SETA Support Service

The nature of the support services procured are that of a Research and Development (R&D) environment not found in the commercial marketplace. The services are in support of multiple highly technical and advanced fields unique to the Army Research Laboratory (ARL). Scientific Engineering & Technical Assistance (SETA) services involve uncertainties in contract performance in that costs cannot be estimated with sufficient accuracy. The specific tasks performed under this effort can only be determined based on a calculation of estimated hours and rates for personnel to fulfill the requirements and cannot be determined by established catalog or market prices. Contractors are required to provide services so specialized in nature that specific tasks performed or specific outcomes to be achieved are not able to be determined, therefore, estimating the exact materials and amount of labor hours required with the frequent variables would be impossible.

Due to the variables that arise in professional SETA services in the fields of basic and applied research survivability/lethality analysis it would be fiscally irresponsible to award this contract as a fixed-price contract type. The specific tasks performed under this effort can only be determined based on a calculation of estimated hours and rates for personnel to fulfill the requirements and cannot be determined by established catalog or market prices. As such, this type of effort is purely cost reimbursable and can never be transitioned to a fixed price effort.

This effort was competitively solicited as a Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) total small business set-aside under NAICS Code 541712.