1 - Presolicitation Notice and Synopsis_1.pdf

Presolicitation Notice – USGS RFP 140G0321R0001 – Science Collaboration and Applications Support – III (IT Support Services)

Note: This requirement will be conducted using competitive SBA 8(a) set-aside procedures in accordance with FAR Part 19.805-1. This will be a 100% 8(a) set-aside. As such, only 8(a) firms will be eligible for award under this solicitation.

1. Introduction: The U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO) organization is responsible for providing policy, strategic direction, planning and leadership for the bureau in all aspects of the USGS information management technology (IMT or IT) as well as the day-to-day operations of the enterprise IT infrastructure and technology stack supporting continuous operations of the bureau’s worldwide science mission and administrative support functions.

The USGS ACIO has a need for information technology (IT) expertise and services which is very broad in nature and scope, and will provide IT support for the entire nationwide USGS IT environment, including such areas as: science collaboration; applications development;

application support; end-user support; infrastructure support; hosting and data management;

networking and telecom support; IT security, IT technology consulting, etc. Please see attached Statement of Work (draft) document for details about the anticipated requirement.

There have been a series of predecessor contracts for this support, the latest one being G16PC00019 (SCAS II) which is approaching its end of life. This solicitation is intended to provide for the continuation of similar services going forward. Estimated start date for the new contract is 8/1/2021. This requirement is for services only – there is no IT hardware, equipment or items contemplated for purchase under this contract.

A single award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract is planned. The solicitation and award process will use the FAR Parts 12 and 15 procedures, as well as FAR Part

19.8 (100% set-aside under Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)). The contract is planned for a five-year ordering period with an anticipated maximum ceiling of $80M over the period. The minimum guaranteed order amount over the five-year period is $1M.

(There is no assurance that the cumulative order amounts over the five years will reach the contract’s maximum value, or that any orders will be placed beyond the contract’s minimum guaranteed amount. Also, there is no assurance that orders will be placed on any regular or stable schedule or for regular or stable amounts over the ordering period).

2. Solicitation Timing. The solicitation, RFP 140G0321R0001, will be available within the next ten days. We anticipate the “Step 1” submission response under the RFP will have a closing date within 10 days after the Request for Proposals (RFP) is released. (See below).

3. Phased Evaluation Process. The USGS intends to utilize phased evaluation process for this selection. The RFP will require phased submittals by offerors, with Step 1 responses being the first required submittal. This phased approach is intended to increase efficiency and reduce time and costs for both the government, and firms interested in the procurement. In summary, Step 1 of the process will require offerors to submit information that should largely already exist, and thus be minimally burdensome to produce and submit – and in a relatively short amount of time (10 days). Thereafter, the government would evaluate information submitted, also in a relatively short amount of time (10 days). The evaluation will result in a tiering of offers based on the Step 1 submittals, either: among the most highly rated; or, not among the most highly rated.

As a result, offerors will receive one of two advisory notices:

(1) The offeror is one of the most highly rated (based on the information submitted and our evaluation), and is invited to participate in the RFP’s subsequent steps; or,

(2) The offeror is not one of the most highly rated (based on information submitted and our evaluation) and is seen as unlikely to be a viable competitor. An offeror in this tier would also be advised of the general basis for our opinion. These offerors would further be advised that notwithstanding our opinion, they may continue to participate in the subsequent step(s) of the RFP should they chose to do so.

The Step 1 advisory process is intended to provide useful information to offerors for consideration in making an informed decision whether to continue, or not, with the substantial proposal effort that will be required under the remaining solicitation response step(s).

Your Step 1 required submittal will consist of primarily of “Experience” information, as will be detailed in the RFP instructions. “Experience” is chosen as the focus for Step 1 because Experience will be a significant factor in the selection decision, and it is information that would likely be readily available for offerors to gather and submit quickly and in a minimally burdensome fashion.

After the advisory notices are issued, the solicitation will be amended to establish the closing date and time for the remaining RFP response requirements.

4. Other. Under FAR 5.205(f), interested parties are advised: (1) that the acquisition is being offered for competition limited to eligible 8(a) concerns; (2) the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for this action is 541512 (size standard $30M); and, (3) interested 8(a) firms are encouraged to request a copy of the solicitation as expeditiously as possible since the solicitation will be issued without further notice upon SBA acceptance of the requirement for the Section 8(a) program.

There is no requirement to respond to this notice. The full solicitation will be posted to the beta- SAM (formerly FBO) portal when the solicitation is released.

Questions regarding this Presolicitation Notice may be directed to Don Shannon, Contracting Officer, via email to dshannon@usgs.gov.

mailto:dshannon@usgs.gov