DEVELOP EVALUATIONS AND BENCHMARKS FOR ASSESSING CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CAPABILITIES OF AI MODELS

Artificial Intelligence (Al) is one of the defining technologies of our era. Its emergence, together with its multiplying contexts of use and increasing capabilities, presents enormous opportunities as well as significant present and future harms.

The U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI), housed within the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is advancing the science, practice, and adoption of AI safety across the spectrum of risks.  AISI is conducting pre-deployment testing, evaluation, validation, and verification (TEVV) on frontier models of chemical and biological capabilities and risks. In doing so, AISI seeks to ensure that its projects, evaluations, and tools reflect the best available science, and to coordinate closely with a diverse set of Al stakeholders who are developing and conducting evaluations to assess chemical or biological capabilities and risks.

The Government has a requirement to provide or develop resources for various aspects of assessing frontier Al model chemical and biological capabilities and risks on an as needed basis. Multiple Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) will be awarded for a base period of one year with four 1-year option periods.

The NAICS code for this requirement is 541690 with a small business size standard of $19.0 million.  The required services are commercial in nature and are being procured using simplified acquisition procedures under the authority of FAR 13.5 Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Products and Commercial Services.

Full and open competition will be utilized.

The competitive Request for Quotation (RFQ), amendments, and all questions and answers related to this procurement shall be made available via the Internet at the System for Award Management website (www.SAM.Gov) under RFQ number 1333ND25QNB100143.

Potential quoters shall be responsible for downloading the solicitation and amendments, if any, from www.sam.gov after the solicitation has been posted.  It is, and will continue to be, the responsibility of each potential quoter to monitor www.sam.gov for any amendments or other information related to the solicitation. 

Any communications regarding this acquisition must be made in writing and forwarded via email to carol.wood@nist.gov, and shall identify the solicitation number, company name, company address, as well as point of contact email address and phone number. Quoters must await the release of the solicitation before submitting questions. Please review the solicitation thoroughly before submitting questions. 

NIST anticipates posting the solicitation approximately seven days after the date of publication of this notice.

This is a new requirement. There is no incumbent Contractor.  

All Department of Commerce/National Institute of Standards and Technology approvals relevant to Executive Order 14222 entitled “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative” have not yet been secured for the intended work. Award cannot be made until all required approvals are obtained. The Government reserves the right to cancel the solicitation if all required approvals cannot be obtained. The Government will not be responsible for bid and proposal cost or any other costs incurred by any quoter if the solicitation is cancelled relevant to the required approvals.