International Forest Research, Development, Technical & Support Services for the Office of International Programs
OVERVIEW
The Forest Service Washington Office (WO) – Procurement and Property Services (PPS), National Contracts Branch has a requirement to acquire a contract for forestry research and development expertise, project management and technical support services to effectively implement and execute international sustainable forestry, biodiversity conservation, mitigation of climate change, natural resource management, and disaster mitigation for missions in over 90 countries throughout the world.
This acquisition is for an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with an overall maximum of $300,000,000.00 where the subsequent task orders with be fixed priced, cost-plus fixed fee or a combination of the two.
PPS desires to obtain the services of one General "Prime" Contractor (GC), and referred to as Offeror or Contractor, who shall be singularly responsible to satisfy the terms of the resulting contract. This solicitation is issued under FAR 15 procedures. The appropriate NAICS code for this requirement is 541715 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).
12318723R0002 Department of Agriculture Forest Service
11/14/22, 10:43 AM International Forest Research, Development, Technical & Support Services for the Office of International Programs
The Forest Service Washington Office (WO) – Procurement and Property Services (PPS), National Contracts Branch has a requirement to acquire, for its Office of International Programs (IP), a contract for forestry research and development expertise, project management, and technical support services to effectively implement and execute international sustainable forestry, biodiversity conservation, mitigation of climate change, natural resource management, and disaster mitigation for missions in over 90 countries throughout the world.
The IP has the mandate to coordinate all international activities for the USDA Forest Service (USFS) worldwide. IP's mission incorporates the implementation of projects which enhance cooperation between the USFS and other countries on practices and policies related to natural resources management, conservation, disaster mitigation, and disaster response. In addition to smaller projects throughout the world, current large-scale and multi-year USFS engagements include the Peru Forest Oversight and Resources Strengthening (FOREST), Bangladesh Community Partnerships to Strengthen Sustainable Development (Compass) program, and the Central Africa Regional Program for the Environment (CARPE). USFS has large and small offices overseas to support these programs.
Contractors play an essential role in the success of these activities. They perform various tasks, including project execution, project support, subject matter expertise, and administrative support. Most projects’ performance occurs overseas by the contractors with the guidance and assistance of the US government and foreign national personnel.
The Contractor will need to provide various services to assist International Programs in accomplishing their mission. They will need to recruit, hire, manage and oversee all aspects of Contractor personnel matters for U.S.-based and in-country personnel. In addition, the Contractor will provide personnel, including U.S. and foreign nationals, with the appropriate technical, language, administrative, and cultural skills, for short-term and long-term assignments to assist with the implementation of US Forest Service and partner projects and programs. Furthermore, the Contractor will provide complete solutions, including personnel and supplies, to effectively establish, manage and implement overseas project offices. Lastly, at the request of the US Forest Service, the Contractor will fulfill requests to process payments for the Forest Service overseas for the provision of services.
This acquisition is for an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract, with one base and four option years. The subsequent task orders with be fixed priced, cost reimbursement, or a combination of the two.
PPS desires to obtain the services of one General "Prime" Contractor (GC) and referred to as Offeror or Contractor, who shall be singularly responsible for satisfying the terms of the resulting contract.
This solicitation is issued under FAR 15 procedures. The appropriate NAICS code for this requirement is 541715 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology).
This acquisition is set aside for small business entities only with a preference for small disadvantaged business entities.
Shoud the government decide to move forward with this acquisition, a solicitation will be posted on or before May 22, 2022
PRE-12318722R0003 Department of Agriculture Forest Service
4/22/22, 10:51 AM International Forest Research, Development, Technical & Support Services for the Office of International Programs
This award is cost reimbursement contract for research and development services. Cost reimbursement are currently utilized by most agencies with international missions where there is a prominence of change in the mission-related areas and in contracts that provide a risk to cost and schedule.
Pursuant to the requirements of FAR 16.301-2, the Contracting Officer hereby finds:
Uncertainties involved in contract performance do not permit costs to be estimated with sufficient accuracy to use any type of fixed-price contract. Consequently, A Cost-Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) contract type shall be used for this requirement to meet agency needs, and no other contract type is suitable due to the complexity of the requirement. It is not possible to estimate accurately the extent, duration, or costs of the specific tasks described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). As a result, these costs cannot be anticipated with any reasonable degree of confidence.
A CPFF contract type will provide more flexibility when the scope of the PWS since the requirement cannot be precisely defined, therefore applying more risk to the Government.
There is likely to be inherent risk in the schedule and cost for the majority of task orders under this requirement, such as, 1) continuous overseas office support, 2) disaster assistance, 3) subject matter experts, and 4) emergency services as the need arises. The inherent risk to the contractor in providing support for offices in remote locations and under occasionally adverse conditions would require the contractor to price an enormous amount of risk into a fixed price order thereby making mandatory fixed-price task orders unduly expensive for the government. Therefore, cost plus fixed fee orders will be used when there is an expectation that currency fluctuation, schedule changes requiring travel modifications, labor market disruptions, or other political and economic risks are inherent to the requirement. In determining the type of contract for these requirements, we also examined the types of orders used by the funding agency when they contract for similar requirements.
Contracting Officer's Determination:
In accordance with 16.301-2(2), that the nature of this requirement presents uncertainties involved in contract performance and therefore does not permit costs to be estimated with sufficient accuracy to use any type of fixed-price contract. Further, in accordance with 235.006, the level of program risk does not permit realistic pricing and it is not possible to provide an equitable and sensible allocation of program risk between the Government and the contractor.
With this type of contract, the Government receives value because the fixed fee is aligned with the vendor’s performance.
Based upon the findings set forth above, and as authorized by FAR 16.306(b), a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee contract with Cost-Reimbursable line items for travel and other direct costs contract is most appropriate for this acquisition.
Awarded contract 12318723D0002 to MANAGEMENT & ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES INT'L INC for 300000000.00 on 2023-02-24.
12318723D0002 Department of Agriculture Forest Service
2/28/23, 10:56 AM