Test Development

THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION AND DOES NOT ASSUME THE GOVERNMENT WILL AWARD A CONTRACT IN THE NEAR FUTURE.  THIS NOTICE IS ONLY FOR MARKET RESEARCH PURPOSES.

This is a Sources Sought notice to determine the availability of potential small businesses.  The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding:  (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; and (3) their size classification relate to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition.  Responses will NOT be accepted from any other source(s).  Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible.  An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

The North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) is 541910.  The submission of this information is for planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to procure any items/services.

GENERAL

This notice is a Request for Information (RFI) and is NOT a Request for Proposals (RFP), nor is this a Request for Quotations (RFQ).  The purpose of this RFI is to identify potential sources that are interested and capable of providing the services herein.  Participation in this effort is strictly voluntary.  It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor the FedBizOpps site for additional information pertaining to this RFI.  Please be advised that all submissions become U.S. Government property.  Response to this RFI will not be returned.  The RFI does not commit the government to procure or contract for said services.  The contracting officer is the only individual who can commit the government to the expenditure of public funds in connection with the proposed procurement.  Proprietary/competition sensitive information will be protected from disclosure to the greatest extent practical, however, it is preferred that respondents do not provide proprietary or otherwise restricted responses.  Each page considered by a submitting organization to contain proprietary information should be clearly marked.  The requested information is for planning and market research purposes only and WILL NOT be publicly released.  Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future Request for Proposals (RFP) or Request for Quote (RFQ), if any is issued.  Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary.

RESPONSE PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

Responses must be submitted via email to Jo-Ann Stewart at stewartj@state.gov.  The deadline for the submission of responses to this RFI is 10:00 a.m. EST, January 10, 2020.   All questions concerning this RFI must be submitted by sending an email to stewartj@state.gov no later than 2:00 p.m. EST December 13, 2019.  Questions received after that date will not be answered, unless the Government determines the answer to the question imparts information material to Industry’s ability to respond to this RFI.  Government response to questions will be posted.  All

Government responses to questions will be made available on www.fedbizopps.gov.  No phone calls will be accepted.

Do not submit any pricing information in response to this RFI.

DISCLAIMER
Replies to this RFI are not mandatory.  This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation.  The use of information received from industry to complete final work specifications and resulting solicitation documents will be at the discretion of the Government.  Eligibility in participating in a future acquisition does not depend upon a response to this notice.  The Government will not critique a potential offeror’s information and the RFI should not be used by offerors to market their services. 

In accordance with FAR 15.202(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.  In addition, as stated previously, responders should not submit proprietary information as part of the response.  Responses to the RFI will not be returned. 

The capability package must be complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the firm's qualifications to perform the defined work.  Responses should be as complete and informative as possible.  Generic capability statements will not be accepted or reviewed.

DESCRIPTION OF INFORMATION REQUESTED

Responses to this RFI should include the organization’s full name, headquarters locations, and location of an office in the Washington, DC area, if any.  They should also include the name of a point-of-contact and his/her email and conventional mailing addresses.  Firms are invited to indicate their interests and capabilities by providing the following:

Must submit their responses using not more than 25 pages in length.  The total page count of 25 pages does not include the cover letter.  The total page count does include all other information provided (i.e., graphs, technical, etc.).  Font size should be 12 point, Times New Roman, single sided and prepared in Microsoft Word.  Fold out charts for tables or graphics are allowed with a limited size of 11”x17” and each foldout count as a single page and also counts toward the total page limit.  Charts and graphics must be in Microsoft Excel, or PDF format. 

• Provide general price information
• Other specific and pertinent information as it pertains to this service
• Identification on the available contract vehicles to include vehicle by agency and contract number: Federal Supply Schedule (FSS)/Government Wide Acquisition Contract (GWAC)

The response should include these elements in this format: 

Introduction

• Provide a brief description of existing capability to perform the requirement or provide proposed Performance Work Statement (PWS) language for the service and/or any proposed solution.
• Management Approach
• The respondent shall describe its successful implementation of a comprehensive contract management approach.  The respondent shall describe its ability to hire and maintain qualified staff, handle personnel issues, assemble high quality staff and provide staff with the necessary support and oversight.  The respondent shall describe the effectiveness and soundness of its draft Quality Control Plan (OCP) and how effectively the QCP demonstrates how quality, as outlined in the performance summary requirements, will be met. 
• Transition Approach
• The respondent shall describe the draft Transition Plan that demonstrates how the transition will be successfully accomplished in the designated transition period.  The respondent
• shall describe the completeness and accuracy of the Plan and demonstrated ability to successfully execute and complete he transition by the end of the transition period.
• Technical Approach
• The respondent shall describe its technical competencies, approach and solutions that define how you will address and manage application operation and maintenance with the required technical skills outlined in the Special Requirements Section of the Performance Work Statement (PWS) and for global federal government business systems.  The respondent shall describe how it will work in close partnership with DoS and its supporting entities to derive the maximum efficiencies from its approach and solutions while mitigating risks.  The respondent shall describe their plan to implement software releases including size, timeframe and scope, while maximizing quality and quantity under fixed price and time and materials efforts.  The respondent shall describe how their proposed approach handles changes to include decommissioning of existing systems in support of modernization efforts and how you plan to handle changes including cost.
• Past Performance  
• The respondent shall describe how their and its subcontractors’ past performance validates expected performance and customer satisfaction based on the information provided.  It may include input by the respondent’s references and other Government sources.  The respondent shall describe their and subcontractors’ Past Performance Profiles and the respondent’s actual performance in business applications operations  support.  The respondent shall describe the  dollar value, scope, and complexity of the efforts; and the actual results achieved during performance. 

The Socioeconomic Classification chart is listed below, please identify which one pertains to your company:

HUBZone

SDVO

WOSB

8(a)

Small Business

Sale brochures, videos, and other marketing information materials are not solicited and will not be reviewed.

No phone calls related to this RFI will be accepted. All correspondence shall be sent via email only.