Advanced Research Center (ARC) Request for Information for Industry Day

This notice is amended to provide answers to the questions provided by Industry at the Industry Day held on October 16, 2017. MDA will use the 2012 NAICS Code 541712 in lieu of the 2017 NAICS Code 541715 while the update to the Contract Standard Procurement System, also known as the Procurement Desktop Defense, is pending. PURPOSE: The purpose of this announcement is to gauge interest in an Industry Day to be held at the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Advanced Research Center (ARC) in June 2017. Only U.S. Contractors with a SECRET Clearance will be authorized to attend the ARC Tour/Industry Day. This Industry Day will be held in advance of a decision by MDA on the Acquisition Strategy to be employed in acquiring ARC Follow-On services. This request for information is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. The MDA is soliciting feedback and seeking information from all sources. BACKGROUND: The Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Advanced Research Center (ARC) provides the infrastructure and cybersecurity engineering necessary to support Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) Hardware-in-the-Loop (HWIL) Ground Testing. MDA is developing an Acquisition Strategy for the Follow-On procurement to the current ARC Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contract HQ0147-07-D-0002. The Follow-On ARC contract technical areas under consideration include: a. Development, implementation, support and maintenance of network infrastructure and information technology systems. b. Design, implementation, configuration, and maintenance of cyber security strategy and policies that adhere to MDA and Department of Defense (DOD) current and emerging requirements. c. Implementation and maintenance of a professional network engineering, management, monitoring, backup and disaster recovery capability that encompasses all classified and unclassified systems within the facility. d. HWIL test asset and infrastructure support to include test asset scheduling/de-confliction, configuration, data, and integration management. e. Design, implementation, and maintenance of a suite of tools and network environment necessary to support software development. f. Handling, processing, and protecting classified data in accordance with DOD and MDA security requirements and provision of day-to-day security operations within the facility. g. Procurement, incorporation, and operation of resources to provide the necessary internal and external security for the facility. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: No more than three individuals from each firm will be allowed to attend. MDA reserves the right to further reduce this participation level dependent upon industry response. If you are interested in attending a tour and Q&A session, please submit the name of your company, CAGE code, your three individuals to attend, point of contact information to include a company email address, and what technical questions you wish to have answered during the Tour/Industry Day. Acquisition and Request for Proposal (RFP) related Q&A sessions will be hosted at future Industry Days as appropriate. This Tour/Industry Day is designed to allow industry an opportunity to become familiar with the ARC and inform industry to assist with future RFI responses. You will be notified of details for Visit Clearances and dates/times. For planning purposes you can assume the Tour/Industry Day will occur approximately early-June 2017. Please respond with your attendees' details and your technical questions to ARC_Followon@mda.mil, attention "ARC Follow-On Tour" no later than May 24, 2017. Companies are advised that the government may contact those who respond to this announcement, as needed, on a one-on-one/case-by-case basis, to further clarify the information submitted. Eligibility to participate in any future acquisition does not depend upon a response to this notice. The Government will not pay for any direct or indirect costs that are incurred in responding to this Sources Sought. Furthermore, this request does not constitute a solicitation for proposals or the authority to enter into negotiations to award a contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated or received for this effort. The information provided may be used by the MDA in developing its acquisition strategy, statement of work/performance work statements and/or statement of objectives. If a solicitation is released it will contain an organizational conflict of interest (OCI) clause that could limit a successful Offeror from participating in other MDA contracts. To the greatest extent possible, while still protecting the Government's interests, the OCI clause will be applied only for the supported technology areas of the contractor's actual technical analysis performance. If a solicitation is released FAR 52.222-17, Nondisplacement of Qualified Workers, will apply. If a solicitation is released the Contractor must be able to obtain and retain a Top Secret facility clearance and be able to comply with DFARS 252.204-7009, Limitations on the Use or Disclosure of Third-Party Contractor Reported Cyber Incident Information, 252.204-7012 Dev (Oct 2015), Safeguarding Covered Defense Information and Cyber Incident Reporting (DEC 2015), 252.204-7014, Limitations on the Use or Disclosure of Information by Litigation Support Contractors, and 252.239-7010, Cloud Computing Services. This acquisition will not be open to participation by foreign firms at either the prime or subcontract level. Small Business Participation MDA is committed to providing small businesses with maximum practicable opportunities to participate in MDA prime contracts and subcontracts. Questions concerning this special notice should be addressed to ARC_Followon@mda.mil.