IRS IRA 2.3 RFI_Expert Services _ 2024Feb5 _ Final.pdf

Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

“Expert Services for Redesign of Notices”

Request for Information (RFI)

February 6, 2024

IRS Expert Services for Redesign of Notices RFI | 1

Introduction

This is a Request for Information (RFI) (hereinafter Notice). This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, request for bids or quotations, nor a promise to issue a solicitation in the future. The purpose of this Notice is for the Government to obtain knowledge and information for project planning purposes only.

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in responses to this Notice, unless otherwise appropriately marked by the Respondent. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information received in response to this

Notice in any resultant solicitation(s). Do NOT submit any Proposals/Offers in response to this

Notice.

The Government has interest in and is seeking information about how to initiate technology and business process changes required to flexibly generate a large quantity of notices and letters (hereinafter Correspondence) according to certain standards. The Government also has interest in and is seeking information about the capability of providing advice specific to individual Correspondence items, as well as strategic ad hoc advice on matters of

Correspondence redesign throughout the contract period.

Project Title / Short Description: “Expert Services for Redesign of Notices”

PSC or FSC Code: T001, T013, DA01

NAICS Codes: 541430, 541611, 541614

Release Date: February 6, 2024

Response Date: February 23, 2024, 12:00 noon EST

Primary Point of Contact and Contact Information:

Name: Julie Payne

Title: Senior Level Counsel

Email: Julie.L.Payne@IRSCOUNSEL.TREAS.GOV

Secondary Point of Contact:

Name: Shontae Harley

Title: Front Door Liaison

Email: Shontae.T.Harley@irs.gov

Notice Redesign and Simplification

The IRS is looking for vendor(s) who can provide one or more subject matter experts (SMEs) to make a detailed technical assessment of the current processes and procedures by which the IRS redesigns Correspondence and recommend improvements to those processes and procedures including delivering a Guide that the redesign team will follow to update IRS Correspondence.

mailto:Julie.L.Payne@IRSCOUNSEL.TREAS.GOV

IRS Expert Services for Redesign of Notices RFI | 2

The SME(s) will also provide advice and recommendations specific to items of Correspondence and serve as a strategic ad hoc advisor on matters of Correspondence redesign throughout the contract period.

Description of Services

There is a need to Initiate technology and business process changes required to flexibly generate

Correspondence. There is also a need to reflect recommended changes in a guide that can be relied on by IRS employees and Contractors to redesign the agency’s Correspondence. The IRS will employ these changes to redesign approximately 1,200 items of Correspondence by

December 31, 2026, including at least 200 items accounting for 70% of total volume by December

31, 2024.

The desired technology and business process changes should incorporate current design and construction standards, efficient generation practices, leading technologies, and principles of plain language, Section 508 accessibility, human-centered design and behavioral insights to produce a high quality and quantity of Correspondence redesigns.

The Contractor must be capable of conducting a detailed review of the IRS’ current

Correspondence technologies, business processes, and guideline documentation to identify issues and opportunities for improvement and recommending appropriate changes to those technologies and business processes. The Contractor will deliver a Redesign Guide, a guideline document recommending the design, style and content layout for IRS employees and Contractors to use in the redesign effort. The Contractor will collaborate with IRS Research Applied Analytics and Statistics (RAAS), and specified IRS employees and Contractors to develop a plan, conduct and analyze the results of appropriate tests, focus groups and surveys of Correspondence, as needed, to gather feedback on the effectiveness of the redesigned Correspondence items. The

Contractor shall update the Redesign Guide based on learnings from the feedback.

(Note: Some technology currently being utilized - Xpression, Doc Bridge (508), MS Word, PDF.)

RFI Instructions

Responses to this RFI are requested in three (3) parts as detailed below. All responses to this

Notice shall be emailed to the attention of the individual(s) listed in this Notice on page 1.

Responses shall be in either MS Word or PDF format, which does not exceed 8 pages in length, excluding any cover page. Responses should be concise and fully responsive.

*Note: The Government reserves the right to contact some, all or none of the responding vendors for further discussions regarding the RFI response. The IRS will reach out to the point of contact listed on the response should we choose to contact any vendor(s). Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED.*

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Part I: Company Profile - IRS seeks company profile information about the firms that provide services positioned to address the requirements discussed above.

Part II: Capability - IRS seeks Industry responses to specific questions. Do not include any support documentation for any company other than your own. This is an analysis of your company’s abilities.

Part III: Questions and Comments – IRS will accept open questions and comments.

Part I: Company Profile Information

Vendors are required to provide the following company information:

1. Company Name and Address.

2. Company technical Point of Contact (POC) information to include name, title, telephone number, and email address.

3. Applicable NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Code as it relates to this requirement.

4. List active governmentwide contracts that your company has been awarded (GWACs, IDIQs, and BPAs – include applicable SIN) as it relates to this requirement.

5. Business Classification / Socio-Economic Status (e.g., large, small, 8(a), women owned, hub-zone, SDB, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned).

6. Subcontracting/partnering/teaming possibilities.

Part II: Capability

Responses to this Notice should include the following:

General:

1. Please provide any additional insights that would help us craft the requirement(s) to best meet our need to initiate technology and business process changes required to flexibly generate improved notices.

2. What would be the most important considerations in your selection of the SMEs needed for this requirement?

3. How would you conduct a detailed review of the IRS’ current Correspondence design, style and content templates, business processes, and guideline documentation?

4. How would you identify issues and opportunities for improvement in the IRS’ current

Correspondence design, style and content templates, business processes, and guideline documentation?

5. How would you structure your recommendation for changes to the IRS’ current

Correspondence design, style and content templates, business processes, and guideline documentation?

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Experience/Expertise:

1. What is your company’s prior experience applying principles of human-centered design to document design or redesign?

2. What is your company’s prior experience applying plain language principles to document design or redesign?

3. What is your company’s prior experience applying behavioral insights principles to document design or redesign?

4. What is your company’s prior experience applying Section 508 or other accessibility standards to document design or redesign?

5. What is your company’s prior experience delivering guidebooks with recommendations about document design or redesign?

6. What level(s) of education or certification would be offered by the SMEs and other team members? What background and experience do you think is required for the SMEs and other team members needed for this requirement?

7. What are the average years of experience in human-centered document design for the SMEs and other team members you recommend be assigned to this potential contract?

General Pricing Info:

1. The Government anticipates one expert SME. Do you anticipate needing more than one expert

SME? You are asked to recommend any supporting positions needed for this requirement?

2. What labor categories do you think are applicable for the SMEs and other team members needed for this requirement?

3. What is the industry average hourly rate for each of the above labor categories?

4. Based on your responses to the above questions, what is a rough order of magnitude (ROM) for this type of requirement per year?

Part III: Questions and Comments

Open questions and comments relevant to this RFI may be provided for consideration. RFI questions must be submitted by February 12, 2024, by 10am EST. The IRS will consolidate all questions received and provide a response on or before February 16, 2024, 10am EST. All RFI questions shall be emailed to BOTH the primary and secondary points of contact listed on page

1.

Other Attachments

Attachment 1 – DRAFT PWS

Attachment 2 – US Treasury press release –

FACT SHEET: IRS Launches Simple Notice Initiative | U.S. Department of the Treasury

Attachment 3 – IRS press release – https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2042

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IRS launches Simple Notice Initiative redesign effort | Internal Revenue Service

Attachment 4 – IRM Office of Taxpayer Correspondence –

25.13.1 Office of Taxpayer Correspondence Services | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov)

Terms and Conditions Regarding this Notice

This Notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. All costs associated with responding to this Notice are solely at the responding party's expense. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Further, the

Government may contact the vendor for additional information regarding the information submitted as part of this market research effort. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract or agreement. The Government will not be obligated to pursue any acquisition alternative as a result of this notice. Responses to the notice will not be returned. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future solicitation if one is issued.

No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in responses to this Notice, unless otherwise appropriately marked by the Respondent. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information received in response to this

Notice in any resultant solicitation(s).

Do Not Submit any Proposals/Offers in response to this Notice.

Thank you for your response to this Request for Information.

https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/irs-launches-simple-notice-initiative-redesign-effort https://www.irs.gov/irm/part25/irm_25-013-001