U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Omaha District Sikes Act Cooperative Agreement Grant

The primary areas of research and support to be addressed under this agreement are:
1. Natural resource data collection, management, and support
2. Information management
3. Sustainable Range Program/Integrated Training Area Management
4. Cultural resource data collection, management, and support
5. Planning and decision support
6. Training
7. Environmental Education
8. Pollution Prevention
9. Environmental Compliance
10. Support to DoD Restoration Mission (Restoration support will be limited to providing tertiary program support, cleanup roles will be restricted)

The Corps is issuing this notice to obtain information about the experience and financial capabilities of qualified Institution of Higher Education/Non-Profit Educational Institution who wish to provide support to the DoD program. Please note, based on the qualifications received from applicants and at the discretion of the Corps, it may enter into up to three (3) agreements under this FOA. Omaha District will issue individual specific task orders for projects included within the scope of work.
Technical Point of Contact: Lucas Walsh, lucas.v.walsh@usace.army.mil 402-995-2750
Grants Specialist/Point of Contact: Stephanie Rostermundt, Stephanie.A.Rostermundt@usace.army.mil
402-995-2083.

Applications should be submitted via Grants.gov and to Ms. Stephanie Rostermundt by email at Stephanie.A.Rostermundt@usace.army.mil

REQUIRED FACTOR SUBMISSION INFORMATION

Each section in your submission must include a description of your approach to the following evaluation factors. These factors comprise the minimum compliance with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (Corps) goals and must be submitted in order for applications to be considered complete. The Corps will evaluate and select the successful applicant(s) based upon the following factors:
a. Capability/Qualifications concerning natural and cultural resource management supporting the Sikes Act and Legacy Resource Management Program.

b. Relevant Experience/Past and Present Performance in Natural and Cultural Resource Management

c. Financial and Project Capacity

SECTION I- EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.
a. The name, address, telephone, e-mail, and fax numbers of the main participating team members and the name of the representative authorized to act on behalf of the team.
b. A description of your status as a University indicating jurisdiction under whose law you are organized and operating, and a brief history of your organization and its team members.
c. Date and location of establishment and the date of incorporation under present name.
d. Explanation of types of services your Non-Profit Educational Institution/University provides and how they relate to this application.
e. Provide the following: 1) Articles of Incorporation and by-laws; 2) Names, addresses, of the officers and participating team members.
SECTION II- CAPABILITY/QUALIFICATIONS TO MANAGE NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES IN A SUSTAINABLE MANNER.
STAFFING PLAN. Please provide the following:
a. Describe your organizational approach to executing project responsibilities, providing the overall project coordination, and how your organization will respond to the Corps during all phases of the project, including the hiring of qualified personnel to respond to task requirements. You will be evaluated on your organizational chart and staffing plan to ensure you’re capable of carrying out all functions (project and financial capabilities) required for this program are met. You will also be evaluated on your ability to financially track projects from work initiation to invoice submission.
b. You will be evaluated on your plan to commit staff and other resources to the project and development/execution of this DoD Program.
c. You will be evaluated on your organizations ability to provide services nationwide, including Alaska, Hawaii, and US Territories.
QUALIFICATIONS OF KEY PERSONNEL. Please provide the following:
Identify your key personnel and their respective roles during development of the management plan. Key personnel are those persons considered critical to the accomplishment of the required services. Indicate the extent to which your key personnel have worked together as a team on projects. You will be evaluated on key personnel qualifications and project history and your organizations ability to hire qualified personnel in a timely manner to support project requirements.
PROJECT APPROACH. Describe your approach to creating the plan, implementing the plan, and achieving the Corps of Engineers goals. Place special emphasis on how your approach addresses the program and how it demonstrates a clear understanding of the scope and complexity associated with the program. Approach should demonstrate the ability to track progress of each project both in project and financial completion. Your organizations plan will be evaluated on its ability to respond to tasks associated with the primary areas of research and support listed within the FOA.
PROJECT EXPERIENCE. Describe your organizations previous project experience working with the Department of Defense (DoD) to complete tasks within the natural and cultural program. At least one project should demonstrate the magnitude expected at the program level. All projects should demonstrate satisfaction of the customer. Your organization will be evaluated by the criteria outlined above and your project experience found under the primary areas of research and support listed within the FOA. Please include POCs for all projects listed for reference.
The Corps is seeking a customer orientated and motivated manager that will bring previous knowledge, innovation, and creativity to this program.
SECTION III- RELEVANT EXPERIENCE/PAST AND PRESENT PERFORMANCE IN NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
RELEVANT PROJECT EXPERIENCE. Provide the following information on projects for which you acted as prime developer. Identified projects must demonstrate an ability to perform within a program of this type.
a. List at least three (3) but no more than five (5) major projects or programs that your Non-Profit Educational Institution/University successfully completed or participated in; or you have currently in progress over the past five (5) years.
b. For each project listed above please provide the following:
1. The name, address, type, and size (in acres) of each project;
2. The name and address of the owner of each project;
3. A description of how the project achieved an acceptable level of quality in the project planning, creation, design, and implementation;
4. Your role and services provided for each project;
5. The name, address, telephone, e-mail, and fax numbers of a point of contact with the client or other stakeholder for each project (This individual must be familiar with the project and the role of applicant played in the project and should be able to respond to the Corps inquiries); and,
6. Any other pertinent information to sufficiently describe each project.
The Army may also research additional databases to obtain further past performance history. This will allow us to look at our past performance databases.
SECTION IV- FINANCIAL CAPACITY. Describe and/or document your strategy to obtain financing for this project including anticipated costs.