CPO Soil Moisture Monitoring

***The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Acquisition & Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division-Boulder (WAD), Climate Program Office (CPO), intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with The Ohio State University located in Columbus, OH for soil moisture monitoring services to be performed at the university in Columbus, OH.

***The sole source determination is based on NOAA’s requirement that The Ohio State University is the only vendor that provides these soil moisture monitoring services. Dr. Steven Quiring’s team at the Ohio State University has developed a first-in-kind integrated mapping product that showcases in situ soil moisture information from multiple mesonets at NationalSoilMoisture.com, including ingestion, harmonization, interpolation and gridding, and other analytic features, and further blends this in-situ observational data with satellite and model-derived soil moisture estimates. The NationalSoilMoisture.com product delivers integrated and interpreted in situ and blended soil moisture information to inform natural resource decision-making. No other source has the experience with both the complexity of soil moisture data interpretation and the cyberinfrastructure necessary to allow for continued product development in a timely manner. If OSU is not involved, NOAA would have to find another supplier with the technical know-how (requiring a highly-qualified team) to redevelop the various algorithms utilized and to replicate OSU’s previous work. This would set the project back at least a year, if not more, when considering the need to address hiring appropriate team members and developing adequate expertise on the intricacies of both data acquisition and appropriate analytic methodologies. Such an approach would entail a significant delay in the ability to provide needed decision-support tools for drought assessment as well to meet the Congressional mandate for documenting the value of soil moisture data from within the Upper Missouri River Basin to inform decision-making.

Period of Performance: 9/30/2025 to 9/29/2026.

***This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals and no solicitation package is available. However, firms that believe they can fully meet the government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact within 15 days after publication of this synopsis. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the government. Oral communications are not acceptable in response to this notice.