*** National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Acquisition & Grants Office, Western Acquisition Division-Boulder, intends to negotiate, on a sole source basis, under authority of FAR 13.106-1(b)(1), with The Oceanography Society (TOS) of Rockville, Maryland for the support of a publication for Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) 50th Anniversary publication.

***The sole source determination is based on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA), Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), PMEL requirement that TOS is a proprietary collaboration source of numerous special issues focused on a range of ocean science topics and haver high editorial and design quality. Three recent examples are “The New Arctic Ocean,” “The Marine Biodiversity Observation Network,” and “the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative: Ten Years of Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science.” TOS has also published issues celebrating institution’s accomplishments, such as “Celebrating 30 Years of Ocean Science and Technology at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.” These issues serve as models for the planning and production the special issue celebrating PMEL’s fiftieth anniversary. The same management, editorial, and design team has been in place since 2005, ensuring consistency and quality control over each publication. Preparation and publishing of special issue of science journal with content focused on science and research of Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in commemoration of labs 50-year anniversary best practices endorsed by Ocean Decade actions and priorities as described in the NOAA Strategic Plan. The services are necessary as they will inform both national and global stakeholders of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), which is an international initiative that NOAA Research leads on behalf of the U.S. Government. No other source would be able to provide the information TOS has compiled which is proprietary.

The Period of performance is from the date of award for 24 months or sooner.

***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.