DG1330-11-RP-0009 - WCOSS DRAFT RFP.pdf

Cover Page 1 of 2 DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

NOAA Weather and Climate Operational

Supercomputing System (WCOSS)

IMPORTANT: THIS IS A DRAFT SOLICITATION. DO NOT PREPARE AND

SUBMIT AN OFFER IN RESPONSE TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT.

This notice and DRAFT Request For Proposal (RFP) is posted in order to seek comments from prospective offerors. The government intends to conduct an industry day to publically address comments and questions regarding this draft RFP. Questions and comments are requested in writing by close of business on November 30, 2010 to the contracting officer or via the project

Website: http://rdhpcs.noaa.gov/wcoss.

An abstract of the comments and questions along with the Government's answers will be made publicly available via the project Website:

http://rdhpcs.noaa.gov/wcoss.

Additional questions may be considered at any time prior to, and during, the industry day.

The Industry Day will be held:

Date: December 6, 2010

Time: 9:00 AM EST

Location: NOAA Auditorium, 1301 East-West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910

RSVP to Ms. Adena Fritz at adena.fritz@noaa.gov

Please note the following regarding the Industry Day:

1. Limited parking is available at Montgomery County Parking Facilities http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dpktmpl.asp?url=/content/dot/parking/ index.asp

2. Arrive 15 minutes early to allow time to clear security.

3. Bring your identification

4. The closest metro stop is Silver Spring.

5. Attendance is limited to a maximum of 7 people per company. Email your attendees to adena.fritz@noaa.gov by close of business November 30, 2010.

6. Tape recorders and videos are prohibited.

7. A recording of industry day will be posted on the project Website:

http://rdhpcs.noaa.gov/wcoss approximately 1 week after the Industry

Day.

The Government intends a full & open competition for this requirement in the form of a final RFP in January 2011 with proposal submission by March 2011 and a single award, subject to the availability of funds, on or about October

2011. Potential offerors need not respond to the draft RFP or participate in industry day as a prerequisite for responding to the final RFP.

This draft RFP does not constitute a commitment on the part of the Government to purchase or acquire systems or services. The Government will not pay for data or time expended to respond to this notice and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue an RFP or award a contract as a result of this notice.

http://rdhpcs.noaa.gov/wcoss http://rdhpcs.noaa.gov/wcoss mailto:adena.fritz@noaa.gov http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dpktmpl.asp?url=/content/dot/parking/index.asp http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dpktmpl.asp?url=/content/dot/parking/index.asp mailto:adena.fritz@noaa.gov http://rdhpcs.noaa.gov/wcoss

Cover Page 2 of 2 DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES & PRICES OR COST PAGE 3

SECTION C STATEMENT OF WORK PAGE 6

SECTION D PACKAGING AND MARKING PAGE 7

SECTION E INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE PAGE 8

SECTION F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE PAGE 16

SECTION G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA PAGE 20

SECTION H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS PAGE 24

SECTION I CONTRACT CLAUSES PAGE 42

SECTION J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS PAGE 54

SECTION K REPRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATIONS, & PAGE 55

OTHER STATEMENTS

SECTION L INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, & PAGE 67

NOTICES TO OFFERORS

SECTION M EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD PAGE 87

Section B DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

SECTION B

SUPPLIES OR SERVICES & PRICES OR COST

B.1 CONTRACT TYPE

This is a an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract to provide the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of the Chief Information Officer, with high performance computing and communications requirements.

This contract consists of a five (5) year base period with a three (3) year option period and a two (2) year transition option. The three (3) year option period, if exercised, will commence upon expiration of the base contract. The two (2) year transition option may be exercised at any time, but may be exercised only once.

Firm fixed price, labor hour or time-and-materials task/delivery orders may be issued under this contract.

(End of clause)

B.2 MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM CONTRACT AMOUNTS (CAR 1352.216-75)(APR

2010)

During the term of the contract, the Government shall place orders totaling a minimum of $150,000.00. The amount of all orders shall not exceed $502,000,000.00 (inclusive of all options).

B.3 CEILING PRICE (CAR 1352.216-77)(APR 2010)

The ceiling price of this contract is $502,000,000.00 (inclusive of all options). The contractor shall not make expenditures nor incur obligations in the performance of this contract which exceed the ceiling price specified herein, except at the contractor’s own risk.

B.4 GROWTH OPTIONS

This contract includes growth options for capacity and capability and affords the Government the flexibility to acquire additional hardware, software, facilities and services.

B.5 FUNDING PROFILE

The total funding profile for this acquisition is stated in Table B.5-1 and Table B.5-2.

Table B.5-1: Funding profile for WCOSS (Base Period and Growth Options)

Not To Exceed $Ms

($Ms) Base Year Base Year Base Year Base Year Base Year Totals

Base 8 8 19 19 19 73

Growth Options 10 36 36 36 36 154

Table B.5-2: Funding profile for WCOSS (Service/Transition Options and Growth Options)

Not To Exceed $Ms

($Ms) Option Year

Option Year

Option Year

Option Year

Option Year Totals

Service/ Transition

Option 19 19 19 19 19 95

Growth Options 36 36 36 36 36 180

B.6 SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES

The following is a schedule of all deliverables, including administrative deliverables, required during the period of performance of this contract:

ITEM DESCRIPTION QTY DUE DATE

DELIVER TO

TBD Deliverables TBD Per the terms of the contract required by CAR and FAR clauses

TBD Other Deliverables TBD Specified in individual Task/

Delivery Orders

Section C DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

Reference Section J, Attachment 3 Section C Statement of Work

Section D DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

SECTION D

PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.1

PACKING FOR DOMESTIC SHIPMENT

Material shall be packed for shipment in such a manner that will ensure acceptance by common carriers and safe delivery at destination.

Containers and closures shall comply with the Interstate Commerce Commission regulations, Uniform Freight Classification rules, or regulations of other carriers as applicable to the mode of transportation.

D.2

PACKING AND UNPACKING

The Contractor shall furnish such labor as may be necessary for packing, unpacking, and placement of equipment when in the possession of the Government without additional charge to the Government.

Supervision of packing, unpacking, and placement of the equipment shall be furnished by the Contractor without charge to the Government.

D.3

MARKING DELIVERABLES

The contract number and Government point of contact with phone number shall be placed on or adjacent to all exterior mailing or shipping labels of deliverable items called for by the contract. The contract number shall be placed on all paper and electronic reports delivered in performance of this contract.

Section E DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

SECTION E

INSPECTION & ACCEPTANCE

E.1 STANDARD OF PERFORMANCE AND ACCEPTANCE OF SYSTEM(S)

In addition to the tests specified below or identified in any Government-provided SOWs, acceptance is contingent upon compliance with all requirements described in Section C and any additional requirements in the task orders including, but not limited to, adherence to Governance processes (e.g. Configuration Management) and IT Security Requirements. Acceptance is also contingent upon the delivery and correct functioning of any features offered beyond the requirements.

During acceptance testing, to assure performance, the Government may exercise any component or service, confirm the functionality, or confirm the configuration. Acceptance is contingent upon successful completion of system certification and accreditation.

E.1.1 General

This clause establishes a standard of performance which must be met before any equipment or software delivered under this contract is accepted by the Government.

As solutions may be delivered at different times and potentially to different locations, all applicable tests will be applied to each component after delivery is complete. At the Government’s discretion, at any time any component of the solution may be put back through all phases of acceptance to confirm performance is at proposed levels. All tests will be performed at the discretion of the Government. Acceptance testing is applicable to all solutions delivered or supported under this contract. These tests may also be applied to replacement equipment, equipment upgrades, substituted equipment, modified equipment, and equipment supplied as remediation of any contractual shortfall. If any software upgrades are unable to meet test criteria, then the Contractor is required to continue support for the existing software complement until such time as the upgraded software can meet test criteria. All portions of the acceptance tests, unless indicated differently by the Government, will be done during the same 30 consecutive day period within a ninety (90) day window, which starts from the commencement of acceptance Should the Contractor fail to meet any of the tests, the contract may be terminated at the Government’s discretion, may negotiate alternative remedies. At the discretion of the Government, failure to meet a performance target may be remedied by providing additional or substitute hardware and software (any source code modifications to the benchmarks other than Class A must be approved by the Government).

Class A modifications are those required to allow a benchmark to run to completion correctly if, without such changes to source code, the benchmark will "fail" either by exiting prior to completion or producing incorrect answers. Class A modifications do not include any changes to source solely for performance. Since there may be many causes for such changes (e.g. existing non-standard language usage within the application, workarounds required for compiler bugs, etc.), the Government cannot state categorically that such modifications will not be evaluated without some sort of risk factor assigned. Still, it is the Government's desire to consider such changes as "essentially unmodified" code with no negative impact on evaluation.

Among the types of "changes" which will be taken as Class A are:

• Use of commercially supported libraries which are bid as part of the offering and require no changes to benchmark source code or introduction of wrapper subroutines;

• Compiler command lines with performance-specific options including, but not limited to, automatic parallelization;

• Automatic parallelization and multitasking mediated through the operating system; and

• Use of commercially available and supported source pre-processors that are bid as part of the offering.

If additional or substitute hardware causes a facility impact, the Contractor shall be required to remedy the facility impact. The Government reserves the right to waive testing or change the testing window (either longer or shorter) before accepting a solution.

E.1.2 Areas of Testing

The following describes some of the areas that can be tested during Inspection and Acceptance. The Government may provide more specific testing requirements at the task order level.

E.1.2.1 Availability

E.1.2.1.1 Each solution shall meet or exceed the proposed availability.

E.1.2.1.2 The Government may submit applications or perform tests that have been shown to be problematic on other systems.

E.1.2.1.3 The Government, at its discretion, may provide a series of carefully monitored tests that may include up to twenty-five (25) individual batch jobs (complete with input data) to run on a Contractor-provided HPCS. These tests will be monitored for end-to-end success. Complete or partial failure of any intermediate step will result in declaring the test to have failed. Success will be determined as the number of successful tests divided by the number of attempted tests in a thirty (30) day period per subsystem. This ratio must be equal or greater than the proposed availability during the acceptance test period as well as during the life of the contract.

Failures due to null time, application errors, or data errors will not be included in either the numerator or denominator of the above ratio.

E.1.2.2 Performance

Each solution shall meet all proposed performance specifications. The Government reserves the right to verify that performance is being met anytime, even after acceptance. Remedies as described in Section F apply to these post-acceptance performance tests.

E.1.2.2.1 Benchmark Performance

E.1.2.2.1.1 All of the benchmarks, provided by the Government, must meet the performance criteria proposed by the Contractor. The interactive benchmarks will be run and tested by the Government. Failure to meet the performance criteria may not be remedied by performing any code modifications other than Class A to the benchmark codes unless these modifications have been approved by the Government. Other remedies include substitution of hardware that is approved by the Government or by providing additional hardware as described in Section F.

E.1.2.2.1.2 The benchmark performance will be tested during the acceptance test period. The performance results will be used as the baseline metric throughout the contract period or until the installed system is replaced or upgraded.

E.1.2.2.2 Disk I/O Performance

When possible, all performance specifications indicated in the Contractor's proposal will be verified.

Any failures to meet the specifications shall be remedied or result in failure of the acceptance test. Consistent disk I/O performance is required to meet the run time variability standard.

E.1.2.3 Reproducibility

E.1.2.3.1 Codes that are known to provide bit reproducible results may be run at the Government's discretion. If the codes fail to produce the same results for repeated runs in an environment where bit reproducibility is expected on the same type of hardware/software, then the acceptance test is deemed to be failed until the Contractor can provide a remedy. Should the first instance of the test not be performed within twenty (20) days of the first instance of the bit reproducibility error, the Government will extend the acceptance test period one day for each day of delay or forego the test entirely.

E.1.2.3.2 The Government requires the Contractor deliver bit reproducible results. The Government requires the

Contractor deliver bit reproducible results, for the entire duration of the contract.

E.1.2.3.3 In the event that a bit reproducibility error is found, a root cause and remedy is required in order to complete acceptance.

E.1.2.4 Data Integrity

E.1.2.4.1 Government data shall have integrity for the duration of the contract. End-to-end integrity of data transfers is required. In addition, the Government is concerned with silent data corruption. As practical tests may not be possible, the Government may verify that reasonable checks, tools, configurations, etc., have been deployed by the Contractor.

E.1.2.4.2 In the event that a data integrity problem is found, the Contractor shall identify and demonstrate root cause to the Government. The Contractor shall provide a remedy in order to complete acceptance.

E.1.2.5 Run Time Variability

E.1.2.5.1 Benchmark and/or test codes will be monitored for run-time variability. The wall clock execution time for each code will be monitored and recorded over the course of acceptance.

Run time variability standard requires these codes, of production quality with fixed input data, to execute within +/- 5% of average wall clock time. Codes are varied and may require access to massive data sets, thousands of processors, etc. The run time variability standard will not apply to benchmark/test codes that execute in less than thirty

(30) seconds or longer than four (4) hours. A sample size of not less than thirty (30) runs is required to establish statistical significance.

E.1.2.5.2 The run time variability standard for application codes using “live” data sets will be 5% for codes within one standard deviation of the mean. A sample size of not less than thirty (30) runs is required to establish statistical significance.

The live data run time variability standard will not apply to codes that execute in less than thirty (30) seconds or longer than eight (8) hours.

E.1.2.6 Acceptance Test Spreadsheet

The COTR, or an appropriate designee, will construct and maintain during the acceptance tests a spreadsheet that shows all metrics designated by the acceptance test criteria and record all events, and the diagnosed causes contributing to these results. This spreadsheet will be provided at the task order level. The Contractor will maintain complete and accurate records indicating component (hardware/software/infrastructure) failures, degraded performance, repair/maintenance service and a record of any Government direction influencing acceptance tests. The COTR, selected NOAA staff (including affiliates and contract staff) involved in the acceptance testing, and Contractor representatives shall meet routinely during the acceptance test period to agree on event categorizations and descriptions, and to validate the acceptance test criteria metrics.

Should the contractor fail to meet NCEP requirements the contract may be terminated for default.

E.2 ACCEPTANCE PHASES

E.2.1 Contractor’s Proposed Solutions

The Government solely owns the responsibility of acceptance.

At the Government’s discretion, the Contractor’s test plans may or may not be used to augment the Government’s test plans.

E.2.2 Entry into Acceptance

In order to enter into acceptance testing the following shall be completed:

E.2.2.1 The solution shall have appropriate authorization from the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative;

E.2.2.2 The solution shall have appropriate authorization from the ISSO;

E.2.2.3 The solution shall have a fully approved configuration management ticket;

E.2.2.4 The solution has been delivered, installed and configured;

E.2.2.5 The system has gone through appropriate diagnostic testing to confirm proper performance;

E.2.2.6 All necessary changes to the Governance documents have been proposed;

E.2.2.7 Required documentation per the Governance documents

(such as inventory, facilities drawings, etc.) have been provided;

E.2.2.8 Any software that is required is installed and confirmed to be functioning;

E.2.2.9 Unless otherwise indicated by the Government, the

Contractor must provide the ability to monitor all performance measures that have been proposed;

E.2.2.10 The Government’s questions regarding configuration and documentation have been satisfied;

E.2.2.11 Confirmation that all contractually required and proposed performance levels are met. This includes Contractor provided facilities (such as power and cooling) estimates; and

E.2.2.12 At the Government’s discretion, the Contractor shall provide a Live Test Demonstration. The Government shall provide the list of tests in the event that a Live Test Demonstration (LTD) is requested.

E.2.3 Acceptance Testing

E.2.3.1 The system must be in use, with a minimum 90% of resources engaged at any time.

E.2.3.2 During the first fifteen (15) days of acceptance the

Government may elect to restrict system use to benchmark codes.

Multiple copies of these codes will be run in a random manner so as to employ all resources in an unpredictable manner.

E.2.3.3 During the second fifteen (15) days of acceptance, NCEP will be able to run its workload on the system. The Contractor shall not be held responsible for user-caused system faults. The Government will terminate user access during acceptance should there be more than two system-wide user-caused faults or other disruption that causes utilization to fall below 90%.

E.2.3.4 Unless indicated differently by the Government, acceptance testing will be done during the same thirty (30) consecutive day period within a ninety (90) day window, which starts from the commencement of acceptance.

E.2.3.5 During the thirty (30) consecutive day period all contractual and proposed performance and availability measures will be met.

E.2.3.6 The Contractor shall be required to monitor performance and provide documentation on results.

E.2.3.7 To assure reproducibility of the HPCS, at the Government’s request, the Contractor shall provide a mechanism to dual-run or otherwise assure reproducibility.

E.2.4 Exiting Acceptance

E.2.4.1 All documentation, logs, scripts, programs, and output relevant to the acceptance test is captured and archived.

E.2.4.2 All performance and availability requirements have been met or exceeded and have been confirmed by the ACOTR or COTR to the Contracting Officer.

E.2.4.3 The Contracting Officer will lead and complete negotiations with regards to any issues during the acceptance tests.

E.2.4.4 The Contracting Officer sends a letter to the Contractor accepting the system.

E.3 ACCEPTANCE DOCUMENTATION AND DATE OF ACCEPTANCE

At the successful conclusion of the acceptance test the following documents will be produced: (1) Letter of Acceptance, and (2) Acceptance Test Report.

E.3.1 Letter of Acceptance

The Letter of Acceptance for each subsystem is approved by the

Contracting Officer and the Government’s technical point of contact, upon successful completion of the acceptance test and retroactively establishing the first day of the successful thirty (30) day performance period.

E.3.2 Acceptance Test Report

E.3.2.1 Co-authored by the Contractor and the COTR and completed within three (3) working days of execution of the Letter of Acceptance, the acceptance test report documents the events of the evaluation period and provides both a subjective assessment of the subsystem and an objective tabulation of acceptance test period events and results. Objective information to be included in the report are:

the final values for all acceptance criteria metrics, a copy of the acceptance test spreadsheet, and a description of all events (including null time periods), as well as root causes for and remedies of those events.

E.3.2.2 Charges shall commence on the first day of the successful performance period. The Government shall not accept equipment and shall not pay charges until the standard of performance is met.

E.4 DELAY OF START OF ACCEPTANCE TESTING

If necessary, the Government may delay the start of the acceptance period, but such a delay shall not exceed thirty (30) consecutive days.

Should the Government delay the start of the acceptance period, rental and maintenance charges shall accrue for that period of time between the installation date and the start of the acceptance period and shall be paid upon completion of the successful acceptance period.

E.5 PLACE OF INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE (CAR 1352.246-70) (APR

E.5.1 The Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative will perform inspection and acceptance of supplies and services to be provided under this contract.

E.5.2 Inspection and acceptance will be performed at times and places specified in the task/delivery orders.

Section F DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

SECTION F

DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 CONSIDERATION

The integrated components of the High Performance Computing Systems (HPCS) and facilities shall meet the performance requirements cited in Section C.3 and additional requirements identified at the task order level. If the Contractor does not meet the performance requirements, then consideration is owed to the Government. The Government may, at its discretion, choose new equipment as consideration at no additional cost to the Government; reduce invoice payment(s) by the amount of consideration owed, or both. The Contractor is responsible for meeting performance requirements on hardware, software, facilities and services that the Contractor delivers and/or supports.

F.1.1 Operational Use Time

Operational Use Time requirement is defined in Section C.3.3 and Section C Appendix H (glossary). Operational Use Time is determined monthly.

The Government reserves the right to define, mark, calculate and determine Operational Use Time.

During any month, Operational Use Time is determined by considering all WCOSS resources (primary and backup) in which a subset of this total resource is necessary to execute the entire NCEP Production Suite (NPS). The NPS executes on either the Primary or Backup WCOSS.

The 30-month periodic expansions / refreshes / upgrades are defined in Section C.3.6. Within each 30-month lifecycle NPS consumes approximately 30% of the resources of one WCOSS (either primary or backup) during the start of the lifecycle and approximately 90% of the resources during the end of the lifecycle.

F.1.2 Development Use Time

Development Use Time requirement is defined in Section C.3.3 and Section C Appendix H (glossary). Development Use Time is determined monthly.

The Government reserves the right to define, mark, calculate and determine Development Use Time.

During any month, Development Use Time is determined by considering all WCOSS resources (primary and backup) minus the resources necessary to execute the entire NCEP Production Suite (NPS). The Transition to Operations (T2O) executes within the Development Use Time and the T2O will execute on the Primary and/or Backup WCOSS.

F.1.3 Consideration for Not Meeting Performance Requirements

If the WCOSS components, including facilities, are inoperable or unavailable and results in performance below the Operational Use Time and Development Use Time requirements defined in Section C.3.3, and any additional requirements identified at the task order level, through no fault or negligence of the Government, the Government is entitled to consideration.

Consideration shall be calculated based on the total monthly invoice amount as described in the table below. Disincentives shall be cumulative and will not exceed 75% for any given month. Consideration shall be based on root cause analysis.

Performance Requirement Disincentives

Contractor shall achieve 99.9% or greater Operational Use Time

99.8% = Government pays 90% total invoice for the month

99.7% = Government pays 80% total invoice for the month

99.6% = Government pays 70% total invoice for the month

99.5% = Government pays 60% total invoice for the month

99.4% = Government pays 50% total invoice for the month

99.3% = Government pays 40% total invoice for the month

Less than 99.3% = Government pays 30% total invoice for month

Contractor shall achieve 99% or greater Development Use Time

Less than 99% = Government pays total invoice minus one half percentage(s) missed for the Development Use Time.

For example, if the Contractor achieved 95% Development Use Time, the Government pays 98% total invoice for the month: 98% = 100% – ((99% – 95%) / 2).

F.2 PLACE OF DELIVERIES

The Contractor shall be responsible for transportation to, and installation of all hardware and software at the following address:

As specified in individual Task/Delivery Orders.

F.3 DELIVERY/INSTALLATION REQUIREMENTS

The Government reserves the right to delay any installation by up to thirty (30) days, at no additional cost to the Government, provided that:

a. The Contractor shall receive written notice from the Contracting Officer thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled installation date.

b. Any installation delays beyond thirty (30) days shall be mutually agreed to by the Contractor and the Government.

The Government shall provide the Contractor with access to the site for purposes of installing the equipment prior to the scheduled installation date. The Contractor shall specify in writing in each proposal the time required for such access.

F.4 TIME OF DELIVERY

The delivery schedule will be specified in individual task/delivery orders.

F.5 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE (CAR 1352.270-70)(APR 2010)

a. The base period of performance of this contract is five (5) years from date of contract award through ___________. If the three

(3) year option is exercised, the period of performance shall be extended through the end of that option period. The two (2) year transition option may be exercised at any time during the life of the contract.

b. The option periods that may be exercised are as follows:

Period Start Date End date

Three Year Option 01 October 2016 30 September 2019 Two Year Transition Option TBD 24 months from exercise of option period

The notice requirements for unilateral exercise of option periods are set out in FAR 52.217–9.

Section G DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

SECTION G

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

G.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S AUTHORITY (CAR 1352.201-70)

The Contracting Officer 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.

G.2 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE (COTR)(CAR

1352.201-72)(APR 2010)

a. Mr. Gary Wohl is hereby designated as the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR). The COTR may be changed at any time by the Government without prior notice to the contractor by a unilateral modification to the contract. The COTR is located at:

Address: DOC/NOAA/NWS/NCEP

ATTN: Mr. Gary Wohl World Weather Building 5200 Auth Road, RM 307 Camp Springs, MD 20746-4304

Telephone: (301) 763-8000 x7157 Facsimile: (301) 763-8381

b. The responsibilities and limitations of the COTR are as follows:

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

ii. The COTR 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 COTR. No such changes shall be made without the express written prior authorization of the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer may designate assistant or alternate COTR(s) to act for the COTR by naming such assistant/alternate(s) in writing and transmitting a copy of such designation to the contractor.

G.3 PLACEMENT OF ORDERS (CAR 1352.216-76)(APRIL 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:

i. Date of order;

ii. Contract number and order number;

iii. Item number and description, quantity, and unit price or estimated cost or fee;

iv. Delivery or performance date;

v. Place of delivery or performance (including consignee);

vi. Packaging, packing, and shipping instructions, if any;

vii. Accounting and appropriation data;

viii. Method of payment and payment office, if not specified in the contract;

ix. 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:

Any duly appointed Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Adminsistration Contracting Officer, acting within the scope of their authority.

G.4 INVOICE REQUIREMENTS

a. The Contractor shall submit invoices in triplicate or via email directly to the Contracting Officer's Technical Representative.

The Government will attach to the invoice a signed copy of the inspection report or for certification of receipt and acceptance on a copy of the Contractor's bill. To constitute a proper invoice, the invoice must include, as a minimum, the following information and attached documentation:

i. Name of the business concern, invoice number and invoice date;

ii. Contract number;

iii. Description, price and quantity of goods and services actually delivered or rendered;

iv. Shipping and payment terms;

v. Name (where practical), title, telephone number, and complete mailing address of responsible official to whom payment is to be sent;

vi. Other substantiating documentation or information as required by the contract;

b. To assist the Government in making timely payments, the Contractor is requested to furnish the following additional information either on the invoice or on an attachment to the invoice:

i. Date(s) that property was delivered or services rendered;

ii. Serial Numbers of property delivered;

iii. Address where property was delivered or services were rendered; and

iv. Credits (if applicable)

G.5 ADDITIONAL INVOICE AND PAYMENT PROVISIONS

The Contractor shall submit an electronic invoice of its invoice for basic monthly charges at the end of the month for which the charges accrue. One copy shall be sent electronically to the COTR and one copy shall be sent electronically to the Contracting Officer. Payments for rental and services of less than one month’s duration shall be prorated at 1/30th of the basic monthly charge for each calendar day.

Any credits due the Government may be applied against the Contractor’s invoices with appropriate information attached.

G.6 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY (CAR 1352.245-70)(APR 2010)

The Government will provide the following item(s) of Government property to the contractor . The contractor shall be accountable for, and have stewardship of, the property in the performance of this contract. This property shall be used and maintained by the contractor in accordance with provisions of the “Government Property” clause included in this contract.

Item No. Description Quantity

SEE SECTION C, APPENDIX I, GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT (GFE)

G.7 PROGRESS REPORTS (CAR 1352.237-74) (APR 2010)

The contractor shall submit, to the Government, a progress report every month after the effective date of the contract during the period of performance. The contractor shall deliver progress reports that summarize the work completed during the month, the work forecast for the following month, and report the metrics. The report shall also include any additional information—including findings and recommendations—that may assist the Government in evaluating progress under this contract. The first report shall include a detailed work outline of the project and the contractor's planned phasing of work by reporting period.

Section H DRAFT DG1330-11-RP-0009

SECTION H

SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

H.1 RESTRICTIONS ON PRINTING AND DUPLICATING (CAR 1352.208-

70)(APR 2010)

a. The contractor is authorized to duplicate or copy production units provided the requirement does not exceed 5,000 production units of any one page or 25,000 production units in the aggregate of multiple pages. Such pages may not exceed a maximum image size of 103⁄4 by 141⁄4 inches. A ‘‘production unit’’ is one sheet, size 81⁄2 x 11 inches (215 x 280 mm), one side only, and one color ink.

Production unit requirements are outlined in the Government Printing and Binding Regulations.

b. This clause does not preclude writing, editing, preparation of manuscript copy, or preparation of related illustrative material as a part of this contract, or administrative duplicating/copying (for example, necessary forms and instructional materials used by the contractor to respond to the terms of the contract).

c. Costs associated with printing, duplicating, or copying in excess of the limits in paragraph (a) of this clause are unallowable without prior written approval of the Contracting Officer. If the contractor has reason to believe that any activity required in fulfillment of the contract will necessitate any printing or substantial duplicating or copying, it shall immediately provide written notice to the Contracting Officer and request approval prior to proceeding with the activity. Requests will be processed by the Contracting Officer in accordance with FAR 8.802.

d. The contractor shall include in each subcontract which may involve a requirement for any printing, duplicating, and copying in excess of the limits specified in paragraph (a) of this clause, a provision substantially the same as this clause, including this paragraph (d).

H.2 POTENTIAL ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (CAR

1352.209-70) (APR 2010)

Offerors are specifically cautioned that any firm(s) receiving a contract award to provide the system integrator services and/or supplies described herein will be prohibited from competing for or receiving a contract to perform work as described below:

a. If the Contractor, under the terms of this contract, or through the performance of task/delivery orders pursuant to this contract, is required to develop complete specifications or statements of work that are to be incorporated into a Government solicitation, the Contractor shall be ineligible to perform the work described in that solicitation as a prime or first-tier subcontractor under an ensuing NOAA contract. For each such specification or statement of work prepared by the Contractor hereunder, this restriction shall remain in effect until the Government has completed one acquisition using such specification or statement of work. NOAA shall not unilaterally require the Contractor to prepare such specifications or statements of work under this contract.

b. To the extent that the work under this contract requires access to proprietary, business confidential, or financial data of other companies, and as long as these data remain proprietary or confidential, the Contractor shall protect these data from unauthorized use and disclosure and agrees not to use them to compete with other companies.

H.3 LIMITATION OF FUTURE CONTRACTING (CAR 1352.209-71, ALT IV)

(APR 2010)

a. The following restrictions and definitions apply to prevent conflicting roles, which may bias the contractor’s judgment or objectivity, or to preclude the contractor from obtaining an unfair competitive advantage in concurrent or future acquisitions.

i. Descriptions or definitions:

(i) ‘‘Contractor’’ means the business entity receiving the award of this contract, its parents, affiliates, divisions and subsidiaries, and successors in interest.

(ii) ‘‘Development’’ means all efforts towards solution of broadly defined problems. This may encompass research, evaluating technical feasibility, proof of design and test, or engineering of programs not yet approved for acquisition or operation.

(iii) ‘‘Proprietary Information’’ means all information designated as proprietary in accordance with law and regulation, and held in confidence or disclosed under restriction to prevent uncontrolled distribution. Examples include limited or restricted data, trade secrets, sensitive financial information, and computer software; and may appear in cost and pricing data or involve classified information.

(iv) ‘‘System’’ means the system that is the subject of this contract.

(v) ‘‘System Life’’ means all phases of the system’s development, production, or support.

(vi) ‘‘Systems Engineering’’ means preparing specifications, identifying and resolving interface problems, developing test requirements, evaluating test data, and supervising design.

(vii) ‘‘Technical Direction’’ means developing work statements, determining parameters, directing other contractors’ operations, or resolving technical controversies.

b. The contractor agrees to accept and to complete all issued task orders, and to not contract with Government prime contractors or first-tier subcontractors in such a way as to create an organizational conflict of interest.

H.4 RESTRICTIONS AGAINST DISCLOSURE (CAR 1352.209-72) (APR

a. The contractor agrees, in the performance of this contract, to keep the information furnished by the Government or acquired/developed by the contractor in performance of the contract and designated by the Contracting Officer or Contracting Officer’s Representative, in the strictest confidence. The contractor also agrees not to publish or otherwise divulge such information, in whole or in part, in any manner or form, nor to authorize or permit others to do so, taking such reasonable measures as are necessary to restrict access to such information while in the contractor’s possession, to those employees needing such information to perform the work described herein, i.e., on a ‘‘need to know’’ basis. The contractor agrees to immediately notify the Contracting Officer in writing in the event that the contractor determines or has reason to suspect a breach of this requirement has occurred.

b. The contractor agrees that it will not disclose any information described in subsection (a) to any person unless prior written approval is obtained from the Contracting Officer. The contractor agrees to insert the substance of this clause in any consultant agreement or subcontract hereunder.

H.5 COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAWS (CAR 1352.209-73) (APR 2010)

The contractor shall comply with all applicable laws, rules and regulations which deal with or relate to performance in accord with the terms of the contract.

H.6 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (CAR 1352.209-74) (APR

a. Purpose

. The purpose of this clause is to ensure that the contractor and its subcontractors:

i. Are not biased because of their financial, contractual, organizational, or other interests which relate to the work under this contract, and

ii. Do not obtain any unfair competitive advantage over other parties by virtue of their performance of this contract.

b. Scope

. The restrictions described herein shall apply to performance or participation by the contractor, its parents, affiliates, divisions and subsidiaries, and successors in interest (hereinafter collectively referred to as “contractor”) in the activities covered by this clause as a prime contractor, subcontractor, co-sponsor, joint venturer, consultant, or in any similar capacity.

For the purpose of this clause, affiliation occurs when a business concern is controlled by or has the power to control another or when a third party has the power to control both.

c. Warrant and Disclosure

. The warrant and disclosure requirements of this paragraph apply with full force to both the contractor and all subcontractors. The contractor warrants that, to the best of the contractor’s knowledge and belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which would give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, and that the contractor has disclosed all relevant information regarding any actual or potential conflict. The contractor agrees it shall make an immediate and full disclosure, in writing, to the Contracting Officer of any potential or actual organizational conflict of interest or the existence of any facts that may cause a reasonably prudent person to question the contractor’s impartiality because of the appearance or existence of bias or an unfair competitive advantage.

Such disclosure shall include a description of the actions the contractor has taken or proposes to take in order to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate any resulting conflict of interest.

d. Remedies

. The Contracting Officer may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if the Contracting Officer deems such termination necessary to avoid, neutralize or mitigate an actual or apparent organizational conflict of interest. If the contractor fails to disclose facts pertaining to the existence of a potential or actual organizational conflict of interest or misrepresents relevant information to the Contracting Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, suspend or debar the contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract.

e. Subcontracts

. The contractor shall include a clause substantially similar to this clause, including paragraphs (f) and (g), in any subcontract or consultant agreement at any tier expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. The terms “contract,” “contractor,” and “Contracting Officer” shall be appropriately modified to preserve the Government’s rights.

f. Prime Contractor Responsibilities

. The contractor shall obtain from its subcontractors or consultants the disclosure required in FAR Part 9.507-1, and shall determine in writing whether the interests disclosed present an actual, or significant potential for, an organizational conflict of interest. The contractor shall identify and avoid, neutralize, or mitigate any subcontractor organizational conflict prior to award of the contract to the satisfaction of the Contracting Officer. If the subcontractor’s organizational conflict cannot be avoided, neutralized, or mitigated, the contractor must obtain the written approval of the Contracting Officer prior to entering into the subcontract. If the contractor becomes aware of a subcontractor’s potential or actual organizational conflict of interest after contract award, the contractor agrees that the Contractor may be required to eliminate the subcontractor from its team, at the contractor’s own risk.

g. Waiver

. The parties recognize that this clause has potential effects which will survive the performance of this contract and that it is impossible to foresee each circumstance to which it might be applied in the future. Accordingly, the contractor may at any time seek a waiver from the Head of the Contracting Activity by submitting such waiver request to the Contracting Officer, including a full written description of the requested waiver and the reasons in support thereof.

H.7 TASK/DELIVERY ORDERS (CAR 1352.216-74) (APRIL 2010)

a. In task/delivery order contracts, all work shall be initiated only by issuance of fully executed task orders issued by the Contracting Officer. The work to be performed under these orders must be within the scope of the contract. The Government is only liable for labor hours and costs expended under the terms and conditions of this contract to the extent that a fully executed task/delivery order has been issued and covers the required work and costs. Charges for any work not authorized shall be disallowed.

b. For each task/delivery order under the contract, the

Contracting Office shall send a request for proposal to the Contractor(s). The request will contain a detailed description of the tasks/deliveries to be achieved, a schedule for completion of the task/delivery order, and deliverables to be provided by the Contractor.

c. The contractor shall submit a proposal defining the technical approach to be taken to complete the task/delivery order, work schedule and proposed cost/price.

d. After the conclusion of negotiations, the Contractor shall submit a final proposal.

e. Task/delivery orders will be considered fully executed upon signature of the Contracting Officer. The Contractor shall begin work on the task/delivery order in accordance with the effective date of the order.

f. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer of any instructions or guidance given that may impact the cost, schedule or deliverables of the task order. A formal modification to the task/delivery order must be issued by the Contracting Officer before any changes can be made.

(End of Clause)

H.8 RIGHTS IN DATA, ASSIGNMENT OF COPYRIGHT (CAR 1352.227-70)

In accordance with 48 CFR 52.227-17, Rights in Data –- Special Works, the contractor agrees to assign copyright to data, including reports and other copyrightable materials, first produced in performance of this contract to the United States Government, as represented by the Secretary of Commerce.

H.9 DUPLICATION OF EFFORT (CAR 1352.231-71) (APR 2010)

The contractor hereby certifies that costs for work to be performed under this contract and any subcontract hereunder are not duplicative of any costs charged against any other Government contract, subcontract, or other Government source. The contractor agrees to advise the Contracting Officer, in writing, of any other Government contract or subcontract it has performed or is performing which involves work directly related to the purpose of this contract. The contractor also certifies and agrees that any and all work performed under this contract shall be directly and exclusively for the use and benefit of the Government, and not incidental to any other work, pursuit, research, or purpose of the contractor, whose responsibility it will be to account for it accordingly.

H.10 SECURITY PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS – HIGH OR MODERATE RISK

CONTRACTS (CAR 1352.237-70) (APR 2010)

a. Investigative Requirements for High and Moderate Risk Contracts. All contractor (and subcontractor) personnel proposed to be employed under a High or Moderate Risk contract shall undergo security processing by the Department’s Office of Security before being eligible to work on the premises of any Department of Commerce owned, leased, or controlled facility in the United States or overseas, or to obtain access to a Department of Commerce IT system. All Department of Commerce security processing pertinent to this contract will be conducted at no cost to the contractor. The level of contract risk will determine the type and scope of such processing, as noted below.

(1) Investigative requirements for Non-IT Service Contracts are:

(i) High Risk – Background Investigation (BI)

(ii) Moderate Risk – Moderate Background Investigation (MBI)

(2) Investigative requirements for IT Service Contracts are:

(i) High Risk IT – Background Investigation (BI)

(ii) Moderate Risk IT – Background Investigation

(BI)

b. In addition to the investigations noted above, non-U.S.

citizens must have a pre-appointment check that includes an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency check.

c. Additional Requirements for Foreign Nationals (Non-U.S.

Citizens). To be employed under this contract within the United States, non-U.S. citizens must have:

(1) Official legal status in the United States;

(2) Continuously resided in the United States for the last two years; and

(3) Obtained advance approval from the servicing Security…