descriptions of past performance should include, where applicable, the contract name, the contracting agency or department, the total contract value, the period of performance, and a description of the project and how it relates to the work described herein.

Responses shall also include the following information:
- SBA Small Business Category (i.e. 8(a), HUBZONE, WOSB, Veteran-Owned, Small Disadvantaged Business, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned)
- DUNS Number
- Point(s) of Contact for your firm with e-mail and telephone number
- Please identify if your company offers this requirement through the General Services Administration (GSA) and GSA Schedule Number
- NAICS
- Confirmation of being "Registered" and "Active" in www.sam.gov

The submission must be received no later than 0830 MST, June 22, 2017. Any proprietary information should be marked as such. All respondents are asked to certify that the type and size of their business organization is in line with the requirements of this notice.

Any responses to this announcement shall be emailed only to the following contracting representative: John Babcock, [email protected].

Bid Protests Not Available