RECOVERY : NOAA Research and Development High Performance Computing System

RECOVERY - IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY REQUIREMENTS ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS PROVIDED BY THE AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009 (ARRA), PUBLIC LAW 111-5, THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA), NATIONAL CAPITAL ACQUISITION DIVISION, INTENDS TO ACQUIRE SYSTEM INTEGRATION SUPPORT SERVICES FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING SUPPORT OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING PROGRAM. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), intends to acquire system integration support services for High Performance Computing support of the Environmental Modeling program. At a minimum, the contractor will be required to provide the following: (1) transition support from NOAA's current Research and Development High Performance Computing System (R&D HPCS) contract which expires September 30, 2010; (2) acquisition and implementation of a Home File System; (3) assist in the design, acquisition, implementation, and support of NOAA's next generation R&D HPCS. The R&D HPCS is necessary to support NOAA's continued advances in environmental modeling capabilities and to meet other high performance computing requirements that may arise within NOAA and at other partner agencies. The primary acquisition goal is to acquire balanced, comprehensive computing capabilities configured from commercially-available items including processors, storage, software, support, and maintenance services that will allow NOAA to meet its increasing processing requirements. Environmental models developed and maintained by NOAA scientists are run on systems currently operated by three NOAA organizations: Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL) in Boulder, Colorado; the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) in Princeton, New Jersey; and the National Weather Service's National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) located in Camp Springs, Maryland. The contract will be divided into a four-year base period, followed by a four-year option period. During the base period, the contract will be renewed each year subject to the availability of funds. The decision to exercise the four-year option period will be made by evaluating a proposal submitted by the incumbent contractor. If the option period is exercised, the contract will be renewed each of the following years in the option period, subject to the availability of funds. Also included in the contract will be an option for the Government to extend the base contract period for an additional year. The intent of this one-year option is to provide the Government with sufficient time to complete a competitive follow-on acquisition should the four-year option contract period not be exercised. A similar one-year option will be included in the contract to extend the option contract period to permit transition to a follow-on contractor should it be necessary. The total period of the contract could be as long as nine years. The contract will include two indefinite quantity options. The first indefinite quantity option provides a capability to acquire additional HPCS components or systems. These additional components or systems could be used to satisfy unanticipated NOAA requirements or requirements from a partnering agency, and will be established with fixed ceiling amounts. The second indefinite quantity option will provide engineering support (e.g., applications analyst, systems/network/security engineer, and facilities engineer) on a labor-hour basis. These two options may be exercised at any time during the contract life. The total estimated ceiling amount of this acquisition, inclusive of all options, and based upon maximum quantities for the indefinite quantity options, is $317.2 million. An annual project funding profile for the system life, inclusive of all options, will be provided in the Request for Proposal (RFP). The system acquired during the base contract period will be purchase utilizing American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds. Should the four-year option contract period be exercised, it is anticipated that any system(s) delivered during this period will be acquired through a leasing arrangement. The Government anticipates awarding a contract in March 2010. A milestone schedule and related information (e.g., draft RFP Sections, etc.) for this acquisition will soon be available at http://rdhpcs.noaa.gov/2009/. Once released, the RFP will be available via the Internet at the same web site. Please monitor this website for release of the RFP. Printed copies of the RFP will not be provided unless specifically requested in writing to the Contracting Officer.