NOAA’s $5.5 billion FY15 budget request promotes environmental intelligence with a tagline that emphasizes Science, Service and Stewardship. The value of NOAA was stated best by Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, NOAA administrator.  She said the job of NOAA is to “make science matter for millions of Americans thanks to the environmental intelligence from our network of earth observations, weather and climate forecasts, and assessments of marine life. We live on an ever changing planet, and our products and services help people live well and safely.”

Pro-Tech Contract

Earlier this year, NOAA announced and provided a draft RFP for industry to comment on the new Pro-Tech acquisition vehicle.  The estimated combined value of contracts to be awarded under this program is between $3-5 billion over five years.  

What Winning Bidders Need to Do Prior to Final RFP Release:

  1. Develop your NOAA intelligence, they do business with contractors they know and like. There are today 24,000 contractors supporting 12,000 NOAA employees.
  2. Develop your discriminators and credibility as of why NOAA should do business with you or continue to do business with you.
  3. Do you have past performance with NOAA? What would the program office say about your performance? Can you improve from Acceptable to Exceptional?
  4. Know how well your Technical Solutions meet or exceed their expectations. Understand how your technical solutions will be scored by the NOAA Evaluation Reviewers, and if you have gaps, fill them now, not after the RFP is released?
  5. Always remember, if you don’t write it in your proposal, the government can not evaluate you and your company even if you have an excellent relationship. 

This contract is intended to be a strategic sourcing vehicle for Professional and Technical Services. Mitchell Ross, Director of the NOAA Acquisition and Grants Office, described the purposes of the program as follows:  This contract is intended to be a consolidation contract that would allow NOAA to reduce the number of suppliers from 10,000 doing 14,000 transactions in 2013 to a more manageable group of suppliers who have the core competencies needed by the agency.  Contracts would be full and open for all to compete in all Domains at all levels with a reserve for small business awards. Additionally, since there are five Domains under the draft RFP, a bidder must propose services across all five Domains if they want to bid on Task Orders after award in all different Domains. NOAA intends for Pro-Tech to replace all contracts other than NOAA LINK when awarded.  It would cover all services not considered inherently Information Technology (IT) Support Services.

 The 2015 NOAA Budget Focuses on Three Critical Areas:

  1. Additional $22.7M to launch a new polar and geostationary satellites and ensure information technology and physical infrastructure to support the Weather Ready Nation initiative.
  2. Increase of $40.6M to advance electronic monitoring and next generation fisheries stock assessments, continue to improve weather products, and fund R&D related to drought, sea level rise, extreme heat, and climate impacts on living marine resources.
  3. Additional $47.2 M to provide services to enhance community resilience. Last year 7 weather and climate related events caused more than $1billion in damages. NOAA’s intelligence is critical in preparing communities for the next disaster.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth‘s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources.

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