Pilot IRS Request for Proposal (RFP) Data Mashing

Pilot IRS – Request for Information (RFI)

Update to Notice ID 2032H8-20-N-00050

Thank you for your interest in the IRS’s Data Mashing Initiative. The IRS plans to issue a solicitation during the week of August 31st , with proposals due the week of September 7th . The IRS plans to hold a listening session during the end of the week of August 31, 2020. We are providing you the draft Request for Proposal today Monday August 24, 2020 to guide our discussion next week.

The IRS will hold a listening session on Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 12:00 pm EDT via WebEx. To register for the session, please email Marcela Almeida (marcela.a.almeida@irs.gov) and Marisa Roinestad (marisa.a.roinestad@irs.gov) the following: names, email addresses, and phone numbers of up to three (3) individuals from your firm that plan to attend. Upon registration, the IRS will email attendees the WebEx link.

Again, thank you for your feedback and interest.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

Data Mashing Initiative- Vendors shall reference “RFI_Data_Mashing” in the subject line of their response as well as in the subject line of any other e-mail correspondence referencing this notice.

** THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT RESPOND TO PHONE CALLS. **

Thank you for your interest.

 Contracting Office Address:

IRS, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW

Washington, District of Columbia 20024

Primary Point of Contact:

Marcy Almeida

Marcela.a.almeida@irs.gov

202-317-4087

Secondary Point of Contact:

Marisa Roinestad

Marisa.a.roinestad@irs.gov

202-317-4560

[1] The full text of the President’s Management Agenda, as well as additional information on Cross-Agency Priority goals, can be found at www.performance.gov.

Pilot IRS – Request for Information (RFI)

Update to Notice ID 2032H8-20-N-00050

Thank you for your interest in the IRS’s Data Mashing Initiative. The IRS plans to issue a solicitation during the week of August 31st , with proposals due the week of September 7th . The IRS plans to hold a listening session during the end of the week of August 31, 2020. We are providing you the draft Request for Proposal today Monday August 24, 2020 to guide our discussion next week.

Again, thank you for your feedback and interest.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

Data Mashing Initiative- Vendors shall reference “RFI_Data_Mashing” in the subject line of their response as well as in the subject line of any other e-mail correspondence referencing this notice.

** THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT RESPOND TO PHONE CALLS. **

Thank you for your interest.

 Contracting Office Address:

IRS, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW

Washington, District of Columbia 20024

Primary Point of Contact:

Marcy Almeida

Marcela.a.almeida@irs.gov

202-317-4087

Secondary Point of Contact:

Marisa Roinestad

Marisa.a.roinestad@irs.gov

202-317-4560

[1] The full text of the President’s Management Agenda, as well as additional information on Cross-Agency Priority goals, can be found at www.performance.gov.

Pilot IRS – Request for Information (RFI)

Update to Notice ID 2032H8-20-N-00050

Thank you for your interest in the IRS’s Data Mashing Initiative. While the IRS has not yet determined how it will procure the data mashing services, the IRS would like to share its tentative procurement timeframe to assist industry in their planning efforts. The RFI response period closes on August 17, 2020 at 8:00 am. The IRS plans to issue a solicitation during the week of August 24th , with proposals due the week of September 7th . The IRS plans to hold a listening session during the week of August 31, 2020.

Again, thank you for your feedback and interest.

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

Data Mashing Initiative

1.0 High-Level Summary/Future State

 This RFI is part of the Pilot IRS Program. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of the Chief Procurement Officer is requesting information about innovative data mashing solutions. The IRS expects this RFI to result in a Pilot IRS solicitation in the current fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2020).

The Office of Management and Budget’s Frictionless Acquisition Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goal calls upon the government to modernize the collection, analysis, availability, and visualization of acquisition data for smarter and faster mission decision-making.[1] In line with this CAP goal, the IRS is interested in learning about innovative tools and solutions to improve access to and visibility around disparate sets of labor and wage data.

We are primarily interested in learning about tools and solutions that could:

1. Bring together multiple data sets into an easy-to-use visualization or tool that provides comparison points for evaluating labor rates proposed for use in government contracts.
2. Promote use of this information by government personnel during the independent government cost estimating, source selection, and contract negotiation processes.
3. Achieve near-term and incremental improvements in the number of data sets included, rigor of the analysis, etc. 
    

2.0 Background/Current State

 A primary activity for government acquisition professionals is estimating and negotiating costs and prices for contracts.  This includes generating independent government cost estimates (IGCEs) prior to release of requests for bids/proposals, analyzing proposed prices from multiple firms, negotiating with individual firms both during and after the source selection process, and other related tasks. There is a significant amount of publicly available data provided by government entities in this arena, including (but not limited to) information generated by the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), General Services Administration Contract Awarded Labor Category (CALC) tool (https://calc.gsa.gov), and the annual service contract inventory reporting (https://www.acquisition.gov/service-contract-inventory).  Similarly, there is a significant amount of publicly available data generated by private entities in this arena.  Maximizing the use of existing labor/wage data should result in better acquisition planning, improved contract negotiations, and lower taxpayer costs.  Furthermore, combining multiple data sources in a user-friendly format should allow use of this data in a ‘just-in-time’ fashion to make smarter and faster decisions. 

3.0 Specific Areas of Input Requested/Questions

 The IRS respectfully requests input from industry partners and other parties regarding the following inquiries/topics:

1. Identify known solutions that bring together multiple data sets into an easy-to-use visualization or tool and potential improvements to these known solutions.
2. Identify technologies that could be used in new ways to bring together multiple data sets into an easy-to-use visualization or tool.
3. Provide recommendations regarding our primary areas of focus and recommendations for implementation.
4. Identify where a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) for contract cost to support this initiative would fall. The IRS estimates an initial proof of concept to be $50,000 for 120 days. Feedback is appreciated on this initial estimate and a full project ROM.
5. Provide feedback on small business success in this arena.

4.0 Disclaimer

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the Government for any purpose other than market research.  This announcement does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. The Government is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests.

Respondents will NOT be notified of the results of the analysis. All data received in response to this Sources Sought synopsis that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary information will be fully protected from release outside the Government. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified.  Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with all applicable Government regulations.  All documentation shall become the property of the Government and will not be returned.

The deadline for responses to this RFI is 08:00AM EST, August 17, 2020.  Responses should be forwarded via email to both the primary and secondary points of contact below.  Responses shall not exceed 5 pages and shall not contain any brochures, advertising or any other type of extraneous, graphic literature or documents that have not been requested and are not relevant or essential in demonstrating the company’s ability to provide the required services.  Vendors may provide links to relevant websites, as appropriate.

Vendors shall reference “RFI_Data_Mashing” in the subject line of their response as well as in the subject line of any other e-mail correspondence referencing this notice.

** THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT RESPOND TO PHONE CALLS. **

Thank you for your interest.

 Contracting Office Address:

IRS, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW

Washington, District of Columbia 20024

Primary Point of Contact:

Marcy Almeida

Marcela.a.almeida@irs.gov

202-317-4087

Secondary Point of Contact:

Marisa Roinestad

Marisa.a.roinestad@irs.gov

202-317-4560

[1] The full text of the President’s Management Agenda, as well as additional information on Cross-Agency Priority goals, can be found at www.performance.gov.

Pilot IRS – Request for Information (RFI)

Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

Data Mashing Initiative

1.0 High-Level Summary/Future State

 This RFI is part of the Pilot IRS Program. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Office of the Chief Procurement Officer is requesting information about innovative data mashing solutions. The IRS expects this RFI to result in a Pilot IRS solicitation in the current fiscal year (Fiscal Year 2020).

The Office of Management and Budget’s Frictionless Acquisition Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) goal calls upon the government to modernize the collection, analysis, availability, and visualization of acquisition data for smarter and faster mission decision-making.[1] In line with this CAP goal, the IRS is interested in learning about innovative tools and solutions to improve access to and visibility around disparate sets of labor and wage data.

We are primarily interested in learning about tools and solutions that could:

1. Bring together multiple data sets into an easy-to-use visualization or tool that provides comparison points for evaluating labor rates proposed for use in government contracts.
2. Promote use of this information by government personnel during the independent government cost estimating, source selection, and contract negotiation processes.
3. Achieve near-term and incremental improvements in the number of data sets included, rigor of the analysis, etc. 
    

2.0 Background/Current State

 A primary activity for government acquisition professionals is estimating and negotiating costs and prices for contracts.  This includes generating independent government cost estimates (IGCEs) prior to release of requests for bids/proposals, analyzing proposed prices from multiple firms, negotiating with individual firms both during and after the source selection process, and other related tasks. There is a significant amount of publicly available data provided by government entities in this arena, including (but not limited to) information generated by the Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics (https://www.bls.gov/oes/tables.htm), General Services Administration Contract Awarded Labor Category (CALC) tool (https://calc.gsa.gov), and the annual service contract inventory reporting (https://www.acquisition.gov/service-contract-inventory).  Similarly, there is a significant amount of publicly available data generated by private entities in this arena.  Maximizing the use of existing labor/wage data should result in better acquisition planning, improved contract negotiations, and lower taxpayer costs.  Furthermore, combining multiple data sources in a user-friendly format should allow use of this data in a ‘just-in-time’ fashion to make smarter and faster decisions. 

3.0 Specific Areas of Input Requested/Questions

 The IRS respectfully requests input from industry partners and other parties regarding the following inquiries/topics:

1. Identify known solutions that bring together multiple data sets into an easy-to-use visualization or tool and potential improvements to these known solutions.
2. Identify technologies that could be used in new ways to bring together multiple data sets into an easy-to-use visualization or tool.
3. Provide recommendations regarding our primary areas of focus and recommendations for implementation.
4. Identify where a Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) for contract cost to support this initiative would fall. The IRS estimates an initial proof of concept to be $50,000 for 120 days. Feedback is appreciated on this initial estimate and a full project ROM.
5. Provide feedback on small business success in this arena.

4.0 Disclaimer

This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the Government for any purpose other than market research.  This announcement does not commit the Government to any contractual agreement. The Government is not seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this announcement or any follow-up information requests.

Respondents will NOT be notified of the results of the analysis. All data received in response to this Sources Sought synopsis that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary information will be fully protected from release outside the Government. The Government shall not be liable for or suffer any consequential damages for any proprietary information not properly identified.  Proprietary information will be safeguarded in accordance with all applicable Government regulations.  All documentation shall become the property of the Government and will not be returned.

The deadline for responses to this RFI is 08:00AM EST, August 17, 2020.  Responses should be forwarded via email to both the primary and secondary points of contact below.  Responses shall not exceed 5 pages and shall not contain any brochures, advertising or any other type of extraneous, graphic literature or documents that have not been requested and are not relevant or essential in demonstrating the company’s ability to provide the required services.  Vendors may provide links to relevant websites, as appropriate.

Vendors shall reference “RFI_Data_Mashing” in the subject line of their response as well as in the subject line of any other e-mail correspondence referencing this notice.

** THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT RESPOND TO PHONE CALLS. **

Thank you for your interest.

 Contracting Office Address:

IRS, 1111 Constitution Ave. NW

Washington, District of Columbia 20024

Primary Point of Contact:

Marcy Almeida

Marcela.a.almeida@irs.gov

202-317-4087

Secondary Point of Contact:

Marisa Roinestad

Marisa.a.roinestad@irs.gov

202-317-4560

[1] The full text of the President’s Management Agenda, as well as additional information on Cross-Agency Priority goals, can be found at www.performance.gov.