RFP 1332KP22RNEEP0003_RODB-2_Amendment 0002.docx

Commercial Weather Data Program Radio Occultation Data Buy II (RODB) -2

Request for Proposal (RFP) Amendment 0002

RFP: 1332KP22RNEEP0003

Date: August 16, 2022

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)

Part I – The Schedule Category 1: Neutral Atmosphere Products

0001B

0001C

0001D

0001E

0002B

0002C

0002D

0002E

0003B

0003C

0003D

0003E

0004B

0004C

0004D

0004E

0005B

0005C

0005D

0005E

Category 2: Space Weather Products

1001B

1001C

1001D

1001E

1002B

1002C

1002D

1002E

1003B

1003C

1003D

1003E

1004B

1004C

1004D

1004E

1005B

1005C

1005D

1005E

Enhanced Data Requirements (Section C.4)

See Attachment J-1C_Amendment 0002 for Schedule

SECTION B

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

B.1. GENERAL

The Commercial Weather Data Program’s Radio Occultation Data Buy II (RODB-2) requires the continuation of commercially sourced operational Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) data to meet National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) operational weather needs for neutral atmosphere and ionosphere data. To meet this need NOAA is soliciting proposals for a multiple award IDIQ contract. The maximum value amount for all orders is $59,312,954.00. The total value will be shared amongst all contract holders in the IDIQ pool.

The IDIQ contracts acquire supplies under NAICS code 518210 - Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services.

The scope of work is defined in Section C.

B.2 ORDERING PERIOD

The IDIQ contracts will have a five-year ordering period. This is not a multi-year contract as defined in FAR 17.103. The estimated timeframe of this ordering period is April 2023 – April 2028. This period is subject to change before the award of the contract(s).

B.3 CONTRACT TYPE

RODB-2 is a multiple award IDIQ contract with delivery orders issued on a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) basis.

B.4 DELIVERY ORDER PRICING

Under the RODB-2 IDIQ contracts, each delivery order requirement will include the delivery period, data rights option(s) and quantity required. The Contracting Officer (CO) has the authority to request discounted pricing on all delivery orders. The data option prices contained in Section B.5 are maximum rates. The contractor cannot exceed these rates. Competition at the delivery order level is expected. If an offeror is unable to provide the required quantity of radio occultation (RO) data in a delivery order, multiple awards may be made. The minimum guaranteed amount will be satisfied through Delivery Order 1T (Attachment J-4), and will be awarded to all IDIQ contract holders.

Upcoming Delivery Orders are listed below, detailed requirements are found in attachments.

Delivery Order 1T (Test Data) – 30 days, 500 RO profiles/day, Option 3A (Category 1, CLIN 0003A), issued with IDIQ contract award Delivery Order 2 – 184 days, 500-6,000 RO profiles/day, (Category 1, CLINs 0005A – 0005C), issued with IDIQ contract award

B.5 COMMERCE ACQUISITION REGULATION (CAR) 1352.216-75 MINIMUM

AND MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNTS (APR 2010)

During the term of RODB-2, the Government will place orders totaling a minimum of 500 RO. The amount of all orders under the RODB-2 IDIQs will not exceed $59,312,954.00.

(End of Clause)

(End of Section B)

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SECTION C

DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

C.1 INTRODUCTION

In order to respond to the demand for environmental information, NOAA strives for an observing enterprise that is flexible, responsive to evolving technologies and economically sustainable, while continuing to be a leader and member of the global meteorological community. To help meet these goals and satisfy observational requirements, NOAA uses satellite-based global navigation satellite system (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) data purchased from multiple commercial contractors to complement Government sponsored sources for use in weather models and other systems. NOAA is interested in continuing the purchase and ingest of these RO data and exploring additional capabilities available from these observations.

C.2 SCOPE

NOAA is soliciting commercial near-real-time satellite-based GNSS RO and ionospheric measurements that will be processed into neutral atmosphere and space weather products. These derived products will be fed into NOAA’s operational data systems, including weather and space weather analysis and prediction systems, and used for weather, climate, and atmospheric research purposes. All data and products will be archived by NOAA.

C.3 DATA REQUIREMENTS

Contractors must have the capability to fulfill Delivery Orders for data meeting the requirements specified in Section C.3. Optionally, contractors may propose the capability to fulfill Delivery Orders for data meeting requirements specified in SectionC.4.

C.3.1 Definitions

1. An RO sounding is a time series of satellite-based RO open loop measurements made during a GNSS occultation event from which NOAA can produce a quasi-vertical series of bending angles.

2. An ionospheric track is a time series of satellite-based GNSS dual-frequency pseudorange, carrier phase, and SNR measurements from which NOAA can produce geolocated ionospheric products for space weather applications and research purposes.

3. The elevation angle of an observation is defined as the angle between the spacecraft local level and the ray from the spacecraft receiver antenna to the GNSS transmitter antenna.

4. The height of straight line (HSL) altitude of an observation with negative elevation angle is the height of the tangent point of a straight line between the GNSS transmitter and the receiver relative to the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84) reference ellipsoid.

5. The time of an RO sounding is defined as the GPS time of the zero HSL altitude point.

6. The time of an ionospheric track is defined by the GPS time of observations making up the track.

7. The latency of a data product is defined as the difference between the time of the observation and the receipt of the data at NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF).

8. The daily count of a data product is defined as the number of RO soundings or ionospheric tracks in a 24 hour period starting at 00:00:00 GPS time.

9. The location of an RO sounding is defined as the geographic location of the zero HSL altitude point; the location of an ionospheric track is defined as the geographic location of the 120 km HSL altitude point.

10. The latency of an ionospheric observation is defined as the difference between the time of the observation epoch and the receipt of the observation data by the NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF). The daily median latency for ionospheric data is computed from all epochs collected during the 24 hour period beginning at 00:00:00 GPS time.

11. The Carrier Phase Sampling Rate is the rate of data underlying an on-board calculation of a scintillation index. The Calculation Time Interval is the time period over which a single index calculation is made.

C.3.2 Neutral Atmosphere Data Requirements (Category 1)

Data from RO soundings will be used to produce bending angle profiles of the neutral atmosphere. Contractors proposing to deliver neutral atmosphere data must have the capabilities to provide data meeting the following requirements:

1. RO soundings shall be collected as continuous dual-frequency open-loop measurements at either 50 Hz or 100 Hz.

2. Data shall be provided only from instruments on satellites with an assigned World Meteorological Organization (WMO) satellite identifier.

3. If applicable, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conversion factor from dB-Hz to Volts/Volt (V/V) in a 1 Hz band shall be provided.

4. The SNR of the stronger signal in a dual frequency signal pair, when averaged over HSL altitudes of 60 km to 80 km, shall be greater than 200 V/V in a 1 Hz band.

5. The HSL altitudes of occultations shall span at least -150 km to 90 km.

6. RO soundings shall be from GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, or BeiDou GNSS satellites.

7. RO soundings shall be provided with concurrent precise orbit determination (POD) tracking data.

8. RO soundings shall be provided with concurrent POD tracking data such that one or two POD tracks may serve as reference links for single difference processing of a RO sounding.

9. POD tracking data shall include dual-frequency pseudo range, carrier phase, and SNR, as collected on-orbit in real time.

10. POD tracking data shall include dual-frequency measurements recorded at 1 Hz or greater rate from a minimum of four GNSS satellites simultaneously for 95% of the POD data collection period.

11. Every other orbit of each RO satellite from which data are provided shall be covered by POD tracking data at no less than 50% duty cycle with continuous arc length of at least 50 minutes per orbit.

12. POD tracking data shall be from GPS satellites, plus optionally Galileo and/or GLONASS satellites.

13. Navigation solutions calculated onboard the spacecraft shall be provided, including receiver clock offsets and time-tagged Earth-Centered-Earth-Fixed position and velocity.

14. Navigation solution data shall be provided at intervals of 30 seconds or less.

15. RO satellite attitude quaternions shall be collected concurrently with all POD and RO data at intervals of 30 seconds or less.

16. All RO soundings shall have a latency of 140 minutes or less.

17. The time of RO soundings shall be nearly uniformly distributed in time of day such that the quantity delivered in any six-hour period of the day, when averaged over 30 consecutive days, shall vary by less than a factor of two from any other six-hour period.

18. At a minimum, the Contractor must have the capability to provide a daily count of at least 500 RO soundings, when averaged over any 30-day period, with no more than three days in any 30 day period falling beneath 400/day.

19. Unless otherwise specified in a Delivery Order, the daily count of compliant RO soundings delivered by the Contractor, when averaged over any thirty day period, shall meet or exceed the required target count, and shall not fall below 80% of the required target count for more than three days in any thirty day period.

20. Metadata shall include, at a minimum, for each satellite/instrument configuration:

1. Satellite mass, center of mass, external dimensions including any protruding appendages (e.g., solar array wings, antennae), satellite coordinate system geometry, POD and RO antenna reference point vectors relative to the center of mass and corresponding uncertainty estimates, antenna boresight vectors, and antenna fields of view.

2. RO and POD antenna phase center offset and phase center variation measurements and corresponding uncertainty estimates, in ANTEX format (https://kb.igs.org/hc/en-us/articles/201096516-IGS-Formats).

C.3.3 Space Weather Data Requirements (Category 2)

Ionospheric measurements will be used to produce space weather products including total electron content and scintillation indices. Contractors proposing to deliver space weather data must have the capabilities to provide Level 0 data meeting the following requirements:

C.3.3.1 Requirements for Total Electron Content (TEC)

1. Track extent: Tracks must be at least 8 minutes in duration and span from 90 km HSL to the maximum possible elevation angle for the transmitter/receiver geometry, which must occur at a positive elevation angle.

2. Pseudorange, carrier phase sampling rate 1 Hz

3. Measurement range 0 to 2000 TECU

4. Maximum measurement uncertainty:

5. Maximum daily median latency 30 min

6. At a minimum, the Contractor shall provide data meeting these TEC requirements from at least 500 ionospheric tracks per day, when averaged over any 30-day period, with no more than three days in any 30 day period falling beneath 400/day.

7. Unless otherwise specified in a Delivery Order, the daily count of compliant ionospheric tracks delivered by the Contractor, when averaged over any thirty day period, shall meet or exceed the required target count, and shall not fall below 80% of the required target count for more than three days in any thirty day period.

C.3.3.2 Requirements for Scintillation Indices

1. S4 shall be computed on-orbit and provided for all tracks. For tracks where S4 exceeds 0.3, high rate (50+ Hz) data from the entire observational altitude range shall be downloaded and provided. This provides raw observations for calculation of scintillation information in the strongest events.

2. Minimum carrier phase sampling rate 50 Hz

3. On-board calculation time interval 10 s

4. On-board calculation cadence 10 s

5. S4 Measurement range 0.1 to 1.5

6. (Sigma phi) Measurement range 0.1 to 20 rad

7. Maximum daily median latency 30 min

8. At a minimum, the Contractor shall provide data meeting these scintillation requirements from at least 25% of the tracks having an on-orbit-calculated value of S4 exceeding 0.3.

C.4 Enhanced Data Requirements

Optionally, contractors may propose the capability to fulfill Delivery Orders for data meeting requirements specified in one or more of Sections C.4.1 through C.4.4.

C.4.1 Specific Geospatial Distributions

The required geographic distribution of RO soundings or ionospheric tracks for a Delivery will be specified in each Delivery Order RFP. Within the specified latitude and longitude ranges of the Delivery Order:

1. The number of RO soundings or ionospheric tracks provided each day shall not vary by more than a factor of four (4) between any 30-degree latitude band.

2. Within any 30-degree latitude band, the number of RO soundings or ionospheric tracks provided each day within a 30 degree longitude section shall not vary by more than a factor of four (4) from any other 30 degree longitude section.

C.4.2 Neutral Atmosphere Data with Enhanced Signal-To-Noise Ratio

Delivery Orders may be issued which require higher SNR data. When required by NOAA, the SNR of the stronger signal in a dual frequency signal pair, when averaged over HSL altitudes of 60 km to 80 km, shall be greater than 1200 V/V in a 1 Hz band.

C.4.3 Specific Local Time Sampling

NOAA may include specific requirements on the distribution of local times of the RO soundings or ionospheric tracks. When required in a Delivery Order, the local time of the delivered RO soundings or ionospheric tracks shall be within the specified local time range or group of ranges. The extent of any local time ranges specified in a Delivery Order will be at least 1 hour.

C.4.4 Designated Satellites, Instruments or Modes

NOAA may limit the data in a Delivery Order to come from a specific predesignated list of satellites, instruments, or modes (for example, rising vs. setting occultations). Such a restriction would allow NOAA to coordinate data purchases with other Agencies and partners to avoid duplication of shared observational data.

C.5 DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS

C.5.1 Data Quantity and Delivery Duration

The daily data quantity, volume and delivery period duration will be specified in each Delivery Order RFP. The minimum Delivery Order duration will be 30 days.

The processing level of the RO soundings or ionospheric tracks and associated data to be delivered, i.e. either Level 0 or Level 1a, will be specified in each Delivery Order RFP.

C.5.2 Data Formats

1. The Contractor shall deliver data as Level 0 files or both Level 0 and Level 1a files, as specified by each Delivery Order. If Level 1a, the contractor shall deliver RO observations and high rate observations for derivation of scintillation products in opnGns format (https://cdaac-www.cosmic.ucar.edu/cdaac/cgi_bin/fileFormats.cgi?type=opnGns).

2. The Contractor shall deliver POD tracking data as Level 0 files or both Level 0 and Level 1a files, as specified in each Delivery Order. If Level 1a, the contractor shall deliver POD tracking data in RINEX2.20 or above format (http://kb.igs.org/hc/en-us/articles/201096516-IGS-Formats).

3. The Contractor shall deliver on-orbit computed navigation solution data as Level 0 files or both Level 0 and Level 1a files as specified in each Delivery Order. If Level 1a, the contractor shall deliver navigation data in SP3 format (https://kb.igs.org/hc/en-us/articles/201096516-IGS- Formats).

4. The Contractor shall deliver attitude quaternion data as Level 0 files or both Level 0 and Level 1a files, as specified in each Delivery Order. If Level 1a, the contractor shall deliver Level 1a attitude data in leoAtt format (https://cdaac- www.cosmic.ucar.edu/cdaac/cgi_bin/fileFormats.cgi?type=leoAtt).

5. The Contractor shall deliver a detailed Level 0 data decoding dictionary for each to-be-delivered Level 0 data type. If delivered in binary format, in addition to the dictionary, the Contractor shall deliver binary decoder software as source code.

6. The data descriptor files shall conform to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 19115-1:2014 (content) and ISO 19139 (XML schema) standards, in accordance with the NOAA Environmental Data Management Framework.

7. Data files shall be named according to the file naming conventions used by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) COSMIC Data Analysis and Archive Center (CDAAC), as defined at https://cdaac-www.cosmic.ucar.edu/cdaac/doc/formats.html. Offerors who cannot comply with the file name convention used by the CDAAC shall propose an alternative naming convention. Acceptance of any alternative naming conventions is at the discretion of the Government.

8. The Contractor shall deliver data to NOAA batched as compressed TAR files, with each TAR file including concurrent POD and attitude data files. RO data files may be included in the POD and attitude TAR files or delivered as separate TAR files with file names correlating file types.

9. When RO data at both Level 0 and Level 1a are to be delivered, the Contractor shall deliver Level 0 and Level 1a data in separate TAR files.

C.5.3 Data Delivery

The Contractor shall deliver all files to the NESDIS Common Cloud Framework (NCCF) in accordance with the NCCF Interface Control Document (latest version).

The Contractor shall, upon receipt of NCCF alert notification, resolve and (as needed) redeliver data files when data latency requirements can still be met. Re-delivered file names shall include a date or identifier unique to that delivery.

If the contractor has an agreement to provide RO data:

1. to other U.S. Government agencies, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, WMO-designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers, members of the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites, including but not limited to the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT);

2. with a latency equal to or less than the latency required by this contract; and

3. The terms of that provision permit the immediate distribution to and use by NOAA, the contractor is not permitted to provide the same RO soundings to NOAA to meet its delivery requirements.

C.5.4 Test Data

Within 7 days of contract award, the Contractor shall provide:

1. A list of the satellites, with their WMO identifiers, that are planned to be used for RO data collection during the contract. Updates for future satellites should be handled per Notification requirements.

2. File name protocols, file name examples, and satellite identifier location, as well as information requested in the NCCF Interface Control Document section 3 “Template for Data Provider Interfaces Information”.

3. A description of the onboard receiver clock steering methods, sufficient to enable NOAA to determine any needed processing adjustments on the ground, shall be provided.

4. If the POD and RO receiver clocks are not the same, the Contractor shall provide a description of how to align them for single difference RO data processing.

Approximately 14 days prior to the start of any Delivery Order that is not a continuation of a Delivery Order, the Contractor shall provide:

1. 24 hours of contiguous on-orbit data, representative of that to be provided under contract and compliant with the data requirements specified herein.

2. Metadata as necessary to prepare ground processing for the identified satellites.

NOAA may require the Contractor to provide, outside the scope of a Delivery Order, limited examples of the data described in this SOW in order to validate changes to NOAA systems. For test data, the requirements for latency and delivery to the secure ingest interface may not apply.

The Contractor shall provide test data, consisting of 24-96 hours of contiguous compliant data and associated metadata, to support NOAA system tests.

NOAA will require any Contractor having data or interfaces not yet tested and validated by NOAA to provide a 30 day period of like-operations data delivery to support NOAA implementation and testing. NOAA will use a Test Data Delivery Order for this purpose and will specify the data and delivery requirements in that Delivery Order.

Any Contractor determined to have a new NCCF interface shall participate in network connectivity testing with the NOAA NCCF secure ingest service.

As specified in a Test Data Delivery Order, the Contractor shall provide compliant data and associated metadata to enable high-fidelity NOAA system tests.

C.6 NOTIFICATIONS

The Contractor shall provide timely notification to NOAA designated points of contact of anomalies and events that impact or have the potential to impact data deliveries or data volumes. Within a month of the reported anomaly, the Contractor shall deliver an anomaly report to the Program Manager, CO, and the Contract Specialist whose framework should include these topics: 1) General information on the Delivery Order (DO), POP, Contractor name; 2) Date/time of anomaly; 3) Description of the anomaly; 4) Resolution Summary and Lessons Learned, as applicable; 5) Impact on Users, Performance, and Schedule, as applicable.

The Contractor shall notify the Program Manager, COR, and the Contracting Officer, in writing, of any contract administration issues, including, but not limited to, changes in anticipated data delivery timelines or data specifications, as soon as they become known.

For any platform, sensor, or ground processing change that may affect data delivery or data quality, including but not limited to spacecraft, instrument, software, configuration, or other change, the Contractor shall provide written notification to NOAA of pending change no less than fourteen (14) days in advance of its implementation and shall include a description of the planned change as well as any resulting changes to the operations concept, configuration, delivery, ground data processing, data content, or metadata. Notification is required under the contract and is not dependent upon having an active Delivery Order. Depending on the nature and extent of the change, the Government may request a delivery of no less than 24 hours of sample data, not to exceed 1 week of sample data, in order for the Government to implement and test any Government system modifications required to accommodate the change.

C.7 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall participate in a post-award kick-off meeting.

The Contractor shall be available to discuss deliveries, support initial data integration, discuss anomalies, and provide sustaining engineering information, if necessary, through the end of the contract Ordering Period.

The Contractor shall support mitigation of NOAA Supply Chain Risk Assessment findings as determined by the NOAA OCIO. The Contractor shall provide a point of contact that is available 24x7 and will respond within 60 minutes of notification by NOAA to investigate and resolve any data delivery or performance issues.

C.8 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE AND TASK MANAGER

In accordance with CAR Clause 1352.201-72, a Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) will be designated at award. The COR may provide technical direction and has the authority to accept delivery. The COR is not authorized to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the Government or authorize any changes which affect the contract price, terms, or conditions of the award. Any Contractor request for changes shall be referred to the Contracting Officer directly or through the COR. No such changes shall be made without the express written prior authorization of the Contracting Officer.

A Task Manager (TM) will be designated at award. The TM does not have delegated authority to represent the Contracting Officer or bind the Government. The TM cannot change, waive, add, or request any additional specifications or performance.

C.9 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall comply with CAR 1352.239-72, section (i). The Contractor may request COR approval of alternate security accreditation methodologies for compliance with section (i) including: information security assessment methodology promulgated by the U.S Federal Government (specifically, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-37 and NIST SP 800- 53), or internationally recognized private industry information technology (IT) security frameworks (such as International Standards Organization (ISO)/International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 27033, 27001, 27006 and 27002, or Control Objectives for Information and Related Technology (COBIT)). The Contractor will provide an analysis for alternative methodologies compared to SP 800-53 high impact baseline identifying any gaps.

The Contractor shall deliver files to NOAA ingest using either Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) (preferred) or Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP). The Contractor shall use a data integrity method compliant with the NCCF ICD and approved by NOAA.

C.10 DATA RIGHTS

Per this contract, the Contractor grants NOAA a perpetual, non-exclusive, irrevocable, worldwide license to use, reproduce, and create derived and value-added products with the RO data, in any manner and for any purpose, and to authorize others to do so on its behalf (including other contractors and recipients of financial assistance awards).

A derived product means a work that is created when data are manipulated to such a degree that it cannot be reverse engineered. Derived products created using RO data received under this contract are not subject to the data rights provisions in this section or any other contractual, licensing, or intellectual property claims by the Contractor, and therefore may be publicly distributed without use restrictions.

A value-added product means a work that is created when data are modified—through technical manipulation, addition of data, or both—where the principal features and characteristics of the source data are retained in the work and are extractable through technical means. Value-Added Products created using RO data received under this contract are subject to the data rights provisions in this section.

Level 1 and Level 2 products (excess phase, vertical profiles of bending angle, refractivity, temperature, and humidity) created by NOAA or its affiliates from Contractor-supplied RO data are considered to be value-added products. All other products created by NOAA or its affiliates from Contractor-supplied RO data, including but not limited to model output, are considered to be derived products.

Furthermore, the Contractor shall provide pricing for various external data sharing rights, including but not limited to the external distribution and use rights described in the options below.

Option 1: Right to distribute all RO data to any entity immediately after receipt at NOAA with no restrictions on their use or further distribution, under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0).

Option 2: Right to distribute all RO data to U.S. Government agencies, International Partners, including but not limited to those responsible for national meteorological, space weather, or hydrological services, and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, WMO-designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers, members of the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites, and non-profit entities and academic entities, immediately after receipt at NOAA, for non-commercial use but not for further distribution.

Option 2A: In addition to the rights under Option 2, Option 1 rights will apply to all RO data beginning at 24 hours after collection.

Option 3: Right to distribute all RO data to U.S. Government agencies, International Partners, including but not limited to those responsible for national meteorological, space weather, or hydrological services, and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, WMO-designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers, and members of the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites, immediately after receipt at NOAA, for non- commercial use but not for further distribution.

Option 3A: In addition to the rights under Option 3, Option 1 rights will apply to all RO data beginning at 24 hours after collection.

NOAA will ensure that any non-NOAA entity receiving restricted data is made aware of the identified use and distribution restrictions associated with the data rights specified in the IDIQ contract and this Delivery Order. If NOAA becomes aware that an entity is not adhering to those restrictions, NOAA will seek to ensure compliance, and if unsuccessful, may terminate the entity’s access to the data. NOAA, however, has no additional obligations under the IDIQ contract or this Delivery Order related to data use by third parties. In no event is NOAA liable to the contractor for third party use or release of contractor data

(End of Section C)

SECTION E

INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

E.1 CAR 1352.246-70 PLACE OF ACCEPTANCE (APR 2010)

(a) The Contracting Officer or the duly authorized representative will accept supplies and services to be provided under this contract.

(b) The place of acceptance will be specified in each individual Delivery Order.

(End of clause)

(End of Section E)

SECTION F

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 DELIVERY

The supplies required under each individual delivery order shall be delivered and received at the destination within the time frame specified in each order.

F.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Place of performance shall be set forth in individual delivery orders.

F.3 NOTICE TO THE GOVERNMENT OF DELAYS

In the event the Contractor encounters difficulty in meeting performance requirements, or when it anticipates difficulty in complying with the contract delivery schedule or completion date, or as soon as the Contractor has knowledge that any actual or potential situation is delaying or threatens to delay the timely performance of this contract, the Contractor shall immediately notify the CO and the Delivery Order Contracting Officer Representative (DO COR), in writing. This notification shall give pertinent details, but this data shall be informational only in character; this term shall not be construed as a waiver by the Government of any delivery schedule or date, or any rights or remedies provided by law or under this contract.

F.4 DELIVERABLES

(a) All applicable delivery order deliverables and their required delivery dates, destination of delivery, and schedule for completion of work to be performed, will be specified in delivery orders issued under this contract, as applicable.

(b) For purposes of delivery, all deliverables will be specified in delivery orders issued under this contract.

(c) All deliverables submitted in electronic format shall be free of any known computer virus or defects. If a virus or defect is found, the initial deliverable will not be accepted.

(d) Any failure of the Contractor to adhere to a delivery schedule or a deliverable requirement may be reflected in the Contractor’s past performance report.

(End of Section F)

SECTION G

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

Accounting and appropriation data for obligations under the contract will be set forth in individual delivery orders.

G.2 PRIMARY GOVERNMENT ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The following subsections describe the roles and responsibilities of individuals and authorized users who will be the primary Points of Contact (POC) for the Government on matters regarding contract administration as well as other administrative information. The Government reserves the right to unilaterally change any of these individual assignments at any time.

G.2.1 GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL

G.2.1.1 CAR 1352.201-70 Contracting Officer’s Authority (APR 2010)

The Contracting Officer (CO) is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of this contract, and, notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this contract, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer. In the event the contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the Contracting Officer, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made in the contract terms and conditions, including price.

The RODB-2 CO for this contract is:

Acquisition and Grants Office Satellite and Information Acquisition Division 1325 East West Highway, SSMC2 Silver Spring, MD 20910

G.2.1.2 CAR 1352.201-72 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) (APR 2010)

(a) Patricia Weir is hereby designated as the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). The COR may be changed at any time by the Government without prior notice to the contractor by a unilateral modification to the contract. The COR is located at:

(b) The responsibilities and limitations of the COR are as follows:

(1) The COR is responsible for the technical aspects of the contract and serves as technical liaison with the contractor. The COR is also responsible for the final inspection and acceptance of all deliverables and such other responsibilities as may be specified in the contract.

(2) The COR is not authorized to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the Government or authorize any changes which affect the contract price, terms or conditions. Any contractor request for changes shall be referred to the Contracting Officer directly or through the COR. No such changes shall be made without the express written prior authorization of the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer may designate assistant or alternate COR(s) to act for the COR by naming such assistant/alternate(s) in writing and transmitting a copy of such designation to the contractor.

(End of clause)

G.2.1.3 Delivery Order Contracting Officer’s Representative (DO COR)

COs shall designate CORs for individual delivery orders who will be responsible for the day-today coordination of delivery orders. The DO COR will represent the CO in administration of technical details within the scope of the delivery order. The DO COR is also responsible for the final inspection and acceptance of all delivery order deliverables and reports, and such other responsibilities as may be specified in the delivery order. The DO COR is not otherwise authorized to make any representations or commitments of any kind on behalf of the CO or the Government. The DO COR does not have authority to alter the Contractor’s obligations or to change the delivery order specifications, price, terms, or conditions. If, as a result of technical discussions, it is desirable to modify delivery order obligations or the specification, changes will be issued in writing and signed by the CO.

G.3 CAR 1352.216-76 PLACEMENT OF ORDERS (APR 2010)

(a) The contractor shall provide goods and/or services under this contract only as directed in orders issued by authorized individuals. In accordance with FAR 16.505, each order will include:

(1) Date of order;

(2) Contract number and order number;

(3) Item number and description, quantity, and unit price or estimated cost or fee;

(4) Delivery or performance date;

(5) Place of delivery or performance (including consignee);

(6) Packaging, packing, and shipping instructions, if any;

(7) Accounting and appropriation data;

(8) Method of payment and payment office, if not specified in the contract;

(9) Any other pertinent information.

(b) In accordance with FAR 52.216-18, Ordering, the following individuals (or activities) are authorized to place orders against this contract:

All warranted NOAA COs are considered designated ordering officials for this IDIQ.

(c) If multiple awards have been made, the contact information for the DOC task and delivery order ombudsman is:

Acquisition and Grants Office 1325 East West Highway, SSMC2 Silver Spring, MD 20910

G.3.1 Ordering Process

All RODB-2 contract holders will be provided a fair opportunity to be considered on delivery orders, in accordance with FAR 16.505(b)(1), unless exempted in accordance with applicable terms of the FAR. The CO, in consultation with the DO COR or other designated technical representatives, will examine the capabilities of the contract holders in order to determine if a socio-economic category set-aside is appropriate for each order. After completing this examination, the CO may limit competition for an order to a socio-economic category. The CO will then solicit proposals from the contractors within the appropriate small business category, as applicable, or open the competition to all contract holders after review and coordination with the NOAA Small Business Office and the Small Business Administration (SBA). If there is only one contract award to any one type of small business concern the Government may issue orders directly to that concern for work that it can perform.

In the event issues pertaining to a proposed delivery order cannot be resolved to the satisfaction of the CO, the CO reserves the right to withdraw and cancel the proposed delivery order. In such event, the Contractor(s) shall be notified in writing of the CO’s decision. This decision is final and conclusive and shall not be subject to the “Disputes” clause or the “Contract Disputes Act.”

G.4 EVALUATION OF CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE

Past performance information is relevant for delivery order source selection purposes. It includes, but is not limited to: the Contractor’s record of conforming to contract requirements and to standards of good workmanship; the Contractor’s adherence to contract schedules, including the administrative aspects of performance; execution within cost/price; the Contractor’s history of reasonable and cooperative behavior and commitment to customer satisfaction; and generally, the Contractor’s business-like concern for the interests of the customer.

(a) Purpose – In accordance with FAR 42.1502(d), the Contractor’s performance will be periodically evaluated by the Government in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), in order to provide current information for source selection purposes. These evaluations will therefore be marked “Source Selection Information.” CPARS will be completed for the IDIQ contract, and may be completed for delivery orders when determined useful for source selection purposes.

(b) Performance Evaluation Period – The Contractor’s performance will be evaluated at least annually. CPARS is a web-enabled tool to evaluate the Contractor’s performance and for the Government and Contractor to review, comment on, and approve evaluations.

(c) Performance Evaluation Factors – The Contractor’s performance will be evaluated in accordance with the factors identified within the contract requirement.

(d) Contractor Review – A copy of the evaluation will be provided to the Contractor as soon as practicable after completion of the evaluation. The Contractor shall submit comments, rebutting statements, or additional information to the reviewing official within 30 calendar days after receipt of the evaluation. The tool can be accessed at https://www.cpars.gov/. Comments, if any, shall be retained as part of the evaluation record. The completed evaluation shall not be released to other than Government personnel.

(e) Resolving Disagreements between the Government and the Contractor – Disagreements between the parties regarding the evaluation will be reviewed at a level above the Contracting Officer. The ultimate conclusion on the performance evaluation is a decision of the contracting agency. Copies of the evaluation, Contractor’s response, and review comments, if any, will be retained as part of the evaluation.

(f) Release of Contractor Performance Evaluation Information – The completed evaluation will be available to Government source selection personnel through the CPARS. Disclosure of such information outside the Government could cause harm both to the commercial interest of the Government and to the competitive position of the Contractor being evaluated as well as impede the efficiency of Government operations.

(g) Retention Period – The agency will retain past performance information for a maximum period of three years after completion of contract performance for the purpose of providing source selection information for future awards.

G.5 ON- AND OFF-RAMPING

On-Ramping

The Government reserves the right to award additional contracts if it is determined to be in its best interest. The need to on-ramp shall be evaluated annually by the Commercial Data Program (CDP) Management to determine whether it is in the best interest of the Government to “reissue” an RFP for purposes of adding contract holders to increase competition or to achieve other Government interests/requirements. The “reissuing” of the RFP (on-ramping) will be achieved via a solicitation posting on www.SAM.gov.

In the event that additional contracts are established in accordance with this provision, the ordering period of the “on-ramped” contracts will be for the length of time remaining in the originally established 5-year ordering period and will share the program’s remaining maximum value.

Off-Ramping

The Government reserves the unilateral right to “off-ramp” or stop issuing DOs to the contractor and let the ordering period expire without any action if it is determined to be in the best interest of the Government. This off-ramp shall have no effect on any existing orders placed under the contract.

Reasons the Government may elect to off-ramp a contract holder include, but are not limited to:

· Re-representation required in accordance with FAR 52.219-28 results in size certification for contract holders changing to Other than Small.

· Firms that become ineligible IAW FAR Subpart 9.4, entitled “Debarment, Suspension, and Ineligibility.”

G.7 EXCHANGE OF ACQUISTION INFORMATION

By submitting information in response to this solicitation and resultant contract, the offeror/contractor consents to NOAA sharing information in its proposal/contract with the other government agencies identified below:

· Members of the Interagency Committee for Advancing Weather Services (ICAMS), which comprises representatives from NOAA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and the Department of the Interior.

· ICAMS intends to use this information to foster interagency coordination on approaches to purchasing commercial weather data for operational use within the Federal Weather Enterprise.

G.8 NOAA ACQUISITION MANUAL (NAM) 1330-52.270-304 NOAA ACQUISITION AND GRANTS OFFICE OMBUDSMAN (OCT 2016)

(a) The NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO) Ombudsman is available to organizations to promote responsible and meaningful exchanges of information. Generally, the purpose of these exchanges will be to:

1. Allow contractors to better prepare for and propose on business opportunities.

2. Advise as to technologies and solutions within the marketplace that the Government may not be aware of, or is not fully benefiting.

3. Identify constraints in transparency.

(b) The AGO Ombudsman will objectively, reasonably, and responsibly collaborate with parties and recommend fair, impartial, and constructive solutions to the matters presented to him/her. Further, the AGO Ombudsman will maintain the reasonable and responsible confidentiality of the source of a concern, when such a request has been formally made by an authorized officer of an organization seeking to do business with, or already doing business with NOAA.

(c) Before consulting with the AGO Ombudsman, interested parties must first address their concerns, issues, disagreements, and/or recommendations with the respective contracting officer for resolution. However, direct access to the AGO Ombudsman may be sought when an interested party questions the objectivity or equity of a contracting officer’s decision, or when there is a bona fide reason to believe that reasonable, responsible, and objective consideration will not be received from an assigned contracting officer.

(d) There are several constraints to the scope of the AGO Ombudsman’s authority, for instance:

1. Consulting with the AGO Ombudsman does not alter or postpone the timelines of any formal process (e.g., protests, claims, debriefings, employee employer actions, activities involving A76 competition performance decisions, judicial or congressional hearings, or proposal, amendment, modification or deliverable due dates).

2. The AGO Ombudsman cannot participate in the evaluation of proposals, source selection processes, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes.

3. The AGO Ombudsman is not authorized to generate or alter laws, judicial decisions, rules, policies, or formal guidance.

4. The AGO Ombudsman is not authorized to develop or alter opportunity announcements, solicitations, contracts, or their terms or conditions.

5. The AGO Ombudsman cannot overrule the authorized decisions or determinations of the contracting officer.

6. The AGO Ombudsman has no authority to render a decision that binds AGO, NOAA, the Department of Commerce, or the U.S. Government.

7. The AGO Ombudsman is not NOAA’s agent relative to the service of magistrate or judicial process and cannot be used to extend service of process to another party (whether federal, public, or a private entity).

(e) After review and analysis of a filed concern or recommendation, the AGO Ombudsman may refer the interested party to another more suitable Federal official for consideration. Moreover, concerns, disagreements, and/or recommendations that cannot be resolved by the AGO Ombudsman will need to be pursued through more formal venues.

(f) The AGO Ombudsman is not to be contacted to request copies of forms and/or documents under the purview of a contracting officer. Such documents include Requests for Information, solicitations, amendments, contracts, modifications, or conference materials.

(g) Questions regarding items (a) through (f) within this language shall be directed to Rafael Roman, NOAA AGO Ombudsman, at Rafael.Roman@noaa.gov.

(End of Section G)

SECTION H

SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 CAR 1352.102 INCORPORATING PROVISIONS AND CLAUSES

This contract incorporates the following Commerce Acquisition Regulations (CAR) clauses by reference with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Full text can be accessed electronically at the following internet addresses: https://www.acquisition.gov/car

H.2 AUTHORIZED USERS

RODB-2 is available for use by NOAA and its Line and Staff Offices.

H.3 ADVERTISEMENTS, PUBLICIZING AWARDS AND NEWS RELEASES

Under no circumstances shall the Contractor, or anyone acting on behalf of the Contractor, refer to the supplies pursuant to the provisions of RODB-2 in any publicity/news release or commercial advertising without first obtaining explicit written consent to do so from the CO. This restriction does not apply to marketing materials developed for presentations to potential Government customers of the RODB-2 IDIQ Program.

For delivery orders, the Contractor shall also obtain the written consent of the CO. If consent is obtained, the Contractor agrees not to refer to awards in commercial advertising in such a manner as to state or imply that the supply provided is endorsed or preferred by the Federal Government, or is considered by the Government to be superior to other products.

H.4 CAR 1352.242-70 POST AWARD CONFERENCE (APR 2010)

A post award conference with the successful offeror may be required.