SPECIAL NOTICE
R -- Intent to Award Sole Source
- Notice Date
- 7/29/2014
- Notice Type
- Special Notice
- NAICS
- 611430
— Professional and Management Development Training
- Contracting Office
- Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, Colorado, 80526, United States
- ZIP Code
- 80526
- Solicitation Number
- AG-82FT-S-14-0018
- Archive Date
- 8/18/2014
- Point of Contact
- Anthony O Salas,
- E-Mail Address
-
asalas@fs.fed.us
(asalas@fs.fed.us)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- This is a Notice of Proposed Contract Action Synopsis. There is no solicitation available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will receive no response. This Proposed Contract Action is published to notify potential sources that The Rocky Mountain Research Station intends to award a sole source firm-fixed price contract, on behalf of the USDA Forest Service, to David A. Thomas for the JFSP Communications Risk Perception, Sensemaking and Resilient Performance Project. BACKGROUND The U. S Forest Service's Human Factors and Risk Management (HFRM) RD & A unit endeavors to provide relevant research information to all Forest Service personnel and their interagency partners around the country. The HFRM program's primary areas of emphasis include: improving organizational performance, particularly the human interactions involved with wildland fire; improving decision making and risk assessment processes; and studying how individuals and groups interact contributing to various performance outcomes. There is a critical need to drastically reduce the number of errors, fatalities and other unwanted outcomes involved with actions in wildfire and prescribed fire activities. Under a project agreement awarded in the spring 2014 by the Joint Fire Sciences Program, and working with HFRM personnel, three university academics recognized as experts in communications, interagency partners (BIA, F&WS, NPS and BLM), and a contract specialist will study communication practices (radio, face to face, cellphone, etc.) in wildland fire situations using multiple disciplinary and theoretical techniques. This is a preliminary study. Therefore the study objectives are broad, with this first attempt seeking to develop a generic map of what good and poor communication looks and sounds like, and how communication is used as the primary method to transmit notions of risk to fire managers in various locations on a wildfire or prescribed fire. Research results, once tabulated and written up, will go a long way in radically improving firefighter safety on wildland fire operations. This JFSP research project builds on previous research conducted over the past six years, including the recent JFSP "Learning from Escaped Prescribed Fire Reviews" and the Aldo Leopold and Wildland Lessons Learned funded "Deep Smarts" knowledge management project. MINIMUM QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS: Subject matter expertise is needed in the following areas: High reliability organizing (HRO) applied in classroom and field settings Ability to interview firefighters and to analyze taped recorded or videotaped recordings Strong background in the Weickian model of sensemaking Communication processes and networks commonly used on wildland fires Basic concepts involved in sociological research methods Theoretical literature in HRO and communication theory Recent research completed by HHRM research group TASKS: Coordinate 2-3 research trips with local wildland fire field offices (likely: Salmon-Challis National Forest, Medford Interagency Communications Center, Grand Teton National Park, etc.). Expected in 2014-2015. Provide expertise in identifying HRO language as it is used (communicated) in wildfire and prescribed situations. Submit a written report describing the SME's work on the "Risk Perception, Sensemaking and Resilient Performance: The Sounds of Wildland Firefighting in Action" research project. Organize and facilitate 2-3 research team meetings, and 4-8 conference calls, including the agenda development for each meeting. In cooperation with federal PI (Task Manager), serve as general coordinator of research project, including contact person for academics, field offices and dispatch centers. DELIVERABLES: Contractor will develop, in consultation with research team, meeting agendas and field trip objectives, and then facilitate 2-3 physical face to face meetings, and 4-8 conference call meetings. Continuing until end of project in 2016. Contractor will assist academics and Task Manger in identifying wildland firefighter performance, as exemplified in the language they use, that is resilient and has the hallmark of high reliability. Continuing until end of project in 2016. Contractor will serve as the primary contact with wildland field units, making arrangements for observational studies at dispatch offices around the Western United States. Continuing until end of project in 2016. Submit a written paper developed in collaboration with the project team, that outlines the next stages of research needed to identify the "sounds of wildland firefighting in action." Continuing until end of project in 2016. Contractor will serve as a peer reviewer for manuscripts prepared by the Task Manager and university professors. Continuing until end of project in 2016 GOVERNMENT PROVIDED RESOURCES: The Forest Service will provide occasional working space at the Forestry Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, MT, including use of telephones, copy machines, and other basic office items needed to get regular work done. The Forest Service shall provide all field and analytical equipment as required by the assigned tasks. DEPENDENCY FACTORS Proposed time schedules and the sequence of deliverables are subject to modification due to priority determinations made by the Forest Service, and in consultation with the Task Manager. The research priorities will depend upon matters of scheduling and the availability of personnel to work directly with the contractor. ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA Schedule: Most work will be cooperatively developed with project team. Delivery Instructions: All work must be delivered to the Task manager for review and acceptance. Delivery dates for each requested product will be identified by the task manager. WORK HOURS AND TRAVEL The contractors work hours will vary in terms of hours worked per day and week, and will be primarily determined by the contractor. This research effort requires travel. Travel Requests will be submitted to the Task manager for approval and will certify total travel for this project. The proposed contract action is for services for which the Government intends to solicit and negotiate with only one source under the authority of FAR 6.302. Interested persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the requirement. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Date posted to FedBizOpps: 29 JUL 2014. Date posting will close: 03 AUG 2014. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 611430. The Size Standard is $10 million. The desired period of performance for the services described herein is anticipated to be from August 2014 through May 2016. The responses to this synopsis will be used to confirm that this is a sole source requirement. This notice is not a Request for Proposals (RFP); it is a market research tool being utilized to determine the availability and adequacy of potential sources prior to awarding the contract. Any information submitted by respondents to this synopsis is strictly voluntary. The Government will not pay for any information that is submitted by respondents to this notice of proposed contract action. Contractors who believe they possess the expertise and experience shall submit technical capabilities in writing to Anthony Salas, RMRS Acquisition Management, USDA Forest Service, 240 West Prospect Road, Fort Collins, CO 80526, or electronically to: asalas@fs.fed.us. Responses must be received no later than 12:00 p.m. MDT 03 AUG 2014. All documentation shall become the property of the Government. Firms responding must indicate the following information: Indicate the business size: small business or disadvantaged business, veteran owned small business or HUB Zone certified, and indicate the appropriate NAICS code. This synopsis neither constitutes a Request for Proposal, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. This synopsis should not be construed as commitment by the Government for any purpose other than market research.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/USDA/FS/82FT/AG-82FT-S-14-0018/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: RMRS USFS, 800 East Beckwith Avenue, Missoula, Montana, 59801, United States
- Zip Code: 59801
- Zip Code: 59801
- Record
- SN03441638-W 20140731/140729235220-76cb9215a8d4bc6901c4874b1b7e11a4 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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