The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Langley Research Center (LaRC) has a continuing requirement for Earth and Space Science Evaluations, Assessments, Studies, Services and Support (EASSS).

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• SOMA is located at NASA LaRC and is responsible for the management and oversight of evaluations, assessments, and studies for the NASA Headquarters Science Mission Directorate (SMD)
• The scope of this contract will include evaluations, assessments, studies, services, and support for SOMA and other NASA organizations as designated in individual task orders
• Interested offerors/vendors should submit a capability statement depicting required capabilities in the following areas:
  • CONFLICTS OF INTEREST:
    • Interested offerors/vendors are advised that the resulting solicitation will contain stringent requirements concerning avoiding/mitigating/neutralizing Organizational Conflict of Interest (OCI), avoiding/mitigating/neutralizing Personal Conflict of Interest (PCI), non-disclosure of sensitive and proprietary information, and limitations on future contracting
  • EVALUATIONS:
    • Proposal/Concept Study Report (CSR) evaluations are conducted in accordance with the NASA Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Supplement PART 1872 ACQUISITION OF FLIGHT INVESTIGATIONS
    • Evaluations for multiple solicitations may overlap, which will require staffing of a large number (approximately 200) of panel positions simultaneously
    • Panels will be principally made up of Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), many of whom will be occasional or part-time consultants and some of whom may be non-U.S. Persons
    • A typical evaluation task order requires the Contractor to staff one panel, which may comprise multiple sub-panels, with expert panel/sub-panel leads, full members, and specialist members to evaluate proposals/CSRs for space science missions/investigations, the results of which will play an integral role in selection/down-selection (KDP A/KDP B) decisions by NASA SMD
    • Acquisition Webpages for recent solicitations and a planning list for applicable SMD solicitations are available at https://soma.larc.nasa.gov/
    • A NASA Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) acts as the NASA Evaluation Panel Chair and will provide instructions to the evaluation panel members on NASA’s evaluation standards, definitions, and processes to be used
    • The NASA Evaluation Panel Chair also provides guidance on the format of the evaluation findings to ensure that they meet NASA standards and are suitable for use in briefing NASA Headquarters personnel and for debriefing the proposers
    • Each panel member evaluates their assigned proposals/CSRs and submits individual initial evaluation comments via a NASA-provided secure web site
    • The panel engages in a series of web conferences and/or teleconferences over a specified period of time to draft strengths and weaknesses findings based on the applicable evaluation criterion or criteria defined in the solicitation
    • The draft findings are then posted on the NASA-provided secure web site
    • All panel members typically gather together physically to discuss evaluation findings at a plenary evaluation meeting(s)
    • In the case of CSR evaluations, a site visit for each submitted CSR, comprising two full days over three days and two nights, will require participation by roughly half of the panel members
    • Panel members will be polled on their assessment of the overall risk ratings or grades for each proposal/CSR at the plenary/final plenary meeting
  • ASSESSMENTS:
    • Assessments are typically independent reviews of missions/investigations and programs that evaluate progress at major milestones in accordance with specified procedures (e.g., NASA Policy Requirement (NPR) 7123.1B, NPR 7120.5F, NASA Special Publication NASA/SP-20230001306 NASA Standing Review Board Handbook)
    • Assessments include analyzing technical, management, cost, schedule, and other aspects of SMD missions/investigations and programs, as well as other NASA missions/investigations and programs
  • STUDIES:
    • Studies are typically analyses where the conclusions or recommendations may affect assessments and proposal/CSR evaluations
    • Studies include analyzing scientific, technical, management, schedule, cost, and other aspects of SMD missions/investigations and programs, as well as other NASA missions/investigations and programs
  • LOGISTICS, FACILITIES AND INFORMATION SUPPORT:
    • The Contractor will be required to provide logistics, facilities, and information support necessary to perform evaluations, assessments, and studies as required by individual task orders
  • OTHER CONSIDERATIONS:
    • The Contractor will be required to maintain a Facility Clearance at the Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmentalized Information (TS/SCI) level with no safeguarding required
    • The Contractor’s work will require access to classified information at a Government or other applicable facility to be identified on the Department of Defense Contract Security Classification Specification, DD Form 254
    • [If a firm does not have the required Facility Clearance, it will be sponsored to obtain the Facility Clearance as long as the firm is able to meet the approval requirements and maintain them]