2025-12-07 Future J-Books Platform RFI.pdf

THIS IS MARKET RESEARCH ONLY

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

SOURCES SOUGHT/REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

UNITED STATES AIR FORCE

AIR FORCE LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT CENTER (AFLCMC)

BUSINESS AND ENTERPRISE SYSTEMS (BES)

ENTERPRISE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS DIVISION (BES/GBG)

FUTURE J-BOOKS PLATFORM:

AI-ENABLED CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET JUSTIFICATION PLATFORM

1. DESCRIPTION

Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), and Business Enterprise Systems (BES), Financial Systems Division (GBG) are seeking information on how an interested contractor could provide technical support and services to develop, implement, and maintain a modernized Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled Congressional Justification Books (J-Books) platform. The current J-Book creation process is highly manual, labor-intensive, and requires meticulous data management across multiple non-standard tools while maintaining compliance with OMB Circular A-11 and DoD 7000.14-R requirements. This new platform would consolidate the requirements from four legacy Air Force systems: Integrated Budget Documentation and Execution System (IDECS), Exhibit Automation System (EAS), Air Force MILPERS Integrated Data and Analytics System (AF MIDAS), and Keystone Decision Support System (KDSS).

AFLCMC requires capabilities to meet current legacy system J-Books requirements and have extensive knowledge of AI-enabled Corporate Performance Management (CPM) platforms, Large Language Models (LLMs), AI Agents, as well as cloud experience that meet the DoD Impact Level (IL)-4 and IL-5 classification requirements.

This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an invitation for bid, request for quotation, request for proposal (RFP), or as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. A response to this RFI will be treated as information only. No entitlement to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses to this announcement or the Government use of such information. This request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort.

The information provided is considered market research and may be used by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) in developing its acquisition strategy, Statement of Objectives (SOO) or Performance Work Statement (PWS), and performance specifications. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. The Government reserves the right to contact the submitting parties, on an as-required basis, for further clarification on material provided. The Government reserves the right to contact additional customers to obtain information that will be used to evaluate the offeror's interest.

2. CAPABILITY REQUIREMENTS AND CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

This RFI seeks market research for developing an AI-enabled Future J-Books Platform. While no official system requirements exist, interested sources should demonstrate capabilities across the following integrated solution areas and provide comprehensive responses to qualification areas below.

CAPABILITY AREA REQUIREMENTS

AI-Enabled Budget System Development

• Develop and implement LLMs, AI Agents, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for automated narrative generation, document analysis, and exhibit creation to achieve target time savings

• Provide dynamic decision support modeling capabilities for J-Book exhibits that can rapidly assimilate new data sources and accommodate Congressional reporting changes required by Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)

• Enable automated business logic for J-Book creation activities with role-based access to consolidated logic packages for different appropriation justification requirements

Corporate Performance

Management Platform Integration

• Implement modern CPM platform consolidating budget formulation and justification processes and requirements from four legacy systems (IDECS, EAS, AF MIDAS, and KDSS) into a single enterprise solution

• Implement enterprise CPM platform specifically configured for Congressional budget justification processes, enabling automated exhibit generation, narrative compilation, cross-appropriation analysis, and standardized J-Book formatting that supports multiple budget cycles while maintaining compliance with OMB and Congressional reporting requirements

Data Integration and Processing

• Process and merge diverse data sources into analytical cubes for efficient J-Book exhibit manipulation and justification calculation

• Handle expense reports, obligation data, reimbursable reports, planned strength numbers, and Program Manager inputs for comprehensive J-Book narrative development

• Maintain comprehensive audit trails with transparent metadata layers and end-to-end data traceability for Congressional oversight and J-Book validation

Cloud Architecture and DevSecOps Implementation

• Define and implement secure cloud architecture within IL-4/IL-5 classification levels, including DevSecOps pipelines, continuous integration/deployment, and Risk Management Framework (RMF) compliance

Cybersecurity and Compliance

Implementation

• Implement and validate security controls including NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, required STIGs, Task Order 44 (TO44) requirements for PAM, ICAM, SIEM, Software Security, Zero Trust architecture, and achieve an Authority to Operate

(ATO)

PPBE Process Integration and

Training

• Provide comprehensive DoD Planning, Programming, Budgeting & Execution (PPBE) process expertise, knowledge transfer, and training to designated Air Force PMO and user community

CAPABILITY AREA REQUIREMENTS

• Support multiple appropriation types with specialized J-Book templates and business logic for different organizational component justifications

• Enable self-service J-Book analytics allowing end users to conduct expanded ad-hoc exhibit analysis and Congressional justification reporting through an intuitive user interface

Timeline and Performance Targets

• Reduce J-Book preparation cycle times through automation of manual data processing and exhibit generation

• Improve accuracy of military personnel J-Book estimates and Congressional justification narratives

• Enhance J-Book auditability through web-based workflows and comprehensive Congressional reporting capabilities

REQUIRED RESPONSE TOPICS - ADDRESS ALL AREAS BELOW

Minimum Experience Required:

• Demonstrated competence in developing and implementing AI solutions

• Experience with CPM platforms and budget formulation systems

• Experience with cloud environments and DoD cybersecurity requirements

• Past project references from within the last three (3) years relating to described capabilities

• Available DoD contractual vehicles for Air Force access to your services

Company Background and Experience

• Provide company overview including experience with AI-enabled financial systems, particularly LLMs and automated document generation for government budget processes

• Detail successful AI implementation projects in DoD financial systems executed in past three years, including scope, outcomes, quantifiable efficiency improvements, AI capabilities implemented, challenges faced, and solutions

AI and Technical Expertise

• Describe team expertise in LLMs, AI Agents, RAG, and automated narrative generation for budget justification documents

• Detail experience with CPM platforms and their possible integration with AI capabilities for budget formulation and Congressional reporting

• Explain methods for ensuring AI-generated content maintains accuracy, compliance with federal budget guidance, and audit trail requirements

PPBE Process and Compliance Expertise

• Demonstrate team understanding of DoD Planning, Programming, Budgeting & Execution processes and Congressional justification requirements

• Describe compliance approach for OMB Circulars, DoD 7000.14-R, FIAR requirements, and any other compliance areas

• Detail experience with budget exhibit generation, J-Book formatting, and Congressional reporting standards

Cybersecurity and Cloud Implementation

• Describe team expertise in cloud architecture, security, and compliance at IL-4/IL-5 classification levels

• Explain compliance methodology for NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, Task Order 44 requirements, Zero Trust architecture, and Authority to Operate (ATO) achievement

• Detail DevSecOps methodology and approach for continuous security monitoring and threat detection in AI-enabled financial systems

Timeline and Performance Targets

• Provide an initial timeline for developing and implementing AI-enabled budget systems consolidating four legacy application requirements into this Future J-Books Platform

• Explain strategy to achieve target performance improvements including savings in program analysis, time savings in exhibit generation, and time savings in narrative generation.

• Identify factors that could impact implementation timeline and describe mitigation strategies

4. HOW TO RESPOND

Interested sources are requested to submit a response to this RFI. Contractor's submittal shall be:

• 10 pages or less o Cover page, table of contents, foldouts, and acronym lists are not included in page count.

• Times New Roman, size 12-point font

• Lesser but readable font acceptable for headers, footers, tables, and graphics

• One (1) inch margins

• Page size should be 8.5 x 11 inches

Past project references must relate to the experience described in this announcement that has occurred within the past three (3) years. Any existing DoW contractual vehicles available for this Air Force organization to gain access to your services should be provided with your submission.

The capabilities package should present clear evidence that the interested party is fully capable of providing the requirements and may contain any information the interested party feels is relevant. Responses should include the following:

• Company name.

• Company address.

• Point-of-Contact (POC) names and titles for further clarifications or questions.

• POC telephone number and e-mail address.

• UEI and CAGE codes.

• Company size, including the number of employees and annual revenue

• Participation in the 8(a) Program, including copy of letter from the Small Business

Administration (SBA) providing proof, if applicable. The place of performance would be in and around the Dayton, Ohio area.

• Webpage URLs.

Capability Packages must be submitted NLT 6 January 2026 at 5:00 PM EST. To submit, e-mail to douglas.miller.36@us.af.mil and daniel.berens@us.af.mil to request a DoD SAFE link through which to submit your proposal.

5. QUESTIONS

Any questions (technical, contractual, etc.) shall be submitted via email to Mr. Douglas Miller, douglas.miller.36@us.af.mil, and Mr. Daniel Berens, daniel.berens@us.af.mil. Telephone inquiries are not acceptable. NO SOLICITATION IS AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. The assigned Points-of-Contact (POCs) will not respond to requests for solicitation material.

6. SUMMARY

If submitting company Proprietary Information or competition sensitive information, please make sure it is CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate Proprietary Information to the maximum extent possible. All segregated proprietary information will be protected by the Government.

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only to identify sources that can provide support for a Future J-Books Platform. The information provided in the RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Air Force has not made a commitment to procure any of the support discussed, and release of this RFI should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Any questions should be directed to the Contracting Officer as identified above.

DOUGLAS S. MILLER

CONTRACTING OFFICER

AFLCMC/GBKG