The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with University of Maryland College Park Foundation, 2177C Martin Hall College Park, MD under the authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), Soliciting From a single source, to assist with developing an information visualization contest with the goal of providing a venue for evaluating the performance researcher’s in the situation and intelligence analysis domain. This requires expertise in selecting, preparing, and cleaning test data sets, developing tasks and metrics and scoring for evaluating the performance of software on these tasks and data. It also requires expertise in communicating with researchers, collecting results, choosing judges and presenting the evaluations. Any contractor for this activity must have had previous experience in running at least two information visualization contests for researchers including a researcher of eminent standing in the information visualization research community, and have knowledge of information search needs. A fixed price purchase order will be issued on or about December 21, 2005. The maintenance and support period will begin December 30, 2005 for one year. Interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement, in writing, no later than the response date. Written responses to this synopsis shall contain sufficient documentation to establish a bona fide capability to fulfill the requirement. A determination by the Government to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

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