THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFQ. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or services. The USPTO is not seeking proposals at this time. The Government will not pay any costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. It is the intent of the USPTO to use this market research to assist in planning. The UCC is the front-line customer service center for the USPTO and responds to public inquiries seeking information on a variety of USPTO programs and services. The goal of the UCC is to effectively and efficiently provide customers with accurate responses to their requests in a courteous and professional manner. Approximately 20% of the calls that come to the UCC seek general information. Approximately 80% of the calls are transferred to second-tier call centers. The caller may listen to automated responses on specific topics or choose to speak to a UCC Customer Service Representative (CSR) who will answer general questions using the available knowledge base, USPTO website (www.uspto.gov) or other reference material; recommend resources available on the USPTO website; MyUSPTO account issues (include password resets) and website systems related support calls; offer to mail applicable standard printed materials to the caller; or refer the caller to a local Patent & Trademark Resource Center (PTRC) for additional assistance. If the CSR is unable to answer the question, the call is transferred to the appropriate second-tier call center. UCC CSRs also respond to inquiries and requests for information received via electronic mail (e-mail) from
[email protected], via postal mail to the UCC's mailing address (or from another USPTO business area that is deemed as "general") and via voicemail on the 1-800 phone line. The Government estimates that the UCC will receive 130,000 calls each year and 24,000 e-mails per year. The UCC also receives smaller volumes of voice mail, faxes, postal mail and returned mail. Please submit your capability statement identifying your experience with providing the services described above. Please note that this requirement is in the SBA 8(a) program and will remain in this program. Capability statements should be submitted electronically to
[email protected], with a copy to
[email protected], and the subject line RFI AQPP1701280 no later than 1:00 pm on Wednesday, 17 May 2017, and contain no more than 10 pages. Capability statements should include: • Your company name, address, DUNs • Business size under NAICS 561422 • 8(a) graduation date • Your company point of contact (name, phone, e-mail) • Three references for the same or similar services (Federal or commercial) completed within the past three years for which your company was the prime contractor • For each reference include: name of customer, customer point of contact (name, phone, e-mail), contract number (if applicable), a brief description of the services provided, the total dollar amount of the services provided, the period of performance for the services provided, and whether a past performance reference for the services provided has been entered into the Past Performance and Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).