SOURCES SOUGHT
B -- Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC)
- Notice Date
- 6/29/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- FWS, DIVISION OF CONTRACTING AND FA4301 NORTH FAIRFAX DRIVE, ROOM 7118ArlingtonVA22203-1610
- ZIP Code
- 22203-1610
- Solicitation Number
- USFWS-LCC
- Response Due
- 7/15/2012
- Archive Date
- 8/14/2012
- Point of Contact
- Cecilia Todd, cecilia_todd@fws.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- This is an invitation for all Federal Agencies interested in an opportunity to join the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) in an InterAgency Agreement. Please see below for the details of this opportunity. 1. DESCRIPTION: The USFWS uses a science-based, adaptive framework for setting and achieving cross-program conservation objectives that strategically address the problems that fish, wildlife, and their habitats face now and into the future. This framework, called Strategic Habitat Conservation, is based on the principles of adaptive management and uses population and habitat data, ecological models, and focused monitoring and assessment efforts to develop and implement strategies that result in measurable fish and wildlife population outcomes. In addition, by leveraging resources and strategically targeting science to inform conservation decisions and actions, Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) have been established to create a network of partners working in unison to ensure the sustainability of land, water, wildlife and cultural resources. Agreements may be awarded for projects that address the priority theme areas identified in section IX of this announcement. The complicated and inter-related nature of climate change, land use change, invasive species, energy development, water withdrawals, and other stresses on our natural and cultural resources increasingly demand that resource management actions should be targeted, evaluated for effectiveness, and better informed by the growing body of science on climate change and its interaction with other landscape scale stresses. Scientists and resource managers need to have new and more effective opportunities to collaborate, communicate, and develop scientific direction to inform resource management. The Department of the Interior has recognized this challenge and its obligation to work with partners to address the impacts that climate change and other landscape scale stressors are having on America=BFs natural and cultural resources by developing integrated adaptation and mitigation strategies. As a result, the Department, other federal agencies, states, non-governmental organizations and others have established 22 Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC). The LCC=BFs are landscape-scale applied conservation science partnerships that will support and enhance on-the-ground conservation efforts by facilitating the production and dissemination of applied science for resource management decision makers. LCCs may consist of Federal, State, Tribal, international, local, and private stakeholders. LCCs will identify and seek to coordinate among existing relevant conservation partnerships, plans, agreements, and programs with the specific goals of identifying common needs for information and sharing information and science. II. Award Information: This program has no matching requirements. However, to the extent possible, services in-kind and /or cash match is encouraged. Project period of performance may be up to three years. A determination of award instrument will be based on the level of involvement from other Federal Agencies. III. Basic Eligibility Requirement: Federal law mandates that all organizations must have a valid Dun & Bradstreet Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and have a current registration in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). IV. Application Requirements: Project Summary Briefly summarize the project, in one page or less. Include the title of the project, geographic location, LCC Theme addressed by the proposal (see section IX, below), and a brief overview of the need for the project, goal(s), objectives, specific project activities, beneficiaries, and expected outcomes consistent with this opportunity. As applicable, describe how your agency has coordinated with and involved other relevant organizations or individuals in planning the project, and detail if/how they will be involved in conducting project activities and/or disseminating project results. Project Narrative [Maximum of 5 pages - not including curricula vitae for key personnel, literature cited, or the map or description of the project area. Use a font size of no smaller than 11 points and margins of no less than 1-inch on all sides.] Identify the LCC sponsor(s) of the proposed project: List the LCC name and individual LCC staff referenced as sponsor. All projects submitted through this process must be sponsored by at least one LCC. Note that some Themes (see section IX below) require a minimum of five LCCs as sponsors. Sponsorship simply means that an LCC has been provided the opportunity to review the proposal and agrees that it will be of benefit to the LCC effort as defined in one of the thematic areas Project Goals and Objectives: State the long-term goal(s) of the project. Objectives are the specific steps to be taken to reach the stated goals. State the objectives of the project, which must be specific, measurable, and realistic (attainable within the project=BFs proposed period of performance). State the anticipated outcomes and/or benefits of the project VI. APPLICATION REVIEW Criteria: Recommendations for funding will be based on an evaluation of proposals against the following general criteria: =BFApplicability and Relevancy to the Themes Described in Section IX (40%) =BF (Please be sure to review the Statement of Need, Desired Proposals, and Desired Results/Expected Benefits sections of the theme(s) your proposal is addressing) =BFSoundness of Design / Technical Feasibility / Scientific Merit (25%) =BF Is there a clear statement of project objectives, explanation of what the project will accomplish and why it is important for the LCC Network=3F Have the applicants demonstrated a clear understanding of the problem being addressed, the present state of knowledge in the field, and the project=BFs relation to other work=3F Is there sufficient information to evaluate the project technically=3F What are the strengths and/or weaknesses of the technical design relative to securing productive results=3F Is there an assessment of project uncertainties and how they could impact the success of the project=3F Have the applicants clearly described the form or manner in which the work=BFs products will be made available so as to be most readily used=3F =BFApplicant Capability to Satisfactorily Complete Project (15%) - Does the proposal demonstrate that the applicant is capable of successfully completing the project, taking into account such factors as the applicant=BFs 1) past performance in successfully completing projects similar in size, scope and relevance to the proposed project, 2) organizational experience and plan for timely and successfully achieving the objectives of the project, 3) staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them, to successfully achieve the objectives of the project, and 4) other factors as relevant. =BFTimeline and Costs (15%) - Is there a clear table detailing appropriate timelines and associated measurable milestones, objectives, accomplishments, and deliverables that can be used to track and evaluate project performance through the entire award period=3F Is the time line realistic and has a high probability of being met=3F Is the justification and allocation of the budget, in terms of the work to be performed, unreasonably high or low=3F =BFMatching Funds (5%): Although match is not a requirements, projects with match will be provided additional points in scoring. Match must be directly relevant to the proposed work. VII. Award Administration Award Notices: Following review, applicants may be requested to revise the project scope and/or budget before a final award can be made. VIII. Agency Contacts Headquarters Office: Ben Thatcher or Doug Austen, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 4401 N Fairfax Dr, Room 222, Arlington, Virginia 22203 Email: ben_thatcher@fws.gov; Phone: 703-358-2060 Email: doug_austen@fws.gov; Phone: 703-358-1953 Website Address: http://www.fws.gov/science/ http://www.fws.gov/science/shc/lcc.html IX. Funding Themes and supporting material Theme A - Synthesis Products to Advance National LCC Network Coordination and Function Statement of Need: The LCC Network is in need of common sets of processes and tools to inform and support landscape-scale conservation planning, climate change adaptation, and effectiveness measurement. Many such processes and tools exist, but determining which are best suited to the LCC enterprise requires familiarity with an extensive technical literature and communities of practice. These may not be accessible to most LCC staff, precluding selection and adoption of the best options. Acknowledging this, the LCC Network has to date funded syntheses and =BFbest practice=BF assessments for climate model downscaling and scenario planning. Additional synthesis products may function to introduce the LCC network, and stakeholders, to unfamiliar but potentially useful techniques from a variety of disciplines, to assess the utility of existing tools under various circumstances, and to guide development of new methods in light of lessons learned or where no current ones are adequate to support LCC tasks. Desired Proposals: Proposals addressing this theme will create a product that allows LCCs to select or adopt optimal products, processes, or techniques to accomplish LCC goals. Proposals may include, but are not limited to, the following: =BFAssessing and synthesizing approaches and products for biological planning, conservation design, and/or other LCC-relevant components of strategic large-scale conservation planning (i.e., those currently being used by LCCs and/or those exhibiting potential for this application); =BFA comparison and decision guide for selecting landscape conservation planning software (e.g., Miradi) for LCC-relevant planning; =BFA comparison and decision guide for selecting among alternative methods (e.g., scenario planning, projection, overlay) that account for the impacts of future change (e.g., invasive species, urbanization, climate change) and multiple resource perspectives (e.g., birds, fish, water quality) in identifying and prioritizing areas that are important for conservation. =BFA survey and comparison of methods of measuring effectiveness of landscape-scale conservation actions. heme B - Addressing Existing Needs Identified by National or Large-scale Conservation Efforts Statement of Need: The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) recognizes that there are a number of existing conservation efforts that work nationally or at large regional scales. These may include but are not limited to: =BFNational Fish Habitat Action Plan (NFHAP; www.fishhabitat.org) =BFMigratory Bird Joint Ventures (JV; http://www.fws.gov/birdhabitat/JointVentures/index.shtm ) =BFPartners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (http://www.parcplace.org/) =BFNational Phenology Network (NPN; http://www.usanpn.org/ ) =BFScience and information needs identified in key national reports such as the State of the Birds Report (http://www.stateofthebirds.org/) =BFLarge existing regional conservation efforts that transcend multiple LCCs Many of these large-scale efforts have completed thorough assessments of the research and information needs that are limiting their conservation efforts or that would support enhanced efficiency of their conservation planning and implementation. Because a fundamental premise of the LCCs is to build upon existing large-scale conservation efforts, the LCCs will support advancement of well-defined needs that are clearly LCC-relevant and will entertain proposals that reflects these needs. Note: In order to ensure and demonstrate the direct relevancy of the work to the LCC Network, submitted proposals under this theme must include statements of sponsorship by at least five LCCs. Please see instructions and contact information on sponsorship in section C.2., above. Please note that the sponsorship requirement attests to a minimal level of relevance but the author(s) should also describe how the project is relevant to at least five LCCs. Theme C - Development of Performance Measures for Landscape Conservation and the LCCs Statement of Need: The Landscape Conservation Cooperatives (LCC) are highly collaborative partnerships involving a wide variety of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations, tribes and others. The LCC=BFs vision is to develop conservation science and create a forum of conservation planning that will ensure that we have fully functional landscapes supporting our natural and cultural resources for future generations. Each of the 22 individual LCCs and the national network of all LCCs are expected to document how they are contributing to accomplishing this vision both within individual LCCs, and as a complete network. Congressional committee report language underscores this need, =BFThe conferees support these efforts but also expect the Service to establish clear goals, objectives and measurable outcomes for LCCs that can be used as benchmarks of success of the program=BF. The Office of Management and Budget has similarly requested a more mature and appropriate set of performance measures for the LCCs. Current LCC performance measures have been developed at several levels: At the level of the Department of Interior the following =BFPriority Goal=BF has been established (note that it applies more broadly than just to LCCs) =BF By September 30, 2013, for 50 percent of the Nation, the Department of the Interior will identify resources that are particularly vulnerable to climate change and implement coordinated adaptation response actions. Theme D - Enhancing Landscape Planning and Ensuring Compatible Landscape Planning across the National LCC Network Statement of Need A key function of LCCs is to integrate priorities across resource perspectives. For example, at the level of the individual LCC, a key role is the development of common conservation goals and the development of tools and strategies to inform landscape-scale planning and management decisions. At the scale of the National LCC Network, the goal is to provide a forum for national and international conservation planning, integrate the efforts of the 22 LCCs, and to facilitate efforts across and among individual LCCs. Importantly, a role of an LCC partner is to define and share individual large-scale conservation priorities to help shape a common landscape-scale conservation framework for science and conservation actions. This is all accomplished while fully respecting the individual authorities and responsibilities of the LCC partners and is intended to support their achievement of conservation goals that can only be attained through a landscape approach. However, designing a landscape that sustains the multitude of species, habitats, and processes that we value is a monumental organizational and technical challenge. This needs to happen within an individual LCC but, critically, it must take place seamlessly across LCCs. Currently, individual LCCs are exploring alternative means of overcoming these conservation planning challenges. While this diversity of approaches is welcomed from the perspective of innovation, it also has the potential to undermine the ability of the LCCs to fully function as a seamless network. Thus, there is an immediate need to develop explicit linkages among potentially divergent approaches now to ensure that there are not incompatibilities in terms of resolution, scope, or scale of the outputs later. Conservation planning at large scales is not a new exercise. Large scale conservation has been addressed by organizations such as The Nature Conservancy through their ecoregional planning, in several large conservation efforts such as the Everglades, Crown of the Continent, and Chesapeake Bay, and through state-based exercises such as the State Wildlife Action Plans. A situation of comparable challenge is being addressed by the Western Governors=BF Association Wildlife Council through the development of eight separate Crucial Habitat Assessment Tools (CHAT) that must have consistent definitions in order to be inter-operable. Theme E - LCC Network-wide Data Integration and Dissemination Statement of Need: Coordinated data management, development and delivery in support of landscape conservation efforts of the LCC partners are critical needs of the Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. The National LCC Network identified data management as a priority theme to be addressed via a coordinated working group at the National LCC Meeting in April 2011. Further, coordinated data management and delivery is identified as a key need in the Department of Interior=BFs guidance documents including =BFInterior=BFs Plan for a Coordinated Science-based Response to Climate Change Impacts on our Land, Water, and Wildlife Resources=BF (http://www.doi.gov/csc/upload/Detailed-LCC-and-CSC-Information.pdf). Several LCCs have developed or are developing data management and integration platforms, yet there is sub-optimal coordination among various efforts. Several LCCs have also identified development and updating of key national datasets as necessary to support their conservation efforts. The need for coordination involves a comprehensive solution for data identification, discovery, acquisition, application, and delivery. Please contact Cecilia Todd at cecilia_todd@fws.gov, or the above point of contact for any questions or requests for additional information.
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