D -- NATO Notification of Intent to Invite Bids for Contracting Support for Data Management within the C4 Strategic Management, Policy and Interoperability (SMPI) Branch

The NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT) has released a notification of intent to issue an Invitation for International Bidding (IFIB) concerning its plan to hire a contractor(s) to provide data management services, within the C4 (Command, Control, Communications, Computers) Strategic Management, Policy and Interoperability (SMPI) Branch. This program will be funded by the NATO Military Budget Committee for an estimated cost of 300,000 EUR ($375,000 USD) with the potential to be renewed for an additional three years. The bidding procedure will be two envelopes lowest compliant bid, funded under the ACT Budget (201.2006.711311.SA.61C). Partial bidding is not authorized. The classification of this contact is NATO UNCLASSIFIED. The reference for this project is ACT-SACT-05-81 and all correspondence in relation to this procurement shall refer to this reference. The U.S. Department of Commerce will be using as its reference IFIB-ACT-SACT-05-81. SCOPE OF PROJECT To provide contractor support in the following areas: 1. Data Administration: Analysis/development to support information resource management with focus on interoperability (semantic definitions/representations and exchange standards). 2. Data Modeling: Analysis/development of data models to support harmonization; contribution to various change processes. Provide assistance for application design and database administration at various phases of project lifecycle. 3. Meta-data Management: Data repositories, and their management; analysis/development structures to support information sharing in terms of services provided (information discovery with focus on data access and usage). 4. Bi-SC IRDS, XML Registry: Analysis/development of tools to support data assets of independent communities of interests, functional design and implementation to support XML schemes and Bi-SC Conceptual Data Model evolution; XML namespace management (vocabularies, schemes, and elements). 5. Working Environment: Military knowledge and cooperation with other NATO organization structures, agencies, working groups or national projects. DELIVERY LOCATIONS HQ SACT-Norfolk (Virginia, USA) SACT SEE-Mons (Belgium) ELIGIBILITY Companies which have performed similar contracts within the last five years substantially similar in scope to the requirement described in the solicitation. Contractor personnel performing services under the contract must be citizens of a NATO nation and possess at least a valid NATO SECRET level security clearance, have at least one bachelor-level degree from a recognized degree-granting institution, and have a minimum three years experience in a related field. REQUESTS FOR PARTICIPATION RECEIVED DIRECTLY FROM FIRMS CANNOT BE CONSIDERED. IMPORTANT DEADLINES 1. The final date for the U.S. Department of Commerce to submit a Declaration of Eligibility (nomination letter) to the Bidders List on your behalf: 21 September 2005 2. The Invitation for International Bidding (IFIB/IFB) is planned to be issued and forwarded to those on the Bidders List: 22 September 2005 3. Planned Bid Closing Date: 4 November 2005 PROCEDURES SACT HQ will email this IFIB/IFB directly to all potential bidders and will post the tender documents on the following website listed below: http://www.act.nato.int/budfin/rfpmain.htm However, in order to be placed on the bidder list, a firm must first be certified and nominated by their national delegation with the required Declaration of Eligibility. ALL FIRMS WHOSE FACILITY IS LOCATED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES MUST BE CERTIFIED BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE IN ORDER TO BE DEEMED ELIGIBILE TO BID. THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE DOES NOT SERVE AS THE CONTRACTING AGENCY FOR NATO PROJECTS. The contracting entity is NATO SACT HQ in Norfolk, Virginia. However, only firms that the U.S. Department of Commerce has certified as eligible will be allowed to bid. A Declaration of Eligibility (nomination letter) will be submitted on their behalf to NATO SACT HQ-Norfolk. However, any interested firm may submit a bid proposal by the (planned) Bid Closing Date of 4 November 2005, provided SACT HQ also receives the required Declaration of Eligibility from their national government before that same date. Please visit the following website for more information regarding receiving the required declaration of eligibility: http://www.bis.doc.gov/defenseindustrialbaseprograms/OSIES/NATOprograms/index.htm