SOURCES SOUGHT
R -- Seeking Small Business 8(a) firms to perform Federal Voting Assistance Program Electronic Transmission Services
- Notice Date
- 3/8/2005
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Defense Contracting Command-Washington(DCC-W), ATTN: Policy and Compliance, 5200 Army Pentagon, Room 1D245, Washington, DC 20310-5200
- ZIP Code
- 20310-5200
- Solicitation Number
- W74V8H-05-T-0101
- Response Due
- 3/18/2005
- Archive Date
- 5/17/2005
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Disadvantage Business
- Description
- DCC-W is looking for SBA 8(a) firms who have the capability to perform services as outlined in the Statement of Work incorporated below. SBA 8(a) firms interested in being considered for this contract should submit a detailed statement of their capa bilities to perform the services required by the Statement of Work, including details on any similar services of this type which the firm has performed in the past. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS. Federal Voting Assistance Programs Electronic Transmission Service Statement of Work 1. General/Background Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) is an integral part of the Nations electoral process. FVAP provides citizens with a wide-range of information, assistance and resources to facilitate their participation in the democratic voting process under the provisions of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). The Secretary of Defense is the Presidential designee responsible for the Federal functions of the UOCAVA. As part of FVAPs essential operations in carrying out its responsibility in administering the UOCAVA, the support capability to send and receive election materials electronically for citizens worldwide is required. In prior years, the Program has maintai ned the Electronic Transmission Service (ETS), which supports FVAPs strategic goals by: Enhancing democratization. Improving leadership, management, and administration of the electoral processes. Pursuing integration of changing information technologies and communication systems. Managing effectively to ensure mission accomplishment. These goals correlate to FVAPs Mission Statement, which is to serve the American people and their Government, and encourages the democratic process by: Informing and educating citizens worldwide of their right to vote. Fostering voting participation. Protecting the integrity of, and enhancing, the electoral process at Federal, State, and local levels. FVAPs ETS allows citizens covered by the Act and Local Election Officials (LEOs) to fax election materials (Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), blank ballot, voted ballot and other election materials) to allow fo r timely receipt and return of these materials via the mail. The Electronic Transmission of election materials provides an alternative method of voting by those military personnel and U.S. Citizens overseas covered under the provisions of the UOCAVA. FVAP, under strict controls to protect the integrity of the elect ion process, provides the Electronic Transmission Service (ETS) to these citizens. The ETS is designed to serve those individuals covered by the UOCAVA and local election officials by allowing them to fax election materials (FPCAs, blank ballots, voted ballots and other election materials) when conditions do not allow for the timely rece ipt and return of these materials via the mail. 2. Scope A central processing site is required for the ETS, which shall provide an audit trail for all transactions. The audit trail shall help ensure the transmitted materials are not altered or manipulated. Failure to operate the ETS effectively will result in the disenfranchisement of absentee voters. Activity for the ETS increases during the months leading up to a General Election for federal offices; therefore, it is expected that further support will be required during this period to include added personnel and equipment. 3. Government Furnished Equipment, Supplies, and Services 1. Information and Documentation a. FVAP will provide copies of the Voting Assistance Guide, FPCAs and other government printed materials that are needed to provide the service. b. Documentation on workload levels for previous elections 2. Telephone Numbers a. FVAP will provide a toll free, a commercial, and a Defense Switch Network number for all electronic transmissions. These n umbers will be call forwarded to the contractors location. b. FVAP will provide a toll free number for hotline support, which will be call forwarded to the contractors location. 3. Initial Databases a. Initial data for the databases will be provided in an electronic form. b. The databases will include local election officials and voting action officers mailing addresses, telephone and fax numbers and a partial listing of email addresses to be further populated by the contractor as contact is made with the local election of ficials. 4. Contractor Furnished Equipment, Supplies and Services The Contractor shall provide: 1. A site to maintain the ETS operation. The site shall be located within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. 2. A site that is secured physically with access restricted to only ETS staff personnel. 3. The computerized electronic transmission equipment. The basic operation will consist of the required number of computer systems to handle the transmission flow. The system shall have or shall be capable of adding the following features and functions: a. Internal fax hardware and software b. Automated document routing. c. Several address databases shall be created and maintained, which will become the property of FVAP, and contain information on local election officials, military installations, citizens and overseas organizations that utilize this service. Copies of the se databases are to be provided to FVAP upon request. No copies will be released to anyone without the written approval from FVAP. The information fields for citizens may include: Full name (last, first and middle initial Mailing address Home phone number Work phone number Fax number Last 4 digits of the Social Security Number Email address Type of transaction and transaction number City, state and county of citizen Fax operator identifier Number of pages received/transmitted Date fax was received/transmitted Duration of fax transmission and; Any additional fields as required by FVAP. The information fields for the LEOs shall include: Full mailing address Point of Contact (POC) Office telephone number Office fax number Office and/or POC email and: Last time information was updated The information fields for Overseas Citizen Groups shall include: Name of Group POC Name (Last, First and Middle Initial) Telephone number Fax number and; Group/POC email With each transaction or call the database shall be updated to reflect the most recent information. d. A system that which verifies all transactions and assigns a tracking number. The integrity of the process shall be maintained at all times. Because of the sensitivity of the data collected, adequate steps shall be taken to prevent unauthorized access or manipulation of the data. e. Activity reporting, to include daily, weekly, and monthly transmission volumes by geographic (from and to) locations along with the type of transmission. Other reports to include transmission duration times and costs for transmissions. Additionally, o ther information collected may be required in report format to FVAP. f. In the event of system failure, a backup and/or manual system shall be provided. g. The system shall be able to receive and transmit emails with Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files attachments. The attachments will vary in size. h. The system shall be able receive faxes and convert the faxes to PDF. In addition, the system shall be able to receive emails with attached PDFs and convert the email and then transmit to a fax. There should not be any requirement for the transmissions to be physically handled by the staff. The following are examples of the types of transmitted documents to/from the citizen and LEO: Fax Cover Sheet (Attachment #1) FPCA (Attachment #2) FWAB (Attachment #3) i. The system shall be able to generate a confirmation once a fax or email has been transmitted to the recipient and that confirmation deliver ed to the initial sender via email or fax. j. The required phone/fax lines to accommodate the operation. k. An archival system, consisting of hard drives, Compact Disc or tape, will be established and maintained to ensure the historical integrity of the database containing all transmitted documents. l. A minimum of 8 incoming fax lines, in a rotary hunt group, shall be available with additional capability to respond to increasing volume if traffic warrants. A minimum of 8 outgoing fax lines shall also be available with the capability to be increa sed as traffic warrants. m. The base system shall be able to support additional activity or, the contractor shall be able to add additional equipment to meet the demand, so that processing is accomplished within the time frames specified. This additional system capability shall b e placed in service within 24 hours of the base systems inability to maintain the transaction time specified in SOW. It shall also be easily removed from operation when the volume returns to normal levels. n. A plan of action in the event disaster recovery of the system is required to include reinstating the system within 4 business days. 4. Duties and responsibilities necessary to provide required services. a. Operational support staff shall be sized according to volume demands. At a minimum, one person on duty and able to operate the system and answer phones during normal business hours, 6:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m. EST., Monday through Friday. The ETS staff wil l have completed, at a minimum, a DoD National Agency Check (NAC) within 30 days of employment with the contractor. b. The system shall be automated and able to process requests 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with minimum manual intervention required for fax transmissions. Non-standard requests and errors are to be handled during normal business hours, 6:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m. EST. Monday through Friday. c. In the event of system failure, a backup and/or manual system shall take over operations within 1 hour of the initial system failure. The mean time to repair the primary system shall be less than 8 hours. d. Received documents shall be transmitted as soon as possible and not to exceed 1 hour during normal operating hours (6:00 a.m. 10:00 p.m. Mon. Fri.), with the average elapsed time (from receipt to transmission) being less than 1 hour. Transmissions received during non-business hours that could not be automatically routed shall be sent by 10:00 am the following business day. e. Since call volumes varies from month to month and peaks occur leading up to the general elections, the base system shall be able to support the additional activity or, the contractor shall be able to add additional equipment to meet the demand, so that processing is accomplished within the time frames specified in section 4b. f. Additional operation, routing and transmission support shall be made available during non-business hours during peak processing periods. The peak period normally takes place 45-60 days prior to the election and lasts up to Election Day. FVAP shall be advised when the volume exceeds the capability of the basic system, during normal business hours, to process all documents within a 1 hour period. It is the contractors responsibility to add staff and/or equipment to handle the increased workload. g. Daily routing logs shall be kept and made available to FVAP upon request. This log shall contain the date and time of the incoming transmission, the processing information, name, telephone and fax numbers, location of sender and recipient, tracking num ber, whether or not manual intervention was required, transmission time, and the completion time. h. FVAP provided toll free technical hotline support numbers to be used primarily by election officials. The contractor shall establish service with the telephone company for this hotline. Each call received shall be individually logged showing the date and time of the call, the name of the caller, the reason for the call, the location (state/county) of the caller and the action taken. Individual call records shall be maintained and available upon request. A monthly written call summary to include a breakdown by state, county a nd type of inquiry shall be provided. Hotline support shall be provided between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. EST Monday through Friday. Additional coverage shall be provided with the electronic answering of calls, i.e., Voice Mail or an Answerin g Machine to be provided during all non-business hours. i. The contractor will institute backup procedures for the ETS on a daily basis. The backup will include all files associated with the ETS required for daily operation. The contractor will retain a backup of all development and design programs no more th an 2 business days old. The contractor will institute an off site storage process of the backup files. 5. Billing The contractor will invoice FVAP for the following services on a monthly basis with itemized detail: 1. Flat monthly rate regardless of fax/email traffic and telephone calls. 6. Reporting/Deliverables By the 5th day of each month a report(s) will be provided to FVAP detailing system activity for the previous month. This report will include all statistics to include the following: The Number Of: FPCAs Blank Ballots from LEO to Citizen Completed Ballots Information from Citizen to LEO Non-FPCA Registration Request Non-FPCA Ballot Request Blank Voter Registration Application from LEO to Citizen Hot Line Questions Notices of Elections Test Transactions General Technical Assistance Transmissions Requiring Special Handling (e.g. once the fax was received the forwarding information was not legible and required contacting FVAP, LEO or the citizen) Missing Fax Numbers Missing Page Numbers Duplicate Transmissions Non-Election Related Materials Garbled Transmissions Fax Malfunctions Other (Explain) Of The Total Faxes Processed: The number transmitted correctly No Transmission required No Transmission possible The number of total emails with PDFs attached broken down by: The number of emails received from citizens The number of emails forwarded to LEOs The number of emails received from LEOs The number of emails forwarded to citizens The number of emails unable to be transmitted The contractor will provide an annual report, which will include the information from the monthly reports including processing of the fax information by state information regarding demographics of the citizens using the Service. In addition, the annual re port will include a section on the electronic transmission process. The annual report will also include applicable graphs and pie charts depicting the faxing activity. On average, the annual report will be 20 to 30 pages in length. Software Rights All software purchased by the contractor for the use of this contract will become the property of the government. All software developed and designed for the electronic transmission system will become the property of the government. Media Inquiries All publicity and contact with the press and media shall receive prior approval with regards to this service from the Director, FVAP. Violation of this clause is considered a material breach of this contract and subject to termination with penalties to be assessed by the contracting officer against the contract. 7. Definitions Central processing center The location where the contractor provides the electronic transmission service. DSN (Defense Switch Network) - A component of the Defense Communications System that handles Department of Defense voice, data, and video communications. Election for Federal Office An election for federal office is any general, special, or primary election held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting, nominating or electing any candidate for th e office of President, Vice President, President elector, Member of the United States Senate, Member of the United States House of Representatives. Electronic Transmission The faxing or emailing of election materials. FVAP Federal Voting Assistance Program FPCA Federal Post Card Application - a postage-free postcard, printed and distributed by FVAP for use by absentee voters covered by UOCAVA. FWAB Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot a backup ballot to be used by citizens covered under UOCAVA in the event he or she not receive his or her regular ballot from the state or territory. General Election An election held to choose candidates nominated in the primary (or by convention or caucus), for Federal, state, and local office. Hotline Support Telephone support provided to local election officials for technical problems with the faxing of voting materials. Hotline support shall be provided between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. EST, Monday Friday. Primary or Primary Election An election held before a general election to nominate a political partys candidate for office. Published Telephone Numbers FVAP provided telephone numbers for callers to reach the electronic transmission service and obtain voting hotline support. Local Election Officials the individuals at local jurisdictions and municipalities within the states that register voters and provide all ballots for elections in their area. Received Documents All election related materials transmitted and processed through the Electronic Transmission Service. UOCAVA Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), 42 U.S.C. 1973ff. The Act covers the voting rights of all members of the Uniformed Services, which includes the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard; and the Commissioned C orps of the Public Health Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; members of the U.S. merchant marine; family members of Uniformed Service members; and U.S. Citizens residing outside the U.S. Voting Action Officer Person designated to assist individuals covered by the Act in regards to voting assistance. Voting Assistance Guide - The primary source of information for citizens, covered by UOCAVA understand the procedures for registering and voting in their state or territory of legal voting residence.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Defense Contracting Command-Washington(DCC-W) ATTN: Policy and Compliance, 5200 Army Pentagon, Room 1D245 Washington DC
- Zip Code: 20310-5200
- Country: US
- Zip Code: 20310-5200
- Record
- SN00764734-W 20050310/050308212413 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |