RFI - Enterprise Support for eXist.docx

United States Department of State

Foreign Service Institute Office of the Executive Director

RFI – Enterprise Support for eXist

INTRODUCTION:

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL, NO SOLICITATION EXISTS AT THIS TIME. The United States Government will not pay for information submitted in response to this notice nor will information submitted in response to this notice be returned.

The U.S. Department of State (DOS), Foreign Service Institute, Office of the Executive Director, is conducting a market survey to determine the availability and technical capability of qualified large and small businesses, including small business set-asides, small disadvantaged businesses (SDB), 8(a) small businesses, woman-owned small businesses (WOSB), veteran owned small businesses (VOSB), service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), and Historically Under-utilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses capable of assisting the Government on options to improve its current arrangement for server administration and application development for the existing website, history.state.gov (HSG), and the existing content management system, cms.history.state.gov (CMS), which are both housed in the Amazon EC2 Cloud and administered by the Office of the Historian (FSI/OH).

This Request for Information (RFI) notice is for informational and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to enter into a future contract. Respondents will not be paid or reimbursed for any information provided to the Government in response to this notice.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

The government is considering options to improve its current arrangement for server administration and application development for the existing website, history.state.gov (HSG), and the existing content management system, cms.history.state.gov (CMS), which are both housed in the Amazon EC2 Cloud and administered by the Office of the Historian (FSI/OH). The Office seeks to improve the performance of HSG and CMS, add capabilities to them, and bring several of their components onto internal networks. Any new architecture will need to build on the existing application code written for eXist-db and comply with DOS policies including Cloud solutions approved by DOS’s Cloud Computing Governance Board (CCGB).

All Small Business firms that respond are to identify firm size and type of business to the anticipated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code 541511 (Custom Computer Programming Services) with a size standard of $27.5 million.

REQUIREMENTS:

Interested firms are requested to submit a capability statement, limited to no more than thirty pages using Times New Roman size 12 font with 1 inch top, bottom and side margins. All capability statements must be specifically tailored to address the information identified in this notice. Generic corporate marketing information will not be considered responsive to this notice and will not be included in the market research assessment.

Submission instructions are provided below. The capability statement shall include the following:

1. Provide company name, address, telephone number, point of contact (including email address), company size and DUNS number.

2. Provide company institution or organization affiliation.

3. Provide a list of all Professional Federal Supply Schedule contracts and Government-wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC) held by the firm. The list should include at minimum the contract number and type of schedule or GWAC.

4. Provide the company’s approach and capabilities in response to the requirement as set forth in the SOW.

5. The Government requests that all aspects of the SOW be addressed. For areas your firm does not have expertise, you will need to provide how these areas will be successfully performed under the contract.

6. Provide a cost estimate for the scope of the project.

7. Provide any questions or feedback on elements of the SOW that are unclear. This feedback should be designed to assist the Government in improving and clarifying the statement as it is currently written.

The capability statement shall not include the following:

1. Formal proposals or offers; nor

2. Questions or comments not related to this notice.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:

Only electronic copies of capability statements will be accepted. Responses shall be sent directly to: PaekJ@state.gov. Include “Enterprise Support for eXist” in the email subject line. Responses and questions to this notice are due by Wednesday, September 30, 2020 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

THIS NOTICE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A REQUEST FOR A FORMAL PROPOSAL OR A PRESOLICITATION NOTICE. THERE IS NO SOLICIATION AT THIS TIME. Submission of any information in response to the market research is purely voluntary. The Government assumes no financial responsibility for any cost incurred. This announcement is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government, implied or otherwise, to issue a solicitation or award to contract.

PATH FORWARD:

Capability statements submitted by interested firms will be used as part of market research by DOS representatives to assist in planning possible future technical requirements and developing possible acquisition alternatives, should this announcement lead to an actual procurement. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), the Government does not presently intend to award a contract, but wants to obtain price, delivery, other market information, or capabilities for planning purposes. Responses to these notices are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract.

DOS representatives may contact respondents for additional information, may conduct follow-up Industry Day Conferences, may hold one-on-one meetings with organization representatives, or may issue other notices as part of continued market research to improve our understanding of industry capabilities in relation to satisfying our possible future requirements.

Contracting Office Address:

United States Department of State Foreign Service Institute Office of Acquisitions 4000 Arlington Boulevard Arlington, Virginia 22204

Primary Point of Contact:

PaekJ@state.gov

Attachment:

Attachment A SOW

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