MODIFICATION
R -- MOD 1 ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH, SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING - CHANGED NAICS CODE FROM 541512 TO 541712
- Notice Date
- 2/10/2014
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- USACE ITL, GSL, EL, CHL, Vicksburg, 3909 HALLS FERRY ROAD, VICKSBURG, MS 39180-6199
- ZIP Code
- 39180-6199
- Solicitation Number
- W81EWF40178182
- Response Due
- 2/25/2014
- Archive Date
- 4/11/2014
- Point of Contact
- Amanda Andrews, 601-634-5249
- E-Mail Address
-
USACE ITL, GSL, EL, CHL, Vicksburg
(amanda.andrews@usace.army.mil)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION - SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS announcement to be used for preliminary market research purposes only. No proposals are being requested or accepted with this synopsis. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT SHALL BE AWARDED FROM THIS SYNOPSIS. The type of solicitation issued in the future will depend upon the responses to this sources sought synopsis. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this synopsis or any follow up information requests. The purpose of this synopsis is to gain knowledge of interest, capabilities and qualifications of various members of Small Business community to compete and perform a Service Contract. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) is issuing this request for information (RFI) announcement as part of a market survey for Environmental Research, Science and Engineering. Below are descriptions of the tasks and deliverables required by the Environmental Systems and the Ecological Resources Branches, at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC), Environmental Laboratory (EL), located in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The contractor shall complete tasks and provide deliverables associated with science, engineering, and research and development related to environmental sensing, characterization and monitoring, military sensor simulation, environmental assessment, risk management, environmental restoration planning and engineering, natural resources management, and environmental sustainability. An Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract will be executed to fulfill the needs of this service requirement. The overall objective of this procurement is to have tasks orders completed and obtain deliverables for Civil Works Direct/Reimbursable and Military Direct/Reimbursable work areas. The tasks shall be executed with very limited interaction between the government and the contractor. Specific deliverables and products will be defined in applicable task orders. This IDIQ contract will have a four-year ordering period. The contract will include research and development (R&D) tasks in both the civil and military arenas. These tasks relate to the R&D work being executed by two branches of the ERDC-EL's Ecosystem Evaluation and Engineering Division: the Environmental Systems Branch and the Ecological Resources Branch. Execution of the work will occur at the Vicksburg, MS, location and at remote field sites as is applicable. A Contracting Officer Representative (COR) will be appointed to oversee tasks at all locations. The contract will be written as a performance-based acquisition to satisfy Army and DoD service contract requirements. Contractor should have knowledge of, be trained to conduct, or be able to obtain required training to allow for field and laboratory safety, handling of environmental materials, animal care and use, First aid and CPR, basic bioinformatics and statistics, plant and wildlife identification, basic GIS, and familiarization or certification of some data collection equipment used by the branches. The Environmental Systems Branch conducts research involving the identification, mapping, and modeling of environmental conditions in the execution of diverse civil and military requirements. The branch focuses on the development and application of environmental sensing, characterization, and monitoring capabilities necessary to quantify environmental site conditions. The branch also conducts research focused on model development to create tools that allow for the prediction and visualization of dynamic environmental characteristics for civil and military applications. The Ecological Resources Branch provides a full range of research, tool development, and guidance for watershed and ecosystem planning, restoration, and stewardship management for the USACE, the Army, and the nation. Branch research includes work in stream restoration, design, and engineering; ecological effects assessment; human effects, perception, and valuation; wildlife and riparian effects, protection, and management; study design, data management, and study facilitation and conceptual, habitat, watershed, and climate change modeling. Security Clearance: Tasks that require a SECRET level security clearance will be specified in the task order. Contractor personnel must be a U.S. citizen and capable of obtaining and maintaining appropriate security clearances up to the SECRET level. Contractor must provide their classified CAGE code at the time of proposal submittal. If no security clearance is required for a particular task, then a non-U.S. citizen may be provided by the contractor. Additional details about Security and Safety are located in Item 11 of this document. The Contractor shall complete research, development, and evaluation tasks in the civil and military arenas. The contractor shall perform research in all areas previously referenced; be capable of understanding related activities; theoretical studies; laboratory and field experimental work; computational modeling, remote sensing imagery acquisition and processing; and technology transfer. The contractor shall be responsive to subsequent task orders. Specific research activities, medical monitoring and training will be outlined in each task and may include: field data collection, laboratory research, etc. Examples of research activities include: A.Environmental Sensing and Characterization - The Contractor shall complete R&D tasks and provide deliverables that relate to the identification, mapping, and modeling of environmental conditions in order to fulfill diverse research objectives. This could include the emplacement and collection of diurnal data using specialized equipment operating as passive or active sensors, including visible, near-infrared, thermal, ground penetrating radar, ground-based LIDAR, or other similar types of sensors. Data shall be gathered concerning background environmental conditions and also for targets of interest. These targets of interest can include disturbed areas. The Contractor shall also make use of global positioning system equipment to document site information and the Contractor shall be able to configure, set up, operate, and disassemble sensing equipment and related computing and recording hardware. Travel and field work are often required and will be defined at the task order level. B.Testing of Sensors - The Contractor shall complete R&D tasks and provide deliverables related to the development and execution of tests designed to determine the effectiveness of sensors to detect objects of interest. This work can include test layout design and implementation, including the emplacement and removal of targets and the detailed characterization of the environmental adjacent to those targets of interest. Travel and field work are often required and will be defined at the task order level. C.Geospatial data acquisition, analysis, and modeling - The Contractor shall complete R&D tasks and provide deliverables that relate to the collection, synthesis, analysis, and modeling of remotely sensed imagery and geospatial data related to environmental investigations. Custom software or scripting solutions are often required. D.Development of Custom Sensing Systems - The Contractor shall complete R&D tasks and provide deliverables related to the construction of custom systems for monitoring environmental phenomena, including meteorological stations, and other systems designed to further knowledge of background soil, geology, vegetation and meteorological conditions. E.Recreation & Natural Resources - The Contractor shall complete R&D tasks and provide deliverables associated with statistical analysis; visitation and meter data analysis; data verification and trend analysis; Natural Resource Management (NRM) communities of practice; and data analyses to the software business line systems of the NRM program and Operations and Regulatory Gateways. F.Ecosystem Restoration and Planning - The Contractor shall complete R&D tasks and provide deliverables related to ecosystem restoration and USACE Planning including model development, implementation, and monitoring of restoration and planning projects. G.Wildlife Habitat and Stewardship - The Contractor shall complete R&D tasks and provide deliverables related to wildlife resources assessment and protection, including natural resource inventories and wildlife habitat assessment and monitoring. Travel and field work are often required and will be defined at the task order level. H.Medical Monitoring may be required for persons conducting laboratory research or field research: The contractor shall conduct research occurring under office, laboratory, and field settings. The contractor shall be able to work in these settings and in some cases may be required to operate outdoors in remote locations, be capable of safely negotiating steep and uneven terrain, lift 50 pounds, and exhibit a fitness level required in adverse environmental conditions. Minimum Requirements for Labor Categories: Technical Subject Matter Expert Highly educated, experienced, and renowned professionals are available to solve the most difficult and forward-looking problems. These professionals, in their respective concentrations, apply sound expertise and practices to solve a wide variety of technical problems. These may include developing and applying advanced scientific and engineering technologies in systems, experiments, and demonstrations; and introducing into the systems the application of leading edge technological developments. May have published articles or books in field of expertise and made presentations at professional conferences. Specialized experience is directly applicable to the task requirements. Level l: Level I subject matter expert has completed a Bachelor's degree or has equivalent work-related experience in the area of task execution. Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) in report writing; technical presentations, laboratory and field experimental work; data collection, reduction, and analysis; geographic information systems (GIS) are highly desirable. Desired experience: 2-4 years Level II: The Level II subject matter expert has completed a Master's degree in the required area of expertise or has at least 3 years of documented experience in related professional field related to the ERDC Mission. Desired Experience: 4-6 years. Level Ill: The Level Ill professional has completed a PhD degree in the required area of expertise or has at least 6 years of documented experience in related professional field related to the ERDC Mission. Desired Experience: 6 years or more Technical Subject Matter Specialist General Skills and Tasks: Applies subject matter knowledge to high level analysis, collection, assessment, design, development, modeling, simulation, integration, installation, documentation, and implementation. Resolves scientific or engineering problems which require an intimate knowledge of the related technical subject matter. Applies principles and methods of the subject matter to specialized solutions. Level I: BA/BS/equivalent plus 2-4 years of experience preferred. Applies technical expertise to data collection, processing, analysis and final product preparation. Familiarity and comfort with computers and technical equipment is required. Experience in data collection in the field in a variety of environmental conditions is preferred. Level II: BA/BS/equivalent plus 4-6 years of experience preferred, MA/MS desired. Should exhibit high level of familiarity with at least one technical area of specialization. Applies technical expertise to data collection, processing, analysis and final product preparation. Familiarity and comfort with computers and technical equipment is required. Experience in data collection in the field in a variety of environmental conditions is preferred. Level III: BA/BS required at a minimum. MA/MS desired. 6 or more years of experience desired. Applies technical knowledge at a high level of competence. Should be able to conduct scientific or engineering studies independently. At this level, should have either authored or co-authored technical articles or been involved with scientific presentations, workshops, or conferences. Technical Analyst Performs field data collection and laboratory analyses associated with the environment studies. Functions as a member of an interdisciplinary team and requires technical expertise of the environment or associated complementary disciplines. May manage complex tasks and staff from the same vendor performing environmental, technical, or scientific activities. May provide technical guidance on environmental task under the general supervision of contractor environmental, scientific, or technical staff. Level l: The Level l technical analyst is not required to have a degree in the area of expertise. Ability to perform manual tasks (heavy lifting) is preferred and ability to be trained in other skill areas. KSAs that are desirable at this level include: Associate's degree from a community college; GIS and GPS experience; solid mathematics skills; basic computer skills. Ability to work well with others; willingness to travel to remote field sites; good driving skills and ability to obtain a commercial driver's license are preferable. Level II: The Level II technical analyst is not required to have a degree but must have at least 2 years of documented experience in some of the desired skills that could be equated to an Associate's degree or higher. Technician must have the physical ability to perform manual tasks (heavy lifting) and ability to be trained in other skill areas. Required KSAs for this level include: basic computer skills; experience working with and leading small groups of people on projects; clean driving record and ability to obtain a commercial driver's license; good verbal and writing communication skills; good mathematics skills; ability to accurately gather and reduce technical data; GIS and GPS experience is preferable. Level Ill: The Level III technical analyst is not required to have a degree, but a BA/BS is strongly preferred unless the individual has exhibited an extremely high level of expertise in their technical field. Must have at least 10 years of documented experience demonstrating the skills necessary to perform the research tasks for ERDC. A college degree at or above the Bachelor's level will be counted toward experience criteria. Technician must have the physical ability to perform fieldwork or lab analysis and the ability to be trained in other skill areas. Required KSAs for this level include: basic computer skills; experience working with and leading small groups of people on projects; clean driving record and ability to obtain a commercial driver's license; good verbal and writing communication skills; good mathematics skills; ability to accurately gather and reduce technical data; ability to synthesize results into format for presentations and reports; GIS and GPS experience is preferable. Contractor personnel may be required to travel within the Continental United States (CONUS) to perform temporary duty as required by specific Task Orders. The contractor will be reimbursed for travel in accordance with FAR 31.205-46. Contractor personnel shall primarily perform their day to day assignments at the ERDC in Vicksburg, MS, although, work at other locations may occasionally be required. Place of performance will be specified in each Task Order. Contract period of performance will initiate upon contract award and will consist of a four year ordering period. Each task order will include a specific period of performance. Specific deliverables will be outlined in each Task Order issued. A typical deliverable may include, but not be limited to, progress reports, technical report/papers, bioinformatic, and statistical results, etc. Deliverables will typically be specified in individual task orders. Specific deliverables will be outlined in each Task Order issued. In general, the contractor shall conduct research and development studies to include, modeling, simulation, material selection, testing, laboratory and field data gathering, data analysis, report preparation, and report presentation. A typical deliverable may include providing data suitable for inclusion in technical reports and papers, numerical simulation results, datasets, and status reports. Specific deliverables will be defined in the individual task orders. The contractor shall perform work as specified by the Task Orders. Each Task Order will include, as a minimum, a PWS for the work to be performed and any travel, misc. costs and deliverables as appropriate. Contractor shall provide information on proposed personnel to satisfy a specific task order two (2) weeks in advance of the beginning of the task, so appropriate internal administrative functions can begin. North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code applicable to this sources sought is 541712, Computer Systems Design Services. The Small Business Size Standard for this sources sought is $25.5 Million. Interested organizations having access to demonstrated research and capabilities in this area are invited to submit literature, which describes the general approach, previous related work, and a response per the submission instructions below. After review of the response submissions, the Government may contact select respondents to further clarify the candidate materials. If you have an interest in participating in this type of contract, please provide the following information: 1. Cage code or DUNS number 2. Company information: (type of small business: 8(a), SDB, SDVOSB, etc) Please indicate contact information and email address. 3. Capability Statement: Please include a capability statement not to exceed ten pages. Interested parties should register on-line and subscribe to receiving procurement announcements related to this sources sought notice at www.fbo.gov. Any questions related to this notice shall be submitted in writing to the point of contact listed below. All information marked as proprietary information will be safeguarded to prevent disclosures to non-government personnel and entities. Your interest in this response is appreciated. Interested vendors should provide information regarding this announcement no later than 25 February, 2014 at 1:00 pm CST to: E-mail amanda.andrews@usace.army.mil
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USA/COE/329/W81EWF40178182/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: USACE EL, Vicksburg 3909 HALLS FERRY ROAD, VICKSBURG MS
- Zip Code: 39180-6199
- Zip Code: 39180-6199
- Record
- SN03284767-W 20140212/140210234103-26b716411888949f982b7166c04a31b8 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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