Default Collection Services

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) contemplates issuing a solicitation to continue the default collection services, currently known as the Private Collection Agencies (PCA). The purpose of this Sources Sought is to conduct market research to identify sources having an interest in, and the resources to support this requirement. This is a Sources Sought notice to perform services under NAICS (North American Industry Classification System) Code NAICS 561440 - Collection Agency. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small business sources. Any responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible/appropriate. Interested small business sources shall provide the following information: 1. Size classification relative to the NAICS code for this proposed acquisition and type of small business to include: a. HUBZone b. Service-disabled c. Veteran-owned d. 8(a) e. Woman-owned f. Small disadvantaged 2. Are you FISMA (Federal Information Security Management Act) Compliant? Which Government agency gave you the authority to operate? If you are not FISMA Compliant, are you FISMA ready? If you are neither, are you willing and able to become compliant? 3. Do you have default collections experience? Please provide a brief description of your experience. Written responses should address their business type, size, SBA and self-certifications, experience and capabilities, and FISMA compliance status which will be used to determine the availability of potential businesses and their current capabilities. Reponses to this notice shall be limited to 2 pages. Responses to this notice are due by 2:00 pm EST on July 27, 2012. Responses shall be submitted electronically to christina.douglas@ed.gov and john.ramsey@ed.gov. Sources Sought "Disclaimer and Important Notes": This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in a response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).