Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
Geographic Information System (GIS) support, prepa
Department of the Interior · U.S. Geological Survey
AI summaryOnly firms in the Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) program can bid: this is a competitive 8(a) set-aside. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) wants geographic information system (GIS) mapping support and graphics for its petroleum assessment project, with the place of performance still to be decided at award. It is one firm-fixed-price contract with a base year, four option years and a six-month extension. The response due date is November 10, 2026, 12:00 PM Mountain. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Only firms in the Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) program can bid: this is a competitive 8(a) set-aside. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) wants geographic information system (GIS) mapping support and graphics for its petroleum assessment project, with the place of performance still to be decided at award. It is one firm-fixed-price contract with a base year, four option years and a six-month extension. The response due date is November 10, 2026, 12:00 PM Mountain.
Who can bid (4)
- Must be an eligible firm in the SBA 8(a) program: this is a competitive 8(a) set-aside, and the award runs through SBA's 8(a) subcontracting structure
- Small business under the size standard the solicitation gives for its NAICS code (541370 Surveying and Mapping, $19M)
- Comply with the limitations on subcontracting clause (FAR 52.219-14), which caps how much of the work can go to firms that are not similarly situated
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- Pay Service Contract Act wages: the wage determination number and date are still to be filled in, and the offeror finds the wage rates at SAM.gov
How to submit: Email to Jenn Rollin at jennifer_rollin@ios.doi.gov; only electronic submissions are considered. Put 140GG027R0001 - GIS in the subject line.. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (8)
From the version posted Oct 20, 2026.
- Serious: 8(a) program firms only. Only firms in the SBA 8(a) program can win. A small business without 8(a) status cannot bid.
- Worth checking: NAICS code differs between SAM.gov and the solicitation. SAM.gov lists 561110 Office Administrative Services, but the solicitation says 541370 Surveying and Mapping with a $19M size standard. Ask the contracting officer which code governs.
- Worth checking: Place of performance not decided. The place of work is to be decided at award, yet the work includes weekly face-to-face meetings with the Project Chief. Bidders can't tell whether on-site or Denver-area staffing is needed.
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- Worth checking: Service Contract Act wages must be worked out by the bidder. The wage determination number and date are still blank. The offeror must find the wage rates on SAM.gov and include them as Attachment 1, which affects pricing.
- Worth checking: Long contract with a capped extension price. Pricing covers the base year, four options and a 6-month extension, and the extension may not exceed half the Option Year 4 price. Price the whole term up front.
- Minor: Questions were due Oct 27, 2026. Check the amendments for the agency's answers.
- Minor: Heavy workload and strict quality targets. The project expects about 30 assessments and 30 publications per year, and the quality plan sets a 95% acceptance target with zero tolerance for material scientific inaccuracies.
- Minor: Government data and information restrictions. The contractor may not release project information without Contracting Officer approval and must protect other companies' proprietary data.
Read from the notice and 1 attachment. Show which files.
- Sol_140GG027R0001.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- GIS support for each oil and gas assessment: pull and map data from proprietary databases (S&P, Nehring, GeoMark and others), and scan or digitize maps and data layers
- Finalize map boundaries after each Geology Review Meeting and allocate oil and gas data to assessment units, countries, states, land types and ecosystems
- Store and archive files in the cloud system and on USGS servers as the Central Energy Research Science Center (CERSC) requires
- Prepare maps for Fact Sheets, Data Releases with metadata, briefings, presentations and other publications
- Prepare graphics files (maps, redrawn scans, measured sections, well logs, seismic data) for presentations and for USGS and outside publications
- Prepare large-format paper or online posters, plus summary bubble maps, tables and graphics for online use and congressional requests
- Meet weekly face-to-face with the Project Chief; the project expects an average of 30 province assessments and about 30 publications per year
- Contract type
- Firm-fixed-price (FFP: one set price, whatever the work ends up costing), commercial non-personal services, single award
- Period of performance
- Base year November 17, 2026 to November 16, 2027, then four one-year options (Option Year 1 through Option Year 4, ending November 16, 2031) and a 6-month extension to May 16, 2032 (about 5.5 years in all)
- Place of performance
- TBD at time of award
- Estimated value
- Not stated
- Contract vehicle
- Competitive 8(a) set-aside, awarded through SBA's 8(a) program (special 8(a) contract conditions in FAR 52.219-11 and 52.219-12)
- How they'll choose
- Best value (FAR Part 12): the four non-price factors together are significantly more important than price. Price becomes the deciding factor between proposals judged essentially equal in technical merit.
- Offers due
- November 10, 2026, 12:00 PM Mountain (2:00 PM Eastern)
- How to submit
- Email to Jenn Rollin at jennifer_rollin@ios.doi.gov; only electronic submissions are considered. Put 140GG027R0001 - GIS in the subject line.
What they'll judge offers on
- Factor 1 Technical Approach and Capabilities: how you will do GIS data acquisition and management, digitization, data allocation, GIS deliverables, cartography, graphics production, publication and presentation support, workload prioritization, and response to changing or urgent requests; shows understanding of the project's assessment method
- Factor 2 Personnel and Staffing: proposed personnel and résumés, relevant GIS, geospatial data, geological or petroleum data, cartography, graphics and publication experience, each key person's responsibilities and level of effort
- Factor 3 Relevant Experience: up to three recent, relevant projects similar in size, scope, complexity and technical needs
- Factor 4 Past Performance: recent and relevant contracts, references and Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) information; no past performance gets a neutral rating
- Factor 5 Price/Cost: firm-fixed-price proposal for the full period, judged separately from the technical factors, for fairness, reasonableness and balance
What to include when you submit
- Send a firm-fixed-price proposal by completing all applicable line items on the Standard Form 18 (SF 18, the request-for-quotation form) for the base year, all option years and the 6-month extension, with the total contract value
- Price fully burdened (wages, overhead, general and administrative expenses, key personnel and profit); no rounding errors, exact to 2 decimal places per line item
- Price the 6-month extension at no more than half of the Option Year 4 price; keep the proposal valid for 60 calendar days from submission
- Include the Service Contract Act wage determination findings as Attachment 1 - Wage Determination in the proposal package
- Factor 3: give up to three (3) examples of recent, relevant projects, each with customer, period of performance, scope, tasks performed, approximate workload and deliverables
- Factor 2: name the proposed personnel, include résumés, and describe each key person's responsibilities and level of effort
- Address Technical Approach and Capabilities (Factor 1) and Past Performance (Factor 4) in the proposal
- Complete all provisions with fill-ins (representations and certifications such as the small business representations and the security prohibitions certification); incomplete documentation may lead to rejection
- For each commercially available information and communication technology item offered, include an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) written with the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) 2.1 or later
- If you cannot invoice through the Treasury's Invoice Processing Platform (IPP), send a written waiver request to the Contracting Officer with the proposal
After award, you must have
- Contractor employees complete DOI computer security awareness training before getting access to DOI data or a user account, renewed annually, and sign a Statement of Responsibility From Sol_140GG027R0001.pdf:
Training must be renewed annually.
Current contractor
No incumbent, previous contract number, or recompete is named.
Not in the notice text
- Place of performance is TBD at time of award, and whether work is on-site at the Denver Federal Center or off-site is not stated
- Whether the contractor must hold its own subscriptions to the proprietary databases (S&P, Nehring, GeoMark) or the Government provides access is not stated
- The Service Contract Act wage determination number and date are blank (TBD); the offeror must look up the rates on SAM.gov
- The Government's estimate or budget for the contract is not stated
- Page limits for the proposal are not stated
Eligibility and how to respond
- Only firms in SBA's 8(a) program can bid as the prime contractor. Not in the 8(a) program? How the 8(a) program works. More open 8(a) set-asides under NAICS 561110
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Email to Jenn Rollin at jennifer_rollin@ios.doi.gov; only electronic submissions are considered. Put 140GG027R0001 - GIS in the subject line. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
- Service contracts usually set minimum pay rates (the Service Contract Act). Price the labor with the SCA price calculator.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 20, 2026
- Notice type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- Office
- USGS Contracting Activity, Reston, VA
- Product/service code
- R499 · Support – Professional: Other
- Business type
- Administrative & staffing support (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 561110)
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
- Open 8(a) set-aside contracts
Terms on this notice: Solicitation, 8(a) program, Set-aside
Full notice text from SAM.gov
Geographic Information System (GIS) and preparation of graphics for presentations and online or print publications services.
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