SBES Data Discovery and Interoperability Awards

This is a notice of intent to award a sole-source contract to the University of Colorado (CU) Boulder’s Natural Hazards Center (NHC), and is not a request for competitive proposals. The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division (WAD), Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), Weather Program Office (WPO) Social Science program has a requirement for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science (SBES) Data Discovery and Interoperability Awards.

The contractor shall deliver an existing data-rich social, behavioral, and economic science (SBES) framework optimized for data discovery and interoperability studies. This unique SBES framework and database will be used as a mechanism to  administer competitive subcontracts for discrete interoperability activities among the academic SBES community following final selection and approval of subcontractors by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The contractor shall solicit, review, and administer targeted subcontracts to academic researchers that advance SBES data assets toward operational readiness within the weather and water enterprise. The contractor’s subcontractors will undertake concrete interoperability activities - including metadata alignment, open-source tooling development, dataset integration proofs-of-concept, and interoperability readiness assessments - that directly improve the discoverability and usability of SBES datasets for integration with meteorological and hydrological systems. 

CRITICAL REQUIREMENT (EXISTING FRAMEWORK):

This requirement is strictly for contractors who already possess, license, or maintain an operational, data-rich SBES framework and database. The Government will not fund the baseline development or creation of a new framework under this contract. 

WAD intends to issue a sole source, Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) type contract. The anticipated period of performance is two (2) years which consists of a single base period (no options), with a start date on or before 18 September 2026. The award will be made using other than full and open competition procedures. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements in accordance with Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Overhaul (RFO) 12.102(b). This acquisition is conducted under the authority of RFO 12.201-1, Simplified Procedures.

The Government requires highly specialized services that necessitates SBES framework and workflows in combination with extreme water and weather event data, which is available from CU’s NHC. The NHC, with support from the National Science Foundation, has supported NOAA’s Weather Ready Nation initiative by issuing funding calls specific for SBES topics. This has created a unique, data-rich source that can be optimized to enable data discovery and interoperability studies. Through this framework, NHC has amassed a vast network of social, behavioral, and economic scientists covering projects to advance the understanding of how to most effectively prepare for and communicate about extreme weather, water, and climate events. This network consists of over 146 researchers across 80 academic, nonprofit, and private sector institutions covering SBES, meteorology, and hydrology topics, that are necessary for the success of this study. Specifically, these perspectives from various extreme weather and water events are essential for developing and fostering a robust data discoverability and interoperable operational framework.

NHC is the only entity that has the required combination of social, behavioral, and economic science (SBES) framework and the specialized meteorological and hydrological data for the specific type of data discovery and interoperable studies planned. Their Weather Ready Research Program can be leveraged to facilitate the successful data discovery and interoperability to produce the required services with the required quality.

This notice is not a request for competitive quotes or proposals and no solicitation will be issued. However, firms that believe they can provide the items as described that fully meets the Government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact within 7 days after publication of this notice; any responses must provide explicit, verifiable evidence that an existing framework is currently available for immediate use at contract award. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.