SOURCES SOUGHT
70 -- Balanced Workforce System – Software Tool
- Notice Date
- 2/14/2011
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541511
— Custom Computer Programming Services
- Contracting Office
- Office of the Chief Procurement Officer, Washington, District of Columbia, 20528, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20528
- Solicitation Number
- RFI-OCHCO-BWS
- Archive Date
- 3/12/2011
- Point of Contact
- Michael E. Jones, Phone: 202-447-5587, Martha A. Booros, Phone: 202-447-0227
- E-Mail Address
-
michael.e.jones@dhs.gov, Martha.Booros@dhs.gov
(michael.e.jones@dhs.gov, Martha.Booros@dhs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Department of Homeland Security, Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer Balanced Workforce System - Software Tool This exchange is being issued in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 15.201(e) as a Request for Information (RFI). Per FAR 15.209(c), please see the following clause: REQUEST FOR INFORMATION OR SOLICITATION FOR PLANNING PURPOSES (OCT 1997) (a) The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this solicitation or to otherwise pay for the information solicited except as an allowable cost under other contracts as provided in subsection 31.205-18, Bid and proposal costs, of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. (b) Although "proposal" and "offeror" are used in this Request for Information, your response will be treated as information only. It shall not be used as a proposal. (c) This solicitation is issued for the purpose of developing a Human Capital Segment Architecture (HCSA) across DHS. Additional Notice We reiterate that this is a DHS Request for Information and the use of any procurement terminology does constitute a promise of any kind. The purpose of this RFI is for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to gain knowledge of all qualified and interested small and other than small business concerns with experience within the referenced requirement and is being issued solely for DHS' informational and planning purposes; as it may relate to acquisition strategy, planning schedules, feasibility of the requirement, development of the requirement, etc. This exchange in no way represents a formal solicitation for proposals, quotations, or bids with the intent to form binding agreements based upon results. DHS may (or may not), at the agency's sole discretion, issue a formal solicitation for this requirement at a later time. Within that vein, any descriptive/requirements information provided by DHS in this exchange is subject to change and shall in no way be treated as final or binding. 1. Background: Consistent with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) policy and the Secretary's Efficiency Initiative on Workforce Assessments (May 2009), DHS requires in-house capabilities to effectively manage government operations. While heavy reliance on contractors when DHS stood up in 2002 may have made sense, it is unlikely that operating in such a manner today is the most efficient and effective way to carry out our mission. DHS was dependent on contractors to fulfill many of its professional and management support services. In doing so, DHS Executive Management did not fully address the risk to the mission associated with this dependence on contractors to fulfill mission-critical services; the priorities lay in getting the new Agency up and running. At the request of Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) studied risks associated with DHS's current contract management. GAO's report recommended: "DHS take actions to improve its ability to manage risk and ensure governmental control and accountability for decisions resulting from services that closely support inherently governmental functions. DHS... agreed with these recommendations." Traditionally, each Component identified the type of workforce (Federal employee/contractor services) to perform functions necessary to achieve the Department's missions, goals and objectives. This approach was taken absent a deliberate analysis to ensure the most appropriate workforce necessary to mitigate or minimize risk to the mission. Manual systems could not guarantee a consistent, methodical application of the statutes and rules that would lead each DHS Component through a consistent and transparent analysis of functions necessary to accomplish the Department's missions.. Given the number of functional units (or body of work (approximately 10,000 in 2010) to be analyzed at DHS, the process was inefficient, prone to mistakes, resource - intensive and time consuming. Citing "inadequate" progress to date on analyzing multi-sector workforce, on July 12, 2010, the Deputy Secretary for DHS issued a memorandum directing the Department to "act more quickly and comprehensively to ensure the appropriate mix of Federal and contractor skills and experience". The Deputy Secretary directed the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) to draft and implement guidance reflecting her desire for "more significant and demonstrable results - going forward." Accordingly, the Balanced Workforce Program Management Office (BWPMO) was established within OCHCO and issued the BWS Guidance pursuant to, and consistent with, these authorities, policies, related OMB guidance and at the express direction of the DHS Deputy Secretary. The Balanced Workforce Strategy (BWS) is a repeatable process established to assess, and then result in, the appropriate mix of federal and contractor employees. A balanced multi-sector workforce ensures successful achievement and sustainment of the Department's mission while simultaneously minimizing the potential for operational risk. The BWS will serve as the strategic underpinning for the DHS workforce planning model, which takes a long-term view of organizational needs and function changes as a result of evolving missions, priorities, and environmental factors. In the near term, the BWS process is focused on assessing and eliminating potential overreliance on contractors, resulting in an appropriate balance of federal employee to contractors. Over time, BWS will dovetail with and be subsumed into the Department's overall workforce planning model, including the identification, tracking and successful closing of competency gaps. 2. Requirements: The DHS Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO) is seeking information on existing COTS products capable of providing automated decision support. The primary objective is to guide the user through a decision tree based on user defined criteria stemming from government statues or mandates, to determine if a position is inherently governmental. The tool must comply with all applicable DHS regulations, including security and safety. • The tool must meet the following functional requirements: Configurable: The COTS product will provide the system administrator the ability to define, configure and update the following:  User groups and permissions for system access  Web based questionnaire interface, user- defined data validation and navigation rules for functional unit analysis  The decision tree that defines the logic flow / navigation for the questionnaire (splitting and branching)  The workflow managing the Review / Approval process  The questionnaire's data structures (add or inactivate fields and tables, data validation)  BWS Tool users must be able to access the application on DHS Government furnished equipment (a DHS workstation connected to DHS intranet).  The Tool content must be protected and safe. The application must Generate artifacts that will import and/or export to SQL Server, Microsoft 2007 products (e.g. csv, XLS, etc)  Access to standard queries and reports (tabular, counts)  Ad hoc queries and reports (tabular, counts)  The Tool will meet the following functional requirements: • Work Sourcing Analysis: The Tool will guide users through a questionnaire interface to determine if a functional unit can be performed by a Federal employee and/or a contract service employee. The COTS product's interface will be controlled by a user-defined and user-updatable decision tree, governed by the government statutes, policies, procedures, and mandates to determine the most appropriate source for workload performance and the need for federal employee oversight. • The Tool will automatically generate a unique identifier associated with each analysis. • The Tool will have user copy, paste, revision, cloning and printing capability. • The Tool must support risk analysis capabilities composed of a series of mathematical equation type questions resulting in weighted responses. • Review / Approval: The COTS product requires user-configurable workflow management functionality to route each analysis' recommendation and track the Review and Approval process. This phase begins after the user identifies or submits (automatically saves) a functional unit for analysis. Higher level officials may document comments regarding program officials' analysis and provide input that will override (but not delete) program officials' analysis recommendations. • Data Base Management System Capability: The COTS product will support the addition of user-defined data fields/structures and support a report engine that allows administrators and users to define reports and queries (which may include user defined data fields/structures). The reporting engine must support role based access. The DBMS must support MS SQL 2005 or later and/or Oracle 10g or later. • The COTS product must support Single Sign On (SSO) via LDAP • The COTS product must be available to be hosted within DHS data centers • System should support approximately 30 administrators who will grant user access across Components. • System must support unlimited users responsible for performing an analysis with the potential of over 500 concurrent users at any given time. 3. Questions In addition to demonstrating the necessary capabilities and qualifications to perform the above identified requirements, all prospective vendors shall respond to the following questions: 1. Please provide a description and overview of COTS products and services capable of meeting the requirements. 2. Please provide published rates and order of magnitude cost including maintenance cost for licenses, product or service. 3. Can the vendor create the initial product configuration and branding? 4. What type of maintenance support for configuration is available? Please provide published rates. 5. Does the vendor offer System Administrator training? What other types of training are available? 6. With what other applications including database applications does the product or service interface? 7. Is the product web-enabled? 8. Can the product grant user access and permission to view specific information? 9. Can the product configure mathematical equations and/or algorithms as a result of weighted responses? 10. Can the product save and store information in the event the systems data reconstruction is necessary? 11. What is the estimated time required to configure and implement the product or service? 12. Has the vendor implemented this product or service on similar government programs? Please provide the government organization, contract information, and functional overview. 13. Has the product been certified and accredited to operate within the Federal Government? Within DHS? 14. Is the product 508 compliant? If so, what method of evaluation was used to determine compliance? 15. What is the Vendor's experience providing a history of excellent technical and customer support? Please provide specific examples. 16. On what government schedules can this product or service be acquired? 4. Description of Information Requested: DHS is requesting all interested firms to respond to this RFI with the following information: 1. Name and Address 2. Phone and Fax No. 3. Website Address 4. Business Size and Type of Ownership (i.e., Other than Small, Small, Small Disadvantaged, Woman-owned, Hub-zone, Service Disabled Veteran, etc.) 5. Years in business 6. Description of the client base, include all Federal Customers 7. Capability Statement to include how the firm's solution meets DHS' requirements. The capability statement must include: a. Documented knowledge and experience with performing these requirements with Federal Agencies/Departments similar in size and scope to DHS. b. Response to the requirements questions in Sections 2 and 3, respectively. 5. Response Instructions: Capability Statements shall not exceed five (5) to ten (10) pages which include the responses to the questions identified in Section 3. Please submit all responses to this notice, via e-mail, to Mr. Michael Jones at michael.e.jones@dhs.gov 3:00 PM, Eastern Standard Time, February 25, 2011. All e-mail responses MUST include the subject header of "DHS/Balanced Workforce Decision Support Tool" in responding to this RFI. As stated prior, this RFI is being issued solely for DHS' informational and planning purposes. Respondents will not be notified of any results derived from a review of the information provided. Responses to this RFI will not be returned. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with the responding to this RFI. Respondents needing confidential treatment for any proprietary information furnished in response to this RFI must mark the documentation accordingly.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DHS/OCPO/DHS-OCPO/RFI-OCHCO-BWS/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 245 Murray Lane SW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20528, United States
- Zip Code: 20528
- Zip Code: 20528
- Record
- SN02379594-W 20110216/110214234515-c8c1989c98dab8c2c3d1ba45e8e4ed3a (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
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