Contact Center Assessment_RFI_Amendment 1.docx

USCIS Contact Center Assessment Request for Information/Sources Sought Notice

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (SS-RFI), AS DEFINED BY FAR 15.201 (e)

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing this Request for Information/Sources Sought Notice to identify businesses to provide Contact Center Assessments for USCIS External Affairs Directorate (EXA). This notice is issued solely for the purpose of conducting market research in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10 and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposal, or Request for Quotations. No solicitation is being issued at this time and the Government makes no assertion that a solicitation will be issued. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract, nor do they affect a potential offeror's ability to respond to any future synopsis/solicitation which may or may not follow or restrict the U.S. Government's eventual acquisition approach. Additionally, the U.S. Government is not obligated to, and will not provide reimbursement for any information that may be submitted in response to this notice. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding.

USCIS requests that interested businesses provide evidence that they are capable of meeting or exceeding the objectives identified below.

Background:

The External Affairs Directorate (EXA) mission is to ensure that USCIS conveys unified, timely, and accurate messaging to our workforce and external stakeholders. Through public outreach, online tools, digital access, and educational resources, we increase understanding of immigration, promote the importance of U.S. Citizenship, and enhance the experience for all we serve at USCIS. Most of this service is done through the USCIS Contact Center (UCC) and the 1-800 number system for USCIS. The 1-800 line provides the general public with prompt and accurate information to their telephonic inquiries regarding immigration laws and benefits. The UCC 1-800 number receives more than 1 million telephonic inquiries a month. When a Respondent/Stakeholder calls the UCC 1-800 number, the call goes directly to an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, which is available in English and Spanish. Roughly 6 million calls are escalated from the IVR to the Tier 1 Contact Center. If the Respondent/Stakeholder cannot receive resolution to their inquiry through the IVR, the Respondent/Stakeholder can request to speak to a live Tier 1 contracted Information Specialist (IS) at a Tier 1 location. After speaking to an IS, if the Respondent/Stakeholder requires additional support or has a unique and complex scenario, the IS will transfer the call to an Immigration Services Officer (ISO) at a USCIS Contact Center, roughly 1.2 million of all calls received by Tier 1 ISs are transferred to Tier 2 ISOs. In this second line of support, ISOs who are USCIS federal employees have an extensive immigration law background, provide more case specific information and resolution to Respondents/Stakeholders inquiries. Tier 2 Contact Center ISOs are located in Contact Center East, Contact Center West, and Contact Center Mid-west.

USCIS also provides information to Respondent/Stakeholder via the USCIS website (www.uscis.gov) and has also implemented a number of self-service options available on the website. USCIS has offices throughout the United States that Respondent/Stakeholder visit in order to apply for immigration related services and benefits, and to have interviews with Immigration Services Officers (ISOs) and Adjudication Officers (AOs). USCIS Local Offices have information rooms that have various presentation graphics materials available to Respondent/Stakeholder, which contain immigration related information on policies, immigration laws, and procedures to apply for immigration benefits. The USCIS myUSCIS website and online tools will allow Respondent/Stakeholder to locally manage their application.

Purpose and Objective:

The purpose of this sources sought notice is to identify vendors who can provide Contact Center Assessments to meet the USCIS mission.

Capability Statement / Information Sought:

Interested businesses are encouraged to respond to this notice. However, be advised that generic capability statements are not sufficient for effective evaluation of respondents’ capacity and capability to perform the specific work as required. Please do not include marketing materials but address the ability to meet the requirements as outlined in the performance work statement.

Capability Statement Requirements:

The vendor will provide details on how to provide the services outlined in the Performance Work Statement (PWS), attached as document A.

Response Format and Guidelines

Responses are due by 1:00pm est. Wednesday June, 8th 2022.

Responses to this notice shall include a Statement of Qualifications/Capabilities Statement package and a cover letter. The cover letter shall, at a minimum, include the following information: 1. Response to Request for Information/Sources Sought Notice questions 1-3 above; 2. Vendor’s Company Name, Address, Contact Person Information; 3. Vendor’s UEI Number; 4. Business Size and Size Standard / Classification.

Please identify your size classification relative to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 541613 for this requirement. Include if you are a small business; HUBZone small business; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small business; women-owned small business; or small disadvantaged business in order to assist the government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.

No phone calls related to this SS-RFI will be accepted. All correspondence must be via email. All responses need to be provided in electronic format (.doc, .docx or PDF). USCIS requests that the capability statement not exceed 10 single-sided pages in length. Font should be Times New Roman, size 12. Tables, charts, figures, and graphics font size must be no less than 9 point. Please submit responses. There is no guarantee that any or all questions will be answered. Any interpretation or additional information will be provided in writing by the Contracting Officer. The government may have follow-up sessions with your company to further explore their comments or recommendations.

Please note that the collection of this data does not obligate the U.S. Government to the incorporation of the solicited comments in any future procurement action nor does it obligate the Government to the procurement of any services or products related to this notice.

Please provide a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) of the price of the project described in the Performance Work Statement.

Proprietary information should not be included in the responses.

Responses to this notice will not be returned.

POINT OF CONTACT

Information submitted in response to this notice must be submitted electronically (via email) to the following:

Name: Nicole Russo, Contract Specialist Email: Nicole.Russo@uscis.dhs.gov

Name: Mary Shinney, Contracting Officer Email: Mary.A.Shinney@uscis.dhs.gov

Additional Information:

There is no commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, to make an award(s), or to be responsible for any monies expended by any interested parties in support of any effort in response to this sources sought notice. Any information submitted in response to this sources sought notice is a strictly voluntary. This sources sought notice is for information planning purposes and the Government will not pay or otherwise reimburse respondents for information submitted. It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor this site for the release of any follow-on information. All documentation shall become the property of the Government. Unless otherwise stated herein, no additional information is available and any request for additional information will be disregarded.

Attachment:

A. Draft Performance Work Statement

70SBUR22I00000029