A14_Market_Research_Sources_Sought_Draft_Final_1.docx

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OR INVITATION FOR BID. THERE IS NOT A SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.

The Department of the Interior (DOI), Indian Affairs (IA) is seeking qualified small business contractors capable of performing Architect-Engineering (A-E) Services for an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) multiple award contract for various locations across the Continental United States and Indian Country. The contracts resulting from the solicitation will require that contractors manage multiple concurrent task orders across the nation.

IA will refer to this procurement as the “Division of Water and Power Architect-Engineering Multiple Award Contract” (DWP-AE-MAC). We anticipate issuing a solicitation in spring of 2023 and awarding this contract in late 2023.

IA seeks market information on the number and availability of A-E firms qualified to accomplish work related to the following mission areas: (1) Dam Safety Security and Emergency Management (DSSEM), and (2) Division of Water and Power (DWP), Branch of Irrigation and Power.

1. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) branch of DSSEM mission is to ensure that dams under the jurisdiction of the BIA do not present unacceptable risks to public safety and property loss. Currently, DSSEM is responsible for the safety of 137 high or significant hazard potential dams across the United States. DSSEM requires contract support for the following A-E services to perform its mission: dam safety engineering including dam rehabilitation design and/or construction management; dam safety inspections or risk analysis studies; geotechnical, hydrologic, and hydraulic studies; geographic information system (GIS), value engineering, and risk reduction analyses; environmental permitting; hazard classification studies; dam security; emergency action planning; and/or emergency exercise conduct and evaluation.

2. The BIA DWP mission is to promote self-determination, economic opportunities, and public safety through the sound management of irrigation, dam, and power facilities owned or operated by the BIA. The DWP requires contract support for the following A-E services to perform its mission: agricultural and civil engineering design of irrigation facilities; electrical engineering design of power transmission and distribution facilities; asset evaluation of irrigation and power facilities, including engineering condition assessments and modernization studies; cost estimating, life cycle cost analysis and value engineering; safety evaluation and safety management as it relates to irrigation and power projects; geotechnical, soils, hydrologic, and hydraulic studies; surveying, GIS, and geospatial services; construction management and oversight services; environmental services, including National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) analysis; historical, archeological, and cultural resources services; water rights and water resources engineering; and economic analysis of irrigation projects, irrigated agriculture, and power utilities.

IA anticipates a target of twenty (20) IDIQ contracts will be awarded as a result of the potential solicitation, broken down as follows:

The ordering period for each contract will be five (5) years starting from the actual date of award. The total price for all contracts combined will not exceed $200,000,000.00 ($200 million) for the five-year life of the contracts. Projects awarded on this DWP-AE-MAC will have an estimated architect-engineering services cost of approximately $10,000.00 to $10,000,000.00; however, smaller, and larger dollar value projects may be considered.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this DWP-AE-MAC is 541330, Engineering Services. The Small Business Size Standard is $22,500,000 ($22.5M).

It is requested that interested small businesses submit a response to demonstrate the ability to perform the services described.

All responses should include:

1. Attachment 1 - Contractor Information Form. Please complete all boxes.

2. Information on past projects. For general and specialized A-E services, submit a maximum of (10) projects. All projects must have been completed in the past six (6) years from the response date for this notice. Taken as a whole, projects should demonstrate experience that encompasses a variety of general and specialized A-E services in the cost range described above. Interested small businesses with experience in these fields should include and highlight these projects, as a significant portion of task orders issued under the DWP-AE-MAC are expected to be for these types of specialized services. Please complete:

(a) Attachment 2 - Sources Sought Project Summary. For each project listed, please fill in columns A-U.

(b) For each project listed in Attachment 2, complete one (1) of the Attachment 3 - Architect-Engineering Experience Project Data Form. The description box should include the contract number, Government Agency/Private Entity for which the work was performed, and a brief description of how the contract referenced relates to the size, scope and complexity requirements for the services described.

(Please note: Each project listed should be included on the Sources Sought Project Summary spreadsheet AND have a submitted Sources Sought Architect-Engineering Experience Project Data Form.)

3. The Government anticipates that this procurement will include consolidation of numerous requirements into one procurement consistent with FAR 7.107. The work involved in each task order that will be issued under the DWP-AE-MAC could be issued under a stand-alone acquisition or combined to a lesser degree. Please comment on the extent that consolidation of these requirements into one large procurement impacts your firm’s ability to compete. Are there elements of this work which your firm cannot perform because they have been consolidated? For example, are there geographical areas where your firm cannot perform work or are there types of work that your firm cannot perform? Please comment if there are any ways that the Government could divide this work into multiple procurements that would allow your firm to be more competitive. If the consolidation of these requirements will have no impact on your firm’s ability to compete, please so state.

4. In accordance with FAR 19.505(b)(1)(i), and FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting, firms receiving task orders may not pay more than 50 percent of the amount paid by the Government for contract performance to subcontractors that are not similarly situated entities. Responses must include a description as to how your small business would meet this FAR requirement.

5. In addition to the above items, you may also submit a capabilities statement for review (no page limitation on this, brochures are acceptable), but it is not required.

Submissions are requested from ISBEE, IEE, and small businesses to determine if there is sufficient interest from ISBEE’s, IEE’s and small businesses to set-aside these requirements or portions of these requirements for ISBEE’s, IEE’s or small businesses.

A set-aside determination for total set-aside; partial set-aside or no set-aside (i.e., all responsible offerors, including large firms, permitted to submit proposals) will be made for each specialty area shown above. The set-aside determination will be made based on the responses from interested firms in each specialty area. Set-aside determinations in one specialty area will not be the basis for the set-aside determination for the other specialty area.

This sources sought notice is a market research tool only. Responses will be used to determine the extent to which this requirement will be set aside for small business or small business social economic subcategories. If this market research concludes there is not enough small businesses capable of performing this requirement, this requirement may be solicited on a full and open competitive basis (i.e., large businesses permitted to submitted proposals). Furthermore, upon review of industry response to this sources sought notice, the Government is not obligated to and will not pay for any information received from potential sources as a result of this notice.

The information provided in this notice is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to solicit for or award a contract. The Government will not provide debriefs on the results of this research, but feedback regarding the decision to set aside or not set aside the procurement will be accomplished via pre-solicitation synopsis or solicitation for these services as applicable. All information submitted will be held in a confidential manner and will only be used for the purpose intended. Points of contact listed may be contacted for the purpose of verifying performance.

RESPONSES ARE DUE NO LATER THAN: December 23, 2022, at 5:00 PM.

The package shall be sent via electronic mail (e-mail) to Mr. Gregory Hall at gregory.hall@bia.gov and Mr. William McLaughlin at william.mclaughlin@bia.gov.

Attachments:

1. Contractor Information Form

2. Sources Sought Project Summary

3. Architect-Engineering Experience Project Data Form