Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) Data Collection Services, Mid-Atlantic Urban Plots

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 forest inventory data collection effort in urban areas of Philadelphia, PA, Baltimore, MD, Dover, DE and NJ (most likely Trenton). 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 urban forest inventory plots randomly located across the urban areas of Philadelphia, PA, Baltimore, MD, Dover, DE, and NJ. The protocols for this effort, including the inventory plot design, are outlined and described in the following Field Guides: - Forest Inventory and Analysis National Urban FIA Plot Field Guide; Volume 1: Field Data Collection Procedures for Urban FIA Plots, Draft Version 7.1 (commonly referred to as the "NRS Urban FIA Plots Field Guide") - Forest Inventory and Analysis National Core Field Guide Volume I: Field Data Collection Procedures for Phase 2 Plots Version 7.0.1" (commonly referred to as the "NRS FIA P2 Field Guide") - The current versions of the "NRS Urban FIA Field Guide and the NRS FIA P2 Field Guide" The acquisition will be solicited using the procurement process prescribed in Part 12, Commercial Items and Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation, of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). A Firm-Fixed-Price contract will be awarded for approximately a six (6) month Base Period (from approximately April 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017); and four (4) six -month Option Periods from approximately April 1, 2018 to September 30, 2021 to the offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, falls within the competitive price range. 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 Teleconference will be held on Friday, January 20, 2017 at 10:00 AM EASTERN TIME (9:00 AM CENTRAL TIME). The Dial-In Number is +1 (555) 000-0000 (Access Code: 7260702). Please e-mail Thomas Willard at contact@example.gov if you plan to call in. 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-17-0009 will be posted on this site on or about January 12, 2017. No hard copies will be issued and no written or fax requests will be accepted. Proposals are due on or about February 13, 2017 by 11:00 am EASTERN TIME. Proposals may be e-mailed to Maria T. Evans at the following e-mail address: contact@example.gov Proposals may also be sent by mail to the USDA Forest Service - Northern Research Station, 11 Campus Blvd., Suite 200, Newtown Square, PA 19073, ATTN: Maria T. Evans. No bound/spiral proposals; and no fax submission proposals will be accepted. The NAICS Code for this project is 115310. It is the contractor's responsibility to monitor FBO for any amendments. All contractors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) website at https://www.sam.gov/index.html/ 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 Unrestricted.