Study on Collecting Real-Time Data

On behalf of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), Under the Authority of Federal Acquisition Regulation, Part 6, Subparts 6.301 and 6.302, the U.S. Census Bureau intends to contract with the Research Foundation of State University of New York, Albany, NY, on a sole source basis to provide Real Time State Expenditure Data. The Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) prepares the Nation's economic accounts, covering all sectors of the economy. Data underlying the accounts vary in terms of quality and timeliness. The state and local government sector depends heavily upon a set of annual surveys conducted by the Census Bureau. While the surveys are comprehensive, detailed, and of high quality, they are not timely. BEA's strategic plan for 2009-2013 calls for continuous improvement of National Income and Product Account (NIPA) statistics. A new source of real-time expenditure data for state and local governments would do much to improve the accounts. Real-Time expenditure surveys have been considered in the past, but they have never been attempted. The Statement of Work (SOW) calls for a pilot study to collect real-time expenditure statistics from state governments, using the methods pioneered in previous studies. Please see attached Statement of Work (SOW) for more details. Telephone request will not be honored and all interested sources must submit questions and proposals to the U.S. Census Bureau, Acquisition Division, via email to [email protected] or fax to 301-763-4624, by close of business, Wednesday, August 26, 2009.