Inactive

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Description 1.1 The purpose of this contract is to obtain the services of engineers, physical scientists (i.e. astronomers and physicists), project specialists, and instrumenta... REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Description 1.1 The purpose of this contract is to obtain the services of engineers, physical scientists (i.e. astronomers and physicists), project specialists, and instrumentation experts and to provide short-term (normally at least one year) technical support, research analysis, and operations and maintenance support for United States Naval Observatory operations, research and development activities. 2.00 SCOPE 2.0 The contractor services shall fall within the scope of work delineated herein. Services to be furnished under this contract shall be set forth in individual Tasks Orders. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to organize, furnish, and supervise a working force which, within the limitations of the provisions of the proposed contract, is capable of effectively performing the work as established in paragraph 3.0 and further defined in the individual Task Orders and supporting PWS’s. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to assure that all qualified personnel possess the specialized education and experience specified in the labor categories and as identified in the task order issued. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) promptly with hiring status and changes of personnel for each Task Order. The Government may provide technical instruction and additional information on the specified scientific research projects, including the amplification of the specifications of a particular piece of work and the furnishing of relevant information needed for performance. This includes filling in details that support possible avenues or methods of approach and/or outlining alternative solutions. In no instance will either Navy civilian or military personnel exercise supervision of contractor personnel. 1.3 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ) or promise to issue an RFQ in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Navy is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondees are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFQ, if any is issued. Requirement The Contractor shall provide personnel for technical and analytical support in the disciplines of physics, astronomy, astrophysics, aerospace, instrumentation and electrical engineering, and IT/computer sciences. Work shall be in accordance with tasks such as the following as ordered on individual task orders for specified scientific research projects. Design and/or perform research or operations in the areas of physics, astronomy, astrophysics or engineering, especially as it applies to Very Long Baseline Interferometry, black hole or stellar astronomy, GPS-denied, artificial reference frame navigation, Orbital Dynamics, Astrometry, Photometry, Astronomical or Timing Instrumentation. Collect, develop, and analyze scientific data from specific instruments. Lead calibration and observational testing of astronomy and/or physics instrumentation. Design and or develop specialized aerospace, astronomical on physics instrumentation, including optical telescope development, clock development, instrumentation management and control. Perform literature searches, retrievals and reviews; compile and catalog scientific texts, journals and background material; write and/or edit technical documents; and/or prepare summaries and bibliographies. Review, analyze and document specific operational procedures; and/or perform feasibility studies. Construct and test mathematical models. Assist in the design, development and maintenance of the Internet and Intranet web sites. Design, exercise and/or test models utilizing simulation, emulation, mathematical and statistical analyses techniques. Design, develop, test computer software, models, architecture or graphics and/or develop computer libraries and databases. Lend expertise, assistance, consultation and/or coordination services for research activities Services to be furnished under this contract shall be set forth in individual Tasks Orders. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to organize, furnish, and supervise a working force which, within the limitations of the provisions of the proposed contract, is capable of effectively performing the work as established in this section and further defined in the individual Task Orders and supporting PWS’s. It shall be the responsibility of the contractor to assure that all contractor professionals possess the specialized education and experience specified under personnel qualifications in Section 4.0 of this document and as identified in the task order issued. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) promptly with hiring status and changes of personnel for each Task Order. The Government may provide technical instruction and additional information on the specified scientific research projects, including the amplification of the specifications of a particular piece of work and the furnishing of relevant information needed for performance. This includes filling in details that support possible avenues or methods of approach and/or outlining alternative solutions. In no instance will either Navy civilian or military personnel exercise supervision of contractor personnel. 4.0 PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS The Contractor will be required to provide the labor categories identified below that possess the appropriate education requirements for each class The labor categories required for this contract are: Very Long Baseline Array or Interferometer Astronomer, Physicist, or Engineer, Black Hole or Stellar Optical Astronomer, Satellite Aerospace Engineer or Physicist, Orbital Dynamics Astronomer, Program Specialist, Astronomy and Physics analysis tool developer, Electrical, Mechanical Optics Engineer, Applications Engineer, Astronomical Database Engineer. The labor categories are defined in Attachment 1. Within each labor category the contractor must be able to provide qualified employees with Junior, Basic, Senior, Master or Principle. The Junior, Basic, Senior, Master or Principle classifications are defined in Attachment 1. 5.0 SECURITY 5.1 All contractors under this contract will be required to obtain and uphold a SECRET Security Clearance when the need to know is deemed required for specific task orders. 5.2 Access to Personally Identifiable Information (PII) will be required and training related to PII will be required and provided by the government. 5.3 USNO security requirements automatically limit employment to U.S citizens and resident aliens. 5.4 Employees will be required to submit a Standard Form 87A (SF-87A) Fingerprint Card, and receive a favorably adjudicated background investigation. Any determination that is "other than favorable," or "undetermined" will render any employee ineligible for access to the United State Naval Observatory. 6.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The primary place of performance for contractors working on specific USNO tasks orders will be at the United States Naval Observatory, 3450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC, 20392-5420. However, in rare cases, contractors may work at a different work site, which will be specified in the task order. Telework may be permitted depending on the requirements outline in the task order. 7.0 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS Access to IT systems requires candidate to in process with the USNO Security Manager and Information Assurance Manager upon arrival at USNO and shall out-process prior to their departure at the completion of the individual's performance under the contract. Completion and approval of a System Authorization Access Request Navy (SAAR-N) form is required for all individuals accessing Navy Information Technology resources. The SAAR-N shall be forwarded to the USNO Security Manager to the candidate accessing any Navy IT system. When required to maintain access to required IT systems or networks, the Contractor shall ensure completion of annual Information Assurance (IA) training, and maintain a current requisite background investigation. The Contractor's Security Representative shall contact the Command Security Manager for guidance when reinvestigations are required. 8.0 INFORMATION ASSURANCE/INFORMATION SECURITY Contractor shall protect DoD sensitive unclassified data regardless of the location or ownership of the transport media, including, but not limited to mobile computing devices and removable storage media, whether Government furnished or contractor owned/leased. Contractor shall comply with all current information assurance and information security policies, procedures, and statutes applicable to DoD information technology, including the July 3, 2007 DoD CIO Policy Memorandum on Encryption of Sensitive Unclassified Data at Rest on Mobile Computing Devices and Removable Storage Media. 9.0 IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS All Contractor personnel performing under this Performance Work Statement shall identify themselves as Contractor employees to avoid creating any impression that they are Government officials. Such identification shall be made in all meetings attended, when answering Government telephones, on all e-mails and when working in other situations where their Contractor status is not obvious to third parties. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by Contractors are suitably marked as Contractor products or that Contractor participation is appropriately disclosed 10.0 GOVERNMENT PROPERTY The following Government items shall be made available for employees who work on-site at USNO in accordance with FAR 45.000(b)(5): office space and office furnishings together with equipment and supplies necessary for the performance of the work will be provided. Equipment may include access to such items as computers, department and laboratory instruments, and supplies. 11. REPORTS AND DELIVERABLES Management Reports. The following report shall be required as a minimum: Monthly Task Detail Report. To include delivery order numbers, work sponsor names and codes, begin/end dates of tasks, names of employees on each task, total hours remaining and hours allotted on each task, and a year to date total of money and hours used thus far on the contract. This report shall be due no later than the 10th day of each month. The deliverables required to be submitted will be assessed against the specifications for the deliverables detailed in specific task orders. TRAVEL All travel requirements shall be accomplished in accordance with the Joint Travel Regulations. Travel in performance of this contract is estimated at $TBD. inclusive of any indirect charges including G&A. All travel requirements related to this PWS are accounted for in the Government’s estimated travel cost of $TBD Travel will be reimbursed in accordance with the Joint Travel Regulations and Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 31.205-46. The Contractor shall request travel funding in writing to the Contracting Officer, at least 30 business days prior to any travel. Travel is subject to preapproval by the Contracting Officer Representative (COR). Materials The Government will fund the purchase of materials by the contractor, on an FFP basis, that are identified in an individual task order. The contractor shall not purchase materials without the prior written approval of the COR and the contracting officer. The Government will not pay the contractor for any materials not identified in an individual task order or purchased without the prior written approval of the COR and the contracting officer. 6.0 Responses Request Responses by Friday 17 Feburary 2023, 1:00pm EST. The response shall be submitted via e-mail only to the Government Point of Contract (POC): Michael Stoutenger, Program Analyst, michael.j.stoutenger.civ@us.navy.mil Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing to the POC. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted via telephone. The Government does not guarantee that all questions received will be answered. The RFI should address the following: 1. Capability Statement/Ability to meet specifications 2. Previous similar experience 3. PWS suggestions 4. Price estimate 5. Company Information. Name, mailing address, phone number, CAGE/and or DUNS, business size status and e-mail of designated point of contact Labor Categories USNO is seeking contracting support for the following Labor Categories and Classes. Class definitions are provided in the notes to this document Very Long Baseline Array or Interferometer Astronomer, Physicist, or Engineer provides assistance and technical support and subject matter expertise on data or engineering related to the Very Long Baseline Array or Interferometer (VLBA or VLBI). Specific skillsets include correlator operations or development, radio astronomy or geophysics related to radio data from either the VLBA or VLBI. Black Hole or Stellar Optical Astronomer: provides observation, theory or instrumentation associated with observing and characterizing celestial objects such as Black Holes and Stars. Astronomers may overlap heavily with aerospace engineers when it comes to the mechanics of celestial bodies. Astronomers can also have specializations in one of the three physical sciences: biology, chemistry and physics, including but not limited to astrobiology, astrochemistry and astrophysics. Satellite Aerospace Engineer or Physicist: provides technical knowledge and services related to the development deployment and characterization of aircraft, spacecraft and man-made space objects. This includes mechanical, electrical and optical aspects of spacecraft. Specific skills sets will include astrometric and photometric analysis of artificial objects, image processing of objects, knowledge of GPS systems. Orbital Dynamics Astronomer: provides technical knowledge and services related to the study of orbitial dynamics related to either asteroids or space-craft as it applies to the physical sciences and orbit-based engineering. Specific skill sets include knowledge of SDTK, ODTK and GMAT software packages, celestial and artificial image processing of data from orbiting objects. Program Specialist: provides services related to outlining objectives, planning execution, and managing operations of some of USNOs aerospace, astronomy, physics and engineering programs. Program Specialist may also provide some SME to government scientists and managers as they relate to specific large programs. Program Specialist may assist with program planning and execution, including scheduling and budgeting. Astronomy and Physics analysis tool developer: provides technical knowledge and services related to the development of astronomy or physics analysis tools or operations and provides technical knowledge and services related to the production aspects of scientific programs. This position will use input from scientists and engineers to design or re-design, develop, test and implement complex scientific tools and applications. They also provide technical support and expertise to USNO scientists and test applications and systems. This position can include professionals specifically trained to build applications as well as professionals trained in the physical sciences that also have experience producing, editing, or rewriting scientific tools for complex scientific instrumentation and systems. Electrical, Mechanical Optics Engineer: provides technical knowledge and services related to the study of mechanical, electrical and optical systems as they apply to the physical sciences. Applications Engineer: provides technical knowledge and services related to the production aspects of scientific programs. This position will use input from scientists and engineers to design or re-design, develop, test and implement complex software or scientific programs and applications. They also provide technical support and expertise to USNO scientists and test applications and systems. Astronomical Database Engineer: engineer that provides technical knowledge and services related to the development and deployment of large databases of scientific data. Depending on the education level, professionals will have experience producing schemas, models, functions, tables and procedures for the database. NOTES: All Classes require a minimum Bachelor’s level education. Specific Classes are defined as follows: Junior: Contractor with Bachelor’s degree in relevant field and no experience Basic: Contractor with Bachelor’s degree in any field and at least 3 years of experience in relevant field. Masters degrees and Ph-Ds in relevant field with no experience also qualify. Senior: Bachelor’s degree with at least 6 years of experience or Master’s degree or PhD in relevant field with 3 years of experience. For Master’s and Ph-D levels relevant work performed during completion of degree can count as experience. Masters: Bachelor’s degree in any field with at least 10 years of experience in relevant field, or Master’s degree or PhD in relevant field with at least 6 years of experience. For Master’s and Ph-D levels relevant work performed during completion of degree can count as experience. Principle: Bachelor’s degree in any field with at least 20 years of experience, or Master’s degree or PhD in relevant field with at least 15 years of experience in relevant field. For Master’s and Ph-D levels relevant work performed during completion of degree can count as experience.