SSA IT Engineering Support Services- Services Management

This Notice is a Request for Information (RFI). The Social Security Administration (SSA) intends to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) in the near future to procure Information Technology Engineering Support Services in support of the Office of Enterprise IT Services Management (ITSM). Competition will be restricted to Small Business Concerns and will be conducted in accordance with the procedures contained in FAR Part 15 - Contracting by Negotiation. NOTE: SSA also published a Request for Information in order to seek comments regarding the contract types for the two additional related service areas: IT Operations and Security - RFI Number SSA-RFI-12-1025 Infrastructure Architecture and Configuration - RFI Number SSA-RFI-12-1024 Interested parties are hereby reminded of the Limitations on Subcontracting that are applicable to Small Business Set-Asides as prescribed in FAR 52.219-14 which will be applicable to this acquisition. Prior to release of the solicitation, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is seeking comments from industry regarding the proposed contract type for this requirement. SSA contemplates the award of a single Firm-Fixed-Price contract with cost-reimbursable travel for a 12-month base period and four one-year option periods. A draft copy of the Statement of Work, as well as pertinent historical data, can be reviewed by opening the attachments to this notice. The SOW includes general information about the work, as well as 13 distinct tasks for which SSA requires contractor support. Please note most tasks require onsite support at SSA Headquarters in Baltimore, MD. However, certain tasks require onsite support in Durham, NC. Some tasks also require occasional travel to other locations within the United States. The historical data spreadsheet shows the total number of hours expended per labor category, per task, for the last three years. Of particular interest to SSA are comments from vendors regarding the feasibility of providing a firm-fixed price to complete all of the 13 tasks described in the SOW for a potential contract period of five years. Please let us know your opinion on the following: 1. If we were requesting proposals at this time, have we provided enough information for you to submit an offer on a firm-fixed price basis for all of the tasks contained in the Statement of Work for a potential contract period of five years? - 2. 2. If your answer to question one is "no," do you believe you could propose a firm-fixed price for some but not all of the tasks? a. If so, for which could you propose firm-fixed prices? b. What additional information, if any, would you need to propose a firm-fixed price to complete all of the tasks? Please specify for each task any additional information necessary in order to facilitate a firm-fixed-price response. - 3. 3. For each task that can potentially be proposed as firm-fixed-price, please list all Contractor Assumptions that would be applicable to each task. Responses to the above questions MUST be submitted using the format provided in the attachment to this Notice - "ITSM RFI Response Sheet." Responses submitted in formats other than this will not be reviewed. Finally, we welcome any other comments you may have on the draft SOW. Additional comments are limited to one single-spaced page with at least 12 point font. Please do not send capability statements, marketing materials, or any other information not specifically requested by the RFI. They will not be reviewed. Please note: This notice constitutes neither a Request for Proposal (RFP) nor a pre-solicitation notice. SSA will neither pay for nor return any information submitted in response to this notice. This notice is neither a request for a competitive proposal nor a solicitation for offerors. This notice should not be construed as a commitment by the Government. Information received will be considered solely for acquisition strategy planning purposes. Submit your responses by email to Traci.Leach@ssa.gov. All responses shall reference RFI Number SSA-RFI-12-1026 ESS ITSM RFI RESPONSE. Responses are due no later than March 19, 2012 at 12:00 pm ET. SSA is not meeting with industry at this time; please do not request such a meeting. Again, all questions and submissions in response to this notice must be submitted in writing to the email address listed above. Verbal responses will not be considered. Telephone calls regarding this matter will not be accepted, nor will they be returned. Depending on the volume of responses received, SSA may not be able to respond to individual inquiries regarding this information.