RFI_on_3rd_Party_Electronic_Fingerprint_Providers__3-10-14.pdf

RFI No: GS-H1E-I-14-0058

THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Mission Assurance (OMA)

Request for Information

Number GS-H1E-I-14-0058

3rd Party Electronic Fingerprints

March 11, 2014

1. Synopsis

1.1 RFI Description

This is a Request for Information (RFI). This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the General Services Administration (GSA).

GSA is currently conducting market research to locate qualified, experienced, and interested potential Contractors. Responses will not be considered as proposals, nor will any award be incurred by interested parties in responding to this RFI announcement.

1.2 RFI Purpose

GSA is issuing this RFI to ascertain the market availability of current solutions that can provide end-to-end management and technical services for GSA to use electronic fingerprints to process background investigations for contractors to support GSA. The objectives of this RFI are to:

Explore the technical solutions available in the marketplace to securely, rapidly, reliably, and efficiently capture and transmit electronic fingerprints for contractors supporting GSA;

Explore the management capabilities, including but not limited to quality control and reporting, available in the marketplace to operate the technical solutions to securely, rapidly, reliably, and efficiently capture and transmit electronic fingerprints for contractors supporting GSA;

Explore providers’ scalability and availability of service centers to electronically capture fingerprints from applicant and current contractors who support GSA, are widely dispersed across the continental United States (US) and US territories, and are in areas that are sparsely populated;

Explore providers’ experience in providing end-to-end management and technical services to use electronic fingerprints to process background investigations

Explore providers’ available options for payment for services;

Assess government and private industry capabilities, including those of small businesses, to meet the

Department's requirement; and Allow vendors an opportunity to respond to questions in this RFI to assist GSA in determining the appropriate acquisition strategy.

1.3 Background

The mission of GSA is to deliver the best value in real estate, acquisition, and technology services to government and the American people. GSA oversees the business of the US federal government. GSA’s acquisition solutions supply federal purchasers with cost-effective high-quality products and services from commercial vendors. GSA provides workplaces for federal employees, and oversees the preservation of historic federal properties. Its policies covering travel, property and management practices promote efficient government operations.

To carry out GSA’s mission, GSA obtains the services of thousands of contractors each year. GSA requires many of its contractors to obtain a background investigation as a condition of contract employment. In addition, GSA requires contractors who meet the requirements of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) to obtain a GSA Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card that GSA branded as the GSA Access Card. GSA contractors who obtain a GSA Access Card are required to provide an electronic scan of their fingerprints when they enroll at a GSA USAccess Program enrollment center. The USAccess Program has over 200 enrollment centers across the US in mostly densely populated areas. (A list of centers is available at http://www.fedidcard.gov/centerlist.aspx. The approximately 200 centers that are identified as ‘Shared’ are available to GSA contractors.) GSA is planning to use the electronic fingerprints that are captured at a USAccess Program enrollment center for GSA contractors who are obtaining a GSA Access Card. In addition, GSA is planning to leverage the electronic fingerprint scanning capabilities of USAccess Program enrollment centers to capture fingerprints for GSA contractors who do not need to obtain a GSA Access Card. This is RFI is seeking information on services to use electronic fingerprints to process background investigations for GSA contractors who are located in areas in the US and US territories that are sparsely populated and, therefore not near a USAccess Program enrollment center.

http://www.fedidcard.gov/centerlist.aspx

1.4 Requirements

GSA is issuing this RFI to help define the requirements for electronic fingerprint services. All sources are invited to submit information, comments, feedback, and recommendations for meeting the service requirements related to electronic fingerprints that are listed below.

End-to-End Solution: Provide end-to-end management and technical services for GSA to use electronic fingerprints to process background investigations for contractors to support GSA. Service should include, but are not limited to: managing the service levels that are agreed upon with GSA;

managing the IT systems, equipment such as fingerprint scanners; communicating instructions to GSA contractors to use the service; and providing help support to GSA contractors with questions about the service.

Information Security: Protect Personally Identifiable Information (PII), including biometric data, from any security incident. Enable only authorized individuals to have fingerprints captured electronically for background checks or investigations.

Scalability and Availability of Centers to Capture Electronic Fingerprints: Provide centers that are available at times and locations for GSA contractors who are not located near GSA USAccesss program enrollment centers to have fingerprints captured electronically for background checks or investigations.

Agreements with Investigation Service Providers: Have contract or service agreements with investigation service providers to send GSA contractors’ electronic fingerprints and additional data needed for background checks and investigations; receive background check or investigation results, address questions about submissions, and track the status of submissions to investigation providers.

Systems-to-Systems Connectivity: Support system-to-system interfaces to enable GSA contractors’ fingerprints to be captured and transmitted electronically without needing to use any paper forms to process a background check or investigation.

Reporting: Provide regular and ad hoc reports that enable GSA to monitor the service level across the entire system and by a component of the system. Provide an audit capability to track confirmation of transmission of electronic fingerprints.

User Interfaces: Enable GSA contractors to easily use the service to have their fingerprints scanned electronically. Provide instructions in clear, easy-to-understand terms and in languages in addition to English.

Payment for Services: Provide available options for payment for services.

2. Vendor Responses

Government and private industry feedback is vitally important, and GSA will be receptive to any and all ideas that are received. The responses to this RFI will help to determine marketplace capabilities and help shape the GSA’s future strategy for using electronic fingerprints to process GSA contractor background investigations.

2.1 Vendor Information

Respondents must provide the following vendor profile information:

Company name or Government agency name;

Company or agency address;

Company or agency website URL;

Company or agency point of contact (name, telephone number, fax number and email address);

Business or agency type (large business, small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a)-certified small disadvantaged business, etc.);

A brief summary of the organization's specific experience meeting the requirements listed in RFI

Section 1.4, including names of organizations served, number of people whose fingerprints your organization captures and transmits for background checks and investigations, and geographic distribution of those people.

2.2 Vendor Questions

1. Do you partner with any other organizations to deliver end-to-end management and technical services to use electronic fingerprints to process background investigations? If so, identify each partner and their role.

2. What technical and management controls do you use to protect how the biometric fingerprint data and additional data needed for background checks and investigations is captured and transmitted?

3. If the biometric data and additional data needed such as full legal name to an applicant to their fingerprints for background checks and investigations are stored, where is it stored, how long is it stored, and how is the data in storage protected, cleansed and removed?

4. Does your organization procure, own, and maintain the electronic fingerprint equipment used to capture fingerprints? If not, who does?

5. How do you ensure that only the electronic fingerprint equipment used to capture fingerprints are on the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) products list?

6. Does your organization own and maintain the electronic fingerprint data and additional data needed such as full legal name to tie that individual to their fingerprints for background checks and investigations? If not, who does?

7. What technical and management controls do you use to verify the identity of the contractor applicant to capture their electronic fingerprints? For example, are identity proofing documents electronically verified? If so, how?

8. How many service centers are available in the US and US territories to electronically capture fingerprints from GSA contractor applicants and current GSA contractors?

9. What is the number of fixed service centers (those that cannot be easily moved) compared to the number of mobile (those that can be easily moved) service centers? What capabilities are available to introduce mobile service centers to remote areas where service is not typically available?

10. Can applicants schedule appointments in advance? If so, how may they schedule appointments (e.g., visit Web, call by phone)?

11. How are instructions provided to applicants? For example, are they provided though printed collateral, webpages, email notifications, phone recording or live representatives, online chat respondents, or other sources? What languages are the instructions available?

12. How quickly are fingerprints available to transmit for processing after they have been captured?

13. Does the fingerprint transmission support the ability to provide any additional data such as an investigation case number along with the biometric data?

14. What system-wide and site-specific operations reports are available and how are they accessible?

For example, are reports available to track confirmation of electronic transmissions of fingerprints?

15. What is your billing and payment process?

16. What is the price per applicant fingerprint capture and transmission?

17. Do the prices vary by volume or other factors? If so, how do they vary?

Appendix A

18. What are examples of the metrics that your organization uses to measure your service level?

Appendix B

Please use the attached Microsoft Excel template to complete the following questions.

19. What is the full address of each service center? Please include locations in the continental US and US territories such as Puerto Rico and identify whether each service center is fixed or mobile.

20. When is each service center open to capture individuals’ electronic fingerprints?

21. Is access to any of the service centers restricted to contractors from one or more companies or by any other restriction? If so, what is the restriction?

3. Responses

Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a white paper. White papers constructed in a Microsoft Word for Office 2010 compatible format are due no later than Tuesday, April 15, 2014 by 2p.m.

est. Responses shall be limited to 35 single-spaced pages and submitted via e-mail to Jean Wright, Contracting Officer at jean.wright@gsa.gov. Please note that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. The requested template for information about each service center and the example metrics should be included as an appendix to the white paper and do not count towards the response page limit.

3.1 White Paper Format

The respondents shall submit their white paper in the following format.

Table of Contents

1.0 General Information and Company Capability

1.1 Include all information requested in RFI Section 2.1, Vendor Information

2.0 Company Responses to Department Questions

2.1 Include responses to questions 1-17 listed in RFI Section 2.2, Vendor Questions

3.0 Appendix A – Example Metrics to Measure Service Level

3.1 Include example metrics in response to question 18 listed in RFI Section 2.2, Vendor Questions

4.0 Appendix B – Information about each Service Center

4.1 Include completed template for information about each service center in response to questions 19-21 listed in RFI Section 2.2 Vendor Questions

4. Vendor Discussions

The Department may or may not choose to meet with respondents. Such discussions would only be intended to obtain further clarification of the respondent’s submission or potential capability to meet the requirements as part of the agency’s market research efforts.

5. Questions

Questions regarding this RFI shall be submitted by 2p.m est. Tuesday, March 25, 2014 in writing by e-mail to Jean Wright ,Contracting Officer at jeasn.wright@gsa.gov.

Questions shall NOT contain proprietary or classified information. All parties are advised that the Department reserves the right to respond to any questions posed and that the agency will not accept verbal questions. The

Government will not answer questions received after 2p.m Tuesday March 25, 2014 will be answered.

Responses to posed questions will be posted by means of amendment to this RFI.