1_0_Request_for_Information_-_Trust_Land_Management_Software_System_1.docx

United States Department of the Interior Office of the Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs Washington, DC 20240

March 14, 2025

Indian Affairs Acquisitions Request for Information (RFI) Trust Asset, Land Management, and Accounting Software

General Information

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only. This is not a solicitation for a contract award. This action is for market research (information) purposes only, is not a request for proposals or quotations, and does not obligate the Government in any way. A solicitation may or may not result from this request. The Government will not reimburse the respondents for any costs associated with the information submitted in response to this request. If the Government decides to pursue a solicitation, portions of your responses to this RFI may be incorporated into the final solicitation. Respondents are discouraged from submitting any information deemed competition-sensitive or proprietary.

1. RFI Purpose

The Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has a continued requirement for a Cloud Enabled Software System capable of managing Trust Asset, Land Management, and Accounting. This RFI/Sources Sought is intended to inform the IA about vendor interest, capabilities, and experience in meeting this requirement. The information gathered will be used to inform acquisition strategy related to this requirement going forward.

The BIA is building an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) to review all options available to meet this requirement going forward. We are seeking information from industry on available alternatives, both Commercial-off-the-Shelf (CotS) and developmental solutions. This information will further be used to perform a Cost Benefit Analysis for the start-up and ongoing costs related to differing solutions.

1. Introduction and Background

The Department of the Interior (DOI), Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) manages the largest land trust in the United States. Indian trust consists of approximately 56 million acres of land, more than 10 million acres belonging to individual Indians. The BIA is responsible for managing over 100,000 leases, use permits, land sales, and other encumbrances, as well as interest on deposited funds. Approximately $300 million is collected annually for some 277,000 Individual Indian Money (IIM) accounts.

Historically, for the last 25 years, the Trust Asset and Accounting Management System (TAAMS) has been the software system of record for title and land resource management within the BIA in the management of Indian Trust Land. TAAMS functionalities include Title, Leasing, Indian Land Consolidation Act (ILCA), Imaging, Invoicing and Distribution, interface to Trust Funds Accounting System (TFAS), oil and gas royalty distribution, and Land Buy Back Functionality.

TAAMS is not currently a government owned system and requires significant ongoing investment to maintain required standards and modernization. TAAMS contains end of life components and utilizes some technologies that represent modernization opportunities. Finally, TAAMS has represented a sole-source relationship throughout its lifetime. The Government is interested in information on any available alternative solutions that could reinforce any of the below government objectives.

1. Government Objectives

The Government is interested in information regarding solutions that reinforce any of the following goals:

· A CotS solution that meets all software requirements that would allow for a competitive solicitation.

· Developmental solutions that would provide for a government-owned solution that is contractor agnostic, i.e. can be maintained by any qualified contractor after the initial period.

· Information especially related to cost and lead time for any proposed alternative solutions.

1. Description of the Requirement

In accordance with FAR 11.104, Use of brand name or equal purchase descriptions, the government has attached documentation related to the current solution. This documentation provides sufficient information to describe the salient characteristics of an “or Equal” solution.

Please find attached the following documentation related to the current solution:

1. Attachment 1: Draft Statement of Work – A proposed Statement of Work for an Enterprise License to Trust Asset and Accounting Management System (TAAMS), currently provided by the incumbent contractor, CGI Federal.

2. Attachment 2: Software Functionality Map – A document that fully describes the functional capabilities of the current software solution.

In addition, the proposed solution must be capable of being hosted in one of the DOI/IA managed Government Commercial Cloud (GCC) cloud tenants in Azure or AWS.

1. Information Requested

4. Company Information: Company name, UEI Number, address, point of contact, and contact information (phone and email address). The government is also interested in socio-economic status of the firm (qualified small business programs such as small, Indian Economic Enterprise, Indian Small Business Economic Enterprise, etc.)

4. Capabilities: Provide a description of your firm’s capabilities relevant to this RFI, as well as any potential teaming partners and/or subcontractors.

4. Experience/Portfolio: Specify and describe prior experience relevant to this RFI. Include photographs, videos, or links of specific examples of similar work/projects and include publicly available contract details (scope of work, agency, contract number, total price) for work completed for the Federal Government.

4. High-level cost estimate for budgeting purposes: provide a rough order of magnitude (i.e. b/w $50-100k, 100k-250k, $250-500k, $500k-$1M, $1M-$3M, etc.) for the initial build out as well as maintenance, enhancements and/or other modifications during the out years. Further, about how much would it cost to maintain this system annually after full implementation?

4. Lead Time: provide a rough estimate of how long it would take to implement (or develop) the proposed solution, and how long it would take to migrate existing data into the new solution. Specifically, from the time of contract award, about how long would the government be required to run both solutions before the old system can be shut down and the new system goes live.

4. Responses to the following questions:

CotS Solutions

· This section is only applicable to proposed CotS Solutions.

· Please provide a description of your proposed solution. Please include information on programing language or development tools, capabilities, etc.

· Is your solution considered Commercial off the Shelf in accordance with FAR 12.103? Would your solution be considered “turnkey”, or would it require some tailoring or configuration to be ready for use?

· What, if any, requirements from the function map are not currently present in your proposed solution?

· Is your proposed solution currently utilized by any government agencies for similar requirements?

· Please provide links, images, etc. to allow the government to research your solution further.

Developmental Solutions

· This section is only applicable to proposed developmental solutions.

· Please provide a description of your proposed solution. Please include information on programing language or development tools, capabilities, etc.

· Would your proposed developmental solution be capable of meeting all of the software functionality of the current solution? What, if any, requirements from the functionality map could not be met by your proposed solution?

· What is your company’s experience in implementing or developing and maintaining similar tools for government customers? Please provide examples of similar projects or solutions you have delivered.

· What models and techniques do you plan to utilize in the development of this tool? How do you ensure their effectiveness for developing requirements packages?

· What tools, frameworks, or platforms would you typically utilize for development of this solution (i.e. Microsoft PowerApps/Dynamic 365, Salesforce, fully custom, etc)?

· Is your proposed solution currently utilized by any government agencies for similar requirements?

· Please provide any applicable links, images, etc. that may be applicable to allow the government to research your proposed solution further.

Contractor Agnostic Maintenance

· Is the continued maintenance of your solution contractor agnostic?

· Once the solution is fully developed/implemented, does the solution require the same developer that created it to continue its maintenance, or can the system be maintained by any contractor that is qualified in the same tools/language that it was created in?

· Does your proposed solution involve any proprietary technology or methodology? Does it rely on any third-party technology that is not reasonably available to any qualified contractor?

· Is there any reason that a service contract for the continued maintenance of this solution could not be competed on the open market after the initial period of performance.

· Is there anything about this solution that could require its maintenance to be sole source?

FEDRAMP Readiness and Security

· Is your solution, or the cloud infrastructure you propose to use, FEDRAMP compliant? If not, what steps will you take to achieve compliance? As part of your response you will need to provide a general timeline and milestones for reviewers to assess your level of understanding and readiness.

Cloud Expertise and Infrastructure

· What cloud platforms do you have experience with (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)? Which platform would you recommend for this project and why?

· How do you approach cloud architecture design to ensure scalability, performance, and cost-efficiency?

Agile Development Practices

· How do you ensure that Agile practices are adhered to when working with government customers, who may have specific constraints or processes?

· What is your experience with Agile development methodologies (e.g., Scrum, Kanban, SAFe)? Can you provide examples of past projects where you successfully applied Agile practices?

Government Experience

· What is your experience in developing IT tools or systems specifically for government programs? Can you provide case studies or references for similar work?

· How do you plan to work with the government team to ensure the tool meets programmatic needs? What steps do you take to foster effective collaboration and communication with government stakeholders?

· How do you handle training and knowledge transfer to government personnel who will operate and utilize the solution post-deployment?

Maintenance & Support

· What is your approach to providing ongoing support and maintenance for the solution once it is deployed? How do you ensure the tool evolves with changing government requirements?

· How do you plan to monitor the tool’s performance and implement improvements or fixes over time?

Cost/Budget Estimate

· Can you provide a high-level cost estimate/ROM for the proposed solution, including development, deployment, and ongoing support?

Risk Management

· What are the key risks you foresee for this project, and how do you plan to mitigate them?

Performance/Scalability

· How will the tool handle scaling to accommodate a growing volume of users or data? What strategies do you employ to ensure its performance is maintained under increased loads?

User Experience and Accessibility

· What user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) principles do you apply to government tools to ensure they are intuitive and easy to use for non-technical government personnel?

Deployment Timeline

· Based on the solution your company intends to utilize, what is the estimated timeframe from award to pilot testing to go-live, assuming continuous government collaboration and involvement throughout the process.

4. Other (optional): Please provide any additional relevant details that may be beneficial to IA stakeholders/decisionmakers.

1. Instructions for Respondents:

· Responses shall be submitted via email to the BIA Contract Specialist, Daniel Cugler, at daniel.cugler@bia.gov.

· Respondents may submit questions for clarification. Questions shall be sent via email to Daniel.cugler@bia.gov. The subject line should state “Questions/clarification re: RFI 140A1625R0018”. If the questions are found substantive to respondents, the government may post an amendment with clarifications. An amendment related to Q&A is not guaranteed.

· Responses are limited to 10 pages. Please do not utilize fonts any smaller than 12 pt.

· Photographs, videos, or links of specific examples are limited to 10 pages (outside of the response page limit).

· The information is requested for planning purposes only. Only material suitable for internal government distribution shall be submitted. Any restricted information should be marked accordingly. The Government will protect all restricted information received from respondents, and distribution of any material will be based on a strict need-to-know basis. No classified material should be provided. Submittals identified as containing such material shall be destroyed and not considered further.

· It is emphasized that this RFI is for planning and information purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a contractual agreement, nor will the Government pay for information provided.

· As part of the Government’s market research process, the Government may hold further exchanges with none, some, or all respondents depending on the Government's needs. Please be sure the RFI response contains the correct contact information for this potential communication.

· Questions: You are encouraged to submit questions or comments regarding the requirement; however, please note that responses will not be provided. This section of your response aims to evaluate your understanding of the requirement and to enhance the draft SOW. Questions page limit is 2 pages and is not included in the 10 page response limit.

END RFI

Attachment 1: Draft Statement of Work Attachment 2: TAAMS Functionality Map image1.jpeg