National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Southern Regional Weather Records Center (SRWRC)

Southern Regional Weather Records Center Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Performance Work Statement (PWS) 1. Introduction and Background The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) is to provide and ensure timely access to global environmental data from satellites and other sources to promote, protect, and enhance the Nation's economy, security, environment, and quality of life. NESDIS acquires and manages the Nation's operational environmental satellites, provides data and information services to numerous end users, and conducts related research. The National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is the official source for historical and near- real time atmospheric and space weather, climate, coasts, oceanographic, and geophysical environmental data and information, and supports the NESDIS mission. NCEI headquarters are located in Asheville, NC, with additional major presences in Boulder, CO; Silver Spring, MD; and Stennis Space Center, MS; as well as regional staff stationed around the country. NCEI provides end-to-end capacity for acquisition, stewardship, access, services, and assessment of its holdings in support of NOAA’s mission to “to understand and predict changes in climate, weather, oceans, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information…” among others. To better support its users, NCEI uses a three-tiered program for environmental services that leverages the expertise and capabilities of partners at the national, regional, and state levels. At the first tier, NCEI provides national-level environmental monitoring and environmental data archiving, products, and services in response to national economic and environmental priorities. At the second tier, NCEI supports a Regional Climate Services (RCS) program that makes relevant and actionable products and services accessible to a range of place-based private and public sector customers. At the third tier, NCEI partners with state climate offices and the American Association of State Climatologists (AASC) to promote data access and capture user requirements. Since 1990, NCEI’s RCS program has traditionally supported Regional Weather Records Centers (RWRCs) established at Public Universities within six geographic regions. For more than forty years, Regional Centers have produced and delivered environmental data, products, information, and services – hereafter collectively termed “products and services” – and captured user needs. By transforming, tailoring, and augmenting NCEI’s products and services, the RWRCs provide a bridge between NCEI and regional user communities, including the private sector. The RWRCs support NOAA’s mission to advance understanding of long-term weather variability and impacts through user engagement and the translation of data into usable products and services for decision makers. RWRCs support NCEI’s effort to understand user needs for environmental information, and to translate those needs into requirements for the development of future products and services. This support complements the work of NCEI’s Information Services Branch which ensures RWRC activities align with NCEI strategic direction. To maintain a cost-effective program, RWRCs consider existing and planned capabilities of other NOAA and non-NOAA environmental service providers to avoid redundancy. RWRCs share their expertise in observational networks, data stewardship, and information systems design with NCEI, the National -- 1 of 7 -- Weather Service (NWS), Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and other NOAA programs and partners to ensure an integrated approach to environmental information analysis and dissemination. The RWRC Program directly supports the following legislative mandates and strategic plans: ● National Climate Program Act of 1978, whose mandate is to “…establish a national climate program that will assist the Nation and the world to understand and respond to natural and man- induced climate processes and their implications.” 15 U.S.C. §§ 2901- 08 (1978) ● U.S. Global Change Research Act of 1990, which calls for the Federal Government to “…combine and interpret data from various sources to produce information readily usable by policymakers attempting to formulate effective strategies for preventing, mitigating, and adapting to the effects of global change.” 15 U.S.C. §§ 2921, 2931-38 (1990) ● NOAA's Mission to understand and predict changes in climate and weather, and to share that knowledge and information with others. ● NESDIS Mission to provide secure and timely access to global environmental data and information from satellites and other sources to promote and protect the nation's security, environment, economy, and quality of life. ● FY24-FY28 NCEI Strategic Plan, which includes a strategic priority to “prioritize constituent outcomes”, with a supporting activity of “sustaining core authoritative data, products, and services.” (2024) 2. Scope of Work A. Geographic Scope This contract is for the Southern Regional Weather Records Center (SRWRC), which is composed of TN, MS, LA, AR, OK, and TX. The contractor providing the SRWRC capability to a region shall be physically located within the region and must serve all states, territories, and U.S.-affiliated islands in the region. An RWRC with unique capabilities may work with other RWRCs to meet user needs beyond its immediate region. B. Program Scope The SRWRC shall provide products and services to address regional weather records needs and issues in the context of NCEI’s broader environmental information responsibilities. This will include leveraging NOAA’s capabilities and expertise by transforming its satellite, in situ, radar, and paleoclimate data and products into regionally-tailored products and services, as appropriate, that meet the needs of users and partners and promote resilience and prosperity. The SRWRC will focus its wor…