The U.S. Department of State, Office of Acquisition Management (AQM), is issuing this Sources Sought Notice, as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in, and the resources to support this requirement for the Department of State (DOS), Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS). The results of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement and will assist DOS in developing and further defining procurement and acquisition strategies. This market research will identify potential GSA Schedule 84 small business vendors and other small business sources (including 8(a) business development participants, veteran-owned small businesses, service disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSB), HUB Zone small business concerns, small disadvantaged businesses, women-owned small business concerns and economically disadvantaged women-owned small business concerns). The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code assigned to this procurement is 561612 Security Guards and Patrol Services. Interested firms must demonstrate in their qualifications statement that they are qualified to perform the work outlined below under this NAICS Code. This is NOT a solicitation announcement. No contract will be awarded from this announcement. This request is for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals and does not bind the U.S. Department of State to any agreement, written or implied. Submission of any information to this market survey is purely voluntary. DOS assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by respondents. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in the response. Background: DS plays an essential role in ensuring that foreign policy objectives are accomplished in a safe and secure environment. DS accomplishes this by making the protection of people, information, and property its top priority. DS develops and implements effective security programs to safeguard DOS personnel as they implement foreign policy and promote U.S. interests around the world. The protection of life is the most critical element of the DS mission and is an absolute requirement for the global conduct of foreign affairs. The Domestic Operations Directorate supports the DS mission by investigating violations of the law involving U.S. passports and visas; protecting the Secretary of State and visiting foreign dignitaries; and securing domestic State Department facilities. The Uniformed Protection Division (UPD) is responsible for providing a 24-hour deterrent against unauthorized, illegal, or potentially life-threatening activities directed toward the DOS employees, visitors, sensitive information and properties. These offenses include, but are not limited to, unlawful acts, terrorist attacks, assassination attempts, thefts of property and/or classified materials, unlawful destruction of public properties, and violations of other Federal, State and local criminal statutes. Responses must clearly demonstrate capabilities through examples of previous and/or current guard security contracts or experience closely related thereto. Vendors must specifically address the following capabilities: Ability to provide unified guard services in the lower 48 including Hawaii and Puerto Rico; ability to obtain security licenses and firearm licenses in the lower 48 including Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Licenses must be in the name of the U.S. small business. Knowledge of working with a guard force under a Collective Bargaining Agreement with regional pricing Ability to provide all types of insurance coverage in performance of services, such as automobile liability, comprehensive general liability, worker's compensation, employer's liability, etc. Furnishing all guard force equipment such as uniforms, vehicles, cellphones training weapons and ammunition and Biometric Time and Attendance System. Ability to maintain a guard staff of 492 posts with approximately 1300 personnel deployed nation-wide with the ability to immediately backfill vacant positions due to resignations, rotations and illnesses due to a variety of reasons such as flu and food poisoning. Capability of dealing with organized actions by direct labor personnel such as strikes (anticipated and unanticipated) and labor unrest (work slowdowns and/or organized failure of employees to report for shift changes). A single centrally located training academy that all guards attend to ensure DOS specific training is consistently executed throughout all facilities nationwide. Managing smooth contract transition efforts in 90 days. Ability to safely keep and track Government-Furnished Property such as firearms and radios. Ability to recruit, vet, train and clear personnel and ensure suitability requirements for a large guard force that requires positions with varying clearance levels and specialized labor categories Ability to manage an explosive detector dog program that includes trained and certified handler and dog teams. Provide proven program managers that possess strong skills in situational decision-making and in an instant, can coordinate responses to a multitude of security threats. Organized billing and invoicing procedures for a large guard force. Information Submission Instructions: The subject of the email must be "RFI Response - UPD Domestic Guard Services must appear in the subject line. Responses are limited to ten (10) pages not including cover page and table of contents. All responses to this Sources Sought Notice must be submitted electronically to Ms. Shayani Mukherjee, Contract Specialist, Mukherjees1@state.gov by March 23, 2020 by 12 pm for responses. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged. No mail courier responses will be accepted.
