National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Western Regional Weather Records Center (WRWRC)

Statement of Work (SOW) / Performance Work Statement (PWS)

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) outlines the requirements for the Western Regional Weather Records Center (WRWRC) to provide products and services that address regional weather records needs, supporting NOAA's mission to understand and predict changes in climate and weather, and to share that knowledge.

• Geographic Scope: The contract covers the Western Region, including MT, ID, UT, NM, AZ, NV, CA, OR, WA, AK, HI, and U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands. The contractor must be physically located within this region.
• Program Scope: The WRWRC will leverage NOAA's data and expertise to provide regionally-tailored products and services. This involves four key areas:
  1. Regional engagement and user needs identification.
  2. Needs prioritization and adaptation/development of products and tools.
  3. Transitioning tools, products, and services to NCEI operational states.
  4. Sustaining activities that support the provision of products and services.
• Data Areas Supported: Services will support existing NCEI Data Product Areas and NESDIS Products, including climate reports, surface air properties, drought, precipitation, satellite data, and space weather, among others.

Base Ordering Period: September 17, 2026 - September 16, 2031 (5 years).

• The contractor will be awarded a minimum of 1 task order with a minimum value of $250,000.00 (Core Task Order).

• Additional task orders will be awarded as firm fixed price.

• WRWRC Director: Requires a PhD (or PhD candidate) in Earth/Environmental Sciences with significant experience. This role is the primary point of contact and is designated as Key Personnel.

• Personnel Security: Background checks are required for contractor personnel.

• Training: Mandatory sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention and response training is required for all contractor employees.

• Security: Adherence to government policies for external information systems and data transfer is required.

• Section 508 Compliance: All Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) developed, procured, maintained, or used must comply with accessibility standards.

• IDIQ Deliverables: Includes SASH Prevention Training and Transition Plans.

• Transition Reporting: Contractor must submit transition plans 3 months prior to contract expiration to ensure service continuity.

• Reporting: Deliverables are to be sent to the RCS Program Manager (PM), Contracting Officer (CO), and Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).

Solicitation / RFP / RFQ

This solicitation is for the Western Regional Weather Records Center (WRWRC) Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The purpose is to support the National Centers for Environmental Information's (NCEI) effort to understand user needs for environmental information and translate them into requirements for future products and services. The WRWRC will provide products and services to address regional weather records needs and issues, leveraging NOAA's capabilities to transform data into regionally-tailored products.

• Services will be provided in accordance with the IDIQ Performance Work Statement (PWS) and Task Order 1 PWS.

• Deliverables will be defined at the task order level.

• Specific requirements will be detailed in individual task orders.

• Award Type: Firm-fixed-price (FFP) IDIQ contract.

• Base Ordering Period: September 17, 2026, to September 16, 2031 (five years).

• Period of Performance: September 17, 2026, to September 16, 2031.

• NAICS Code: 541990 - All Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services.

• Size Standard: $19.5 million.

• Proposal Submission Deadline: June 17, 2026, by 1:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

• Proposals must be submitted electronically via email.

• Evaluation will be based on technical factors (Experience for IDIQ Contract, Technical Approach to Task Order 1, Key Personnel) and price.

• Non-price factors are of equal importance and will be weighed equally, and combined, are significantly more important than evaluated price.

• The Government may award without discussions.

• This acquisition is unrestricted.

• Section J lists several attachments, including the IDIQ PWS, Task Order 1 PWS, Pricing Matrix, Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), Past Performance Questionnaire, Data Management Plan, and Question and Comment Form.

• Offerors must submit a Data Management Plan.

Statement of Work (SOW) / Performance Work Statement (PWS)

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) outlines the requirements for the Western Regional Weather Records Center (WRWRC) to provide products and services related to regional long-term weather records and environmental information.

• Base Services: Provide monthly environmental monitoring reports, compile and synthesize seasonal-scale weather-related impact and outlook information, support the assessment of record meteorological events, maintain an inventory of research and sustained products, and track user inquiries and resource usage.

• Regional Services: Meet regional theme requirements (Water Resources, Wildland Fire, Coastal and Ocean Resources, Extreme Precipitation), provide products and services to support public and private sectors, conduct regional constituent workshops, and identify opportunities to grow awareness of NCEI, NESDIS, and NOAA environmental data.

• Transition: Support the transition of mature WRWRC products, tools, and services to NCEI sustainment states and provide necessary documentation and support for continuity of services.

• The PWS covers multiple periods, starting with a Base Period from 9/17/26 to 4/16/27, followed by six Option Periods extending through 9/16/31.

• The geographic scope is the Western Region, encompassing MT, ID, UT, NM, AZ, NV, CA, OR, WA, AK, HI, and U.S. affiliated Pacific Islands.

• Monthly environmental monitoring reports and quarterly weather-related impact and outlook summaries are required.

• Response to routine customer inquiries within one business day.

• Monthly updates to the NCEI requirements collection database.

• Detailed performance reports describing customer inquiries, partner engagement, products/services, and technical support activities.

• Transition plans and documentation to be completed by the contract expiration.

• Deliverables must be submitted to a common government directory with email notification.

• Templates and file naming conventions will be provided by NCEI.

• Invoices must be received via IPP within one week of the required Performance Report submission date.

• The Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) will be appointed by memo.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) for the Regional Weather Records Centers (RWRC) Support Services contract. It outlines the Government's methods for ensuring the contractor performs according to the contract's performance-based requirements and standards. Bidders should review this to understand how their performance will be monitored and evaluated.

• Government Roles: Identifies the Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), and other key personnel responsible for surveillance.
• Contractor Responsibilities: Outlines the contractor's project management functions.
• Performance Standards: Defines desired services and how contractor performance will be measured against Acceptable Quality Levels (AQLs).
• Surveillance Methods: Details how the Government will monitor performance, including Partner Feedback, Director Meetings, Random Monitoring, Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), and direct QASP review.
• QASP Table: Specifies required services, performance standards, AQLs, and surveillance methods for tasks such as providing reports, maintaining inventories, and conducting workshops.
• Evaluation Areas: Includes Quality of Product/Service, Schedule, Business Relations, Management, and Other Important Areas.
• Rating Scale: Defines performance ratings (Exceptional, Very Good, Satisfactory, Marginal, Unsatisfactory).
• Documenting Performance: Describes procedures for addressing acceptable and unacceptable performance, including the use of Contract Discrepancy Reports (CDRs).

This QASP is critical for bidders as it details the performance metrics and surveillance methods the Government will use to evaluate the contractor's adherence to the contract's requirements. Understanding these standards and evaluation processes is essential for developing a compliant and successful proposal and for managing contract performance post-award.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is a Past Performance Questionnaire designed to gather feedback from references on an Offeror's performance on previous contracts. Bidders must provide this form to their references, who will then complete Part 2.

• Part 1 (Offeror/Contractor): Requires company name, contact information for the evaluating company, and detailed project information including contract number, dates, title, work description (emphasizing similarities to the current solicitation), contract type, price, completion dates, and type of client (commercial, federal, local/state).
• Part 2 (Evaluator/Reference): Requires ratings on various performance elements such as successful performance, quality, timeliness, management of subcontractors, cost control, communication, proactive management, and customer satisfaction. Specific rating scales (Exceptional, Very Good, Satisfactory, Marginal, Unsatisfactory) are provided, with requirements for narrative explanations for Exceptional, Marginal, or Unsatisfactory ratings.
• Submission Instructions: Completed questionnaires must be emailed to Recarlo.Applewhite@noaa.gov and Audrey.Hogg@noaa.gov no later than 1:00 PM (EDT) on June 17, 2026. The email subject line must clearly indicate "1332KP26R0028 – Past Performance Questionnaire Submission for ".

This questionnaire is a critical component of the evaluation process. Bidders must ensure they provide accurate and complete information in Part 1 and select appropriate references who can provide a thorough and favorable evaluation in Part 2. The quality of past performance feedback directly impacts the evaluation of proposals. Failure to provide supporting information for ratings may result in a lower designated rating.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is the Data Management Plan (DMP) for the NCEI Regional Climate Data Product Area. It outlines the management, documentation, and access of value-added climate data products created and served by the Regional Climate Centers (RCCs) under the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

• Overview: Details NCEI's mission and the creation of Product Areas for value-added datasets.
• Data Description: Identifies the Regional Climate Product Area and the six contracted RCCs responsible for producing and delivering climate data, products, and services.
• Managed Data Sets: Summarizes characteristics of data sets managed under the DMP, including temporal and spatial coverage, data types, and collection methods.
• Data Management: Covers data collection, temporal/geographic coverage, data types, collection methods, data lineage, quality control, and documentation.
• Data Access: Specifies that all data products are publicly available without restriction and outlines various access methods (HTTPS, THREDDS, LAS, etc.).
• Data Preservation: Describes archiving procedures, storage facilities, and protection measures for NCEI-generated and RCC-created data.

This document provides insight into how climate data is managed, accessed, and preserved by NCEI and its regional partners. Understanding this plan can be relevant for potential bidders interested in data stewardship, data management services, or opportunities related to climate data products and services. It details the types of data, their coverage, and how they are made accessible, which could inform proposals related to climate information systems or data analysis.

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is the "Attachment J-7 RWRC Question and Comment Template." It is provided for offerors to submit questions or comments regarding the solicitation documents.

• Offeror Name: Field to enter the name of the bidding organization.
• Question Number: A sequential number for each question or comment.
• Document: The specific document to which the question or comment pertains.
• Page Number: The page number within the referenced document.
• Section: The section number or title within the referenced document.
• Paragraph: The specific paragraph number within the referenced section.
• Question / Comment: The space to write the actual question or comment.

Bidders must use this template to formally submit any questions or comments they have about the solicitation. This structured format ensures that all necessary information is provided for the government to understand and respond to the inquiry effectively. It is crucial for bidders to utilize this form to ensure their questions are properly logged and addressed.