Antarctic Research Vessel (ARV) Integrator, One-on-One Sessions with Interested Parties

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is issuing this Special Notice to further engage with industry to improve planning for the Antarctic Research Vessel (ARV) Integrator effort.

This Special Notice invites potential prime offerors only to one-on-one meetings with NSF to discuss the ARV Integrator effort. The purpose of these meetings is for NSF to better understand industry stakeholder needs and perspectives prior to the potential release of a solicitation.

Sessions will be scheduled for November 13-15. Sessions will be limited to one hour. Sessions will not occur before 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Meetings will be entirely virtual – no in-person meeting at NSF’s Alexandria VA headquarters is available.

Interested parties will meet with representatives from NSF’s Office of Polar Programs and Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support. Participants will be provided with short bios for the NSF personnel in attendance.

Interested parties will be required to provide short (one paragraph) bios of the parties’ attending personnel, including brief discussion of their role and responsibilities related to ARV and this session. This information, as well as confirmation of adherence to the following ground rules, must be provided no later than three (3) business days prior to the scheduled meeting.

Ground Rules:

• As NSF would with any similarly situated prospective prime vendor, NSF is open to understanding the types of supplies or services that the prime provides and can provide general information about NSF’s general mission needs and future requirements. Specific non-public information about a proposed acquisition that would be necessary for the preparation of proposals shall not be disclosed by NSF to avoid creating any unfair competitive advantage.
• Potential prime offerors agree not to provide NSF with any unsolicited proposal, article of equipment, gift, material, or written information during any one-on-one session.
• Offerors understand that no discussion or comment during this meeting will constitute authorization for the contractor to work or bill for work.
• Offerors must be cognizant that the one-hour session limit shall be enforced.
• Neither video, audio, questions, topics, or meeting minutes shall be released on SAM.gov after these sessions.
• Offerors understand that NSF will not discuss specific information associated with any NSF or other federal agency procurement action that is active (e.g., active solicitation, undergoing proposal evaluation). Nor will NSF discuss any matters involving the administration of any current NSF contract.
• No discussions regarding the cost or price of supplies or services are permissible.
• No discussions shall involve Sensitive Classes of Information, including, but not limited to, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), information requiring protection subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and Privacy Act, or information enabling an unfair competitive advantage.

To schedule sessions please email arv.procurement@nsf.gov no later than 5:00pm EDT, 8 November 2023. In the email title please include the language “One-on-one Meeting Request”. Failure to submit a request prior to this date means NSF may not be able to arrange a session between the required dates. NSF reserves the right to cancel or reschedule meetings without notice.

If you require information on the technical requirement, please consult the draft Request for Proposal (RFP) release for the ARV Integrator. A link is provided at the bottom of this release.

This notice is being issued solely for informational and planning purposes.  Further, this notice does not constitute a procurement solicitation. This notice does not commit NSF to contract for any supply or service nor wed NSF to any particular contract type or process. All costs associated with responding to this notice will be solely at the interested party’s expense and any information provided under this notice is purely voluntary. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future competition or participation in future subcontract opportunities which may arise. NSF expects to release any future solicitation regarding this matter at the Federal Point of Entry, www.sam.gov. It is the responsibility of interested parties to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this anticipated competition. NSF also reserves all rights to update this announcement with additional information throughout and after the response period. Nothing in any future one-on-one meeting as contemplated by this Special Notice should be construed to authorize any vendor to work, start work, or bill for work.