SOURCES SOUGHT
D -- Mobile Application Development
- Notice Date
- 6/19/2012
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 519190
— All Other Information Services
- Contracting Office
- Library of Congress, Contracts Services, Fedlink Section, 101 Independence Ave SE, LA-318, Washington, District of Columbia, 20540-9414
- ZIP Code
- 20540-9414
- Solicitation Number
- LCFDL12RFI002
- Archive Date
- 7/27/2012
- Point of Contact
- Joan M Fitts, , Janice A Aiken, Phone: 202-707-0462
- E-Mail Address
-
flicc-cl@loc.gov, jaik@loc.gov
(flicc-cl@loc.gov, jaik@loc.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. The Library of Congress' Federal Library and Information Network (FEDLINK) is conducting market research, and this RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute 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 Library of Congress (LC) is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. 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 one is issued. 1.0. PURPOSE. The Federal Library Network (FEDLINK) at the Library of Congress is providing this document to its' members, vendors, and business partners to help decide if they are willing and interested in participating in a more detailed mobile application and website development process for federal libraries and information centers headed by FEDLINK. 2.0. BACKGROUND. The Federal Library Network (FEDLINK) was created in 1965 as the Federal Library Committee by joint action of the Library of Congress and the Bureau of the Budget (currently the Office of Management and Budget). FEDLINK is composed of the directors of the four national libraries - the Library of Congress, National Library of Medicine, National Library of Education, and National Agriculture Library - and representatives of cabinet-level executive departments, legislative, judicial and independent federal agencies with major library programs, and is chaired by the Librarian of Congress. The Committee's home is the Library of Congress where the operations of the Committee are conducted through the offices of the Executive Director. FEDLINK serves federal libraries and information centers as their purchasing, training and resource-sharing consortium. 3.0. OBJECTIVES. Almost half of federal workers are using mobile devices for work purposes every day, according to a recent survey, which concluded that mobile devices will "become the norm" in federal offices by the end of 2012. Mobile devices, which includes cell phones and tablets now account for more than 7% of all non-computer traffic. The growth of mobile users would explain why the mobile app and website access phenomenon is still growing very quickly. Additionally, with the passing and signing of the Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-292) the need for federal agencies to become more accessible to mobile users has become more evident. Sites like USA.gov and GSA have been on the forefront of offering this technology to federal agencies with a selected amount of mobile apps and websites. FEDLINK hopes to offer this same type of service to federal libraries by offering library specific mobile apps and websites to our members and the public to catapult federal libraries into the mobile information arena. Federal information professionals are enthusiastic about moving toward more flexible, mobile computing environments-assuming they continue to have access to the data and applications they need to perform their jobs and deliver government products and services. Given the broad range of the services information professionals offer, the mobile content will vary drastically. These devices and websites must be able to securely access agency networks that in some cases are mostly unclassified, but they must also support modular additions without any re-engineering or modification to their architecture to meet security requirements for use in high-security networks. The goal is to gather information on existing capabilities in order to leverage those business processes and streams for FEDLINK purposes; this is not a request to develop new capabilities for federal libraries. However, to the extent that new capabilities are under development and may be relevant to this request the libraries seek this information as well. 4.0. PRODUCTS AND SERVICES. FEDLINK and its member agencies are looking to expand their presence within the federal community with the use of mobile devices and mobile designed websites. These technologies must allow users the flexibility of access while complying with many competing requirements, including mandates for more reliable information security and protection of personally-identifiable information (PII). Therefore, we are interested in gathering information from organizations that currently: • Perform user requirements assessment • Develop mobile device applications and mobile enabled websites • Offer effective solutions architecture and business case components • Offer mobile device management system design • Make inventory, asset management, and device configuration recommendations • Provide data access principles, monitoring techniques, and security policy enforcement • Provide accessibility in accordance with section 508 of the American Disabilities Act. • Provide help-desk support considerations and the critical need for strong reporting capabilities 5.0. BUSINESS MODELS. FEDLINK, along with federal information professionals would like to develop a mobile strategy to better engage, connect with and inform new and wider audiences while communicating the mission. The development of mobile applications and websites should allow users the flexibility to access them through the use of Apple IOS, Android, Blackberry, and Windows platforms. 6.0. RESPONSES. Responses to this RFI should not exceed twenty (20) pages. Marketing brochures will not be considered adequate information as a response to this RFI. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. Please be advised that all submissions become government property and will not be returned. Interested parties shall submit responses by 2:00 pm (EDT) on Thursday, July 26, 2012. All responses shall be sent via e-mail to flicc-cl@loc.gov with the subject heading "FEDLINK Mobile Apps RFI #LCFDL12RFI002 Response." 7.0. INFORMATIONAL MEETING DAY. Approximately 30 days after the issuance of this RFI, FEDLINK will be conducting an informational meeting at its headquarters in Washington D.C. The meeting is open to any interested vendor who has products or services that are in direct support of the expectations identified in this RFI. Space is limited to 40 people and pre-registration is required. Vendors will be allowed no more than (3) three representatives for the entire company. Individual divisions of a company are considered a single parent company. It is recommended that at least (1) one of the participants be a senior-level strategist and (1) from the vendors' technical division. Video conferencing will be available. All wishing to attend Information Day [in person or by video conference] must pre-register by providing the names of attendees and indication of interest via e-mail at flicc-cl@loc.gov with the subject heading "Mobile Apps Event Registration RFI #LCFDL12RFI002" no later than one week prior to the event. The session will be open only to those who have pre-registered. NOTE: Accessibility for persons with a disability is provided, but must be noted in the pre-registration e-mail. Please include the type of accommodation required in the e-mail. Vendors are also encouraged to submit questions about the project prior to Information Day. These questions will be addressed by Library of Congress personnel at Information Day. All questions must be submitted in writing via e-mail to flicc-cl@loc.gov with the subject heading "Questions re Mobile Apps RFI #LCFDL12RFI002" no later than 2:00pm (EDT) on July 11, 2012. 8.0. DISCLAIMER. This is a Request for Information Only. This announcement is a request for information only and does not obligate the Library of Congress in any way. This is not a request for proposal and the Library of Congress will not pay for any information submitted or for any expenses associated with providing information. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary. Material submitted will be deemed proprietary to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations if so marked by the respondent.
- Web Link
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- Record
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