Technical and Operational Support Services

This Request for Information (RFI) is part of market research under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This announcement does not constitute an Invitation for Bids (IFB), Request for Quote (RFQ), or a Request for Proposal (RFP), and it should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the Government to issue a formal solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses to this notice cannot be accepted as offers. The Government anticipates the applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to these services to be 518210 - Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services. Contractors must be properly registered in the Government System for Award Management at https://beta.sam.gov/. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a Federal agency under the Department of Justice (DOJ) with approximately 5,100 employees located in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and various other locations nationwide. ATF enforces the Federal laws and regulations relating to ATF, by working directly with, and cooperating with others to: Suppress and prevent crime and violence through enforcement, regulation and community outreach. Provide fair and effective industry regulations. Support and assist Federal, State, Local, and International law enforcement. Provide innovative training programs in support of enforcement and regulatory functions. Help reduce the criminal use of firearms; Provide for public safety by reducing the criminal misuse of explosives, combating arson, and remove safety hazards caused by improper and unsafe storage of explosive materials. ATF is a law-enforcement organization with unique responsibilities. One of the core missions is to deter illegal firearms trafficking and violent gun crime. One programmatic area that requires technical and operational support is the Field Operations Directorate and FOD, which supports ATF's mission by focusing on methods to deter illegal firearms trafficking and reducing violent gun crime. The National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) is a branch within FOD. The NIBIN Program automates ballistics evaluations and provides actionable investigative leads in a timely manner. NIBIN is the only interstate automated ballistic imaging network in operation in the United States. Part of the NIBIN Branch is the NIBIN National Correlation and Training Center (NNCTC). The NNCTC provides training for NIBIN Users and performs correlation reviews, quality assurance reviews and investigative leads for NIBIN Partner Sites. FOD's goal is to provide intelligence led policing and to focus ATF's limited resources with localized strategic investigative plans. Through this method, ATF will enhance its abilities to solve, reduce, and prevent firearm-related violent crime. This program uses an integrated investigative approach, which works in concert with other Federal, State, Tribal and local law enforcement agencies in combating firearm-related violence through the use of technology. ATF is issuing this notice to identify qualified and responsible 8(a) small businesses that can assist with the requirement for technical and operational support services for forensics analysis on ballistics evidence nationwide. The following areas describe the broad range of functions and tasks that the Government envisions for the contractor: The contractor shall provide senior level technicians who will enter, retrieve and analyze ballistic images of cartridge casings. The resulting reports of the correlation images to previous images or guns may be used in criminal investigations. The contractor shall have in place hiring and retention practices that ensure the contractor is able to identify, screen, place, monitor, train, and retain qualified candidates to fulfill the service requirements of the contract. The contractor shall provide capable and competent personnel possessing the skills, knowledge, experience and training to perform non-personal administrative support services for program management and ballistic analysis. Respondents to this RFI shall provide the following information: The response to this notice is limited to ten (10) single-sided pages (excluding certifications or charts). The response should include the following information clearly marked: Vendor's name, address, points of contact information, website, DUNS, and cage code. Vendor's current business designations, socio-economic designations, size status. Tailored capability brief addressing the general areas of this requirement, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to support the concept of this RFI please provide technical capability. Organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. Experience providing project management and supervision to geographically dispersed technical staff, client relations, expert testimony, as well as relevant experience in conducting technical and operational support services for forensics analysis on ballistics or similar evidence supporting criminal investigations. Experience handling evidence and change of custody issues. Past Performance - Provide a list of previous contracts where similar services were provided. Provide customer/Government Agency contact information where these services were provided including: contact name and organization, telephone number, and email address. Active / current certifications. (e.g. ISO 17020, ISO 9000, CEBO, etc.) Any other information that will be helpful to the Government. All responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically (via e-mail) to Stacy Parran, Contract Specialist, at contact@example.gov. Faxed responses will not be accepted. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Interested vendors should monitor a government point of entry site for further information. Your firm's response to this RFI is appreciated. SUBMISSION TIME AND DATE: Responses to the information provided above are due no later than March 10, 2020 at 12:00 PM Eastern Time. Responses received after this date and time may not be considered. DISCLAIMER AND IMPORTANT NOTES: This RFI is for information and planning purposes only and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any concern responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the concern's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After reviewing the responses, the Government MAY publish a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. The Government will NOT accept requests for meetings or briefings and may not answer any questions posed. No phone solicitations or email with regards to the status of a potential Request for Proposal (RFP) will be accepted prior to its release. Information and materials submitted in response to this notice WILL NOT be returned. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. As a result of this notice, the Government MAY issue a Request for Proposal (RFP). There is no solicitation available at this time. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI or the Government's use of such information, as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. CONFIDENTIALITY: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s). PRIMARY POINT OF CONTACT: Stacy Parran, at contact@example.gov.