DHS Data Repository - Request for Information.pdf

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

TITLE: DHS PUBLIC ACCESS DATA REPOSITORY FOR DHS PEER-REVIEWED JOURNAL

SCIENTIFIC DATA

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI supports the Department’s efforts to procure a data repository with a customized Department of Homeland Security (DHS) storefront to allow DHS to post releasable scientific digital data from peer-reviewed publications resulting from DHS-funded research. (See Attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW)).

This RFI is for information and market research planning purposes only and shall not be construed as an obligation on the part of the Government. This is NOT a Request for Quotations or Proposals. No solicitation document exists, and the Government may or may not issue a formal solicitation as a result of the responses received to this RFI.

The Government will not pay for any response or demonstration expenses. All costs incurred responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Failure to respond to this RFI will not preclude participation in any future solicitation. Any information received will become the property of the Government and will not be returned to the submitter. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or sensitive information. Government technical experts drawn from staff within DHS and other federal agencies may review responses. The Government may use selected support contractor personnel to assist in the review of the RFI responses. These support contractors will be bound by appropriate non-disclosure agreements to protect proprietary information.

I. Introduction

The purpose of this RFI is to identify qualified and interested sources with the capability to provide the services identified in the draft SOW included in the RFI. Responses to this RFI will be used to assist the Government in determining the most appropriate acquisition strategy.

II. Scope

The scope of this effort will be to maintain, curate, and build a data repository with a customized DHS Storefront to allow DHS to post releasable scientific digital data from peer-reviewed publications resulting from DHS-funded research. The contractor shall not handle, or compile classified or sensitive data nor personally identifiable information (PII). The contractor shall utilize their existing data publishing platform and storage capabilities (e.g., software development is not expected) to allow DHS to store, share, and manage their research outputs, and also create a service that gives DHS programmatic access (i.e., an open-source application programming interface (API)) to individual data sets. The data repository will allow DHS users (and publishers acting on behalf of these users) to deposit data sets into the repository which, after the necessary processing and the expiration of any applicable embargoes, will be made publicly available. DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate Office of Enterprise Services (OES) Knowledge Management Office (KMO) seeks services for its DHS S&T customers. Refer to the draft SOW for specific details.

III. Question(s) for Industry

Responses to this RFI should provide summaries of corporate expertise and capabilities that provide an overview of company capabilities to address each of the following desired characteristics of a data repository as described in the National Science and Technology Council “Desirable Characteristics of

Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research,” 2022 (https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/113528)..

Each characteristic is described in Table 1 below.

Table 1. Desirable Characteristics of Repositories (National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), May 2022)

NSTC characteristic Free and Easy Access The repository provides broad, equitable, and maximally open access to datasets and their metadata free of charge in a timely manner after submission, consistent with legal and policy requirements related to maintaining privacy and confidentiality, Tribal and national data sovereignty, and protection of sensitive data.

Clear Use Guidance The repository ensures datasets are accompanied by documentation describing terms of dataset access and use (e.g., reuse licenses and need for approval by a data use committee).

Risk Management The repository has documented capabilities for ensuring that administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are employed to comply with applicable confidentiality, risk management, and continuous monitoring requirements for sensitive data.

Retention Policy The repository provides documentation on policies for data retention.

Long-term Organizational Sustainability

The repository has a plan for long-term management of data, including maintaining integrity, authenticity, and availability of datasets; has contingency plans to ensure data are available and maintained during and after unforeseen events.

Unique Persistent Identifiers The repository assigns a dataset a citable, unique persistent identifier (PID or DPI), such as a digital object identifier (DOI), to support data discovery, reporting (e.g., of research progress), and research assessment (e.g., identifying the outputs of Federally funded research). The unique PID points to a persistent location that remains accessible even if the dataset is de-accessioned or no longer available.

Metadata The repository ensures datasets are accompanied by metadata to enable discovery, reuse, and citation of datasets, using schema that are appropriate to, and ideally widely used across, the communities that the repository serves.

Curation and Quality Assurance

The repository provides or facilitates expert curation and quality assurance to improve the accuracy and integrity of datasets and metadata.

Additional Considerations for Repositories Storing Human Data

Broad and Measured Reuse

The repository ensures datasets are accompanied by metadata that describe terms of reuse and provides the ability to measure attribution, citation, and reuse of data (e.g., through assignment of adequate and openly accessible metadata and unique PIDs).

https://doi.org/10.5479/10088/113528 https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/05-2022-Desirable-Characteristics-of-Data-Repositories.pdf

NSTC characteristic Common Format The repository allows datasets and metadata to be accessed, downloaded, or exported from the repository in widely used, preferably non-proprietary, formats consistent with standards used in the disciplines the repository serves.

Provenance The repository has mechanisms in place to record the origin, chain of custody, version control, and any other modifications to submitted datasets and metadata.

Authentication The repository supports authentication of data submitters. The repository has technical capabilities that facilitate associating submitter PIDs with those assigned to their deposited digital objects, such as datasets.

Long-term Technical Sustainability

The repository has a plan for long-term management of data, building on a stable technical infrastructure and funding plans.

Security and Integrity

The repository has documented measures in place to meet well established cybersecurity criteria for preventing unauthorized access to, modification of, or release of data, with levels of security that are appropriate to the sensitivity of data (e.g., the NIST Cybersecurity Framework: https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework).

IV. Submission Requirements

Responses from all interested sources with relevant capabilities are encouraged to respond. Responses shall be a maximum of ten (10) pages and include the following information:

Submission Content Example

The following sections provide a recommended outline for a response to this RFI. This outline is intended to minimize the effort of the respondent and structure the responses for ease of analysis by the Government.

Section 1 – Corporate Expertise (1-2 pages)

a. Provide company information, POC data:

1) RFI Title

2) Company Name

3) Company Address

4) SAM Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number

5) Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code

6) Company’s Size and Socio-Economic Status information for NAICS code 541519 Other

Computer Related Services

7) Technical Point of Contact(s) (Name, title, email, and phone number)

8) Contracting Point of Contact(s) (Name, title, email, and phone number) https://www.nist.gov/cyberframework

9) Identify if your firm currently holds any Best-in-Class (BIC) contract vehicles (e.g. OASIS, GSA GWAC, GAS MAS contracts, etc.), to include the applicable contract number.

b. Note whether the company has provided similar services to those in the draft SOW , as outlined in the areas listed in Section III, in the past three years as either a prime contractor, subcontractor, or teaming partner.

Section 2 - Overview of Capabilities (up to 4 pages)

a. Provide an overview of company capabilities corresponding to the tasks in the draft t SOW, as outlined in the areas listed in Section III.

b. Provide an overview of your company’s ability to support the entire SOW in any of the following scenarios:

i. As prime contractor, without subcontracting partners

ii. As prime contractor, with subcontractor partners

iii. As part of a team of contractors

Section 3 - Questions for the Government (up to 4 pages)

a. Identify any questions for the Government in response to the draft SOW

b. Identify potential performance risks and suggested mitigation related to the tasks in the draft

SOW

c. Provide any recommendations for innovative approaches to this requirement.

Submissions shall be made using Microsoft Office applications. Font shall not be smaller than 12-point Times New Roman. Please provide your response to this RFI no later than 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, to DHS Headquarters Office of Procurement Operations (OPO) Contracting Officer Aleyson Bickley, aleyson.bickley@hq.dhs.gov. Any questions and inquiries must be submitted to the email address above.

Note:

The Government reserves the right to hold one-on-one meetings as a result of responses received from this RFI as part of its market research. Meetings may be held with companies who provide comprehensive and relevant responses to the topic and questions in this notice.

mailto:aleyson.bickley@hq.dhs.gov