U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20436

R -- EVALUATION OF THE COMMISSION'S PREPARATION FOR THE YEAR 2000 SOL ITC-RFQ-98-0003 DUE 020398 POC Myra Lay, Contract Specialist, (202) 205-2739 This notice is combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposal are being requested for audit services and written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation number for the Request for Quotation is ITC-RFQ-98-0003. The U.S. International Trade Commission (Commission) is an independent, bipartisan, quasi-judicial agency of the U.S. Government which, upon request, provides advice to the President and Congress on tariff and trade matters and conducts investigations relating to the impact of imports on domestic industries. The Commission contributes to the development of U.S. trade policy, but it is not charged with a policy-making role. The Commission's Fiscal Year (FY) appropriations from Congress are $41.2 million in FY 1998, $40.85 million in FY 1997, $40 million in FY 1996, $42.5 million in FY 1995 and $43.5 million in FY 1994. Approximately 70 percent of the Commission's funds are allocated to Personnel compensation and benefits, reflecting the labor intensive nature of the Commission. In addition, approximately 17 percent of the funds are allocated for space rental. The balance of expenses consists primarily of communications, travel, supplies and equipment. The Commission has an authorized staffing level of 502 permanent positions in FY 1998 of which 387.5 positions are funded at the $41.2 million level. All of its employees are located in one building at 500 E Street, SW., Washington, D.C. II. BACKGROUND At 12:01 on New Year's morning of the year 2000, many computer systems worldwide could malfunction or produce incorrect information simply because the date has changed. The Year 2000 problem is rooted in the way dates are recorded and computed in many computer systems. For the past several decades, systems have typically used two digits to represent the year, such as "97" representing 1997, in order to conserve on electronic data storage and reduce operating costs. With this two-digit format, however, the Year 2000 is indistinguishable from 1900, 2001 from 1901, and so on. As a result of this ambiguity, system or application programs that use dates to perform calculations, comparisons, or sorting may generate incorrect results when working with years after 1999. Every Federal agency is at risk of widespread system failures. Every organization must ensure that its information systems are fully Year 2000 compliant well before December 31, 1999. Since 1988, the Commission has invested substantial resources to automate agency functions and implement a Local Area Network (LAN). As of September 1995, the Commission's LAN consists of 11 files servers running Banyan Vines 5.5, several special application servers such as a fax server, and approximately 470 personal computers as workstations. The LAN supports a variety of office automation functions, including word processing, electronic mail, spreadsheets, and end-user database applications. Software includes Windows, Wordperfect, Lotus 1-2-3, dBase, Harvard Graphics, Timetalk, Electronic Mail, and Tackboard. The system contains unclassified as well as sensitive information, such as confidential business information. Users are provided network and computer security training. The Commission has determined that it is more cost effective to use cross-servicing and timesharing agreements rather than to maintain internal mini-or mainframe computer capability. Thus, it obtains general data processing facilities from the National Institutes of Heath, financial systems support from the Department of Interior, payroll services from the General Services Administration, and personnel management support from the Department of Energy. III. OBJECTIVE The objective of this review is to determine if progress by the Commission in addressing the Year 2000 conversion is adequate, and to identify areas wherein the Commission must be more proactive to achieve the goal of complete conversion by January 1, 2000. IV. WORK TASKS The contractor shall furnish all personnel, services, materials, equipment and facilities to meet the project objectives and to conduct the necessary work. Work shall be completed in accordance with a schedule of delivery dates to be submitted as part of the proposal. The review should be scheduled to begin planning no later than February 9, 1998. Line item 0001 includes the following tasks: A. Work Plan The General Accounting Office developed a guide to aid Federal agencies in planning, managing, and evaluating their Year 2000 programs. The Year 2000 Computing Crisis: An Assessment Guide is available from GAO's World Wide Web server at the following Internet address: {http://www.gao.gov}. The Assessment Checklist portion of this Guide will be the basis for the work plan for defining the Year 2000 problem as it pertains to the Commission and its potential impact on agency operations. The contractor shall submit a draft work plan to the Inspector General (IG) by the date specified in the schedule of delivery dates. The IG will review the draft work plan and recommend approval or make comments within 10 days of receipt of the draft work plan. The comments received from the IG shall be incorporated into the final work plan which shall be submitted to the IG within 10 days after receipt of the IG's comments. B. Working Draft Report The contractor shall submit a working draft report to the IG by the date specified in the proposal. The IG will provide copies of the working draft report to applicable Commission officials. A meeting with the contractor, the IG, and Commission officials will be held to discuss the working draft report approximately one calendar week after it is received. The comments received shall be incorporated into the draft report. C. Draft Report The contractor shall submit a draft report to the IG by the effective date specified in the proposal. The IG will review the draft report and circulate it to Commission officials for comments. The IG will provide these comments to the contractor within 45 calendar days from the receipt thereof. The comments received from the IG shall be incorporated into the final report. D. Final Report The contractor shall furnish to the IG five (5) unbound copies of the final report. V. SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES, DELIVERY DATES, AND PAYMENTS This purchase order is for a firm, fixed price of $. Payments shall be made after acceptance of deliverables as follows: Deliverable Final Work Plan-10%, Working Draft Report (Allow Two Weeks)-10%, Draft Report (Allow Six Weeks)-60%, and Final Report Delivery Date-120%. The solicitation and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-02. This procurement is a total small business set-aside. See Note 1. The offeror shall state their size status for this procurement. All qualified responsible business sources may submit an offer which shall be considered by the agency. Offerors shall provide the information required by FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-3, 52.212-4, 52.212-5. Quotations shall be evaluated in accordance with FAR 52.212-2, and award will be based on price, personnel qualifications, and experience. (0021)

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