Sources Sought: Publicly Available Information (PAI) Alerting Service

UPDATE 19 FEBRUARY 2025 The purpose of this update is to upload additional questions and answers. *********************************** UPDATE 6 FEBRUARY 2025 The purpose of this update is to upload questions and answers. Questions will be allowed anytime prior to RFI closure and will be updated regularly. ************************************** Purpose THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This request for information does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the Government is not seeking proposals at this time and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Vendors are advised that the Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP that may be issued. The applicable NAICS code for this effort is 518210 Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services. 2. Objectives One objective of this RFI is to identify potential vendors (large, small, and socioeconomic concerns) who have the experience and capabilities to successfully perform this work. Vendors are also encouraged to provide information regarding plans to use joint venturing (JV), partnering or consortiums to meet the requirements areas contained herein. Details pertaining to the entire scope of work are contained in the attached Draft Statement Of Objectives (SOO). A second objective is to engage industry to identify risks and opportunities, provide recommendations and other insights as it pertains to the acquisition and the work contemplated in the SOO. Additionally, if an RFP is subsequently issued, the Government anticipates a compressed response cycle; therefore, this RFI will provide advanced delivery of the attached Draft SOO, which should allow qualified vendors the necessary time to consider a potential RFP response/proposal and to build necessary teaming relationships. 3. Background This is a commercially-available enterprise solution to evaluate publicly available information to provide situational awareness, force protection, and indications and warnings to the Department of Defense on global events. The knowledge-based subscription solution should leverage a variety of publicly available sources, evaluate content to detect emerging events and threats as they are developing, and deliver alerts to users based on user-defined areas and topics of interest. The solution must be capable of distributing alerts in near real-time via email, web-based applications, and mobile platforms. The solution must be capable of scaling to a Department of Defense enterprise capability. The Contractor shall provide all services, materials, supplies, equipment as required in connection with the attached draft SOO. 4. Instructions and Response Guidelines Interested parties are requested to respond to this RFI with a detailed capability statement in support of the sections below. If an interested party has previously responded please state as such. Section 1 - Administrative Information Provide administrative information including the following as a minimum: Name, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail of designated point of contact. Identify the respondent's CAGE code and UEI number. Proprietary information must be clearly marked as such. RFI Number Small Business/Socio-Economic status of respondent, if any, (i.e. small business, small disadvantaged business, 8(a) small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, woman-owned small business, and economically-disadvantaged women-owned small business). Section 2 - Statements and Questions for the Vendor The Government seeks feedback and comments on the attached Draft SOO in general, with specific interest in written comments/feedback on the following considerations/sections: Based on industry experience with similar contracts, are the required tasks and performance objectives consistent with this type of effort or are there additional requirements the Government could include to ensure optimal performance of the contract? Identify any areas where interested parties believe a potential risk exists or will present itself by fulfilling the terms of the SOO (e.g., identification of any deficiencies or false assumptions in the SOO) Is there any area within the SOO where interested parties believe the Government could improve the stated requirements in a clear and unambiguous manner? If so, please identify them and provide recommended language. Is there another NAICS Code that you think would be best suited for this effort? If so, please identify the NAICS and why you deem it more appropriate. Can you support the entire scope of the SOO, If yes, will you team with other vendors or can you support on your own If no, will you consider subcontracting with another vendor What contract vehicle, contract type, would you recommend for this effort? Please list any existing contract vehicles you hold, i.e. NASA SEWP, OASIS, MAS. Contractor's ability to scale to a DoD enterprise capability (3.2 million - access, data sharing, data citation) Contractor's ability to provide email and web-based access to alerts. Contractor's ability to provide an API to link directly to other systems. Contractor's ability to provide indications and warning and force protection alert focus. Contractor's ability to provide a real-time push vs pull system user interface. Contractor's ability to use multiple, global sources of publicly available information to create alerts. Contractor's ability to provide a solution requiring little to no training for users to learn how to use, and to provide periodic, in-person training when required. Contractor's ability to provide a training application to optimize user proficiency in preparation for use in the real-world. Contractor's ability to provide a forcing function that ensures DoD-specific guidance is met before accessing an account and restrict access to alerts if the requirement is not met. Contractor's ability to tailor the solution to multiple, diverse mission sets. Contractor's ability to provide an assessment of the veracity of the sources used to provide the alerts and identify sources that are from bot accounts. Contractor's ability to provide a low-bandwidth capability for shipboard or degraded communications use. Contractor's ability to provide a solution that allows a user to define a route on a map and provide alerts along that route. Contractor's ability to confirm compliance with the terms of service for its data providers. Examples of relevant and recent Past Performance Information (PPI) to substantiate capability to perform requirement (consider scope and ability to manage). Compliance with applicable privacy laws and policies. Section 3 - Capability Approach Interested parties are requested to provide your capabilities detailing how you will be able to meet all the requirements outlined in the SOO based upon your experience performing under similar efforts. Address all areas in Section II as they are identified in the SOO. Identify your capabilities to fulfilling the requirements in the SOO. Include examples of technical capabilities, capacity, areas of expertise, and relevant experience (i.e., customer, period of performance, contract type, contract value, description of work performed relevant to the SOO). Describe any teaming agreements that will allow you to successfully perform the requirements as outlined in the SOO. If you intend to use joint venturing (JV), partnering or consortiums to meet the requirements areas contained herein, provide information on how you would envision your company's areas of expertise and those of any proposed JV/partnering/consortium would be combined to meet the specific requirements contained in this SOO. *Interested parties are advised to examine this RFI and the supplemental documents in the attachments in their entirety to ensure its response provides all information requested. Interested parties are cautioned that merely re-stating the requirements with a statement of intent to perform DOES NOT reflect an understanding of the requirements or capability to perform. Statements such as - the Offeror understands and - the Offeror has a long history of outstanding support along with responses that paraphrase the Request for Information and supplemental documents will be considered as insufficient information to support a firm's capability. Phrases such as - standard procedures shall be employed or - well known techniques will be utilized will also not be considered sufficient. Capability statements should be submitted in Microsoft Word compatible format or Adobe PDF and are due no later than Friday 28 Feb 2025, 2:00pm EST. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Additionally, the Government intends to hold an in-person Industry Day for this requirement in the coming months at Joint Base Andrews, MD. Please confirm in your RFI response your interest in attending and possibly showcasing any tools that may fulfill this requirement. Capability statements should be submitted via email to Capt Richard Snyder at richard.snyder.12@us.af.mil and Mr. Kevin Harrington, kevin.harrington.3@us.af.mil. List of Attachments 1. DRAFT PAI Alerting Services 2026 SOO 2. PAI Alerting Services 2026 RFI