Pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), 42 U.S.C. § 1870(c), and/or other applicable authorities, this is a Request for Information (RFI), issued by the United States National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Polar Contracts Office, in support of the Office of Polar Programs (OPP) and the United States Antarctic Program (USAP). Note : the RFI PDF document attached to this notice has the same contents as the below but with improved formatting and functioning in-text hyperlinks. UPDATE 9 May 2022: This RFI was originally active from 2 Mar 2022 thru 30 Mar 2022. In an effort to reach as broad an audience as possible, this RFI is being re-activated to coincide with the release of a Dear Colleague Letter (DCL). The DCL invites respondents to review this RFI on account of the specific questions and submission instructions below. If you have already responded to the original RFI you do not need to submit a new response. No changes have been made to the below questions or content – this release is intended to supplement information already received. Link to DCL: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22084/nsf22084.jsp Description The NSF is performing market research to improve planning for the potential contracting of services for the future operation of a new Antarctic Research Vessel (ARV). The current icebreaking research vessel in use by USAP, the contractor-owned (CO) and operated Nathaniel B. Palmer (NBP) is nearing the end of its service life. The NSF has thus embarked on an effort to recapitalize its icebreaking research vessel capacity through a Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) project in which the Foundation would develop a government-owned (GO) vessel. More information on the project can be found at https://future.usap.gov/new-antarctic-vessel-approved/ The subject of this RFI is the new vessel’s operation. A separate RFI was issued relating to the vessel construction integrator requirement. This is available on SAM.gov under notice ID “NSF_ARV_Integrator”. NSF is seeking capabilities statements from firms interested in and capable of performing the future vessel operation services of the new ARV once completed. The operator will be responsible for: Maintaining custody of vessel and be responsible for security, regulatory compliance, insurance, port costs, etc; Coordinate and facilitate all maintenance and repairs; All crewing and operational support (fuel, food, supplies, minor equipment) The vessel operator will also be responsible for science support services, including: Science cruise planning and vessel scheduling At-sea science technical support services (laboratories, on-deck and over-the-side deployments, computer networking, etc.) Maintenance and operation of scientific instrumentation and equipment. The vessel operator may also coordinate and cooperate with a separate organization for carrying out some elements of these activities. Background - NSF The National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense. The Antarctic Infrastructure and Logistics (AIL) Section of the Office of Polar Programs supports scientific research in the Antarctic and operational support related to that research. Science programs include disciplinary, multidisciplinary, and broad, interdisciplinary investigations directed toward the Antarctic both as a region of special scientific interest and a region important to global systems. Disciplinary interests encompass the atmospheric, biological, physical, earth, ocean, and social sciences. Information Requested NSF invites qualified, prospective vendors to express their capabilities and interest to NSF. Interested vendors should respond to/consider the following questions and requirements: Ensure your cover page includes the name of the interested party (IE, company, academic institution, organization, etc), point of contact with email and phone number, DUNS or unique identification number for review of SAM.gov profile, registered NAICS and associated size standard (IE, large or small business under a registered NAICS). Please provide a capability statement for the firm or institution consistent with the bullet-pointed requirements listed in the ‘Description’ section above. Please highlight experiences with research vessels or icebreakers, management and support of oceanographic technical services and instrumentation, and vessel operations in polar regions. Does your firm have experience managing vessel operations or similar procurements on behalf of the US Government? Please provide: Government Points of contact for the requirement (name, e-mail, and phone number). You may submit an unlimited number of examples for this response. Are there alternative NAICS or PSCs which you would recommend to better capture this requirement for Antarctic research vessel operations? In addition to the above, this RFI seeks industry feedback on the following topics, which are prompted by information that NSF has gathered to date: A. NSF has an interest in engaging a wide variety of organizational types as potential providers. This includes, but is not limited to, for-profit corporations, academic institutions, or other non-profits. If you are a not-for-profit institution or organization, what motivates your interest in this effort? NSF is exploring the value-proposition of this requirement for such a provider. B. For this requirement NSF is considering a variety of contracting methods which include, but are not limited to, contracts and cooperative agreements. Please list what contract or agreement type arrangements your organization would pursue, and of those which you feel is the best suited to this effort and why. Any and all potentially interested parties are encouraged to respond. The response shall not exceed five pages (excluding management/member experience/government references), inclusive of any cover page, table of contents, and other information. Information shall be submitted to
[email protected] no later than Monday, June 6, 2022 at 4 p.m. EST. In the title of the response email, please begin it with “ARV Operations RFI”. Questions Any questions related to this RFI must be submitted, in writing, to
[email protected], no later than May 18, 2022, 4 p.m. EST. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY . This RFI is issued solely for informational and planning purposes. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue a solicitation or RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit NSF to contract for any supply or service or wed NSF to any particular contract type. At this time, NSF is not seeking proposals and will not accept any unsolicited proposals. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future competition. If a solicitation is released, NSF expects to post it at the Federal Point of Entry, www.sam.gov. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this anticipated competition.