GoArmyEd Platform

DRAFT SOURCES SOUGHT SYNOPSIS THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY. The MICC-Fort Knox is conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the requirement for creation of a virtual environment to sustain education services to Army military and civilian personnel that will replace the current GoArmyEd legacy system. This notice is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Quote (RFQ)/Invitation for Bid (IFB)/Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFQ, IFB or RFP in the future. This notice does not commit the U.S. Government to contract for any supply or service. Further, the U.S. Government is not seeking quotes, bids or proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals in response to this sources sought notice. The U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this notice. Submittals will not be returned to the responder. Not responding to this notice does not preclude participation in any future RFQ or IFB or RFP, if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps). It is the responsibility of potential offerors to monitor FedBizOpps for additional information pertaining to this requirement. The anticipated NAICS code is: 541512, Computer Systems and Design Services, $27.5M. There is a need for a new platform to be developed. The current platform and maintenance were procured under contract W91WAW-07-D-0010. Attached are the draft Performance Work Statement (PWS), Performance Requirements Summary (PRS), and applicable Technical Exhibits. Request for Responses from Small Business Concerns: The Government is considering the possibility of setting aside the requirement for small business. Be advised that the U.S. Government will not be able to set aside this requirement if 2 or more small businesses do not respond with information to support the set-aside. We encourage all small businesses, in all socioeconomic categories (including, 8(a) Business Development Program, Small Disadvantage Business, Historically Underutilized Business Zone, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, Women-Owned Small Business concerns), to identify their capabilities in meeting the requirement at a fair market price. To aid in market research, small business concerns are requested to respond to the following questions no later than Tuesday, November 16, 2015, at 8:00 a.m. eastern time. Responses shall be submitted to Lucy Vessels at leslie.m.vessels.civ@mail.mil. In response to this sources sought, please provide: 1. Name of the firm, point of contact, phone number, email address, DUNS number, CAGE code, a statement regarding small business status (including small business type(s)/certifications(s) such as SDB, 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, WOSB, etc.) and the corresponding NAICS code. 2. Identify whether your firm is interested in competing for this requirement as a prime contractor or not. Identify subcontracting, joint ventures or teaming arrangement that will be pursued, if any. 3. Information in sufficient detail regarding previous experience (indicate whether as a prime contractor or subcontractor) on similar requirements (include size, scope, complexity, timeframe, government or commercial), pertinent certifications, etc., that will facilitate making a capability determination. 4. Information to help determine if the requirement is commercially available, including pricing information, basis for the pricing information (e.g., market pricing, catalog pricing), delivery schedules, customary terms and conditions, warranties, etc. 5. Identify how the Army can best structure these contract requirements to facilitate competition by and among small business concerns. 6. Identify any condition or action that may be having the effect of unnecessarily restricting competition with respect to this acquisition. Please contact the MICC Advocate for Competition, Dean Carsello, at dean.m.carsello.civ@mail.mil or 210-466-2419, if you believe that this action is unreasonably restricting competition. Include the subject of the acquisition, this announcement, and the MICC POC information from the FedBizOpps notice. Provide the specific aspects that unreasonably restrict competition and the rationale for such conclusion. 7. Recommendations to improve the approach/specifications/draft PWS/PRS to acquiring the identified items/services. APPENDIX 1: Purpose and Objectives Background: The current platform, GoArmyEd, is a legacy system that provides a wide range of contractor-provided services to Army Continuing Education Division (ACED) to satisfy the educational requirements of Soldiers, Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Scholarship Cadets, Early Commissioning Program (ECP) Second Lieutenants, and Department of the Army Civilians (DACs). GoArmyEd provides for educational programs and services for military personnel, including Cadets, and professional development, training activities and events for Civilian personnel. Changes in the operating environment have produced a requirement for the Army to seek an efficient and cost effective enterprise solution to ensure that the post-secondary education needs and professional development of all eligible Army personnel are met. Objective is to obtain a flexible, real-time system that is adaptable to the Army's financial assistance needs. ACED is a division of The Adjutant General Directorate (TAGD), U.S. Army Human Resources Command (HRC), DA G1. ACED's mission is to actively promote lifelong learning opportunities for Soldiers by providing and managing quality self-development education programs and services. Additional information on Army Continuing Education System (ACES) programs and services can be found at GoArmyEd.com. GoArmyEd offers eligible students "anytime, anywhere" access to high quality education and training opportunities from accredited postsecondary and technical institutions and qualified training providers. GoArmyEd capitalizes on technology to provide 21st century education to the 21st century student. GoArmyEd provides equitable, virtual access to Tuition Assistance (TA) and professional development for users on a 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7) basis to assist the students in managing their own post-secondary education. GoArmyEd also provides one location for academic institutions and vendors to process enrollments, submit course grades, verify and prepare invoices for payment, and access centralized support for troubleshooting and information about Army Education and training processes and policies. Under GoArmyEd the Army has a direct relationship with their partner schools through a Letter of Instruction (LOI) or Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). The Army plans to continue using a standardized agreement between the Army and its partner schools. Servicemembers Opportunity Colleges (SOC), as the Army's Academic Integrator, currently serves as primary interface and academic facilitator for all academic/higher education issues with GoArmyEd schools. The Army obtains SOC services through a contract with the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES). OBJECTIVE: Through this contract, ACED seeks to achieve the following objectives: - Create a virtual environment to sustain education services to Army military and civilian personnel, anytime and anywhere, thus allowing Army and Civilian personnel who are limited by location or technology, access to educational opportunities 24/7. - Allow Army and Civilian personnel virtual access to their complete education record and enable all users to perform many self-service actions that can promote efficiencies. - ACED, as a system owner, intends to obtain high quality, cost-effective and secure services necessary to meet its operational requirements by taking advantage of commercial marketplace offerings for educational, management and operation services accessed through the System. ACED recognizes that technology is rapidly evolving and advancing and desires that GoArmyEd services and features remain up-to-date with commercial equivalents. - Contractor shall develop, implement and maintain a system which is capable of incorporating new and emerging technologies and adaptable to incorporate new mission or policy requirements. - Establish ACED - contractor partnership to mutually satisfy Army's requirements and ensure a flexible, effective and efficient operations of the GoArmyEd system are maintained. - Ensure continuity of GoArmyEd System operations and user services during contract transition and implementation with no disruption to services or security risk exposure. - Acquire a system able to incorporate new users and new functionalities supporting ACED mission - Implement a performance-based acquisition. The contractor shall develop, implement and maintain a modernized and flexible GoArmyEd system which incorporates emerging technologies with virtual capabilities that will be used by all 1) Soldiers who are eligible to receive TA and participate in other ACES programs and services provided by Army Education Centers/Offices such as counseling, academic and military testing, and basic skills; 2) eligible ROTC Scholarship Cadets and ECP Lieutenants to process their civilian college enrollments and to facilitate payment of their scholarship money to their academic institution; 3) eligible DAC employees to process their Army-funded professional development, education and training activities, and 4) other potential user groups as required, such as other Military Services (Air Force, Navy and/or Marines). Other users may be added as they are identified.