SOURCES SOUGHT TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION FOR SERVICES INTRODUCTION The U.S. Government is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the requirement for the Human Resources Command Claims & Benefits Administrative Support. The intention is to procure these services on a competitive basis BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES (IN FULL OR IN PART) OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, and multiple awards MAY be made. All Small Business Set-Aside categories will be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE Fort Knox, KY DISCLAIMER “THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A “REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)” TO BE SUBMITTED. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. RESPPONSES WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDER. NOT RESPONDING TO THIS NOTICE DOES NOT PRECLUDE PARTICIPATION IN ANY FUTURE REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) OR INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) OR RFP, IF ANY ISSUED. IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED, IT WILL BE SYNOPSIZED ON THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE POINT OF ENTRY (GPE). IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL OFFERORS TO MONITOR THE GPE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMMATION PERTAINING TO THIS REQUIREMENT.” PROGRAM BACKGROUND The Human Resources Command Claims & Benefits Administrative Support, is designated as the overall the Office of the Adjutant General Directorate (TAGD) mission in implementing and sustaining various human resource programs, services and systems that enable readiness and be able to sustain the “well-being” of the Army team. In accordance with these assignments, TAGD provides the following: centrally managed contracting support for the comprehensive range of services covered in the TAGD Mission. One such service is CBP, which is subdivided into support for the Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) and Traumatic Service Members Group Life Insurance (TSGLI) programs under the Special Compensations Branch (SCB); the Awards and Decorations programs under the Military Awards and Decorations Branch (ADB); and the GI Bill and Regular Army Loan Repayment (RA LRP) related actions under the Education Incentives Branch (EIB) within the SPSD. Additionally, CBP also includes support to the PDA, which is currently headquartered at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), Texas. The PDA has three Physical Evaluation Boards (PEB) located in the National Capitol Region (NCR), JBSA, and Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), Washington. REQUIRED CAPABILITIES The Contractor shall provide all personnel, supervision, and non-personal services necessary to support the Claims and Benefits Processing (CBP) program for the Office of the Adjutant General Directorate (TAGD) and its subordinate agencies. The primary scope of this contract is to provide any function necessary to process military awards, claims and entitlements, and education benefits eligibility services in support of the areas specified in Program Background (above). Further detail is provided in the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) attached to this announcement (Attachment 1). If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these contract services, please provide the following information: 1) Organization name, address, email address, Web site address, telephone number, and size and type of ownership for the organization; and 2) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to: 1) provide services consistent, in scope and scale, with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; 3) implement a successful project management plan that includes: compliance with tight program schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of key personnel and risk mitigation; and 4) provide services under a performance based service acquisition contract. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Personnel and Facility Security Clearances. The contractor shall appoint a U.S. citizen, who meets the requirements for a minimum SECRET security clearance as part of its facility security clearance (FSC) interface with the Government. This appointment shall be IAW DoD Directive 5220.22-M, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual. Furthermore, this individual shall supervise and direct contractor security measures for the application of Government-furnished guidance and specifications for classification, downgrading, upgrading, and safeguarding of classified information entrusted to the contractor. The name of the person authorized to perform this task shall be submitted in writing to the COR and KO NLT 14 calendar days before full performance. The contractor shall maintain the level of security required for the life of the contract. A DD Form 254 Contract Security Classification Specification shall apply to this requirement and the prime contractor shall have or demonstrate ability to obtain a SECRET Facility Clearance. IT (e.g. Clinger-Cohen Act) Service Contract Act ELIGIBILITY The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 524292 with a Small Business Size Standard of $45.5. The Product Service Code is R699. Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to respond; however, each respondent must clearly identify their business size in their capabilities statement. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUBMISSION DETAILS (CAPABILITIES STATEMENT) A draft Performance Work Statement is attached for review. (Attachment 1) Interested parties are requested to submit a capabilities statement of no more than ten (10) pages in length in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 pitch. The deadline for response to this request is no later than 2 pm, EST, 04 August 2023. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice must be e-mailed to Adrian Atkinson at
[email protected]. This documentation must address at a minimum the following items: 1.) What type of work has your company performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement? 2.) Can or has your company managed a task of this nature? If so, please provide details. 3.) Can or has your company managed a team of subcontractors before? If so, provide details. 4.) What specific technical skills does your company possess which ensure capability to perform the tasks? 5.) Please note that under a Small-Business Set-Aside, in accordance with FAR 52.219-14, the small business prime must perform at least 50% of the work themselves in terms of the cost of performance. Provide an explanation of your company’s ability to perform at least 50% of the tasking described in this PBSOW for the base period as well as the option periods. 6.) Provide a statement including current small/large business status and company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office locations, DUNs number, etc. 7.) Respondents to this notice also must indicate whether they qualify as a Small, Small Disadvantaged, Women-Owned, HUBZone, or Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern. 8.) Include in your response your ability to meet the requirements in the Facility and Safeguarding requirements. The estimated period of performance consists of base year plus 4 options , with performance commencing in May 2024. Specifics regarding the number of option periods will be provided in the solicitation. The contract type is anticipated to be Firm-Fixed-Price. The proposed contract is anticipated to include tasking that would be accomplished by labor categories that are subject to the Service Contract Act or a collective bargaining agreement. Upon evaluation of the capability statements, if it is determined that this requirement will be an unrestricted competition, the Government intends to evaluate the Small-Business responses and conduct further market research to identify a subcontracting goal. Your response to this Sources Sought, including any capabilities statement, shall be electronically submitted to the Contract Specialist, Adian Atkinson, in either Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF), via email
[email protected]. All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government . No phone calls will be accepted. All questions must be submitted to the contract specialist identified above. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought.