CCTI RFI Notice 70SBUR25I00000003.pdf

70SBUR25I00000003

USCIS Contact Center Tier 1 Support Services Request for Information/Sources Sought Notice

THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT - REQUEST FOR INFORMATION AS DEFINED BY FAR

15.201(e)

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is issuing this Sources Sought – Request for Information (SS-RFI) notice to provide interested vendors with a draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) for an upcoming USCIS requirement to afford early engagement opportunity, obtain vendor feedback on the acquisition strategy and approach, and to identify capable vendors. 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. Collection of data in response to this SS-RFI 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.

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.

Background:

USCIS requires services to support inbound and outbound calls, chats and webform/secure email inquiries (also referred to as “channels”) using a model that employs a mix of Interactive Voice Response/Intelligent Virtual Agent (IVR/IVA), web and voice channels for customers to obtain assistance on citizenship and immigration related information. This request is for the contractor to operate the Tier 1 level of a multi-tier Contact Center Operation. The contractor will provide sufficient bilingual operational staff to support the Contact Center Tier 1 interactions and collaborate with the USCIS and other supporting contractors involved in improving Contact Center operations. USCIS supports contractor telework and remote work (within geographic limitations) and provides the government furnished equipment for this award. The USCIS Contact Center operates under the USCIS, External Affairs (EXA) Directorate, Office of Citizenship and Applicant Information Services (CAIS), within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Purpose and Objective:

The purpose of this sources sought notice is to provide interested vendors with a draft of the PWS to allow for industry feedback. Responses may be submitted in accordance with the guidelines below.

Response Format and General Guidelines:

Responses to this SS-RFI are due no later than 8:00 AM/ET on Monday, April 7, 2025.

Responses and questions shall be submitted electronically (via email) to the following individuals:

Name: Krystal Creaser, Contract Specialist Email: krystal.u.creaser@uscis.dhs.gov CC: Mary Shinney, Contracting Officer Email: mary.a.shinney@uscis.dhs.gov CC: David Hershey, Contract Specialist Email: david.p.hershey@uscis.dhs.gov

Please include in the subject of your email, “70SBUR25I00000003 USCIS Contact Center Tier 1 Support Services”.

Responses to this notice shall be submitted via email to the individuals identified herein and by the specified due date and time.

Responses shall include a cover letter containing the following information:

1. Company Name, Address, Point of Contact Information;

2. Unique Entity Identification (UEI) Number;

3. Business Size and Size Standard / Classification under NAICS 561422.

Vendor responses shall be targeted to this acquisition and directly relate the vendor’s capability to provide the services outlined in the draft PWS and answer the questions the Government has posed under the Additional Information Required section. Do not submit bare, blanket assertations that your firm can perform this work or vague capabilities statements.

Proprietary information should not be included in the responses as the Government may utilize open-source Artificial Intelligence to compile responses and aid in evaluation.

Responses to this notice will not be returned.

Potential Acquisition Strategy and Approach:

This acquisition is a re-competition of commercial task order 70SBUR21F00000089 awarded to General Dynamics Information Technology under General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) GS-35F-393CA.

The NAICS used for 70SBUR21F00000089 was 561422 - Telemarketing Bureaus and Other Contact Centers and the Government anticipates utilizing the same NAICS for this procurement.

The current contract 70SBUR21F00000089 is Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and the Government anticipates that this re-competition will also be FFP. The contract line-item number (CLIN) structure may look as follows:

• CLIN 0001 for Transition-In – FFP. Invoiced monthly.

• Annual CLIN X002 for Program Management (to include Quality Assurance and Administrative Activities) – FFP. Invoiced monthly.

• Annual CLIN X003 for calls at Tier 1 – fixed price per call with a CLIN ceiling price based on an estimated number of calls. Actual number of calls fielded are invoiced monthly. The Government anticipates 300k calls per month in the base year.* mailto:krystal.u.creaser@uscis.dhs.gov mailto:mary.a.shinney@uscis.dhs.gov mailto:david.p.hershey@uscis.dhs.gov

• Annual CLIN X004 for chats at Tier 1 – fixed price per chat with a CLIN ceiling price based on an estimated number of chats. Actual number of chats fielded are invoiced monthly. The Government anticipates 150-200k chats per month in the base year.

• Annual CLIN X005 for secure messages/webforms at Tier 1 – fixed price per message/webform with a CLIN ceiling price based on an estimated number of secure messages/webforms. Actual number of secure messages/webforms fielded are invoiced monthly. The Government anticipates 50-100k secure messages/webforms per month in the base year. *

• Annual Surge CLINs X006-X009for program management/calls/chats/secure message/webforms (see also question 4 under Additional Information Requested)

*The Government intends to reduce call volume and increase secure chat and webform volume over the course of this contract. We anticipate requesting firm fixed price bands for phone, chat and secure message/webform.

The Government will supply Robotic Process Automation (RPA) licenses for each agent and expect the contractor to work closely with USCIS Office of Information Technology staff on ways to improve efficiency in each channel through automation/RPA/Artificial Intelligence. The Government intends to ensure that this contract supports an agile program management approach, allowing for flexibility, capability enhancements, and implementation of customer feedback. During the contract, as new technology or capability enhancements identify and drive new channels for addressing this service, the contract will be modified to incorporate the new channels and applicable requirement(s). This will require price negotiation of the additional scope of work, with the awardee only, and will not be competitively offered post award.

Additional Information Requested:

1. Are there any existing contract vehicles that USCIS may utilize for this service? Provide the contract name, contract/schedule number, point of contact for the contract and identify which service category, pool, domain, etc. would be applicable. Identify if the scope of the proposed contract vehicles include flexibility for technology insertion and technical enhancements (e.g. if proposing a GSA schedule, does the schedule have the ability to add this work at a later date).

2. Are you interested and capable of performing as Prime on this effort or are you interested in only subcontracting opportunities? If intending to be a Prime, do you intend on proposing as a joint venture and/or contractor teaming arrangement?

3. The USCIS contact center support has historically been contracted using “full and open” solicitation procedures - not subject to small business set-aside. The USCIS contact center is historically staffed at 500-600 agents. Provide your experience or explain your capabilities providing contact center support of similar magnitude (e.g. 50% bilingual agents). Indicate if your support was as a Prime or Subcontractor. Provide the contract name, contract/schedule number, agency supported and point of contact. Note that small businesses need to be able to perform at least 50% of the contract under a small business set aside. If your firm’s business size is small, provide explanation for how your firm would be able to comply with limitations on subcontracting.

4. USCIS has historically had high call/chat/webform volume, but this volume may surge/sag significantly depending on administration priorities, changes to policy/law, new agency mandates, mission needs, etc. Under the Potential Acquisition Strategy and Approach section above, the Government has provided a tentative CLIN structure to include additional volume estimates for each baseline CLIN. We are inviting industry opinion on how to best handle surge/sag in each of these CLINs. Would it be better, or result in cost savings to the Government, to establish volume ranges for each baseline CLIN, rather than provide a ceiling cap for that CLIN? Are volume ranges the best approach to adding additional quantities to support unanticipated or emergency surge volume? Should a surge CLIN be 1 Lot of Services; individual option CLINs for each type of communication; multiple ranges, etc.? Provide examples of how this has been addressed in other, similar contracts.

5. USCIS has a need for an agile contract solution that allows for communication channels as a result of upgrades and innovations. We are inviting industry opinion on how to best handle incorporating new channels into the CLIN structure of the contract. What is the best approach to adding currently unknown requirements to the awarded contract. Provide examples of how this has been addressed in other, similar contracts.

6. The draft PWS states an estimated transition timeframe of 90 calendar days. USCIS Office of Security and Investigations states the average timeframe to clear new contractor personnel is ~45 days, however; it could take longer or less time depending on the circumstances of the individual. For purposes of establishing a FFP transition-in CLIN, what is a realistic ramp-up / transition-in timeframe?

7. What is your preference on location of service, i.e. are you likely to propose a fully remote approach or a brick-and-mortar solution or a hybrid solution?