MODIFICATION
R -- RFI FOR OCEAN AND ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
- Notice Date
- 3/19/2014
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 541990
— All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Western Acquisition Division-Boulder, 325 Broadway - MC3, Boulder, Colorado, 80305-3328, United States
- ZIP Code
- 80305-3328
- Solicitation Number
- OMAO-14-0001
- Archive Date
- 4/12/2014
- Point of Contact
- Doris P Turner, Phone: 303-497-3872, Clifford C. Edwards, Phone: 303-497-6335
- E-Mail Address
-
doris.p.turner@noaa.gov, clifford.c.edwards@noaa.gov
(doris.p.turner@noaa.gov, clifford.c.edwards@noaa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- THIS AMENDMENT EXTENDS THE RFI DUE DATE TO MARCH 28, 2014. This Request for Information (RFI) is for planning purposes only and is issued in accordance with FAR Provision 52.215-3 provided at: http://www.acquisition.gov/far/current/html/52_215.html#wp1144503. No solicitation document exists at this time. Issuance of this notice does not constitute any obligation on the part of the Government to procure these items or services to issue a solicitation. In addition, the Government is under no obligation to pay for information submitted in response to this RFI, and responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. Any information that the vendor considers proprietary should be clearly marked as such. The Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research is exploring new options for collecting oceanographic, fisheries and hydrographic data to lessen reliance on research vessel support. Background Information: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration conducts ocean and atmospheric research at sea for the purpose of making science based decisions and determinations for the American public. These observations are for missions relating to the health of the oceans and marine fisheries, coastal resilience and coastal zone management, hydrographic survey to produce nautical charts, physical, chemical and biological oceanography, climate, and weather. These observations are commonly obtained by, or supported by ships. The value and utility of the NOAA research fleet is inestimable given the nature of the discoveries they have supported. As costs of operation grow and outpace NOAA's ability to sustain the traditional operational tempo of ships, plus the growth in the number of sea days now necessary to address NOAA's expanding mission, the need for complementary technology and new solutions to NOAA's observational challenges is apparent. The goal would be to identify those observations that can be obtained or supported by methods other than ships and redirect those efforts to those alternative technologies, while leaving for the ship based operations those methods and operations that only the ships can perform. Capability Statement Objectives and Requirements: For the purpose of this announcement, observational data means measurements taken by research vessels and instruments deployed by vessels (buoys, floats, etc) and provided to the Government in a manner consistent with existing data flow and time series. In support of the NOAA mission, a Contractor would provide a methodology for collecting necessary ocean observational data, at specified locations and intervals. NOAA seeks an analysis of current (market available), near-term (mature and market available in the next 3 to 5 years), and long-term (available in 5 to 10 years) solutions to meet mission needs. For each period of assessment, identify commercially available products that are on the market or available and can accoomplish NOAA's mission at a reduced cost per observation, yet sustain the scientific value and integrity of the process and information product, in accordance with the following ranked priorities: 1. Technology or methodology enables NOAA to meet existing observing requirements in a safer, more effective, or more efficient manner; 2. Technology or methodology enables NOAA to meet previously unmet high priority observations that cound not be met due to inaccessibility, high cost, or high risk; 3. Technology or methodology enables NOAA to augment existing observational capability to increase quality/quantity of data gathered by current platforms. The analysis should provide a comprehensive assessment of individual technology solutions capable of providing alternatives in performing NOAA's current ocean going missions, in accordance with the time period of the analysis - current, near-term, and long-term. This would include a list of platforms, devices, sensors, or methods that are produced and available today for procurement, and a characterization of the technical capability of the solutions identified. Alternatively, promising existing technologies that are incomplete should be identified with an assessment of what gaps accompany an existing solution. Cost is an analytical component and with all else equal, the driver. For example, if a set of oceanographic parameters measured in currently deployed tropical moorings, or methods of hydrographic survey can be performed by alternative platforms hosting the same of different sensors, those platforms and sensors that are capable of making the mission dependent measurements should be identified, compared and distinguished where appropriate. The result will be an inventory, technical and operational characterization, and comparative analysis of capability and cost. Attributes addressed should include sensor reliability, calibration stability, vehicle deployment methods or limitations, duration of deployment, known advantages and deficiencies of the technologies, procurement cost, and cost of operation and maintenance. Additionally, in performing the analysis, technologies that may be ripe and available in the next 3 to 5 years would be identified, and third tier, what technology solutions will likely be available in more than 5 but up to 10 years. 1. Potential Respondents shall describe non-binding pricing, including, if appropriate, the manner in which charges levied for services rendered would be derived. Ideally, the Government is considering the potential to award a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract using a price per hourly observation fee schedule. All response and response contents to this RFI will be considered informational only and will not be binding on the parties. Contractors responding to this request will not be obligated to provide the services described herein and it is understood by the United States Government that the costs provided as a result of this request are "best" estimates only. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary; the United States Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the United States government. Responses to this RFI are due via email to Doris Turner no later than March 28, 2014 at 3:00 p.m. (Mtn Time). Provide all responses in MSWord 2000 (or later version) or Adobe.pdf. Point of Contact is Doris Turner, Purchasing Agent at doris.p.turner@noaa.gov.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOC/NOAA/MASC/OMAO-14-0001/listing.html)
- Record
- SN03314115-W 20140321/140319234416-e273316be2f07b2b3ae7478e969e63b3 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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