Intent to Sole Source: California Drought Early Warning Dashboard: A web-based tool to identify multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and expected impacts in California REQUIREMENTS-25-0681
Summary
AI-generated · Aug 24, 2025NOAA seeks market research to identify sources capable of developing the California Drought Early Warning Dashboard—a web-based platform built on prior NIDIS work to identify sector-specific drought hazard indicators and projected impacts for four sectors (cities, small communities, agriculture, and environment) across all California hydrologic regions. The project will complete data gathering, develop indicators and the methodology to link hazards to sector impacts, and deliver a demonstration online portal updated monthly. Tasks include creating statewide indicators, real-time impact estimations, a demonstration web application, a collaborative process with state agencies and stakeholders, and scalability analysis; a firm-fixed-price contract with time-and-material for travel is anticipated for a two-year base period.
A Special Notice announces the Department of Commerce/NOAA’s intent to award a sole-source contract to the University of California, Davis for the same work, under SAP with a firm-fixed-price plus travel arrangement for a two-year base period. The rationale cites UC Davis’s specialized expertise in water resources engineering and drought science and its established NOAA/NIDIS relationships. No competitive solicitation will be issued, but other firms may submit substantiating documentation within seven days for consideration of a competitive process; the Government may still decide to pursue competition or proceed non-competitively, and responses to this notice are not responses to any future solicitation.
This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal or Quotation. It is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for any information provided; no basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this Sources Sought Notice or Government use of any information provided. Pursuant to FAR Part 10 (Market Research), the purpose of this notice is to: 1. Determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exists. 2. Determine whether the acquisition should utilize any of the small business programs in accordance with FAR Part 19. Pursuant to FAR Part 6 and FAR Part 19, competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of this market research. This notice in no way obligates the Government to any further action. Requirement: This notice is issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Western Acquisition Division (WAD) and Climate Program Office (CPO) to identify sources capable of providing the following: The objective of this project is to develop a web-based platform built on previous NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) investment to identify sector-specific drought hazard indicators and expected drought impacts for four sectors (cities, small communities, agriculture and the environment) and all hydrologic regions in California. The project, that will build upon the results of the two completed projects Linking Indicators of Drought Hazard to Multi-Sectoral Impacts: An Application to California and Refining multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators oriented to assess drought impacts , will complete the data gathering to develop and apply the framework to obtain multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and the methodology for linking drought hazards and impacts for all sectors at the hydrologic region scale, and in some cases at sub-regional scales, in California. With all sectoral results, the final goal of the project is for the contractor to develop a demonstration online web portal to compile all drought indicators and expected impacts to be updated monthly with readily available data for California. Given the interest in providing a useful tool for decision-making and policy, the project team will rely heavily on input from state agency representatives and other relevant stakeholders to ground truth research questions and assumptions, and to co-produce the final products. The scope of the work includes the following tasks: develop comprehensive statewide sector-specific drought hazard indicators, develop real-time estimations of drought impacts as a function of drought hazard indicators for different sectors, develop a demonstration web application for statewide multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and expected impacts, use a collaborative process to develop these support decision tools, analysis of scalability. Reference the draft Performance Work Statement for additional information. A Firm-Fixed-Price with Time-and-Material for travel contract is anticipated for award. Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance is 19 September 2025-18 September 2027 which consists of a single base period (no options). NAICS Code/Size Standard: The applicable NAICS Code is 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, and the size standard is $19.5M. Submission of Information: Companies having capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to provide information to contribute to this market survey/sources sought notice. Companies shall respond to this Sources Sought Notice by using the Google Portal Link below. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRQOAVnG9CWLR1d0fMDb2yGtFZnr9Lfx_X1iF_3Q8CvM_u9w/viewform?usp=header Responses shall be received no later than July 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Interested parties: Need to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). Failure to submit sufficient detailed information may result in considering a company as not a viable source and may influence competition and set-aside decisions. Regardless of the information obtained from this Sources Sought Notice, the Government reserves the right to consider any arrangement as deemed appropriate for this requirement. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. After a review of the responses received from this notice, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE). It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor the GPE for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Sources Sought Notice. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation.
From Sources Sought posted on Jul 18, 2025This Sources Sought Notice is for market research purposes only and does not constitute a Request for Proposal or Quotation. It is not considered to be a commitment by the Government to award a contract nor will the Government pay for any information provided; no basis for claim against the Government shall arise as a result from a response to this Sources Sought Notice or Government use of any information provided. Pursuant to FAR Part 10 (Market Research), the purpose of this notice is to: 1. Determine if sources capable of satisfying the agency's requirements exists. 2. Determine whether the acquisition should utilize any of the small business programs in accordance with FAR Part 19. Pursuant to FAR Part 6 and FAR Part 19, competition and set-aside decisions may be based on the results of this market research. This notice in no way obligates the Government to any further action. Requirement: This notice is issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Western Acquisition Division (WAD) and Climate Program Office (CPO) to identify sources capable of providing the following: The objective of this project is to develop a web-based platform built on previous NOAA National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) investment to identify sector-specific drought hazard indicators and expected drought impacts for four sectors (cities, small communities, agriculture and the environment) and all hydrologic regions in California. The project, that will build upon the results of the two completed projects Linking Indicators of Drought Hazard to Multi-Sectoral Impacts: An Application to California and Refining multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators oriented to assess drought impacts , will complete the data gathering to develop and apply the framework to obtain multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and the methodology for linking drought hazards and impacts for all sectors at the hydrologic region scale, and in some cases at sub-regional scales, in California. With all sectoral results, the final goal of the project is for the contractor to develop a demonstration online web portal to compile all drought indicators and expected impacts to be updated monthly with readily available data for California. Given the interest in providing a useful tool for decision-making and policy, the project team will rely heavily on input from state agency representatives and other relevant stakeholders to ground truth research questions and assumptions, and to co-produce the final products. The scope of the work includes the following tasks: develop comprehensive statewide sector-specific drought hazard indicators, develop real-time estimations of drought impacts as a function of drought hazard indicators for different sectors, develop a demonstration web application for statewide multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and expected impacts, use a collaborative process to develop these support decision tools, analysis of scalability. Reference the draft Performance Work Statement for additional information. A Firm-Fixed-Price with Time-and-Material for travel contract is anticipated for award. Anticipated Period of Performance: The anticipated period of performance is 19 September 2025-18 September 2027 which consists of a single base period (no options). NAICS Code/Size Standard: The applicable NAICS Code is 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services, and the size standard is $19.5M. Submission of Information: Companies having capabilities necessary to meet or exceed the stated requirements are invited to provide information to contribute to this market survey/sources sought notice. Companies shall respond to this Sources Sought Notice by using the Google Portal Link below. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeRQOAVnG9CWLR1d0fMDb2yGtFZnr9Lfx_X1iF_3Q8CvM_u9w/viewform?usp=header Responses shall be received no later than July 28, 2025 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time. Interested parties: Need to be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). Failure to submit sufficient detailed information may result in considering a company as not a viable source and may influence competition and set-aside decisions. Regardless of the information obtained from this Sources Sought Notice, the Government reserves the right to consider any arrangement as deemed appropriate for this requirement. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this Sources Sought Notice. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. After a review of the responses received from this notice, a pre-solicitation notice and solicitation may be published on the Governmentwide Point of Entry (GPE). It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor the GPE for release of any future solicitation that may result from this Sources Sought Notice. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice will not be considered adequate responses to any resultant solicitation.
From Sources Sought posted on Jul 29, 2025This is a notice of intent to award a sole-source contract to the University of California Davis, and is not a request for competitive proposals. The Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Acquisition and Grants Office (AGO), Western Acquisition Division (WAD), and Climate Program Office (CPO) has a requirement for California Drought Early Warning Dashboard: A web-based tool to identify multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and expected impacts in California. The contractor shall provide the necessary labor and resources to accomplish the following tasks: develop comprehensive statewide sector-specific drought hazard indicators, develop real-time estimations of drought impacts as a function of drought hazard indicators for different sectors, develop a demonstration web application for statewide multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and expected impacts, use a collaborative process to develop these support decision tools, and analysis of scalability WAD intends to issue a sole source, Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) with Time-and-material for travel type contract. The period of performance is 19 September 2025 through 18 September 2027 which consists of a single base period (no options). The award will be made using other than full and open competition procedures. Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements in accordance with FAR 13.501(a). This acquisition is conducted under the authority of FAR 13.501(a), sole source acquisitions for commercial items conducted using Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP). Per FAR 13.501(a), acquisitions under SAP are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6; however, the rationale for this action is consistent with the exception described in FAR 6.302-3(a)(2)(ii), to establish or maintain an essential engineering, research, or development capability to be provided by an educational or other nonprofit institution or a federally funded research and development center. The Government requires highly specialized analytical, computational, and experimental services in the field of water resources engineering which are uniquely available from University of California, Davis. The university is internationally recognized for its expertise and leadership in this specialized area and its connection to drought, and maintains personnel (e.g., physical scientists, engineers, social scientists) at its Water Resources Engineering Group and Center for Watershed Sciences with rare qualifications, methodologies, and expertise critical to the success of this requirement. The University of California, Davis is the sole source capable of providing the required services due to its strong foundation, proven expertise, and collaborative history with NOAA/NIDIS related to drought. Their deep knowledge of drought and related sciences is essential. Their integral role in the California drought and water resources community is also critical for successful community engagement and establishing the tool within state drought decision-making and policy, as well as for potential scalability analysis to other Western U.S. states. This notice is not a request for competitive quotes or proposals and no solicitation will be issued. However, firms that believe they can provide the items as described that fully meets the Government's requirements may submit substantiating documentation in writing to the identified point of contact within 7 days after publication of this notice. Such documentation will be evaluated solely for the purpose of determining whether or not to conduct this procurement on a competitive basis. A determination by the Government not to conduct a competitive procurement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government.
From Special Notice posted on Aug 08, 2025Notice history
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Sources Sought Posted Jul 29, 2025No changes from previous notice
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Special Notice LATEST Posted Aug 08, 2025View changes (4)
- Title: California Drought Early Warning Dashboard: A web-based tool to identify multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and expected impacts in California → Intent to Sole Source: California Drought Early Warning Dashboard: A web-based tool to identify multi-sectoral drought hazard indicators and expected impacts in California
- Description: Description was updated
- Notice Type: Sources Sought → Special Notice
- Response Deadline: Jul 28, 2025 → Aug 15, 2025
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Not yet awarded
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Place of Performance
USA