Sources Sought Request for State Family Programs, Texas National Guard: The purpose of this sources sought is to gain knowledge of potential qualified sources (i.e.: Contractor, Government, Commercial, etc.) that can meet and/or exceed all the requirements specified in this notice, for the Texas National Guard (TXNG) State Family Programs. This is not a request for proposal, and in no way obligates the TXNG to award a contract. The Sources Sought contains all currently available information. The TXNG State Family Programs has two requirements. The first requirement is for a web-based social media site that will enable family and friends to connect with their military personnel around the world via the internet using a secure (Secure Socket Layer) website. The second requirement is provide a classroom youth-based (12 to 18 years old) open training environment. The intent is to help 12-18 year old young adults of military families deal with deployment issues and stresses by teaching them to express themselves through a curriculum consisting of (but not limited to) writing, journaling, photojournalism, song writing, editorial cartooning, and multimedia presenting. Requirements: The TXNG State Family Programs (SFP) requires a Contractor to meet (at a minimum) all State Family Programs requirements and/or specifications listed in this Sources Sought request. For the first requirement, the Contractor shall provide a robust, user-engaging and easily navigable web portal for communications of family members and deployed service members. The customizable web-based application and function is intended to facilitate well-being throughout the TXNG military community to support families impacted by deployed service members. This web-based program shall enable families and friends in Texas to connect with deployed TXNG military personnel around the world through a secure (Secure Socket Layer or SSL) online website. The following requirements are for the web-based social media site: " Contractor shall have system fully developed and ready for implementation upon award of contract on, or about 15 October 2010. " Unlike current social media sites Contractor shall acknowledge that the military personnel, and their families and friends own all their uploaded content. Contractor is not authorized to sell TXNG use sites to third parties without express approval. " Contractor shall be able to effectively support approximately 25,000 military personnel plus their family members and friends. " Contractors site shall have a secure login access. All confidential information shall be encrypted, with no public viewing or sharing. The server needs to be fully-secured and protected from unwanted usage and hacking. Shall adheres to military security access constraints for a military LAN. Operational Security (OPSEC) requirements posted for users and included in initial welcoming emails and messages sent by the service. " Site shall be easy to use; password protected; require only access to the internet via a basic computer; and require no specialized skills, equipment, and/or software. " Site shall include activities such as arts, crafts, and sewing projects; a list of recommended children books that support the Yellow Ribbon Law 582 included within a searchable database. " Contractor shall provide all needed training material, pamphlets, etc., needed to instruct the user on the web-based system " Contractor shall provide training personnel to attend Family Readiness Group events in order to educate personnel on how to use the web-based system. " Provide a toll free Help Line at least 40 hours per week. " Provide 24/7 e-mail based technical and customer service support. " At a minimum, Contractors shall provide the following features: o Writing letters to each other and saving by date order. o Writing journal entries accessible by family or friends (private viewing). o Photo Gallery to upload, share, and comment on photos. o Keep a calendar of events to preserve family history and keep the deployed Guardsmen involved in the family (capturing missed moments). o Journal within the calendar to preserve the familys history, or to provide a member a place to record their thoughts. o Ability to create scrapbooks from the journals, calendar entries, photos and letters, which can be printed or downloaded. o Ability to download a backup of all the letters, journal entries, photos, and calendar events. o Ability to search for, view, and print arts and crafts, scrapbooking, and sewing activities/projects in a database based on age/skill/activity. o Ability to search for, view, and print articles and other support material written by a recognized and qualified psychologist with experience in the effect of separation on families. o NO pop-ups, advertising or collection of family data allowed for use by any commercial entity. o Ownership by each family of their own content/photos, etc. o Safe, secure and ssl environment. o All training modules are on line for easy downloading and re-use at any time. o Email confirmation contains a word. For the second requirement, the Contractor shall provide a youth-based curriculum focused on helping youth deal with deployment issues, and stresses via an open training session. The curriculum of the open session shall (but is not limited to) focusing on teaching youth to express themselves through writing, journaling, photojournalism, song writing, editorial cartooning, and multimedia presentation. Underneath the academic focus, the goal shall be to help each youth find their voice and to be able to deal more effectively with the pre-deployment, deployment, and reintegration periods. The following requirements are for the classroom-based instruction: " Contractor shall have system fully developed and ready for implementation upon award of contract on, or about 15 October 2010. " Contractor shall provide all personnel and support equipment needed to conduct the instruction. " Contract shall have curriculum available for review. " Contractor shall provide their recommended student to teacher ratio. Instructions: To respond to this Sources Sought Notice, a Contractor shall provide the following information: 1. General information about your company (i.e.: company name and address; point of contact with telephone, fax, and e-mail; GSA Schedule Number if available; DUNS number; CAGE Code; and Tax ID number). 2. A brief description of your companys qualifications to provide this type of supply/service. 3. Earliest date this supply can be available. 4. Activation process and rules of use. 5. State whether Contractor accepts payment by credit card. If you do, is there a credit card payment fee? If there is a credit card fee, how much is the fee. The information contained in this Sources Sought Notice will be the only information provided by the Texas National Guard during the Sources Sought process. All qualified sources should respond to this Notice by submitting an information paper in accordance with the instructions provided. Your information shall be limited to two full 8in x 11in pages. The Government will not return any submitted information to the submitter. Interested Contractors shall submit information in response to this Notice, at no cost to the Government. Interested Contractors shall submit information in response to the Sources Sought Notice in electronic format to the Contracting Specialist: Raymond Naraine at the following email address;
contact@example.gov. The subject line of the email should read, Sources Sought W912L1-10-R-0056. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS NOTICE CONSTITUTES THE ENTIRE SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE AND IS THE ONLY INFORMATION PROVIDED. THE TXNG WILL NOT HONOR ANY QUESTIONS OR REQUESTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
