NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS) - Pre-Solicitation Notice
Closed Pre-Solicitation Posted
This opportunity was awarded. See its 3 award notices in the notice history.
- Solicitation number
- 1333ND23QNB770030
- Agency
- National Institute of Standards and Technology Department of Commerce
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- Total Small Business
Opportunity facts
- NAICS code
- 541519 Other Computer Related Services
- Place of performance
- Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The National Institute of Standards and Technology intends to award multiple Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contracts to provide cybersecurity and privacy support services. The requirement will be solicited as a 100% small business set-aside under NAICS code 541519, with proposals evaluated based on the draft IDIQ Performance Work Statement and five sample task order statements of work. Industry is requested to submit any questions on the draft solicitation by January 13, 2023.
The anticipated contracts would be set aside for small businesses with a size standard of $30 million or less under NAICS code 541519. NIST expects to make up to three IDIQ awards for a one year base period and four one-year options, and reserves the right to award only one contract or none of the sample task orders. Services will include technical expertise for standards development, research support, modeling and testing, outreach and communications support, program operations analysis, and reports.
Notice text
3 versions
Update #3 · Latest ·
The purpose of this amendment is to change the solicitation status to synopsis/pre-solicitation for the subject requirement.
THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY: This Notice is ONLY A NOTIFICATION that a solicitation is anticipated and forthcoming; No other information will be provided and no responses are required. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government, implied or otherwise, to issue a solicitation or award a contract. Additionally, only the official anticipated solicitation notice shall govern the acquisition.
This solicitation will be advertised as a total Small Business Set-Aside under NAICS 541519-Other Computer Related Services. The small business size standard is $34 million.
Related Previous Notices:
Sources Sought Notice No. AMDTC-21-0002 was posted to www.beta.sam.gov as part of the market research effort for this anticipated acquisition.
Draft RFP No. 1333ND23QNB770030 was posted to www.sam.gov on December 13, 2022 to provide interested parties with information on the anticipated acquisition and provide an opportunity for parties to provide feedback. Note that all information given in this notice or its amendments is strictly DRAFT and is subject to change in the official RFP. Only the official RFP Notice, when posted, will govern the official acquisition.
Anticipated Contract Information:
This synopsis/pre-solicitation notice is for a multiple award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS). The anticipated IDIQ contract type allows for the issuance of Firm Fixed Price and Labor Hour/Time & Materials type task orders.
The Government intends to issue a solicitation under the authority of FAR Parts 12 and 15. The Government intends to use a price/non-price trade-off process to award multiple IDIQ type contracts to the responsible offeror(s) whose Proposal(s) represent the best value to the Government.
The Government intends on issuing a solicitation within the next 30 days for the award of multiple IDIQ contracts for NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS). The requirements of the planned contract will be described in the anticipated official solicitation. NIST anticipates that the official solicitation will require potential offerors to respond to the requirements of the IDIQ Performance Work Statement (PWS) along with the requirements of the PWS’ for five (5) separate mock task orders under the IDIQ. NIST anticipates the award of multiple IDIQ contracts to the offerors that represent the best value to the government based on the evaluation factors for award; however, NIST will reserve the right to award only one contract to the offeror that represents the best value to the government if the proposals received indicate that such a strategy would be in the best interests of the government. Additionally, as a result of the official solicitation, NIST reserves the right to award all, some or none of the five (5) mock task orders that will be included in the official solicitation.
The anticipated contract(s) will be issued for a base ordering period of five years with a maximum cumulative value of $125,000,000.00 across all IDIQ contract holders.
Description
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develops cybersecurity standards, guidelines, best practices, and other resources to meet the needs of U.S. industry, federal agencies, and the broader public. Our work ranges from specific information that can be put into practice immediately to longer-term research that anticipates advances in technologies and future challenges.
As part of NIST’s efforts to cultivate trust in information, systems, and technologies and to help organizations measure and manage risk, we carry out cybersecurity assignments defined by federal statutes, executive orders, and policies, including developing cybersecurity standards and guidelines for federal agencies.
NIST’s cybersecurity activities are driven by the needs of U.S. industry, government agencies, and the broader public, and they are undertaken only if our expertise is appropriate for NIST, which is a non-regulatory agency, and can make a difference. We manage very few operational cybersecurity programs, recognizing that other agencies and organizations focus on those aspects of cybersecurity, often using NIST-developed resources to inform their work.
The purpose of this contract is to gain technical expertise and consultation in multiple specified areas of cyber and information security and privacy to ensure that the NIST mission can be met to "provide standards, technology, tools, and practices to protect our nation's information and information systems." Operational cybersecurity services will make up only a small portion of this IDIQ.
Logistical/Administrative Information:
All offerors are advised that this project may be delayed, cancelled or revised at any time during the solicitation, selection, evaluation, negotiation and/or final award process. The solicitation and all amendments for this anticipated Request for Proposal will be posted on www.sam.gov.
It is the responsibility of the contractor to check www.sam.gov frequently for any amendments or changes to the solicitation. The Government is not responsible for any loss of internet connectivity or for an offeror’s inability to access the documents posted at the referenced website. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with the submission of a price/technical proposal or if an award cannot be made.
The anticipated solicitation notice will reference this Pre-Solicitation Notice in the body. Interested parties must respond to the official solicitation in order to be considered for award of any resultant contract. However, no responses are requested in response to this Pre-Solicitation Notice. No phone calls will be accepted for this notice, and an offeror list will not be maintained.
All interested vendors must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov) for contract award and shall have their Representations and Certifications completed.
The contract specialist for this solicitation will be Hing Pan Wong (hingpan.wong@nist.gov). Questions are not being accepted at this time.
Update #2 ·
The purpose of this amendment is to post responses to questions received. Please see Attachment 8 - Responses to Questions for additional details.
All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.
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The purpose of this notice is to release a Draft Solicitation for industry review and comment for this requirement. This draft solicitation does not constitute a solicitation or a promise of a solicitation in the future. This draft solicitation is for planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreements or arrangements. PROPOSALS ARE NOT SOLICITED UNDER THIS DRAFT SOLICITATION.
No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information. NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non‐restricted/non‐proprietary information. In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper.
Background: NIST intends on issuing a solicitation during FY2023 for the award of multiple IDIQ contracts for NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS). NIST previously posted Sources Sought Notice number AMDTC-21-0002 to SAM for market research purposes. The requirements of the planned contract are described in the attached documents. NIST anticipates that the requirement will be solicited as a 100% small business set aside under the NAICS code 541519- Other Computer Related Services, with a small business size standard of $30.0 million. NIST anticipates that the official solicitation will require potential offerors to respond to the requirements of the IDIQ Performance Work Statement (PWS) along with the requirements of the PWS’ for five (5) separate mock task orders under the IDIQ. NIST anticipates the award of multiple IDIQ contracts to the offerors that represent the best value to the government based on the evaluation factors for award; however, NIST will reserve the right to award only one contract to the offeror that represents the best value to the government if the proposals received indicate that such a strategy would be in the best interests of the government. Additionally, as a result of the official solicitation, NIST reserves the right to award all, some or none of the five (5) mock task orders that will be included in the official solicitation.
The attached SF33 contains all elements of the anticipated official solicitation, in draft format. Please see the attached document labeled “DRAFT 1333ND23QNB770030-CAPSS” and its attachments.
Previous Related Notices: AMDTC-21-0002
Purpose: To ensure this effort is executed in the most effective manner possible, NIST is seeking industry input by (1) issuing a draft solicitation for prospective offerors’ review, comments, recommendations and questions. The attached draft solicitation document and attachments may not be identical to the exact official solicitation document that NIST later posts; however, the attached documents are indicative of the anticipated official solicitation to be posted at a later date .
The draft solicitation is intended to provide an opportunity for expert industry feedback into the tentative design of the proposed effort and the supporting procurement.
- Draft Solicitation Response Submission Instructions
In order to improve the final solicitation, NIST encourages industry to submit questions and comments regarding any and all contents of the draft solicitation documents by no later than Friday, January 13, 2023, 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. Questions and comments submitted after this date will be accepted, but may have less impact on the content of the final solicitation depending on where the acquisition team is at in the final solicitation development process. Additionally, questions and comments submitted after this deadline will not be answered in the anticipated subsequent amendment that includes NIST’s responses to industry questions/comments.
Following receipt of your questions and comments on the draft solicitation documents, NIST intends on analyzing them and formulating a consolidated set of pertinent questions/answers to provide via amendment to this notice.
As a special point of interest for NIST, it is requested that prospective offerors identify draft solicitation elements that you believe must change (and how) and draft solicitation elements that must stay the same in the final solicitation in order to maintain your interest as a prospective prime contractor. Additionally, NIST is specifically interested in elements of the draft solicitation documents that prospective offerors believe require clarification in order to allow for sufficient responses in eventual proposals. However, the Government maintains complete authority and control over the content and any potential changes to the official solicitation.
Due to the complex nature of this effort prospective offerors are highly encouraged to consider partnering with each other to be able to successfully perform all of the task areas identified in this contract. Offerors should note the inclusion of the clause at FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting in the attached Draft Solicitation document.
Format of Responses: All questions/comments in response to the Draft Solicitation notice must be submitted by the deadline given above in Section 1, and must be submitted via email to both hingpan.wong@nist.gov and keith.bubar@nist.gov. All emails submitted in response to this notice must reference the Notice number “1333ND23QNB770030” in the email subject line.
It is expected that interested parties will respond to this Draft Solicitation notice with specific questions/comments on specific elements of the Draft Solicitation documents. Proposals and/or Capabilities Statements are NOT being requested in response to this notice. Responses to this Draft Solicitation shall be submitted in the form of questions/comments on the Draft Solicitation. While each response shall clearly identify the company/entity that is submitting the response, the responses shall be submitted in accordance with the instructions below.
IMPORTANT: Each question/comment provided in your response to this Draft Solicitation must be submitted using the attached Questions Submission Spreadsheet, and must include the following references:
Attachment Title: XX
Page #: XX
Paragraph/Section #: XX
Question/Comment: XXXXXX
The Government might not consider questions not submitted using the required Questions Submission Spreadsheet.
Protection and Encryption of Sensitive Data: To ensure secure, email communications, it is strongly recommended that all prospective offerors obtain email encryption capability. Use of unencrypted email by the submitter is done at the submitter’s own risk, but will be accepted by the Contracting Officer. Emails from the Contracting Officer may, at some point, be limited to prospective offerors with encryption capability.
Next Steps: Following the closing of this Draft Solicitation notice and NIST’s posting of an amendment to this notice with responses to pertinent questions/comments received by Industry, NIST anticipates posting an official solicitation to SAM.gov. However, no specific timeline for the posting of the official solicitation can be provided at this time.
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Attachments:
- Draft Sol 1333ND23QNB770030-CAPSS Final 12.13.22
- Mock Task Order #1 Performance Work Statement
- Mock Task Order #2 Performance Work Statement
- Mock Task Order #3 Performance Work Statement
- Mock Task Order #4 Performance Work Statement
- Mock Task Order #5 Performance Work Statement
- Past Performance Questionnaire
- Pricing Worksheet
- Spreadsheet for Submitting Questions regarding Draft RFP 1333ND23QNB770030
Update #1 ·
The purpose of this notice is to release a Draft Solicitation for industry review and comment for this requirement. This draft solicitation does not constitute a solicitation or a promise of a solicitation in the future. This draft solicitation is for planning purposes only and does not commit the Government to any contractual agreements or arrangements. PROPOSALS ARE NOT SOLICITED UNDER THIS DRAFT SOLICITATION.
No entitlement or payment of direct or indirect costs or charges by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will arise as a result of submission of responses to this Notice and NIST use of such information. NIST recognizes that proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary components, interfaces and equipment, and clearly mark restricted or proprietary data and present it as an addendum to the non‐restricted/non‐proprietary information. In the absence of such identification, NIST will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data in the information paper.
Background: NIST intends on issuing a solicitation during FY2023 for the award of multiple IDIQ contracts for NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS). NIST previously posted Sources Sought Notice number AMDTC-21-0002 to SAM for market research purposes. The requirements of the planned contract are described in the attached documents. NIST anticipates that the requirement will be solicited as a 100% small business set aside under the NAICS code 541519- Other Computer Related Services, with a small business size standard of $30.0 million. NIST anticipates that the official solicitation will require potential offerors to respond to the requirements of the IDIQ Performance Work Statement (PWS) along with the requirements of the PWS’ for five (5) separate mock task orders under the IDIQ. NIST anticipates the award of multiple IDIQ contracts to the offerors that represent the best value to the government based on the evaluation factors for award; however, NIST will reserve the right to award only one contract to the offeror that represents the best value to the government if the proposals received indicate that such a strategy would be in the best interests of the government. Additionally, as a result of the official solicitation, NIST reserves the right to award all, some or none of the five (5) mock task orders that will be included in the official solicitation.
The attached SF33 contains all elements of the anticipated official solicitation, in draft format. Please see the attached document labeled “DRAFT 1333ND23QNB770030-CAPSS” and its attachments.
Previous Related Notices: AMDTC-21-0002
Purpose: To ensure this effort is executed in the most effective manner possible, NIST is seeking industry input by (1) issuing a draft solicitation for prospective offerors’ review, comments, recommendations and questions. The attached draft solicitation document and attachments may not be identical to the exact official solicitation document that NIST later posts; however, the attached documents are indicative of the anticipated official solicitation to be posted at a later date .
The draft solicitation is intended to provide an opportunity for expert industry feedback into the tentative design of the proposed effort and the supporting procurement.
- Draft Solicitation Response Submission Instructions
In order to improve the final solicitation, NIST encourages industry to submit questions and comments regarding any and all contents of the draft solicitation documents by no later than Friday, January 13, 2023, 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time. Questions and comments submitted after this date will be accepted, but may have less impact on the content of the final solicitation depending on where the acquisition team is at in the final solicitation development process. Additionally, questions and comments submitted after this deadline will not be answered in the anticipated subsequent amendment that includes NIST’s responses to industry questions/comments.
Following receipt of your questions and comments on the draft solicitation documents, NIST intends on analyzing them and formulating a consolidated set of pertinent questions/answers to provide via amendment to this notice.
As a special point of interest for NIST, it is requested that prospective offerors identify draft solicitation elements that you believe must change (and how) and draft solicitation elements that must stay the same in the final solicitation in order to maintain your interest as a prospective prime contractor. Additionally, NIST is specifically interested in elements of the draft solicitation documents that prospective offerors believe require clarification in order to allow for sufficient responses in eventual proposals. However, the Government maintains complete authority and control over the content and any potential changes to the official solicitation.
Due to the complex nature of this effort prospective offerors are highly encouraged to consider partnering with each other to be able to successfully perform all of the task areas identified in this contract. Offerors should note the inclusion of the clause at FAR 52.219-14 Limitations on Subcontracting in the attached Draft Solicitation document.
Format of Responses: All questions/comments in response to the Draft Solicitation notice must be submitted by the deadline given above in Section 1, and must be submitted via email to both hingpan.wong@nist.gov and keith.bubar@nist.gov. All emails submitted in response to this notice must reference the Notice number “1333ND23QNB770030” in the email subject line.
It is expected that interested parties will respond to this Draft Solicitation notice with specific questions/comments on specific elements of the Draft Solicitation documents. Proposals and/or Capabilities Statements are NOT being requested in response to this notice. Responses to this Draft Solicitation shall be submitted in the form of questions/comments on the Draft Solicitation. While each response shall clearly identify the company/entity that is submitting the response, the responses shall be submitted in accordance with the instructions below.
IMPORTANT: Each question/comment provided in your response to this Draft Solicitation must be submitted using the attached Questions Submission Spreadsheet, and must include the following references:
Attachment Title: XX
Page #: XX
Paragraph/Section #: XX
Question/Comment: XXXXXX
The Government might not consider questions not submitted using the required Questions Submission Spreadsheet.
Protection and Encryption of Sensitive Data: To ensure secure, email communications, it is strongly recommended that all prospective offerors obtain email encryption capability. Use of unencrypted email by the submitter is done at the submitter’s own risk, but will be accepted by the Contracting Officer. Emails from the Contracting Officer may, at some point, be limited to prospective offerors with encryption capability.
Next Steps: Following the closing of this Draft Solicitation notice and NIST’s posting of an amendment to this notice with responses to pertinent questions/comments received by Industry, NIST anticipates posting an official solicitation to SAM.gov. However, no specific timeline for the posting of the official solicitation can be provided at this time.
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Attachments:
- Draft Sol 1333ND23QNB770030-CAPSS Final 12.13.22
- Mock Task Order #1 Performance Work Statement
- Mock Task Order #2 Performance Work Statement
- Mock Task Order #3 Performance Work Statement
- Mock Task Order #4 Performance Work Statement
- Mock Task Order #5 Performance Work Statement
- Past Performance Questionnaire
- Pricing Worksheet
- Spreadsheet for Submitting Questions regarding Draft RFP 1333ND23QNB770030
Attachments
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| Attachment 8 - Responses to Questions.pdf | ||
| Attachment 8 - Questions Submission Worksheet.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Draft Sol 1333ND23QNB770030-CAPSS Final 12.13.22.pdf | ||
| Attachment 2 - Mock TO2 PWS - Software Development.pdf | ||
| Attachment 1 - Mock TO1 PWS - Standards Support.pdf | ||
| Attachment 7 - IDIQ Labor Rates Spreadsheet.xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| Attachment 6 - Past Performance Questionnaire.pdf | ||
| Attachment 4 - Mock TO4 PWS- Crypto Validation Support.pdf | ||
| Attachment 3 - Mock TO3 PWS - NICE.pdf | ||
| Attachment 5 - Mock TO5 PWS - Supply Chain Interdependencies.pdf |
Notice history
| Notice | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS) - Official Solicitation | Award Notice | |
| NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS) - Official Solicitation | Award Notice | |
| NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS) - Official Solicitation | Award Notice | |
| NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS) - Official Solicitation | Solicitation | |
| NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS) - Pre-Solicitation Notice | Pre-Solicitation | |
| NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS) | Pre-Solicitation |
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