88310324RFI00006 Request for Information - Market Research Archives I and PL Ticketing System.docx

NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

National Archives in Washington, D.C. and Presidential Libraries Ticketing System

NAMA-24-RFI-0006

1.0 Introduction

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an independent Federal agency that helps safeguard and preserve our nation's history by overseeing the management of all Federal records. The stories of our nation and our people are told in the records and artifacts cared for in NARA facilities around the country and people can discover, use, and learn from this documentary heritage. The mission is to ensure ready access to the essential evidence that documents the rights of American citizens, the actions of Federal officials, and the national experience.

This Request for Information (RFI) is intended strictly for market research. It is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. Potential solutions presented may or may not lead to a solicitation. Any decision to proceed with a solicitation would be based, in part, on available funding.

NARA is a small agency with limited internal information technology (IT) development and systems engineering resources, we are interested in SaaS solutions that:

2.0 Description/Objective

NARA’s Public Museum Engagement and Legislative Archive (L) operates and manages the Rotunda, exhibit spaces, and learning space at the National Archives in Washington, D.C. (Archives I) and the Office of Presidential Libraries (PL) operates and manages the Presidential Libraries and Museums around the country. Nearly two million visitors each year come to the physical sites of the National Archives, primarily Archives I and the Presidential Libraries, to view exhibits or participate in education and public programs.

Presently visitors to the Archives I and the Presidential Libraries use separate ticketing systems. Archives I uses Recreation.gov for its online ticketing capabilities. Recreation.gov is the federal government’s centralized travel planning and reservation platform that allows users to find and reserve experiences at 14 federal agencies. Admission to Archives I is free but an advance reservation convenience fee of $1 is charged for each ticket to those using Recreation.gov to reserve tickets before their visit. Tickets reserved online allow users to have a timed entry thereby bypassing potentially long lines waiting to enter the exhibits. The exhibit space and learning space in Archives I are currently undergoing renovations that are planned to be completed in the summer of 2025. NARA’s objective is to enhance the visitor experience through updated ticketing capability to coincide with the completion of the renovations.

NARA’s PL use a paid entry ticketing system that is provided by ACME Technologies, referred to as the Visitor Services System (VSS). VSS is a software as a service (SaaS) ticketing, payment, event, and resource management solution that integrates with NARA’s implementation of Microsoft Dynamics Great Plains to manage its financial transactions. The SaaS application includes tenants for 13 of the Presidential Libraries and Museums. The Eight (8) libraries listed below use the system to support onsite ticket sales, handled through a “box office” model where NARA personnel handle the transactions onsite at a point of sale (POS) system; reserve school groups and other group tours; and manage facility rentals and equipment reservations for those rentals.

· Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, West Branch, IA

· Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, Hyde Park, NY (National Park Service manages on-site and online group reservation sales only)

· Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, Independence, MO

· Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Abilene, KS

· John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston, MA

· Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum

· Library – Ann Arbor, MI

· Museum – Grand Rapids, MI

· Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, Atlanta, GA

· George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, College Station, TX The remaining Presidential Libraries that do not use the POS front-end, use an alternative ticketing system not within the scope of this contract. However, they do use VSS to manage the sharing and storage of visitor statistics collected via the alternative ticketing systems. The Libraries that use the system to collect third-party ticketing information for statistical review include:

● Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and Museum, Austin, TX

● Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, CA

● Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum, Simi Valley, CA

● William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum, Little Rock, AR

● George W. Bush Presidential Library, Dallas, TX NARA’s existing contract with ACME Technologies has one option period remaining which will end in September of 2025.

As a component of the Archives I renovation effort, NARA would like to combine its ticketing capabilities into one configurable solution for a more efficient and cost-effective means of providing a high quality user experience to all of its visitors. NARA issues this RFI to obtain technical information about commercially available SaaS cloud hosted products that can be used by NARA as an enterprise ticketing, admission and visitor, and event management system for both the Archives I and the Presidential Libraries. NARA requires a system that will integrate onsite and online sales, individual and group reservations, add, manage, and track memberships, provide resource management and reporting into a single user-friendly and configurable system for both the Archives I and the Presidential Libraries. The goals of deploying a single, integrated ticketing system are to ensure consistency and automation of the reporting of attendance and sales data; simplifying financial processing; simplifying operations and maintenance of the system; and making visiting a NARA site requiring ticketing as convenient as possible for the general public.

The ticketing system will allow NARA staff to better manage visitor flow, promote deeper exploration of onsite and online resources, and expand the visitor experience beyond the specific ticketed day by sending via email curated pre-visit and post-visit information such as satisfaction surveys, accessibility information, and other relevant data that allow guests to build an itinerary and customize their experience. A ticketing system will also assist with managing visitor flow through advanced ticket sales and timed ticketing reservations.

NARA requires a Contractor to furnish, configure and deploy a SaaS ticketing system that is scalable; cloud-hosted; capable of meeting NARA’s needs with minimal integration and configuration modifications; and does not require significant changes to business processes or employee workflows. The Contractor shall be responsible for the full project lifecycle, which includes, but is not limited to: migration of legacy data to the new system (if applicable), reconciliation of all legacy data, configuration of the system; deployment; training of the NARA internal users on the operations of the system; operations and maintenance of the system; periodic enhancements to the system for Archives I and each of NARA’s Presidential Libraries; and eventual migration at the end of the period of performance. The working draft of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) for this requirement is included as an attachment to this RFI. NARA’s draft system requirements are included in the attached Requirements Verification Traceability Matrix (RVTM). Reference attached excel spreadsheet entitled “L Ticketing System_RVTM_ 2024June7”.

3.0 Response Instructions

3.1 Content

Briefly describe your company, products and services, history, ownership, financial information, and other information you deem relevant. Provide points of contact, company address, phone/fax number, email, website, and business size and type (i.e. large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business). Include any appropriate copyrighted, patented, trademark, or sensitive information markings. Additionally, provide your Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) for validation of your www.sam.gov registration.

You are encouraged to provide information on your company’s products and services in support of the stated need. Respond only if you can provide the total solution. Indicate whether your product is commercially available or is on the General Services Administration Federal Supply Schedule or other Government-wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC). Specifically provide comments on any stated requirements that you believe cannot be implemented with a SaaS solution. Furthermore, please include substantive responses to the following questions:

Additionally, Contractors are encouraged to provide recommendations concerning the requirements in the PWS and the RVTM enclosed with this RFI.

3.2 Format

Responses shall be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF). Supplemental product brochures or marketing materials outlining specifications and capabilities may also be submitted.

3.3 Due Date

Each RFI response should be e-mailed to the Points of Contact listed below. The subject of the email should be "National Archives and PL Ticketing System RFI Response (88310324RFI00006)". Responses to this RFI should be received by 4:00 PM ET on July 9, 2024. Responses submitted after this date and time may not be accepted. Firms submitting via e-mail are cautioned to allow one extra business day for delivery and confirm receipt of response as the e-mail will need to pass through IT security.

3.4 Questions

Questions regarding this RFI shall be submitted in writing via email to the Points of Contact listed below by 12:00 PM ET on June 21, 2024. Verbal questions will not be accepted.

4.0 Disclaimer

This RFI is issued for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for information received in response to this RFI. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked “Proprietary” will be handled accordingly. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Information provided in response to this RFI will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for determining how to proceed in the acquisition process and may lead to the development of a work statement. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

5.0 Industry Engagement

NARA may choose to engage with responders. However, such engagement is intended to clarify aspects of the response.

6.0 Points of Contact

James Philiposian (Contractor), Contract Specialist james.philiposian@nara.gov and

Kevin Monahan, Contracting Officer kevin.monahan@nara.gov