AMS_Accreditation_RFI_final.pdf

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA)

Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS)

NATIONAL ORGANIC PROGRAM (NOP)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

NOP Accreditation Management System and Support

This is a REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI). This RFI is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government. This notice is intended strictly for market research.

1. OBJECTIVE

The AMS NOP is performing market research to identify potential vendors capable of providing online Web application and implementation services to support the organic accreditation and auditing of organic certifying agents and State Organic Programs.

NOP is exploring potential alternatives to its current system that supports its accreditation activities. The NOP is considering a Web-based audit and certification management solution.

If the product is a Software as a Service SaaS, AMS follows the guidelines in NIST SP 800-145 that define Web/SaaS for this acquisition as follows:

The solution shall provide the capability to the government to deploy onto the cloud infrastructure government-created or acquired applications created using programming languages, libraries, services, and tools supported by the provider. This capability does not necessarily preclude the use of compatible programming languages, libraries, services, and tools from other sources. The Government may or may not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, or storage, but does have control over the deployed applications and possibly configuration settings for the application-hosting environment.

AMS requires that SaaS products are in compliance with the FedRAMP cloud environment framework and are able to be deployed within the FedRAMP cloud environment.

2. BACKGROUND

The NOP is responsible for overseeing a full life cycle of accreditation management activities for approximately 80 USDA-accredited certifying agents that certify organic farms and businesses.

The NOP oversees the maintenance of several international agreements, including equivalency and recognition agreements. Managing these oversight activities requires a sophisticated tracking, workflow management, and reporting tool to ensure that activities are completed when required, and to track all the auditing, review, and reporting steps required to demonstrate and document compliance with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA).

NOP currently utilizes the Intact Platform software to oversee and manage accreditation business processes so that staff can track review, and report to demonstrate and document compliance with the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA). The Intact Platform software is hosted on-premises within USDA on an Azure platform. The current system was launched in 2017.

The general business workflow is provided in Appendix A.

• Appendix A: 03 Accredit System Workflow (1).pdf

3. REQUIREMENTS

The Web application should be built on a preexisting Customer Relationship Management (CRM) foundation and already customized to meet the needs of organic accreditation and certification. The CRM should be designed in a way that meets NOP’s workflow, tracking, and reporting needs. It should require only minimal technical configuration to deploy in NOP’s operating environment and is customizable to include and use organic industry terminology, workflows, and reports in accordance with National Organic Program Handbook: Guidance and Instructions for Accredited Certifying Agents and Certified Operations

Additional requirements:

• User license o Unlimited licenses under perpetual use agreement.

• Contractor IT support services o Core functionality implementation. Install, configure, test, optimize and exercise the appropriate configurations of the software components within the known constraints of the AMS IT infrastructure.

o Extended functionality implementation, as determined by the AMS system owner. Install, test, optimize and exercise the appropriate configurations of the software components within the known constraints of the AMS IT infrastructure.

o New version deployments within the Period of Performance, as https://usdagcc.sharepoint.com/:b:/r/sites/ams/AMS-ITD/Contracts_and_Agreements/Solicitations/ACCREDIT/03%20Accredit%20System%20Workflow%20(1).pdf?csf=1&web=1&e=AFNBvK https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/handbook https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/organic/handbook determined by the AMS system owner. Implement version control and release management procedures integrated with overall configuration management approach. The Contractor, before implementation, shall test all new software releases, including federal IT security scanning, and deliver proof of testing and compliance to the Government.

o The contractor will provide U.S. based Server SME support for new version deployments and Critical/Major issues as required.

o The contractor will provide training and instructional material for Master User Role to USDA.

o The contractor will adhere to below Service Level Agreement (SLA) to acknowledge the receipt of issues reported:

# Severity SLA for acknowledgement of issue

1 Critical Within 24 hours

2 Major Within 48 hours

3 Minor Within 3 to 5 business days o The contractor will adhere to below Service Level Agreement (SLA) to resolve any issue reported by USDA:

# Severity SLA for providing resolution of issue

1 Critical Within 24 hours

2 Major Within 72 hours

3 Minor One week o Interface with AMS systems, including but not limited to the

Organic Integrity Database and Organic Data Warehouses;

o Operations and maintenance support.

o The contractor will provide below training to USDA personnel:

# Type of Training

Expected Number of Trainings

1 In-person Minimum 1 per year

2 Remote Minimum 1 per year

3 On-demand pre-recorded video

Unlimited – to cover specific users and tasks which includes introduction to ECERT and Auditor o The contractor will customize all trainings and materials according to USDA/ACCREDIT version of software and according to USDA business domain.

All services provided and products delivered must comply with the federal IT security, Section 508 and agency architecture requirements.

All RFI submissions shall address the following high-level points:

1. An approach for defining, developing, and implementing workflow processes – both simple and complex.

2. Process for fully integrating and implementing the workflow processes into the MRP IT network/cloud environment, including interfaces to applications such as SharePoint 365.

3. Create form templates for building MRP IT Expertise

4. Create training materials (i.e., video, and written materials) for end users

7. Provide technical support and licensing cost information.

8. Provide examples of how the application can support the accreditation lifecycle and workflow, to include screen shots and a network diagram of the application.

In addition to the service, MRP IT will require support services for the configuration and implementation of the software.

4. CONSIDERATIONS AND CONSTRAINTS

Environmental conditions are critical elements of the larger need for cloud technologies.

Support is an essential part of any service, subscription, or purchase for AMS. Indicate the type and level of code support, business continuity, help desk and other training and deployment support.

5. USE OF RESULTS AND CONFIDENTIALITY

This RFI is for informational and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government. This RFI is intended strictly for market research. This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation for bids, proposals or quotes and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a request for proposal/quote or award a contract as a result of this request. This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a Request for Quote (RFQ). The release of this RFI does not guarantee that the Government will, in the end, complete an acquisition. The results of this RFI will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition decisions.

The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with providing information in response to this RFI, or any follow-up information requests. The Government will not notify Respondents of the results of any evaluation of the information received. The Government will not return any information submitted in response to this RFI. No email or telephone calls will be accepted requesting a quote package or solicitation. There is no quote package or solicitation. All interested sources must respond to future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this RFI.

Any document submitted in response to this RFI that contains proprietary information must be marked on the outside as containing proprietary information. Each page upon which properiatory information appears must be marked as containing proprietary information. The proprietary information must be clearly identifiable to the reader wherever it appears. All other information will be treated as non-proprietary.

The Government reserves the right to contact, or not contact, any party responding to this RFI to obtain further information for market research purposes.

6. RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

AMS is particularly interested in identifying interested vendors that are able to perform all scope areas listed herein. Interested vendors that believe they have the capability to address the requirements described herein are invited to respond to this RFI, as follows:

A. Submit one (1) electronic response by 9:00AM EASTERN, Tuesday - April 30, 2024.

• All responses shall be submitted electronically to the cognizant contracting officer, Ms. Melissa L. Kennedy at the following email address:

Melissa.Kennedy@usda.gov

• All responses should be addressed with the following E-mail Subject Line:

mailto:Melissa.Kennedy@usda.gov

“AMS RFI-- RESPONSE: NOP ACCREDITATION PRODUCTS AND

SERVICES”

B. Submit response containing the following elements:

1. A cover sheet, which clearly identifies the following information:

a. Organization name, address, and contact information (email and telephone number of a designated point of contact).

b. A brief description of type of business or organization.

c. UEI Number and socioeconomic designation of the organization (i.e. small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a), etc.)

d. Availability of the referenced products/services on existing contract vehicles, such as GSA FSS, NASA SEWP, and other federal agency IDIQ contracts: specify contract number(s), period(s) of performance, description(s), and part numbers of products/ services.

2. Organization's capability statement, and proposed approach to addressing the technical requirements detailed herein.

a. Utilize the template below to provide corporate information. Other information may be supplied in Microsoft Word or other like readable format(s).

b. Limit response to 20 pages total (not including cover sheet), using 12-point font.

Simple marketing information or reference to vendor web sites will not be considered responsive to this Notice. Faxed or mailed responses will not be considered.

c. Any document submitted in response to this RFI that contains proprietary information must be marked on the outside as containing proprietary information.

Each page upon which proprietary information appears must be marked as containing proprietary information. The proprietary information must be clearly identifiable to the reader wherever it appears.

7. CORPORATE INFORMATION TEMPLATE

AMS RFI-- CORPORATE INFORMATION TEMPLATE

Request Response Company name Company address Company web page Main products/services Main market/customers Ownership structure with ownership status in percentage

Structure of mother corporation, joint ventures, subsidiaries, partnerships or other relevant relations

Number of years on the market Company location(s) Contact person responsible for answering this RFI

Telephone Email Conditions listed in the RFI that can’t be met – see detailed requirements at end of document

Description of products or services that are already delivered to customers today, and could be comparable to what is requested in this RFI

Reference customers using comparable products or services (including contact information)

Reference customers using your products or services today, although they are not comparable with what is requested in this RFI (including contact information)

Indicate existing contract vehicles, such as GSA FSS, NASA SEWP, and other federal agency IDIQ contracts where item(s) may be purchased with current pricing

General or written responses describe requested product/services/licensing/ subscription options

All RFI submissions shall address the following high-level points: