Sources Sought Synopsis.docx

SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS

Unified Model Weather Data Effort

The Air Force Materiel Command, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Battle Management Directorate, Aerospace Management Systems Division, Weather Systems Branch AFLCMC/HBAW, Hanscom AFB, MA is issuing a Sources Sought Synopsis to identify companies that have the capabilities to provide Unified Model licensing and scientific services as well as access to IBL Software Suite. AFLCMC/HBAW is planning to issue a sole source contract award for the purchase of the Unified Model, IBL Software Suite, and all associated services. This survey will be one of the factors used by the Government in the acquisition planning process. This is not a Request for Quote (RFQ), or Notice of Contract Action (NOCA). It should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the Government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract in connection with this announcement. This Sources Sought is to assist with Market Research to determine if responsible sources exist and to determine if this effort can be competitive and/or a total small business set aside. The Government is interested in all small businesses to include 8(a), Service-Disable Veteran-Owned, HubZone, and Women Owned Small Business concerns.

Any information submitted by respondents to this synopsis is strictly voluntary. The Government will not pay for any information that is submitted by respondents to this Sources Sought Synopsis. The Government requests interested parties submit a statement of their qualifications with respect to the criteria described herein. To the maximum extent possible, please submit non-proprietary information. Any proprietary information submitted should be identified as such and will be properly protected from disclosure. No classified information shall be submitted.

Any response submitted by respondents to this synopsis constitutes consent for that submission to be reviewed by Government personnel, Federally Funded Research and Development Center employees, and Advisory & Assistance Services contractor employees supporting the Weather Systems Branch, AFLCMC/HBAW, unless the respondent clearly objects in writing to the release of the submission to Federally Funded Research and Development Contractor employees and Advisory & Assistance Services Contractor employees supporting the Weather Systems Branch, AFLCMC/HBAW, in a cover letter accompanying its capabilities package.

The proposed North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Code for the overall program is 518210 – Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services. The size standard for this NAICS code is $35M. We are seeking and are open to all types of small business participation. Please state if your company is a small business, small disadvantaged business, section 8(a) small business, woman-owned small business, service disabled veteran-owned small business or historically underutilized business zone small business under this NAICS code and size standard.

The place of performance shall be at the contractor facility.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO

THE SOURCES SOUGHT

Unified Model Weather Data Effort

The following offeror information must be provided:

a. Company Name

b. CAGE code and DUNS number

c. Address

d. Telephone Number

e. Fax Number

f. Email Address

g. Point of Contact for further clarification or questions

h. Company Size relative to NAICS code 518210

i. Based on the NAICS code 518210 and a size standard of $35M, please identify all of the following that are applicable: HubZone small business, 8(a) participation, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, small disadvantaged business, or women-owned small business.

1. Interested parties must submit a capabilities package, with a cover letter, that is concise, yet clearly demonstrates ability to meet the stated requirements with adequate staffing of qualified personnel. The capabilities package shall clearly present evidence that the interested party is fully capable of providing the required service, and as such may contain any information that the interested party feels is relevant. The capabilities package requirements are to be presented in accordance with the major sections outlined in the Capabilities Package Requirements section.

2. Responses shall not exceed 5 single-spaced pages, 12 point Times New Roman font typed with at least 1” margins. Each page of your package shall be printable on 8 ½” x 11” paper. Cover, tab dividers, title pages, glossaries, and table of contents are not required. Delivery of a Compact Disc (CD) is acceptable. Please note: emails containing file types such as: .zip, .xlsx, .docx, or other macro-enabled extensions may not be delivered to the intended recipients.

Submissions may also be received through DoD SAFE (https://safe.apps.mil/) web application. The DoD SAFE application is used to send large files to individuals which would normally be too large to send via email or to send files with macro-enabled extensions. The website is best accessed through Google Chrome, and users must request a dropoff code from the contacts on this Sources Sought Synopsis before files can be transmitted. Unless the size of the file exceeds that which can be transmitted thourgh email, this is a secondary option.

3. Additional relevant information shall be provided as an attachment and shall not exceed two single-spaced pages, 12 point Times New Roman font typed with at least 1” margins. Each page of the attachment shall be printable on 8 ½” x 11” paper. Delivery of a Compact Disc (CD) is acceptable. Please note: emails containing file types such as: .zip, .xlsx, .docx, or other macro-enabled extensions may not be delivered to the intended recipients.

4. Submissions may also be received through DoD SAFE (https://safe.apps.mil/) web application. The DoD SAFE application is used to send large files to individuals which would normally be too large to send via email or to send files with macro-enabled extensions. The website is best accessed through Google Chrome, and users must request a dropoff code from the contacts on this Sources Sought Synopsis before files can be transmitted. Unless the size of the file exceeds that which can be transmitted thourgh email, this is a secondary option.

5. If further information/clarification is needed, please contact Capt. Desmond Awadzi, Contracting Officer, at DSN 845-1215, Commercial (781) 225-1215, desmond.awadzi@us.af.mil.

6. Responses can be emailed/DoD SAFE to Capt. Desmond Awadzi, email: desmond.awadzi@us.af.mil, as well as a cc to Mr. Loriman Looke, email: loriman.looke@us.af.mil, received no later than 12:00 Noon EDT on 24 April 2020.

7. An AFLCMC Ombudsman is available to consider and facilitate the resolution of concerns from offerors, potential offers, and others for this acquisition. Before consulting the Ombudsman, concerned parties should first address their concerns, issues and disagreements, and/or recommendation to the listed Contracting Officer above for resolution. The AFLCMC Ombudsman, located at Wright Patterson AFB, OH serves as the Ombudsman for all of AFLCMC, including its GSUs. The Ombudsman hears concerns about specific issues in acquisitions, communicates those concerns from industry or Government personnel, and assists in the resolution of those concerns. The Ombudsman does not participate in the evaluation of proposals, the source selection process, or the adjudication of protests or formal contract disputes, nor does the Ombudsman diminish the authority of the program manager, contracting officer, or source selection official. When approached with an issue or query, the Ombudsman independently assesses the situation and provides a response or initiates a resolution, and when requested, will maintain confidentiality as to the source of the inquiry. The AFLCMC ombudsman can be contacted at:

AFLCMC Ombudsman 1790 10th Street Bldg 572 Wright Patterson AFB, OH 45433 Telephone: 937-255-5512 Email: peter.sandness@us.af.mil

CAPABILITIES PACKAGE REQUIREMENTS

Unified Model Overview

Unified Model (UM) licensing and scientific services is sought to support the USAF Numerical Weather Model program of record managed by USAF Life Cycle Management Center's Battle Management Directorate. Services and deliverables are necessary for the Numerical Weather Modeling (NWM) program to evaluate new science & technologies for potential integration into the Air Force Weather (AFW) models, algorithms, and database architecture through engineering analysis, studies, and development.

The USAF utilizes license and technical support in operating and sustaining the USAF Global Air-Land Weather Exploitation Model (GALWEM). GALWEM is based on the United Kingdom Meteorological Office's Unified Model. The Unified Model is composed of global-scale, convective-scale, data assimilation, ensemble, and chemistry/aerosol components utilized in GALWEM. The Air Force wishes to procure scientific support for the planning of future GALWEM-based Unified Model capabilities (e.g., coupled ocean-atmosphere, climatology, hydrology, model based cloud forecasting, and software optimization for new technologies associated with USAF Numerical Weather Model's follow-on high performance computing systems).

IBL Software & Support Overview: The IBL suite of software is utilized by AFLCMC/HBAW in development, production, and sustainment of the following activities:

Visual Weather is primarily used for visualization and web service presentation of weather data. In particular, Visual Weather is utilized as a primary OGC services engine, including Web Map Service (WMS), Web Coverage Service (WCS), Web Feature Service (WFS) and Web Processing Service (WPS). In addition, Visual Weather is needed for forecasting and production efforts.

The annual licenses for the entire IBL software suite are required for this program. In addition, support services will be needed to insure integration and compatibility with other systems and models.

Scope

1. The purpose of this effort is to procure licenses and support for the capabilities of Unified Model and IBL Software Suite software and data. The contractor will need to accomplish the following in support of this activity:

a. Program Management, Logistics Support [Helpdesk Support, Maintenance, Spares and Repair Management, Configuration Control Board (CCB) support, Obsolescence, Systems Engineering, materials, shipping, travel, etc.], Computer Resource Support, Engineering Change Proposals (ECP/CCP), Cyber Security, develop a Quality Management System, and develop maintenance releases covering deficiency backlog resolution and adaptive maintenance actions.

Relevant Experience

1. Based on this scope of work, the following should be addressed as part of your response to this Sources Sought:

a. Please provide up to three (3) examples showing procurement of a similar large-scale model-based system on a DoD network.

b. Please provide up to three (3) examples showing procurement and implementation of weather modeling software similar to the IBL suite.

c. Describe in detail logistics support of an Automated Weather Observation System, including helpdesk management, spares and repair management, software and hardware integration, failure reporting and analysis, obsolescence forecasting, engineering and technical support, remote maintenance, technical manuals, and training.

d. Please detail your experience with Help Desk services, including after-hours support and your expertise/experience with the Remedy suite of help desk management software. [e.g., 557th Weather Wing Fielded System Support Center (FSSC) REMEDY Action Request System (ARS) at Offutt AFB, NE.]

e. Describe any industry certifications that your company presently holds, including Industry Standard Organization (ISO) 9001:2008, Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), or any others.

f. Does your company have experience with contracts or purchasing agreements with fixed prices? Please provide duration of contract or purchasing agreement and specify contract type.

g. Describe in detail any experience your company has supporting Government (DoD, USAF) testing organizations for hardware or software.

h. Describe in detail any experience your company has in writing or updating technical manuals including conformance with formatting for DoD users.

DISCLAIMER AND NOTICE

This is a Sources Sought Synopsis only and does not constitute a commitment, implied or otherwise, that AFLCMC/HBAW will take procurement action in this matter. This is NOT a request for proposals, applications, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This request for capability information shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government. Further, the Government will NOT be responsible to reimburse any submitters of information for any cost incurred in furnishing this information. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.