09/12/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 09/12/2024 05:40
Deadline: October 17, 2024
OVERVIEW
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) seeks a qualified Contractor to fulfill greenhouse gas (GHG) monitoring, measuring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) needs associated with improved grazing practices in the United States. Sites will likely be initially concentrated in the Great Plains, with additional participation expected from ranches nationwide. Required capabilities include direct interfacing with ranchers to sign agreements, training them on data-collection needs and workflows, and managing disbursement of incentive payments; on-the-ground and remote data collection and practice verification; GHG flux modeling; reporting and data-sharing with NFWF and corporate funders; and other support and training as needed. The Contractor should have a data-collection and reporting platform that adheres to a high degree of data security and privacy standards. One award will be made for this Contract. NFWF requests a scope of work and budget to cover the MMRV over a 10-year period. The initial Contract period of performance will be approximately 5 years, with the possibility of renewing for a second 5-year term. This request is prospective: the scope of work and initial start date is contingent upon NFWF securing funding to support this Contract.
The MMRV approach must meet the needs of NFWF's corporate partners. Many NFWF corporate partners are committed to adhering to the GHG Protocol and SBTi reporting guidance in relation to Scope 3 insets. These industry standards are still being developed and compliance with them can depend on a company's individual circumstances. Therefore, it will be essential for the Contractor to understand NFWF partner needs regarding such standards. The Contractor must also be attuned to industry standards as they continue to evolve to ensure that the MMRV plan is and remains sufficient during the period of performance.
BACKGROUND
Since its founding in 1984, NFWF has grown to become the nation's largest private conservation grant maker, supporting conservation efforts in all 50 states and U.S. territories. These efforts protect and restore imperiled species, promote healthy oceans and estuaries, improve working landscapes for wildlife, advance sustainable fisheries, and conserve water for wildlife and people.
Within the Great Plains and beyond, NFWF invests in improving grazing management to benefit native grassland species, maintain rancher livelihoods, and support Tribal conservation efforts. Increasingly, NFWF and funders seek to understand the GHG implications of this grantmaking. Several of NFWF's corporate partners are interested in the potential for improved grazing management to sequester atmospheric CO2e, thus reducing their Scope 3 emissions within their supply sheds.
NFWF currently quantifies the atmospheric CO2e sequestered through improved grazing management investments using existing publicly available datasets for soil organic carbon, change factors expected from different grazing intensities, and climatic zones. These estimates are not derived from sampled data (either in situ or from remote sources), making them useful for planning purposes but not sufficient to meet the increasingly rigorous reporting needs for a growing number of NFWF's corporate partners.
NFWF seeks an end-to-end GHG MMRV solution specific to its grazing management projects. Because its grazing management investments occur across millions of acres, NFWF has recently partnered with Woodwell Climate Research Center (Woodwell) to develop a novel carbon flux model that is focused on measuring carbon flux at large regional scales, initially focused in the Northern Great Plains. This model leverages a combination of soil sampling, remote sensing, and process-based modeling to generate carbon removal estimates. The successful MMRV Contractor will need to be model-agnostic and capable of providing ranch-level input data to run the model developed by Woodwell. However, NFWF is interested in comparisons to other inventory-type models capable of measuring carbon fluxes at regional scales, so an MMRV provider developing an integrated approach to measure carbon fluxes at landscape to regional scales is desired. A data platform that facilitates data-collection and data-sharing and reporting, while maintaining strong data security and privacy, is essential. Data collection should include field and ranch spatial boundaries, producer practice details (grazing management plan, heads of cattle, etc.), and contact information of producers in addition to the soil sampling and remote-sensing data. Models should be calibrated to grassland grazing ecosystems and validated using in situ sampling.
SCOPE OF WORK
The Scope of Work under this Contract is to provide an end-to-end GHG MMRV solution for NFWF's grazing lands management grants nationwide. The MMRV methodology is expected to outline a hybrid approach whereby in situ soil sampling will be used in combination with process-based biophysical models, remote sensing, and/or other technologies.
MMRV attributes should include:
The following tasks constitute the Scope of Work for this Request for Quotations (RFQ). The initial two tasks allow the Contractor and NFWF staff to identify NFWF's needs and advance the Contractor's understanding of NFWF projects. The third through fifth tasks are at the heart of the RFQ and encompass the full suite of end-to-end MMRV activities, from outlining workflow, procedures and protocols via an MMRV plan to the final reporting of results to corporate partners. One or more tasks may be added or removed from the Contract Scope of Work at NFWF's discretion based on the results of the initial tasks.
The Contractor should anticipate check-in calls with NFWF approximately every two weeks throughout the duration of the project.
Task 1: Kick-off meeting and introduction to NFWF-funded improved grazing management
Deliverables: Notes from kick-off meeting with summary of NFWF needs for the plan.
Schedule: Within 2 weeks of Contract start date.
Task 2: Defining data-collection needs and developing an MMRV plan
Deliverables: Memo describing data to be collected sufficient for meeting the needs of our corporate partners in reporting Scope 3 GHG benefits, as well as an MMRV plan describing a proposed workflow with procedures and protocols for implementing the MMRV approach.
Schedule: Memo to be completed within 2 months of Contract start date. MMRV plan to be completed within 3 months of Contract start date.
Task 3: Management and tracking of producer agreements and payments
Deliverables: Development and maintenance of a comprehensive dataset for participating producers with signed agreements, terms and conditions of agreements (including but not limited to rights to GHG benefits), and expiration dates; timely payment disbursements to participating producers.
Schedule: Initial communication with on-the-ground parties, process for incentive payments created, and database developed within the first 5 months of Contract start date. Continued communication with on-the-ground parties, coordination and management of agreements, and database maintenance through the life of the Contract.
Task 4: MMRV implementation
Deliverables: All input data collected, results, and analyses, to be shared with NFWF and other partners (TBD), and accessible online through a data portal.
Schedule: Proposal should indicate a best estimate for when data, results and analyses could be first made available through an online data portal. Providing information in this fashion will continue through the life of the Contract.
Task 5: Incorporate results into corporate reports and communications
Deliverables: Results and analyses in form requested by NFWF.
Schedule: Specific reporting schedule to be determined through consultation between NFWF and the Contractor, but the Contractor should expect to report to NFWF at least bi-annually through the life of the contract.
MISCELLANEOUS
REQUIRED EXPERTISE
The successful Applicant will have significant expertise in the following areas:
CRITERIA FOR COMPETITIVE APPLICATIONS
Proposals will be evaluated and scored on the following criteria. Applicants should organize their Work Plan Narratives (as part of the Technical Proposal, see below) based on these sections:
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS & CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT
Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, other nonprofits, commercial organizations, international organizations, local and state governments, and Tribal Nations. Small and minority businesses and women's business enterprises are strongly encouraged to apply.
By submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation, the Applicant warrants and represents that it does not currently have any apparent or actual conflict of interest, as described herein. In the event an Applicant currently has, will have during the life of the contemplated Contract, or becomes aware of an apparent or actual conflict of interest, in the event an award is made, the Applicant must notify NFWF in writing in the Proposal or in subsequent correspondence (if the issue becomes known after the submission of the Proposal) of such apparent or actual conflicts of interest, including organizational conflicts of interest. Conflicts of interest include any relationship or matter which might place the Contractor, the Contractor's employees, or the Contractor's subcontractors in a position of conflict, real or apparent, between their responsibilities under the award and any other outside interests, or otherwise. Conflicts of interest may also include, but are not limited to, direct or indirect financial interests, close personal relationships, positions of trust in outside organizations, consideration of future employment arrangements with a different organization, or decision-making affecting the award that would cause a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts to question the impartiality of the Applicant, the Applicant's employees, or the Applicant's future subcontractors in the matter. Upon receipt of such a notice, the NFWF Contracting Officer will determine if a conflict of interest exists and, if so, if there are any possible actions to be taken by the Applicant to reduce or resolve the conflict. Failure to resolve conflicts of interest in a manner that satisfies NFWF may result in the proposal not being selected for award.
By submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation, the Applicant warrants and represents that it is eligible for award of a Contract resulting from this solicitation and that it is not subject to any of the below circumstances:
Has any unpaid Federal tax liability that has been assessed, for which all judicial and administrative remedies have been exhausted or have lapsed, and that is not being paid in a timely manner pursuant to a Contract with the authority responsible for collecting the tax liability, where the awarding agency is aware of the unpaid tax liability, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government; or
Was convicted (or had an officer or agent of such corporation acting on behalf of the corporation convicted) of a felony criminal violation under any Federal or State law within the preceding 24 months, where the awarding agency is aware of the conviction, unless the agency has considered suspension or debarment of the corporation and made a determination that this further action is not necessary to protect the interests of the Government; or
Is listed on the General Services Administration's, government-wide System for Award Management Exclusions (SAM Exclusions), in accordance with the OMB guidelines at 2 C.F.R Part 180 that implement E.O.s 12549 (3 C.F.R., 1986 Comp., p. 189) and 12689 (3 C.F.R., 1989 Comp., p. 235), "Debarment and Suspension," or intends to enter into any subaward, contract or other Contract using funds provided by NFWF with any party listed on the SAM Exclusions in accordance with Executive Orders 12549 and 12689. The SAM Exclusions instructions can be found here: https://www.sam.gov/SAM/
SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Proposals must be submitted under the same cover at the same time, in four distinctly labeled and separate documents: 1) Technical Proposal, 2) Contractor Budget Template (5-year term), 3) Budget Narrative and Table (10 years), and 4) Evidence of Financial Stability.
Interested parties should submit proposals electronically to NFWF ([email protected]) using the requirements below:
SELECTION PROCEDURE
A panel of NFWF staff and NFWF partners will review the proposals. Applicants may be asked to modify objectives, work plans, or budgets prior to final approval of the award. Only one award will be made for this project. If multiple institutions are involved, their work may be supported through subcontracts.
SUBMISSION DEADLINES
September 27, 2024 |
Deadline for questions about the solicitation to NFWF. |
October 2, 2024 | NFWF will post the questions submitted regarding the solicitation and responses on the NFWF website here. |
October 17, 2024 |
Deadline for proposal submission to NFWF. |
January 2025 | Selected Applicant notified of Contract award. |
January 2030 |
Expiration of the first 5-year term of Contract. |