Tab 04 SOW.pdf

NASA Biological Diversity and Ecological Conservation Statement of Work:

Build a Viable “One NASA” Model March 9, 2026

NASA seeks support to launch its Biodiversity and Ecological Conservation (BDEC) Virtual Center. This Virtual Center is designed to enhance collaboration across NASA Centers conducting Earth science and applications, and to strengthen NASA's service to landscape, seascape, and species managers.

Introduction

Eighteen months ago, NASA's Biodiversity and Ecological Conservation (BDEC) programs began convening experts across NASA's Earth science Centers—JPL, Langley, Marshall, Ames, and Goddard—to explore how NASA could serve BDEC stakeholders in ways greater than the sum of its parts.

The result is a BDEC Virtual Center design currently being finalized in consultation with center leadership and NASA subject matter experts.

The Transition Point

In the coming months, NASA will reach a critical inflection point:

transitioning day-to-day Virtual Center management to NASA personnel.

This transition will involve: defining management roles; identifying required skills and capabilities; recruiting individuals to fill leadership positions; and restructuring cross-center teams, if required by the ultimate Virtual Center design.

Simultaneously, the Virtual Center is identifying transformative ideas that, once funded, NASA can execute across Centers, leveraging each Center's unique strengths to deliver integrated solutions. The Virtual Center community agrees that engaging stakeholders early and regularly will be essential for these solutions to have maximal impact on biodiversity and ecological science and conservation.

Purpose of This Scope

NASA has benefited from contractor support to design the Virtual Center— suppor that will continue through June 2026. This statement of work picks up where that contract concludes by supporting the operational transition to NASA management.

This scope also supports the priority for stakeholder engagement through an in-person listening session and virtual workshop. Each will be vital for informing Virtual Center priorities and strengthening connections between NASA and decision-makers working on-the-ground to accelerate biodiversity conservation.

Scope Outcomes

This statement of work will deliver on four integrated components:

● Virtual Center Staffing Support the Virtual Center in standing-up its new leadership structure.

Serve as an objective third-party liaison and convener for cross-center activities.

● Provide Strategic Support for Partnership Prioritization Facilitate mapping and consideration of the federal agencies, private sector companies and other groups that NASA may engage to better understand how NASA BDEC information and other Virtual Center results may flow into their decision-support tools. Aid program managers in selecting 1–3 groups for early exploration and identifying first steps.

● Stakeholder Engagement Virtual Event Design and execute a virtual workshop to gather decision-maker input— most likely to refine “reach opportunity” design—while strengthening NASA-stakeholder relationships.

● Synthesis & Strategic Guidance Distill insights from transition planning and stakeholder engagement into actionable recommendations that position the Virtual Center for long-term success.

Through this statement of work, the consultant will facilitate the process and provide strategic guidance; NASA retains responsibility for technical content and programmatic decisions.