RFI-ERTU-2025.docx

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

FINANCE AND FACILITIES DIVISION | PROCUREMENT SECTION

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

RFI-ERTU-2025

DISCLAIMER:

THIS NOTICE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OR QUOTE. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR THE PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.

INTRODUCTION

Responses to this Request for Information (RFI) may be used to formulate final requirements and/or to identify qualified contractors capable of meeting those requirements. The description below outlines the preliminary requirements envisioned for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Evidence Response Team Unit (ERTU) Recovery of Human Remains course. The information gathered may be used to formulate acquisition strategies for competitive solicitations.

BACKGROUND

The Laboratory Division, Forensic Response Section, ERTU within the FBI provides evidence collection capabilities to FBI field Evidence Response Teams (ERT), Underwater Search and Evidence Response Teams (USERT), Hazardous Evidence Response Teams (HERT), and law enforcement partners, by providing forensic training, resources, and expertise in support of the FBI's investigative priorities. As forensic science investigative techniques become farther reaching and increasingly more complex, the need to provide continuing and ongoing training needs to expand and progress as well.

One of the advanced training courses offered by ERTU is the Recovery of Human Remains course. The ERT Recovery of Human Remains Course is a 40-hour course for ERT personnel field-wide who have completed the ERT 80-hour Basic Course and 40-hour FBI Post-Blast Course. The ERT Recovery of Human Remains Course provides ERT members in the FBI Field Offices with the tools to effectively recover human remains and to document and preserve evidence at these unique crime scenes. The students receive instruction in archaeology, pathology, anthropology, entomology, odontology, botany, and the application of sophisticated forensic techniques. They are tasked with the excavation of human remains and the proper documentation of the scene. The skills acquired by attending students have assisted in the investigation of major disasters, mass fatalities, mass graves, and homicides.

CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

This RFI is open to all contractors capable of furnishing classroom space, workshop/laboratory space, and practical training areas to include multiple “clandestine” graves for hands-on training. The contractor shall also provide recognized expert and board-certified instructors in archaeology, pathology, anthropology, entomology, odontology, botany, and the application of sophisticated forensic techniques. The following lists the specific requirements for each component.

Technical Specifications:

Facility Description The contractor shall:

1. Furnish a facility that has a robust, long-term human cadaver donation program as well as a large collection (>25) of observable remains in various states of decomposition.

2. Furnish a facility that has an extensive collection of both skeletal and cremated remains with donor ages ranging from fetal to senior and contains exemplars of remains that display a variety of trauma and taphonomy.

3. Furnish a facility that engages in/supports ongoing and novel research and training involving various fields of science, including Forensic Anthropology and the recovery and documentation of human remains at crime scenes.

4. Furnish accommodation for 40 students including classroom space, basic amenities, equipment, and outdoor instruction space.

5. Furnish sufficient Primary/Assistant/Field Instructors to provide the training outlined below for 40 students. There should be a no greater than 1:10 ratio of instructor to student for workshops and a 1:7 ratio for hands-on human remains recovery training.

6. For each 40-student course, furnish 6-8 unpreserved human cadaver clandestine grave sites approved and prepared by FBI ERT at least two years prior to excavating them for training, which have been prepared to the standards of FBI ERT to obtain the training value necessary for each course.

7. Provide exclusive access during the course and it must be an FBI ERT-only attended course.

8. Furnish training facilities located within a 30-mile radius of a medium to large-sized city accommodated by a large regional airport and a competitive variety of hotels that provide government rate lodging.

9. Furnish training facilities located within one day’s driving distance from the FBI Operational Response Center (ORC) in Fredericksburg, VA.

10. Availability, donors, and resources to provide two courses back-to-back annually.

Position Qualifications The instructors shall:

1. Possess an understanding and working knowledge of the FBI, as well as local, state, and other federal law enforcement agencies.

2. Possess familiarity with the current resources and capabilities of the FBI ERTU.

3. The Primary Instructors of the course must have a PhD in Forensic Anthropology or other closely related discipline and be American Board of Forensic Anthropology (AFBA) certified.

4. The Primary Instructors of the course must have experience testifying as subject matter experts (SME’s) in state and/or federal proceedings.

5. Assistant Instructors in associated fields (e.g. entomology, odontology, botany) must have a MS/PhD/MD and extensive forensic casework experience in their respective fields.

6. Field Instructors must at least be graduate-level students in a PhD program in the field of forensic anthropology and/or archaeology.

7. All levels of instructors must be actively involved with forensic investigations/law enforcement consultation, training, and research.

8. Primary instructors must have experience with surface and burial recovery in a variety of ecological environments to include CONUS and OCONUS casework deployments.

9. Maintain liaison with SMEs in each forensic discipline represented in the curriculum to stay current with changes and state-of-the-art advances in forensic examinations conducted.

10. Possess and understand the unique needs of adult learners.

Course Descriptions

1. The ERTU requires the students to receive 12 hours of classroom training and 24 hours of hands-on training.

2. The course must emphasize the archaeological approach to surface and burial recovery and the use of current technology available to aid in the location, recovery, and documentation of human remains.

3. This training will consist of lectures, case presentations, workshops, and hands-on recovery and documentation training with human remains.

4. The course will include topics such as Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Archaeology, Taphonomy, Decomposition, Human Osteology and Trauma, Forensic Entomology, Forensic Botany, Zooarchaeology, Forensic Odontology, Clandestine Burial search procedures, and Human Remains documentation and recovery procedures.

5. The course materials, lecture, and curriculum must be tailored to suit the evolving needs of the ERTU.

6. The contractor shall furnish reference materials for the students.

Task Descriptions

1. Prepare schedules for two courses per fiscal year.

2. Coordinate with ERTU SSA course coordinator to develop and update course curriculum and schedule to meet ERTU needs.

3. Coordinate and schedule for Primary/Assistant/Field Instructors based on course requirements, course dates, and availability.

4. Develop and update PowerPoint and workshop presentations for each block of instruction.

5. Prepare team presentations for classroom review of hands-on training.

6. Prepare/furnish reference materials for students to review subject matter content presented during academic classroom instruction.

7. Classroom and workshop/demonstration instruction shall be provided in the following topics: Forensic Anthropology, Forensic Archaeology, Taphonomy, Decomposition, Human Osteology and Trauma, Forensic Entomology, Forensic Botany, Zooarchaeology, and Forensic Odontology.

8. Hands-on instruction shall be provided in Clandestine Burial search procedures, and Human Remains documentation and recovery procedures.

The Government requests the following information:

1. Company name, UEI number, NACIS code, and business size.

2. Provide evidence to show that your company can provide the required products/services (i.e., technical ability, personnel, and experience).

3. Provide input determining if the company can provide firm-fixed pricing for up to five (5) years for all requirements listed in this RFI.

4. Information provided shall be succinct and related to the requested information in this RFI. All submissions shall be unclassified.

5. Address whether your company has a GSA Schedule and if they can provide the requested facility and services on schedule. If able to provide the services on schedule, provide the schedule and SIN.

6. Any other assumptions, comments, concerns, and questions about the contemplated services.

Required Information:

Contractor Legal/DBA Name:

Address:

Point of Contact:

Telephone:

Email Address:

UEI Number:

Cage Code:

Facility Clearance (if applicable):

Applicable NAICS Codes:

Standard Business Size:

GSA Schedule:

NASA SEWP Contract:

DISCLAIMER and RESPONSES THERE IS NO COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT TO ISSUE A SOLICITATION AS A RESULT OF THIS RFI. THIS IS BEING ISSUED SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL AND PLANNING PURPOSES AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICTIATION. IN ACCORDANCE WITH FAR 15.202(e), RESPONSES TO THIS NOTICE ARE NOT OFFERS AND CANNOT BE ACCEPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT TO FORM A BINDING CONTRACT. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL OR QUOTE. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR THE PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.

WHAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN YOUR RESPONSE:

All interested parties shall submit capability packages in response to this notice.

1. Do submit succinct, thoughtful responses to the requirements/questions listed in this RFI.

2. Do submit comments that address the FBI's requirements, assumptions, conditions, or contemplated approaches to this future acquisition.

3. Do submit information and suggestions that may encourage new, different, or innovative approaches that would result in products, solutions, and direct savings to the FBI.

WHAT SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN YOUR RESPONSE:

1. Do not submit proposals or offers.

2. Do not submit past performance information or general descriptions of corporate experience.

3. Do not submit requests to be considered for award or to be notified of a future solicitation.

4. Do not submit requests to be added to a mailing list or distribution list.

5. Do not submit questions or comments not related to this RFI.

6. Do not respond via telephone.

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