General Information
*Funding Opportunity No: W912HZ-16-SOI-0025
Funding Agency: Engineering Research Development Center
Funding Information: Approximately $275,000.00
Project to be Initiated in: 2016
Period of Performance: 3 years
Opportunity Description
Background: The Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2000 authorized the CERP as a framework for modifications and operational changes to the Central and Southern Florida Project needed to restore the south Florida ecosystem. Provisions within WRDA 2000 provided for specific authorization for an adaptive assessment and monitoring program. This system status assessment will provide an accounting of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) Monitoring and Assessment Plan (MAP) program. The goal of the MAP is to document status and trends of the defining attributes and key indicator species of the South Florida ecosystem, as well as address key questions (uncertainties) about achieving ecosystem restoration goals. A comprehensive understanding of the system enables the successful use of adaptive management principles to track and guide restoration activities to ultimately achieve restoration success. The updates will be provided on both a system wide and a regional level. The four regions are Lake Okeechobee, Northern Estuaries, Greater Everglades and Southern Coastal Systems.
Brief Description of Anticipated Work: The purpose of this project is to evaluate recent scientific findings that demonstrate progress towards restoration goals, identify research gaps related to the operation of the ecosystem, and to make recommendations for management decision based on those findings. This system status assessment will be used to convey these findings for the system
wide and regions of the Everglades to public resource managers and stakeholders.
Specifically, the objectives include:
1) Objective 1: Identify the goals of the system status assessment, and outline the structure and communication strategy for the report.
2) Objective 2: Utilize state-of-the-science ecological models and techniques to conceptualize the system functions and synthesize across indicators, identify terms of reference for work of regional teams, and identify indicators to be used in grading the whole-system.
3) Objective 3: Evaluate each of the four regional systems by identifying indicators to be used in grading each region and integrating and assessing regional data provided by regional coordinators for report card development.
4) Objective 4: Develop the draft and final report, web material to illustrate data, analysis, synthesis, conclusions, and recommendations at various levels of detail and for multiple audiences, including a summary report that would be appropriate for inclusion in the CERP 2020 report to congress.
Eligibility Information
Vendor must be a non-federal partner of the South Florida and Caribbean CESU Unit willing to accept the currently approved indirect cost rate of 17.5%. Successful applicants should also have experience in evaluating large environmental data sets and developing scientific conclusions for large scale ecosystem restoration programs, knowledge of ecosystems across the South Florida landscape, and with various ecosystem complexity and characteristics. The candidates must have expert knowledge in assessing research products and coordinating with scientists to develop large system wide reports and websites. The candidates will be required to prepare a Statement of Work and Work Plan regarding the report writing and describing the syntheses processes across the MAP research projects to be conducted. The candidates will also be required to submit a scoping report, workshop coordination materials, an indicator and data selection report, a draft synthesis report, a final synthesis report, and a website to communicate the monitoring, data collection and analyses, and assessments regarding the impacts of CERP implementation on the regions of CERP.
Application Process
Please provide the following via e-mail attachment to: Deberay.R.Carmichael@usace.army.mil
(Maximum length: 2 pages, single-spaced 12 pt. font).
1. Name, Organization and Contact Information
2. Brief Statement of Qualifications (including): a. Biographical Sketch,
b. Relevant past projects and clients with brief descriptions of these projects,
c. Staff, faculty or students available to work on this project and their areas of expertise,
d. Any brief description of capabilities to successfully complete the project you may wish to add
(e.g. equipment, laboratory facilities, greenhouse facilities, field facilities, etc.).
Note: A proposed budget is NOT requested at this time.
See attachment for further details.