RFI-12760424Q0229_Final.pdf

Recreation One Stop Support Services Recreation.gov

RFI ID#: 12760424Q0229

July 29, 2024

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Request for Information (RFI)/Sources Sought Notice (SSN)

1. Introduction

The Recreation One Stop (R1S) program is in the pre-solicitation phase for the Recreation One Stop Support Services procurement.

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY – This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. Solicitations are not available at this time. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. This notice does not constitute a commitment by the United States Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. All information submitted in response to this announcement is voluntary; the United States Government will not pay for information requested nor will it compensate any respondent for any cost incurred in developing information provided to the United States Government. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued.

2. Purpose and Objective

The Recreation One Stop Program (R1S) is issuing this RFI as a means of conducting market research to help inform the development of the scope for its next Recreation One Stop support services procurement, commonly known as Recreation.gov.

3. Background

Recreation.gov is a public-facing visitor reservations, trip planning, and information sharing platform. Nine federal agencies offer reservations through the platform at more than 5,400 federal recreation facilities with more than 121,000 items of reservable inventory. Between October 1, 2018, launch of the current iteration of Recreation.gov, and September 30, 2023 the platform has processed in excess of 38.5 million transactions and collected more than $1.2 billion that has been deposited directly into the US Treasury. There are currently 25 million active user accounts on the platform, an 81% increase over 2019.

The nine federal agencies that voluntarily manage reservable inventory on the platform include the Army Corps of Engineers, Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Presidio Trust, National Archives and Records Administration, and Naval District of Washington. Five additional federal agencies share recreation data publicly on the Recreation.gov platform, including the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Federal Highway Administration, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, Smithsonian Institution, and Tennessee Valley Authority.

The nine agencies that offer reservable inventory are parties to a Memorandum of Understanding for governance of the interagency collaboration under the Recreation One Stop (R1S) program. The MOU establishes the USDA/Forest Service as the lead agency responsible for contracting and financial management functions of the platform, and the R1S Program Management Office as the interagency team responsible for management, oversight, and coordination of the program. The R1S program was developed in direct response to Presidential Memorandum M-03-03, dated 12 December 2002, directing consolidation of disparate federal recreation reservation services contracts

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into one government-wide solution, thereby maximizing procurement efficiencies and offering a one-stop solution for the recreating public.

The Recreation.gov website (https://www.recreation.gov) and industry-leading mobile application deliver a secure, commercial grade e-commerce solution allowing public users and agency authorized commercial users to research, plan and purchase the necessary tickets, passes, permits and reservations for a wide variety of recreation opportunities on federal lands. The platform includes a staffed call center, hardware and software to enable in-person sales at federal facilities, and a suite of internal management tools for government managers and government partners.

The government has historically awarded a performance-based service contract under NAICS Code 561599 – All Other Travel Arrangement and Reservation Services to a single service provider for these services. The contracts have historically been structured to have a 5-year base period plus five additional 1-year performance periods available to be earned by the service provider as Award Terms through superior contract performance. The current contract maximum potential period of performance expires on September 30, 2028.

The current contract is a Requirements contract with fixed price per-transaction pricing. The current Contractor invoices the Government each month based on the total transactions processed via the Recreation.gov website, mobile app, the telephone customer support line, or in-person at participating Federal recreation locations. The fixed prices in the current contract vary depending on the type of inventory being reserved, the sales channel, and other factors. All fees collected through Recreation.gov are remitted to the U.S. Treasury. The Contractor submits invoices based on the fixed line-item pricing established in the contract, and payment is made by the R1S Program Office to the Contractor pursuant to the contract to cover operating costs, manage ongoing operations, and reinvest in new technology and solutions for the platform. No money collected for reservations through the platform goes directly to the Contractor.

The current Contractor provides a single point of contact for hosting, security, development, design, functionality, marketing, maintenance, operation, and the continuous improvement & enhancement of the technology platform underpinning the required service delivery in support of R1S operational and performance requirements. Additionally, the current Contractor is responsible for the aggregation, storage, security, and maintenance of all government-owned inventory, reservation, and transaction data associated with the Recreation.gov platform as well as all financial transaction management, customer service, and technical support functions associated with R1S service delivery.

Public demand for recreation opportunities has significantly increased over the past five years. The Recreation.gov platform must continually improve and deliver new features to accommodate and provide flexibility to help manage and protect federal land. The platform must also ensure an innovative, inclusive, accessible, and equitable service devoted to exceptional customer experience, adapting to the feedback, expectations, and needs of its customers. Some examples of these adaptations during the current contract include: timed entry tickets to National Parks developed during the COVID-19 pandemic; daily geofenced lotteries for high demand activities such as Coyote Buttes North (The Wave) and Enchantments wilderness permits; scan and pay functionality for unstaffed campground locations; availability alerts for all campground locations.

https://www.recreation.gov/

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Under the current contract, the Government owns all of the inventory, reservation, transaction, and customer data associated with Recreation.gov, along with all branding. However, the underlying technology platforms enabling the service delivery, including the source code, remain the sole proprietary property of the current Contractor.

The Government seeks industry inputs consistent with FAR Part 10 – Market Research to aid the Government in arriving at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing, and supporting supplies and services.

Questions:

1. Delivering a modern high-quality Customer Experience to all users and the flexibility to adapt to Agencies’ emerging operational requirements are foundational to the historic success of the R1S Program and Recreation.gov. To continue delivering a world-class customer experience industry-leading business tools to our customers, all aspects of the solution must continue to evolve to and develop new service offerings to meet ever-changing business requirements and customer expectations. Please describe the ideal contract structure / business model to accomplish these programmatic requirements.

2. Historically the government has approached Recreation One Stop support services as a procurement of recreation reservation software as a service, with requirements that an agile methodology be employed during the contract lifecycle to meet emerging government needs.

The business model has included a fixed-price per-transaction structure. One potential alternative approach is procuring a custom-developed government reservation system, where the government buys custom software and owns all the underlying technology, including the source code and data. There are likely other approaches to consider as well. Please compare and contrast the benefits and drawbacks of different procurement approaches from an industry perspective or provide other models that would be suitable for meeting the high-demand, high complexity recreation reservation needs of the Government and the public.

3. Please discuss how the inclusion of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.227-14 – Rights in Data – General (Alternate III) in a solicitation for the services loosely described above would impact your company’s ability and/or willingness to respond with a proposal.

Please also describe in general terms how the inclusion of this clause would influence your proposal relative to the total price / cost to the Government versus a contract which does not include the referenced FAR clause.

4. Depending on future procurement’s scope, OMB memorandum M-16-21, “Federal Source Code Policy: Achieving Efficiency, Transparency, and Innovation through Reusable and Open Source Software,” dated 8 August 2016, may apply. If applicable, the memorandum directs the government to consider if there are existing federal software solutions or commercial off-the-shelf software before procuring custom developed software. Hybrid options may also be considered.

a. Are there existing commercial off-the-shelf software products that meet some or all of the government needs, as loosely described above? How might the government consider these existing software products in its procurement strategy and the future business model for Recreation.gov?

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b. If the government considers procuring custom-developed code for a visitor reservation system in whole or in part to meet its needs, certain requirements in OMB M-16-21 may apply to the source code. Please discuss the cost, technical and data rights implications of complying with requirements as stated in that memorandum, and state how this may impact your organization’s willingness to submit a proposal in response to a solicitation for this requirement.

c. If the government considers procuring custom-developed code for a visitor reservation system in whole or in part to meet its needs, how might the services continue to evolve to meet the rapid pace of technology innovation? Are there tradeoffs the Government should consider between different procurement strategies relating to system stability, development timelines, adaptability, security, or other factors?

5. Please discuss any business, market, or technology trends you have been witnessing or are aware of and describe their implications for outdoor recreation reservation services over the next 10-15 years.

6. AI is an emerging technology. What mechanisms or contracting techniques do you recommend be included in the requirements so that the Recreation.gov platform can take advantage of AI and other emerging technologies that might arise over the next 10-15 years?

7. Any solution delivered under a future contract will need to achieve FedRAMP certification or at a minimum be listed as FedRAMP ready. What solutions for these services exist today that are FedRAMP certified or FedRAMP ready?

8. What relevant capabilities should the Government consider that are not already described in the background to this RFI?

9. The government seeks the capability to expand the service to other federal agencies. What incentives and services would you envision to promote growth of participation and services?

10. What specific performance standards that are fair and realistic should be included in a contract of this nature? How might the performance standards change based on different business models or procurement strategies?

11. The government anticipates that any future acquisition will be full-and-open competition.

a. Is there anything the government can do to limit barriers to entry in this space?

b. Are there opportunities for the government to innovate with the contract type, payment model, clauses, etc?

12. As the government plans the acquisition time-line, please estimate the length of time and the resources it would take to build a service with Recreation.gov’s current functionality. The current functionality of Recreation.gov is significant, complex, and expansive. A few specific examples highlight this complexity: Yosemite National Park Camping

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(https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232447); Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (https://www.recreation.gov/permits/233396); Coyote Buttes North Daily Lottery The Wave (https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4251909); Yosemite National Park Ticketed Entry (https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086745). The service could be built using existing commercial off-the-shelf software products, custom-developed from scratch in its entirety, or with a hybrid model using a combination of existing products and custom development.

a. What approach would you recommend to build a service that matches all current functionality?

b. How long would it take to build?

c. What resources would a contractor require, including staff, funding, access to information, or other resources, and during what time periods?

d. What resources from the government would be required, and during what time periods?

4. Requested Information

Interested parties are requested to submit answers to the questions of no more than 15 pages in length in Times New Roman font of no less than 10 pitch with one-inch margins. The Government is not interested in general capabilities statements or generic materials such as brochures, advertisements etc. Please only provide relevant information as requested above. All submissions shall be submitted in either Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF).

Interested firms responding to this RFI must respond with the following:

Additional Information and Submission Details The following organizational information is required on the cover page:

1. Organization’s Name

2. Organization’s Address

3. Point of Contact

4. Phone Number

5. E-mail Address

6. Organization is / is not System for Award Management (SAM) Registered. If yes, please provide:

1. Unique Entity ID

2. Cage Code

7. Company Web Address:

8. Business Size: Indicate if your firm is large or small and include any applicable socio-economic status.

5. RFI Response Submission Instructions

All responses to this RFI must be submitted via email no later than 1:00pm ET on August 23, 2024 to SM.FS.R1SProc@usda.gov https://www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/232447 https://www.recreation.gov/permits/233396 https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4251909 https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086745 mailto:SM.FS.R1SProc@usda.gov

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52.215-3 Request for Information or Solicitation for Planning Purposes (Oct 1997)

(a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

(b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal.

(c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of: Market Research and planning to support solicitation preparation.

(End of provision)