Cartographic Services Contract . . . for everything geographic

Fact Sheet 066-03 (July 2003)

General Information

The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Cartographic Services Contract (CSC) is used to award work for photogrammetric and mapping services under the umbrella of Architect-Engineer (A&E) contracting. The A&E contract is broad in scope and can accommodate any activity related to standard, nonstandard, graphic, and digital cartographic products. Services provided may include, but are not limited to, photogrammetric mapping and aerotriangulation; orthophotography; thematic mapping (for example, land characterization); analog and digital imagery applications; geographic information systems development; surveying and control acquisition, including ground-based and airborne Global Positioning System; analog and digital image manipulation, analysis, and interpretation; raster and vector map digitizing; data manipulations (for example, transformations, conversions, generalization, integration, and conflation); primary and ancillary data acquisition (for example, aerial photography, satellite imagery, multispectral, multitemporal, and hyperspectral data); image scanning and processing; metadata production, revision, and creation; and production or revision of standard USGS products defined by formal and informal specification and standards, such as those for digital line graphs, digital elevation models, digital orthophoto quadrangles, and digital raster graphics.

The contract is qualifications based, and task orders are negotiated directly with selected firms to provide contract services. The CSC can accommodate the mapping and photogrammetric requirements of all USGS offices and is available to any Federal, State, or local agency. USGS personnel are available to help agencies write standards, specifications, and task orders, conduct negotiations, perform quality assurance, and validate the contractor-produced data.

Administrative oversight of the CSC is with the Mid-Continent Mapping Center (MCMC) in Rolla, Mo. The Contracting Officer's Representative and immediate staff are located at the MCMC. Technical points of contact are also located in Denver, Colo., Sioux Falls, S. Dak., Menlo Park, Calif., and Reston, Va.

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Benefits of CSC

The CSC gives customers quick access-one-stop shopping-to the professional services they require. CSC contractors are selected through a competitive process and are well known to the Contracts Team. The CSC contractors are likewise familiar with USGS standard products. Most have received product-specific training and maintain technical liaisons with the USGS.

Customers for nonstandard products or those requiring singular applications of geospatial data have ready access to the same pool of certified firms. The Contract Team's familiarity with each contractor and the breadth and depth of USGS technical expertise create an environment whereby detailed products are accurately described and appropriately assigned.

Summary Listing of CSC Advantages

• Government experts provide technical analysis of customer requests, thereby ensuring the right product the first time.

• Immediate connections to A&E quality-based contractors eliminates the search for and uncertainties of selecting firms capable of meeting requirements (note: CSC comprises 7 prime contractors and 80-plus subcontractors).

• Experienced Government negotiators work with contractors to ensure the appropriate match of contractor to customer and competitive pricing.

• Government cost estimates are based on in-house and known industry capabilities, ensuring fair prices and timely delivery schedules.

• Contractors are USGS trained.

• The USGS performs technology assessments when industry capabilities are uncertain.

• USGS source material is made available to the contractor (for example, geodetic control, map manuscripts, and so on).

• Objective quality assurance is optionally provided.

• The CSC provides established product standards and expertise in geospatial data standards.

• The USGS develops methods and procedures for special products.

• The USGS provides expertise in geographic science, data application, and production processes and trains contractors when necessary.

The combination of qualified A&E contractors and an experienced Government contracting staff with access to broad-ranging subject matter experts ensures obtaining the desired product or service expeditiously at the best possible price.

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Contract Costs

Contract costs are negotiated with appropriate contractor(s). The USGS maintains resident expertise to ensure that fair market value can be determined-we perform independent Government cost estimates for each task and negotiate with the contractors toward that amount. A 5-percent administrative charge is assessed on all contracts. Additional services, such as quality assurance, are available at extra cost if the customer so chooses.

Accessing the Contract - Points of Contact

Names and contact information follow.

Contracting Officer's Representative

Phil Havens, Mid-Continent Mapping Center (MCMC), Rolla, MO, 573-308-3757

Technical Points of Contact

Dale Russell, Western Mapping Center (WGSC), Menlo Park, CA, 650-329-5058

Doug Binnie, EROS Data Center (EDC), Sioux Falls, SD, 605-594-6160

Matt Mladinich, Rocky Mountain Mapping Center (RMMC), Denver, CO, 303-202-4452

Mike Lee, Eastern Region Geography (ERG), Reston, VA, 703-648-5660

Regional Points of Contact

Robert Lemen, MCMC, 573-308-3736
Thomas Sturm, WGSC, 650-329-4326
Lee Aggers, RMMC, 303-202-4123
Roger Barlow, ERG, 703-648-5189

Information

For information on other USGS products and services, call 1-888-ASK-USGS, or visit the general interest publications Web site on mapping, geography, and related topics at erg.usgs.gov/isb/pubs/pubslists/.

For additional information, visit the ask.usgs.gov Web site or the USGS home page at www.usgs.gov.

Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. This document has undergone official review and approval for publications established by the National Mapping Discipline, U.S. Geological Survey. Some figures have been modified or added to improve the scientific visualization of information.