The Department of Energy (DOE) is pursuing a sole source contract with Daniel R. Lehman for technical support services under FAR 6.302-1, One Responsible Source. The approximate contract period of performance is February 7, 2014 through December 31, 2014. The estimated value of the services for the contract period of performance is $185,093.00, including travel expenses. The overall objective of this effort is to provide expert advice and counsel to the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Office of Science (SC) leading to improved project management/delivery capability. This work involves (1) performing a comprehensive assessment of current project management/delivery capabilities of DOE and SC laboratories and/or major projects with emphasis on organizational project management/delivery cultures; (2) providing expert advice and counsel to SC and DOE senior managers and senior-level DOE working groups for project management improvement strategies and actions based on ongoing and historical SC and DOE project management practices and project outcomes; (3) supporting the planning, coordination, and execution of SC and DOE independent project peer reviews or special project assessments; and (4) performing up to 20 hours/month of mentoring for SC and DOE groups or individuals on a wide range of project management and project delivery topics. Accordingly, the contractor will provide support to DOE and SC organizations in a variety of planned and ongoing activities as outlined and described below. Required tasks are as follows: Task 1: Perform a comprehensive, baseline assessment of project management/delivery capability of Office of Science laboratories and/or major projects. Purpose: Rigorously identify, assess, and document current project delivery capabilities at DOE and SC laboratory and/or major projects. Based on reviews of documentation, on-site visits, and individual and group interviews, and other methods as required, assess historical project delivery performance (including trends); institution and project organization structures; resident expertise and project management capacity; maturity of project delivery organizations and systems; and overall project delivery culture. The fundamental goals of this effort are to characterize the current state of project delivery capability, and to identify good project management/delivery practices that can be shared among the laboratories and SC programs. Deliverables: • Draft implementation plan describing assessment approach, methods, and schedule. • Executive level briefings and summary reports for each individual laboratory or major project describing results of the assessment. • A single, final report that fully integrates individual laboratory assessments Task 2: Provide expert advice and counsel to SC and DOE senior managers and senior-level DOE project management working groups (e.g., DOE Contract and Project Management Working Group (C&PMWG)) developing project management improvement strategies with emphasis on SC project management experience and project outcomes. Purpose: Provide DOE and SC senior management appropriate and relevant expertise, advice, and counsel in support of their ongoing efforts to develop and implement corporate-level project management improvement strategies for the Department and SC. Deliverables: • Summaries of discussions, issues, and actions from interactions with senior managers and regular meetings or conference calls organized by working groups. • Assist in the development and evaluation work products and implementation plans related to project management improvements. • Assist with the preparation and coordination of SC input to working groups. Task 3: Provide up to 20 hours/month of mentoring for DOE and SC groups and/or individuals on a range of project management/delivery topics. Purpose: Establish a project management /delivery mentoring capability for (face to face and remote with groups and individuals) DOE and SC Acquisition Executives, Program Managers, Federal Project Directors, and contractor project managers in all aspects of project management/delivery - including executing roles and responsibilities, improving project management/delivery competencies, and sharing lessons learned from historical SC projects, etc. Deliverables: • Record of mentoring engagements including high-level summaries of topics discussed. Task 4: Participate, as requested, in DOE independent project reviews or special project assessments as an observer and/or subject matter expert. Purpose: To provide feedback to integrated project teams, SC program managers and Office of Project Assessment staff on conduct of project reviews or assessments including but not limited to pre-review preparations; overall conduct of review; quality of review documentation; clarity of review objectives; objectiveness of reviewers and review team; identification and definition of critical issues and quality of recommendations. Also, as part of routine independent project reviews or special project assessments, assist DOE and SC in efforts to troubleshoot specific project management/delivery issues. Deliverables: • Summary, post-review, executive-level briefings and, if appropriate, after action reports. • Input to review committee members regarding project review findings, comments, and recommendations for project review closeout reporting and final project review reports. • Briefings or reports, as necessary, to describe actions necessary or taken to troubleshoot project management/delivery issues. The statutory authority for permitting other than full and open competition for this award is 41 USC 253(c)(1), and implemented by FAR 6.302-1(a)(2), which authorizes other than full and open competition when there is only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Daniel R. Lehman is highly specialized and uniquely qualified to perform this requirement in accordance with the above stated criteria deemed necessary to accomplish this work. Interested parties may submit a proposal and rationale as to why they should be considered by January 24, 2014 to: Mr. Brandon Whittier, Contract Specialist, 9800 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439, or via email to
[email protected]. The North American Industry Classification System (NAIC) Code for this requirement is 541611. Businesses who believe they have a superior solution to DOE's proposed award to Daniel R. Lehman must respond in writing to the Contract Specialist. The written response must include a general technical proposal for performing services mentioned in this announcement, past performance client information for similar work within 3 years, resumes of individuals with relevant professional qualifications who would be potentially assigned to the work and a rationale as to why your solicitation would be in the Government's best interest. A determination by the Government not to compete with 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.