99 -- WEB-BASED RECRUITMENT AND HIRING APPLICATION

Notice Date

November 7, 2001

Contracting Office

U.S. General Accounting Office, Acquisition Management, 441 G. Street N.W., Room 6851, Washington, DC 20548

ZIP Code

20548

Solicitation Number

OAM-2002-N-004

Response Due

November 26, 2001

Point of Contact

Ms. Darion A. Powell (202) 512-3725

Description

DESCRIPTION: This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This is a Request for Proposal (RFP) OAM-2002-N-004. This combined synopsis/solicitation is organized in eight parts: 1, General Requirements and Background; 2, Specific Requirements; 3, Applicability of FAR Provisions; 4, Format of Proposals; 5, Cost Proposals; 6, Evaluation Criteria; 7, Procurement Schedule; and 8, Point of Contact. 1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS AND BACKGROUND: The purpose of this acquisition is to secure a web-based recruitment and hiring applicant tracking and processing system that is web based and which is on a subscription basis. GAO is not interested in purchasing either hardware or software (except where ancillary software housed on GAO machines is necessary for efficient use of the system). GAO recruits nationwide for approximately 400 positions per year and receives approximately 7,000 applications annually. About 250 of those positions are for entry level staff and are primarily on college campuses. Additionally, GAO opens a number of vacancies each year to internal candidates (merit promotion cases) and processes applications in a manner similar to external recruitment actions. Currently GAO operates an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) that was designed in-house using Microsoft Access. The system is essentially a data repository without any processing capabilities and with limited reporting capabilities. Announcements are produced external to the ATS and are posted on GAO's external and/or internal websites. On the external site there is the capability for applicants to apply on-line to vacancies. When an applicant makes use of this feature GAO captures the applicant's responses in a table from which it then appends to the ATS the applicant's information. For those applicants who do not apply on-line GAO must manually enter an applicant data record in the ATS. In both cases the rating and ranking of the application takes place external to the ATS with the score results and other status information from the rating and ranking process manually keyed into the applicant's record in the ATS. All applicants are notified of their status by letter. This is accomplished using a Microsoft Word template notification letter and a mail merge from the ATS. For all applicants who do not apply on-line and who have achieved a specific score in the rating and ranking process GAO scans their application material and uploads the scanned application into a field in the ATS. Thus for both on-line applicants and for "certified" snail mail or emailed applicants there is an electronic copy of the application in the ATS. GAO maintains a tightly controlled list of line employees, Recruitment and Employment staff members and Human Capital Managers who have access to the ATS and therefore access to application material of candidates under consideration for appointment. For entry level positions GAO produces a list of salient information from the ATS for selectable applicants and convenes on a weekly basis a panel of line employees and Human Capital Managers who subsequently decide which applicants will be interviewed and by whom. Those applicants chosen for interview have their electronic applications printed out. Tracking information on interviews conducted, who conducted the interview and when as well as selection information is manually keyed into the ATS by the Human Capital Managers so as to maintain a complete record for each applicant in the system. All applicants who have been considered for appointment are notified by mail of their final status in a manner similar to the earlier notification. GAO seeks through this acquisition to replace its ATS and to re-engineer its processes by using more technically advanced Internet based enabling technology for announcement preparation and distribution, application receipt, application processing, applicant tracking and applicant notification. It is GAO's desire to purchase a subscription type service that will substantially meet all of the requirements listed in the next section. 2) SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS: The technology needs to conform to the specific standards identified below. A) Compatibility with GAO infrastructure: The software is to be hosted/run from the offeror's location with minimal or no downtime in our ability to use the software. The software should utilize a web interface to a database from which offeror can retrieve for GAO information in a format compatible with Oracle. The software must be Windows 95/98/NT/2000 compatible. The software must be compatible with GAO's client/server network running on Novell 5.x and higher. GAO runs its intranet environment utilizing the Apache web server running under Linux operating system, as well as Microsoft IIS web server running under NT operating system, version 4. The software must run efficiently on user workstations having a minimum of 64MB RAM and processor speeds ranging from 233MHz to 450MHz. The software must support use by both Netscape Browser version 4.9 and higher and Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) version 4.0 and higher. The offeror must identify recommended physical server and/or workstation configurations (processor(s), random access memory (RAM)) to run this software. B) Compatibility with GAO Orders, Federal Law, Regulations and Procedures: Selected technology must be compliant with all rules, regulations and laws applicable to GAO's hiring program. Among these are the following: i) Announcement preparation and distribution -- Proposed systems must include capability to build on line and within the system a GAO announcement of position vacancy along with a crediting/examining plan to be subsequently used by the system in an automated fashion to determine basic qualifications and qualifications above the basic level. Announcement generation must be flexible enough to provide for differing evaluation criteria (crediting/examining plans) including yes/no responses, numerical ranking responses and narrative responses among others. Announcement volume (cases) is estimated at 125-150 annually with up to 8,000 applications received per year as a result of these announcements. Systems must also include the capability to automatically distribute these completed announcements to, at a minimum, GAO's Internet site (for external vacancies) and/or GAO's Intranet site for internal announcements. ii) Receipt of Applications and other application material -- Proposed systems should provide capability for GAO to accept (as a non-preferred method of application) hard copy applications that are received through the U.S. Mail or by fax/email. Vendors should clearly indicate their systems capability to handle applications that are not submitted on line. Vendors should also address how their systems will accommodate application material such as college transcripts that may be required as part of the official application. Offeror's systems that can handle non-electronic application material with the least amount of work on the part of GAO will receive higher credit for this factor in Section 6. iii) Veteran' preference -- The prospective vendor must offer a system that will accommodate the awarding of veteran's preference points and the appropriate placement of veterans on registers and certificates. iv) Scoring of applications and certification -- Proposed systems must be able to accommodate GAO's scoring scheme for applicants and support a category ranking system. GAO uses a scoring system similar to the federal-government wide system mandated by the Office of Personnel Management, e.g. applications are scored on a 100-point scale with points between 70 and 100 granted on the relative possession of the required knowledge, skills and abilities as stated in the announcement. Additional points are awarded for veterans preference. Based on scores received GAO classifies applicants into one of three broad categories with applicants in the top category referred for management consideration for selection. Systems must also be able to handle open continuous announcements that generate registers of applicants and provide for revolving certification. Proposed systems must include the ability to rate and rank applications by applicant's response to both rating and to ranking questions. Internal logic must be built into the system so as to determine which applicants are basically qualified and of those which are well qualified and which are highly qualified. v) Notification of applicants -- Proposed systems must provide the capability with little intervention to notify applicants as to the receipt of their application and their status, i.e., unqualified, ineligible, qualified but not certified, and certified and referred. Notification systems should be electronic and systems should include the capability to generate notifications with user prompts to selected applicants in a pool. vi) Reporting -- The system must have the capability to provide preformatted reports on a variety of characteristics and parameters. Proposed systems must also provide the capability for system users to generate ad hoc reports on a variety of variables and parameters with minimal knowledge. vii) Access -- All systems must be able to accommodate up to 25 concurrent users who may be located in Washington, D.C. or one of 10 field locations. These users will be the primary users, however, proposed systems should also be able to accommodate management officials who may need sporadic interface with the system but not access to all features of the system. 3) APPLICABILITY OF FAR PROVISIONS: the following Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) provisions and clauses apply to this solicitation and are incorporated by reference. FAR 52.212-1 -- Instructions to Offerors -- Commercial Items. Offerors must include a completed copy of FAR provision 52.212-3 -- Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items with their offer. FAR 52.212-5 -- Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders -- Commercial Items. FAR52.212-4 -- Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items. FAR 52.249-2 -- Termination for Convenience of the Government (Fixed Price). Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with FAR Provisions 52.212-2-Evaluation of Commercial Items, price and other technical factors considered. 4) FORMAT OF PROPOSALS: offerors must submit proposals no later than 2:00 pm EST, November 26, 2001. Proposals must contain: (a) The name, address, and telephone number of the offeror. (b) Representations and Certifications at FAR 52.212-3. (c) Technical proposal addressing GAO's technical and specific requirements enumerated in section (2) above. This proposal must specifically address each of the specific requirements contained in Section 2(B) and the offeror must clearly indicate on their response the specific item being addressed. References to marketing material is acceptable provided it is clearly annotated as to the requirement being addressed, however, a narrative and tailored response will assure full consideration in the evaluation process. (d) Cost proposals. (e) Any product brochures, descriptions or informative catalogs detailing the products being proposed. (f) identification of at least three references, preferably references that include other governmental agencies particularly federal agencies that have hiring rules and procedures similar to that of GAO. Offerors must preface their proposals by an Executive Summary that ties in or correlates their technical proposal with the specific requirements of this SOW. The proposal must be signed by an official authorized to bind the offeror. Offerors that fail to furnish required representation and certifications, or reject the terms and conditions of the solicitation may be excluded from consideration. 5) COST PROPOSALS: GAO anticipates awarding a 5-year contract to include one base year and four option years. Offerors should include in their cost proposal a pricing table with the following elements: (a) Annual cost for 25 concurrent users, and additional seat costs, if any, for sporadic users. (b) Annual maintenance costs for the base year and each of the four option years. If maintenance costs are not able to be specifically identified at this time for the option years, offerors should include a ceiling cost beyond which annual maintenance costs will not exceed. (c) Support costs -- this includes any initial consulting or support necessary for system implementation, or other types of consulting assistance available throughout the contract period. (d) Upgrade costs -- offerors should clarify whether or not maintenance includes upgrades that may be issued during the contract period, and if these upgrades include both minor version upgrades and/or major release level upgrades Offerors must submit with cost proposals a copy of applicable software license terms and conditions. 6) EVALUATION CRITERIA: FAR 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items. This is a best value procurement. The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors will be used to evaluate offers: (a) Mandatory Factor -- ability to meet GAO's requirements for compatibility with GAO infrastructure, as defined in Section 2.A. above. Offerors not able to meet this requirement will be subject to further consideration. (b) Offeror's ability to meet the specific requirements contained in Section 2.B.i-vii of this notice (80%) (c) Past experience in implementing and operating the offeror's product in other federal agencies (20%). For this solicitation, technical quality is more important than cost or price. As proposals become more equal in their technical merit, the evaluated cost or price becomes more important. 7) PROCUREMENT SCHEDULE: Key milestone dates for this procurement are as follows: November 8, 2001 combined synopsis/solicitation published; November 15, 2001 deadline for questions; Monday, November 26, 2001submission of proposals; 8) POINT OF CONTACT: Ms. Darion A. Powell, U.S. General Accounting Office, Acquisition Management, Room 6B46, 441 G Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20548. Telephone 202-512-3127, Fax 202-512-3999. Email powelld@gao.gov.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20011109/99SOL001.HTM (W-311 SN5125C0)