DOC Tasking and Tracking System

*DUE DATE FOR REPONSES IS HEREBY EXTENDED TO April 30th at 3:00pm EST. This notice is for market research and planning purpose only and does not obligate the Government to any contractual agreement. This is not a request for proposal. The Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses, nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted, nor will respondents be notified of the review of the information received. The information obtained from this Request for Information (RFI) will be utilized as market research for consideration in development of the Acquisition Strategy and Acquisition Plan for this requirement. The Government will not reimburse interested sources for any costs incurred in preparation of a response to this notice. Information provided herein is subject to change and in no way binds the Government to solicit for or award a contract. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in Fed Biz Opps (http://www.fedbizopps.gov). It is the potential offeror's responsibility to monitor this site for the release of any synopsis or solicitation. The Department of Commerce (DOC), International Trade Administration is conducting market research in order to determine the capabilities of software vendors to help meet requirements of the DOC''s Tasking and Tracking System (TTS). For the purposes of this RFI, the government defines software vendors as the proprietary owners of the software or their designate. BACKGROUND: The DOC is evaluating the deployment of an agency-wide Tasking and Tracking System. A key responsibility of many staff within DOC relates to the preparation or review of materials for senior officials within the DOC or for other agencies. Given the volume of these information requests, there are dedicated personnel in several of the business units focused on assigning, tracking, clearing and communicating final versions of these materials back to senior officials or other agencies. DOC is evaluating tasking systems that will allow full integration between the business units and bureaus. The system will manage and facilitate all stages of the task creation, assignment, preparation, clearance and delivery processes with customizable workflows and business processes set at various levels within the Department. It will leverage, to the fullest extent possible, the existing Microsoft Office resources, including Word, SharePoint, Outlook and Communicator. Specific Government objectives have emerged as a result of the Open Government Directive, issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in 2009. Many of these objectives have unique requirements and challenges that have been incorporated into the DOC's Tasking and Tracking software high-level requirements. These Objectives Include: - Absolute adherence to statutory compliance measures (audit trails, rules-based policy enforcement, etc.) - Periodic redesign of work flow processes and adaptation to changing regulations - Ability to integrate previously disparate departments and isolated information systems - Ability to support horizontal (inter-agency) and vertical (municipal, state and federal) collaboration programs - Ability to accommodate centralized shared services departments and functions - Ability to measurably reduce procurement and operating costs while assuring compliance - Ability to use automation in order to increase productivity and achieve increased workloads with same or fewer resources - Meet Section 508 standards - Software applications must meet mandated security compliance, including FIPS 199 and NIST C & A (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Certification and Accreditation) - USDOC is required by the OMB directive on managing government records, http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2012/m-12-18.pdf, to comply with the records archiving and management standards being established by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). In addition to meeting current mandates, the DOC is seeking a Tasking and Tracking System with the ability to address a number of operational challenges. For example, the DOC faces stiff user adoption challenges. The Tasking and Tracking system must ensure absolute ease of use, intuitive navigation, on-demand help, reference materials and computer-based training. The Government's suggested approach is to obtain information from vendors via a standardized vendor product demonstration process as described in Tasking and Tracking Vendor Demonstration Procedure and Tasking and Tracking Vendor Written Response Procedure, Attachment A and B included in the RFI Document. Interested Tasking and Tracking Vendor should provide, prior to their vendor project demonstration, the following information with their submission: 1) company name and address; 2) DUNs Number; 3) point of contact's name, phone number, and email address; and 4) business size and status if applicable (e.g. 8(a) Program, HUB Zone, Service Disabled Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned, etc.). Please see RFI Document for additional Information