S02 -RFI Sources Sought -Services Rev..pdf

THIS REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) – SOURCES SOUGHT IS ISSUED

SOLELY FOR MARKET RESEARCH AND PLANNING PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES

NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION

1. Responses to this Sources Sought must be in writing. The purpose of this Sources Sought Announcement is for market research only to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of Small Business Capability, including Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses and Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB/VOSB) interested and capable of performing the work.

2. The NAICS for this requirement is 611699 – All other Miscellaneous School and Instruction.

The Contractor shall provide the Staff-Active Threat Response (S-ATR) to VA Clinical & Non- Clinical staff, for the Department of Veteran Affairs Greater Los Angeles Facility and various CBOCs around the county.

The Contractor shall provide training of up to 1,600 medical center staff comprised of both Clinical and Non-Clinical staff employees. This training consists of Active Threat Response training throughout its facilities, consistent with established policies and procedures. As part of this required training, GLA also provides employees with Emergency Preparedness, Planning and Situational Awareness to aid in prevention of Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) like Active Threat events. GLA can achieve this by using established standards set by VA Central Office and the Office of Security & Law Enforcement. The requirement is for the training of both clinical, and non-clinical personnel in “Staff-Active Threat Response (S-ATR)” and will also be referred herein as S-ATR. As part of this requirement, training programs must be consistent with identified standards and incorporated elements of the National Incident Management and Incident Command Systems (NIMS/ICS) to aid staff in understanding response planning, preparation and recovery post-incident.

Staff-Active Threat Response (S-ATR) is a premier active threat response training program designed for VA personnel which includes live practical exercises and/or assessments. It provides clinical and non-clinical staff with Active Threat survival options and protocols to sound the alarm, communicate with police along with other response techniques and the skills necessary to aid in the recovery and restoration of the Veterans Affairs mission. This course also includes elements of the NIMS/ICS mass casualty incident program to aid in planning, preparing and prevention to better respond to MCIs and mitigate the further loss of life, expediting the recovery process. This course (S-ATR) is unique due to the nature of government agencies like VA, relying on strict compliance with agency policies and procedures, any deviation must be approved by the COR or designee. This course is psychologically demanding and provides attendees with specific tools to prepare them for and the prevention of active threat events.

Additionally, this training helps VA employees understand their survival options and the VA’s position on how to employ these options during an active threat event while ensuring continuity of care.

CONTRACTOR CERTIFICATION AND/OR SPECIALIZED LICENSING

1. Contractor agrees to provide necessary certifications and/or specialized licensing to the COR for any and all training areas described in this requirement upon request.

2. The following are required Certification and/or Licenses deemed necessary for this requirement to establish VA specific training compliance;

2.1. The Contactor shall be required to hold Active Threat/Shooter Instructor level certifications from recognized Governmental sources which include but limited to; Federal, State or Local Law Enforcement, Office of Emergency Management, and Accredited Law Enforcement Training Center.

2.1.1. The Contractor shall provide the COR their certifications for review as part of any submissions for review.

2.1.2. All instructors assigned to this requirement must at the request of the COR present an “Instructor” certification from the aforementioned sources.

2.2. The Contractor and their instructor employees/representatives shall ensure to have a minimum of 10 years of qualified Instructor certification, experience, and proficiency, up to include serving as adjunct instructor at a Law Enforcement Training Center. (Subject to Verification by the COR or designee)

2.3. All training programs under this requirement must be reviewed and vetted by Agency Subject Matter Experts (SME) prior to award.

2.3.1. For the purposes of this process the local SME shall be a designee within VA Police Training Operations or other Supervisory Staff with expertise in VA Policies and Active Threat Response programs and training.

The Contractor shall perform all these services as defined by this SOW and by the COR or other CO designated representative. See attached DRAFT SOW.

3. Interested and capable Contractors should respond to this sources sought notice no later than Wednesday, July 03, 2025 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time, by providing the following via email only to Marco.Ramos@va.gov Reference Sources Sought Notice 36C26225Q1048 in the subject line.

(a) company name

(b) address

(c) point of contact

(d) phone, fax, and email of primary point of contact mailto:Marco.Ramos@va.gov

(e) Contractor’s Unique Entity ID (SAM) number

(f) Type of small business, if applicable, (e.g. Services-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran-owned Small Business (VOSB), 8(a), HUB-Zone, Women Owned Small Business, Small disadvantaged business, or Small Business).

(g) A statement that addresses whether you believe that your performance under this contract should be exempted from the Service Contract Act or not. Please name any applicable exemption, if any.

(h) Statement indicating whether you intent to provide the required service with the use of subcontractors or not. Please elaborate.

(i) General pricing for your service. This information will be used for VA internal market research purposes and pricing information received in response to this RFI will not be shared by the Contract Specialist.

(j) Statement indicating whether your company is considered small under the size standard for the NAICS code identified under this RFI. Responses are welcome to specify a different NAICS in which they could meet this requirement.

(k) A capability statement that addresses the organization’s qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor specifically for the work described above and in the attached Draft SOW.

Respondents are also encouraged to provide specific examples (e.g. contract number, point of contact information) of the Contractor’s experience providing the same or similar services.

Failure to provide sufficient information may result in the Government’s inability to determine that the respondent is capable.

GENERAL STATEMENTS OF CAPABILITY ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. Respondents must provide the following information for each reference contract the respondent identifies as evidence of the respondent’s capability to perform the work required by this procurement.

Respondents must provide the following information for each reference contract:

(1) the legal name of entity with whom the respondent held the contract;

(2) the contract number;

(3) a description providing details of the specific tasks the respondent performed under that contract;

(4) the dates during which the respondent performed the contract;

(5) the name, phone number, and email address of a person at the entity with whom the respondent held the contract who can verify the information the respondent provides regarding this reference contract.

If a respondent offers to demonstrate experience through the proposed use of subcontractors, the respondent must provide all of the information required above for one or more reference contracts performed by each subcontractor the respondent intends to use.

NOTE: The information requested above is required for the Government to evaluate whether there are sufficient small business concerns of a particular type who are capable of performing the work required by this procurement to determine if this procurement should be set aside for a given type of small business concern. failure to submit all of the information requested above to support a respondent’s claimed experience may be viewed by the government as evidence that the respondent lacks the ability to provide the required service described in the DRAFT SOW.

this, in turn, may affect the government’s determination about whether the requirements for a set-aside procurement have been met.

4. SDVOSB/VOSB respondents.

(a) If respondent is VOSB or SDVOSB, respondent is encouraged to provide proof of SDVOSB/VOSB certification. In addition, SDVOSB/VOSB Contractors are asked to acknowledge that they understand the limitations on sub-contracting pursuant to FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Sub-Contracting, which will be included in the impending solicitation. Further SDVOSB/VOSB contractors are asked to respond that they are capable of providing the requested services keeping within the parameters of this clause.

(b) Small businesses, including SDVOSB/VOSBS are also advised that per 13 CFR, §

125.6 the prime contractor's limitations on subcontracting are as follows:

(1) General. In order to be awarded a full or partial small business set-aside contract with a value greater than $250,000, an 8(a) contract, an SDVO SBC contract, a HUBZone contract, a WOSB or EDWOSB contract pursuant to part 127 of this chapter, a small business concern must agree that:

(2) In the case of a contract for services (except construction), it will not pay more than 50% of the amount paid by the government to it to firms that are not similarly situated. Any work that a similarly situated subcontractor further subcontracts will count towards the 50% subcontract amount that cannot be exceeded.

5. Please note that if VA’s pending market research establishes that two or more verified VOSB or SDVOSB can provide the services required, VA will set aside the underlying solicitation per 38 U.S.C. §8127.

6. All Offerors who provide goods or services to the United States Federal Government must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) database found at https://www.sam.gov.

Registration must include Representations and Certifications.

--End of Sources Sought Announcement--

DISCLAIMER

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/index.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=d254fd6f55dec6a6ba3d0fb8c22b9aa4&term_occur=1&term_src=Title:13:Chapter:I:Part:125:125.6 https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/index.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=28ecffbfcc51433405558dc74cf1be8f&term_occur=1&term_src=Title:13:Chapter:I:Part:125:125.6 https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/index.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=28ecffbfcc51433405558dc74cf1be8f&term_occur=3&term_src=Title:13:Chapter:I:Part:125:125.6 https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/index.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=28ecffbfcc51433405558dc74cf1be8f&term_occur=4&term_src=Title:13:Chapter:I:Part:125:125.6 https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/index.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=28ecffbfcc51433405558dc74cf1be8f&term_occur=5&term_src=Title:13:Chapter:I:Part:125:125.6 https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/index.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=28ecffbfcc51433405558dc74cf1be8f&term_occur=2&term_src=Title:13:Chapter:I:Part:125:125.6 https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/13/part-127 https://www.law.cornell.edu/definitions/index.php?width=840&height=800&iframe=true&def_id=28ecffbfcc51433405558dc74cf1be8f&term_occur=6&term_src=Title:13:Chapter:I:Part:125:125.6

DISCLAIMER