Center for Coastal and Marine Geology

The Department of the Interior's U.S. Geological Survey Center for Coastal and Marine Geology is a civilian research and survey organization within USGS that procures contracts supporting coastal and marine science, mapping, and geological assessment work. The Center has awarded 200 federal contracts totaling $2.1 million in combined potential value since 2003, with activity concentrated in the mid-2010s and minimal recent procurement volume.

Contract awards show a sharp decline in recent years. The Center issued 8 awards in 2016, 20 in 2017, 10 in 2018, 2 in 2019, and 1 in 2020; the most recent recorded award closed on August 4, 2020. This six-year gap suggests either a funding pause, a shift toward in-house performance, or reliance on standing vehicles and agreements not captured as discrete contract awards. Combined dollars obligated against the portfolio stand at $2.1 million, representing 98 percent of the combined potential value, indicating highly efficient spend-down and minimal option or modification activity.

Competitive concentration is highly fragmented. The Center has awarded across 103 distinct prime contractors, with no single vendor dominating the portfolio. This distribution reflects the Center's likely procurement model: small-value research contracts and task orders distributed across academic institutions, consulting firms, and specialized marine-geology service providers rather than a prime-contractor-led supply base. The fragmentation is consistent with USGS mission work, which typically funds narrow-scope scientific studies through individual research agreements.

The set-aside mix is heavily skewed toward unrestricted procurement. Seventy-eight percent of awards carry no set-aside designation (156 awards), indicating that competition remained open to all qualified vendors. Small-business awards account for 21 percent of the portfolio (42 awards), predominantly structured as total small-business set-asides. Only one 8(a) competitive set-aside and one partial small-business award appear across the full portfolio history, suggesting minimal use of SBA contracting vehicles.

No recent federal contract opportunities are recorded against the Center. The gap between the most recent award date (August 4, 2020) and the current date (October 22, 2026) indicates either inactive procurement cycles or work being executed under legacy contracts or other transaction authorities. Business development professionals should treat this Center as a watch-only account pending evidence of active solicitation or re-authorization of funding.