Inactive

Purpose The National Science Foundation (NSF) is preparing a requirement for standby contingency airlift and MEDEVAC to and from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The purpose of this notice is to gauge gen... Purpose The National Science Foundation (NSF) is preparing a requirement for standby contingency airlift and MEDEVAC to and from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The purpose of this notice is to gauge general interest in the requirement while also soliciting feedback on a draft Statement of Work and hypothetical evaluation criteria. Requirement in Brief The contractor would be required to launch their aircraft from the contractor's home station and travel to McMurdo Station for medical evacuation of personnel or to provide miscellaneous airlift capabilities in the event of other contingency operations. NSF intent is that, in the event of medical emergency requiring a MEDEVAC mission, the contractor is able to launch their aircraft within 48 hours of notice, whereas contingency missions will have a minimum of two weeks notice from NSF prior to launch. The 48 hour launch time is an element NSF is soliciting feedback on. In the event of a mission the contractor should be prepared for potential diversions to Melbourne or Sydney, Australia as well as Christchurch, New Zealand when in route to McMurdo as these locations are hypothetical pickup locations for any necessary MEDEVAC personnel. These locations are also the most likely destinations after departing McMurdo. This is an all-year requirement. The contractor should be mission-capable even during the periods of total darkness Antarctica experiences during winter. Potential Contract Structure NSF anticipates a firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract which will be comprised of a one-year base period and four one-year option periods for a total potential contract period of five years. The potential CLIN structure and description is included in the attached SOW for reference. Evaluation Criteria NSF anticipates using Tradeoff criteria. NSF's overall intent is to weigh mission response time versus price. IE, how quickly can the contractor reach McMurdo (assuming ideal atmospheric conditions) after launching from their home station and what is the associated price. NSF desires the discretion to choose an offeror which has the possible shortest flight time so long as the price is not disproportionate, given that the requirement's overall purpose is contingency response. Alternatively, if there is an offeror with a longer flight time but appropriately lower price, NSF would like to be able to consider this offeror as well. Therefore, NSF anticipates using a tradeoff methodology to make a best-value decision. Feedback on this potential evaluation strategy is desired. Set-Asides NSF does not anticipate using any set-aside for this requirement, such as a small-business set-aside. Primary reasons include the desire to allow foreign vendors to compete given the roll geography plays in expediting fast contingency response and the anticipated modest vendor base for air charter vendors with the material and personnel capable of all-year landing at McMurdo. Feedback on this potential set-aside strategy is desired.