SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Subsistence Study for North Aleutian Basin (NAB)
- Notice Date
- 4/9/2008
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541720
— Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities
- Contracting Office
- MMS Procurement Branch, HQ381 Elden Street, MS 2102HerndonVA20170-4817US
- ZIP Code
- 00000
- Solicitation Number
- M08PS00055
- Response Due
- 4/24/2008
- Archive Date
- 5/24/2008
- Point of Contact
- Olivia F. Adrian,,
- E-Mail Address
-
olivia.adrian@mms.gov
- Description
- This Request for Information (RFI) is issued in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10.001 (a) (2) (ii) to conduct a Market Research before soliciting offers for an acquisition with an estimated value in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold and FAR Part 10.002 (b) (2)(iii) Publishing formal requests for information in appropriate technical or scientific journals or business publications. The Governments intent, based on the information received from this RFI, is to make a determination whether to issue this Solicitation as a 100% small business set-aside or as a full and open competition. The purpose of this RFI is to identify potential small business sources that are interested in and capable of satisfying the Agencys requirements described herein. Please note that this requirement is subject to the availability of funds. Additionally, it is not the Government's intention to enter into a contract based on this notice or otherwise pay for information solicited. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP). This RFI is for planning purposes only, and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Minerals Management Service (MMS). The primary purpose of this notice is to improve small business access to acquisition information, to enhance competition, and to identify potential small businesses (for contracting and subcontracting opportunities) that are interested and capable of performing the work described below. The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) for this requirement is 541720, Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Firms responding to this RFI should state whether or not they are a small business concern, as defined by the Small Business Association. The size standard for the NAICS 541720 is $6,500,000.00 per year in gross receipts. Acknowledgment of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the evaluation of the information received. MMS will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to the subject of this RFI. BACKGROUND:The United States Congress, through the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Lands Act and its subsequent amendments, requires the Secretary of the Department of the Interior to monitor and assess the impacts of resource development activities in federal waters on human, marine, and coastal environments. The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 further requires that natural and social science research be conducted to inform decision-makers for major environmental policy actions. The MMS is the federal administrative agency created both to conduct OCS lease sales and to monitor and mitigate adverse impacts that might be associated with offshore resource development. Within the MMS, the Environmental Studies Program functions to implement and manage the responsibilities of research. This study will facilitate the meeting of MMS information needs on subsistence food harvest and sharing activities in coastal Alaska, with specific focus on the North Aleutian Basin Planning Area. The North Aleutian Basin (NAB) planning Area includes more than 50,000 square miles a large geographic area with diverse, abundant, and environmentally sensitive resources. Within that area, the Department of Interiors Proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program 2007-2012 considers an oil and gas lease sale for 2011. The proposed sale area or adjacent areas support major productive commercial and subsistence fisheries, provide habitat to numerous marine mammals, and are a significant migration and staging area for internationally important waterfowl. More than 20 communities in the Southwest Alaska-Bristol Bay area rely heavily on subsistence or commercial fisheries. For example, Dutch Harbor is the largest seafood port in the world, processing a peak of 70 million pounds per week and collecting half the total US annual catch. It would be difficult to identify an area in the Bering Sea, or possibly anywhere in the world, which has greater fisheries, protected species, or human use issues to assess prior to any proposed development action. In November 2006, the MMS sponsored the North Aleutian Basin Information Status and Research Planning Meeting to solicit input from a broad range of scientific experts and regional stakeholders that could assist with the creation of jumpstart research planning strategies. The meeting identified over 30 studies that could provide useful information for future Environmental Impact Statements, analysis of potential mitigation of impacts, and post-sale needs, such as for use in NEPA reviews of exploration or development plans. Of those, this subsistence study has been identified by the Alaska OCS Region as meeting a highly time-sensitive and decision-applicable information need. Subsistence is a major and sensitive component of the social and economic system of the NAB area. Resident communities rely on the marine ecosystem for both fisheries employment and subsistence food harvest. Subsistence activities are also widely recognized as an important mechanism for maintaining traditional values such as kinship, respect for elders, hospitality to visitors, sharing, and healthy living. Thus, in rural Alaska, subsistence issues tend to dominate the public testimonial record. Expressed comments amply demonstrate the continued importance of subsistence activities to coastal communities and the persistence of their concern over potential impacts from oil and gas development on social and cultural continuity, including changes associated with regional population growth, altered habitat, or diminished food security. Of course, potential changes in the biogeography and productivity of commercial fish species are also major concerns for resident and non-resident groups that work in the Bering Sea fisheries. Among resident groups, there is a clear positive relationship between involvement in subsistence and involvement in commercial fishing, indicating that these two pursuits are tightly integrated. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES: The goal of the study is to gather community and household-level data to help the MMS assess regional vulnerability to OCS oil development activities in Bristol Bay with regard to offshore subsistence resources. Specifically, it will explore and document through both qualitative and quantitative field methods the complex social dynamics of subsistence food harvest and distribution for residents of Akutan, False Pass, Nelson Lagoon, and Port Heiden. For each community, it will establish a baseline description of current subsistence harvest and distribution practices for keystone species that will include: seasonal harvest levels, seasonal harvest areas, social mapping of household distribution networks; and the identification of approximate ranges of variation across analytic categories. The study will also seek to collect comparable data on major cash economic inputs and social network distributions where appropriate in each community. In addition to community level analysis, the MMS is interested in developing a regional scale analysis of how subsistence activities differ by variables such as geographical location, ethnicity, socio-economic status, and access to commercial opportunities. The study goals will be accomplished through the following activities: -Community Engagement: Establish formal contact with potential host communities and create a protocol to facilitate community participation and meaningful collaboration in the performance of this research; -Literature Search: Conduct a focused literature search on the use of subsistence resources in each relevant community; -Survey: Prepare a strategic survey instrument, pre-test it, and obtain necessary approvals to use it from relevant regulatory institutions (such as the US Office of Management and Budget); Conduct the survey with minimal burden to host communities; -Ethnographic Fieldwork: Conduct supplementary ethnographic fieldwork to cross-validate collected survey data and to obtain the informant perspective necessary to interpret and explain survey results; -Data Analysis: Organize all field data into a workable database and analyze it with appropriate multivariate statistical techniques; Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the results of all prior tasks and prepare a draft report of the study findings; -Report Findings: Circulate the draft report to the MMS and host community leaders to facilitate parallel reviews by peer scientists and interested stakeholders; Respond to review comments and prepare a final report, incorporating reviewer edits and comments where appropriate; Report the study results to participating communities through public meetings or workshops. STUDY PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS: Research personnel must possess extensive expertise in social science field work. This expertise must be demonstrated through successful completion of projects comparable to this one or authorship in peer-reviewed publications. SOURCES SOUGHT: Interested organizations should submit a response of approximately 20-pages or less that provides information about the business firm's ability to perform all aspects of the effort described above. Emphasis should be placed on prior experience conducting projects of similar scope and complexity, and publications recorded in peer-reviewed scientific journals. All proprietary information should be marked accordingly. Responses will be reviewed by MMS personnel and will be held in a confidential manner. RESPONSES: Your response must be delivered as: one (1) original plus three (3) hard copies and two (2) electronic/diskette copies (CD MS/Word/PDF), total of four (4) hard copies and two (2) CDs. Responses are due 15 calendar days after this announcement is posted: not later than close of business (COB), 5 P.M. Eastern Time (ET), 24 April 2008 at the address below: One (1) Paper copy, One (1) original signed copy and one (1) electronic diskette copy (CD MS/Word/PDF) to:Department of the Interior, Minerals Management ServiceProcurement Operations BranchMS 2500, 381 Elden StreetHerndon, VA 20170Attn: Ms Olivia F. Adrian - 703-787-1151 (Phone) and email to olivia.adrian@mms.gov. Three (3) Paper copies and one (1) electronic diskette copy (CD MS/Word/PDF) to:Department of the Interior, Minerals Management ServiceAlaska OCS Region, MS 83013801 Centerpoint Drive, Suite 500Anchorage, AK 99503-5823Attn: Dee M. Williams, PhD, phone: 907-334-5283, email to dee.williams@mms.gov THE OFFICIAL RECEIPT TIME WILL BE DETERMINED BY RECEIPT IN THE HERNDON, VA OFFICE UNLESS OTHERWISE REQUESTED. If offerors desire to hand deliver their responses, they are informed that MMS is a secure office complex and they MUST NOT enter the building beyond the lobby. You MUST contact Olivia F. Adrian, Contracting Officer at (703) 787-1151 and set up an appointment 24 hours in advance of dropping off your submission. A staff member will meet the courier to receive the submittal. For any questions, include your full name, the RFI number & title (Subsistence Study for North Aleutian Basin), your organization name, complete address, and phone and fax numbers. Questions must be submitted to the Contracting Officer not later than 5 P.M. COB, ET on 16 April 2008. Email your questions to Olivia Adrian at olivia.adrian@mms.gov. PHONE CALLS ARE STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.
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