Call for Solutions_Army HR Intelligent Engagement Platform 29 JUL 2025.pdf

CALL FOR SOLUTIONS

Army HR Intelligent Engagement Platform

Project Number Enterprise_25-03

Army Open Soliciation (AOS) Number W9128Z-25-S-A002

Call for Solution Title Army HR Intelligent Engagement Platform

Issued By Program Executive Office Enterprise (PEO Enterprise) Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army Increment II (IPPS-A Inc II)

Submission Instructions To respond to this Call for Solution, please refer to Sections 7 of this Call for Solution

*Solution Briefs Due Date/Time (Suspense)

12 AUG 2025 at 1700 Central Standard Time

(CST)

Point of Contracts (POCs) for Solution Brief Submission

Agreements Officer:

kyle.d.holgorsen.civ@army.mil

Specialist: brooke.b.sheraden.civ@army.mil

NOTE: Please advise the cognizant Agreements Officer and Specialist as soon as possible via the emails above if your organization intends to submit a Solution Brief in response to this Call for Solution.

*Any submissions that are received by the Agreements Officer after the suspense date/time listed above will be deemed late and not evaluated. It is the sole responsibility of the company to ensure that its submission is received in the inboxes listed above before the deadline specified.

This Call for Solution may result in the Government awarding Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contracts or non-FAR agreements In Accordance With (IAW) Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 212.70 – Defense Commercial Solutions Opening. This Call for Solution, and any Other Transaction (OT) that may be awarded from this Call for Solution, is not subject to the FAR or its supplements.

1. BACKGROUND.

The current fragmented approach to Army HR service delivery at Tier 0 (self-service) across systems and commands results in inefficiencies, delays, and a suboptimal experience for Soldiers and civilian personnel. This concept proposes an intelligent engagement layer that provides a unified, secure, and user-friendly interface to enable the construction and alignment of various agents to access authoritative HR systems through Single Sign-On (SSO) and open APIs. This layer will empower agents to efficiently answer questions, update data, and resolve issues, leading to improved service delivery, reduced costs, and increased Soldier satisfaction.

2. PROBLEM STATEMENT.

Soldiers and civilian personnel often face challenges when seeking HR information and support. The lack of a unified and persistent interface for accessing support, and the reliance on in-person work and office hours, inhibits readiness, erodes trust, and fails to meet the expectations of a digitally native workforce accustomed to on-demand service.

Soldiers and civilians may encounter problems including:

Navigating multiple, disconnected HR systems is time-consuming and frustrating, requiring multiple logon usernames and passwords or the need to access multiple disparate applications.

Limited self-service capabilities force users to rely on higher tiers of support for simple inquiries.

Disparate data sources can lead to inaccurate or outdated information and creates challenges to data integrity and usability.

Managing access to multiple systems poses security risks and administrative overhead.

3. DESIRED SOLUTION OBJECTIVES: Army HR Intelligent Engagement Platform

The Army is seeking a solution for implementation of a scalable, conversational, intelligent engagement layer for potentially multiple agents that provides a single point of entry for all Army HR questions, tasks, and transactions, designed to streamline HR service delivery at Tier 0. Key features include:

Single-sign On (SSO): Secure access to all authorized HR systems through a single login, reducing password fatigue and improving security.

Unified Interface: A user-friendly one-stop interface for users to query data, policies, and other key HR resources.

Knowledge Base Integration: Access to a comprehensive knowledge base of HR policies, procedures, and FAQs.

Automated Workflows: Pre-built workflows to automate common HR tasks, such as address updates, benefits enrollment, and absence requests.

Open API Architecture: Seamless integration with existing and future HR systems through open APIs, ensuring interoperability and scalability.

Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Granular access control to ensure that agents can only access the data and functions they are authorized to use.

Audit Trail: Comprehensive audit logging to track all user activity and ensure accountability.

Mobile-Ready: Accessible over mobile and traditional interfaces to ensure the ability for Soldiers and Civilians to rapidly access solutions.

Refer to Attachment 0001 – Statement of Objectives (SOO) for details.

4. AWARDING INSTRUMENT.

This Call for Solution solicitation will be awarded in accordance with the Army Open Solicitation procedures detailed within Solicitation W9128Z-25-S-002, posted to SAM.gov on 29 July 2025.

5. SOLICITATION NOTES.

In addition to the general guidelines included in the Open Solicitation, the following guidelines apply to this Call for Solution:

Offerors are responsible for monitoring SAM.gov for any amendments to this solicitation that may have updated information.

The Government will give preference to submissions that demonstrate an innovative, existing, and reference-viable commercial ability to accomplish the desired solution attributes listed above and in the SOO.

Resellers and academic research proposals are not desired.

The Solution Brief must identify any intellectual property involved in the effort and associated restrictions on the Government’s use of that intellectual property.

The Government reserves the right to go directly from Solution Brief to award.

The Government reserves the right to award more than one (1) award resulting from this Call for Solution or to make no award.

6. GENERAL INFORMATION AND QUESTIONS.

Questions are to be sent only to the Agreements Officer and Specialist (POCs) listed in this Call for Solution. The following shall be used in the email subject line: Call for

Solution – Enterprise_25-03 Material questions and answers will be published and updated on www.sam.gov.

The deadline to submit questions for Phase I is 05 August 2025. Final submissions to be considered for Phase 1 shall be 12 August 2025.

7. SOLUTION SUBMISSON REQUIREMENTS.

Companies responding to this call shall submit a Solution Brief for evaluation.

Submissions are to be sent via email only to the Agreements Officer and Specialist (POCs) listed in this Call for Solution. We are interested in unique and innovative intelligent engagement layer approaches, including techniques to reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enhance the Soldier experience. The Government will utilize up to four

(4) phases for assessing solutions:

1. Solution Brief – a white paper including a technical discussion explicitly addressing the target problem statement and how the proposed solution meets the Army HR Intelligent Engagement Platform Objectives and evaluation criteria in Section 13.

2. Demonstration (unless bypassed) – an oral briefing/demonstration with a technical challenge with instructions provided following phase 1.

3. Prototype to inform visibility using non-core system data, provide time to prepare core system (unless bypassed).

4. Prototype on core system data to include IPPS-A and other HR systems as designated.

PHASE 1 Solution Brief: Each Solution Brief shall not exceed 5 written pages (not including the title page, company information, or table or contents) using a font that is readable without magnification and supports the Content Quality evaluation criteria.

Readable is defined as a font size that is not smaller than size 12. Use of diagrams(s) or graphics with associated bullet points and text layout to depict the essence of the proposed solution is strongly encouraged. The Government will allow 8.5 x 11-page landscape graphics within the overall page count. Any pages exceeding the limit will be removed and not evaluated.

1. Company information, to Gate Criteria, shall not exceed two (2) pages. Company information for submissions shall include the Program/Project Name and Organization as follows:

a. Program/Project Name: Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army (IPPS-A)

Increment II (Inc II) Army HR Intelligent Engagement Platform.

b. Organization: Army PEO Enterprise

2. Specific company Information shall be included as follows (does not count towards page limit):

a. Name of Company

b. Business Size

c. Company’s Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) number

d. Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number

e. Contracting Point of Contact (POC) [Name, Phone, Email]

f. Technical POC [Name, Phone, Email]

g. Gate Criteria

3. High-level Solution/Concept (5 Page Limit):

a. Describe the unique technical aspects of your solution concepts and how it is relevant and important to the respective call. See section 10 for Evaluation Criteria and enclosed Statement of Objectives.

b. Describe how the proposed solution/concept solves a capability gap/problem and/or provides potential innovative advancement to HR programs. See section 10 for Evaluation Criteria and enclosed Statement of Objectives (SOO).

c. Describe how the proposed solution/concept is innovative and fulfills the requirement. See section 10 for Evaluation Criteria and enclosed Statement of Objectives.

d. Describe how the proposed solution/concept solves a capability gap/problem and/or provides potential innovative technological advancements to HR Programs. See section 10 for Evaluation Criteria and enclosed Statement of Objectives.

For each Gate Criteria description, include multiple bullets or sentences briefly describing the level of expertise applied by your company: lead or first time use, actively used or observed use by other, etc).

Note, the Government has the right to skip phases or change methods of the phase at any point during the call. The Government is not obligated towards any financial costs associated with participation in Phases 1 and 2. The purpose of this call is to understand the possibilities at meeting the Government’s requirement of simplifying HR requirements. If the Contractor chooses to be evaluated at any phase of this evaluation process, the Government is not financially responsible for your submissions. The

Government reserves the right to conclude this call for any reason at any phase within this call for solution.

8. NON-GOVERNMENT ADVISORS

As identified in section I of the AOS, non-government may be used in the evaluation of Solution Briefs, Pitches, and during proposal development negotiation.

9. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (OCI).

The Offerors shall perform an OCI analysis and submit the results of that analysis in addition to the white paper submission. The OCI analysis does not count towards the 5-page limitation. Specifically, the Offeror shall analyze the planned acquisition for actual or potential OCI situations associated with the Offeror or any of the Offeror’s proposed teammates or subcontractor’s performance under any contract or agreement the Offeror or the Offeror’s teammates or subcontractors has been or may be awarded by any federal agency or other entity. The Offeror shall describe in detail the methodology used to identify actual or potential OCI issues. If the Offeror identifies any actual or potential OCIs with respect to the performance of the Offeror or the Offeror’s subcontractors or teammates, the contractor shall provide an OCI Mitigation Plan to be incorporated as an attachment to an resulting contract or agreement.

Any proposed avoidance or mitigation techniques shall be consistent with FAR 9.5 and the most recent decisions of the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the U.S> Court of Federal Claims.

10. EVALUATION CRITERIA.

Phase 1 Solution Briefs: Solution Briefs submitted against this closed call will be vetted against gate criteria prior to evaluation. Submissions must minimally meet the following gate criteria to be deemed “selectable” for evaluation:

The overall technical merits of the proposal

A certification of meeting the requirements of the SOO and a written plan to meet the Government’s requirement.

The offeror’s qualification, capabilities, and experience

Records of the solution integrated in the commercial and/or Government marketplace

Compliance Check

The Government will first review the Company’s Solution Brief to ensure compliance with the submission requirements of Phase 1. The compliance check is a prerequisite to the Technical Evaluation of contents found in Section 10 of this call and the SOO. Solution Briefs not in compliance with submission requirements may be excluded from further evaluation. If excluded from further evaluation, the Government will notify the Company as soon as practicable.

Technical Merrit:

The Government will evaluate the Technical Merit of a Company’s Solution Brief.

Technical merit is defined as having relevance to the Call for Solution, innovation. See bulletized list for details above.

Solutions that do not meet the gate criteria will be deemed “not selectable” and will not be further evaluated. Solutions are assessed by a panel of Subject Matter Experts, (SMEs), with final decisions made by the Decision Authorities. In conformance with Section I of the AOS, the Government and Non-Government advisors will comprise the panel for evaluating the submissions. By submitting a Solution Brief, you authorize the white paper to be distributed and used for this purpose. During the assessment period, the Government and/or supporting SMEs may contact submitting entities to clarify submitted information. The recommended scoring, rating, and comments for each Solution Brief are presented by the panel to the designated Decision Authorities, who are ultimately responsible for determining the selectable/not selectable status of each submission.

The Government will inform Companies whether they have or have not been selected to move forward with the submitted Solution Brief. Those Companies whose Solution Briefs are deemed “selectable” will be invited to submit a more comprehensive Pitch or Proposal. At that time a due date and time for the following phase will be communicated. Once an offeror has been selected past Phase 1, the Government will amend the call to update the evaluation criteria for the next Phase. Each phase will have this procedure until all phases are complete.

After pitches, the Government shall further down-select potential awardees and issue a Request for Solution Proposal (RSP) to the remaining candidate firm(s). The RSP will have specific guidelines for submission and evaluation.

Notice to Offerors: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be used during evaluations. Any AI tools utilized by the Government will be employed in a manner consistent with applicable regulations that govern the protection of proprietary and source selection sensitive information. No proposal data will be transmitted to or processed by external, non-Government systems without appropriate safeguards and authorizations in place.

Phase 2, 3, and 4:

Phase 2, 3 and 4 submission requirements and evaluation criteria will be outlined within the invitation into the respective phase. However, the Government anticipates the below:

Phase 2: Oral Demonstration (unless bypassed)- an oral briefing with a technical challenge with instructions provided following phase 1. To include a Rough Order of Magnitude of the proposed solution and a proposed schedule.

Phase 3 Prototype: a pilot solution to inform visibility using non-core system data, provide time to prepare core system (unless bypassed).

Phase 4 Prototype: a pilot solution on core system data to include IPPS-A and other HR systems as designated.