NFC Forward System Integration and Solutions Request for Information.docx

Request for Information USDA National Finance Center – NFC Forward Program

1.0 Description

1.1 Introduction

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is looking for market research responses to implement modern enterprise solutions for the National Finance Center (NFC) and its customers.

As a Federal shared service provider and component of the USDA Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), NFC assists over 150 USDA and other government and quasi-government agencies in achieving cost-effective, standardized, and interoperable solutions that provide the functionality to support those agencies’ strategic financial management and human resource management directions. The NFC enterprise includes systems and services in the following areas: payroll, human resources, time and attendance, insurance processing, and associated data analytics.

To remain effective, adaptable, and capable of meeting the evolving needs of government agencies, NFC is pursuing an initiative aimed at improving operations and enhancing enterprise solutions. See Appendix A for NFC’s enterprise components and systems in potential scope for inclusion in the NFC Forward Program.

This RFI seeks to identify industry partners capable and interested in performing the enterprise system integration and/or solutions support. The Government is looking for industry best practices, lessons learned and ideas on how to upgrade their enterprise solutions to scale their services, adapt to changing requirements, mitigate risk of aging legacy mainframe systems and prepare for future technology innovations. The Government is interested in modern HCM SaaS solution implementations but also other ideas such as rehosting, refactoring and other industry solutions. For this RFI, we are interested in individual responses from system integrators and software vendors to inform this initiative’s approach and acquisition strategy. We are not looking for software vendors to provide a particular integration partner. Instead, we are seeking potential solution(s) and a cost range for implementing this solution(s) if response is from a vendor.

1.2 Request for Information (RFI)

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP)/Request for Quote (RFQ) or a promise to issue an RFP/RFQ in the future.

This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, USDA is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals.

In accordance with FAR 52.215-3, Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes, the Government will not pay for any information/items submitted in response to the RFI. Respondents are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP/RFQ, if any is issued. No determination as to the viability of this requirement has been made at this point and there is currently no solicitation for this effort. Any solicitation resulting from this RFI will be announced separately.

2.0 Requested Information

For purposes of the RFI, USDA is seeking preliminary information to evaluate viable options available to achieve the NFC Forward Program goals and objectives. Please generate responses to the following items.

Corporate Capability and Prior Experience

1) Provide 3 past performance examples that show your company has supported an HR improvement program of this scale, scope, and complexity for Government and/or Commercial organizations. Each example must contain name of company or organization, contract name and number, contract value, period of performance, number of employees/end-users, description of services provided and resulting outcomes of services performed.

2) Provide a concise description of your company’s corporate experience including sample projects providing support in each of the following areas as applicable (note: if you are a software vendor, please provide information where your solution was implemented meeting the same requirements)

a. Implementing modern human capital management cloud solutions for commercial or government agencies such with at least 250,000 employees and multiple organizational customers with differing HR and payroll requirements

b. Modernizing legacy mainframes and data centers to cloud infrastructure for the Federal Government, public sector, or commercial clients

c. Implementing modern HR solutions for the Federal Government including those that may not be cloud-based

d. Maintaining enterprise human capital software to the Federal Government, public sector, or commercial clients

e. Providing system integration and/or software to a Federal Government, public sector, or commercial clients

f. Integrating any nonpayroll proposed software solutions with a mainframe or other enterprise payroll solutions

Program Approach and Solution

3) Provide your recommendations for how NFC should approach the improvement of its enterprise architecture including core HR (Personnel and Benefits processing), payroll, time and attendance, reporting, and insurance processing. Provide justification, such as pros and cons, of the suggested approach vs. other approaches. As part of your recommendations, please consider the following:

a. Would you recommend a full SaaS solution to meet all of NFC’s current functional needs, a best of breed approach for the enterprise architecture, and/or are there other approaches you would recommend?

b. Would you recommend refactoring, rehosting and/or an alternative approach for improving NFC’s legacy mainframe PPS system?

c. Is there another option you might propose that we have not considered?

d. How would you account for other systems in NFC’s architecture not related to HR or Payroll, such as tribal insurance etc.?

e. NFC will be conducting additional market research for a viable SaaS product in the coming weeks specific to replacing its core HR solution, EmpowHR. What are the advantages and disadvantages to only replacing the core HR solution and not the entire NFC architecture?

4) Considering that NFC is a Shared Service Provider servicing 150+ customer agencies, how would your solution approach the challenges that arise from a multi-tenant environment such as security and data isolation? What solutions or technologies would you suggest for reliable file transfers and/or system integration with external organizations?

5) Are there additional solutions, capabilities and/or functionality that NFC should incorporate into its future enterprise to meet the evolving needs of their customers? If so, please briefly describe some ideas.

6) Based on your enterprise architecture recommendations, provide a high-level implementation approach and schedule for NFC to upgrade its enterprise across its customer base. We are interested in industry’s perspective on overall timing to implement a modern enterprise architecture, and recommended deployment approach (e.g., sequencing of modules, customer base, etc.).

7) From your experience, how can NFC ensure uninterrupted business operations during the NFC Forward Program including timely processing of accurate payroll throughout the implementation?

8) From your experience, provide the biggest risks that NFC should prepare for when upgrading its enterprise systems.

Pricing Considerations

9) Provide a cost estimate range to implement your suggested enterprise architecture and deployment approach. If you are not tied to an approach as an integrator, provide a narrative description of potential recommended options to meet NFC’s needs. Include breakdown of implementation, operations and maintenance, and/or solution/license costs based on your solution and role (e.g., system integrator, solution provider). Provide the scope, schedule, and any other key assumptions your company made to provide the estimate range. Use the NFC Forward Program RFI_Pricing Details spreadsheet attachment to respond to this question.

10) Provide the information your company will need to determine pricing for system integration and solution/license costs.

Procurement Considerations

11) Provide your recommendation(s) for how the Government should procure the system integration and HR solutions from industry (e.g., single award system integration and solutions, phased procurement, best of breed, etc.).

12) Provide your recommendations for how the Government should structure the procurement including evaluation approach and criteria. We are interested in industry’s perspective on innovative procurement approaches to increase overall program success and minimize implementation risk.

13) Provide your recommendations for the contract vehicles that would be best suited to procure system integration and/or enterprise solutions in support of the NFC Forward Program.

14) Provide your recommendations for how the Government should engage industry during the procurement process to incorporate industry insights and perspectives into the procurement approach.

3.0 Industry Discussions

USDA representatives may or may not choose to communicate with Respondents. Such discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of service(s) required to meet NFC’s requirements, especially any risks, issues, assumptions and/or gaps.

4.0 Responses

4.1 Interested Parties

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with an via email to Frederick.Freeman@usda.gov with the subject “NFC Forward Program Response”, and should not reach out to any USDA or NFC individual in regards to this effort during the RFI response and analysis phases. The Government expects all communications surrounding this effort to be directed to the Contracting Officer Frederick Freeman.

4.2 Electronic Responses

RFI Responses must include on the cover page:

· Firm Name or organization affiliation

· Address

· Name of the primary point of contact (POC) for the response

· Business Title, Email Address and Phone Number for primary POC

· Identification of other key individual(s) who collaborated on RFI

· Unique Entity ID (UEI)

· Website

· Socioeconomic designations

4.3 Response Format

to serve as a master submission and one editable copy in Microsoft Office Word and Microsoft Excel for the RFI_Pricing Details spreadsheet attachment

4.4 Questions

Submit RFI responses via Sam.gov by August 6th, 2024, by 3:00pm ET/1:00pm MT.

Interested parties should send questions regarding this RFI via email to Frederick.Freeman@usda.gov with the subject “NFC Forward Program Questions”, by July 16th, 2024, by 5:00pm ET/3:00pm MT. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. Questions and responses will be posted to Sam.gov; accordingly, questions shall NOT contain proprietary information.

4.5 Market Research Notices

Based on the responses submitted to this RFI, the Government reserves the right to issue all future requests for quotes directly to identified sources via email, in accordance with FAR 8.405- 3(b)(1)(ii)(B)(2) and/or FAR 8.405-2(c)(3)(iii)(B).

4.6 Appendix A: NFC Current Enterprise Systems

The components and systems in the diagram below are in potential scope for the NFC’s Forward Program. For more information about our services and solutions, please visit our website: HR Line of Business Services | National Finance Center (usda.gov).

4.7 Appendix B: NFC Customer Overview

NFC serves approximately 170 agencies across the Federal government. The customers include executive agencies, judicial agencies, financial institutions, quasi-federal agencies and other small agencies. The table below summarizes the representative pay plans covered in NFC HR and payroll solutions for their customers.

SZ – Employees in Smithsonian executive non-Federal (Trust) positions at the Smithsonian Institution

TM – Federal Housing Finance Board Merit Pay

TM – Federal Housing Finance Board Merit Pay

TR – Police Forces of the U S Mint and Bureau of Engraving and Printing

KP – Government Printing Office engineering journeypersons rate image2.png image1.png