University of Illinois - Student Research Support - IDIQ

The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Engineering Research and Development Center-Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) has a need to establish a contract vehicle to foster the maintenance of essential engineering and research and development (R&D) capabilities that can be provided by the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign (UIUC), an educational institution located in the same city as ERDC-CERL. ERDC-CERL intends to award an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract with a five-year ordering duration to UIUC on the basis of other than full and open competition in accordance with FAR Part 6.302-3. Task orders under this IDIQ will be issued for temporary and intermittent student research support services in accordance with 10 USC 4143 – Research and Development Laboratories: Contracts for Services of University Students. The temporary scientific and technical support that UIUC student research assistants can provide to CERL includes:

1. The performance of routine maintenance, cleaning, and regular calibration of CERL’s wide inventory of high caliber research equipment and general laboratory facilities.


2. Assistance with establishing research studies, and the basic maintenance of those studies over the applicable duration. This includes collecting and documenting data, performing initial and theoretical analysis of that data for CERL researcher further analysis and review, performing associated literary and other exploratory studies, and drafting presentations of findings.


3. Assistance in the technology demonstrations that CERL research present to the sponsors of their research and the general scientific community.

Task orders awarded for these requirements will be subject to DFARS 237.73 and will be for student appointments no longer than one academic year in length. All students appointed to perform services under this contract must be full-time enrolled in a degree-seeking program and show that they are in good standing with their program/department at the University. Services provided under this contract must be for scientific or engineering work in support of the mission of ERDC-CERL. Students will not be involved in the performance of administrative or clerical work, except for those deemed incidental to the assigned research. Students will not be involved in the Government procurement process in any way. Students will not be allowed to operate Government vehicles. Any computer equipment or other government property necessary for performance under this contract will remain accountable to the government. Student appointments will not be used to circumvent personnel ceilings or to provide for an increase in the civilian workforce.

ERDC-CERL also seeks capability statements from other accredited educational institutions with scientific and engineering-based degree programs that are interested in establishing similar contractual relationships to provide services of University Students. Student appointment opportunities for institutions not in close proximity to the ERDC-CERL campus would likely be limited to primarily summer semester appointments, and therefore would be anticipated to have a significantly lower capacity than what is possible with the UIUC as a local institution. A separate procurement for primarily summer student appointments is anticipated, and any statements received will be used as market research for that procurement.

This is not a request for proposal and in no way obligates the Government to award any contract.

Any interested party that believes they can fulfill this requirement should submit a capability statement to be reviewed. All submissions will be considered, however there is no guarantee that submissions in response to this notice will in any way alter the Government’s acquisition strategy.

Please provide responses to this notice no later than the date listed above:

CERL-CT-QUOTES@usace.army.mil

Telephone responses will not be accepted.

Responses to this notice will not be considered as a response to any solicitation, a request to be added to a prospective offerors list, or to receive a copy of any solicitation. A determination by the Government not to compete the contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement.