OCI RFI 20200408 - Final.pdf

UNCLASSIFIED

09 April 2020

Request for Information (RFI)

EMERALD Follow-On Organization Conflicts of Interest (OCI)

A. Introduction

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in support of the Enterprise Technical Services

Office is seeking information in the form of a capability statement on the level of interest, capabilities and qualifications of small and large businesses to provide support for the EMERALD Follow-On

Information will be used on a non-attribution basis.

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute an Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quotation (RFQ) or any indication that the

Government will contract for any of the items and/or services contained in the notice (FAR 15.201(e)).

In accordance with FAR 52.215-3 – Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct

1997), the Government will not pay for any information/items submitted in response to this RFI. Data will not be returned.

This RFI does not commit the Government to award a contract. No determination as to the viability of this requirement has been made at this point and there is currently no solicitation for this effort. Any solicitation resulting from this RFI will be announced separately. Based on your response to this RFI, the Government may contact you with follow-up questions and/or for one-on-one sessions. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued.

This RFI is an opportunity for industry to submit statements on how they can support NGA’s mission for the EMERALD Follow-on contract requirement. Specifically, opening the discussion on OCI concerns.

Any information used will be on a non-attribution basis.

B. Background Information

As a member of the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) and a Department of Defense (DoD) Combat

Support Agency, NGA produces timely, relevant and accurate Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) to help all levels of users meet their strategic and operational needs in support of national security objectives.

Source Selection Sensitive

The EMERALD program currently supports the accomplishment of the NGA mission by providing a wide variety of general purpose services that enable effective program execution across the agency, with shift work (24 hour support) incorporated as needed. EMERALD currently provides over 600

TS/SCI cleared contractors in support of 49 Task Orders. EMRALD is a Firm Fixed Price Level of

Effort (FFP/LOE) Multiple Award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) Contract.

C. OCI EMERALD Follow-on Requirement

NGA is requesting information on past experiences and recommendations on dealing with strict OCI clauses.

1. Current EMERALD OCI Clauses

5X52.09.507-9000 Organizational Conflict of Interest (June 2004)

(a) The term "organizational conflict of interest" means that because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person is unable to or potentially unable to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person's objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage. The term "person" includes a business organization.

(b) The principals of organizational conflict of interest and descriptions thereof are set forth at

FAR Subpart 9.5.

(c) If the offeror/contractor is aware of a potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI), as defined at paragraph (a) above, with respect to this procurement, the offeror shall make immediate and full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer.

(d) If in the performance of this contract the contractor discovers a potential organizational conflict of interest with respect to the contract, it shall make an immediate and full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer, which shall include a description of the actions the

Contractor has taken or proposes to take to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the conflict. In the event that the Contractor does not disclose a known potential conflict to the Contracting

Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default.

(e) If the Contractor is directed by authorized Government personnel by written tasks or verbal directions (in program review or otherwise), to perform service which the Contractor believes to constitute a potential organizational conflict of interest, the contractor is required to notify the Contracting Officer in writing of the nature of the conflict within ten (10) days after receipt of the Government directive. The Contracting Officer has the sole responsibility for determining whether a conflict does, in fact, exist. No effort shall be expended toward the performance of the services in question until this determination has been made or unless otherwise directed by the Contracting Officer.

(f) The Government has the unilateral right to waive one or more of the provisions of FAR

Subpart 9.5 and this template, on a case-by-case basis, if it is determined by the Contracting

Officer that a waiver is in the best interest of the Government. The Contractor must demonstrate to the Contracting Officer in writing that the Contractor can avoid, mitigate or neutralize potential conflicts of interest.

(g) Any restraints negotiated in response to FAR Part 9.507-2 as a condition of award due to an organizational conflict of interest, shall be incorporated into the instant contract or

Delivery/Task Order(s) as appropriate. These restraints will remain in effect for the duration of the applicable Task Order. Upon completion of the Task Order, the restraints shall be terminated.

(h) The Contractor shall insert Paragraphs (a) through (g) of this clause in all subcontracts.

SPECIAL OCI CONDITIONS

(a) Notwithstanding H.20 above, EMERALD task orders may contain OCI restrictions that may or may not be avoided, mitigated or neutralized. Each task order requirement shall be examined for OCI individually and on a task order by task order basis.

(b) Various EMERALD task orders may contain significant, non-mitigatable OCI restrictions.

The Government will communicate this in the task order RFP. In order to be eligible for award of this type of task order, the Contractor shall not have a financial interest in any other work performed for NGA at time of task order start or the Contractor will be ineligible for such award. The Contractor who is awarded and performs work under a task order with a non-mitigatable restriction may not acquire a financial interest in any other work for NGA and will be ineligible to perform any other work for NGA during the maximum Period of Performance of that task order. In the RFP response, the Prime Contractor and all Subcontractors performing on this task order must acknowledge and state their intent to comply with these restrictions.

(c) If the Government determines that OCI avoidance, mitigation and/or neutralization is acceptable, the Government will communicate this in the task order RFP. In response to the task order RFP, the Prime Contractor is responsible for ensuring the Prime Contractor and all

Subcontractors performing on the task order are not conflicted and/or have submitted a detailed plan addressing the OCI mitigation strategy within their proposal. Task order award will not occur until the OCI strategy/plan is approved by the Government.

(d) Each Prime Contractor’s proposal must include a signed OCI Disclosure and Analysis

Form (Section J, Attachment 6) and statement of acknowledgement of the OCI strategy for each subcontractor performing under that task order. Failure to provide the statements of acknowledgement will result in the Contractor’s proposal not being considered for award.

Furthermore, during the performance of the EMERALD contract, the Prime Contractor must provide the Contracting Officer with a statement of acknowledgement by any additional subcontractors prior to the subcontractor commencing performance on that task order.

(e) Special OCI provisions for each task order apply to the Prime Contractor, Subcontractors performing on individual task orders, parent companies and their wholly owned subsidiaries.

(f) After the maximum period of performance established by each EMERALD task order has expired, the special restraints imposed by this clause shall not apply.

(g) The Contractor shall insert the substance of paragraphs (a) through (g) of this clause in all subcontracts for work performed under this Contract.

D. Response Instructions

1. Response to this RFI must be UNCLASSIFIED, submitted/received by the due date and time, and in compliance with the method for submittal specified below without exception in order to be considered.

Response due date and time: All responses to this RFI must be received by April 23, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Eastern Standard Time (EST).

2. Method for Submittal: All responses must be submitted via e-mail with the message subject line

EMBRALD Follow-on RFI Response – [INSERT Business name]” to:

Mr. Gary Davis at Gary.J.Davis@nga.mil

Ms. Kebra Beckford at Kebra.L.Beckford@nga.mil

To aid in Government review, the total pages for the entire submission shall be limited to no more than

5 pages plus attachments. Each submission shall be in Microsoft Word. The requested response format for all submissions is 8.5” x 11”, 12 pt. Times New Roman, with one inch margins on all sides.

mailto:Gary.J.Davis@nga.mil mailto:Kebra.L.Beckford@nga.mil

Responses should not include proprietary information. Any responses that are marked proprietary will not be considered. This document and its attachment are not to be used as sources of derivative classification. Also, no sections of these document(s) shall be pulled from, reassembled, or otherwise used below the document(s) stated overall classification, without the approval from NGA Office of

Contract Services. Responses must be marked “Unclassified” at least on the first page of the response.

Information contained in the responses may be reviewed by non-Government consultants/experts supporting NGA and who are bound by the appropriate non-disclosure agreement (NDA). All submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

3. Questions and Answers (Q&As):

The Government will entertain questions on a case-by-case basis. Respondents should be advised that all questions submitted will be posted for all respondents to view, although the identity of the requesting organization will be withheld. No verbal questions will be accepted. The deadline for submitting questions is (16 April 2020 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) (EST) to the POC listed above

(Gary.J.Davis@nga.mil & Kebra.L.Beckford@nga.mil)). The Government does not guarantee that any questions submitted after this deadline will be answered.

E. Information Requested

RFI responses shall identifying first your company name, phone number, DUNS, Cage Code, company website, and name and email of one designated point-of-contact (POC). At a minimum, clearly annotated answers to all of the following questions should be included in your response:

Question 1: If you are a current Prime or Sub-Contractor on the EMERALD contract, please explain how you have managed the current OCI implementation strategy, including by not limited to:

a. What has been the impact to your operating procedures?

b. Do you have any lessons learned?

Question 2: How are you working with Strict OCI provisions at other government organizations? ? If yes, please address the following areas:

a. What is the name and contact information of the supported entity? (Government agency, commercial entity, etc.)

b. Were you the prime or subcontractor?

c. What services did you provide, and how are they relevant to those under this potential follow-on?

mailto:Gary.J.Davis@nga.mil

Question 3: EMERALD is currently managing strict OCI concerns at the Task Order Level. Has this been successful? Has it raise an undue burden on industry?

Question 4: NGA has implemented both Total Avoidance and Mitigation strategies on current

EMERALD work. Do you feel that this is the best OCI strategy for the work as described in RFI #1?

If yes, why? If no, why not?

Question 5: As this follow-on activity will support some of the most sensitive areas within NGA’s business structure, what recommendations do you have for managing clear and unclear OCI concerns?

Question 6: Are there any additional or specific items you would like NGA to understand with regards to managing OCI concerns?