Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Data Collection Services, ILLINOIS & MISSOURI

The USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station intends to initiate a Request for Proposal (RFP) procurement action and award a negotiated, Firm-Fixed Price incentive contract for an annual statewide forest inventory data collection effort in the states of Illinois and Missouri. The Contractor shall provide inventory data to the USDA Forest Service, Northern Research Station's Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Unit. This data will be collected from predetermined forest inventory plots randomly located across the states of Illinois and Missouri. The protocols for this effort including the inventory plot design are outlined and described in the "Forest Inventory and Analysis National Core Field Guide; Volume 1: Field Data Collection Procedures for Phase 2 Plots, Version 6.0" (commonly referred to as the "NRS FIA P2 Field Guide"). The current version of the "NRS FIA P2 Field Guide" serves as a reference document or instruction manual for the life of the contract and is subject to change in Option Periods 1 through 4. The acquisition will be solicited using the procurement process prescribed in Part 12, Commercial Items, of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). A Firm-Fixed-Price contract will be awarded for a period of twelve (12) months (Base Period), with four (4) one-year (12-month) Option Periods to the offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, falls within the competitive price range. The contract period, including the Base Period, and four Option Periods (if exercised) will be from approximately September 2012 to August 2017. The Government will award the contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose proposal, conforming to the RFP will be the Best Value to the Government. The award may be made to a superior offeror which is not the lowest offered price, but which is significantly more technically advantageous than the lowest offer so as to justify the payment of a higher price. The evaluation factors listed in descending order of importance are: Factor 1 - Experience and Qualifications of Contractor and Key Personnel; Factor 2 - Past Performance; Factor 3 - Capability to Perform; and Factor 4 - Cost. Factors 1 and 2 are of equal weighting; Factors 1, 2, and 3 are significantly more important than price; however price will contribute substantially to the selection decision. Award of the contract will be made as a whole to the offeror whose proposal conforms to all requirements of the specifications and is the "greatest value" to the Government, cost and other factors considered. A Pre-Proposal Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 25, 2012 at 09:00 am CENTRAL time at the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271. Please contact Ms. Glenda Hefty, Supervisory Forester, by e-mail at contact@example.gov to register for the site visit. She may also be contacted by telephone at +1 (555) 000-0000 (office). Solicitation documents, plans and specifications will only be available via the Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) homepage located at https://www.fbo.gov/ An electronic copy of Solicitation Number AG-3604-S-12-0030 will be posted on this site on or about July 10, 2012. No hard copies will be issued and no written or fax requests will be accepted. Proposals are due on or about August 10, 2012 by 02:00 pm EASTERN time. Proposals may be e-mailed to Maria T. Evans at the following e-mail address: contact@example.gov Proposals may also be faxed to +1 (555) 000-0000, or sent by mail to the USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station, 11 Campus Blvd., Suite 200, Newtown Square, PA 19073, ATTN: Maria T. Evans. The NAICS Code for this project is 115310 with a size standard of $7.0 million. It is the contractor's responsibility to monitor FBO for any amendments. All contractors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database at https://www.bpn.gov/ccr/default.aspx as required by FAR 4.1102. Also, contractors who receive a federal contract of $25,000.00 or more are required by legislation to submit an annual VETS-100 Report on your employment of targeted veterans. Information on submitting your report may be obtained by calling +1 (555) 000-0000 or by accessing the following Internet web site: http://vets.dol.gov/vets100/. Service Contract Act Wage Rates will be applicable. Award will be made as a whole to one offeror. This procurement is set aside 100% for small business concerns.