SOLICITATION NOTICE
D -- (Open Season) Internet Censorship Circumvention Tools - Sample Task Area 1 - Sample Task Area 5 - OIF BOA - Sample Task Area 4 - Sample Task Area 2
- Notice Date
- 10/24/2017
- Notice Type
- Combined Synopsis/Solicitation
- NAICS
- #541511
— Custom Computer Programming Services
- Contracting Office
- Broadcasting Board of Governors, Director, Office of Contracts, Office of Contracts (CON), 330 Independence Avenue, SW, Suite 4360, Washington, District of Columbia, 20237, United States
- ZIP Code
- 20237
- Solicitation Number
- 951700-18-R-00001
- Archive Date
- 12/7/2017
- Point of Contact
- Shameeka Edwards, Phone: 202.382.7331, J.R. Hill, Phone: 202.382.7846
- E-Mail Address
-
sedwards@bbg.gov, chill@bbg.gov
(sedwards@bbg.gov, chill@bbg.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Clientless Web Proxies Electronic Mail Newsletter Distribution BOA BBG50-G-15-0006 Censorship Circumvention Technical Expertise and Support Circumvention Client Software This is a combined synopsis/solicitation under FAR Part 13 using simplified acquisition procedures as supplemented by the commercial service procedures in FAR Part 12 under the Federal Acquisition Regulation. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. Broadcasting Board of Governors' (BBG) Office of Internet Freedom (OIF) is issuing this request for proposal for the purpose of holding an "Open Season" period under which Basic Ordering Agreements will be awarded to vendors to allow them to compete for future work under the agency's multiple-award/multiple task-area Blanket Ordering Agreement (BOA) number BBG50-G-15-0006, copy of which is included as an attachment. The solicitation number is 951700-R-18-0001 and is being issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP) for its Internet Censorship Circumvention Tools BOA. This competitive procurement will be used to select additional awardees who may compete for orders under task areas 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the BOA. The agency has no plans to award work under task area 3 at this time. The competition is open to all responsible business concerns having the requisite technical capabilities necessary to provide Internet Censorship Circumvention Tools. The agency is holding this Open Season period with the intent of improving competition, access to innovative and improved technologies and capabilities, enhanced metrics, improved performance and competitive pricing. The associated NAICS code is 541511 Custom Computer Programming Services, with a small business standard size of $27.5 Million. Offerors must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at http://www.sam.gov, in order to be considered for award. General BOA Information The Internet Censorship Circumvention Tools Blanket Ordering Agreement was awarded as a multiple-award/multiple task-area agreement, which is currently in its second year of a five year ordering period. The BOA promotes the use of performance-based contracting and accommodates task orders issued with the following terms: fixed-price (FP) and time-and-materials (T&M). The agency intends to hold competitive procurements for the issuance of new task orders shortly after concluding Open Season awardee selections. The agency anticipates that new task order solicitations will be issued during mid to end of fall, 2017. However, the exact date for issuance of new task order solicitations is not guaranteed and may occur later in the year. Overall Scope of BOA The overall purpose of the BOA and the general scope of work for task orders awarded under the BOA is to obtain Internet censorship circumvention tools and services. The primary supplies and services required under this contract relate to state-of-the art, specialized information technology (IT) software and systems for circumventing Internet censorship by foreign governments, and require active, ongoing maintenance and support throughout the term of the Task Orders by the Contractor to ensure required service levels. Synopsis of Task Areas 1, 2, 4 and 5 The type of work projects planned for task areas 1, 2, 4 and 5 is synopsized below. Task Area 1 - Circumvention Client Software The contractor shall provide a system to circumvent Internet censorship imposed by foreign governments and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) using client software technology, which, at a minimum, transparently proxies HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) traffic, and may, based on individual Task Order requirements, implement transparent proxy services for additional protocol traffic, up to and including full Virtual Private Network (VPN) service. This system will work on operating systems as specified in each individual Task Order, which may include various desktop and mobile computing devices. This system must allow Internet users in target countries to use this client software package to circumvent the censorship of the Internet within their country. Task Area 2 - Clientless Web Proxies The Contractor shall provide a network of web proxies which may be accessed by any web browser which supports Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTPS) and which can be distributed by BBG broadcasters. This system must allow Internet users in target countries to circumvent the censorship of the Internet within their country by accessing web proxies operated by the Contractor which are distributed globally and use a diverse set of domain names and dynamic IP addresses which cannot easily be discovered, enumerated, and blocked. The proxy sites will need to be changed regularly, based on the specifics of site blockages in the target countries. Task Area 4 - Electronic Mail Newsletter Distribution The Contractor shall distribute an electronic mail (email) newsletter provided by BBG broadcasters to a list of electronic mail addresses provided by the broadcasters, and validated by the Contractor, on a schedule as specified in the Task Order. The Contractor shall evade attempts by foreign governments to censor these newsletters by a variety of techniques. Task Area 5 - Censorship Circumvention Technical Expertise and Support The Contractor shall provide technical expertise in Internet censorship circumvention to further the BBG's other Internet anti-censorship initiatives. This may consist of producing technical documentation and reports on the current state of Internet censorship in target countries; providing computer programming and software engineering for BBG's internal software products, open source software, or other Contractor's software; or setup, maintenance, and operation of computer systems and network devices. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The BOA is currently in its second option year. The ordering period consists of a one (1) year base period and four (4) one-year optional periods of performance. The ordering period is: Base PeriodJune 29, 2015 - June 28, 2016 Option Period 1June 29, 2016 - June 28, 2017 Option Period 2June 29, 2017 - June 28, 2018 (currently) Option Period 3June 29, 2018 - June 28, 2019 Option Period 4June 29, 2019 - June 28, 2020 PROPOSAL SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS Interested Vendors are required to submit a proposal to the Contracting Officer with enough information to allow for an evaluation of responses for the purposes of assuring that prospective vendors are fully cognizant of the scope of this contract and have the capability to deliver the requirements detailed in the following pages. Interested Vendors shall submit a technical and price proposal for each task area under which they wish to compete for future work under the existing BOA. In order for the Government to conduct a meaningful evaluation of interested Vendors' capabilities and prices, Vendors are required to respond to at least one of the sample task orders included in Section B of this solicitation. Each sample task order pertains to a specific task area of the BOA. Vendors who choose not to respond to any of the sample task areas will not be eligible to compete for future work under those task areas. PROPOSAL ARRANGEMENT INSTRUCTIONS, EVALUATION, AND BASIS FOR AWARD Interested Vendors shall create and submit their proposals in accordance with this section: Interested Vendors shall submit a separate Technical and Proposal for each task area under which a vendor wishes to compete in accordance with the following requirements: 1.) Text - Text shall be at least single-spaced, with a minimum one-inch margin all around. Pages shall be numbered consecutively. Pages submitted in excess of the page limitations stated throughout this document will be removed and not evaluated. 2.) Font Size - Print shall be of a minimum 12-point font size spacing. Bolding, underlining, and italics may be used to identify topic demarcations or points of emphasis. Graphic presentations, including tables, while not subject to the same font size and spacing requirements, shall have spacing and text that is easily readable. 3.) Pricing Data - Any and all pricing information shall only appear in the Price Proposal (as outlined in Section A - Price Volume below). 4.) Submission - Text and graphics portions of the electronic copies shall be in a format readable by Microsoft (MS) Office 2010, MS Word 2010. Data submitted in spreadsheet format shall be readable by MS Office 2010, MS Excel 2010. All Price information shall be included in the Price Volume and all Technical information should be included in the Technical Volume. Volume Title Page Limits Copies Price Volume 10 pages Electronic Technical Volume 10 pages Electronic Past Performance Volume N/A Electronic ARRANGEMENT OF PROPOSALS Offerors shall submit their proposals in three (3) volumes with (3) attachments per submission to include Volume 1, 2, and 3: (Separate submissions are required for each task area. Subject line shall read ex. Task Area X) Volume 1 - Introduction - This volume is optional and may include the Offeror's business information, introduction and a capability statement. Volume 2 - Experience and Past Performance - Includes two (2) parts: Part 1 - Experience Part 2 - Past Performance Information Volume 3 - Technical Approach and Price for Sample Task Orders - Includes Offerors' Technical approach for completing the work described in each sample task area under which the Vendor wishes to compete. This volume also includes a price proposal for each sample task order to which the Vendor responds. EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS The Government's evaluation of the vendor's proposal will include the following general areas: 1) Compliance with submitting a proposal developed in accordance with the instructions provided by this solicitation; 2) The vendor's past performance and experience history; 3) Overall capability of vendor to provide the required services as demonstrated by its technical proposal submission; 4) The overall cost to the government for performing each sample task order. Specifically, the agency will evaluate all proposals against the following three (3) evaluation factors. a) Experience: Offeror's verifiable experience developing similar tools or providing similar services, which must include description of at least three prior projects and their associated deliverables, and client contact information. For this factor we will evaluate the Offeror's demonstrated ability to deliver services to the Federal Government in Task Areas on which Offerors wish to bid. Experience could be evidenced by samples of past work. b) Past Performance Information: The Offeror's Technical proposal shall contain detailed information on past performance and relevant contracts for same or similar services with a minimum of three (3) reference including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and email addresses (i.e., the point of contact who can verify the Offeror's past performance). c)Technical Approach and Price for Sample Task Areas: Offerors' proposed technical approach must describe in detail how the Offeror would complete each sample each task area under which the Offeror wishes to compete. Offerors shall also provide a firm fixed price proposal for performance of each sample task order under which Offerors wish to be considered for award. All prices shall be provided in English and United States dollars. The agency will evaluate the total price for reasonableness. SOLICITATION PROVISIONS Full text of all FAR provisions are available electronically at the following Internet address: http://www.acquisition.gov/far The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.212-1 Instruction to Offerors-Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation. Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items with its offer which is completed by registering in the System for Award Management (SAM) website at: HTTPS://WWW.SAM.GOV/PORTAL. All other terms and comditions pertaining to BBG50-G-15-0006 will remain the same. Proposals must also include contractor name and address, contractor's DUNS Number, prompt payment terms, and correct remittance address, if different from mailing address. The successful contractor must be registered online in the SAM web site prior to contract award. BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD The Government will be awarding agreements to new responsible vendors to the existing BOA. In addition, current vendors may be awarded new task areas upon submission of proposal. Vendors whose proposal meets the Government's needs in conforming to this RFP and who possess the required technical capabilities set forth in the contract's scope of work in accordance with the Government's requirements. QUESTIONS Submit all questions via email to sedwards@bbg.gov by November 13, 2017, No Later Than 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. Please be advised that the Government reserves the right to transmit those questions and answers of a common interest to all prospective Vendors. PROPOSAL DUE DATE The Vendor shall submit its proposal before the due date and time for this solicitation via email to sedwards@bbg.gov. The due date and time for receipt of the proposal is November 22, 2017, No Later Than 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. B. SAMPLE TASK ORDERS: (Please see attached) B.1 TASK AREA 3 This task area will not be evaluated at this time.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/BBG/ADM/MCONWASHDC/951700-18-R-00001/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: TBD, United States
- Record
- SN04721620-W 20171026/171024231226-3455baae05f2a200b042566380685f5e (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |