About NIBS

For Over 50 Years, Innovation Has Been Our Mission

Congress established the National Institute of Building Sciences as a nongovernmental, non-profit organization to serve as the nation’s independent, authoritative voice for the built environment.

Our mission remains unchanged: to protect communities and advance national interests through resilient infrastructure and applied innovation.

We bridge public and private sectors, accelerate technology adoption, and empower decision-makers at every level—Federal, State, and local.

From shaping national standards to driving digital transformation, NIBS delivers tools, insights, and partnerships that promote sustainability, efficiency, and resilience across the industry.

Sole Source Authority

Streamline procurement through NIBS with the broadest Sole Source authorized by public law in the built environment.

The National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) holds a unique sole source authority granted by Section 809(g)(3) of Public Law 93-383, allowing federal agencies to contract directly with NIBS without full competition.

This streamlines procurement by:

enabling faster acquisition timelines,
eliminating protest risks, and
enabling access to technical expertise without pass through limitations.

As a congressionally established, independent nonprofit, NIBS serves as the nation’s authoritative voice for the built environment, offering specialized expertise in architecture, engineering, digital innovation, and resilience.

Agencies can leverage:

NIBS existing IDIQs (GSA, NAVFAC, or AFCEC),
create a new Sole Source IDIQ,
or create a new Sole Source contract with NIBS

to access services such as building code standardization, lifecycle facility planning, and support for platforms like the Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) and ProjNet.