Request for Information - Polaris - Update

Polaris Status Update, 22 December 2017 The purpose of this notification is to provide an update to industry regarding NGA's future procurement strategy for the acquisition, adoption, integration, and deployment of high priority IT services for Electronic Light Table (ELT) Services, Structured Observation Management (SOM), Foundation GEOINT (FG) Modernization, and Controlled Imagery Production Environment (CIPE) requirements. NGA previously informed industry that the acquisition titled "Polaris" would deliver these capabilities. NGA has since revised its acquisition strategy and the acquisition titled "Polaris" will no longer exist. The revised acquisition strategy includes three (3) key elements: (1) an eXploit follow-on contract (eXploit-2) for the ELT and SOM user interface requirements (RFI released 20 October 2017). (2) a modular contracting approach scoped for development and delivery of specific capabilities or services to further modernize FG production. The modular contracting approach will capitalize on procurement flexibilities such as, but not limited to: single awards through competition; multiple awards through competition which may further lead to "bake off" of delivered capabilities; sole source procurements; use of other government vehicles such as BPAs, GWACs, GSA, E-SITE, etc.; and/or in limited circumstances, delivery of a capability or service by the operations and sustainment (O&S) contractor referenced in (3) below. The specific procurement approach for each modular contract will be determined on a case-by-case basis, will be based on the specific development need, and will each be appropriately synopsized. (3) a task order under E-SITE for integration and O&S of FG Modernization and CIPE capabilities previously developed under eXploit and new FG capabilities developed elsewhere on the modular development contracts. Organizational Conflicts of Interest (OCI) may occur prior to contract award, during contract performance, or as a result of established subcontract or other organizational relationships. To address industry's OCI concerns, NGA will analyze individual acquisitions to identify and evaluate potential OCI as early in the acquisition process as possible; and avoid, neutralize, or mitigate significant potential conflicts before contract award. The solicitation for integration and O&S efforts for FG and CIPE is estimated to be released to E-SITE vendors in February 2018. The structure, scope, and timeline of the modular development contracts are still in the planning stages. NGA/TI will continue to develop the requirements and conduct market research for these acquisitions. NGA will communicate regularly with Industry as decisions are made concerning individual efforts formerly under Polaris. Depending upon the security classification and acquisition strategy of particular modular requirements, NGA/OCSA will issue fair opportunity notices or post additional information on the FedBizOpps (FBO), UNCLASSIFIED Acquisition Resource Center (ARC), CLASSIFIED ARC, and/or GSA Advantage! e-Buy websites when available. Prospective offerors are responsible for monitoring the FBO, NGA Business Opportunities Reports on the ARC, and/or GSA websites for the release of any additional details or information as it becomes available. Polaris Status Update, 29 June 2017 The Government greatly appreciates the time and effort spent by Industry responding to the two RFIs associated with Polaris. At this time, the Government is taking a strategic pause with respect to Polaris to fully consider the feedback and recommendations submitted by Industry, NGA mission needs, and to review the future scope of the requirement. The Government will post periodic updates to Industry as warranted for this effort. Request for Information (RFI) 2, 7 June 2017 The purpose of this amendment to the original sources sought notice is to post RFI-2 to obtain additional UNCLASSIFIED written documentation in support of market research efforts for the Polaris acquisition. RFI-2 includes Government questions and release of a Draft Statement of Work (SOW). The Government desires feedback and recommendations from Industry on how to draft the highest quality Request for Proposal (RFP) possible and make the source selection and competition better. Accordingly, NGA requests all interested sources to comment on the RFI-2 and provide written answers to the Government's questions. In addition, interested sources are invited to provide feedback and recommendations on the Draft SOW. Request that your responses identify areas in the Draft SOW that are unclear, excessive, or otherwise warrant additional refinement for a potential RFP. Note: The response date for RFI -1 closed on 6 April 2017. Thus, we are no longer taking RFI-1 responses. Any response submitted for RFI-1 will not be reviewed. Submitted feedback for RFI-2 should not contain proprietary information/markings. Interested sources shall send their RFI-2 responses electronically to Brian K. Ellison, Contract Specialist at Brian.K.Ellison@nga.mil with "RFI-2 Response - Polaris - [Insert Business Name]" in the email subject line. Responses must be received no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (1700 hours) on Wednesday, 21 June 2017. Responses received after this date and time may not be reviewed. This RFI-2 is a technique to conduct additional market research and may result in revisions to the Government's requirements documents and acquisition strategy for any future solicitation, based upon industry responses. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. In addition, the Government does not intend to hold discussions or provide debriefings for any response. However, the Contracting Officer or Program Manager may contact or meet with respondents as necessary to clarify the Government's understanding of a response. This RFI-2 notice is for planning and information purposes only. It does not constitute an Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), or a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract. The Government will not accept proposals as a result of this notice. There is no bid package or solicitation. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. Also, the Government will not reimburse vendors for any costs or expenses incurred for responses to this announcement, submission of information, or any follow-up information requests. If a decision is made to release a Draft RFP or RFP for Polaris, NGA/OCS will post additional notices on the FedBizOpps website. Prospective offerors are responsible for monitoring the FedBizOpps website for release of any further information or solicitation for the Polaris acquisition. All interested sources must respond to any future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey. Original Sources Sought Notice, Request for Information (RFI) 1, 23 March 2017 This notice is a Request for Information (RFI) requesting UNCLASSIFIED written documentation only. The purpose of this RFI is to obtain information in support of market research efforts and initiate a dialogue with industry to discuss ideas and approaches to shape an overall strategy, Request for Information (RFI) 2, 7 June 2017 The purpose of this amendment to the original sources sought notice is to post RFI-2 to obtain additional UNCLASSIFIED written documentation in support of market research efforts for the Polaris acquisition. RFI-2 includes Government questions and release of a Draft Statement of Work (SOW). The Government desires feedback and recommendations from Industry on how to draft the highest quality Request for Proposal (RFP) possible and make the source selection and competition better. Accordingly, NGA requests all interested sources to comment on the RFI-2 and provide written answers to the Government's questions. In addition, interested sources are invited to provide feedback and recommendations on the Draft SOW. Request that your responses identify areas in the Draft SOW that are unclear, excessive, or otherwise warrant additional refinement for a potential RFP. Note: The response date for RFI -1 closed on 6 April 2017. Thus, we are no longer taking RFI-1 responses. Any response submitted for RFI-1 will not be reviewed. Submitted feedback for RFI-2 should not contain proprietary information/markings. Interested sources shall send their RFI-2 responses electronically to Brian K. Ellison, Contract Specialist at Brian.K.Ellison@nga.mil with "RFI-2 Response - Polaris - [Insert Business Name]" in the email subject line. Responses must be received no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (1700 hours) on Wednesday, 21 June 2017. Responses received after this date and time may not be reviewed. This RFI-2 is a technique to conduct additional market research and may result in revisions to the Government's requirements documents and acquisition strategy for any future solicitation, based upon industry responses. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. In addition, the Government does not intend to hold discussions or provide debriefings for any response. However, the Contracting Officer or Program Manager may contact or meet with respondents as necessary to clarify the Government's understanding of a response. This RFI-2 notice is for planning and information purposes only. It does not constitute an Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), or a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract. The Government will not accept proposals as a result of this notice. There is no bid package or solicitation. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. Also, the Government will not reimburse vendors for any costs or expenses incurred for responses to this announcement, submission of information, or any follow-up information requests. If a decision is made to release a Draft RFP or RFP for Polaris, NGA/OCS will post additional notices on the FedBizOpps website. Prospective offerors are responsible for monitoring the FedBizOpps website for release of any further information or solicitation for the Polaris acquisition. All interested sources must respond to any future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey. Original Sources Sought Notice, Request for Information (RFI) 1, 23 March 2017 ethodology, and process for the agile software development of multiple systems, domains, applications, and data repositories spanning multiple portfolios. This RFI is a technique to conduct market research and may result in revisions to the Government's requirements documents and acquisition strategy for any future solicitation, based upon industry responses. The Office of Contract Services (OCS) is conducting market research for a new requirement called Polaris to support the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency's (NGA) Adopt and Deliver Group (TI). TI expedites the acquisition, adoption, integration, and deployment of Information Technology (IT) services to enable the community wide adoption of Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) in support of NGA's GEOINT CONOPS 2022. The Polaris contract vehicle will develop GEOINT capabilities and deliver interoperable cloud-based GEOINT services to the NGA, Intelligence Community (IC), and international partners. The contract will support NGA's transition from systems to services, and from organizational specific to operating and sharing in the cloud. An emphasis will be rapid development of capabilities using open source software first, and avoiding end-to-end closed system unless proprietary software brings exceptional or unique value to NGA. The Government contemplates award of a multiple award Indefinite-Delivery Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle with an extended ordering period (base period and annual option periods). The multiple award IDIQ vehicle could include both fixed-price and cost-reimbursable pricing arrangements. The actual tasks will be awarded and completed on individual task orders. Reference the attached RFI for the specific information to include in a response. Please do not provide standard marketing brochures, catalogs, etc. in your response. Also, please do not submit any proprietary or classified information. Interested sources shall send their responses electronically to Brian K. Ellison, Contract Specialist at Brian.K.Ellison@nga.mil with "RFI Response - Polaris - [Insert Business Name]" in the email subject line. Responses must be received no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (1700 hours) on Thursday, 6 April 2017. Responses received after this date and time may not be reviewed. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. In addition, the Government does not intend to hold discussions or provide debriefings for any response. However, the Contracting Officer or Program Manager may contact or meet with respondents as necessary to clarify the Government's understanding of a response. Note: This notice is for planning and information purposes only. It does not constitute an Invitation for Bid (IFB), Request for Proposal (RFP), Request for Quote (RFQ), or a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract. The Government will not accept proposals as a result of this notice. There is no bid package or solicitation. No telephone calls will be accepted requesting a bid package or solicitation. Also, the Government will not reimburse vendors for any costs or expenses incurred for responses to this announcement, submission of information, or any follow-up information requests. If a decision is made to release an additional RFI, Draft RFP, or RFP for Polaris, NGA/OCS will post additional notices on the FedBizOpps website. Prospective offerors are responsible for monitoring the FedBizOpps website for release of any further information or solicitation for the Polaris acquisition. All interested sources must respond to any future solicitation announcements separately from responses to this market survey.