MOD | D | The purpose of this amendment is to add the statement of work to the previous announced sources sought. And to change the date that the RFQ will be issued on or about 8-16-10. Acopy of the timeline may be requested from abenton@usgs.gov.

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF AUGUST 01, 2010 FBO #3172
MODIFICATION

D -- The purpose of this amendment is to add the statement of work to the previous announced sources sought. And to change the date that the RFQ will be issued on or about 8-16-10. Acopy of the timeline may be requested from abenton@usgs.gov.

Notice Date: 7/30/2010
Notice Type: Modification/Amendment
Contracting Office: U S GEOLOGICAL SURVEY, APS ER TEAM A, ACQUISITION AND GRANTS BRANCH12201 SUNRISE VALLEY DRIVE, MS152, ROOM 3A305 RESTON VA 20192
ZIP Code: 20192
Solicitation Number: RFQ485622
Response Due: 8/9/2010
Archive Date: 7/30/2011
Point of Contact: ALFRED BENTON CONTRACT SPECIALIST 7036487343 ;
E-Mail Address: Point of Contact above, or if none listed, contact the IDEAS EC HELP DESK for assistance
(EC_helpdesk@NBC.GOV)
Small Business Set-Aside: N/A
Description: THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY for planning purposes to identify interested vendors for the requirement detailed below. This is a follow on to contract # G09PD02190. A formal solicitation, performance work statement, and technical exhibits are not available for release at this time. In accordance with FAR 19.5, Set-Asides for Small Business, the Government will review the information requested in this announcement to determine the type of set-aside (if any) for this requirement.The U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) has the requirement for the addition of 60,000,000 keystrokes to complete the digitization of historic (1966-1996) North American Breeding Bird Survey data. Initial keystroke estimates determined from a small sub-sample of forms was 57,000,000 keystrokes prior to project initiation. However, keystroke counts based on the processing of several thousand sets of data sheets under the current contract indicates that total keystroke estimate for the data collection is approximately 117,000,000 -- leaving an approximate 60,000,000 keystroke shortfall in completing the digitization of the data collection. Thus PWRC has the requirement to manually key approximately 60,000,000 keystrokes of data, contingent upon availability of funds.PWRC will provide pdf versions of the data forms to the vendor from which to read and key the data. Data must be manually keyed and not input via optical character recognition technology. Data file and QAQC file products must conform to current product specifications in terms of quality and format. Keyed data records must incorporate previously keyed index fields to allow linking between images and keyed data.The Government anticipates award of a Fixed Price Award type contract. The procurement is anticipated to be completed 8 months after award of Contract. The solicitation and any documents related to this procurement will be available at GSA eBuy. https://www.ebuy.gsa.gov/ on or about 16 August 2010. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of the solicitation and amendments (if any). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 518210 and the size standard is $25M. The incumbent contractor is HOV Services, Inc. of Troy, MI. Small business concerns who believe they can responsibly perform this requirement should submit the following information to the contract specialist no later than close of business Monday, 09 August 2010: 1. Capability statement describing corporate expertise and technical qualifications in data conversion and ability to perform this follow-on work.2. At least three years of demonstrable experience manually keying high volumes of hand-written data from pdf images.3. Past performance information describing your data conversion capabilities other contracts held for facilities of a similar size when compared to the USGS requirement. Past performance information should be submitted for projects conducted within the last three years and include: project title, location, whether the work was as a prime or subcontractor, contract/subcontract dollar value, type of contract, percentage of self-performed work, and overall performance rating received. 4. Small business status of potential offeror (8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, etc.)5. Point of contact information for potential offeror, Cage Code, and D&B Number.6. Any other information that will prove the potential offeror is capable of performing the required effort. Small business submissions should be mailed to the attention of Alfred Benton, Contract Specialist, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 152, Reston, VA, 20192. Responses should be limited to 10 pages (single-sided). Email responses will not be accepted or evaluated. NOTE: All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary - the Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the Government. Materials submitted to the Government for review will not be returned. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. This is not a request for proposals. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on responses received under this announcement. All questions and concerns may be submitted to the contract specialist via email only at abenton@usgs.gov. PERFORMANCE-BASED STATEMENT OF WORK Legacy North American Breeding Bird Survey Data Set EntryI. General InformationA. IntroductionIn 1966 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initiated the North American Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) program to monitor the status and trends of bird populations in the U.S.A. and Canada. Today the program is jointly coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey, the Canadian Wildlife Service, and the Mexican National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity and provides population change information on over 400 bird species. These data are utilized by international, national and state conservation agencies and non-profit organization, along with other indicators, to assess and set avian conservation priorities at continental, national, and regional scales.There are over 4100 BBS routes scattered across the U.S. and Canada. Each year during the height of the breeding season thousands of these routes are sampled by observers skilled in avian identification. Each route is a randomly established roadside path, along which 50 sample points are established at 0.5-mile intervals covering approximately 24.5 linear miles. At each point every bird seen or heard during a 3-minute interval is identified and counted. Surveys start 30 minutes before sunrise and take approximately 5 hours to complete.Between 1965 and 1996 BBS data were recorded onto 5 single-sided data forms each containing 10-stops of the 50 stops found on the route. Due to the limitations of computer memory in the 1960s and 1970s, once collected these data were summarized by page and the transcribed to a Summary Data sheet that was subsequently computerized. In 1997 the BBS office discontinued the use of the summary page data sheet and started entering 50-stop data directly into the database. BBS data continue to be collected and entered in the 50-stop format.Meanwhile, advances in GIS/GPS technology and new spatial analytical models over the last decade have made the historic 50-stop data highly sought after for informing research on the effects of climate change and habitat changes on bird distributions and numbers over time. Thus the USGS has the requirement to computerize all historic 50-stop BBS data and make it available for analyses. B. Background: BBS data are integral to most large-scale North American avian/ecosystem change models used in research today for understanding and predicting ecosystem change. In the last several years, research using BBS data included work on climate change and habitat change. See BBS bibliography for these and other citations - www.pwrc.usgs.gov/library/pubs.htm.Despite the proven utility of BBS data for avian/ecosystem change modeling, the full potential of this data set has not been realized. During the first 31 years of the survey, the data were not digitized in a format conducive for geospatial modeling and analyses at the stop level. From 1965 - 1996 only summary data were digitized even though the data were collected at 50 geographically distinct locations (stops) as they still are today. Usage of these stop-based data has been nearly impossible due to poor accessibility. Approximately 260,000 BBS paper data sheets containing 31 years of avian count data from 174,000 geographically distinct locations in the U.S. are currently in a non-climate controlled storage area in the basement of an office building. These data are functionally lost to scientific inquiry unless they can be digitized and made readily accessible.In 2009 the U.S. Geological Survey, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (PWRC) contracted the imaging of all historic data sheets and the subsequent keying of all 50-stop data. The imaging has been completed. However, the original contract was not sufficient to complete the keying of all historic data. PWRC has the requirement to enter approximately 60,000,000 keystrokes to complete the digitization of historic (1965-1996) North American Breeding Bird Survey data. Prior to project initiation the the keystroke estimate determined from a small sub-sample of forms was 57,000,000. However, keystroke counts based on the processing of several thousand sets of data sheets under the current contract indicates that total keystroke estimate for the data collection is approximately 117,000,000 -- leaving an approximate 60,000,000 keystroke shortfall in completing the digitization of the data collection. C. Definitions / Applicable Documents: Data sheet image - one PDF image of an 8.5x11 inch BBS data sheet. Approximately 5 images comprise one 50-stop data set.Attachment s:1. KeyedDataSample -- Keyed data sample from Alabama route 038 illustrating final data file format.2. DataFlagOutputSample - Illustrates layout and content of the summary data flag file.3. DataQualityReviewSample - Illustrates contractor's in-house data entry QAQC tracking and reporting requirements with each file delivery.4. Sample PDF images of BBS data sheets to be keyed. D. Scope: Contractor will create a computer text file, in the specified format, containing digitized 50-stop bird data recorded on approximately 150,000 historic 1965-1996 BBS data sheets; approximately 60,000,000 keystrokes. Contractor will input bird data by double-keying information manually read from PDF images of the original data sheets; error rate not to exceed 0.2% (0.002). Species identification numbers will be added to each record by the contractor during the data entry process.II. WORK REQUIREMENTSA. Technical Requirements1. Data Entry Requirementsa. Contractor will create an electronic text file of 1965-1996 50-stop BBS bird data via data transcription from PDF images of original data sheets utilizing manual double-keying of data. See attached samples of PDF images of data sheets.b. The text file must easily and accurately load into a MS SQL 2005 database environment.c. Data file will include the following fields and follow the format below (Also see attached KeyedDataSample file.):Image Name, Country Number, State Number, Route Number, Year, Run Protocol id, Observer number, Last Name, First name, Page Number, Species code (AOU), Species Name (as written on form), Stop1, Stop2, Stop3, Stop4, Stop5, Stop6, Stop7, Stop8, Stop9, Stop10. d. Contractor will develop and utilize lookup tables and appropriate scripts to fill data file fields to the extent possible in order to reduce keystrokes needed for entry. For example Image name, Observer number, Last Name, First Name should be pulled from existing index file; Country number will always be 840 while RunProtocolID will always be 101 and thus input will be automated by contractor; Species code will be derived from lookup table.e. To meet current PWRC operating procedures, the contractor should use the following data flags to indicate the described issues. If species names or counts of species cannot be interpreted, then a tilde " ~ " symbol is entered. If a species name on the scanned data sheet does not match a species in the look-up table that the BBS maintains and provides, then a pound " # " sign is entered. These will be listed in the Data file provided and in a separate output file containing only the data rows with flags and summary information at end of file. See DataFlagOutputSample file.f. Contractor will develop system to derive species code with minimal keying of species name. Goal is 4-6 keystrokes, or fewer, per species name. Cross-walk table between species names and Species code will be provided by PWRC. Contractor will be responsible for updating table with new entries and providing PWRC with the necessary information to develop new species name look-ups in order to minimize future keystrokes.g. Data written in the stop portion of the data pages come in four primary formats; thus interpretation of count by individuals keying data will be required. See formats below:1. Arabic numbers (1,2,3,4,etc.); approx. 64%2. Hash counts (I,II,III,IIII, etc., where I=1, II=2, etc.); approx. 14%3. Dot-box counts (., :, :., ::, etc., where.=1,..=2, :.=3, ::=4, etc.); approx. 3%4. Combination of 1 and 2 or 1 and 3; approx. 19% h. Keyed data will be delivered by contractor to PWRC in state-based text file batches as each state's data forms for all remaining years are completed. i. Contractor will also provide the following information with each data file delivery:1. In-house Keyed Data Quality review. The Keyed Data quality review is delivered as an excel file. It is updated each time a data file is keyed and delivered to the BBS. It contains date delivered, net keystrokes delivered, number of keystrokes reviewed, number of keystroke errors found, the number of keystroke errors allowed and still pass per ANSI standards for the number of keystrokes delivered, and additional information. See DataQualityReviewSample file.2. Keyed data output summary as a text file. The Keyed data output summary is delivered as a text file. This is a summary of the keyed data that contains a tilde " ~ " and/or a " # " sign. At the bottom of the page, counts of images processed, records created, and exceptional records detected are provided, as well as species names that were keyed and do not appear in the BBS look-up table. See DataFlagOutputSample. 2. Pre-production Set-up and ReviewThe purpose of this step is to allow opportunities for contractor and BBS staff to communicate product expectations and best practices to ensure the final products meet PWRC needs and requirements.a.Contractor to acquire a subsample of the BBS data form images (PDF), the species look-up file, and the index file from PWRC.b.Contractor will digitize the bird data according to the specifications here and deliver the data file and two supporting files to PWRC for review and comment.c.Review will be completed within two weeks of delivery and PWRC will provide contractor with written comments on any shortfalls or needed process modifications.d.If shortfalls are detected in product, contractor will be responsible for correcting and providing suitable products.e.Once PWRC is satisfied with products then full scale production of products may take place.3. Satisfactory entry and delivery of electronic data file containing keyed data from the PDF images of BBS data sheets. These data will be entered and delivered by state. 4. Satisfactory completion of items 1 through 3 above. B. Criteria for acceptance1. Keyed data will be delivered as a text file in the format specified and be easily and accurately loaded into a MS SQL Server 2005 database environment.2. The keyed data file will have the following fields: Image Name, Country Number, State Number, Route Number, Year, Run Protocol id, Observer number, Last Name, First name, Page Number, Species code, Species Name, Stop1, Stop2, Stop3, Stop4, Stop5, Stop6, Stop7, Stop8, Stop9, Stop10.3. Keyed data error rate must be less than 1 in 500 (0.2%) keystrokes to be acceptable for contract completion.4. Electronic text files (data files and supporting QAQC reports) must arrive in good condition and must readily open and function properly.5. Files that are formatted incorrectly, missing data, have excessive error rates will be corrected by contractor and provided to PWRC at no additional charge within two weeks of reporting date.6. Contractor is responsible for returning all PDF images of BBS data forms to PWRC in the same condition as delivered. III. SUPPORTING INFORMATION: A. Place of Performance Contractor will conduct work at their facility and are responsible for providing all software, hardware, personnel resources and work setting suitable to creation of deliverables. PWRC to provide contractor with an electronic list of data sets to be included in deliverables, as well as, species look-up table and index file. B. Period of Performance. All tasks are to be completed within eight months of contract award date (CAD). At initial contractor meeting timeline will be reviewed and actual dates set for deliverables. Timeline Task No.Task Description Delivery Date 1. Initial MeetingProvide necessary files for pre-production project and develop schedule Within 1 week of contract award date (CAD)2. Progress meetingsTo be held monthly.3. Project Time Horizon8 months from CAD4. Pre-production deliveryContractor delivers pre-production productsWithin one week of intial meeting.5. Pre-production feedbackPWRC provides commentsWithin one week of product delivery6. Pre-production finalizedContractor addresses comments and provides new products as needed.Within one week of completion of task 5.7. Delivery of state-based keyed data files and supporting files beginsKeyed entry of 1965-1996 data by state.CAD + 1 month8. Final Keyed data delivery & return of image files to PWRCCAD + 8 months
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Place of Performance: Address: TBD; Zip Code: TBD
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D -- The purpose of this amendment is to add the statement of work to the previous announced sources sought. And to change the date that the RFQ will be issued on or about 8-16-10. Acopy of the timeline may be requested from abenton@usgs.gov.