REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) General Information: THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE FOR THE PURPOSE OF MARKET RESEARCH ONLY - NO AWARD WILL BE MADE AS A RESULT OF THIS NOTICE OR ANY SOLICITATION NECESSARILY FOLLOW. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Whatever information is provided in response to this RFI will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives of tools and products available to Federal agencies when optimizing data center operations. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The U.S. General Services Administration's Office of Federal High Performance Buildings (OFHPB) seeks information on building science research services from independent academic institutions that can provide the following research areas and membership privileges: Interested vendors must submit their capabilities statements and a separate response that address the following areas: 1. RESEARCH AREAS a. Methods of evaluating building performance and diagnosing failures, in terms of energy use, environmental quality, and occupant satisfaction, well-being, and productivity b. Innovative products and design tools for improving building environmental performance. c. International developments in high-performance buildings d. Approaches to improving building design through academic and professional education. 2. MEMBERSHIP PRIVILEGES a. Opportunity to participate in the research and development in advanced building systems integration for performance and demonstration project(s) b. Attendance at member meetings; c. Access to expert faculty and skilled graduate students; d. A seat on an Advisory Board, to advise as to future needs and contribute to research direction; e. Ability to have up to twenty (20) of its employees participate in one (1) workshop per year (without fee) presented by the academic institution on an area of interest to Member and mutually acceptable by the academic institution; f. Ability to schedule up to two (2) free tours of the academic institutions' building science demonstration laboratory during each year of Member's membership; g. A worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free Internal Use License to the Building Investment Decision Support tool known as "BIDS" in its current version, as well as any and all derivatives, improvements or new versions that may be included. h. A worldwide, non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free Internal/External Use License to the academic institutions building sciences research center that is conceived or first actually reduced to practice in the period covered by Member's term of membership Response: Responses should include the: (1) business/Vendor's name and address, (2) name of company representative and title, and (3) socioeconomic classification(s) of your business. Submission: Vendors who wish to respond to this RFI should send responses via email no later than June 26, 2017 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time (ET). Interested vendors should forward their capabilities and other information to be considered to Aida Abedini at
[email protected]. Responses should be based on the information material contained in this RFI and any other relevant information the Vendor considers as appropriate. When submitting responses please note the following email subject line: Federal High Performance Buildings (OFHPB) RFI Response.