***NOAA'S ACQUISITION & GRANTS OFFICE, WESTERN ACQUISITION DIVISION-BOULDER, ALASKA FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER (AFSC) INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE, ON A SOLE SOURCE BASIS, UNDER AUTHORITY OF FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), WITH ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY, OUT OF TEMPE, AZ TO PROVIDE GULF OF ALASKA CLIMATE SURVEY DATA AND ANALYSIS TO COMPLETE STAGES 2 AND 3 OF ONGOING RESEARCH.

***THE SOLE SOURCE DETERMINATION IS BASED ON THE NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION'S (NOAA) REQUIREMENT THAT ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY (ASU) IS THE SOLE PROVIDER WHO CAN PROVIDE THIS GULF OF ALASKA CLIMATE SURVEY DATA AND ANALYSIS BECAUSE THEY HAVE WORKED WITH AFSC TO DEVELOP THE MAIN DATASET THAT IS PRESENTLY BEING USED IN STAGE 1 OF THIS PROJECT. THIS CONTRACT IS TO CONTINUE RESEARCH AND COMPLETE STAGES 2 AND 3 OF THE CLIMATE SURVEY.

THE TASKS FOR THIS PROJECT INVOLVE DATA ANALYSIS AND SUPPORT FOR THE DESIGN OF A SURVEY TO EXAMINE EQUITY IN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION STRATEGIES OF ALASKA FISHERIES STAKEHOLDERS. THIS IS WORK FOR THE GOACLIM2 PROJECT AT NOAA AFSC, EXTENDING AN UNDERSTANDING OF FISHERMEN'S CHOICE SET OF ADAPTATION STRATEGIES DEVELOPED UNDER GOACLIML TO PREDICTIVE MODELS OF THOSE CHOICES IN RELATION TO SPECIFIC STRESSORS. IN THIS EARLIER WORK, THEY CONSTRUCTED THE DATASET FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES (INCLUDING AKFIN LANDINGS DATA, ADFG PERMITTING DATA, AND COMMUNITY INFORMATION), SUMMARIZED THE DATA, AND USED THE DATA IN QUANTITATIVE MODELING (KROETZ ET AL. 2019). AS A RESULT, ASU IS FAMILIAR WITH AND HIGHLY-QUALIFIED TO CONTINUE WORKING WITH THE DATA. ASU’s UNIQUE KNOWLEDGE OF THE DATA AND THE METHODS NECESSARY FOR THIS WORK WILL ALLOW WORK TO IMMEDIATELY COMMENCE ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2023 AND WILL MEET TIMELINES AS SPECIFIED IN THE STATEMENT OF WORK.

ASU STAFF HAVE THE APPROPRIATE EXPERTISE TO COMPLETE STAGES 2 AND 3 OF THE PROJECT. ASU CURRENTLY HAS STAFF SERVING ON A NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE-SPONSORED NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE PANEL ON ASSESSING EQUITY IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF FISHERIES MANAGEMENT BENEFITS: DATA AND INFORMATION AVAILABILITY AND IS AT THE FOREFRONT OF APPLIED INTERDISCIPLINARY WORK TO IMPROVE KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO EQUITY IN FISHERIES. ADDITIONALLY, ASU STAFF HAS DEEP KNOWLEDGE RELATED TO ALASKA FISHERIES THAT WILL SUPPORT CONTEXT-SPECIFIC KNOWLEDGE BEING INTEGRATED THROUGHOUT ALL STAGES OF THE PROJECT.

ASU IS UNIQUELY QUALIFIED TO PERFORM ALL ASPECTS OF THIS WORK, HAS KNOWLEDGE OF THE REQUISITE DATA FOR THE ANALYSIS, KNOWLEDGE OF ALASKA FISHERIES AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS, AND EXPERTISE WITH STATISTICAL AND ANALYTICAL TOOLS THAT WILL BE APPLIED IN THIS PROJECT ENSURE THAT THE PROJECT WILL BE COMPLETED ON TIME.

ANY NEW CONTRACTOR SELECTED FOR THIS PROJECT WOULD LIKELY NEED CONSIDERABLE TIME TO SUFFICIENTLY UNDERSTAND THE DATA, THE FISHERIES AND MANAGEMENT CONTEXT, AND THE ANALYTICAL TOOLS NEEDED, WHICH WOULD ADD CONSIDERABLE EXPENSE AND TIME TO THE PROJECT.

***THIS NOTICE OF INTENT IS NOT A REQUEST FOR COMPETITIVE PROPOSALS AND NO SOLICITATION PACKAGE IS AVAILABLE. HOWEVER, FIRMS THAT BELIEVE THEY CAN FULLY MEET THE GOVERNMENT'S REQUIREMENTS MAY SUBMIT SUBSTANTIATING DOCUMENTATION IN WRITING TO THE IDENTIFIED POINT OF CONTACT WITHIN 15 DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION OF THIS SYNOPSIS. 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. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN RESPONSE TO THIS NOTICE.