Preparation of a History of the USACE in Afghanistan

SOURCES SOUGHT FOR HISTORICAL RESEARCH W5J9JE-17-R-0012 NOTE: THIS ANNOUNCEMENT IS FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION OR REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP). THIS NOTICE DOES NOT OBLIGATE THE UNTIED STATES (U.S.) GOVERNMENT TO ANY CONTRACT AWARD. THIS NOTICE DOES NOT RESTRICT THE GOVERNMENT AS TO THE ULTIMATE ACQUISITION APPROACH. RESPONSES TO THIS MARKET SURVEY SHALL BE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT REIMBURSE RESPONDENTS FOR ANY COSTS INCURRED IN PREPARATION OF A RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE. 1. CONTRACT INFORMATION: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Transatlantic Afghanistan District is seeking capable sources to provide non-personal services for the preparation of a scholarly manuscript on the History of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in Afghanistan. The history must be completed in manuscript form, accepted by the Transatlantic Afghanistan District (TAA) Public Affairs Officer and the USACE historian within 24 months after date of award. The manuscript shall provide an accurate, complete, interpretive, and readable history that is heavily illustrated and accessible to non-specialist readers. It should communicate a contextual account of the contributions of the USACE in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Resolute Support, and the development of the Afghan nation. 2. PROJECT SCOPE: This project is an institutional and intellectual history documenting and evaluating the impact of the mission, activities and projects of the USACE's Transatlantic Afghanistan District and its predecessor organizations, including Afghanistan Engineer District (AED), in Afghanistan between September 2002 and December 2016. The Contractor shall address all significant issues relating to this topic, including at a minimum, those listed below. Therefore, the following list is not all-inclusive; the final list of the topics to be covered will be reviewed and approved by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). General areas to be covered in the history include, but are not limited to: a. An overview of the USACE's support to Afghanistan going back to the construction of highways (the "Ring Road") in the 1960s; b. The events of 11 September 2001 that led to Operation Enduring Freedom; c. Creation of the Afghanistan Area Office; d. Formation of the Afghanistan Engineer District (AED); e. Evolution of the Afghanistan Engineer District as a result of the "Surge" in 2009; f. Splitting the district; g. Downsizing/Formation of Transatlantic Afghanistan District (TAA); h. Major missions: Support to the Afghan National Army (ANA)/Afghan Nation Police (ANP) and Capacity Building; Hiring and training Afghan workers and engineers. i. ANA/ANP Projects: i. Building ANA bases and border security stations; ii. The Marshal Fahim National Defense University; iii. A-29 aircraft facilities; j. Capacity Building Projects: i. Resurrecting the Afghan construction industry (capacity development); ii. Training and employing Afghan workers and engineers; iii. The Women's Participation Program; iv. The Kajaki Dam irrigation project; v. The National Electrical Grid; vi. The Interconnect; k. Missions and impact of Forward Engineer Support Teams (FEST); l. The importance of reach back efforts; m. Distinguished civilian and military employees and commanders. 3. SOURCES OF MATERIAL: It is the responsibility of the Contractor to acquire primary and secondary research materials without assistance of district personnel. At a minimum, primary source material may be gathered from, but are not limited to, electronic records, negatives, prints and electronic image files, historical and current project files, and other documents pertaining to TAA and its predecessor organizations in databases at the Transatlantic Afghanistan Division (TAD), Middle East District (MED), in Winchester, Va., and the research and oral history collection of the HQUSACE, Office of History (CEHO), Alexandria, Va. Individual employees will be officially encouraged to share documents pertaining to TAA and its predecessor organizations with the Contractor. Other primary source materials may include congressional hearings and reports; Government Accountability Office reports; federal, state and local legislation; and where possible, materials that may be in the personal possession of current and former personnel. Secondary materials may include, but are not limited to, publications such as "Moving Forward: The First Five Years of the Afghanistan Engineer District," CEHO, 1 March 2009, monograph; The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: A History, (Alexandria, Virginia: HQUSACE, Office of History, 2008), articles in professional journals, magazines, newspapers, and other commercial publications. All published material will be unclassified; it must either already be in the public domain or available through a Freedom of Information Act request. Contractor will have access to classified and unclassified systems as required and approved by the local security administrator. a. The Contractor shall also conduct oral history interviews with current and former TAA personnel or other persons closely associated with TAA and its mission. The contractor will place particular emphasis on interviewing former commanders of TAA and its predecessor organizations who have not been interviewed previously. Each interview will last approximately one to two hours. The majority of the interviews will be recorded using high quality digital recording equipment and transcribed at the Contractor's expense using a format provided by the CEHO. The names of interviewees shall be provided to the Contractor by the TAA Public Affairs Officer. Interviews may be conducted by telephone, or if necessary, by the Contractor traveling to the desired location in the United States at government expense. Interviews taking place within two hours' drive of USACE Headquarters in Washington, D.C., or of Winchester, Va., will be conducted in person at no additional cost to the government. Four in person interviews will be recorded with broadcast quality video recording equipment in MP4 format shot at a 720p minimum. The contractor will provide the video equipment and camera crew. The raw video interviews will be turned over to TAA public affairs for later use in other projects. b. The Contractor will be responsible for gathering the visual elements that will illustrate the history update. While the focus of the book will be narrative history, the manuscript will also be heavily illustrated. The Contractor will be responsible for collecting and, if necessary, digitizing at least 300 color photographs, illustrations, graphics, and maps to reflect, in a modern and engaging way, the historic and current operations of the TAA and its predecessor organizations, its area of operation, and its employees and contractors at work. Work will include collecting, scanning and cataloguing photographs; and incorporating maps, charts and tables provided to the contractor. Hard copy images will be scanned as 600 pixels per inch (ppi) TIFF files and provided to the government electronically. The Contractor will provide born-digital images at a minimum resolution of 300 ppi at 5x7 inches, resulting in a minimum file size of approximately 1.6 megabytes. The Contractor will also write the appropriate captions and credits for all of the images provided and will secure releases, where necessary, for those images. The Contractor will catalogue all photos, captions, credits, and release information in a table, based on a template provided by CEHO, to be submitted with the images to the government. c. The Contractor will be responsible for collecting the information necessary to produce a series of maps to establish the TAA's and its predecessor organization's initial area of responsibility and major changes in its area of operation over time; define the parameters of the district's military construction and reconstruction workloads; and explain how the district was organized (including the location of important programs, projects, and area and resident offices). The contractor will provide such information on maps, annotated with relevant details, to the government which will produce new maps based on the Contractor's submissions. d. It is the government's intent that the format of the history of the USACE in Afghanistan will approximate the composition of The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: A History (Alexandria, Virginia: HQUSACE, Office of History, 2008). While the government will be responsible for the layout and design of the final product in four color format, the contractor is responsible for preparing text (both the primary text and short text boxes related to notable people, subjects, or events); and collecting sufficient images and maps to support that format. As the subject matter expert, the Contractor is also required to participate in the layout and design process. e. The Contractor will be responsible for all local travel in conjunction with research and interviews conducted during the preparation of this history. The contractor will work closely with TAD and MED personnel in Winchester, Va., and will be required to work at their facilities for several weeks. The Contractor will also work closely with TAA personnel in Afghanistan. The majority of that work will be done remotely, either from the Contractor's office or from the Corps' facilities in Winchester, VA. 4. MAGNITUDE OF SERVICES: Between $100,000 and $250,000. NAICS CODE: 541720 with a SMALL BUSINESS SIZE OF $36.5 MILLION 5. PROPOSAL PROCEDURES: The Government is considering the use of Request for Proposal (RFP) (FAR Part 15) procedures for this project. The intent is for Low Price technical Acceptable. 6. SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS: The Government is seeking to identify qualified sources under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 541720 Historical Research Development either as a qualified prime or Joint Venture source. The following Key Personnel are required at the time when the Solicitation is advertised, NOT for this Source for Sought: Key Personnel: The following personnel are considered key personnel by the Government: Project Manager, Supervisory Historian, Historian, Historical Researcher, and Historical Research Assistant. The Contractor will provide a project manager who will be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who will act for the Contractor will be designated in writing by the contracting officer. The project manager or alternate will have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The project manager or alternate will be available between 0800 - 1600 Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays or when the government facility is closed for administrative reasons. The research and writing of the project will be supervised by the supervisory historian. Qualifications for all key personnel are listed below: Project Manager 1. Must have a master's degree from an accredited college or university in a social science or humanities field. 2. Must have five years' experience as project manager of research projects involving historical research and writing and oral history interviews. 3. Must have ability to deal effectively and diplomatically with individuals and groups, such as active duty and retired military and civilian personnel, the historical profession, individuals from foreign nations, and the general public. Supervisory Historian 1. Must have a doctorate in History or closely related field (such as American Studies or Political Science). 2. Must have at least five years' experience in research and writing on the history of the United States military or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 3. The supervisory historians must also have two years' experience overseeing historical research and writing. 4. Must have publications and/or papers demonstrating knowledge and experience in conducting research at the National Archives and other government primary source repositories and in writing analytical and narrative historical studies. 5. Must provide three writing samples for evaluation. Historian 1. Must have a master's degree in History or closely related field (such as American Studies or Political Science). 2. Must have at least three years' experience in research and writing on the history of the United States Army or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 3. Must have publications and/or papers demonstrating knowledge and experience in conducting research at the National Archives and other government primary source repositories and in writing analytical and narrative historical studies. 4. Must provide three writing samples for evaluation. Historical Researcher 1. Must have master's degree in History or in a related field. 2. Must have three years' experience in conducting historical research in the National Archives, Federal Records Centers, or the Library of Congress. 3. Must have experience using electronic records and government documents as historical sources. Historical Research Assistant 1. Must have bachelor's degree in History or in a related field. 2. Must have one year's experience in conducting historical research in the National Archives, Federal Records Centers, or the Library of Congress. Must have experience using electronic records and government documents 7. HOW TO RESPOND TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT: Qualified firms should submit their Capability Statements by June 13, 2017, 12:004:00 noon (Easter Standard Time) pm local Afghanistan time via email to celia.e.cockburn@usace.army.mil and courtesy copy to robert.e.williams@usace.armuy.mil. Interested offerors shall provide the following: a. Contact following: - Name of company - Business title - Institution or organization affiliation - Email address and phone number - Company's business size - Cage code and DUNS number b. Capability statement expressing interest and the ability to meet the requirements. Your response is limited to 10 pages, and should address the following: - Complete Attachment 1 and 2 - Describe how your company will meet all the requirements described in the checklist. - If Small Business, can your company meet the requirements specified in FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting - Would you need a transition period? If yes, how long? e.g: 30 days/60 days 8. ELGIBILITY FOR CONTRACT AWARD: Must have an active and completed registration in the System Award Management (SAM) and Joint Contingency Contracting System (JCCS) to be considered. 1. In accordance with CENTCOM Clause 5154.225-5916 "Mandatory Eligibility for Installation Access", all offerors and their subcontractors are required to be eligible at the time of proposal submission, and remain eligible, if awarded a contract, during the entire contract period of performance to include any warranty period, for installation access to the U.S. and/or coalition installation, regardless of whether the performance will take place on or off a U.S. or coalition installation. 2. Provide your capabilities for obtaining a Bond or other acceptable sureties for this project, if awarded. See FAR Part 28 and FAR clause 52.228-15. All interested firms should complete the attached Questionnaire and return via email to Celia.E.Cockburn@usace.army.mil and copy Robert.E.Williams@usace.army.mil. The submission should address all questions in the attached questionnaire and your ability to perform the work stated in the project information section of this notice. Submission should not exceed ten (10) pages one-sided. NO HARD COPY OR FACSIMILE SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED. Cover letters and extraneous materials (brochures, etc.) will not be considered. Personal visits to discuss this announcement will not be scheduled. ? ATTACHMENT 1 QUESTIONAIRE COMPANY NAME: COMPANY ADDRES: EMAIL POC: 1. IF ADVERTISED DO YOU PLAN TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL. 2. PROVIDE YOUR EXPERIENCE AS A PRIME CONTRACTOR: 3. ARE YOU CURRENTLY REGISTERED OR HAVE THE FOLLOWING? a) JOINT CONTIGENCY CONTRACTING SYSTEM (JCCS): IF YES PROVIDE JCCS ID. (https://www.jccs.gov/) b) SYSTEM FOR AWARD MANAGEMENT (SAM): IF YES PROVIDE DUNS NUMBER AND CAGE CODE. (http://www.sam.gov/) c) VALID AFGHAN INVESTMENT SUPPORT AGENCY (AISA) LICENSE? IF YES PROVIDE NUMBER. (http://www.aisa.org.af/) d) PROVIDE YOUR CAPABILITIES FOR OBTAINING A BOND OR OTHER ACCEPTABLE SURETIES FOR THIS PROJECT, IF AWARDED. SEE FAR PART 28 AND FAR CLAUSE 52.228-15. ? ATTACHMENT 2 EXPERIENCE FORM Offerors who perform as a subcontractor shall include the contracting agency or entity's name and point of contact as well as the name of the prime contractor. The "customer" is not the prime contractor; it is the contracting agency or entity that administers the contract. Project No. _____________ Name of Offeror: Contract Number, Title, and Location: Contracting Agency/Entity: POC Name: Email Address: Name of Prime Contractor (if applicable): Prime POC Name: Email Address: Offeror Performed as a (circle one and list percentage of self-performance): Prime Sub JV Partnership % Contract Amount: $ $ $ Original Amount Final Amount Amount Self-Performed Contract Award Date Contract Duration (Period of Performance) Original Completion Date Actual Completion Date Description of the project's scope and the offeror's specific roles and responsibilities in performing the work to include the technical approach to the project: ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________