Preseason Incident Blanket Purchase Agreements (I-BPA) and Virtual Incident Procurement (VIPR)

1. Preseason Incident Blanket Purchase Agreements (I-BPA) and Virtual Incident Procurement (VIPR) February 2015

2. I-BPA Program Overview • I-BPAs are competitively awarded pre-season agreements for equipment, supplies, or services to be used on fire and all-hazard incidents; they largely replaced EERAs • VIPR is the web-based Forest Service acquisition application designed to solicit, award, and manage I-BPAs Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

3. National Solicitation Plan for I-BPAs:National and Regional Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

4. National Solicitation Plan for I-BPAs:Local Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/compsolplan.php Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

5. Scope of Solicitations I-BPAs are solicited on three primary levels as identified in the National Solicitation Plan for I-BPAs: 1) National • one solicitation nationwide 2) Regional • one solicitation in each region • Two regions can partner to issue inter-regional solicitations as appropriate 3) Local • solicitation level and acquisition cycle determined by the geographic area • can be done by the forest, zone, or region • will vary and can be different from region to region Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/solicitations.php Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

6. 2015 Resources Solicitations for 2015 • Regional Templates = • Gray Water Truck; Trailer Mounted Handwashing Station; Potable Water Truck • Mobile Laundry • Portable Toilet; Wheelchair Accessible Portable Toilet; Portable Handwashing Station • Local Templates = • Chipper • Miscellaneous Heavy Equipment (Feller Buncher; Mulcher/Masticator (Boom Mounted); Strip Mulcher/Masticator; Road Grader; Skidder) Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

7. 2016 Resources Solicitations for 2016 • Regional Templates = • Heavy Equipment with Water (Pumper Cat, Skidgine, and Softtrack) • Refrigerated Trailer • Water Handling Equipment (Engine, Support Water Tender, and Tactical Water Tender) • Weed Washing Unit Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

8. 2016 Resources Solicitations for 2016 • Example of evolving specifications for Refrigerated Trailer Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service OSHA Compliant, but not very functional OSHA Compliant, better, but still need platform Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

9. Scope of Program • VIPR Activity Report (as of 11/28/2014) Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

10. Participants in the I-BPA Template Development & Solicitation Process • FESSAA • CETT • Boards • Regional COs • Vendors Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

11. Fire Equipment, Services & Supply Acquisition Analysis (FESSAA) Team • Congressionally designated • Forest Service Acquisition Management (AQM) virtual team made up of 3 Procurement Analysts and 2 Management Analysts • Team provides national direction, guidance, and oversight to the I-BPA program, VIPR, and other acquisition-related activities • Works closely with Fire and Aviation Management (FAM) Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service • http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/fessaa.php Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

12. Contract Equipment Task Team (CETT) • Under the direction of WO FAM • Comprised of reps from geographic fire operations, equipment specialists, AQM, a WO-FAM Ops liaison and a FESSAA liaison • Mission is to develop and update equipment and service specifications; provide information to the field on cost and needs analysis; and facilitate information exchange between the field, Fire & Aviation Management, and FESSAA Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

13. Template Review • Solicitations are reviewed in their final year of the acquisition cycle, in most cases year 3; when the CETT reviews the solicitations, we’ve had two (2) full seasons to work with the templates. Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/solicitations.php Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

14. Template Review – continued • Specifications are fairly mature so we’re not seeing many major changes, most are minor and oftentimes just a slight edit to specification language. • Changes to the templates are processed via a Change Request process. Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

15. I-BPA Policy Board and VIPR CCB (Change Control Board) • Forest Service boards chartered nationally by AQM and FAM to help with management, prioritization, and tracking of potential changes to I-BPAs and VIPR • Policy Board reviews business change requests; VIPR CCB reviews technical changes to VIPR • Membership is comprised of representation from WO-FAM, FESSAA, AQM Systems, field FAM operations and VIPR CO Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

16. http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/contacts.php VIPR COs • Forest Service COs across the country are granted access to VIPR and responsible for soliciting, awarding, and administrating I-BPAs Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

17. Vendor Involvement • The CO should always be your first option for any solicitation questions or template suggestions. • Depending on the CO’s experience or understanding with the specific template, they may be able to provide you with an immediate answer. • The CO may also need to rely on the Fire Contract Equipment Specialist if they have that position in their Region. • The CO may need to refer the question to the Contract Equipment Task Team (CETT), if it is specification related. Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

18. Vendor Application Reference Materials • FAQs • Online help feature for vendors in the Vendor Application • Vendor Brochure Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/ Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

19. I-BPA Performance Evaluations • Simplified Performance Evaluation Form Highlights • 1-page form. • Requires additional documentation if vendor’s performance is Unsatisfactory, Marginal, Very Good, or Exceptional. • Rater will be required to provide documentation supporting the other than Satisfactory rating in accordance with the Rating Guidelines in Exhibit E of the I-BPA. Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/eera.php Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

20. VIPR Performance Evaluations Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

21. VIPR Performance Evaluations Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service

22. Questions? Shane LaValley Procurement Analyst/Contracting Officer Washington Office, Acquisition Management Fire Equipment, Services & Supply Acquisition Analysis Team (FESSAA) Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service http://www.fs.fed.us/business/incident/ Acquisition Management USDA Forest Service