SOURCES SOUGHT
70 -- The National Park Service (NPS) is hereby issuing a Request for Information for the NPS Backcountry and Wilderness Permits Analysis
- Notice Date
- 8/5/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- WASO - WCP - Denver Contracting & Procurement P.O. Box 25287MS WCP Denver CO 80225
- ZIP Code
- 80225
- Solicitation Number
- P11PSW09036
- Response Due
- 3/15/2011
- Archive Date
- 8/4/2012
- Point of Contact
- Heather N. Madsen Contract Specialist 3039876718 heather_madsen@nps.gov;
- 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
- The National Park Service (NPS) is hereby issuing a Request for Information for the NPS Backcountry and Wilderness Permits Analysis Introduction The National Park Service (NPS) is in the beginning planning stages or an acquisition to analyze and document the requirements for providing online reservation, payment, tracking, and management of backcountry and wilderness permits. The purpose of this Request for Information (RFI) is to gather information to assist the NPS in preparing a request for proposal.The NPS is open to alternative ideas. Respondents are encouraged to provide information about alternatives that can help the NPS meet its goal and obtain a contract management solution that meets its needs. Background The National Park Service manages over 83 million acres of designated, recommended, proposed, and eligible wilderness. For visitor and resource management and protection, permits are often required for users for the use of the backcountry and designated wilderness areas. Of the 394 units of the NPS, 106 have identified backcountry use with 73 requiring a permit. Types of permits include: mountaineering, camping, hiking, river rafting, stock use, canyoneering, shelter use, canoeing, and more. Fee structures for permits include: free, per permit, per person, per group size, per # of stock, per night, per lottery application, and many combinations of all of the above. Guidance for management of permits can be based on the Wilderness Act, general management plans, enabling legislation, historical use, response to local input, specific legislation, and individual interpretation of best practices. The NPS does not have a service-wide program to provide policy or oversight of these programs. There are a variety of approaches being used to manage NPS permit systems which include:" Manual paper based permits" Tracker - a proprietary software system developed and minimally maintained by a single individual" Home-made electronic systems at parks - usually developed and maintained by park information technology staff" On-line interfaces with nps.gov and pay.gov - developed and maintained by a single contracted individual" Recreation.gov - managed under contract by the USFSWhile some parks are functioning efficiently with their individual permitting process, others are experiencing problems ranging from protection of privacy data, poor record keeping and reporting capabilities, time consuming and inefficient processes reliant on manual data input, reliance on home grown systems or those managed by a single individual, and no "real- time" capabilities. The NPS is experiencing an increasing need for online permitting systems in response to public demand and internal management of backcountry permits. A number of parks have expressed desire for such a system in recent years with a couple venturing with failed attempts into the procurement process due to cost and personnel issues. Rather than continue with parks pursuing individual stove-piped systems, the NPS is considering the feasibility of a single national system for permits. The National Recreation Reservation Service, aka Recreation.gov, has recently begun acquisition planning for a new contract to be implemented no later than 2016. The contract will be broader in scope and will include business requirements for permitting. It would be advantageous to the NPS to have a comprehensive listing of requirements prepared in advance for inclusion in the RFP if that is deemed the appropriate system. Scope Conduct a business analysis of the NPS backcountry and wilderness permitting processes to determine the best solution to meet the NPS and public need for public online reservations, payment, tracking, and management of permits. Objectives" NPS requirements are defined for a single online public reservation and payment system." Requirements not suitable for a service wide online system are identified for alternative solutions." A complete list of parks is identified with applicable permitting processes based on the defined requirements." Areas for opportunities to standardize process are identified.Assumptions" 10-20% resource availability from existing working group of four federal employees with one resource acting as Project Manager." Full analysis may not require examination of all 73 permitting parks but could include a representative subset of common processes. Description of Information Requested Vendors are invited to respond to the following questions regarding this request for information." What is a suitable staffing element to accomplish the objectives listed above?" What are some recommended labor categories to consider in developing a government estimate?" What are recommended deliverables to achieve these objectives?" How long might it take to achieve these objectives?" Is there other information that the government is lacking in this RFI and needs to consider? This notice of intent is a request for information only, not a request for competitive quotes. However, interested firms or persons may identify their interest and capability to respond to the request for information. The Government will review all responses received by 10:00am MST, Monday August 15th, 2011. 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. Responses should be forwarded to Heather Madsen via email at heather_madsen@nps.gov. NPS will not provide a reply until after the closing date of Monday, August 15th, 2011 when all parties have had an opportunity to respond. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOI/NPS/APC-IS/P11PSW09036/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 12795 W. Alameda PkwyLakewood CO
- Zip Code: 802280287
- Zip Code: 802280287
- Record
- SN02523363-W 20110807/110805234643-d1c0555e79af5be11b5c76b44566e374 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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