SOLICITATION NOTICE
M -- Extension to United States Antarctic Program Support Contract - J&A
- Notice Date
- 3/12/2010
- Notice Type
- Justification and Approval (J&A)
- NAICS
- 561210
— Facilities Support Services
- Contracting Office
- National Science Foundation, Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support, DACS, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room475, Arlington, Virginia, 22230
- ZIP Code
- 22230
- Solicitation Number
- PRSS0000373
- Archive Date
- 4/12/2010
- Point of Contact
- Gunther Imer, Phone: 703-292-4581
- E-Mail Address
-
gimer@nsf.gov
(gimer@nsf.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Award Number
- NSFPRSS-0000373
- Description
- Signed J&A Justification and Approval For Other Than Full and Open Competition 1. Contracting Activity: The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support 4201 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22230 2. Action Being Approved: The NSF intends to extend Raytheon Polar Services Company (RPSC) contract number NSFPRSS-0000373, Science, Operations and Maintenance Support for the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), for a one (1) year period from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2011. The contract was originally awarded on October 28, 1999 with a phase-in period (from November 1, 1999 to March 31, 2000), a basic period (from April 1, 2000 to March 31, 2005) and option period (from April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2010) which was exercised on September 23, 2004. The estimated value of the one-year extension should not exceed $172 million. The one-year extension is required for two reasons: 1) The NSF requires continuity of its operations in the Antarctic as it concurrently completes the competitive source selection process for the evaluation of proposals received in response to Request for Proposals (RFP) DACS08P2215 (this will be referred to as the "Antarctic Support Contract (ASC)" throughout this document to distinguish it from the on-going RPSC contract number NSFPRSS-0000373); and 2) Although the anticipated award of the ASC will occur by the end of summer, 2010, the NSF requires continuity of its operations in the Antarctic by the incumbent during the ASC six-month transition-in period. Due to austral season constraints (see below for additional information), the transition-in period can only occur during the Antarctic summer period which normally lasts from October through March. Therefore, the transition-in is anticipated to occur from October 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011. To be effective, the transition-in for the ASC must be concurrent with performance by the incumbent. RPSC services will be required through March 31, 2011. 3. Description of Services: RPSC is providing all labor, materials, facilities management, and construction engineering support and utilizes government-furnished equipment to provide the science, operations and maintenance support for the USAP. The scope of the RPSC contract is extensive and includes, but is not limited to, the following services, which also describes those services to be performed under the proposed one-year extension: • Provide direct and indirect support to the scientific research activities being conducted by USAP grantees in Antarctica; • Operate and maintain a project office, staging areas in the United States, New Zealand, South America, and other facilities, as required; • Operate and maintain all laboratories, facilities, buildings, and camps in Antarctica, including the three year-round facilities in Antarctica - McMurdo, South Pole, and Palmer Station; • Provide facilities management services for the USAP to include design, engineering, construction and maintenance; • Obtain supplies and equipment to support USAP activities in accordance with government specifications and procurement standards; • Provide transportation for and coordinate transportation provided by other organizations for air, land, and sea movement of contractor, grantee, and other USAP personnel, materials and supplies. Maintain transport and research vehicles owned or leased by the USAP; • Implement and maintain the information technology and communications infrastructure used by the USAP at all locations. Ensure enterprise level compliance with USAP information assurance and information security policies and guidelines; • Implement and monitor USAP environmental, safety and health programs. Comply with the spirit and conditions of controlling regulations and respond to NSF direction in these areas; • When directed, obtain and manage all subcontracts necessary to support USAP operations, to include research vessels; • Maintain close communications with the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) through regular meetings, written status reports, and financial statements; • Remain flexible to the special needs of the USAP and OPP, and provide practical solutions to complex situations as they arise. 4. Statutory Authority: Title 41 U.S.C. § 253 (c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 -- Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. RPSC is the only responsible source that can provide these services for the one-year period of performance extension. 5. Contractor's Unique Qualifications and Austral Seasonal Constraints: RPSC is uniquely positioned to fulfill this requirement to ensure the USAP mission is not compromised. RPSC has been the USAP support provider since 2000 and is currently in the last year of the performance period. RPSC operates and maintains the entire NSF-owned infrastructure that supports the USAP on a yearlong basis, including McMurdo, South Pole, and Palmer Stations. RPSC also holds the assignable subcontracts for the operation of the two research vessels that support the USAP. Operations, logistics, and research support in Antarctica is highly specialized and requires extensive knowledge of and experience with remote logistics, construction, and environmental compliance. Additionally, there are austral seasonal constraints which must be considered in order to meet USAP mission requirements. In the Antarctic, extreme conditions make aircraft landings possible only during the summer season. The summer season in the Antarctic generally runs from October through March and the winter season runs from April through September. Because the weather in the Antarctic is warmer during the summer, air travel to the region is possible. However, during the Antarctic winter, weather conditions prevent travel to the area. This inability to travel from April through September impacts the time-line for continued program performance. Therefore, during a large part of the year, no other contractor can reach the Antarctic. RPSC is currently in the region and positioned to provide continued support during the aforementioned evaluation phase of the re-competition and transition-in period. Due to the large, complex scope of USAP operations support and the extremely remote hostile working environment, a six-month overlap with the incumbent contractor is necessary for a successful transition to a new contractor. This transition period must occur during the October through March timeframe to coincide with the Antarctic summer season to ensure ingress and egress to the region. Consequently, the timeline for this contract extension includes six months for new contract award and a six month transition-in period for a total of twelve months (i.e. April 1, 2010 - March 31, 2011). NSF's requirement to complete its competitive source selection, allow for a transition-in period, and continue to support ongoing commitments to international research programs and other US government agencies, makes this a mission critical requirement. A disruption to these services would result in immense harm to the U.S. Government and those individuals supported by this contract. Accordingly, RPSC is the only vendor with the ability and personnel to continue the required support without interruption and adverse impact to the USAP mission. 6. Efforts made to Obtain Competition: NSF published a synopsis for the one-year extension to RPSC on a sole source basis for the continued support of the USAP. The synopsis was published in the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) on October 7, 2009 (refer to FBO, PRSS-0000373.2010). One response was received and reviewed by NSF. NSF has found the company to be qualified. However, unacceptable risk would threaten the probability of successful performance by any company other than the incumbent. Due to timing constraints of the austral season, the incumbent is the only vendor in a position to meet the agency's goals without undue risk which would adversely impact the mission of the United States Antarctic Program. This is due to the very limited time frame to ingress and egress from the Antarctic as explained in Section 5 above. Previously, NSF sought competition for the ASC requirement and is currently evaluating the proposals received in response to RFP DACS08P2215, which closed February 23, 2009. Originally, award was anticipated in summer 2009. However, due to robust competition, voluminous proposal materials and the ongoing thorough assessments in accordance with the evaluation criteria, the timeline for awarding the new ASC contract has been extended. NSF now anticipates contract award at the end of the summer 2010. 7. Determination of Fair and Reasonable Price: The Contracting Officer (CO) will make an affirmative determination of a fair and reasonable price prior to award of the contract modification for the one-year extension. It is anticipated that the Defense Contract Audit Agency will perform a full pre-award audit in order to assist the CO in this determination. 8. Market Survey: Previous market research conducted during the ASC requirements planning phase (prior to the release of the ASC RFP) indicated that there were multiple sources interested in competing to provide USAP logistics support services. While it was expected that the same interest would be present for the one-year extension, this was not the case. Only one source responded to the one-year extension synopsis. Due to the above mentioned constraints, award of a one-year performance period (for the extension) to any company other than the incumbent would result in unacceptable risks and threaten the probability of successful performance of the USAP mission. 9. Additional Information: None. 10. Other Sources Expressing an Interest: Other than the incumbent, only one vendor expressed an interest in the one-year extension. Normally, NSF would list the names of vendors that have identified an interest in supporting the USAP. However, because of the sensitive nature of the in-process competitive source selection this information will not be disclosed. 11. Removing Barriers to Competition: As discussed above, there are no barriers to competition.
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