Developing an open modeling system for cumulative effects within Canada’s managed forests

By means of this RFP, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is seeking proposals from bidders for the development of an open modeling system to evaluate the cumulative effects of timber harvesting, natural disturbances, and climate change on aboveground carbon stocks and fluxes in Canada's managed forests. The objective of this contract is to establish a robust connection between two existing open-source systems, Wood Supply Software System (ws3) and SpaDES, and utilize this connection to implement the Canadian Forest Service's Carbon Budget Model for assessing cumulative effects. Natural Resources Canada is committed to achieving a procurement process that reflects the diversity of Canada. We are dedicated to identifying and reducing barriers in our procurement processes. We continue to work on improving practices that will help ensure that equity group members are well-represented. To this end, minority-owned businesses are encouraged to apply to our processes. 1.2.1 NRCan requires the expertise of qualified bidders to develop an operationally robust connection between ws3 and SpaDES, enabling the evaluation of tradeoffs and cumulative effects in forest management. The system must adhere to the new PERFICT standard outlined in McIntire et al (2022). The developed modeling system should be transparent, open, defensible, and interoperable, allowing for the analysis of multiple values simultaneously under uncertain future scenarios. 1.2.2 This bid solicitation allows bidders to use the CPC Connect service provided by Canada Post Corporation to transmit their bid electronically. Bidders must refer to Part 2 entitled Bidder Instructions, and Part 3 entitled Bid Preparation Instructions, of the bid solicitation, for further information." 1.2.3 Considering accessibility criteria and features is obligatory with this requirement. For additional information consult the Directive on the Management of Procurement