High Performance Computing & Communications (HPCC), Research and Development (R&D) FINAL

Added: May 19, 2017 10:27 am Modified: Dec 13, 2017 7:40 pmTrack Changes NOTICE OF AMENDMENT 0001 RELEASE - DECEMBER 13, 2017.

The Government appreciates the Industry's continued interest in this procurement, and the comments and suggestions were carefully reviewed and were taken into consideration. The Government response to Industry questions/comments received through December 8, 2017 are hereby posted to this solicitation notice. In light of this, Amendment 0001 is hereby issued December 13, 2017 which incorporates revisions to the RFP in response to the questions/comments. Furthermore, Amendment 0001 also extends the proposal due date to January 12, 2018 at 3:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.

NOTICE OF FINAL SOLICITATION RELEASE - NOVEMBER 16, 2017.

The Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division (SSAD), located in Silver Spring, MD, has a requirement for systems integration services in support of NOAA's Research and Development High Performance Computing and Communications (R&D HPCC) infrastructure.

The Final Request for Proposal (RFP) is hereby issued on November 16, 2017. This RFP is issued as a full-and-open competition under FAR Part 15 procedures. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541512 - Computer Systems Design Services, with a corresponding Small Business size standard of $27.5 million. The Product Service Code (PSC) for this acquisition is D318 - IT and Telecom - Integrated Hardware/Software/Services Solutions, Predominately Services.

(See Notes #1 and #2 below for background details regarding the current contract and acquisition history.)

Interested parties shall submit all questions regarding this solicitation in writing using Attachment J-8 – RFP Question and Comment Template, by electronic mail to the Contract Specialists, Mr. Michael Iszard at Michael.Iszard@noaa.gov, and Mr. Berchan Torrejon at Berchan.Torrejon@noaa.gov, and copy the Contracting Officer, Mr. McKenzy Hunter, at McKenzy.Hunter@noaa.gov. All questions or comments submitted shall include the solicitation number in the subject line. Questions shall be submitted NLT 5:00PM EST on December 1, 2017.  Please be advised that questions that do not have the appropriate reference information may not be answered. The Government will attempt, but does not guarantee, that it will answer questions submitted after the date specified above.

The Government anticipates awarding the resultant contract on the basis of initial offers. The Government will not provide paper copies of the solicitation or any associated documents. Solicitation documents will be made available only through https://www.fbo.gov IAW FAR 5.102.

Interested vendors are responsible for visiting https://www.fbo.gov periodically for any changes or updates to this solicitation. All prospective offerors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to be eligible for award (https://www.sam.gov) IAW FAR 4.1102.


-Note #1:
NOAA currently receives R&D HPCC systems integration services through Contract No. DG1330-10-CQ-0014 with CSRA, LLC. The current contract period expires May 06, 2018, with an additional one (1) year transition option available for support from May 07, 2018 - May 06, 2019. Similar to the anticipated follow-on contract, the current contract is a single-award IDIQ with FFP and T&M task and delivery ordering capabilities.

-Note #2:
In Spring 2016, on the basis of Market Research, NOAA engaged vendors in the HPC industry to obtain feedback concerning the prospect of combining NOAA's follow-on R&D HPCC and operational HPCC acquisition requirements into a single contracting vehicle. Historically, NOAA has issued separate contracts to support these programs. NOAA hereby advises that a combined acquisition approach, wherein the R&D HPCC Program and the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System (WCOSS) Program are supported through one (1) contract vehicle, WILL NOT be pursued at this time. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the R&D HPCC Program and the WCOSS Program will be supported via separate contracts for their respective follow-on efforts.

Added: May 19, 2017 10:27 am Modified: Nov 16, 2017 10:37 pmTrack Changes NOTICE OF FINAL SOLICITATION RELEASE - NOVEMBER 16, 2017.

The Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division (SSAD), located in Silver Spring, MD, has a requirement for systems integration services in support of NOAA's Research and Development High Performance Computing and Communications (R&D HPCC) infrastructure.

The Final Request for Proposal (RFP) is hereby issued on November 16, 2017. This RFP is issued as a full-and-open competition under FAR Part 15 procedures. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541512 - Computer Systems Design Services, with a corresponding Small Business size standard of $27.5 million. The Product Service Code (PSC) for this acquisition is D318 - IT and Telecom - Integrated Hardware/Software/Services Solutions, Predominately Services.

(See Notes #1 and #2 below for background details regarding the current contract and acquisition history.)

Interested parties shall submit all questions regarding this solicitation in writing using Attachment J-8 – RFP Question and Comment Template, by electronic mail to the Contract Specialists, Ms. Claudia Womble, at Claudia.Womble@noaa.gov, and Mr. Berchan Torrejon at Berchan.Torrejon@noaa.gov, and copy the Contracting Officer, Mr. McKenzy Hunter, at McKenzy.Hunter@noaa.gov. All questions or comments submitted shall include the solicitation number in the subject line. Questions shall be submitted NLT 5:00PM EST on December 1, 2017.  Please be advised that questions that do not have the appropriate reference information may not be answered. The Government will attempt, but does not guarantee, that it will answer questions submitted after the date specified above.

The Government anticipates awarding the resultant contract on the basis of initial offers. The Government will not provide paper copies of the solicitation or any associated documents. Solicitation documents will be made available only through https://www.fbo.gov IAW FAR 5.102.

Interested vendors are responsible for visiting https://www.fbo.gov periodically for any changes or updates to this solicitation. All prospective offerors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to be eligible for award (https://www.sam.gov) IAW FAR 4.1102.


-Note #1:
NOAA currently receives R&D HPCC systems integration services through Contract No. DG1330-10-CQ-0014 with CSRA, LLC. The current contract period expires May 06, 2018, with an additional one (1) year transition option available for support from May 07, 2018 - May 06, 2019. Similar to the anticipated follow-on contract, the current contract is a single-award IDIQ with FFP and T&M task and delivery ordering capabilities.

-Note #2:
In Spring 2016, on the basis of Market Research, NOAA engaged vendors in the HPC industry to obtain feedback concerning the prospect of combining NOAA's follow-on R&D HPCC and operational HPCC acquisition requirements into a single contracting vehicle. Historically, NOAA has issued separate contracts to support these programs. NOAA hereby advises that a combined acquisition approach, wherein the R&D HPCC Program and the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System (WCOSS) Program are supported through one (1) contract vehicle, WILL NOT be pursued at this time. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the R&D HPCC Program and the WCOSS Program will be supported via separate contracts for their respective follow-on efforts.

Added: Oct 06, 2017 4:52 pm Modified: Nov 16, 2017 10:37 pmTrack Changes THIS SPECIAL NOTICE IS IN REFERENCE TO THE JULY 14TH, 2017 DRAFT SOLICITATION NOTICE POSTED UNDER ST-133R-17-RP-0057, TITLED, “HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING & COMMUNICATIONS (HPCC), RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D).”  THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION.  THERE IS NO FINAL SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.
 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division (SSAD), located in Silver Spring, MD, intends to issue a solicitation for systems integration services in support of NOAA’s Research and Development High Performance Computing and Communications (R&D HPCC) infrastructure.  The anticipated scope of the resultant contract is to provide systems integration services for the R&D HPCC system at the following locations: 1) The National Environmental Security Computing Center (NESCC), located at Fairmont, WV; 2) The Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), located in Boulder, CO; 3) The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), located in Princeton, NJ.; and 4) Any other High Performance Computing (HPC) location identified in the future.  Systems integration services will entail operating, maintaining, and enhancing NOAA’s R&D HPCC systems and compute capability by providing the necessary personnel, expertise, HPC components (e.g. hardware, software, compute clusters, facilities, etc.), and project management capability for planned and emergent requirements.

The Draft Solicitation Notice posted under Solicitation No. ST-133R-17-RP-0057 provided notice of the following:

1) A Sixty (60) day Draft Solicitation Q&A Session, from July 14, 2017 to September 12, 2017, with Government responses to have been provided NLT September 30, 2017;

2) A Final Solicitation release date on or about October 18th; and

3) An Industry Day in Silver Spring, MD, to occur on a date TBD.

The Government would like to thank Industry for its participation, input, and spirited discussion during the Q&A Session. Due to the extensive feedback received, the Government hereby announces the following revisions to the solicitation schedule for the subject effort:

1) DRAFT SOLICITATION Q&A RESPONSES:

The Government anticipates releasing its responses to the questions and comments received NLT COB October 11, 2017.

2) FINAL SOLICITATION RELEASE:

The Government is currently finalizing revisions to the Draft Solicitation, which incorporate feedback provided by Industry during the Q&A Session.  Consequently, the revised release window for the Final Solicitation is NLT the week of November 6th, with a target date of November 1st, 2017.  The Government still anticipates the Final Solicitation to be posted for a 45-day time frame.

To support productive discussions during the Industry Day, the Government anticipates issuing a revised, near-final Draft Solicitation NLT October 24th, 2017 for review.

3) INDUSTRY DAY:

In support of the subject effort, NOAA will be hosting an Industry Day in Silver Spring, MD as follows:

Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 10:00AM EST

NOAA Auditorium

1301 East West Highway

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

The security procedures for entry into the NOAA Auditorium include proof of government-issued identification (e.g. a Government issued driver’s license, passport, or green card for legal permanent residents).  Please plan to arrive no later than 9:00AM EST to ensure timely security screening.

Please register for attendance at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4IMPi0J-e9hR3kTJPz3YExAapjdx_Ip2UUOxZY95sUkVpPw/viewform

The purpose of the Industry Day is to  address updates made since the release of the first Draft Solicitation.  With reference to any Industry Day correspondence, no oral Government response shall be construed as binding.  The Government reserves the right to revise any responses provided by any Government staff during the Industry Day.  The Final Solicitation shall set forth the final and binding requirements and any resultant amendments.

DISCLAIMERS:

Not participating in the Site Visits, Q&A Session, or upcoming Industry Day will not preclude interested parties from competing in the Final Solicitation.  No costs associated with Industry Day participation will be provided for or reimbursed by the Government.  Interested vendors are responsible for visiting https://www.fbo.gov periodically for any changes or updates to this notice, as well as any notice of the Final Solicitation, and any resultant amendments.  This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract, nor does it obligate the Government to pay and/or reimburse respondents and/or their associates for any cost incurred to submit the requested information and/or proposal.  

Added: Oct 06, 2017 4:52 pm THIS SPECIAL NOTICE IS IN REFERENCE TO THE JULY 14TH, 2017 DRAFT SOLICITATION NOTICE POSTED UNDER ST-133R-17-RP-0057, TITLED, “HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING & COMMUNICATIONS (HPCC), RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (R&D).”  THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION.  THERE IS NO FINAL SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME.
 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division (SSAD), located in Silver Spring, MD, intends to issue a solicitation for systems integration services in support of NOAA’s Research and Development High Performance Computing and Communications (R&D HPCC) infrastructure.  The anticipated scope of the resultant contract is to provide systems integration services for the R&D HPCC system at the following locations: 1) The National Environmental Security Computing Center (NESCC), located at Fairmont, WV; 2) The Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), located in Boulder, CO; 3) The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), located in Princeton, NJ.; and 4) Any other High Performance Computing (HPC) location identified in the future.  Systems integration services will entail operating, maintaining, and enhancing NOAA’s R&D HPCC systems and compute capability by providing the necessary personnel, expertise, HPC components (e.g. hardware, software, compute clusters, facilities, etc.), and project management capability for planned and emergent requirements.

The Draft Solicitation Notice posted under Solicitation No. ST-133R-17-RP-0057 provided notice of the following:

1) A Sixty (60) day Draft Solicitation Q&A Session, from July 14, 2017 to September 12, 2017, with Government responses to have been provided NLT September 30, 2017;

2) A Final Solicitation release date on or about October 18th; and

3) An Industry Day in Silver Spring, MD, to occur on a date TBD.

The Government would like to thank Industry for its participation, input, and spirited discussion during the Q&A Session. Due to the extensive feedback received, the Government hereby announces the following revisions to the solicitation schedule for the subject effort:

1) DRAFT SOLICITATION Q&A RESPONSES:

The Government anticipates releasing its responses to the questions and comments received NLT COB October 11, 2017.

2) FINAL SOLICITATION RELEASE:

The Government is currently finalizing revisions to the Draft Solicitation, which incorporate feedback provided by Industry during the Q&A Session.  Consequently, the revised release window for the Final Solicitation is NLT the week of November 6th, with a target date of November 1st, 2017.  The Government still anticipates the Final Solicitation to be posted for a 45-day time frame.

To support productive discussions during the Industry Day, the Government anticipates issuing a revised, near-final Draft Solicitation NLT October 24th, 2017 for review.

3) INDUSTRY DAY:

In support of the subject effort, NOAA will be hosting an Industry Day in Silver Spring, MD as follows:

Tuesday, October 31, 2017 at 10:00AM EST

NOAA Auditorium

1301 East West Highway

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910

The security procedures for entry into the NOAA Auditorium include proof of government-issued identification (e.g. a Government issued driver’s license, passport, or green card for legal permanent residents).  Please plan to arrive no later than 9:00AM EST to ensure timely security screening.

Please register for attendance at the following link:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4IMPi0J-e9hR3kTJPz3YExAapjdx_Ip2UUOxZY95sUkVpPw/viewform

The purpose of the Industry Day is to  address updates made since the release of the first Draft Solicitation.  With reference to any Industry Day correspondence, no oral Government response shall be construed as binding.  The Government reserves the right to revise any responses provided by any Government staff during the Industry Day.  The Final Solicitation shall set forth the final and binding requirements and any resultant amendments.

DISCLAIMERS:

Not participating in the Site Visits, Q&A Session, or upcoming Industry Day will not preclude interested parties from competing in the Final Solicitation.  No costs associated with Industry Day participation will be provided for or reimbursed by the Government.  Interested vendors are responsible for visiting https://www.fbo.gov periodically for any changes or updates to this notice, as well as any notice of the Final Solicitation, and any resultant amendments.  This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract, nor does it obligate the Government to pay and/or reimburse respondents and/or their associates for any cost incurred to submit the requested information and/or proposal.  

Added: May 19, 2017 10:27 am Modified: Jul 14, 2017 4:11 pmTrack Changes The Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division (SSAD), located in Silver Spring, MD, intends to issue a solicitation for systems integration services in support of NOAA's Research and Development High Performance Computing and Communications (R&D HPCC) infrastructure. This Pre-Solicitation Notice is posted in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 5.204.

This pre-solicitation announcement is issued solely for information and planning purposes. It does not constitute a final Request for Proposals (RFP) or a promise to issue a final RFP in the future. NOAA is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract, nor does it obligate the Government to pay and/or reimburse respondents and/or their associates for any cost incurred to submit the requested information and/or proposal. Responses to this notice will not be returned. Not responding to this announcement does not preclude participation in any future solicitation.

NOAA anticipates issuing the solicitation as a full-and-open competition under FAR Part 15 procedures. The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541512 - Computer Systems Design Services, with a corresponding Small Business size standard of $27.5 million. The Product Service Code (PSC) for this acquisition is D318 - IT and Telecom - Integrated Hardware/Software/Services Solutions, Predominately Services.

(See Notes #1 and #2 below for background details regarding the current contract and acquisition history.)

The Government is requesting all interested vendors to thoroughly review this Pre-Solicitation notice, and submit questions regarding the draft RFP using Attachment 8 "Draft RFP Question and Comment Template," by electronic mail ONLY to berchan.torrejon@noaa.gov and claudia.womble@noaa.gov, with the number ST-133R-17-RP-0057 in the subject line. Questions shall be submitted by 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on September 12, 2017. Responses to the questions and comments will be posted on the FBO website.

A draft Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Research & Development High Performance Computing and Communications (R&D HPCC) Systems Integration Services is provided for review. This draft RFP is anticipated to be similar to the final RFP that is expected to be posted on or about mid to late October 2017. Any further updates to the draft RFP will be issued as an amendment to this notice. A due date for additional questions may be provided in the final version of the RFP.

The Government anticipates awarding the resultant contract on the basis of initial offers. The Government will not provide paper copies of the solicitation or any associated documents. Solicitation documents will be made available only through https://www.fbo.gov IAW FAR 5.102.

NOAA anticipates hosting an Industry Day in Silver Spring, MD in support of the final solicitation release. The specific date and location for the Industry Day will be posted on https://www.fbo.gov as a "Special Notice" on or around the time when the Final Solicitation is posted.

Interested vendors are responsible for visiting https://www.fbo.gov periodically for any changes or updates to this notice, as well as any notice of a future solicitation. All prospective offerors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to be eligible for award (https://www.sam.gov) IAW FAR 4.1102.

-Note #1:

NOAA currently receives R&D HPCC systems integration services through Contract No. DG1330-10-CQ-0014 with CSRA, LLC. The current contract period expires May 06, 2018, with an additional one (1) year transition option available for support from May 07, 2018 - May 06, 2019. Similar to the anticipated follow-on contract, the current contract is a single-award IDIQ with FFP and T&M task and delivery ordering capabilities.

-Note #2:

In Spring 2016, on the basis of Market Research, NOAA engaged vendors in the HPC industry to obtain feedback concerning the prospect of combining NOAA's follow-on R&D HPCC and operational HPCC acquisition requirements into a single contracting vehicle. Historically, NOAA has issued separate contracts to support these programs. NOAA hereby advises that a combined acquisition approach, wherein the R&D HPCC Program and the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System (WCOSS) Program are supported through one (1) contract vehicle, WILL NOT be pursued at this time. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the R&D HPCC Program and the WCOSS Program will be supported via separate contracts for their respective follow-on efforts.

Added: May 19, 2017 10:27 am

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Strategic Sourcing Acquisition Division (SSAD), located in Silver Spring, MD, intends to issue a solicitation for systems integration services in support of NOAA’s Research and Development High Performance Computing and Communications (R&D HPCC) infrastructure.  This Pre-Solicitation Notice is posted in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 5.204.  This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP).  The anticipated scope of the resultant contract is to provide systems integration services for the R&D HPCC system at the following locations: 1) The National Environmental Security Computing Center (NESCC), located at Fairmont, WV; 2) The Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), located in Boulder, CO; 3) The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL), located in Princeton, NJ.; and 4) Any other High Performance Computing (HPC) location identified in the future.  Systems integration services will entail operating, maintaining, and enhancing NOAA’s R&D HPCC systems and compute capability by providing the necessary personnel, expertise, HPC components (e.g. hardware, software, compute clusters, facilities, etc.), and project management capability for planned and emergent requirements.

The anticipated follow-on contract resulting from the solicitation will be a single-award, Indefinite-Delivery-Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract, with the ability to issue Firm-Fixed Price (FFP), Time-and-Material (T&M), Cost-Reimbursable (CR), and Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) delivery and task orders thereunder.  The contract is anticipated to have a ten (10) year period of performance, consisting of a base ordering period of nine (9) years, and a one-year transition option period.  The planned IDIQ ceiling value for the resultant contract is $553 million.  NOAA anticipates awarding this contract on or about May 06, 2018, with an anticipated start date of May 07, 2018.  If all options were exercised, the performance end date for the resultant contract is expected to be May 06, 2028.

(See Notes #1 and #2 below for background details regarding the current contract and acquisition history.)

NOAA anticipates issuing the solicitation as a full-and-open competition under FAR Part 15 procedures.  The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this requirement is 541512 – Computer Systems Design Services, with a corresponding Small Business size standard of $27.5 million.  The Product Service Code (PSC) for this acquisition is D318 – IT and Telecom – Integrated Hardware/Software/Services Solutions, Predominately Services.

NOAA plans to post a Draft Solicitation for this requirement on Federal Business Opportunities (www.fbo.gov) on or around June 15, 2017, under Draft Solicitation No. ST-133R-17-RP-0057, and allow a sixty (60) calendar day Question-and Answering period for obtaining feedback from industry.  NOAA plans to post the Final Solicitation on or about October 18, 2017, and allow a 45 calendar day response time.  The Government anticipates awarding the resultant contract on the basis of initial offers.  No proposal preparation costs will be provided for or reimbursed by the Government.  The Government will not provide paper copies of the solicitation or any associated documents.  Solicitation documents will be made available only through www.fbo.gov IAW FAR 5.102.

NOAA plans to host Site Visits at the respective R&D HPCC data centers which collectively house NOAA’s R&D HPCC system. The specific schedule for these Site Visits will be posted on www.fbo.gov as a “Special Notice” within ten (10) calendar days of the Draft Solicitation’s posting.  Tentatively, the time frame for these Site Visits is scheduled for mid-July 2017.  No costs associated with Site Visit participation will be provided for or reimbursed by the Government.

NOAA anticipates hosting an Industry Day in Silver Spring, MD in support of the final solicitation release.  The specific date and location for the Industry Day will be posted on www.fbo.gov as a “Special Notice” on or around the time when the Final Solicitation is posted.

Interested vendors are responsible for visiting https://www.fbo.gov periodically for any changes or updates to this notice, as well as any notice of a future solicitation.  All prospective offerors must be actively registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to be eligible for award (https://www.sam.gov) IAW FAR 4.1102.  This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract, nor does it obligate the Government to pay and/or reimburse respondents and/or their associates for any cost incurred to submit the requested information and/or proposal.  Responses to this notice will not be returned.

-Note #1:

NOAA currently receives R&D HPCC systems integration services through Contract No. DG1330-10-CQ-0014 with CSRA, LLC.  The current contract period expires May 06, 2018, with an additional one (1) year transition option available for support from May 07, 2018 – May 06, 2019.  Similar to the anticipated follow-on contract, the current contract is a single-award IDIQ with FFP and T&M task and delivery ordering capabilities.

-Note #2:

In Spring 2016, on the basis of Market Research, NOAA engaged venders in the HPC industry to obtain feedback concerning the prospect of combining NOAA’s follow-on R&D HPCC and operational HPCC acquisition requirements into a single contracting vehicle.  Historically, NOAA has issued separate contracts to support these programs.  NOAA hereby advises that a combined acquisition approach, wherein the R&D HPCC Program and the Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System (WCOSS) Program are supported through one (1) contract vehicle, will not be pursued at this time.  Therefore, unless otherwise stated, the R&D HPCC Program and the WCOSS Program will be supported via separate contracts for their respective follow-on efforts.