Remote Geospatial Production and Training Consultant SME

Deadline Date: Friday 1 November 2024

Requirement: Web/Software Development for the Academy Training Environment

Location: Off-site at contractor’s premises, with meetings at NATO premises as required

Note: Please refer to your Subcontract Agreement, article 6.4.1.a, which states “Off-Site Discount: 5% (this discount is applicable to all requirements, and applies when the assigned personnel are permitted to work Off-Site, such as at- home)“. Please be sure to price this discount in your overall price proposal when submitting bids against off-site RFQs

Period of Performance: 2025 BASE: 02 January 2025 – 31st December 2025 with possibility to exercise sprints from the following options:

• 2026 Options: 1st January 2026 until 31st December 2026

• 2027 Options: 1st January 2027 until 31st December 2027

• 2028 Options: 1st January 2028 until 31st December 2028

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

Part I – Bidding Instructions

1. Bidding Instructions

1.1. Technical Proposal

Bidders shall include in the Technical Proposal:

1. CV of proposed candidate clearly indicating relevant experience for the requirements, section 11 and qualifications, section 12 in the Statement of work (SoW).

2. Compliance matrix referring how each candidate meets each of the stated requirements, section 11 and qualifications, section 12 of the SoW, justified by relevant (project) experience.

1 INTRODUCTION

The JISR Centre’s Vision is to assure information superiority for NATO. Our Mission is to deliver, support and protect valued Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, expertise and services, to maximise operational effectiveness for NATO.

The GeoMetOc Services Branch within the JISR Centre is responsible for the full lifecycle support of the GeoMetOc Application Services and requires a GIS Subject Matter Expert to provide leadership and technical advice for the execution of geospatial production tasks in support of NATO operations.

2 SCOPE OF WORK

Scope of this project is to provide the relevant services for the execution of geospatial production as well as GeoMetOc training development and delivery tasks consisting of:

Technical advice for the execution of geospatial data processing/optimization activities for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR)/NATO Core Geographic Information Systems (GIS) consumption. This is to be performed within the framework of the NATO Baseline Activity and Current Operation (BACO), emerging crisis and NATO (Contingency) planning, collective defence, training and exercises. This comprises but not limited to:

• Processing of seamless, multi resolution Geospatial Information (GI) as a key enabler for supporting NATO’s situational awareness and information superiority over multiple Joint Operating Areas (JOAs).
• Processing of data from a variety of sources, such as the Multinational Geospatial Co- production Programme (MGCP) as well as from commercial and open sources.

Data processing in support of the Allied Response Forces (NRF) cycle for the C4ISR systems. This comprises but not limited to:

• Production/processing and maintenance of geospatial information.

• Geospatial Information (GI) Quality Assessment – format, coordinate system, coverage, missing files, overlaps, metadata.

• Required data processing so the data can be used by the NATO C4ISR systems as well as distributed to the nations.

• Quality control of GIS products and NATO Mapping series to agreed standards;

• Technical advice for the identification of future training needs that result from the implementation of new Software (SW) Baselines, changes in the operational environment or technology landscape ensuring this way that the NATO is prepared to meet these challenges.

Develop customised GIS training packages in order to fulfil identified GeoMetOc training needs.

Creation of Course Control Documents (CCDs), which are essential for standardizing the delivery of NATO-certified GeoMetOc education and individual training (E&IT) solutions.

Delivery of NATO Certified GeoMetOc training packages.

The list of activities may expand as urgent operational requests emerge and qualification of the candidate allows.

3 ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

This work will be carried out at the contractor’s premises. Access to the relevant NCIA networks and software can be established as needed. The work will be conducted during normal office hours following the NCIA The Hague calendar, as well as outside office hours and on weekends, if necessary.

The Contractors will be part of a team under the supervision of the NCIA project manager (PM) and will provide services using an agile and iterative approach using multiple sprints. Each sprint is planned for a duration of 1 week. The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed with the project manager and technical staff during the sprint-planning meeting.

The work shall be conducted in close collaboration between the Contractors and NCI Agency project manager as described below:

NCI Agency JISRC-GeoMetOc Services Branch PM: Project lead and main stakeholder

Contractor: To provide services and deliverables as identified above

4 DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE

Detailed resource assessments will be agreed during each sprint meeting as set out in Section 5. Payments shall be dependent upon the successful acceptance of each sprint and the validation as set out under Section 5. All Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS, Annex A) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

Each sprint has a duration of 1 week. The content and scope of each sprint will be agreed during the sprint‐planning meetings as covered in Section 5. Each payment milestone cycle is planned for a duration of one calendar month. Upon completion and validation of each sprint and at the end of the monthly milestone, all completed sprints can be submitted for payment.

The NCIA team reserves the possibility to exercise a number of sprints at a later time, based on the same sprint deliverable timeframe and cost, depending on project priorities and requirements.

In 2025, the following deliverables are expected from the service as set in this statement of work:

Deliverable:  Up to 48 Sprints

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

2026 OPTION: 01 January 2026 to 31 December 2026

Deliverable: Up to 48 Sprints

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

2027 OPTION: 01 January 2027 to 31 December 2027

Deliverable: Up to 48 Sprints

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

2028 OPTION: 01 January 2028 to 31 December 2028

Deliverable: Up to 48 Sprints

Payment Milestones: Payment Milestones will be end of the month for all the Sprints completed and accepted within the respective month

5 COORDINATION AND REPORTING

Due to the AGILE approach of this project, there is a need to define a set of specific arrangements between the NCI Agency and the contractor that specifically defines the deliverables to be provided for each sprint as well as their associated acceptance criteria. This includes sprint planning, execution and review processes, which are detailed below:

1. Sprint Planning:

Objective: Plan the objectives for the upcoming sprint.

Kick-off meeting: Conduct a monthly meeting with the contractor to plan the objectives of upcoming sprints and review contractor`s manpower to meet the agreed deliverables.

Set sprint goals: Define clear, achievable goals for the sprint and associated acceptance criteria, including specific delivery targets, Quality standards as well as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each task to be recorded in the sprint meeting minutes.

Agree on the required level of effort for the various sprint tasks.

Backlog Review: Review and prioritise the backlog of tasks, issues, and improvements from previous sprints.

Assess each payment milestone cycle duration of 1 calendar month. State of completion and validation of each sprint status and sign off sprints to be submitted for payment as covered in Section 4.

2. Sprint Execution

Objective: Contractor to execute the agreed “sprint plans” with continuous monitoring and adjustments.

Regular meetings between NCI Agency and the contractor to review sprint progress, address issues, and make necessary adjustments to the processes or production methodology. The Meetings will be physically in the office, or in person via electronic means using Conference Call capabilities, according to the NCI Agency project manager’s instructions.

Continuous improvement: Contractor to establish a continuous feedback loop to gather input from all stakeholders for ongoing improvements and their subsequent implementation depending on NCIA approval.

Progress Tracking: Contractor to use a shared dashboard or tool to track the status of the sprint deliveries and any issues.

Quality Assurance/Quality Check: Contractor shall ensure that the quality standards agreed for the sprint deliverables are maintained throughout the sprint.

Quality Control: NCIA to perform the Final Quality Control of the agreed deliverables and provide feedback on any issues.

3. Sprint Review

Objective: Review the sprint performance and identify areas for improvement.

At the end of each sprint, there will be a meeting between the NCI Agency and the Contractor to review the outcomes against the acceptance criteria comprising sprint goals, agreed quality criteria and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Define specific actions to address issues and enhance the next sprint.

4. Sprint Payment

For each sprint to be considered as complete and payable, the contractor must report the outcome of their work during the sprint, first verbally during the retrospective sprint review meeting and then in writing within three days after the sprint’s end date. A report must be sent by email to the NCI Agency project manager, listing all the work achieved against the agreed tasking list set for the sprint.

The contractor’s payment for each sprint will be depending upon the achievement of agreed Acceptance Criteria for each task, defined at the sprint planning stage. This will include specific delivery targets, quality standards as well as Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each task.

The payment shall be dependent upon successful acceptance as set in the above planning/review meetings. This will follow the payment milestones that shall include a completed Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex A) including the EBA Receipt number.

Invoices shall be accompanied with a Delivery Acceptance Sheet (DAS) – (Annex A) signed by the Contractor and project authority.

If the contractor fails to meet the agreed Acceptance criteria for any task, the NCI Agency reserves the right to withhold payment for that task/sprint.

6 SCHEDULE

This task order will be active immediately after signing of the contract by both parties.

The BASE period of performance is 02 January 2025 and will end no later than 31 December 2025.

If the sprints of the annual options are exercised, the period of performance is within 01 January to 31 December of the relevant year.

7 SECURITY

a. All Contractors/Sub-contractors shall be aware of all security rules pertaining to the handling of NATO classified information.

Personnel Security Clearance (PSC): Individuals who require access or may have access to information classified NC or above during the course of their duties shall have a PSC, at the appropriate level, which is valid for the duration of the authorized access. In addition, such individuals are required to: Have a need-to-know; Have been briefed on their security obligations in respect to the protection of NATO Classified Information; and Have acknowledged their responsibilities either in writing or an equivalent method which ensures non-repudiation. It will be required for the contractor access to Class II areas at NATO facilities, therefore PSC at NATO SECRET level is required.

b. The work will be carried out remotely at the Contractor’s company site but with potential meetings at NCI Agency and NATO Command Structure Sites.

c. NCIA will provide access to relevant networks and resources as required by the project.

8 CONSTRAINTS

All the documentation provided under this statement of work will be based on NCI Agency templates and/or agreed with the NCIA project manager.

All support, maintenance, documentation and required code will be stored under configuration management and/or in the provided NCI Agency tools.

All developed solutions, tools and code under this project will be property of the NCI Agency.

9 TRAVEL

The contractor will provide the services under this SOW at their own premises but may need to travel to NATO sites in support of the project including the NCI Agency in The Hague, NL as needed. The vendor may also host coordination meetings as required at its facility.

Once defined, travel costs will be set as a separate PO line with a not to exceed value to cover and reimburse of actual expenses upon submissions of all receipts and invoices in line with NCIA processes.

10 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

Working environment is at contractor’s office environment. The Contractor shall work at their company site with the exception of required travel to NCI Agency in The Hague, NCI Academy in Oeiras as needed and NATO Command Structure Sites.

Working environment is normal office environment. Technical configurations should be performed at contractor premises using NCIA licenses. Details to be agreed with the NCI Agency Project Manager

A Sole contractor must accomplish this work, and identified as the primary contractor for each sprint.

The contractor will work under on-site under an NCI Agency contract. They will access the networks of the NCI Agency as a member of the JISR Centre under the supervision of JISRC/GeoMetOc/NATO DesGI Data Processing Section Head or delegated staff.

The contractor shall be able to work in a team approach synchronised by the providing company. The JISRC/GeoMetOc/NATO DesGI Data Processing Section Head or delegated staff, will interact primarily with the Manager/Support-Coordinator as the main Point of Contact.

11 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

The GeoMetOc Branch requires the support of contractors for the execution of geospatial production related tasks performed in support of NATO operations.

Under the direction of the JISRC/GeoMetOc/NATO DesGI Data Processing Section Head, services related to the following activities need to be provided:

Geospatial data processing/optimization activities for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR)/NATO Core Geographic Information Systems (GIS) consumption. This comprises but not limited to:

• Processing of seamless, multi resolution Geospatial Information (GI) as a key enabler for supporting NATO’s situational awareness and information superiority over multiple Joint Operating Areas (JOAs).
• Processing of data from a variety of sources, such as the Multinational Geospatial Co-production Programme (MGCP) as well as from commercial and open sources.

Data processing in support of the Allied Response Forces (NRF) cycle for the C4ISR systems. This comprises but not limited to:

• Production/processing and maintenance of geospatial information.
• Geospatial Information (GI) Quality Assessment – format, coordinate system, coverage, missing files, overlaps, metadata.
• Required data processing so the data can be used by the NATO C4ISR systems as well as distributed to the nations.
• Quality control of GIS products and NATO Mapping series to agreed standards;

Identify future training needs that result from the implementation of new Software (SW) Baselines, changes in the operational environment or technology landscape ensuring this way that the NATO is prepared to meet these challenges

Develop customised GIS training packages in order to fulfil identified GeoMetOc training needs.

Creation of Course Control Documents (CCDs), which are essential for standardizing the delivery of NATO-certified GeoMetOc education and individual training (E&IT) solutions.

Delivery of NATO Certified GeoMetOc training packages.

The list of activities may expand as urgent operational requests emerge and qualification of the candidate allows.

Close coordination of all activities with the NCI Agency Project Manager (PM) as well as strict adherence to agreed timelines is mandatory.

12 REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

[See Requirements]

13 GENERAL PROVISIONS

NCIA Recognised Business hours/Holidays: NCIA-The Hague official holiday schedule applies and will be provided to the contractor.

NCIA Hours of Operations: Monday to Thursday 0830 – 1700 and Friday 0830 – 1500 (CET)

Contractor Furnished Services: Contractor shall furnish everything required to perform the contract except for the items specified and covered under NCIA Furnished Property and Services below.

NCIA Furnished Property and Services: Access to relevant Geospatial data processing networks can be provided by NCIA as agreed in sprint meetings.

7 SECURITY

• A Personnel Security Clearance at NATO SECRET level is required.

12 REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• University degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in Geospatial Science, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), or other relevant scientific, engineering or geospatial related field supplemented by relevant GIS postgraduate qualifications.
• Or exceptionally, the lack of a university degree may be compensated by the demonstration of a candidate’s particular abilities or experience that is/are of interest to NCI Agency, that is, at least 6 years extensive and progressive expertise in duties related to the function of the post.
• Solid understanding of geographic matters: coordinate systems, projections and datum’s together with the relevant NATO STANAGs related with Geospatial Production
• Deep knowledge of NATO Geo concepts and terminology as well as CoreGIS CONOPS and SOPs.
• Solid, proven understanding of geospatial data requirements for NATO Theatres.
• Minimum 5 years of proven experience in the production of NATO compliant map series, including extensive experience in the area of quality control in the cartographic domain.
• Minimum 3 years working experience with Designated Geospatial Information (DesGI) and Supplementary Geographic Information (SGI) used in support of NATO operations. The candidate must not only be familiar with the creation, manipulation and dissemination of DesGI and SGI but also with their usage by the NATO C4ISR systems deployed to the theatres.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in GIS projects performing interpretation and feature extraction with classification upon geospatial source data.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in working with ArcGIS, which includes raster and complex vector data manipulation, Geo data management and inventorying
• At least 7 years of experience in working with ArcGIS Production Mapping
• At least 7 years of experience in working with ArcGIS Defense Mapping features
• Expert understanding of all individual elements of full map production cycle
• Expert level in grid and graticule creation
• Minimum one-year experience in the development customised GIS training packages in order to fulfil identified NATO training needs.
• Minimum one-year experience in geo-related training design and development, specifically, creating Course Control documents (CCDs), in support of NATO certified training GIS packages.
• Proved experience on the delivery of GIS Certified training packages
• Fluent business English Professional