consulting services

NASA's Shared Services Center has published a Special Notice for consulting services related to advanced plant imaging and multi-omics analysis research. The agency intends to issue a sole source contract to the University of Florida under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1)(i), having determined that the university is the sole provider of the required consulting services. The procurement falls under NAICS code 611310 for educational institutions and will be executed using commercial item acquisition procedures under FAR Parts 12 and 13. Performance will occur at NASA Kennedy Space Center, with NASA/NSSC serving as the procuring center for this effort.

The Special Notice serves as a market research tool to determine whether the procurement should be conducted competitively rather than as a sole source award. Interested organizations must submit written capabilities and qualifications to the identified points of contact by 3:00 p.m. Central Standard Time on July 24, 2025, with oral communications explicitly prohibited. The government will evaluate submitted responses solely to determine if full and open competition is warranted, though the final decision remains at the government's discretion. The underlying project involves a 12-month research effort focusing on plant health monitoring using advanced hyperspectral imaging, multi-omics analysis, and machine learning techniques, with deliverables including research presentations and a manuscript for journal publication. The work requires daily on-site collaboration and encompasses horticultural experiment design, controlled plant growth studies, and sophisticated data analysis using artificial intelligence methodologies.