Socioeconomic Data and Applications Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) For the EOS Data and Information System (EOSDIS)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for Socioeconomic Data and Applications Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) (SEDAC) for Earth Observing System (EOS) Data and Information System (EOSDIS) The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI), and members of the underserved communities as defined by Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support For Underserved Communities through the Federal Government, for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for the Socioeconomic Data and Applications (SEDAC) for the EOSDIS. The Government reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received. The current SEDAC for the EOSDIS is currently located at the Columbia University Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, in Palisades, New York. This DAAC combines Earth sciences with socioeconomics to develop products and services using NASA remote sensing data that enable policy formulation and informed decision-making. These information products and services are useful for scientific research and education concerning human interactions with their environment, remote sensing research and applications, as well as broad sets of decision-making and analysis applications. This DAAC is a component of the EOSDIS information architecture that serves the NASA Earth Science researchers community as well as the broader community of scientists application, education, and general-public users. This DAAC will support users by providing socioeconomic and applications data and information services, assisting in locating and manipulating related data, and serving as a point of contact for the development and implementation of new methods and algorithms to derive socioeconomic and applications products. NASA is interested in awarding a contract for acquiring, processing, storing and distributing socioeconomic and applications data with a group that would work cooperatively with the ESDIS Project and the other Distributed Active Archive Centers (DAACs); the current contract is a cost, no-fee type. The period of performance is five years starting in August 2023. The scope of work includes, but is not limited to (see the Statement of Work): To maintain and improve the operations and development of the supporting data and information system as an interoperable element of the distributed EOSDIS. Under the scope of this SOW, the contractor shall manage and operate the socioeconomic data and applications DAAC. Systems engineering, operations and maintenance, development, user services, product generation, data and information management, archive and distribution, information technology security and related science and remote sensing support and research activities. These tasks define the activities which allow the DAAC to acquire, process, archive and distribute socioeconomic data and applications needed for NASA Earth science research, as well as related data products generated from Earth science instruments useful to designated user communities. Implementation also includes participation in the development of additional tools and capabilities needed to meet EOSDIS evolving requirements at all DAACs. Coordinating with other organizations, government agencies, DAACs, NASA Centers, and institutions to accomplish the goals and objectives of this contract. This includes developing and maintaining interfaces with other EOSDIS organizational elements, other agencies with which EOSDIS must cooperate, NASA's international partners with whom EOSDIS will continue to be interoperable, and a broad variety of international organizations and working groups. For an understanding of the scope of the operation and maintenance of this DAAC, respondents should review the provided web references. These information resources serve as a backdrop against which respondents must frame and pose the appropriate advanced information technologies and approaches for further consideration: 1 SEDAC Website http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/ 2 ESDIS Project Website https://earthdata.nasa.gov/about/esdis-project 3 EOSDIS Earthdata Website https://earthdata.nasa.gov/ 4 EOSDIS Earthdata Cloud https://earthdata.nasa.gov/esds/cloud & https://earthdata.nasa.gov/eosdis/cloud-evolution 5 NASA Earth Science Data Systems, Open Data, Service and Software Policies https://earthdata.nasa.gov/collaborate/open-data- services-and-software No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized at SAM.gov website. Interested firms are responsible for monitoring this website for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Interested offerors having the required capabilities necessary to meet the above requirement described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than five (5) pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort described herein, which conforms to Annex 1, "Template for SEDAC Continuing Maintenance and Operation Submittal". Annex 1 TEMPLATE FOR SEDAC CONTINUING MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION SUBMITTAL 1. Background and Description of Proposed Approach Describe in adequate detail the specific approach to implementing the SEDAC which is being proposed for ESDIS Project consideration. Provide a comparison of your approach with or the use of current and near future approaches. Your approach should illustrate how your capabilities support on-premises, cloud-based, and hybrid data systems and applications including development, operations, mission and user support. Describe your organization's experience with scalable agile development methodologies and working cooperatively with members from multiple organizations and other contractors across multiple development periods. Describe how interfaces to DAAC-based systems would be implemented in your approach. Describe how your organization's capabilities enable you to manage, process, and maintain the data and metadata for multiple science data collections. 2. Operational Robustness and Flexibility for Growth and Evolution of Proposed Approach Address the operational reliability and robustness of your proposed approach, as well as simplicity and straightforwardness for Earth science users and the DAACs. Describe how your approach to providing a data and information system will adapt to growth in multiple user communities, anticipated changes in systems interfaces, and ongoing changes in information technologies. If applicable, please include in your response any specific uses or unique capabilities offered by the incorporation of cloud-based technologies. 3. Socioeconomic Science Support for the Earth Science User Community Describe specific details how the Earth science community will benefit from the support the socioeconomic and applications the SEDAC will provide. Describe the available research organizations, educational outreach mechanisms in place to assist NASA's Earth science communities currently being served. Include your approach to maintaining existing and fostering new relationships and partnerships with international organizations and working groups. Moreover, any pertinent experience or plans for future engagement mechanisms to enhance the use of NASA data for improving environmental justice issues should be included. 4. Meeting NASA and EOSDIS program goals Describe how your approach to meeting the requirements of the statement of work will further NASA and EOSDIS program goals (as summarized in section 2.4 of the SOW) and facilitate the analysis and portrayal of the - human dimensions of global change. 5. Skillsets and Estimating Operational Costs Provide an organizational chart illustrating your staffing capabilities and describe the critical skill sets you think are needed to fulfill the development, operational and maintenance requirements for the DAAC. Describe your experience and approach for estimating staffing requirements and costs (including potential migration of hardware systems to a potential new site, associated facilities and other direct costs). Describe experience in developing and estimating the long-term cloud resource (storage, compute and data egress) requirements and usage and needs for operational science data systems. Additionally, in support of the Executive Order (EO) 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, NASA is seeking to advance equity or remove barriers for members of underserved communities related to this requirement. As defined in the EO, Underserved Communities refers to populations sharing a particular characteristic, as well as geographic communities, that have been systematically denied a full opportunity to participate in aspects of economic, social, and civic life, as exemplified by the list in the preceding definition of "equity." Equity means the consistent and systematic fair, just, and impartial treatment of all individuals, including individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality. NASA seeks input in the following areas: 1. To support the requirements identified in this request for information (RFI)/sources sought notification, what barriers or opportunities exist to engage subject matter experts from industry and academia and how can those barriers be overcome? How can underserved communities be leveraged? 2. To support the requirements identified in this RFI, what barriers or opportunities exist to partner with subcontractors that employ members of underserved communities, as defined above? 3. What other recommendations would you make to enhance diversity and inclusion? 4. What should be considered to encourage full participation and contribution of organizations and individuals (e.g., outreach efforts and innovative partnerships) in performance of this requirement? All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Yolanda Williams at Yolanda.A.Willams@nasa.gov no later than March 21, 2022, 4:00pm Eastern Standard Time (ET). Please reference SEDAC in any response. All technical questions should be submitted in writing no later than March 10, 2022: Dr. Francis Lindsay at francis.lindsay-1@nasa.gov and Yolanda Williams at Yolanda.A.Williams@nasa.gov. Procurement related questions should be submitted to: Yolanda Williams at Yolanda.A.Williams@nasa.gov This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation. Respondents deemed fully qualified will be considered in any resultant solicitation for the requirement.