USDA Forest Service

Incident Blanket Purchase Agreement (I-BPA) Policy

Supplement No. 6309.32-2011-4 has been issued to FSAR Part 13 and is now posted. The supplement was signed on July 27, 2011 and incorporates I-BPA policy into the FSAR, establishing policy and direction for I-BPAs and use of VIPR. To view I-BPA policy, visit the following Web sites:

FSWeb Portal -
http://fsweb.fs.usda.gov

Directive world wide webpage -
http://www.fs.fed.us/im/directives/

Agreements & Reports

VIPR Preseason Agreements and the decommissioned EERA database are available. Note: All EaTIS agreements were either migrated into VIPR or are available on the Region 6 Web site.

Selected reports are also available for the EERA database.

National Solicitation Plan

A National Solicitation Plan has been developed, identifying equipment that is commonly used to support incidents.

Payments

Payment provision examples are now available for 2008 & 2009 Incident Blanket Purchase Agreements.

Solicitations

Solicitation templates are available in VIPR by contacting your regional Contracting Officer .

Information about current contracting opportunities with the Forest Service is available at FedBizOpps

Best Value Award

Preseason Incident Blanket Purchase Agreements (I-BPAs) are awarded using a best value award process and the Choosing by Advantages methodology to determine the dispatch priority. At-incident EERAs do not follow a best value dispatch order.

Equipment Standards, Methods of Hire & Inspection

National equipment standards/typing, method of hire, and standard inspection forms have been developed to provide consistency throughout the Forest Service.

Performance Evaluation

Vendors are required to receive a performance evaluation prior to demobilization from an incident. Incident support personnel will submit a copy of the performance evaluation to the Contracting Officer who signed the I-BPA.

Performance Evaluation Forms

• E06_Exhibit E.docx
• E06_Exhibit E.pdf

Set-Aside, Awards, and DPLs

In September of 2010, the Small Business Jobs Act was signed into law and reaffirmed “parity” among federal small-business contracting programs (HUB, SDVOSB, 8(a), WOSB, and EDWOSB). The legislated parity among the small business set-aside programs and permissive regulatory language enables Contracting Officers to choose socioeconomic set-aside categories as necessary to meet procurement preference goals and levels the playing field while promoting competition among all small business contracting programs when competing for I-BPAs and other Federal contracts.

Beginning in 2012, new VIPR solicitations will be small business set-asides and Contracting Officers will be able to target specific socioeconomic categories at their discretion. This application potentially impacts DPL ranking, giving preference for targeted socioeconomic status yet providing incentive for competitive pricing. Contact the appropriate regional Contracting Officer for more information.