2025_RFP_Section_B-M.doc

Award/Contract Document No.

140G0124R0023 Document Title

TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES CONTRACT

SECTION B – SUPPLIES, SERVICES AND PRICES

B.1 DESCRIPTION OF SERVICES

This is a single-award Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract under which individual task orders will be issued for services of Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, Technical Support Services Contract.

The contractor shall provide the necessary and qualified personnel and services as needed to perform the requirements set forth in the main Performance Work Statement (PWS) and as indicated in each individual task order Statement of Work.

B.2 TYPE OF CONTRACT

This is a single-award IDIQ contract with provisions for Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) and Firm Fixed Price (FFP) type task orders.

NOTE: Please be advised that if the Offeror does not have an accounting system that is adequate for determining costs applicable to the contract (FAR 16.301-3) and for accumulating and segregating costs under a contract reimbursement (CR) contract, it will not be eligible to receive CR task orders. Therefore, no CR task orders will be awarded pending approval of the accounting system(s).

B.3 DETERMINATION OF ORDER TYPE/PRICE/COSTS

The determination of individual task order type, CPFF or FFP, will be dependent on the level of detail that the State of Work provides. Each task order Request for Proposal (RFP) sent to the contractor will state the type of order determined appropriate by the Contracting Officer.

B.4 CONTRACT COSTS

The contractor shall ensure that all costs for performing under this IDIQ, including delivery, administrative costs, overhead costs, any other associated costs and deliverables or requirements set forth in this IDIQ, are included in the burdened rate for the services made available at the master IDIQ level. A separate Task Order will not be issued to cover these costs. Unless specifically authorized in the IDIQ, USGS will not be responsible for paying for any costs or prices other than those for the services rendered which have been accepted by an authorized USGS individual (CO or COR).

The terms and conditions included in the IDIQ contract apply to all orders; however, some provisions/clauses must be clarified at the task order level based on actual requirements of the task order. Contractor(s) shall perform work in accordance with the applicable parent IDIQ contract, as well as the related Task Order documents. In cases where a discrepancy exists between the documents, the Contracting Officer (CO) and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) shall be notified immediately in writing for a determination.

B.5 MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM AMOUNTS

During the contract period of performance, including any renewal periods, the Government shall place orders totaling a:

Minimum of $100,000.00; and Maximum amount not to exceed $350,000,000.00 (inclusive of all costs and fees).

B.6 INDIRECT COST RATES (Cost Reimbursement Task Orders)

(DETERMINED AT TIME OF AWARD)

B.7 PROVISIONAL AND FINAL

a. Pursuant to the provisions of FAR 52.216-7 entitled "Allowable Cost & Payment (AUG 2018)," in Section I of this contract, the allowable Indirect Costs under this contract shall be obtained by applying the final rates or rates negotiated to the appropriate bases. The period or periods for which such rates will be established shall correspond to the Contractor's fiscal year(s). The final rate proposal is to be submitted to the Contracting Officer.

In the event that the final rate proposal is submitted to the cognizant audit agency, the Contractor shall advise the Contracting Officer in writing when and to whom it was submitted.

b. Pending establishment of final rates for any period, provisional reimbursement will be made on the basis of the provisional rates shown above. To prevent substantial over or under payment, and to apply either retroactively or prospectively, provisional rates may, at the request of either party, be revised by mutual agreement. The Government will execute a contract modification upon receipt of DCAA’s or the audit agency’s indirect rate audit to incorporate the negotiated indirect rates. In the event the final indirect cost rates are less than the provisional rates, retroactive adjustments to both the applicable costs and award fee shall be made at the time of contract modification. The Government shall not be obligated to pay any additional amount should the final indirect cost rates exceed the negotiated ceilings stated below. In the event the audit determined final indirect cost rates are less than the original negotiated ceiling rates, the negotiated rates will be reduced to conform to the lower rates.

c. Reimbursement will be limited to the negotiated indirect cost ceilings established in the contract and the contractor’s final rates are hereby limited to the negotiated indirect cost ceiling(s) stated above. The Government has no obligation to pay any additional amount to the contractor should the final indirect cost rates exceed the negotiated ceilings as stated in the contract.

B.8 TRAVEL/OTHER COST/MATERIAL

Travel, Material and Other Direct Costs shall be reimbursed at actual costs incurred in accordance with 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment, and the Federal Travel Regulation as applicable. These items will be set forth, when applicable, on each task order.

B.9 GS1385 INDIRECT COST – BILLING AND CEILING RATES

a) As provided in FAR 52.216-7, Allowable Cost and Payment, the contractor will invoice using interim billing rates approved by the Contracting Officer or cognizant Government auditor. The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer of any proposed or approved billing rate changes. Once approved, the new interim billing rates may be applied prospectively or retroactively, as necessary to prevent substantial overpayment or underpayment.

(b) Ceilings are hereby established on indirect costs reimbursable under this contract. The Government shall not be obligated to pay the Contractor any amount on account of indirect costs in excess of the ceiling rate(s) listed below:

The ceiling rate(s) specified above is/are applicable from the effective date of the contract through the end of the period of performance. In the event final indirect cost rates are less than the negotiated ceiling rates above, the ceiling rates will be reduced to conform to the lower rates.

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SECTION C -- Descriptions and Specifications - PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

EARTH RESOURCES OBSERVATION AND SCIENCE (EROS) CENTER

TECHNICAL SUPPORT SERVICES CONTRACT

C.1 BACKGROUND

The Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center was established in 1971 to receive, process, and distribute data from Landsat satellites, as well as aerial photographs and other data gathered for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and other agencies. EROS is located 16 miles northeast of Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

The mission of EROS has evolved and today EROS is a USGS science center and one of the world’s largest land remote sensing centers, the operator of the Landsat 7, Landsat 8, and Landsat 9 earth imaging satellites, operator and maintainer of the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive, and operator and maintainer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of their Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LPDAAC). EROS can serve as a Core Data Center by the Department of the Interior (DOI) and USGS and contribute as part of the Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative. As such, EROS can host IT systems from other Federal government organizations.

Today at EROS, approximately 120 Government employees comprise 22% of the Center’s workforce. The remaining 78% are contractors. A combined Government and contractor work environment has proven to be successful for over 50+ years at EROS. This partnership combines government and industry strengths and ensures workforce flexibility.

Work under this contract includes, but is not limited to software development, systems engineering, project management, computer operations/systems administration, network engineering, satellite data acquisition, scanning of aerial photography, long-term data preservation, data distribution, data management (including ingest, archive, and access), the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to improve public services and operations, and scientific applications of satellite remote sensing data (such as applications to address issues of sustainable development, resource management, land cover change, and famine early warning in many countries around the world).

The table below identifies historical labor trends for the Technical Support Services Contract (TSSC) workforces per Contract Year (CY). The information is based on several basic labor classifications and the historical Level of Effort (LOE) for each of the last four (4) contract years. This solicitation includes actions under the previous TSSC contract.

C.2 OVERVIEW

The EROS Center advances remote sensing research and science applications that increase an understanding of our planet and help address societal needs. The USGS/EROS is responsible for

· Satellite operations of the current Landsat missions (Landsat 7, Landsat 8, Landsat 9) and any future Landsat missions to include development and operation of the ground systems.

· Satellite data reception, processing, archiving, distribution

· Research for remotely sensed data and other forms of geographic information.

· Collection and distribution of many types of remotely sensed and earth science data.

· Conducting research and development of applications for the use of land information to better understand the earth.

· Data Center Operations as a Key Mission Facility supporting Core Science Systems mission responsibilities, and mission functions within USGS in support of data center consolidation efforts.

For a more detailed overview please refer to the EROS home page at http://eros.usgs.gov

C.3 PURPOSE

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) defines the requirements for science, engineering, and technical support necessary to assist the USGS EROS Center in fulfilling its mission. These requirements include, but are not limited to, technical support in the functional areas of statistical analysis, algorithm development, data analysis, software engineering, systems engineering, network engineering, information technology, information assurance/security, computer operations, satellite data reception and processing, systems maintenance, archiving and data management, scientific research support, and user support.

C.4 GENERAL SCOPE

The Contractor shall furnish all labor and materials that are not provided by the Government (as specifically listed in the contract as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) to provide contract services and deliverables in accordance with the terms and conditions herein and the specifications set forth under the Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ). All technical support requirements will be communicated by the Government via Statements of Objective (SOO) or Statements of Work (SOW) and result in task orders. This work statement defines the broad scope of work areas in which defined task orders may be issued. The contractor's performance shall be in compliance with Federal, agency and EROS specific policies, procedures, and regulations as specified in the contract. Potential exists for increases or decreases in the contract activities due to appropriation level changes or program changes to include future satellite missions, national security programs (such as Uncrewed Aerial work), unanticipated mission failures or decommissioning, new partnerships, and other increases or decreases from various USGS programs or reimbursable funding from partners:

The following work is expressly excluded from the scope of this contract:

a. Services covered under other EROS support contracts, including janitorial, grounds maintenance, construction maintenance of physical facility, mailroom, logistics and warehouse, guard services, and specific lead scientific research.

b. Support services for USGS components other than work performed for EROS projects or projects requiring EROS on-site support.

C.4.1 Science Support

A key mission element of the USGS EROS Center is to promote new uses, new users, and new understanding of landscape and coastal scale processes and information to provide a better understanding of our planet. At EROS, we study land change and how it impacts ecosystems, economics, and everyday life. This scientific research helps to demonstrate to the world the high value of the National Satellite Land Remote Sensing Data Archive, a permanent global archive consisting of imagery over land and water areas obtained from satellites orbiting the Earth, and related information.

EROS scientific research and applications focuses on land change monitoring, assessment, and projection, vegetation and water dynamics, hazards, early warning for food security, emergency response, coastal changes and impacts, and remote sensing research and development. Cooperation with established and potential users of remote sensing data is required to meet discipline-specific information needs. The work involves the use of advanced processing techniques to ingest, display, and analyze coastal and land surface data such as geology, topography, bathymetry, soils, vegetation, hydrology, and land use. These data are analyzed in combination with remotely sensed data to monitor environmental change, characterize landscapes, and contribute to the study of land processes on regional, national, continental, and global scales. Activities include:

· identifying data and information requirements of the land management and earth science community for understanding Earth systems, climate change, vulnerability and resiliency of natural systems, and identifying relevant information that can be derived using remotely sensed data and other geocoded data;

· developing techniques to format and display earth science data and information for inventorying, monitoring, and managing Earth resources;

· prototyping and developing advanced scientific infrastructure to support near real-time land change detection; multi-temporal analysis to support scientific assessment and applications

· promoting the use of appropriate standards in the transfer of geospatial data, development of metadata, and generation of application products;

· assisting in the design and implementation of complex spatial analysis models that incorporate satellite, spatial, and disparate tabular data, and developing predictive models related to land and coastal processes, human activities, and global climate change;

· transferring remote sensing and spatial data analysis technologies to users through cooperative applications projects or technical consultations;

· conducting user requirements, investigations, and systems capabilities assessments;

· documenting results via peer-reviewed journal publications;

· providing day-to-day user assistance regarding remote sensing and spatial data handling technologies and applications;

· carrying out special assignments, such as cooperation with professional societies;

· coordinating and preparing periodic reporting, including quarterly and annual reports.

· development of computing and storage infrastructure for science data Investigative research is required in the areas of radiometric and spectral calibration, geometric correction, and spatial, spectral, and temporal characterization of data received from various sensor systems. This understanding is required to identify and correct systematic observational biases or instrument artifacts, and to enable scientists to accurately relate sensor data to surface phenomena. Technical support will be required in the following:

· developing physical models necessary for investigating new processing techniques and validation procedures to understand orbital and imaging properties of sensors, atmospheric radiative transfer, and first-order surface processes required to simulate data acquisition;

· developing new and improved processing methods, such as data retrieval procedures, image compression, geometric correction, radiometric and spectral calibration, noise filtering, and spatial deconvolution and re-sampling;

· developing exploratory data analysis and data visualization tools to aid in the analysis of sensor characterization;

· developing new and improved production algorithms, providing support to other projects, as required, and publishing technical reports.

Also required are investigations to derive useful land information from geospatial and (especially) remotely sensed data. This activity requires close cooperation with users to identify their information needs. The workforce utilizes remote sensing data and computer systems to develop (1) techniques for digital image processing, (2) techniques for spatial data handling, and (3) new data products. Specific areas of technical focus that will require support are:

· improving image processing methods for the production of digital image data and enhance image processing techniques (i.e., change detection, spatial and frequency domain filtering, image enhancement, and image classification);

· Developing spatial data handling methods for the analysis and understanding of spatial data. This includes enhancement of spatial analysis tools and exploratory data analysis and data visualization tools. This also includes the integration of data models, databases and analytic methods within geographic information systems (GIS), development of techniques for incorporating image and non-image data into GIS, and the investigation of spatial data quality measures;

· Prototyping methods and techniques to create new products for distribution by EROS. This includes assessment of the needs of the user community, development of prototype data products that address user needs, and transfer of product generation methods from research to operation.

C.4.2 Data and Information Support EROS provides customers, cooperators, partners, and scientists with information about and access to Earth science and digital cartographic data sets distributed by the EROS Center. Products are available to customers in a variety of formats.

The contractor shall provide customer support, which includes providing prompt and professional service for information, assistance with database searches, access, and ordering related to all products and services; providing applications support and consultation to users of remotely sensed and geospatial data products; and assisting users in selecting and working with data appropriate for their requirements. Customer contacts occur via telephone, facsimile, electronic mail, regular mail, and walk-in visitors. Customer support interacts with users of government-provided web-based customer interfaces, tools and services.

The contractor shall provide support associated with data management and archiving, which involves managing and maintaining the integrity of the digital and film archives, monitoring the integrity of data inventories on computer systems, receiving and inventorying new data, performing data quality assessments, designing databases, entering data into and updating databases, and disseminating database information. Digital and film archives shall be monitored for media degradation and technical staff shall keep abreast of new and emerging technologies associated with digital recording media and techniques and recommend data conversion to avoid both technology obsolescence and media degradation within the archive.

The contractor shall provide support that includes the management of information systems used to reference and provide user access to data. Information management includes requirements analysis, database planning, database development, and researching technologies associated with information services on the Internet, cloud computing infrastructure; metadata gathering, preparation, and maintenance in compliance with USGS and EROS standards and guidelines; and the design and development of web-enabled data discovery and order.

C.4.3 Systems Operations and Maintenance Support The projects of the Center require a broad range of computer systems operations and maintenance services and support. The services and support functions range from basic office automation support to high-performance computing and networking. The Contractor support shall include such services as the operation of computers, peripherals, and specialized equipment; hardware maintenance; digital tape library operation; network maintenance; systems administration; and maintenance contract administration. Also, the contractor shall provide support pertaining to center-wide desktop applications support services such as the user help desk, microcomputer installation and maintenance support, network services, center-wide desktop software license management, a shared equipment pool, and technical instruction services.

The contractor shall provide system administration and maintenance support services, which include such work activities as: installing, maintaining and supporting operating systems, utilities and other common use software including troubleshooting and performance tuning; supporting the installation and testing of new operating system software releases, vendor package installation and upgrades, and specialized hardware devices; providing and coordinating engineering and repair of electronic equipment at EROS; performing system administration tasks as related to computer access controls; installing and integrating new computers, servers, file servers, workstations, special purpose systems, subsystems, peripherals and other electronic equipment; establishing, monitoring and/or performing preventive maintenance activities and overseeing on site activities of equipment vendors during major equipment repairs or installations; monitoring equipment failures, spare parts usage, and vendor call ins to establish and maintain a viable spare parts inventory; making recommendations related to equipment replacement, enhancement, and maintenance; recommending, ordering, and installing all engineering change notices received from the various manufacturers required to keep systems current.

The contractor shall provide computer operations support services, which include such work activities as operating all computers, peripherals, and specialized equipment within the computer room and in designated secure areas; preparing, coordinating, scheduling, and performing production control and dissemination of scheduled computer tasks and resulting outputs; performing and maintaining required file backups to ensure against loss of data; documenting and maintaining forms, logs, and operational procedures; inspecting and verifying incoming digital media for ingest processing and subsequent archiving; ensuring expendable supplies are kept at levels appropriate for contractor operations; and ensuring that the computer room and support infrastructures are maintained and consistent with known computer room industry standards and associated EROS policies and procedures.

The contractor shall provide desktop support services, which include planning, integration, hardware and software installation, and maintenance of computer and support systems such as Windows, Macintosh and Linux operating systems (OS) and involving such work activities as: managing and operating a Help Desk function responding to requests for support of desktop equipment and software used by the contractor’s workforce, federal employees, and employees of other agencies and contractors; providing the help desk user interface, forwarding calls to appropriate technicians, problem management, problem resolution, and reporting; coordinating and/or providing support of training activities for either EROS developed, or vendor supplied software systems; providing general setup and administration and/or maintenance support for desktop computers with Windows, Macintosh and Linux OS, printers, and other peripherals; providing general support services and assistance to microcomputer users, support word processing training activities, assist with desktop computer hardware and software configurations, configuration of new equipment, monitor of wiki information pages and communications systems for internal employee message postings, and support their communication between desktop computers and other computer systems; and, Implementation of identified DOI or USGS bureau wide system management or security settings and processes on microcomputer equipment.

C.4.4 Engineering Support

A key requirement is the provision of a full range of computer systems engineering, development, and integration services to projects and programs. The contractor shall provide support, which includes such services as systems engineering, systems and software development, project management, end-to-end system and/or software development, system and software project planning and estimation. These services are intended to support both the ongoing maintenance and enhancement of existing systems, and the development and implementation of potential new large and complex systems. Development methodologies will include waterfall, agile, and development operational deployment.

The contractor shall provide technical support and assistance with the development and maintenance of center-wide systems architecture and information infrastructure strategies. These activities are intended to promote interoperability, standards, and reuse; and include hardware, software, networks, databases, and procedures. The contractor shall provide support for evaluations of future technologies related to EROS strategic goals. The contractor shall support activities performing trade studies, system benchmarks, and developing system prototypes and may involve partnerships with outside organizations. Also, the contractor shall support the planning, design, development, and implementation of infrastructure items not addressed through specific programmatic initiatives such as wide-area and local-area networks infrastructure, architectural style development for cloud-based software systems and shared computational or storage services.

The contractor shall provide systems engineering support in such areas as satellite data reception, satellite ground station systems, archival technology, information systems, data set engineering, mass-storage, networking and telecommunications, system configuration, computer security and systems software. Systems engineering roles include project lead, project engineer, system integrator, test engineer, systems analyst, and technology investigator. The contractor shall provide technical recommendations and support for hardware and software procurements, perform resource management and capacity planning, and integrate computer and support systems based on primarily the Linux and Windows operating systems. The contractor shall provide network-engineering expertise in the areas of planning, implementation, and day-to-day maintenance support for the Local Area Networks and Wide Area Networks.

In addition, the contractor shall provide systems engineering activities that support ground systems development efforts conducted in partnership with NASA, will work closely with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and other NASA Center engineers, as well as work coordinated with NASA contractors and will generally adhere to the NASA systems engineering processes, including formal milestone reviews. There will be some tailoring of processes depending upon the partner and type of project.

The contractor shall provide software engineering support including the analysis, design, development, testing, documentation, and maintenance of a variety of software systems used to support EROS projects and mission objectives. The contractor shall support this activity by utilizing tools and systems such as high-level software languages, relational database management, image processing, geographic information services, agile development, document management, workflow statistical analysis, computer engineering and design, content management, risk management, schedule management, configuration management, other commercial-off-the-shelf software tools and enabling technologies. The contractor shall provide software architecture support for and recommendation of future software platforms such as cloud computing.

The contractor shall provide support for information system software activities including inventories of metadata, user interfaces, order entry, and production control. Requirements typically include enhancements to existing systems as well as support for troubleshooting problems and maintenance support. Specific tasks include database development, user interface development, management of software to support browse imagery, and documentation development (both hard copy and online).

The contractor shall provide support for scientific system software activities including in-house image processing requirements, geographic information systems research and applications, and cartographic support systems. This includes investigating and implementing raster and vector data processing techniques, supporting satellite image acquisition systems, and providing expertise for processing various types of satellite and remote sensing data. The requirements include developing user interfaces on various platforms including virtual systems and cloud computing, assisting in cartographic research, investigating new data processing techniques, developing Internet client software, prototyping tools to view and access data, and packaging applications into an integrated system.

C.4.5 Satellite Data Reception and Operations The contractor shall perform ground system operations at EROS on Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) that includes 10-meter and 5.4-meter antenna assets that perform satellite data reception and satellite tracking, telemetry, command, and control. The receiving station tracks multiple satellites and currently supports 12-14 passes per day from current missions. Data is exchanged with other ground stations and data acquired via exchange are ingested into the USGS archive. Satellites are tracked and controlled, and data is received via the antenna infrastructure. Satellite telemetry and ranging information is collected and transferred to the mission operations center. Command loads are transferred from the mission operations centers for transmission to the satellites. Spacecraft health and safety data received from the satellites is routed to the mission operations centers for spacecraft monitoring and trending. Science data received from the satellites is processed and assessed to track and verify the geometric and radiometric performance of the onboard instruments. The contractor shall provide support to an anomaly resolution team to understand the issues determine the root cause of the anomaly for the development of corrective action and return the satellite to nominal operation at the appropriate time.

The contractor shall provide calibration and validation expertise in sensor radiometry, geometry, and special accuracy of remotely sensed imagery and includes product enhancement analysis, studies, and daily operations activities such as generating calibration parameter files regularly to accurately process data based on current knowledge of spacecraft and instrument performance.

The contractor shall provide international ground station support including technical support of the space-to-ground station and ground station-to-EROS interfaces, requirements, regular international meetings, scientific and technical collaboration initiatives, and international ground station data validation and exchange.

The contractor shall provide calibration and validation expertise in Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) sensor radiometry, geometry, and data quality. The contractor shall provide expertise in the use of UAS platforms and sensors for use in satellite-derived surface reflectance products. The contractor shall provide support to development, maintenance, and enhancement of Calibration and Validation (Cal/Val) software tools related to UAS platforms, sensors, and/or data.

The contractor may assess the current state of the antenna assets and must be capable of procuring replacement antennas if the government deemed necessary.

C.4.6 Communications and Outreach Support The contractor shall provide support for EROS Communication and Outreach activities, which include developing and publishing informational materials about EROS activities and products. Support services include the Center’s library; visitor Center; designing and producing graphics; designing, producing, and implementing general-purpose web pages; and ensuring those publications, reports, brochures, videos, and other EROS communications adhere to the USGS mission and operational policies and procedures.

section d – packaGing and marking D.1 Package and ship deliverables to:

United States Geological Survey

Earth Resources and Science (EROS) Center 17914 252nd St.

Sioux Falls, SD 57198

ATTN: TO BE DETERMINED AT EACH TASK ORDER

D.2 Deliverables specified under task orders shall be delivered to the address above, unless specified otherwise.

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SECTION E -- Inspection and Acceptance

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this address:

http://www.acquisition.gov/far/

(a) It is anticipated that inspection and acceptance shall be completed by USGS personnel within 30 days after delivery of all completed deliverables by the contractor, at which time the contractor will be informed of any deficiencies or of final payment approval.

(b) Accordingly, subparagraph (a)(5)(i) of the clause FAR 52.232-25, Prompt Payment, is hereby modified to increase the constructive acceptance period to 30 days. If the Government subsequently rejects the items, and repair or replacement cannot be effected within the contract delivery date, the contractor may request that the contract delivery date be extended one day for each day the Government required for inspection in excess of the above allotted inspection period.

The demonstration of satisfactory operation of the equipment shall include the actual operation of all elements of the equipment in order to establish that the equipment is one complete operating unit. The contractor shall demonstrate to the Contracting Officer or Contracting Officer’s Representative that the equipment will meet all the operating specifications of the contract. At time of demonstration of satisfactory operation, the contractor shall thoroughly acquaint the Geological Survey personnel with all aspects of the maintenance of the equipment.

E.4

GENERAL ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

· General quality measures, as set forth below, will be applied to each work product received from the contractor under this contract.

· Accuracy ‑ Work Products shall be accurate in presentation, technical content, and adhere to accepted elements of style.

· Clarity ‑ Work Products shall be clear and concise all diagrams shall be organized and relevant to the supporting narrative(s).

· Consistency to Requirements ‑ All work products shall satisfy the requirements of this contract.

· File Editing ‑ All text and diagrammatic files shall be editable by the Government.

· Format - Work Products shall be submitted in hard copy (where applicable) and in media mutually agreed upon prior to submission, unless otherwise specified herein. Hard copy formats shall follow any specified Directives or Manuals.

· Timeliness ‑ Work Products shall be submitted on or before the due date specified herein or submitted in accordance with a later scheduled date determined by the Government.

E.5

QUALITY ASSURANCE

The COR or designated inspector will review, for completeness, preliminary or draft documentation that the Contractor submits, and may return it to the Contractor for correction. Absence of any comments by the COR will not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for complying with the requirements of this work statement. Final approval and acceptance of documentation required herein shall be by letter of approval and acceptance by COR. The Contractor shall not construe any letter of acknowledgment of receipt material as a waiver of review, or as an acknowledgment that the material is in conformance with this work statement. Any approval given during preparation of the documentation, or approval for shipment shall not guarantee the final acceptance of the completed documentation.

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SECTION F -- Deliveries or Performance

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this address:

Services may be provided off-site, on-site, or a combination of, depending on program requirements. However, the majority of the work will be performed at the USGS Earth Resources and Science (EROS) Center, located in Garretson, SD.

The period of performance of this contract shall be from December 02, 2025 through December 01, 2030.

The following legal holidays are observed by this Government agency:

New Year's Day

January 01 Martin Luther King's Birthday 3rd Monday in January Presidents Day

3rd Monday in February Memorial Day

Last Monday in May Juneteenth

June 19 Independence Day

July 04 Labor Day

1st Monday in September Columbus Day

2nd Monday in October Veterans Day

November 11 Thanksgiving Day

4th Thursday in November Christmas Day

December 25 When a holiday falls on Saturday or Sunday, it is observed on the adjacent Friday or Monday, respectively. In addition to the holidays listed above, the contractor agrees to observe leave days or closures designated by Federal Statute, Executive Order, or Presidential Proclamation.

The cost to the Contractor for the period of any excused absence shall be paid at the hourly rates specified herein. In each instance, if practical and ensuring safety, the Contractor agrees to continue to provide sufficient personnel to perform round-the clock requirement of critical tasks already in operation or schedule, and shall be guided by the instructions issued by the Contracting Officer, the Contracting Officer's Representative or their designated representative.

(a) The USGS facility where contractor employees are working may occasionally have unscheduled closures in which federal employees are dismissed on administrative leave (such as for inclement weather, holiday early closings, power outages, or other emergencies). In these cases, the Contracting Officer or COR will advise the contractor whether any of the contractor's activities are considered critical and require continued performance. In most cases, the Contractor employees not performing critical tasks will not be allowed to remain in the facility after federal employees are dismissed.

(b) If the contractor opts to treat these nonproductive hours as paid leave, these hours are considered an allowable cost under the contract. The total number of hours charged on such days may not exceed the number scheduled for affected employees and may not include overtime hours.

(c) Paragraph (b) does not apply and nonproductive hours are not billable as direct hours worked where the contractor's accounting system normally treats leave of the type used as an indirect or fringe benefit pool expense.

(a) The USGS facility where contractor employees are working may occasionally be closed temporarily and federal employees dismissed, such as for inclement weather, holiday early closings, power outages, or other emergencies. In these cases, the Contracting Officer or COR will advise the contractor whether any of the contractor's activities on Government facilities are considered critical and require continued performance. In most cases, the Contractor will be required to dismiss employees at Government facilities who are performing noncritical tasks after federal employees are dismissed.

(b) If the unscheduled closure causes an increase in the cost of contract performance or if any contract term or condition is affected by the closure, the Contractor may request an adjustment pursuant to Clause FAR 52.242-17 Government Delay of Work.

(c) Contractor performance at locations that are not affected by the unscheduled closure will not be subject to this clause.

F.7

MEETINGS, REPORTS AND OTHER DELIVERABLES

In fulfillment of this contract, the Contractor shall be required to provide deliverables. All deliverables shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), unless otherwise agreed upon.

Unless otherwise specified, the Government will have a maximum of ten (10) working days from the day the draft deliverable is received to review the document, provide comments back to the contractor, approve or disapprove the deliverable(s). The contractor will also have a maximum of ten (10) working days from the day comments are received to incorporate all changes and submit the final deliverable to the Government. All days identified below are intended to be workdays unless otherwise specified.

F.7.1 Orientation Briefing

Within two (2) days from date of award, the contractor shall schedule an orientation briefing/initial strategy session. Both parties will mutually agree upon the specific date, time, and location of the briefing. The Government does not desire an elaborate orientation briefing, nor does it expect the contractor to expend significant resources in preparation for this briefing. Rather, the intent of the briefing is to initiate the communication process between the Government and the contractor by introducing key participants and explaining their roles, reviewing communication ground rules, and assuring a common understanding of requirements and objectives, goals, constraints, policies, expected benefits, other relevant background information, and discussing near-term deliverables.

F.7.2 Monthly Status Reports

The contractor shall prepare and submit a monthly status report, for each Task Order (TO), in accordance with the requirements of this contract. The monthly status report shall include, as a minimum the following and shall be limited to two (2) pages per TO:

Progress for the period: detailed progress report of findings, key relevant activities and accomplishments during the reporting period, including any partner activities;

Activities planned, to include any partner activities, for the next reporting period: planned activities, as well as the status of any and all deliverables, including planned delivery date(s) and actual and/or anticipated delivery date(s);

· Problems encountered: identification of any problems, issues or delays and recommendations as to their resolution, and any corrective action that was taken to correct identified problems.

· Risk Mitigation: identification of any risk and proactive mitigation actions undertaken by the contractor.

· Cost expenditures: depict the planned versus actual expenditures (labor and all other expenditures to include direct, indirect and subcontractors) on this contract. Show data from the previous month, current reporting period, planned for the next reporting period, as well as cumulative contract report. Cumulative cost expenditures shall be reported for contract year as well as fiscal year.

F.7.3 Special Organization Conflict of Interest (OCI) Mitigation Plan

The contractor shall provide an OCI Plan within 25 days after award, to the CO. It is the contractor’s responsibility to update this document in order to maintain the integrity of the Plan. (Reference Section L.4 GS2113 – Organizational Conflict of Interest – General (July 2007) (Modified F.7.4 Weekly Status Report

The contractor shall prepare and submit a weekly status report in accordance with the requirements of this contract. This report shall be briefed to the COR during weekly status meetings. The weekly status report shall include, as a minimum the following:

· Current contract staffing levels

· Current contract open position

· Status of contract expenditures in the areas of travel, direct labor, subcontract, and other direct costs

· Noteworthy activities

· Upcoming activities at least 2 weeks prior to event

· Corporate reachback

· Safety incidents if any

· Action items and status

F.7.5 Deliverable Table – Unless otherwise agreed upon, all deliverables shall be submitted to the COR identified in Section G of this contract, with a copy of the transmittal letter to the Contracting Officer.

F.8 OTHER PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

F.8.1 Hours of Work EROS federal employee general time and attendance guidelines allow for a flexible work schedules. Generally, federal staff begins work no earlier than 6 a.m. on work days and end no later than 6 p.m. Federal staff is generally required to be present for work during core hours of 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. Contractor personnel are generally expected to maintain work hours during EROS Center operating hours of 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Some activities require different types of shifts including but not limited to: (1) 3 shifts per day, 5 days per week and (2) a minimum of 20 hours per day, 7 days per week, and anticipated requirements supporting full 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The Government will require a differential shift rate for each anticipated task order.

The first shift (day shift) is generally performed during regular business hours, the second shift (swing shift) is generally performed after the day shift ends, and the third shift (graveyard) is generally performed after the second shift ends.

F.8.2 Productive Direct Labor Hours

The contractor can only charge the Government for “Productive Direct Labor Hours”. “Productive Direct Labor Hours” are defined as those hours expended by Contractor personnel in performing work under this effort. Productive Direct Labor Hours applies only to Cost Reimbursement orders. This does not include sick leave, vacation, Government or contractor holidays, jury duty, military leave, or any other kind of administrative leave such as acts of God (i.e., hurricanes, snow storms, tornadoes, etc.), Presidential funerals or any other unexpected government closures.

F.9 TRANSITION PLANS

F.9.1 Transition In -- Phase-in shall begin at contract award. The contractor shall complete all phase-in efforts in accordance with the approved transition plan (to include the Government’s validation of the Transition Plan, containing critical events, schedules and approach) and be prepared to begin transition in activities immediately and to be completed no later than two (2) months after award. The contractor shall submit a weekly status report during the phase-in period and operational activities to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) beginning with the first week of performance. The contractor shall submit a weekly status report during the phase-in period and operational activities to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) beginning the 20th calendar day following award. The status report shall address those items identified as being key to the success of the transition as identified in the plan.

NOTE: Awardee and incumbent contractor are expected to work together during the transition phases to ensure continuity of services as applicable. The incumbent contractor recognizes that the services provided by this contract are vital to the Government’s overall effort, that the continuity thereof must be maintained in a consistently high level without interruption, that upon expiration of this contract a successor—either the Government or another contractor—may continue these services.