University Level Programs and Experts to Support Current and Emerging Training Needs

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Office of Training and Development (ICE-OTD), 800 K Street, NW Suite 201, Washington, D.C. 20536 has a requirement to establish a single award requirements contract with a university located within a seventy-five miles radius of the city to provide access to a cadre of programs and experts to support various current and emerging requirements of a large, federal law enforcement organization. Applicants must be universities who are currently accredited by regional and/or national accrediting agencies recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as reliable authorities concerning the quality of education or training offered by the institutions of higher education or higher education programs they accredit. This announcement constitutes advance notice of the issuance of the solicitation on or around March 2, 2009. It is anticipated that this requirement will utilize three CLINs: Formal Training and Education Programs; Consultation and Facilitation; and Focused Curriculum Design/Development and Instructional Systems-Related Tasking. This requirements contract is anticipated to be issued for a base year with three one-year options. The ceiling for this requirements contract is anticipated to be established at $9.8 million dollars. The minimum guarantee for the life of this contract is anticipated to be $25,000. ALL OR NONE AWARD: Only one contract will be awarded from the subsequent solicitation. Award will be on an - ALL OR NONE basis. Offers for less than all of the solicited work will be rejected as nonconforming and unacceptable to the solicitation terms. This requirement has been determined to be for commercial services, therefore, FAR Part 12 procedures in conjunction with FAR Part 15, supplemented with additional information provided within this notice and subsequent solicitation will be utilized. The anticipated dollar value of this requirement meets the threshold of FAR Subpart 19.702and 19.705-2, therefore a Small Business Subcontracting Plan will be required. It is anticipated that the Small Business Subcontracting Plan will be required to be submitted with initial proposals. The Government intends to make an award based upon initial offers without further discussions or additional information. Therefore, proposals should be submitted initially on the most favorable terms considering all evaluation factors and submission of a Small Business Subcontracting Plan. Do not assume you will be afforded the opportunity to clarify, discuss or revise your proposal. If award is not made on initial offers, discussions will be conducted in accordance with FAR 15.306. Task orders written against the base contract will be Firm Fixed Priced to the maximum extent possible. The Government may consider Time and Material or Labor Hour task orders on a case by case basis when supported by the specific requirement and when it is in the best interest of the Government to do so. Pricing for the task orders will be based on the pricing accepted within the base contract. SCOPE OF WORK: The scope of this requirement will encompass a cooperative relationship or partnership with a Washington D.C. megalopolis based university and range from periodic informal discussions and information exchanges to more formal projects involving specific timeframes and deliverables mutually agreed upon by OTD and the university. The university will possess extensive knowledge of, and have prior experience with, designing curricula and providing instruction to federal law enforcement agencies, their agents and officers, technical specialists in law enforcement-related disciplines, and administrators responsible for developing and regulating the budgetary, procurement, human resource and training and quantitative/qualitative analytical processes in a federal law enforcement organization. The university will provide academic expertise to ICE in a wide range of curriculum and instructor development programs designed to enhance the overall quality of law enforcement, managerial and leadership training provided by OTD. OTD and university will jointly develop specific educational offerings. These requirements include, but are not limited to formal programs focused on supervisory, management and leadership development, strategic thinking and change management, and ethics; degreed programs in areas including police administration and public safety; staff with a cadre of current or former law enforcement practitioners; faculty advisors in the areas of senior executive development, adult learning theory and practices, advanced formative and summative evaluation strategies and higher order integrated simulation exercises focused on performance assessment. These requirements will fall under one of the CLINs listed below. CLIN STRUCTURE: The anticipated CLIN structure is for award of three CLINs for the base year with these CLINs being repeated for each option year. CLINs for the option years will begin with the number designating that option period. Example CLIN 0001 will denote the base year and for option year one the CLIN will change to 1001. CLIN 0001-Formal Training and Education Programs Includes but is not limited to: Supervisor, management and executive programs Leadership enhancement programs (such as Gettysbug Staff Rides and Holocaust Explorations) An ICE-specific leadership development program designed to assist high-potential employees in developing their own leadership strategies and skills within the framework of the agency's mission and goals including emphasis on the federal government's Executive Core Qualifications (ECQs) in an increasing electronic and digital environment. Resident and exported graduate and under graduate programs in areas such as administration of justice, public safety and public administration Certificate programs in areas such as adult learning theory CLIN 0002-Consultation and Facilitation Includes but is not limited to Consultation using the resources and expertise from all units within the university including, engineering, business, public health, medical, education, arts and sciences, international studies, research and development, etc., to respond to specific ICE requests for studies, research, and surveys to name a few Facilitation of focused management and executive level meetings, seminars and focus groups Residential meetings and conferences facilitation, that includes meeting facilities, participant lodging and meals CLIN 0003-Focused Curriculum Design/Development and Instructional Systems-Related Taskings Includes but is not limited to A new emergency medical response curriculum tied to a teaching university hospital Performance evaluation strategies The transition from an instructor-lead curriculum to a more student-centered form of classroom instruction. Measuring training transfer and its organizational impact DELIVERABLES: The deliverables will be determined and established at the task order level based on the specific requirement supported. PROPOSAL RESPONSES: Proposal responses in response to this solicitation when issued will be limited to no more than 50 total pages, front and back, excluding resumes, cover sheet, cover letter and Small Business Subcontracting Plan. Responses should be in Times New Roman 12 pitch font or compatible font. PROPOSAL EVALUATION FACTORS The Government will evaluate responses, to include option periods, against specific evaluation criteria and award to the offeror whose proposal represents the best value to the Government. The evaluation criteria consist of the following factors listed in order of their importance: (1) Technical Approach, (2) Personnel, (3) Past Performance, and (4) Price. All evaluation factors other than price, when combined are significantly more important that price. TECHNICAL APPROACH The Technical Approach factor evaluation will assess the Offeror's ability to satisfactorily respond to deliverable requirements provided on future task orders. Proposal responses should include a management plan to provide future deliverables outlined in each CLIN, including an overview of the Offeror's organizational structure. Plan should demonstrate a complete understanding of the ICE environment and an existing capability to meet the requirements outlined for each CLIN. Specifically, the Offeror should provide a plan describing what they will provide with respect to CLIN 0001-Formal Training and Education Programs; CLIN 0002-Consultation and Facilitation; and CLIN 0003-Focused Curriculum Design/ Development and Instructional Systems-Related Tasking, how they will provide it. The Offeror's proposal must provide evidence of clear understanding of the technical requirements and the magnitude of the SOW scope of work and deliverables. The Offeror's proposal must also provide a well thought out high level project plan for providing the required deliverables in a prompt and responsive manner. The Offeror's proposal must demonstrate the approach and methodologies to be used to accomplish the work. PERSONNEL The Personnel factor evaluation will assess the qualifications of Offeror's staff to respond adequately to the CLIN requirements. The Offeror shall identify proposed personnel for and provide resumes as follows: CLIN 0001-Formal Training and Education Programs - 3-5 resumes CLIN 0002-Consultation and Facilitation - 3-5 resumes CLIN 0003-Focused Curriculum Design/ Development and Instructional Systems - 3-5 resumes Project Manager- 1-2 resumes The project manager will be designated as Key Personnel for the requirements contract. The Government will have the right to approve changes to the person selected for this position. Changes to this designated person will need to be sent to the Government in writing five days prior to the proposed effective date of this change. The Government will review the resume for the proposed replacement and provide their decision within forty-eight hours after receiving the change request. The Government reserves the right to designate Key Personnel on individual task orders based on the resumes received for each CLIN. Personnel designated as Key Personnel on an individual task order will be released from this designation upon completion of the task. The Government will have the right to approve changes to the person selected for this position. Changes to this designated person will need to be sent to the Government in writing five days prior to the proposed effective date of this change. The Government will review the resume for the proposed replacement and provide their decision within forty-eight hours after receiving the change request. The resumes should demonstrate requisite skills, expertise and knowledge (university undergraduate or graduate faculty credentials and law enforcement experience), and will be evaluated according to the education level, work experience attained for the given field and/or other specialized skills that are determined to be necessary for the CLIN requirements. The Government reserves the right to request additional resumes at the task order level based on the requirements of that particular task. The resumes submitted with the technical proposal must demonstrate that the contractor has the personnel, with the necessary clearance levels, knowledge, expe'rience, and education pertaining to Formal Training and Education Programs, Consultation and Facilitation, and Focused Curriculum Design/Development and Instructional Systems-Related Tasking as broadly defined in the SOW and the desired criteria of university undergraduate or graduate faculty credentials and law enforcement experience. Higher scores will be given to those individuals who exceed the desired criteria. The Offeror's proposal must provide a staffing plan to provide the manpower availability/allocations/corporate resources to assure the requirements of the SOW are met in a timely manner. All personnel working on this contract must be U.S. citizens or legal aliens. PAST PERFORMANCE The Past Performance factor evaluation will assess the relevance and breadth of the Offeror's experience and quality of the Offeror's past performance. The Government is seeking to determine whether the Offeror has experience that will enable it to adequately respond to the CLIN requirements and whether the Offeror consistently delivers quality services in a timely manner. In evaluating past performance, ICE will take into consideration the relevant experience and past performance assessments from the Offeror's customers. However, ICE reserves the right to use other relevant past performance information it obtains through other sources including but not limited to other agency databases, interagency working groups and training and education literature. The Offeror's proposal shall provide a summary of at least three current or past tasks performed in similar efforts for federal law enforcement customers, within the last three years. This summary shall contain sufficient information for the government to verify contractor past performance and customer satisfaction. Also, the Offeror must provide contact information (name, telephone, fax and e-mail) for each past performance reference provided. PRICE Offeror's should submit their best pricing. For each deliverable, pricing needs to be broken down by labor category (management, faculty, support staff) and include itemized supply, equipment, facility, lodging and meal estimates as applicable. Pricing needs to be provided for the base year and each Option year. All pricing will be evaluated and a fair and reasonable price determination made prior to acceptance. The Government reserves the right to negotiate pricing. EVALUATION RATINGS A. The following ratings will be used in evaluation of the overall Technical Approach. Poor (P) - The proposed solution does not address the needs and deliverables annotated in the SOW. The proposed solution or approach also does not demonstrate an effective or practicable result. Marginal (M) - The proposed solution has addressed most deliverables annotated; however the solution proposed demonstrates a risk of a degree of non-performance. Satisfactory (S) - The proposed solution demonstrates practicality and efficiency and addresses all deliverables. Furthermore, the probability of successfully meeting the requirements found in the SOW is good. Good (G) - The proposed solution demonstrates practicality, efficiency in meeting the deliverables and significantly exceeds the requirements detailed in the SOW. The probability of successfully meeting the requirements found in the SOW is high. Excellent (E) - The proposed solution addresses all criterions aforementioned and exceeds the requirements detailed in the SOW. There is little-to-no risk that the proposed solution and Offeror will be unable to perform the requirements found in the SOW. B. The following ratings will be used in evaluating Resumes of Personnel. Poor (P) - The personnel lack the education and experience necessary to have a reasonable expectation of completing the requirements found in the SOW. Marginal (M) - The proposed personnel have either the required education or experience; however the risk of non-performance is unacceptable. Satisfactory (S) - The proposed personnel have both the required education and experience. The probability of successfully meeting the requirements found in the SOW is good. Good (G) - The proposed personnel have education and experience that significantly exceed the requirements detailed in the SOW. The probability of successfully meeting the requirements found in the SOW is high. Excellent (E) - The proposed personnel have education and experience that significantly exceed the requirements detailed in the SOW. There is little-to-no risk that the SOW of Work. C. The following ratings will be used in evaluating Past Performance. Unsatisfactory (U) - Offeror's performance was less than satisfactory and could have stood improvement. Significant potential risk of performance anticipated based upon the Offeror's past performance. Neutral (N) - No past performance information was received or no relevant past performance information received. Satisfactory (S) - Offer's performance met or exceeded contract requirements. Little potential risk anticipated based upon the Offeror's past performance. D. Price will not receive an evaluation rating, but it will be considered in the award decision. Pricing must be determined to be fair and reasonable to be considered and accepted. The Government reserves the right to negotiate pricing. E. An overall objective proposal rating shall be assigned by the Government evaluation team. PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS The Personnel Security Requirements will be established in each task order issued against the base contract and it is anticipated that some requirements will require access to law enforcement sensitive material. The following Security language will be applicable to this requirement as it applies to the individual task. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS General To ensure the security of the DHS/ICE information in their charge, ICE Contractors and sub-Contractors must adhere to the same computer security rules and regulations as government employees unless an exception to policy is agreed to by the prime Contractors, ICE CISO and Contracting Officer and detailed in the contract. Non-DHS Federal employees or Contractors who fail to comply with DHS/ICE security policies are subject to having their access to DHS/ICE IT systems and facilities terminated, whether or not the failure results in criminal prosecution. The DHS Rules of Behavior document applies to DHS/ICE support Contractors and Sub-Contractors. This document must be executed prior to getting access to any ICE data. All email communications with ICE data must be sent and received on DHS.associates.gov accounts, or encrypted with 256 bit AES. Security Policy References Clause The following primary DHS/ICE IT Security documents are applicable to Contractor/Sub-Contractor operations supporting Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) based contracts. Additionally, ICE and its Contractors must conform to other DHS Management Directives (MD) (Note: these additional MD documents appear on DHS-Online in the Management Directives Section. Volume 11000 - Security and Volume 4000 - IT Systems are of particular importance in the support of computer security practices) - DHS 4300A, Sensitive Systems Policy Directive - DHS 4300A, IT Security Sensitive Systems Handbook - ICE Directive, IT Security Policy for SBU Systems - Additionally, ICE Contractor and subcontractor personnel are subject to the following Homeland Security Acquisition Regulations (HSAR) clauses: 3052-204-70 and 3052-204-71. All DHS MD's and HSAR clauses are available on the DHS Intranet site - DHS Online. Contractor Information Systems Security Officer (ISSO) Point of Contact Clause Contractor must appoint and submit name to ICE CISO for approval, via the ICE COTR, of a qualified individual to act as ISSO to interact with ICE personnel on any IT security matters. Clause # 1. Protection of Sensitive Information The Contractor shall protect all DHS/ICE - sensitive information to which the Contractor is granted physical or electronic access by adhering to the specific IT security requirements of this contract and the DHS/ICE security policies specified in the Reference Section above. Contractor shall ensure that their systems containing DHS/ICE information and data be protected from unauthorized access, modification and denial of service. Further, the data must be protected in order to ensure the privacy of individual's personal information. Clause #2. Information Technology Security Program If performance of the contract requires that DHS/ICE data be stored or processed on contractor-owned information systems, the Contractor shall establish and maintain an IT Security Program. This program shall be consistent with the referenced DHS/ICE IT security policy documents and at a minimum contain and address the following elements: - Handling of DHS/ICE sensitive information and IT resources to include media protection, access control, auditing, network security, and rules of behavior - Certification and Accreditation and FISMA compliance (C&A) of Systems containing, processing or transmitting of DHS/ICE data - Training and Awareness for Contractor personnel - Security Incident Reporting - Contingency Planning - Security Reviews - Contract Closeout Actions Clause #2a. Handling of Sensitive Information and IT Resources The Contractor shall protect DHS/ICE sensitive information and all government provided and contractor-owned IT systems used to store or process DHS/ICE sensitive information. The Contractor shall adhere to the following requirements for handling sensitive information: - Media Protection. The Contractor shall ensure that all hardcopy and electronic media (including backup and removable media) that contain DHS sensitive information are appropriately marked and secured when not in use. Any sensitive information stored on media to be surplused, transferred to another individual, or returned to the manufacturer shall be purged from the media before disposal. Disposal shall be performed using DHS/ICE approved sanitization methods. The Contractor shall establish and implement procedures to ensure sensitive information cannot be accessed or stolen. These procedures shall address the handling and protection of paper and electronic outputs from systems (computers, printers, faxes, copiers) and the transportation and mailing of sensitive media.) - Access Control. The Contractor shall control user access to DHS/ICE sensitive information based on positive user identification, authentication and authorization (Roles and Rules based) mechanisms. Access control measures employed shall provide protection from unauthorized alternation, loss, unavailability, or disclosure of information. The Contractor shall ensure its personnel are granted the most restrictive set of access privileges needed for performance of authorized tasks. The Contractor shall divide and separate duties and responsibilities of critical IT functions to different individuals so that no individual has all necessary authority or systems access privileges needed to disrupt or corrupt a critical process. - Auditing. The Contractor shall ensure that its contractor-owned IT systems used to store or process DHS/ICE sensitive information maintain an audit trail sufficient to reconstruct security relevant events. Audit trails shall include the identity of each person and device accessing or attempting to access the system, the time and date of the access and the log-off time, activities that might modify, bypass, or negate security safeguards, and security-relevant actions associated with processing. The Contractor shall periodically review audit logs and ensure that audit trails are protected from modification, authorized access, or destruction and are retained and regularly backed up. - Network Security. The Contractor shall monitor its networks for security events and employ intrusion detection systems capable of detecting inappropriate, incorrect, or malicious activity. Any interconnections between contractor-owned IT systems that process or store DHS/ICE sensitive information and IT systems not controlled by DHS/ICE shall be established through controlled interfaces and documented through formal Interconnection Security Agreements (ISA). The Contractor shall employ boundary protection devices to enforce access control between networks, including Internet and extranet access. The Contractor shall ensure its email systems are secure, properly configured, and that network protection mechanisms implemented in accordance with DHS/ICE requirements. The Contractor shall conduct periodic vulnerability assessments and tests on its IT systems containing DHS/ICE sensitive information to identify security vulnerabilities. The results, of this information, will be provided to the ICE OCIO for review and to coordinate remediation plans and actions. - DHS employees and Contractors shall not transmit sensitive DHS/ICE information to any personal e-mail account that is not authorized to receive it. - Rules of Behavior. The Contractor shall develop and enforce Rules of Behavior for contractor-owned IT systems that process or store DHS/ICE sensitive information. These Rules of Behavior must meet or exceed the DHS/ICE rules of behavior. - The Contractor shall adhere to the policy and guidance contained in the DHS/ICE reference documents. Clause #2b. Training and Awareness - The Contractor shall ensure that all Contractor personnel (including Sub-Contractor personnel) who are involved in the management, use, or operation of any IT systems that handle DHS/ICE sensitive information, receive annual training in security awareness, accepted security practices, and system rules of behavior. If the Contractor does not use the Ice provided Awareness training, then they must submit to the ICE CISO their awareness training for approval. Should Contractor Training be approved for use, the Contractor will provide proof of training completed to the ICE CISO when requested. - The Contractor shall ensure that all Contractor personnel, including Sub-Contractor personnel, with IT security responsibilities receive specialized DHS/ICE annual training tailored to their specific security responsibilities. If the Contractor does not use the Ice provided special training, then they must submit to the ICE CISO their awareness training for approval. Should Contractor training be approved for use, the Contractor will provide proof of training completed to the ICE CISO when requested. - Any Contractor personnel who are appointed as ISSO, Assistant ISSOs, or other position with IT security responsibilities, i.e., System/LAN Database administrators, system analyst and programmers may be required to attend and participate in the DHS Annual Security Conference. Clause #2d. Certification and Accreditation (C&A) and FISMA Compliance The Contractor shall ensure that any contractor-owned systems that process, store, transmit or access DHS/ICE information shall comply with the DHS/ICE C&A and FISMA requirements. Any work on developing, maintaining or modifying DHS/ICE systems must be done to ensure that DHS/ICE systems are in compliance with the C&A and FISMA requirements. The Contractor must ensure that the necessary C&A and FISMA compliance requirements are being effectively met prior to the System or application's release into Production (this also includes pilots). The Contractor shall use the DHS provided tools for C&A and FISMA compliance and reporting requirements. Clause #2e. Security Incident Reporting The Contractor shall establish and maintain a computer incident response capability that reports all incidents to the ICE Computer Security Incident Response Center (CSIRC) in accordance with the guidance and procedures contained in the referenced documents. Clause #2f. Contingency Planning If performance of the contract requires that DHS/ICE data be stored or processed on contractor-owned information systems, the Contractor shall develop and maintain contingency plans to be implemented in the event normal operations are disrupted. All Contractor personnel involved with contingency planning efforts shall be identified and trained in the procedures and logistics needed to implement these plans. The Contractor shall conduct periodic tests to evaluate the effectiveness of these contingency plans. The plans shall at a minimum address emergency response, backup operations, and post-disaster recovery. Clause #2g. Security Review and Reporting - The Contractor shall include security as an integral element in the management of this contract. The Contractor shall conduct reviews and report the status of the implementation and enforcement of the security requirements contained in this contract and identified references. - The Government may elect to conduct periodic reviews to ensure that the security requirements contained in this contract are being implemented and enforced. The Contractor shall afford DHS/ICE, including the Office of Inspector General, ICE ISSM, and other government oversight organizations, access to the Contractor's and Sub-Contractors facilities, installations, operations, documentation, databases, and personnel used in the performance of this contract. Access shall be provided to the extent necessary for the government to carry out a program of inspection, investigation, and audit to safeguard against threats and hazards to the integrity, availability, and confidentiality of DHS/ICE data or the function of computer systems operated on behalf of DHS/ICE, and to preserve evidence of computer crime. Clause #2h. Use of Government Equipment Contractors are not authorized to use government office equipment of IT systems/computers for personal use under any circumstances, unless limited personal use is specifically permitted by the contract. When so authorized, Contractors shall be governed by the limited personal use policies in the referenced documents. Clause #2i. Contract Closeout At the expiration of this contract, the Contractor shall return all sensitive DHS/ICE information and IT resources provided during the life of this contract. The Contractor shall certify that all DHS/ICE information has been purged from any contractor-owned system used to store or process DHS/ICE information. Electronic media must be sanitized (overwritten or degaussed) in accordance with the sanitation guidance and procedures contained in reference documents and with DHS/NIST/NSA approved hardware and software. Clause # 3. Personnel Security - DHS/ICE does not permit the use of non U.S. Citizens in the performance of this contract or to access DHS/ICE systems or information. - All Contractor personnel (including Sub-Contractor personnel) must have favorably adjudicated background investigations commensurate with the sensitivity level of the position held before being granted access to DHS/ICE sensitive information. - The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor personnel are properly submitted for appropriate clearances. - The Contractor shall ensure appropriate controls have been implemented to prevent Contractor personnel from obtaining access to DHS/ICE sensitive information before a favorably adjudicated background investigation has been completed and appropriate clearances have been issued. At the option of the government, interim access may be granted pending completion of a pre-employment check. Final access may be granted only upon favorable completion of an appropriate background investigation based on the risk level assigned to this contract by the Contracting Officer. - The Contractor shall ensure its personnel have a validated need to access DHS/ICE sensitive information and are granted the most restrictive set of access privileges needed for performance of authorized tasks. - The Contractor shall ensure that its personnel comply with applicable Rules of Behavior for all DHS/ICE and contractor-owned IT systems to which its personnel have been granted access privileges. - The Contractor shall implement procedures to ensure that system access privileges are revoked for Contractor personnel whose employment is terminated or who are reassigned to other duties and no longer require access to DHS/ICE sensitive information. - The Contractor shall conduct exit interviews to ensure that Contractor personnel who no longer require access to DHS/ICE sensitive information understand their obligation not to discuss or disclose DHS/ICE sensitive information to which they were granted access under this contract. Clause #4. Physical Security The Contractor shall ensure that access to Contractor buildings, rooms, work areas and spaces, and structures that house DHS/ICE sensitive inform...