Request For Information - IT Research and Advisory Services

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)
123SAD119RFI0001
1.0 Introduction

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Department (RD) requires access to IT Research and Advisory Services to inform key decisions in planning and delivering IT services. The research and advice must be relevant to the requirements of USDA RD in support of strategic planning, cost reduction, understanding and optimizing software license pricing models, understanding and complying with recent legislation such as the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), FedRAMP, FISMA, risk mitigation and program interruption.

1.1
Request for Information (RFI) Only. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute as a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Government is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The RFI responders are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) website: https://www.fbo.gov. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this requirement.

2.0 Scope
USDA RD requires research and advisory services aligned to individual levels of the IT Organization. This procurement requires individual services targeted to different levels of the IT organization, as follows:
• One (1) Executive Research Leadership Team with Banking Industry - Leader
• One (1) Executive Research Leadership Team with Banking Industry - Advisor Team Member
• Four (4) Executive Research Leadership Team with Banking Industry - Cross Function Team Members

2.1 General Requirements
2.1.1. Given the rate of technology change, the complexity of USDA RD's global use of IT, the Contractor shall continue to support this demand by providing a minimum of 4,500 new IT research documents and tool kits representing industry best practices annually. Research documents must exclude tweets, blogs and other social media feeds.

2.1.2. The research agenda must be driven by client needs and interest.

2.1.3. Contractor shall have experience in advising DoD, Civilian, as well as Commercial CIOs.
The research must provide the insight and data to enable the Government to plan strategically, reduce IT costs, understand software licensing models, reduce software costs, mitigate risk, successfully handle program interruption, and understand and comply with recent legislation including the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA).
• Provided Analyst driven perspective (research, analyst, events, and advisors) on the What & Why. Example; What does it mean to go Digital and why is it important to the organization.
• Customer driven perspectives (research, analyst, events, and advisors) on the How. Example; How digital, case studies of how other Clients have gone digital with ignition guides with step by step instructions
• research documents produced specifically for the Banking and Investment Services industry over the past 24 months, ensuing the depth and breadth of current, industry-specific research for Banking.
• Digital Banking Transformation, Banking Technology Initiatives, Forecast Overview, Banking and Securities IT Spending, Worldwide; Strategic Approaches to Digital Optimization and Transformation in Banking, Ignition Guide to Creating an Investment Business Case, Ignition Guide to Launching an IT Product Line
• Product Manager Role Description for Digital Business, and The Talent Implications of Adaptive IT.
• Toolkits to include:
o Chief Data Officer Job Description
o Sample Job Description for the PMO Director
o Job Description for Hiring a Chief Architect
o Job Description for Hiring a Chief Information Security Officer

2.1.4. USDA RD values the ability to attend technology and peer networking events without incurring travel costs. This contract will serve locations across the country. USDA RD has regularly leveraged these events in Arlington, VA. The Contractor shall provide at least five in-person peer networking events in the Washington, DC area, annually, at no additional cost.

2.1.5 Contractor shall provide on-line peer networking that includes a minimum of 20,000 peers, including at least 500 Federal peers, through a private portal reserved for IT end user clients and Contractor Subject Matter Experts only (no IT vendors). Licensed users shall be able to connect with peers independently of the Contractor.

2.1.6. USDA RD considers Webinars to be a valuable professional development and training opportunity. Contractor shall provide unlimited access to Webinars for all subscribers as well as all members of the IT staff at no additional cost. Contractor shall deliver an average of 20 live Webinars per month. In addition to unlimited access to upcoming Webinars, licensed users shall have on-demand access to all Webinars hosted in the past 12 months.

2.1.7. Historically, USDA RD has received value from attendance at IT conferences hosted in the continental U.S. The contractor shall continue to support this demand by providing a minimum of 10 IT events in the U.S. per year, each lasting a minimum of two full days. The contractor shall provide USDA RD the ability to purchase additional tickets to industry-leading, role-focused events in the U.S. Specifically, the Contractor shall provide invitations for the Licensed Team Members to a CIO-focused symposium that is a minimum of three full days, held in the continental U.S. Contractor must offer a wide array of sessions at the U.S. symposium that align with USDA RD priorities including:

 Exclusive CIO-specific track
 Full day of Public sector sessions
 CIO peer networking opportunities with a minimum of 2,000 CIOs

2.1.8. The Contractor shall offer a program that is completely objective. No research should be done on a "sponsored" basis, which could potentially compromise independent objectives.

2.1.9. Licensed Team Members must receive access to best practice and decision support content including peer benchmarks, best practices, case studies, tools and templates. Content should be targeted to IT leader level implementation and include step-by-step guides for planning, building and monitoring projects.

2.1.10. Contractor shall provide an IT Research database, toolkits and metrics that are timely and relevant to the USDA RD staff. Metrics must have been collected from at least 1,500 data sources. Contractor shall specify details surrounding the data collection including geography, number of responses and amount of IT spend represented. At least two reports must be published based on these Metrics focused specifically on Government trends or implications. This information will help USDA RD plan the IT budget with relevant facts and metrics to justify IT spending and staffing costs, identify opportunities for cost optimization and investment prioritization, use data to improve dialogue and alignment with other commands, and provide services at fair-market prices and service levels.

2.1.11. In addition to IT role-based research, USDA RD must also have access to current and industry-specific research dedicated to covering the Banking and Investment Services industry.

2.1.12 Licensed Team Members require unlimited access to research and toolkits written exclusively for CIOs on topics surrounding the intersection of business and IT.

2.1.13. Licensed Team Members must be supported by an office-based service delivery specialist to assist with any research or inquiry scheduling questions.

2.1.14. Licensed Team Members may participate in any of the Leader's inquiries with expert analysts to gain knowledge and drive collaboration. Licensed Team Members must also have access to a shared library of documents selected across the team to facilitate collaboration.

2.1.15. USDA RD requires access to monthly audio commentaries on current IT topics that may be downloaded in an MP3 format.
2.2. For Cross Function Team Members
2.2.1. Cross Function members require access to all requirements listed in Section 2.1 as well as unlimited access to IT role-based and Banking and Investment Services research.

2.3. For Advisor Team Member
2.3.1. Advisor member requires access to all requirements listed in Section 2.1 and 2.2, including unlimited access to IT role-based and Banking and Investment Services research.

2.3.2. For Advisor-level members, Contractor shall provide unlimited inquiry to expert IT analysts that are specialists in specific fields (i.e., not generalists that cross many technologies). Contractor shall provide access to at least 400 analysts for inquiry.

2.3.3. USDA RD requires research and advisory services to be able to drive continual cost savings within IT through optimization of contract pricing, terms and conditions as well as consolidation, portfolio management and hardware. Inquiries may also be used for contract review with experts in hardware/software contract negotiation.

2.3.4. USDA RD requires access to analysts with specific expertise in the Banking and Investment Services industry. Advisor-level members must have unlimited access to industry-specific analysts dedicated to covering the Banking and Investment Services industry.

2.4. For Team Leader:
2.4.1. The Leader requires require access to all requirements listed in Section 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3, including unlimited access to research and analysts.

2.4.2 Contractor shall provide an executive peer advisor, with a minimum of 25 years of experience in IT, at least 2 years of IT Executive experience in the Federal Government or the Commercial sector and must possess a Master's degree in business administration, a Master's/Bachelor's degree in a hard science (e.g., computer science, mathematics, physics, engineering) or have at least five years of experience supporting IT executives in this capacity. The executive peer advisor shall deliver strategic advice and serve as a sounding board for the Leader.

2.4.3 Contractor must provide the opportunity for the Leader to engage in at least quarterly exclusive executive roundtables in the Washington, DC area.

2.4.4. Contractor shall provide access to annual IT compensation data, including trend reports, to provide insight into the competitive staffing market conditions that exist today.

2.4.5. The Contractor executive peer advisor shall interact monthly with the Leader. The Leader will also receive a half-day annual team workshop led by the executive peer advisor for the Leader and the Leader's team.

2.4.6. Contractor shall provide an additional opportunity for the Leader to attend a three-day event in the continental U.S. delivering a workshop-style experience to exchange ideas with prominent CIOs. This event must be exclusively open to executive subscription holders. Rural Development has 46 executive subscription holders for FY 2019.
3.0 Delivery Period and Conditions
The Delivery period would be for a Contract with 4 option periods in the future.
4.0 Limitations
Not specified at this time.
5.0 Security Requirements
Not specified at this time.
6.0 Requested Information
The requested information is for the Governments knowledge of the Industries available IT Research and Advisory service providers, that would be interested competing in the future for a possible contract award to USDA-RD-Technology Office.
7.0 Responses
Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a whitepaper. The whitepaper should outline your company's depth, reach out capability through the industry, and the ability to meet the requirements listed in this RFI.
7.1 The whitepaper should be in Microsoft Word for Office compatible format and due NLT April 1, 2019, 1600 EST. The whitepaper response is limited to 10 single-sided pages and submitted via e-mail only to the Government Point of Contract (POC): Robert Cortez, Contract Officer, Robert.Cortez@usda.gov. Proprietary information, if any, should be kept to minimum and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. The whitepaper needs to answer the Training/Mentoring requirements addressed in this RFI. To aid the Government, segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. If any responder does not currently have a Proprietary Data Protection Agreement (PDPA) that would permit the Government's personnel to review and evaluate the submitted whitepaper in response to this RFI, the responder should request to sign PDPAs with the Government. The following is the list of Government Point of Contact (POC) for the evaluation of the RFI whitepaper:
• Robert Cortez, Robert.cortes@usda.gov.

The RFI whitepaper should provide the following information:

1. Company Information. Name, mailing address, overnight delivery address (if different from mailing address), phone number, fax number, and e-mail of designated point of contact.

2. Proprietary Information. Identify and handle of responder's company proprietary information should include one of the following:
• Copies of executed NDAs with the Government
• A statement stating the responder will not allow the Government to release its proprietary data for the RFI whitepaper evaluation.

8.0 Meetings and Discussions

The Government representatives may or may not choose to meet with potential RFI service provider. Such meetings and discussions would only be intended to get further clarification of potential capability, especially any IT Research and Advisory services.

9.0 Questions

Questions on the RFI and your submission of the whitepaper should be submitted in writing by e-mail to Robert Cortez at Robert.cortez@usda.gov .

10.0 Summary

This RFI is only intended for the Government to identify sources that can provide IT research and advisory services to USDA-RD-Technology Office. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding to the Government. The Government has made no commitment to procure any of the RFI requirements discussed. This RFI release should not be construed as such a commitment or as authorization to incur cost for which reimbursement would be required or sought. All submissions to this RFI become Government Property and will not be returned.

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