NSNSD Sound Levels

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE The National Park Service is conducting a market survey to determine the interest in the development of a statistical model for estimating sound levels in parks, based on machine learning techniques, as well as statistical analyses of existing methods. The work can be conducted and managed virtually. In accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10.002 (b)(2) this Request for Information is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a Request for Proposal (RFP), an offer to negotiate, or as an obligation on the part of the National Park Service. Responses are strictly voluntary. Respondents will not be compensated, and all information becomes property of the Government upon submission. Administrative Information: The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this action is 541990, All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services with a Small Business Size Standard $16.5 million. The project is anticipated to be advertised in May 2023. Project Description: The National Park Service Natural Sounds and Night Skies Division conducts acoustical measurements in parks to describe existing and natural ambient conditions. This information is used to evaluate the status of the acoustical environment, monitor compliance with management objectives, or assess potential impacts of proposed activities in and around parks. Natural ambient (Lnat) is defined as the sound level which would exist in an environment without contributions from human sources. Per the 2006 NPS Management Policies, the natural ambient is the baseline level and the standard against which current conditions in an acoustical environment will be measured and evaluated. The present NPS protocol for determining natural ambient sound level relies upon user-driven annotation or aural sound source identification. The National Park Service is seeking a potential contractor to provide labor, supervision, and computing resources to facilitate the following tasks: - Conduct a sensitivity analysis for existing methods, examining the relative importance of noise event parameters (such as duration of each noise event or hourly percent time audible) in the calculation Lnat. o Provide assistance with reporting of confidence intervals for commonly reported sound level metrics, including results for several time periods such as daytime/nighttime, hourly, and several other time aggregations o Coding should be done in open-source programming language (e.g. R, Python, Julia etc.) - Use existing datasets, existing analyses, and machine learning to build a statistical model that estimates Lnat (or a percentile that would serve as a proxy for Lnat) based on a set of acoustic monitoring site parameters (e.g. distance to road, elevation, or land cover) - Analyze acoustic monitoring sample length to refine existing data collection methods o Suggest appropriate sample plan/ frequency to best utilize model o Optimize sampling period to minimize error o Provide suggested sampling protocols and describe their impacts on confidence intervals (e.g. increases in field measurement days improves confidence intervals) to optimize sampling period The duration of the project is estimated at 365 calendar days from the issuance of a Notice to Proceed. Submission Information: Interested firms should submit the information below. 1. Provide the company name, address, point-of-contact, email address, website (if applicable), phone number, and unique entity identifier (UEI) of the firm. 2. Provide company business size based on NAICS code 541990. Also, provide business type (i.e., Large Business, Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Small Business, Hub Zone Small Business, ISBEE, etc.). 3. Provide a capability statement addressing the firm's ability to perform the required work. Information may include the type of work your company has performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement. 4. Provide a Statement of Interest in the project. 5. Indicate if the company is currently registered in SAM (yes or no) and if registered, provide the SAM expiration date. Note: Interested parties may respond to this sources sought notice without an active SAM registration. However, for any potential solicitations, interested parties are required to be registered in SAM when submitting an offer or quotation, and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract, basic agreement, basic ordering agreement, or blanket purchasing agreement resulting from this solicitation. Processing time should be taken into consideration when registering. Offerors who are not registered in SAM should consider applying for registration immediately for potential business opportunities with the government. See https://ww.sam.gov for information on registration. All responses must be submitted via e-mail no later than March 20, 2023 at 4:00 PM Eastern to the following e-mail: lauren_brauer@nps.gov. Please note that hard copies will not be accepted. No phone calls will be accepted. The Capabilities Statement submitted in response to this Sources Sought shall not be a bid or proposal. No evaluation letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. After completing its analyses, the Government will determine whether to limit competition among the small business categories listed above or proceed with full and open competition as other than small business. The Government reserves the right to consider a small business, SDVOSB, VOSB or the (8) a program based on the responses received. The results and analysis of the market research will finalize the determination of the procurement method. The type of socio-economic set-aside, if any, will depend upon the responses to this notice and any other information gathered during the market research process. Because this is a Request for Information announcement, no evaluation review letters and/or results will be issued to the respondents. No solicitation exists. Therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the review. Contracting Office Address: National Park Service 7333 West Jefferson Ave, Suite 100 Lakewood, Colorado 80235 Primary Point of Contact: Name: Lauren Brauer, Contracting Officer Email: Lauren_Brauer@nps.gov No phone calls will be accepted for this sources sought posting.