Test and Evaluation Support Services for US Army Evaluation Center

Added: Oct 25, 2012 11:32 am

This is a Request for Information (RFI) only, which, as part of market research, is being issued in accordance with (IAW) Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 15.201(e). This is not a solicitation/request for proposal and no contract shall be resultant from this synopsis. There is no solicitation package available at this time. All interested parties should send company and/or descriptive literature along with responses to the following questions and any comments or questions to Mr. Ralph Kaminski, email ralph.f.kaminski.civ@mail.mil, or address: U.S. Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground, 4401 Boothby Hill Avenue, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005-3013. All responses should be received NLT 3:00 PM EST 17 December 2012. All questions and comments must be in writing, no telephone calls. The Government will not pay for any information received in response to this request, nor will the Government compensate any respondent for any costs incurred in developing the information provided to the Government.

Purpose - Sources Sought: The Army issued six Time and Material Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) Multiple Award Contracts (MAC) in December 2005 to provide test and evaluation support services to US Army Evaluation Center (AEC) a subordinate activity of the US Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC). The MAC are due to expire in December 2013; therefore, the Army is developing an acquisition strategy to replace expiring MACs and the responses received to this RFI will assist in developing an acquisition strategy. The Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground is seeking to identify business sources that may be capable of providing test and evaluation support services to AEC. AEC supports Army Materiel acquisition force development processes by evaluating, and reporting operational and developmental testing of materiel in the hands of soldiers in a field environment, and by providing Program Managers with continuous system evaluation during the operational cycle, developmental cycle and testing.

Business Size Standard: The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code is 541330, size standard $14 Million.

Estimated Dollar Value: $400 Million

Period of Performance: Three (3) year base with Two (2) one-year award term provisions.

Industry Day: This acquisition will not have its own industry day. However, Government representatives will be available to discuss this opportunity at the annual Aberdeen Proving Ground Industry Day scheduled for 4-6 December 2012. ATEC will discuss this acquisition and other opportunities on 5 December 2012.

Major Support Services: Provide analysts, project managers, engineers, and technical staff capable of supporting test and evaluation processes during integrated evaluations of major designated acquisition programs, major and non-major weapon systems, and information mission area systems being procured by the Department of Defense (DoD). To follow are the seven basic service areas, their generic tasks, and expected outcomes.

1. Support of Evaluation

a. Support the analysis of the test data and other data sources to determine the effectiveness, suitability and survivability of the systems under evaluation. Performance of these services may require travel to worldwide locations for extended durations, days to months.

b. Data products, reports, expert analysis, briefings conducted with appropriate subject matter expertise.

2. Data and Database Management

a. Services related to database development, administration, and operation in support of the AEC missions.

b. Databases, administration services, and reports.

3. Manpower and Personnel Integration

a. Support related to the evaluation of suitability issues related to Manpower and Personnel Integration. For example, adequacy of training, appropriateness of military occupational specialties to required tasks, adequacy of system support, maintenance, repair, manuals, and other factors related to the integration of the system under evaluation in the service's business / support processes.

b. Data products, reports, expert analysis, briefings conducted with appropriate subject matter expertise. Subject matter expertise to support test events with analytical capability.

4. Methodology

a. Support services to assist in the development of evaluation methodologies. Execution of these services may require the skills in the development of test designs, design of experiments, statistics, measurement sciences, data capture, visualization techniques, data capture and reduction techniques, and a high level of familiarization with the technologies and science / phenomenology employed by the systems under evaluation.

b. Data products, reports, expert analysis, briefings, conducted with appropriate subject matter expertise. Subject matter expertise that support the presentation of the methodologies and underlying analysis.

5. Modeling and Simulation

a. Services related to the validation, verification and certification of system models to be used in tests and evaluation.

b. Verification, validation and accreditation of models and simulations

6. Test Data Analysis

a. Services related to the data collection and reduction, including packaging of data, transport, retrieval, archiving and data mining. Analysis of the data to derive understanding of what the data means in relation to the performance measures under evaluation for which the data was collected.

b. Analysis of the data collected on a system under evaluation.

7. Studies and Analysis

a. Services related to the conduct of special studies related to the AEC mission. For example, studies may be required to determine best course of action, how instrumentation should be applied, support of program decisions, etc.

b. Data products, reports, expert analysis, briefings, conducted by appropriate subject matter expertise.

Responses to this RFI shall be no more than 10-pages and include responses to the following subject areas:

1. Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI): AEC is the Army's operational test and evaluation activity that performs operational and developmental assessment testing of a wide range of systems developed across DoD. As such, compliance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 9.5 is a concern to ensure no entity operationally tests and assesses a system they have developed under another government contract. Please respond to the following OCI concerns.

a. Describe the process used to complete an enterprise review across all business units to identify any governmental developmental work performed as either a prime or subcontractor.

b. This acquisition will award MAC to evaluate and assess systems as prescribed by FAR Subpart 9.505-3. To assure compliance with this FAR requirement the Army intends to use a two-step evaluation process. The first step is to identify and analyze potential OCI as prescribed by FAR 9.504 (a) (1) (2). Describe what information the Army should provide to assist industry to identify governmental developmental work.

2. Capability Questions:

a. Describe the process to provide a staff of qualified analysts, project managers, engineers, and technical staffs.

b. Describe your experience providing the seven basic service areas.

3. Small Business Questions:

a. Large businesses provide a list of the basic service areas that are appropriate candidates to subcontract to small business.

b. Large businesses provide a percentage of the contract value that is appropriate for small business subcontracting. Additionally, explain why the percentage is realistic and achievable.

c. Small businesses provide the types of opportunities small businesses envision under this acquisition.

d. Small businesses provide a list, in ranked order by service area, which areas are best suited for small business. Additionally, explain the reasoning for the ranking order.

e. Small businesses provide rational to support setting this acquisition as a total set aside for small business.

4. Contract Type: The Army is considering using a hybrid ID/IQ MAC that includes the use of multiple contract types. The types under consideration are Firm-Fixed Price; Firm-Fixed-Price, Level of Effort; Cost-Plus-Fixed Fee; and Cost-Plus Incentive fee. Provide any concerns that industry has using these contract types to compete for individual task/delivery orders.

5. Award Term Incentive: The Army intends to incentivize performance using award-term provisions. The Army seeks industry's input on the structure of the award-term provisions to include subjective evaluation criteria, rating structure, how to monitor performance, evaluation frequency timeline, poor performance rebuttal process, and level of performance necessary to earn an award term.