Cultural Resources On-Site Technical Support Hawaii | W9126G 21 2 SOI 3864

Opportunity Information: Apply for W9126G 21 2 SOI 3864

The Cultural Resources On-Site Technical Support Hawaii opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number W9126G-21-2-SOI-3864) is a Department of Defense cooperative agreement effort administered through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Fort Worth District, on behalf of U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii (USAG-HI). It was issued as a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) for a project starting in 2021, with the intent to identify a qualified CESU partner that can provide day-to-day, on-site technical support to the Army's cultural resources program on the islands of Oahu and Hawaii. Rather than requesting a full proposal up front, the government first collects short qualification packages and then invites the strongest respondents to submit full technical and cost proposals.

Eligibility is limited to non-federal partners that are members of specific Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU) regions: Gulf Coast, Hawaii-Pacific, Rocky Mountains, Desert Southwest, and/or Colorado Plateau. The award instrument is a CESU Cooperative Agreement for Management of Cultural Resources under 10 U.S.C. 2684, which is the statutory authority that allows the Department of Defense to enter into cooperative agreements to preserve, manage, maintain, and improve cultural resources on military installations. The announcement also notes CESU administrative conditions, including that awards can be administered through a CESU upon mutual agreement and authorization to apply the CESU Network indirect cost rate (identified as 17.5 percent in the notice).

The core purpose of the project is to supply “critical on-site technical support” to USAG-HI Cultural Resources Managers (CRMs) across the full range of cultural resources management responsibilities. USAG-HI runs two physically separated cultural resources offices: one at Schofield Barracks on Oahu and one at Pohakuloa Training Area (PTA) on the Island of Hawaii. The selected cooperator is expected to place capable staff at both locations and be able to function in a fast-moving operational environment where mission requirements and compliance deadlines can be demanding. Beyond helping the Army meet its legal and policy responsibilities, the cooperative agreement is also framed as a workforce-development partnership, giving the non-federal partner and its staff (and potentially faculty or students) the chance to work side-by-side with federal historic preservation specialists.

The work described blends office and field activities and spans the typical lifecycle of cultural resources stewardship: identifying and documenting resources, monitoring and protecting sites, producing compliance documentation, maintaining records and databases, managing artifacts and collections, supporting consultation and outreach, and helping implement treatment measures. The compliance landscape referenced in the announcement is broad and includes the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA), curation standards in 36 CFR Part 79, and environmental review requirements such as NEPA, as well as Hawaii-specific requirements like the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) and Hawaii historic preservation law (HRS Chapter 6E). The Army’s own policies and planning documents also apply, including AR 200-1 and the USAG-HI Integrated Cultural Resources Management Plans (ICRMPs), plus any relevant existing agreements executed by the Army/DoD.

The Statement of Objectives breaks the effort into seven mandatory tasks and two optional tasks. Mandatory Task 1 focuses on cultural resources identification and documentation; Task 2 on NHPA compliance support; Task 3 on compliance with other authorities (such as NAGPRA/ARPA/NEPA and state law); Task 4 on monitoring and protection; Task 5 on outreach and consultation support; Task 6 on records management; and Task 7 on collections and curation management. Optional Task 8 adds cultural resources GIS support (specifically mentioned for the Island of Hawaii during the base period), and Optional Task 9 covers special projects, described as including an ethnographic study and an archaeological salvage project on Oahu. The notice emphasizes that tasks are not siloed, and staff may need to contribute across multiple task areas, although the Army anticipates that certain roles may be best filled by specialists such as archaeologists, architectural historians, curators, and archivists.

Field conditions are explicitly described as potentially strenuous and sometimes hazardous, including work in areas with unexploded ordnance (UXO). The Army indicates it will provide required UXO awareness training before cooperator staff are authorized to work in UXO hazard areas. Travel between islands may be needed to provide on-site coverage, and while most work is during normal business hours, some activities may require support outside standard hours, including weekends, holidays, early mornings, or late evenings, which is typical for mission-driven field access windows and compliance support tied to training and construction schedules.

Funding expectations in the narrative portion of the announcement indicate approximately $1,438,600 for the mandatory tasks during the 12-month base period, plus approximately $107,000 for Optional Task 8 (GIS support on Hawaii Island) and approximately $295,000 for Optional Task 9 (the two special projects on Oahu) during the base period if exercised. The public opportunity metadata also lists an “Award Ceiling” of $631,950 and “Expected Awards: 1,” which suggests there may be separate posting fields or internal structuring that does not perfectly mirror the narrative breakdown; applicants would typically treat the narrative funding expectations as the best indicator of the program’s intended scope while clarifying any discrepancies during the invited full proposal phase. The period of performance is structured as a 12-month base period with four additional 12-month option periods anticipated, contingent on funding availability. Optional tasks can be exercised at any time during the overall performance window and would run for 12 months from the date exercised.

For the initial response, applicants are asked to submit a Statement of Interest/Qualifications by email as a 5-6 page maximum document (single-spaced, 12-point font). The package should include basic organizational contact information, a brief qualification narrative, biographical sketches, relevant past projects and clients, identification of staff/faculty/students available and their expertise, and a concise description of capabilities (personnel, specialized expertise, equipment, labs, etc.). Importantly, the RSOI asks for a project management approach and a project delivery/quality assurance approach mapped to the tasks in the Statement of Objectives, covering how the team would organize, staff, control information, ensure quality, and manage costs. A full technical proposal and budget are explicitly not requested at this stage; those would come only after the government reviews the SOIs and invites selected parties to submit full proposals.

Selection at the SOI stage is handled by an evaluation board at the receiving installation or activity, which will assess which submissions best align with the program objectives and demonstrate relevant experience and capability in the required areas. Questions and submissions are directed to the USACE project and grants points of contact listed in the notice: Greg Bonnell (Project Manager, USACE) and Alisa Marshall (Grants Specialist, USACE). The posting indicates the RSOI would remain open at least 30 days, with responses due by 5:00 PM Central Time on June 21, 2021, after which the government would decide which respondents to invite for full proposals.

• The Department of Defense, Fort Worth District in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cultural Resources On-Site Technical Support Hawaii" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.300.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 21, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 21, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $631,950.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for W9126G 21 2 SOI 3864

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: