Inactive

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research and Development Center - Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) has a requirement for research and development ... The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research and Development Center - Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) has a requirement for research and development services to implement a curriculum of energy resilience courses and establish a pilot internship program at an accredited University. This curriculum will directly address the need to investigate Army and DoD energy resilience needs and to educate and train future Army officers, mid-career professionals, and senior leaders in energy resilience fundamentals, implementation, and policy. Implementation, for the purpose of this contract, will take place with the successful instruction of five courses and creation of a pilot research and development internship program for students. ERDC-CERL intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to Norwich University Applied Research Institutes (NUARI) in accordance with FAR Part 6.302-1(a)(2)(iii). Specifically, the original contractor is deemed to be the only responsible source to provide these highly specialized follow-on services because award to any other source would result in (A) substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition; and (B) unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency’s requirements. The effort to be contracted is a direct follow on a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) contract that ERDC-CERL awarded in fiscal year 2020 (FY20) to NUARI under which they developed an energy track curriculum for the Norwich University’s Center for Global Resilience and Security (CGRS). NAURI proposed this concept under the BAA solicitation and has successfully completed extensive studies to develop the Energy Track curriculum. Due to the knowledge and experience gained under the prior effort, NAURI possesses the unique intellectual capital to provide the highly specialized services required to meet the Government’s current scope of work. This knowledge includes insight into the Army’s energy resilience education and training needs compiled during workshops with installation, Army, and DoD leaders. NUARI shall leverage its prior experience and relationships with the Norwich University faculty to provide technical support for deploying and evaluating the energy resilience courses using the following focus areas: Deployment and evaluation of the effectiveness of new courses of instruction in energy resilience for undergraduate and mid-career professional certificate programs. Conducting energy resilience seminars focused on senior-level military energy managers and policy makers. Implementation of a pilot internship program with ERDC-CERL for Norwich University undergraduate students. Market research performed to date has found no other organization that is fully capable of beginning work on this new contract for the 2021 fall academic semester. The courses NAURI has developed are geared to current Army and DoD needs, and any delays in implementation will reduce the effectiveness of the education and training due to rapid evolution of energy-related technologies. Delays in attempting to find another provider would effectively force a major update of the courses. It is likely that award to any other source would result in both a substantial duplication of costs to the Government that are not expected to be recovered through competition, and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the ERDC’s operational energy and installation energy programs. The associated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 541715 which has a size standard of 1000 employees. This is not a small business set aside. This notice is NOT a solicitation or a request for competitive quotations; however the government requests information from any interested parties that believe they should be considered for this requirement in full. Interested parties that feel they have comparable capabilities and overall experience inclusive of (a) current detailed knowledge of the Army’s energy resilience education and training needs AND (b) access to a viable student candidate pool to facilitate course fulfillment and implementation of an internship program in the 2021-2022 academic year. Full and complete detail on both parts of such capabilities is requested. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will be in any way alter the Government's acquisition strategy. Please provide responses to this notice no later than the Response time listed above in this notice, to: CERL-CT_QUOTES@usace.army.mil Telephone responses will not be accepted. Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offers list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation. A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.