Rapid Response Hurricane Windfield Modeling Support Services

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE Rapid Response Hurricane Windfield Modeling Support Services Announcement Type: Special Notice Announcement Number: NIST-NOI-21-10001 PSC Code: R425 - Professional Engineering/Technical Services Subject: Rapid Response Hurricane Windfield Modeling Support Services Introduction This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested. Purpose The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) intends to negotiate a firm-fixed priced purchase order on a sole source basis with Applied Research Associates, Inc. located at 4300 San Mateo Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110-1295. The purchase order will be for rapid response hurricane windfield modeling support services for the period from date of award through January 31, 2021. Authority This acquisition is being conducted under the authority of FAR Subpart 13.106(b)(1) allowing the Contracting Officer (CO) to solicit from one source. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541330 - Engineering Services with a size standard of $16.5 Million. Background and Description The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been requesting assistance from the Department of Commerce/National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) to develop windfield models for landfalling hurricanes an average of two times per year for the past 4 years, for use in estimating the impacts of these storms on the United States. Upon receipt of a given Mission Assignment from FEMA, NIST requires contractor support to acquire surface level observations of wind speed (gust and mean), wind direction, and atmospheric pressure in areas of the U.S, including coastal regions, affected a landfalling hurricane, and production of wind field models and maps. Sole Source Determination The sole source determination is based on the following: FEMA uses Mission Assignments to task NIST with creation of rapid windfield models for landfalling hurricanes. FEMA uses this windfield data as input to their Hazus Hurricane loss model, to estimate casualties, damage, sheltering needs, and other storm impacts. This is a life safety priority for FEMA, as the outputs from the Hazus model help plan emergency responses as well as positioning and allocation of resources. FEMA has developed a Prescripted Mission Assignment for windfield models, regularizing the process. The Prescripted Mission Assignment process specifically identifies Applied Research Associates, Inc. as the required contractor for mission assignments. ARA's hurricane modeling code to develop the windfield maps is proprietary. Their hurricane windfield model is built into the Hazus Hurricane loss estimation model which ARA developed for FEMA. Based on the directive mission assignment process and the proprietary nature of the modeling required for FEMA's life safety efforts, ARA is the only capable source. Information for Interested Parties Interested parties that believe they could satisfy the requirements listed above for NIST may clearly and unambiguously identify their capability to do so in writing by or before the response date for this notice. This notice of intent is not a solicitation. Any questions regarding this notice must be submitted in writing via email to Ms. Lauren Roller, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. All responses to this notice of intent must be submitted via email to contact@example.gov so that they are received no later than November 4, 2020 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time. Each response should include the following Business Information: Contractor Name, Address, Point of Contact Name, Phone Number, and Email address Contractor DUNS Contractor Business Classification (i.e., small business, 8(a), woman owned, hubZone, veteran owned, etc.) as validated in System for Award Management (SAM). All offerors must register in the SAM located at http://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1 Capability Statement