Curation Services- USACE- St. Louis
Aug 15, 2019 - Amendment 0001 to Source Sought. Two more questions added to the Source Sought.
Aug 13, 2019 - Second Source Sought posted
June 21, 2019 - changed set-aside to Women Owned Small Business -The source sought determined that two or more responsible small business were capable to fulfill this requirment IAW FAR 19.502-2.
Jun 21, 2019 - Pre -Solicitation
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitation for the award of a hybrid contract as a labor hours and firm-fixed-price contract for a national cultural resources and curation services contract.
The work includes providing multidisciplinary cultural resource-related services for projects undertaken by the USACE, St. Louis District, MCX CMAC in support of other USACE districts and federal government entities CONUS, OCONUS to include Hawaii, Alaska, and U.S. territories. Services will include both terrestrial and marine archeological investigations, historic architectural services, architectural history, archival and knowledge management services, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) summary and inventory services, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) services and related modeling, and historic studies in support of cultural resources investigations. They also include collections management, rehabilitation, conservation and curation services, and other types of museum support. The proposed acquisition will be subject to applicable federal, state and local regulations. Additionally, the contractor will need to demonstrate an ability both to manage and supervise subcontractors and to handle large volumes of work under strict deadlines. This acquisition is solicited as a 100% WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS (SB) SET-ASIDE for an Indefinite Quantity Contract (IDIQ) with a base year and four (4) option years to renew. The Guaranteed Minimum will approximately be 10,000 for the (base year only). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this is effort is 541720, Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities. The Small Business Administration small business size standard for NAICS code 541720, Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities is $20.5 million annual average receipts (total or gross income) over the past three years. Paper copies of this solicitation and its amendments will not be available or issued. Electronic copies are not permitted for the bid. The bid opening date and time will be contained in the solicitation package. The solicitation is expected to be available on or about October 2019. For changes to the issue date or any other changes to the information in this synopsis, potential bidders are responsible to check the information at www.fedbizopps.gov/. This solicitation package will be posted on FedBizOpps, which can be accessed at www.fedbizopps.gov/. The Government will not provide paper copies of the solicitation or the Interested Vendors List. Telephone, written, facsimile, or e-mail requests for the solicitation package or the Interested Vendor List will not be honored. Potential bidders MUST register at www.fedbizopps.gov/, in order to receive notification and/or changes to the solicitation. The Interested Vendor List will be activated and may be accessed and printed from this wed site. Prospective bidders who would like their company name included on the Bidders Mailing List (plan holders list) may do so on the FedBizOpps website under Interested Vendor List. Potential bidders are responsible for monitoring this site for the release of the solicitation package and any other pertinent information and for downloading their own copy of the solicitation package. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract nor does it obligate the Government to pay for proposal preparation costs. Be advised that all interested parties MUST be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) Database at https://www.sam.gov, in order to receive a contract award. Any questions regarding this synopsis, shall be submitted by email to the Contract Specialist, Virginia Bjornson at virginia.e.bjornson@usace.army.mil or to the Contracting Officer, Patricia Voss at patricia.b.voss@usace.army.mil.
Sources Sought
National Cultural Resources and Curation Services Contract
This is a Sources Sought Notice. This Sources Sought neither constitutes a Request for Proposal, nor does it restrict the Government to an ultimate acquisition approach. This Sources Sought should not be construed as a commitment by the Government for any purpose. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will be in support of a market research being conducted by the St. Louis District, Corps of Engineers to identify interested Contractors. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this is effort is 541720, Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities. The Small Business Administration small business size standard for NAICS code 541720, Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities is $20.5 million annual average receipts (total or gross income) over the past three years.
The St. Louis District anticipates to award a national cultural resources and curation services contract as a small business set-aside, of not more than $83,000,000. The duration of the contract will be not to exceed five years and 6 months (base years, plus four option years, and possible 6-month extension of services) and will be awarded with a Guaranteed Minimum of $10,000.00 (for the base year only) The work includes providing multidisciplinary cultural resource-related services for projects undertaken by the USACE, St. Louis District, MCX CMAC in support of other USACE districts and federal government entities nationwide. Services will include both terrestrial and marine archeological investigations, historic architectural services, architectural history, archival and knowledge management services, Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) summary and inventory services, Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) services and related modeling, and historic studies in support of cultural resources investigations. They also include collections management, rehabilitation, conservation and curation services, and other types of museum support. The proposed acquisition will be subject to applicable federal, state and local regulations. Additionally, the contractor will need to demonstrate an ability both to manage and supervise subcontractors and to handle large volumes of work under strict deadlines. Contracts will be awarded pursuant to FAR Part 19.5. Set-Asides for Small Business.
Description of Services
Cultural resources services to be performed under this contract will be conducted in a manner consistent with the Secretary of the Interior's "Standards and Guidelines for Archeology and Historic Preservation," 48 FR 44716-44723.
1.3.1 Performance requirements and deliverables will be set forth in individual task orders. The specific deliverables and details for a task order will be set forth in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) for each individual task order. Task orders will have various monetary values, and each will set a separate, negotiated schedule for deliverables and performance via the PWS by each RFP response will be evaluated by the government for reasonableness of effort proposed.
1.3.2 The contractor shall provide all professional staff, support staff, and specialists necessary to plan, supervise, perform, and report on the required work. The contractor's team shall have demonstrated experience in successfully accomplishing the work as presented in specific task orders. The contractor will furnish all labor, facilities, transportation, fuel, equipment, and materials necessary to perform the services required by each task order unless otherwise specified by the Government. Most importantly, the contractor shall provide qualified professional supervision to assure the accuracy, quality, and completeness of all work required under this contract.
1.3.3 To provide the services specified in individual task orders, the contractor will be required to assemble a qualified interdisciplinary team including a variety of subcontractors to complement the contractor staff. The employees, subcontractors, or consultants engaged in the performance of the contract are required to maintain professional qualifications, background, education, and experience equal to that proposed by the contractor and accepted by the Government for contract award. Techniques and methods used for projects shall be representative of the state of current professional knowledge and development, and the work will satisfy current scientific standards for data collection, processing, and reporting. All operations shall be conducted under the supervision of qualified professionals in the discipline appropriate to the information that is to be recovered, described, or analyzed. Qualified contractors shall include the following capabilities/responsibilities, recognizing that these positions may be provided under subcontract agreements.
(a) Contract Manager
(b) Program Director
(c) Project Manager
(d) Assistant Project Manager
(e) HR/Payroll Manager
(f) Administrative Assistant
(g) Lab Director
(h) Archaeologist/Anthropologist Field or Laboratory Supervisor (AT-3)
(i) Laboratory/Archaeological Assistant (AT-2)
(j) Laboratory/Archaeological Technician (AT-1)
(k) Other Professional Personnel
1. Architectural Historian
2. Archivist
3. Archives Technician
4. Art Movers
5. Building Conservation Specialist
6. Conservator
7. Drafter/Graphics Specialist
8. Geomorphologist
9. GIS Specialist
10. Historian
11. IT Support
12. Photographer
13. Physical Anthropologist
14. Principal Investigator
15. Remote Sensing Specialist
16. Senior Graphic Designer/Exhibit Design Specialist
17. Senior Historian
The contractor may be required to provide the services of additional qualified professionals to minimally include individuals with the following capabilities/responsibilities for task orders: paleoethnobotanist, zooarchaeologist, historic preservationist, cultural anthropologist, forensic anthropologist, curator, underwater archeologist, and other varied professional personnel, crew members, and staff. While it is understood that firms do not typically maintain all of these specialties, contractors should be aware that locating such specialized services may become part of their requirement for any given investigation.
1.4 Services. All work will be performed within the context of an approved, detailed research design that pairs data collection techniques with specific research problems relevant to the designated project. All data will be analyzed, described, and integrated into scientific reports of findings. Guidelines for report submissions will be incorporated into individual task orders.
1.4. Services may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the character of services outlined below.
a. Background literature, archival, and courthouse record research and informant interviews, including preparation of land use histories, and research of federal, state, and local regulatory agencies. Field work might not be necessary to meet this requirement unless specified.
b. Geomorphological and environmental reconstruction.
c. Reconnaissance and sample surveys.
d. Intensive, comprehensive cultural resource investigations.
e. Architectural evaluation, assessment, treatment, stabilization, restoration and preservation of standing structures and structural conservation.
f. National Register assessments of engineering structures.
g. Test excavation of archeological sites for assessment for National Register eligibility and, if significant, preparation and completion of detailed data recovery plans.
h. Assessments of project impacts to cultural resources.
i. Various types of mitigation including, but not limited to, archeological data recovery, forensic recovery, architectural mitigation measures, Historic American Building Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey (HABS/HAER/HALS) recordation, scaled drawings, popular histories, and collection of oral histories.
j. Preparation of research designs, unanticipated discovery plans, and discovery plans, including for peer review, for a broad array of data gathering and resource assessment techniques, ranging from national, to regional, to project, to site-specific.
k. Construction project monitoring, including hosting and working with tribal monitors.
l. Remote sensing techniques, including field work and analyses of data.
m. Computerization of data for analyses, and creation or maintenance of meta data, data base files, and models.
n. Scanning and georeferencing of data for GIS manipulation and production of overlays from maps and aerial images.
o. Ingesting data to existing world-wide-web sites or digital repositories.
p. Museum services, exhibit design, and curation and collections management of archaeological, natural history, and military collections.
q. Archives, records, and knowledge assessment and management services, including digitization, records management, archival processing, historic research, and delivery of specialized archival research and classification.
r. Preparation of scientific reports and summary reports for professional journals, the lay public, or the management sector.
s. Preparation of tutorials and teaching aids, including educational materials in both digital and analog format for publication and electronic dissemination.
t. Design and preparation of descriptive and interpretive displays, video productions, and mobile applications for public outreach, training, and education.
u. Preparation of various types of documentation, including agreement documents, for submission to the State Historic Preservation Officer, the Keeper of the National Register of Historic Places, Department of the Interior National NAGPRA, and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, as appropriate.
v. Maritime/underwater archeological survey and excavation.
w. NAGPRA support related to the statute and regulation.
x. Obtain, retrofit, equip, staff, supervise, manage, maintain, and demobilize collections processing laboratories; and
y. Furnish expert personnel to attend conferences and furnish testimony in any judicial proceedings involving archeological and historical study, evaluation, analysis, and reports.
Task orders may require a combination of the above skills or tasks. All work must be able to satisfy current scientific standards for data collection, analysis, and reporting, as well as local, state, and federal requirements.
1.4.2 Additionally, conservation and curation services are required to manage USACE owned or administered collections and oversee the Veterans Curation Program (VCP). In 2009, USACE St. Louis District's MCX CMAC implemented a program under which a portion of the legally authorized curation work of the nation is being performed in such a manner as to also assist veterans in achieving both employment and training opportunities. The Veterans Curation Program was signed into law by President Obama on 6 July 2016 (Public Law 114-189). Contractors working on archaeological collections that need to be rehabilitated in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, NAGPRA, the Archaeological Resources Protection Act, 36 CFR Part 79, and ER 1130-2-540 have combined teams of professional archaeologists and archivists with veterans to perform this work. Three full services laboratories and numerous ancillary laboratories are operating using funding provided through the USACE. The MCX CMAC provides collections, equipment, and quality assurance to implement the various program elements in cooperation with the contractor at these locations. The USACE continues to investigate development of additional opportunities to rehabilitate collections using similar operating models, at multiple scales, to meet its needs and those of other federal agencies.
Submission Responses
1. Provide general information for your company including a brief background for your firms, and information on the location, size, and capabilities of your business, and what categories of Small Business your company qualifies under (e.g., VOSB,WOSB, 8(a), etc.)
2. Based upon the map (Figure 1) would your firm interested in and capable of bidding on the nation, or is there a region represented that would best suit your business model, and expertise?
3. Briefly explain the capabilities of your firm to build a team that would address regional distinctions and specializations across the regions outlines on the map below, or the specific region you are best qualified for.
4. Does your firm have a business structure that can manage performance on twenty to thirty task orders simultaneously across the country?
5. Please briefly explain to your teams capabilities for bidding the types of services that may be required under this contract per the Scope.
6. Describe the types of companies you have provided services to in the past (State Government, Local Government, Private Entities, etc.)?
7. Describe the arrangement of the contract you have received from Government and Private Entities (ex. Firm Fixed Price, Cost Reimbursable, Incentive Fee, etc)?
8. If this requirement is solicited for Full & Open competition (unrestricted) in the future would your firm be able to bid on the requirement?
9. Please provide business information in the following format:
Business Name:
Point of Contact: (Name/Phone/Email)
Address:
Business Size (Large/Small under the applicable NAICS)
Cage Code (if available):
10. Any information submitted by respondents to this Sources Sought Notice is strictly voluntary. The Government will not pay for any information that is submitted by respondents to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government requests interested firms submit responses to the above submission requirements no later than 10:00 a.m., Central Standard Time, on 18 October 2018 and should not exceed 10 one-sided, 8.5 X 11 inch pages, with the font no smaller than 10 point, to Virginia Bjornson, at virginia.e.bjornson@usace.army.mil, and Danielle Gainey at Danielle.m.gainey@usace.army.mil, Fax will not be accepted. Please direct any questions on this announcement to Virginia Bjornson at the above email or phone number 314-331-8054. A Draft Request of Proposal (RFP) will be posted around the middle of December for interested parties to provide comment(s).
Virginia E. Bjornson, Contract Specialist, Phone 314-331-8054, Email virginia.e.bjornson@usace.army.mil - Karla Babb, Phone 3143318511, Email karla.l.babb@usace.army.mil
