Water Resources Analytical and Professional Support Services - Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC)

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mission Support Battalion (UMSB) intends to solicit for and negotiate several Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ)s styled as a Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC) using full and open competition under RFO (FAR) Part 15 procedures. The MATOC is anticipated to contain a period of performance consisting of one base year plus four one-year option periods and may include an option to extend the MATOCs for up to six-months to extend the contract in accordance with RFO 52.217-8. The anticipated maximum shared capacity of the MATOC is $49,500,000.00. A partial small-business set-aside is anticipated which will be determined by tasks in the Performance Work Statement (PWS). The tasks to be set-aside are to be determined.

Background: 

The USACE Institute for Water Resources (IWR) is a Field Operating Activity (FOA) under the Commanding General, USACE, and the staff supervision of the USACE Headquarters (HQUSACE) Directorate of Civil Works under the direction of the Deputy Commanding General for Civil and Emergency Operations (DCG-CEO) and the Director of Civil Works (DCW).  IWR was established in 1969 to provide the USACE Civil Works (CW) Program with the capability to analyze and anticipate emerging water resources trends and issues facing our nation.  From its beginning IWR has responded to the continuing changes in water resources development policies.

IWR occupies a unique position within the USACE CW program and remains integral for insights into a host of complex and rapidly changing water resources issues. IWR operations  are performed through these operating units:

• USACE Mission Support Battalion (UMSB) in Alexandria, VA;
• Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC) in Davis, CA;
• Navigation and Civil Works Decision Support Center (NDC) co-located at the Humphreys Engineer Center (Alexandria, VA) and the USACE New Orleans District office in New Orleans, LA;
• Waterborne Commerce Statistics Center (WCSC) also located at the USACE New Orleans District office in New Orleans, LA
• Risk Management Center (RMC) co-located in Denver, CO and Pittsburgh, PA.

IWR is the USACE center of expertise for integrated water resources management, focusing on planning analysis, hydraulic and hydrologic engineering, and on the collection, management and dissemination of Civil Works and navigation information, including the nation’s waterborne commerce data. IWR serves as the USACE center of expertise for dam and levee safety,  analysis and adaptive management of water resources and infrastructure based on severe weather event data, planning, and environmental conflict resolution.  IWR also operates the International Center for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM), under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

IWR fulfills its mission by providing: (a) analysis of emerging and long-term water resources and waterborne transportation  trends, needs and issues, (b) state-of-the-art planning and hydrologic engineering methods, models and training, (c) policy and program analyses and strategic planning to support and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of CW program. Among the specific purposes stated, delivered services will require consideration of data and analytical requirements of the USACE’s CW water resources missions to include the areas of study and expertise that IWR provides to its customers through its research, analysis, technical assistance and training activities to include but not limited to Navigation, Flood and Storm Damage Reduction, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Emergency Management, Water Supply, Hydropower and Recreation.

IWR routinely provides technical assistance on a broad range of topic areas to USACE Headquarters and the Major Subordinate Commands (divisions, districts, and laboratories), other US Army Commands, federal and state agencies, foreign nations, and international organizations.

Description of the Requirement:

This MATOC will obtain products and professional services through technical research and analytical support, data management, facilitation, and training for IWR that is generally not readily available within the USACE. These services will be used by IWR to accomplish missions including but not limited to: Support, operation, maintenance, upkeep, enhancement, and development of Automated Information Systems (AIS) and applications operated and/or otherwise managed by IWR and its various centers. These services will require consideration of data and analytical requirements of the USACE’s CW water resources missions to include the areas of study and expertise that IWR provides to its customers. These systems include:

a. Analysis of emerging trends and issues in anticipation of changing water resources management conditions and the corporate development of policies, programs

b. Systems-based planning methodologies, tools and training across the CW portfolio for    analysis, economic and socio-economic assessments.

c. Project-, regional- and national-level economic analysis, multi-criteria and risk-informed analysis, economic and socio-economic assessments:        

d. State of the art hydrologic and hydraulic engineering tools, methodologies, models and management systems and associated planning and environmental methods, models and training.

e. Advanced engineering risk management expertise for dam, levee and infrastructure safety, and the development, application and stewardship of the engineering practice involving contemporary risk-related methods, models and training.

f. Support for USACE to anticipate, prevent or minimize water conflicts and coastal flood risk

g. Support for the USACE Community of Practice for Conflict Resolution and Public Participation to lead facilitation for stakeholder support.

h. Expertise on water security and Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) applied by the U.S. State Department, United Nations, other U.S. and international institutions and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), to address water and natural resources planning, water policy and governance, water management, trans-boundary water conflict mitigation, and other water-related challenges within the U.S. and around the world.

i. Assistance to HQUSACE, Army, and DoW, working in partnership with USACE MSCs and DoW COCOMs, for strengthening theater security cooperation by facilitating civilian and military collaborations, emphasizing multi-national force capacity development on the life-cycle planning of the humanitarian response and consequence management across all forms of extreme water events and other natural and technological disasters.

j. A critical mass of knowledge on the engineering and scientific aspects of, extreme  weather events, and other risk factors in collaboration with interagency partners and study development

k. Enterprise-level financial analysis expertise in support of the CW mission and USACE intergovernmental collaboration on public works infrastructure investment decisions. Development and sustainment of USACE financial programs such as CWIPF This support will include assistance and guidance related to the outreach, accounting, project and borrower eligibility screening, FCRA compliance, and related efforts necessary for successful implementation of the federal credit program (including through its existing partnership with EPA to help develop and implement CWIFP) .

l. Technical support to USACE on a wide range of water resources, marine transportation, flood/coastal storm risk reduction, conflict resolution, international water and natural resources stewardship and ecosystem management issues.

Scope:

The scope of this contract includes all of the Civil Works mission areas (i.e. Navigation, Flood Risk Management, Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration, Hydropower, Regulatory, Recreation, and Water Supply) providing capability for technical research and analysis, data management, training and facilitation activities, among other technical specialties support as they relate to relevant USACE missions. 

Within these mission areas there are several key programs included in the scope of the contract. These mission areas include the following: Coastal Storm Damage Protection;  emergency management and resilience adaptation relating to severe weather events; Asset Management/ USACE Infrastructure Strategy/ Public Private Partnerships/ Financing; Hydrologic and Hydraulic Planning and Engineering; Sediment Management and other issues as they arise within the Civil Works Program.

In addition, the scope of this contract is intended to cover the areas of study and the kinds of expertise that IWR provides to its customers through its research, analysis, technical assistance and training activities (i.e. National and Regional Economic Analysis for Flood Damage Reduction, Coastal Storm Risk Reduction, Water Supply, Hydropower, Recreation projects; Ecosystem Restoration Analysis; National Studies for Water Resources Development; Regulatory Program Analysis; in the field of Navigation Decision Support Systems; Institutional Analysis; Benefit-Cost Analysis; Regional Impact Analysis; Value-to-the-Nation Assessments; Financial Analysis of Water Projects; Cost Effectiveness or Incremental Cost Analysis for Environmental Projects; Hydrologic and Hydraulic Analyses and Studies; Homeland Security; and Survey Research Methods including Questionnaire Design.). This description is not intended to be all inclusive of the scope of this effort, but rather details what could be involved under this contract.

It should be noted that while Navigation is not the primary focus of this contract, both deep draft coastal ports & harbors and inland ports & waterways, including the analysis of dredging and lock and dam systems, are addressed in this scope. However, the analytical aspects of USACE's navigation activities are included herein because of the integrated nature of the nation's water resources and multi-modal transportation systems so as to capture those broad-based studies and analyses of an integrated nature, particularly those which involve trade-offs between multiple water resources purposes which span the entirety of the Civil Works program.

Submission Requirements: Please submit a capabilities statement in addition to responding to the attached Questionnaire. Submissions should not exceed 20 pages. Times New Roman is the prefered font with the preferred size being 12-point. Graphs and tables may use a smaller font. The questionnaire, table of contents, cover pages and resumes are not included in the page count. Responses should be submitted in PDF format. Responses should detail your capability to perform the required services included in the PWS. All communication must be in writing. No oral communication will be considered. 

See the attached PWS (draft) for additional information and the attached Questionnaire for the MATOC.