This is a notice of intent to award a sole source contract and is not a request for competitive proposals. The government intends to solicit a proposal and enter into a contract with North Slope Research & Consulting, 773 Goldfinch Road, Fairbanks, AK 99709 a small business concern, for Traditional Ecological knowledge of Caribou among the Nunamuit of Anaktuvuk Pass. Please see the below Justification for other than Full and Open Competition for further details. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, the Government shall consider all responses received prior to the close date of this announcement. Written responses to this notice shall contain sufficient documentation to establish bonafide capability to fulfill the requirement. A solicitation is not available. Please-mail contract specialist, Jordan Gunn with responses or questions regarding this requirement at
[email protected]. JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION (or SOLE SOURCE) Background: The project entitled "Document Traditional and Local Ecological Knowledge in and around Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve" - (PMIS 91021) has a three-year budget, which incorporates the hiring of private consultants within the collaborative process throughout the entire project. The main goal of this project is to develop socio-cultural (traditional ecological knowledge) data to complement and strengthen ongoing natural resources inventory and monitoring data, principally caribou, which are subject to permitted consumptive uses by the Gates of the Arctic resident-zone community of Anaktuvuk Pass. The contractor, "North Slope Research and Consulting" will provide two researchers who together combine biological and social science skills and a combined 60 years of experience, credibility, and rapport working in the community of Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. 1) Far Statutory Authority cited: 6.302-1, Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.PER FAR 6.302-1(a)(1)(i)(A) North Slope Researching & Consulting is the only company available that can meet the needs of the Government. Contractor Grant Spearman was the curator and manager for Simon Paneak Museum for over 24 years and has a large majority of the raw materials, notes, sketches, maps, and recordings necessary to complete this contract and now works for North Slope. There is no one with a better understanding of the collections and their contents. Sverre Pedersen is a trained biologist with decades of experience working in Anaktuvuk Pass on projects that integrate local knowledge and biological research. Northern scholarship is substantially dependent upon long-term rapport between researchers and local communities, and NPS benefits from the decades-long experience and track record of these two researchers. 2) Nature and description of the supplies or services required to meet the agency's needs: The specialized local knowledge of the researchers (Sverre Pedersen and Grant Spearman)-both of the existing ethnographic record and of locally knowledgeable consultants---is unsurpassed for this community. This project combines years of Anaktuvuk Pass history into one consolidated document and uses the researchers extensive knowledge of the pass as well as their community ties to complete the project. There is no other vendors able to complete this work. 3) A demonstration that the proposed contractor is the only source available to provide these services or goods (i.e. unique qualifications, proprietary rights, etc.): Sverre Pedersen has over 30 years of experience working with stakeholders in Alaskan North Slope communities and has dedicated his professional career to subsistence land and resource use projects. He has extensive experience with research methods such as systematic household surveys, semi-directed interviews, cognitive mapping, community harvest monitoring and community baseline data collection. Grant Spearman has over 30 years of experience working primarily with the community of Anaktuvuk Pass in the capacity of Curator at the Simon Paneak Memorial Museum and as Division Manager of the North Slope Borough Planning Department. His on-going connection to the people of Anaktuvuk Pass is highly beneficial to the project because of the relationships he has built over the span of time, working within the community. Additionally, Mr. Spearman conducted some of the original ethnographic interviews that provided baseline traditional and local ecological knowledge data for future studies. 4) A description of the market research that was conducted and the results, or a statement of the reason a market research was not conducted:Market research was not conducted due to the fact that both consultants are singularly qualified-and locally accepted--- for the positions within the project. 5) Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition:N/A 6) A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for the supplies or services required: N/A Concur: Jordan W. Gunn, Contract Specialist Requestor:Dave KrupaCultural Anthropologist Approve:Joy C. KucinskiContracting Officer