DRAFT TSSF Recompete SOW 8-13-25 RFI Version.docx

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (DHS)

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS)

SECTION C: STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

IPAWS Technical Support Services Facility (TSSF)

BACKGROUND:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Division was established in 2007 to implement a national public alert and warning system to help ensure the President of the United States can provide timely and effective emergency alerts, warnings, and emergency information to the public under all conditions. When the system is not in use by the President, Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (FSLTT) authorities can use the system to warn populations in their jurisdictions about emergency situations. The IPAWS Division is responsible for managing the IPAWS Acquisition Program (a DHS Level II Major Acquisition Program), operating and sustaining the national alert and warning systems acquired and deployed by the program, and administering and supporting users of the system. The following documents provide additional information about IPAWS:

· www.fema.gov/IPAWS

· Public Law 116-92 National Defense Authorization Act of 2020, SEC 1756

· Public Law 114-143 The IPAWS Modernization Act of 2015

· Public Law 93-288 The Stafford Act Section 202. Disaster Warnings

· FCC regulations in 47 CFR Part 11 and 47 CRF Part 10

· Homeland Security Act of 2002, as amended, (6 U.S.C. §§ 321o, 321o-1)

· Sec. 9201 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law (P.L.) 116-283)

· 47 C.F.R. Part 10, as amended, Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA)

· 47 C.F.R. Part 11, as amended, Emergency Alert System (EA)

The following legislative guidance establishes key requirements for IPAWS:

The Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1988, as amended, Title II, Sec. 202, Title VI, Sec. 611 (Public Law 93-288), 42 U.S.C. §§ 5132, 5196 (1988) provides the legal authority for federal disaster response, enabling the President to declare emergencies and mobilize FEMA resources required to coordinate and disseminate emergency communications to the public during federally declared disasters. The Stafford Act authorizes the President to “enter into agreements with the officers or agents of any private or commercial communications systems who volunteer the use of their systems on a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis for the purpose of providing warning to governmental authorities and the civilian population endangered by disasters.”

The WARN Act (Warning, Alert, and Response Network Act of 2006) established a voluntary framework for commercial mobile service providers to deliver emergency alerts to the development of Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), allowing urgent messages to reach people through their mobile phones.

The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) Modernization Act of 2015 (Public Law 114-143), 6 USC §321o-1: Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (2016) mandates the continued operation and modernization of IPAWS. The law states, in part:

“ (1) modernize the integrated public alert and warning system of the United States (in this section referred to as the “public alert and warning system”) to help ensure that, under all conditions, the President and, except to the extent the public alert and warning system is in use by the President, Federal agencies and State, tribal, and local governments can alert and warn the civilian population in areas endangered by natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters or threats to public safety; and

(2) implement the public alert and warning system to disseminate timely and effective warnings regarding natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters or threats to public safety.”

Sec. 1756 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 (Public Law 116-92), 6 USC §321o-1: Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (2019) includes provisions to enhance emergency communication systems, with a focus on cybersecurity, authentication, and reliability of public alerts. These improvements support IPAWS by strengthening system integrity and ensuring secure, trusted delivery of alerts.

The IPAWS Division maintains the IPAWS Technical Support Services Facility (TSSF) to provide technical support to the program, to more than 2,000 Alerting Authorities (AAs) authorized to use IPAWS, and to public and private sector partners across a variety of technical areas related to public alert and warning activities. The TSSF is staffed 24/7 with subject matter experts (SMEs) experienced in emergency management, public safety communications, public works, and broadcasting to assist AAs with using IPAWS. The TSSF provides expertise on the effective use and integration of IPAWS with local public alert and warning systems, plans, and programs. The facility is equipped to provide technical support for IPAWS activations, alert troubleshooting, Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) tests, monthly proficiency demonstrations, and other IPAWS-related requests. With this level of expertise and capabilities, the TSSF is known as the go-to source for over 2,000 agencies currently authorized to use IPAWS as part of their local public alert and warning practices.

The TSSF hosts a closed end-to-end IPAWS environment for alert creation and dissemination to all IPAWS pathways, including the Emergency Alert System (EAS), WEA, Non-Weather Emergency Messages, and the IPAWS All-Hazards Information Feed, so that AAs may train, practice, and exercise alert, warning, and notification procedures and processes. This IPAWS sandbox is also used to develop, test, and demonstrate the integration of new alert and warning technologies to provide best practices for AAs and Alert Origination Software Providers (AOSPs).

The TSSF includes state-of-the-art interactive conference and seminar spaces to support AAs onsite and virtually with seminars, training initiatives, and exercises. The facility contains several types of alert and warning equipment to provide a closed functional system for exercise and evaluation in support of FSLTT partners. This equipment is maintained and exercised by IPAWS TSSF staff.

For illustrative purposes, below are photos depicting examples of FEMA equipment utilized in the current Contractor-Owned and Contractor-Operated (COCO) TSSF operations facility. The following photo of the training and exercise conference room depicts a facility designed to house equipment and host hands-on, highly interactive training sessions of up to eighty (80) to one hundred (100) in-person attendees, including audiovisual (A/V) equipment for videoconferencing, multimedia presentations, and interactive workshops (e.g., a large theater-like screen and the ability to capture live notes on a digital whiteboard).

The following photo depicts an alert information board located in the COCO TSSF operations facility lobby. It provides active and recent alert data, emergency messaging technology, alert and messaging educational information, and other data.

The following list provides a sampling of components which may be adjusted as future IPAWS Division activities and support requirements will necessitate amendments.

Equipment Overview:

· Mass notification systems with IPAWS capabilities

· Broadcast EAS decoders and encoders

· NOAA Weather Radios

· AM and FM broadcast and receiving equipment

· ATSC 3.0 Television Test Bed

· Cellular network equipment

· Redistribution systems such as digital signage, siren systems, desktop applications, wall beacons, and more

· Network architecture including HP Servers, Cisco Routers, Cisco Adaptive Security Appliances, email servers, storage controllers, firewalls and all associated software and applications

· Awardee will be responsible for maintenance and operation of an (approximately) 20x8-foot Planar Video Wall and associated meeting room and virtual conference system.

PURPOSE:

The following document describes the primary work objectives to provide the IPAWS Division with the technical support services and facility needed to effectively engage with FSLTT authorities, commercial public alert and warning vendors, and other stakeholders to support IPAWS, FEMA's national system for local alerting that provides authenticated emergency and life-saving information to the public.

SCOPE:

The IPAWS Division requires Contractor support to provide technical assistance to the White House, other FSLTT authorities (including authorized IPAWS AAs), commercial vendors of interoperable IPAWS products, and other stakeholders within the public alert and warning community of interest as identified by the IPAWS Division. The IPAWS Division will provide initial knowledge-sharing training to the Contractor regarding IPAWS procedures, policies, and other relevant information necessary for the Contractor to perform duties, but the expectation is for the Contractor to draw on experience in alerting, emergency management, and other relevant areas to quickly acclimate and demonstrate independent support.

Technical expertise will be necessary to provide and maintain a technical support services facility and equipment; provide 24/7 Monitoring, Activation, and Support Center (MASC) capability with technical monitoring and help desk support for AAs; support technology improvements and innovation; and support tests, exercises, training, and demonstrations for AAs and industry partners. The scope of the services provided by the Contractor under this SOW will include:

· Provide 24/7 on-site technical support and assistance to the White House (Executive Office of the President), other FSLTT authorities (including IPAWS AAs), developers and vendors of IPAWS interoperable systems, and other stakeholders.

· Provide 24/7 monitoring of end-to-end alerting activity and systems and proactive analysis and reporting.

· Provide a suitable and innovative Contractor-Owned and Contractor-Operated (COCO) facility to host TSSF operations and services, to include equipment, interactive training, conference rooms, and guest workspaces, with 24/7 onsite coverage for system monitoring and technical support and assistance at the COCO facility, within a ten (10) mile radius of FEMA Headquarters.

· Provide additional surge capacity for technical support and assistance if needed to meet increased demand during major disasters, subject to Government approval.

· Track, transport, and migrate all Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE), data, and other needed artifacts from the incumbent contractor facility to the new COCO facility and complete setup for use.

· Provide a Demonstration Environment for the IPAWS Open Platform for Emergency Networks (IPAWS-OPEN) and maintain access to the live IPAWS-OPEN environment to support AAs with troubleshooting or Alert on Behalf (AOB). IPAWS-OPEN receives and authenticates messages transmitted by AAs. See FEMA IPAWS-OPEN for more information.

· Plan and execute testing, exercises, and training support onsite at the COCO facility and at additional locations as required.

· Promote and market TSSF services to IPAWS AAs, other FSLTT authorities, developers, and vendors of IPAWS interoperable systems, and other appropriate stakeholders.

· Produce A/V and instructional materials for current and prospective AAs, such as training videos and short videos for use at conferences and events, as part of training, marketing, and demonstration support.

· Seek out and implement innovative solutions to enhance the effectiveness of IPAWS technical support services, including sandboxing and integration of new alerting technologies, conducting special studies, collaborating with other organizations on technology requests for information and assessments.

· Maintain hardware and software (including licenses) for IPAWS operational capabilities, including management and sustainment of A/V equipment used in tests, exercises, and training.

· Conduct security assessment, scanning, and remediation activities to ensure the secure integration and operation of new technologies into IPAWS environments.

· Develop and maintain out-of-band test and demonstration environments, develop and test new alerting capabilities in the test environment, and use the test environment to demonstrate and train emergency communicators on new tools and practices.

· Manage the IPAWS Business Management Platform (Salesforce, DocuSign, Nintex Drawloop). Includes Entrust: Multi-Domain EV SSL (ECS-EVMD-S) certificates.

Contractor TSSF services shall include supporting a wide variety of software systems, including alert origination software, decoder/encoder systems, alert redistribution systems, and software to address emerging requirements in areas such as American Sign Language accessibility and translation software. Examples of software for illustration include the following (these lists are for illustrative purposes and are not exhaustive):

Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) Authoring Software Systems/Alert Origination Tools, such as:

· AlertSense by Konexus

· Amatra SmartSource

· Arcadis

· Blackberry - AtHoc IWS

· Blackboard - Blackboard Connect

· CityWatch

· CivicReady

· CodeRED by Crisis24

· Comlabs - EMNet

· Desktop Alert

· Digital Alerting Systems - DAS-EOC

· DisasterLAN by Buffalo Computer Graphics

· Everbridge

· Singlewire Alert System

· Final Site Connect

· FirstCall Emergency Notification System (FirstCall)

· Genasys

· GeoLynx Server

· GSS Alert Studio

· HipLink

· Hyper-Reach by Asher Group

· IC2ATS (ASOCC)

· i-INFO

· Information Logistics - IRIS/HELP

· Inspiron Logistics - WENS

· Intelligent Roadway Information System (IRIS)

· Juvare - WebEOC

· KDEE Technology LLC - On-The-Go Alerting

· Law Enforcement Alerting Portal (LEAP)

· LRAD Mass Notification Speakers

· Multi-Agency Situational Awareness System (MASAS) Information Exchange (MIX)

· National Weather Service - iNWS

· Nixle by Everbridge

· OCV LLC

· Ping4Alerts!

· Rapid Notify

· Rave Mobile Safety

· Regroup Mass Notifications

· Roam Secure Alert Network

· ShakeAlert - USGS Earthquake Early Warning System

· Singlewire - InformaCast

· Siren Alert

· Storm Sentry

· Tacom Alert!

· TextMyGov

· Weather Message

· Wide Area Rapid Notification - W.A.R.N. NC4 (E-Team) EAS Decoders/Encoders:

· Sage ENDEC

· Trilithic EASyCAP

· Trilithic EASyPlus

· Monroe Electronics OneNet SE

· Digital Alert Systems DASDEC-II & DASEOC

· Gorman Redlich EAS1 and CAP-DEC 1 IPAWS Redistribution Systems:

· NOAA Weather Radio

· AlertUs Desktop Alerting and Components

· KeyWest Technologies Digital Signage

· Genesys Siren System

· American Signal Siren system

· HD Radio

· GSSNet GSS-ENC3000

· XBOB

· PBS WARN

REQUIREMENTS AND OBJECTIVES:

The Contractor shall provide support for the following requirements and objectives:

1. Project Management and Administration – The Contractor shall allocate the burden of project management, facility and equipment management, and administrative tasks across the three functional Task Areas described below, while providing an integrated team and approach to support the Government’s objectives. Specific requirements include:

a. Project Management – The Contractor shall provide overall administration management for this contract, including oversight of activities, schedules, and milestones associated with all objectives in this work statement.

i. Coordinate with the IPAWS Division to ensure objectives remain within projected timeframes and budgets.

ii. Develop and maintain a well-rounded and skilled team with technical expertise in public alert and warning applications, devices, and systems; radio and television broadcast related to the EAS; cellular phones; and network functions related to WEA.

iii. Communicate orally and in writing to support outreach initiatives with the private and public sectors, and interactions with high-level FSLTT officials. Host weekly meetings to review progress of objectives, capture meeting minutes, and track action items.

iv. Provide Weekly Activity Reports.

v. Provide Monthly Status Reports to demonstrate the Contractor’s performance to requirements identified in the contract.

vi. Provide Microsoft Project schedule and monthly updates.

vii. Manage daily functions of the IPAWS TSSF.

viii. Coordinate with the FEMA IPAWS Division to modify this contract as necessary based on additions and/or modifications to this statement of work.

b. TSS Facility Establishment and Maintenance – The Contractor shall provide a suitable, innovative, government-approved COCO facility to host TSSF operations and services, to include equipment, an interactive training room, and conference rooms.

i. Facility shall meet the following criteria:

1. Includes an adequate modern space and equipment to host hands-on, highly interactive training sessions of up to eighty (80) to one hundred (100) in-person attendees, including A/V equipment for videoconferencing, multimedia presentations, and interactive workshops (e.g., a large theater-like screen and the ability to capture live notes on a digital whiteboard).

2. Includes two or more additional conference/meeting rooms available for smaller meetings, each of which can comfortably accommodate 10-15 people and support A/V conferencing

3. Has total space of approximately 7,000 square feet or more to accommodate concurrent operational activities, meetings, and events.

4. Is located within a ten (10) mile radius of FEMA Headquarters to facilitate timely access during urgent incident response activities and Congressional and Senior Government Official visitations.

5. Is available for 24/7 access.

ii. Contractor shall collaborate with FEMA to establish network connections to FEMA and DHS networks.

iii. Contractor shall collaborate with FEMA (and incumbent contractor) to seamlessly transfer TSSF system accounts so all systems are fully operational following official transition from incumbent contractor to Contractor.

c. Onboarding and Equipment Migration/Setup – Upon contract award, the Contractor shall begin the process of assuming full responsibility from the incumbent prior to the end of the incumbent’s contract for all responsibilities addressed in the contract. It is essential that there is no gap in services, with a particular emphasis on the availability of 24/7 support for the White House and Alerting Authorities. To support this process, the Contractor shall develop a roadmap for documenting the scope of responsibilities, timeline, and plan for transitioning ownership of responsibilities from the outgoing incumbent to the incoming Contractor. To help ensure a smooth onboarding, it is expected that the incoming and outgoing contractors will collaborate, with Government oversight and direction, to facilitate knowledge sharing without disrupting 24/7 support operations and other tasks addressed in this SOW.

To support this process, the Contractor shall:

i. Develop a draft Onboarding Roadmap within 30 days of award to document the scope of transition-in responsibilities and a plan to implement the transition of responsibilities to the incoming Contractor. The Onboarding Roadmap will include, at a minimum:

1. Scale-up plan for onboarding all personnel onto the contract.

2. Plan to accept responsibility for all outgoing incumbent contractor-developed and -maintained documentation.

3. Identification of applicable training.

4. Identification of required knowledge transfer from the incumbent contractor and Government to include information, data, documentation, and other sources of information.

5. Recommendations for knowledge transfer meetings.

6. Handoff acceptance criteria for applicable tasks, procedures, equipment, and documentation.

7. Checklist of steps and corresponding timelines to implement the transition of responsibilities.

ii. Develop a final Onboarding Roadmap incorporating feedback from the Government and Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

iii. Provide regular status updates to the Government on the implementation of all transition-in activities.

iv. Complete all transition-in activities no later than the last official contractual day of the outgoing incumbent contractor.

v. Help ensure a smooth transition; it is expected that the incoming and outgoing contractors will collaborate to facilitate knowledge sharing without TSSF operations addressed in this SOW.

vi. Assume the existing 24/7 TSSF Service Desk from the incumbent; the 24/7 TSSF Service Desk must be operational immediately following the full handoff of responsibilities from the incumbent to the incoming Contractor.

vii. Contractor shall transport and set up GFE from current facility to COCO facility, maintaining consistent tracking and accountability for all GFE.

d. Operations Support of IPAWS TSSF Equipment – The IPAWS Division uses commercial alert and warning applications, devices, and systems to demonstrate and exercise current IPAWS alert and warning capabilities; evaluate commercial IPAWS interoperable alert and warning applications, devices, and systems; and evaluate emerging public alert and warning technologies, applications, tools, and systems. The Contractor shall provide the following services:

i. Maintain existing IPAWS TSSF equipment and procure additional equipment, as needed, at the direction of the IPAWS Division. Includes equipment and systems configuration, updates, testing, troubleshooting, patching, and monitoring.

ii. Maintain commercial web conferencing service capable of supporting multiple simultaneous independent help sessions and public-facing webinars with up to 1,500 attendees without special arrangements.

iii. Ship, receive, and transport IPAWS TSSF equipment at the direction of the IPAWS Division to and from demonstrations, testing, and training activities at conferences, meetings, FSLTT AA offices, and field locations.

iv. Coordinate, escort, and host visitors at the IPAWS TSSF facility.

e. Offboarding and Equipment Migration – At the completion of this contract, the Contractor shall fully support the transition of the Contractor’s work to another entity, whether the Government or a successor contractor. To help ensure a smooth transition, it is expected that the incoming and outgoing contractors will collaborate, with Government oversight and direction, to facilitate knowledge sharing without disrupting 24/7 service desk operations and other tasks addressed in this SOW. As with the onboarding scope of work identified in the previous section, it is essential that no gap in services occurs during offboarding and contract close-out. The Contractor shall be responsible for the transition of all Contractor-developed and -maintained documentation, tools, systems, and equipment, as well as an orderly and comprehensive hand-off TSSF operations, procedures, and scope of work identified in this SOW. Transition-out support shall commence no later than 90 calendar days prior to expiration of the contract unless otherwise specified by the Government. As part of the transition, the Contractor shall be responsible for:

i. Inventory and orderly transfer of all Government Furnished Property (GFP), to include equipment, hardware, software, and licenses; Contractor Acquired Government Property, and Government Furnished Information (GFI).

ii. Transfer of documentation currently in process.

iii. Transfer of any intellectual property created under the contract.

iv. Certification that all non-public DHS information has been purged from any contractor-owned system.

v. Exchange of accounts to access software and hosted infrastructure components.

vi. Establish and execute an Offboarding Roadmap, with input and approval by the IPAWS Division, to include any appropriate knowledge transfer and other closeout activities that the IPAWS Division and Contractor identify as necessary to enable continuity of support.

vii. Provision of a list of members that will participate in transition management team and their responsibilities.

2. Task Area 1: 24/7 Monitoring, Activation, and Support Center Operations and Technical Support for Presidential and FSLTT Alerts – The Contractor shall provide trained 24/7 support across three areas: Alert on Behalf (AoB), troubleshooting, and technical support; establishing managing the Monitoring, Activation, and Support Center (MASC) and system monitoring operations; and facilitating reporting, information-sharing, and outreach. AoB support includes providing immediate assistance to issue emergency alerts on behalf of AAs upon their request, if technical issues temporarily prevent them from sending an alert through IPAWS-OPEN directly. Troubleshooting and technical support includes providing immediate guidance to help AAs and Alert Origination Software Providers (AOSPs) resolve any challenges in distributing emergency alerts through IPAWS-OPEN, and in distributing Presidential alerts through the National Public Warning System (NPWS), whether due to technical difficulties or user error. NPWS consists of Primary Entry Point (PEP) stations, or radio broadcast stations that work with FEMA to provide emergency alert and warning information to the public – particularly under degraded conditions. NPWS also serves as the primary source of initial broadcast for a national alert - NPWS can directly reach more than 90% of the U.S. population and ensures that the President can alert and warn the public under all conditions. Informational inquiry support may include answering non-emergency questions from AAs, AOSPs, emergency managers, and policymakers about IPAWS processes and requirements, alerting practices, and capabilities. Specific requirements under this task area include:

a. Maintain a 24/7/365 MASC and service desk support line for White House staff and IPAWS AAs to support their needs for technical assistance, including onsite after-hours coverage at the COCO facility and expanded service desk staff coverage for surge support in situations directed by the Government. Service desk personnel shall:

i. Originate alerting messages on behalf of FSLTT AAs in accordance with prescribed rules and authorities, including the TSSF Alert on Behalf Protocol.

ii. Possess a working knowledge of all IPAWS alert origination tools and IPAWS-OPEN functions and operations (see Scope Section for a list of sample alert origination tools).

iii. Possess a working knowledge of CAP and experience examining CAP XML.

iv. Possess the ability to quickly and efficiently evaluate error codes, identify causes, and apply effective problem-solving techniques to mitigate issues.

v. Maintain, recommend, and develop on-call support guidance as changes occur.

vi. Demonstrate the flexibility to adapt to change and new technologies, with an emphasis on continuous learning.

vii. Demonstrate excellent communication, critical thinking, decision-making. and customer service skills.

viii. Log and track AA calls in the IPAWS Business Management Portal (BMP) customer resource management system (using a tool such as Salesforce or other appropriate software).

b. Effectively troubleshoot alert and warning problems encountered by IPAWS AAs. Contractor personal must have:

i. Knowledge of IPAWS-OPEN CAP specifications and a working knowledge of IPAWS-OPEN system functions and operations.

ii. An ability to quickly analyze errors and apply solutions to ensure alerts are successfully sent.

iii. An ability to assess and evaluate CAP XML metadata for obvious errors.

iv. An ability to access and read IPAWS-OPEN management application software to:

1. Retrieve and assess message statuses and error codes.

2. Download XML metadata.

3. Confirm alert transmission and non-transmission.

4. Confirm recipient acknowledgements.

5. Verify AA profiles.

6. Plot polygons for technical evaluation.

c. Assist commercial developers and vendors of IPAWS-interoperable systems with troubleshooting and testing of product capabilities to effectively integrate with IPAWS.

d. Assist IPAWS AAs with the use of commercially available mass notification systems that are integrated with IPAWS alert origination capabilities.

i. Maintain proficiency with more than three dozen IPAWS alert origination tools (see Scope Section for sample list) to effectively guide users in sending alert messages to the IPAWS TSSF demonstration environment.

ii. Evaluate errant alerts and identify errors through troubleshooting techniques using alert origination tools and CAP Extensible Markup Language (XML) metadata.

iii. Engage with AAs at either the IPAWS TSSF or the AA location.

iv. Possess familiarity and knowledge of IPAWS-interoperable compatible public warning products and solutions (see list of products and solutions in Background and Scope Sections).

e. Establish and Manage Monitoring, Activation, and Support Center (MASC) and System Monitoring Operations

i. Conduct requirements gathering and strategic planning to define the scope and capabilities of the MASC.

ii. Define and document strategic priorities, goals, policies, and processes for the MASC and provide iterative process improvement based on continued lessons learned and IPAWS Leadership direction.

iii. Serve as a central hub to provide proactive monitoring, analytics, and incident response support, such as troubleshooting, escalation, and coordinating shared responses among IPAWS and other organizations. This service will provide information about end-to-end alerting activity, the status and performance of the IPAWS-OPEN and NPWS systems, the status of networks and alarms, outage information from wireless carriers, security alerts from DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and other critical operational information as needed.

iv. Provide surge support for expanded staffing and enhanced monitoring and reporting support upon direction from the Government (for example, during major weather events, natural disasters, or designated national security sensitive events involving large crowds).

f. Facilitate Reporting, Information-Sharing, and Outreach

i. Use situational awareness to inform proactive outreach to alerting officials in affected jurisdictions in situations involving weather events with advanced warning, large crowd events, and other public safety incidents.

ii. Address non-urgent informational inquiries about IPAWS processes and requirements, alerting practices, and IPAWS-OPEN capabilities from Alerting Authorities, Emergency Managers, Policymakers, and Alert Origination Software Providers.

1. Task Area 2: Technology, Innovation, and Infrastructure Development and Support – The Contractor shall provide software and data infrastructure support, manage Government Furnished Equipment (GFE), and maintain an Innovation Lab capability to advance IPAWS capabilities. Software and data infrastructure support to include management and continuing improvement of business management software, customer relationship management (CRM) software (such as Salesforce), custom tools for use by AAs, and other tools and databases used to support TSS operations and services for AAs. Management of GFE includes securely tracking, maintaining, and transporting all GFE used in TSSF test, exercise, and training tasks, such as audiovisual equipment and informational displays. It also includes migrating GFE during any change of facility, including from the incumbent facility to the new COCO facility if applicable. Next-generation technology support shall include research, sandboxing, testing, and integration of new technology tools and techniques to enhance future capabilities of the nation’s public alert and warning ecosystem. Specific requirements under this task area include:

a. Software and data infrastructure management

i. Manage and support continuing improvement of the Business Management Portal (BMP) and any other associated tools and databases used to support TSS operations and used to provide Technical Support Services to Alerting Authorities, which may include software such as Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and custom tools such as the IPAWS Alerting Tools Portal (ATP)

ii. Access and edit the IPAWS TSSF application management system to:

1. Input new user data

2. Verify current user data

3. Manipulate settings

4. Troubleshoot XML metadata

5. Run reports

iii. Maintain record of AA tests and requests for IPAWS TSSF support for user administration purposes.

iv. Possess a working knowledge of alert and warning practices, communications psychology, and user interface / user experience (UI/UX) design in order to maintain custom tools for use in situational awareness and to support AAs in crafting and sending effective messaging. Current tools include:

1. The IPAWS Assistive Tool Platform (ATP), which offers a unified login to access the Message Design Dashboard (MDD), the Message Viewer, and future tools that will help AAs gain confidence and proficiency in sending public alerts (see the IPAWS Alerting Authority ATP User Guide for more information)

2. The MDD, which AAs can use to quickly generate the most effective alert text based on cutting edge best practices in crisis psychology and social science research

3. The Message Viewer, which can be used to view messages sent to the IPAWS non-public demonstration environment.

v. Develop new custom tools for use by AAs or the MASC as directed by the Government

vi. Maintain the BMP, which consists of several integrated applications including an application tracking system and Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) database, which currently uses the Salesforce Contact Management Platform.

1. The BMP is an integrated application consisting of the following systems: Salesforce, DocuSign, Nintex Drawloop.

2. Maintain the BMP and incorporate any modifications as needed, to include recurring development work.

3. The current MOA database is hosted in Salesforce environment. FEMA IPAWS staff access the system through the FEMA network. The system provides IPAWS staff with a mechanism to process applications. The database stores information pertaining to an AA and interoperable system developer, which consists of the organization's points of contact (POCs) and interoperable system. The current MOA database supports:

· More than 2,000 approved AAs.

· Average of 35 MOA applications per month.

· Average of 24 fully executed MOAs sent to AAs per month.

· Average of 12 developer applications per month.

· Average of 20 Enabling AAs (authorized to send alerts) per month.

vii. Provide license management and optimize the number of licenses (increase and decrease as needed for each license type) for software that may include systems such as:

1. Salesforce:

· Salesforce Integration

· Analytics Cloud Integration User

· Salesforce

· Chatter Free

· Chatter External

· Identity

· Customer Community Plus Login

2. DocuSign – eSignature: Business Pro - For FedRAMP – Envelopes.

3. Nintex Drawloop: Enterprise Edition.

4. Entrust: Multi-Domain EV SSL (ECS-EVMD-S).

viii. Continue license management responsibilities to make sure licenses don't expire prior to renewal.

ix. Continue Salesforce updates and testing.

x. Provide O&M operations such as system backups, updates, enhancements, and testing.

xi. Provide Authorization to Operate (ATO) support.

xii. Provide O&M services, to include:

1. Provide backup and recovery.

2. Provide patch management, system updates, and upgrades, to include testing.

3. Provide ongoing technical support, to include incident management for responding to outages and system issues.

4. Provide license management to ensure licenses do not expire.

xiii. Provide system software support services.

xiv. Provide database management and administration.

xv. Provide system monitoring and notification.

xvi. Provide 24/7 BMP help desk coverage as part of the technical support desk described in Task Area 1.

xvii. Provide network support services.

xviii. Ensure continuity of operations.

xix. Provide web management.

xx. Proactively evaluate and provide recommendations for operational and system improvements, such as new features, system efficiencies, and software selection.

xxi. Maintain configuration management for applications, hosted systems, and software.

xxii. Comply with Federal, DHS, and FEMA security requirements; maintain security management procedures; recommend security improvements, as needed.

xxiii. Maintain and update all system documents within the scope; review and make recommended changes to existing documentation.

b. Management of Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)

i. Securely track, maintain, and transport all GFE used in TSS test, exercise, and training tasks (e.g., audiovisual equipment, informational displays, etc.). Migrate GFE during any change of facility, including from the incumbent facility to the contractor’s new Contractor-Owned, Contractor-Operated (COCO) facility if applicable.

ii. Provide equipment management processes, recording, and trackers to maintain accountability and operational health of GFE.

c. Innovation Lab and Next Generation Technology Assessment, Development, and Integration

i. Facilitate requirements gathering, needs analysis, and documentation for custom tools and software integration. Conduct preliminary research, development, and assessment activities for integration of new technology solutions. The goal of these improvements is to enhance the reach and effectiveness of public alert and warning and will include initial capability assessments, exploratory capability/feasibility testing and assessment, and development of preliminary recommendations for the IPAWS Division.

ii. Work with private sector partners (such as device makers, broadcasters, telecommunications providers, media producers) on advancements in technology to maintain a shared understanding of capabilities and coordinate on governance, standards, and interoperability.

iii. Establish and implement processes for conducting proofs of concept, sandbox demonstrations, integration testing, performance testing, cybersecurity evaluation, and user testing for potential technology solutions.

iv. Lead technical support for integration of new technology tools and techniques to enhance future capabilities of the nation’s public alert and warning ecosystem.

v. Use prototyping in the innovation lab to develop recommendations and best practices for use by AOSPs, industry partners, and AAs.

vi. Manage and use test and demonstration environments for alerting capabilities that are not connected to the internet to:

1. Develop new alerting capabilities in the test environment.

2. Test new alerting capabilities and their integration with existing IPAWS systems and protocols.

3. Use the test environment to demonstrate and train emergency communicators on new capabilities, tools, and practices to promote adoption of the latest and most effective alerting techniques.

2. Task Area 3: Lead Capability-Building Initiatives for Alerting Authorities – The Contractor shall lead hands-on capability-building activities with AA personnel, including through the following areas: testing, exercises, and evaluations with AAs; hands-on on-site and virtual training; facilitating information-sharing and dissemination of best practices; and developing and improving capability-building resources for AAs. Specific requirements under this task area include:

a. Develop and deliver Alerting Authority testing, exercises, and evaluation, and work with Alerting Authorities to identify opportunities for improvement

i. Provide remote and on-site support for planning, conducting, and assessing the results of any Alerting Authorities tests of their alerting capabilities and processes, including invitational opportunities to present guidance to groups of Alerting Authorities and partners and providing hands-on training (e.g., guided exercises). This may take place in standalone events or as part of broader emergency management exercises.

1. Requires understanding of test and evaluation processes and procedures.

2. Requires knowledge of tabletop, functional, and operational exercise play.

ii. Assess Alerting Authority performance in tests and exercises and collaborate with them to identify opportunities for improvement in their individual jurisdictions’ policies, processes, and personnel training based on that performance

1. This support requires familiarity with emergency management concepts, processes, plans, and procedures and public warning best practices.

2. Requires working knowledge of alert origination software, EAS and WEA distribution channels, and other alert distribution components.

3. Requires the ability to provide educated and professional advice regarding local plans, processes, and procedures to include industry best practices.

iii. Develop a process for collecting, analyzing, and developing recommendations based on feedback from AAs to improve capacity-building efforts.

iv. Evaluate and continuously identify opportunities to improve the customer experience, both with Alerting Authorities and with the public receiving the messages.

b. Develop and deliver hands-on on-site and virtual training for Alerting Authorities

i. Use multimodal training methodologies to develop curricula and training materials, such as microlearning modules, webinars, job aids, and interactive scenario-based training activities

1. Requires working knowledge of CAP standard.

2. Requires knowledge and understanding of IPAWS-OPEN requirements.

3. Involves excellent customer support capabilities.

ii. Apply feedback from Alerting Authorities, lessons learned from prior training, testing, and exercises, and lessons learned from emergency alerting performance in real-world events to continuously improve training materials and curricula.

iii. Deliver training to Alerting Authorities virtually and on-site at the COCO facility and at other locations that may require travel, such as other Government facilities, at Alerting Authority facilities, or at conferences and seminars attended by Alerting Authority personnel.

c. Facilitate information sharing and dissemination of best practices among Alerting Authorities

i. Facilitate opportunities for Alerting Authorities to directly share best practices and lessons learned with their peers, including through any live opportunities, such as exercises featuring multiple Alerting Authorities, or through digital platforms, such as the Alerting Tools Portal or future IPAWS tools.

d. Development and improvement of capability-building tools, templates, and training resources for Alerting Authorities

i. Develop guides, best practice documents, alert templates, and other testing and training resources that Alerting Authorities can access and use to improve their alerting capabilities.

e. Assist the Division with conducting IPAWS demonstrations, evaluations, and presentations at external events and engagements at locations around the Contiguous United States (CONUS), Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. territories.

i. Must understand setup and interoperability of a fully simulated IPAWS-OPEN system from alert origination to alert distribution via EAS and other devices and technologies.

ii. Minimum of two support personnel needed. A minimum of 10 events with an average of three to five days in duration shall be considered when providing these services at locations other than the IPAWS TSSF. Note: Requires travel to event location; travel expenses will be invoiced and reimbursed as Other Direct Costs (ODCs); personnel hours supporting events will be invoiced as labor.

GENERAL PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS AND KEY PERSONNEL

The Contractor shall provide qualified personnel to perform all requirements specified in this SOW and future Task Orders issued under the Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ). The Government requires all Contractor personnel supporting the IDIQ to be U.S. citizens.

Contractor is required to perform in an IPAWS Division dynamic environment that requires flexibility, expediency, and multitasking. FEMA requires a high-performing, lean staff of qualified personnel that are required to perform multifunctional roles and responsibilities across numerous scopes of work, as indicated by the scope of this SOW, as well as engage with Alerting Authorities and commercial partners in a professional manner that promotes and maintains a productive relationship. The TSSF team members need to be leaders trusted by Alerting Authorities and commercial partners based on their mission knowledge and technical expertise. The Contractor must provide a proposed staffing plan as part of the response to this solicitation.

FEMA requires the Contractor to proactively monitor, manage, and promptly take any necessary personnel performance corrective action in a timely manner, to include identifying and replacing personnel who are not performing to expectations within 30 days. FEMA requires the Contractor to submit resumes for all personnel for Government approval prior to addition to the contract. Before replacing any individual designated as Key by the Government, the Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative no less than 15 business days in advance, submit written justification for replacement, and provide the name and qualifications of any proposed substitute(s). All proposed substitutes shall possess qualifications equal to or superior to those of the Key person being replaced, unless otherwise approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative. The Contractor shall not replace Key Contractor personnel without approval from the Contracting Officer’s representative. The following Contractor personnel are designated as Key for this requirement. Note: The Government may designate additional Contractor personnel as Key at the time of award.

Below are IPAWS Support Role labor categories and equivalent labor categories for Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System and GSA OASIS+. In addition to these labor categories, the Contractor shall have 45 calendar days from award of the contract to have a minimum of three personnel complete the training requirements and competency evaluation to be assessed as an IPAWS AOB Qualified Analyst (AQA), as outlined in Attachment A of the Alert on Behalf Protocol (shared upon award; AQA training is made available by the IPAWS Division). The Contractor shall continuously provide a minimum of three personnel assessed as meeting the IPAWS AQA standard and shall inform the Contracting Officer’s Representative in writing within 45 calendar days from award of their measures to maintain this continuing of support, such as cross-training of other staff, retention practices, and proactive recruiting measures.

The Contractor shall also notify the Contracting Officer of the departure of any IPAWS AQA-certified personnel no less than 15 business days in advance and shall confirm in writing that they continue to provide a minimum of three IPAWS AQA-certified personnel. The following Contractor personnel are designated as Key for this requirement. Note: The Government may designate additional Contractor personnel as Key at the time of award.

Project Lead (SOC: Managers, All Other (11-9199); OASIS: Senior-Manager, Group 2) Must have 8-10 years project management experience. Ability to manage team in dynamic and agile environment with growing stakeholder base. Experience in emergency management and engineering highly desirable.

Senior Technical Specialist (SOC: Emergency Management (11-9161); OASIS: Junior- Manager, Group 4) Minimum of 3-5 years of experience with emergency management practices and communication systems. Ability to lead and mentor junior analysts in a technical and dynamic environment.

Experience with alert and warning technologies highly desirable.

Technology and Training SME (SOC: Computer Systems Analysts (15-1211); OASIS: TBD, Group TBD) Minimum of 7 years of experience with technology research, integration, and training. Ability to research, evaluate, test, and integrate new technologies, including artificial intelligence tools, into public alert and warning systems. Ability to develop and deliver tailored training on emergency alerting technology, tools, and practices.

Senior Cybersecurity Specialist (SOC: Information Security Analysts (15-1212); OASIS: TBD, Group TBD) Minimum of 7 years of experience with advanced expertise in cybersecurity. Ability to lead cybersecurity strategy development and implementation, analyze cybersecurity risks and mitigations, and resolve technical cybersecurity challenges.

Software Integration and Engineering Specialist (SOC: Information Security Analysts (15-1212); OASIS: TBD, Group TBD) Minimum of 5-7 years of experience leading software development and integration. Experience with common programming languages and the ability to support software development, testing, and integration to support maintenance and enhancement of current custom software tools and development and integration of new custom software tools.

ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS:

In addition to Key Personnel, Contractor shall maintain applicable MASC Service Desk qualifications and Salesforce SME and Developer certifications.

Public Alert and Warning Experience for MASC Personnel: All Contractor personnel assigned to support 24/7 MASC operations (as described under Task Area 1 in “Requirements and Objectives”) must meet the following qualifications:

· Demonstrated substantial experience with public alert and warning skills, clearly documented in their resumes (experience with 911 call center and dispatch handling incoming communications does not fulfil this requirement)

· Strong oral communication and customer service skills, including empathy in understanding the challenges and emotions of callers who may be in high stress situations

· Strong problem-solving and analytical skills (including the ability to effectively assess when escalation is needed)

· Technical knowledge of IPAWS systems and tools, common features of third-party Alert Origination Software, and how third-party software interfaces with IPAWS-OPEN. (NOTE: Contractor shall onboard and fill all positions with fully trained personnel and ensure that they have completed specialized IPAWS training within 45 days from contract award, working with Government personnel as appropriate to identify information for inclusion)

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