Sources Sought Notice Call Center Services.pdf

Sources Sought Notice V1 | June 2022 Page 1

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE FOR CALL CENTER SERVICES

This announcement constitutes a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) for the purpose of determining market capability of sources. Responses to this SSN may be evaluated to identify the best qualified respondents for the next round of procurement consideration, if any.

I. DISCLAIMER

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY.

THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS NOT A NOTICE OF SOLICITATION ISSUANCE. This SSN is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Request for Quote (RFQ), nor a promise to issue an RFP or RFQ in the future. This SSN does not commit the U.S. Senate Sergeant at Arms (SAA) to contract for any supply or service.

The SAA will not accept unsolicited responses, quotes, or proposals or pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in responding to this SSN. All costs associated with responding to this SSN will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this SSN may preclude participation in a future solicitation if any solicitation is issued. If the SAA subsequently releases a solicitation, it may be published on the SAM.gov website or issued directly to the best qualified respondents that responded to the SSN.

This synopsis contains the currently available information and is subject to change at any time.

II. BACKGROUND

The purpose of this SSN is to gather information about available Call Center support services that can support Legislative Branch Organizations (LBOs) in the event of a catastrophic incident impacting Capitol Hill. This service should provide administrative and technical services required to rapidly establish and staff a Call Center that can provide primary information support and mental health counseling services to individuals and family members affected by a catastrophic event.

Call Center operations should include continuous review, updates, and evaluation of its incident handling practices and procedures during periods where there is no crisis or emergency. The SAA seeks to identify capable sources of Call Center services that can obtain limited information on an incident, status of family members, and provide telephonic mental health support following an emergency event that may result in casualties and may replace an existing service for the Congressional community, if applicable.

Responses to this SSN will assist the SAA with reviewing current Call Center support services offered in the marketplace that meet LBO’s requirements and guidelines as outlined below. The SAA requests responses outlining the Call Center services that meet or exceed the requirements set forth herein and provide a description, including the scope, Call Center services offered, and method of implementation.

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III. REQUIREMENTS

All requirements listed below are mandatory unless otherwise noted. Each item in the following sections requires a response.

Mandatory Requirements

1. Provide Call Center support services during times of emergency when critical telephone infrastructure might be diminished on Capitol Hill.

a. Call Takers should be certified and trained in basic crisis communication skills (e.g., de-escalation, stabilization, grounding, etc.) to assist callers who may be distressed and require additional support. Call Takers should be able to provide a list of available mental health resources to those callers.

2. Ensure Call Center locations and services, including all stored data related to Call Center services, are located within the continental United States, and at least 20 miles outside the National Capital Region (Washington, DC).

3. Update and maintain dormant Call Center Services to provide immediate response to a request from the LBOs for Call Center services.

a. Have all Call Center services and capabilities fully operational within one (1) hour of the activation request.

b. Provide a means of notification that allows for activation of services, 24 hours, seven (7) days a week, and 365 days a year.

4. Provide an onsite Call Center subject matter expert who can assist with accountability, information flow, reporting, and Call Center data management, if requested by an LBO.

5. Maintain a dedicated informational website for the public when Call Center services are activated.

a. Provide website maintenance to include, but not limited to audit control reviews, website security, intrusion monitoring, log audits, and reporting to the LBOs when requested.

b. Provide website that works on standard browsers and be viewable and interactive on both desktop and mobile devices (e.g., tablets and mobile phones).

c. Manage website through a content management system (e.g., WordPress, Django, Wix, etc.) and provide both a TEST and Production environment.

d. Provide website that remains a dark-site until activation is requested.

e. Ensure website complies with all applicable federal data security, privacy, and accessibility laws and standards.

f. Designate and train authorized staff from LBOs to activate and manage site content in the event of an emergency.

6. Provide an integrated accountability database that allows the exchange of individual LBO data that accounts for staff and visitors.

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a. Import data into database from individual Legislative Branch Organizations and utilize this data for Call Center services.

b. Contain database variables for individuals including:

• First Name

• Last Name

• Office

• Employer

• Unique Identifier

c. Manipulate, sort, and export data from database.

d. Incorporate the database with call taker standard operating procedures so that caller data is added as it is received.

e. Designate and train authorized staff from the LBOs to access and operate the database.

7. Participate in Call Center administrative tasks, meetings, and exercises with LBO staff.

a. Attend Call Center working group meeting.

b. Review the Legislative Branch Organization Call Center Plan and all supporting documents, as requested.

c. Participate in Call Center functional and tabletop exercises, as requested.

d. Interface with LBOs for monthly testing of the main capabilities outlined in this document.

• Produce a monthly report on the results of readiness testing for Call Center services.

e. Create multi-media training courses and instructional user guides that correspond to the main capabilities outlined in this document.

IV. GUIDELINES

In addition, respondents or their Call Center services must qualify under the following guidelines:

1. Respondents responding to the SSN and the Call Center services proposed must come from U.S. companies based in the United States.

2. Respondents may respond to the requirements within the SSN in part or in whole.

3. Respondents may utilize subcontractors to assist in meeting a requirement.

4. The SAA will not consider planned or future service enhancements when reviewing responses.

I. INSTRUCTIONS:

Respondents should respond to this Notice by submitting an information package in accordance with the following instructions.

1. Respondents must submit the following in their response to this SSN:

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a. A narrative identifying Call Center services, with a brief and concise description of the services proposed, scope of services offered and method of implementation for the proposed Call Center services.

b. For each mandatory requirement listed under Mandatory Requirements, Respondent must state if proposed service meets the requirement or not and provide a concise explanation for meeting the requirement or not.

c. For Guidelines, the Respondent must provide specific information for meeting each guideline.

d. Respondents should provide business information including the following:

i. Company Name and;

ii. Division or Department (if applicable);

iii. Submitter’s Name;

iv. Company/Division/Department Address, Telephone and Fax Numbers;

v. Point of Contact (if different from Submitter), Title or Position, Mobile

Number and Email Address;

vi. Company SAM Registration, CAGE, Unique Entity ID and Tax

Identification numbers

2. The response shall not exceed ten (10) pages. Unnecessarily elaborate submissions are discouraged. Pages over the page limitation may be discarded. SAA access to information in any files attached to the response is the submitting party’s responsibility. Neither the SAA nor the Senate is responsible for any failure to access respondent's information.

3. Responses to this Sources Sought Notice are due to the SAA on ,February 3, 2026, at

5pm ET, and shall be submitted electronically, via email, to the attention of Tonia Courtney at acquisitions@saa.senate.gov. The subject line of the email message shall be:

“2026-S-016 Call Center Services.” No other method of transmittal will be accepted.

4. The LBOs will evaluate the SSN responses to qualify them for the next round of procurement consideration, if any. NOTE: Respondents, whose SSN responses are not selected for the next round of procurement consideration, if any, will not be debriefed nor provided information on the evaluation of their response.

5. Respondents whose SSN responses are deemed best qualified by the LBOs may be invited to the next round of procurement consideration, if any, in a format deemed appropriate by the LBOs. The SAA will notify these respondents directly wherein the format for this next round of procurement will be announced.

The information contained in this Notice is the most current and the only information provided by the SAA during this phase of the Sources Sought process. Potential respondents are responsible for monitoring sam.gov for possible additional information pertaining to this requirement.

mailto:acquisitions@saa.senate.gov

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THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS NOTICE CONSTITUTES THE

ENTIRE SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE AND IS THE ONLY INFORMATION

PROVIDED BY THE SAA OR SENATE. ANY QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS FOR

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL NOT BE HONORED OR ACCEPTED.