MODIFICATION
D -- Return Review Program (RRP)
- Notice Date
- 12/30/2009
- Notice Type
- Modification/Amendment
- NAICS
- 541519
— Other Computer Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), National Office Procurement (OS:A:P), 6009 Oxon Hill Road, Suite 500, Oxon Hill, Maryland, 20745
- ZIP Code
- 20745
- Solicitation Number
- RRP_RFI
- Point of Contact
- Shontae Harley, , George (Lee) Bonds,
- E-Mail Address
-
shontae.t.harley@irs.gov, george.l.bonds@irs.gov
(shontae.t.harley@irs.gov, george.l.bonds@irs.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- REQUEST FOR INFORMATION Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Office of Information Technology Acquisition (OITA) Return Review Program (RRP) December 22, 2009 GENERAL INFORMATION Document Type: Request for Information Contracting Office: Modernization Acquisition Branch Point of Contact: Shontae Harley Contract Specialist BACKGROUND The Return Review Program (RRP) is a mission-critical, automated system that will be used to enhance IRS capabilities to detect, resolve, and prevent criminal and civil non-compliance thereby reducing issuance of fraudulent tax refunds. The 1993 Malcolm Sparrow Report determined that annual losses estimated at several billions of dollars were attributable to paper and electronic tax return’s fraud and identified a gap between the IRS’ technological service competence and its technological compliance competence. In 1994, the Palmer Task Force recommended to Congress that a pre-refund automated fraud control process be developed to significantly reduce IRS losses from fraudulent tax refunds. The IRS’s Questionable Refund Program (QRP) has as its objective the timely detection, investigation and prevention of questionable tax return-based refunds. The current-state QRP uses a data-driven approach that depends upon the Electronic Fraud Detection System (EFDS) capabilities to store and process large data sets, mine data to identify questionable refunds, query data to identify individual and mass non-compliance which may lead to the identification of potential criminal investigations, and to conduct research, trigger the required taxpayer notifications, and monitor aging and status. The Electronic Fraud Detection System (EFDS) is used to detect potential fraud of tax refunds in individual income tax returns (IRS form 1040). As the system ages, it has been unable to keep up changes in the tax code or current business priorities. The IRS has determined that a replacement for EFDS is needed, and has designated this application as the Return Review Program (RRP). RRP will take the existing EFDS functionality, and improve it by adding new features, a more robust scoring ability, and making the system in line with the IRS Enterprise Architecture. OBJECTIVE To achieve RRP’s objectives, the IRS has determined that a system will be created in four Transition States as defined below. Overall functionality of the system must include data mining and modeling, predictive analytics, fraud scheme detection, real-time fraud scoring, workload management and work stream identification based on fraud score card analysis, as well as the ability to incorporate real-time business rule changes. •Transition State One (TS1) will create a new relational database with tools to assist in detection and prevention of fraudulent submissions 1.Provide data interfaces 2.Provide dynamic pattern recognition across tax returns 3.Provide analytical tools to predict future fraud •Transition State Two (TS2) will replace the current Electronic Fraud Detection System (EFDS) functionality. EFDS is an automated system that is used to maximize fraud detection at the time tax returns are filed to eliminate the issuing of questionable refunds. EFDS supports the following business capability needs: o Receive and maintain large amounts of data from a variety of sources (internal and external). o Execute data mining algorithms to develop data models that identify questionable and fraudulent returns. o Establish tolerances to create workload inventories. o Assign and transfer workload. o Review potentially false tax returns and develop scheme referrals o Capture statistical information and track the status of schemes. o Track employer contact information and W-2 verification status. o Record the disposition of a return. o Compare current year return information to previous years o Analyze business entity information. o Readily see if the taxpayer worked for the same employer in the previous years and whether the income reported on a return matches information submitted by employers. o Case Processing o Inventory Management o MIS reporting o Case Treatment Streams In addition, the new system will: 1. Consolidate five current disparate applications into one single integrated application 2.Provide a single authentication and establish role-based authorization process though a web-based interface using the IRS Intranet 3. Enhance capabilities for real time rule changes as new issues are discovered or inventory levels change 4. Run new system in parallel in EFDS until the IRS determines full operational capabilities are replicated and reliable. 5. Improve case processing by establishing support rules for assignment of cases differentiated by type/timing to work, e.g., partial refund, etc. 6. Enhance inventory management by making it easier to adapt to change, moving inventory, adding new PODs for delivery of inventory, etc. • Transition State Three (TS3) will add additional functionality to assist in pre-refund issue detection 1.Enhance ability to scan business tax returns for fraud detection 2. Enhance early detection of multiple issues through real-time scoring 3. Identify potential new treatment streams, noncompliance patterns, and tax return preparer issues •Transition State Four (TS4) will enhance interfaces to internal and external interfaces in and outside the IRS 1. Create external interfaces that will allow data to be provided directly from identified stakeholders (Social Security, large corporations) 2. Enhance interfaces with existing IRS systems 3. Tracking the effectiveness of various fraud detection treatment streams Vendors must meet the requirements of the IRS Enterprise Architecture and section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. RESPONSES IRS is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) in order to gain a better understanding of common practices used in performing such services. The agency is interested in obtaining contractor support to provide such services in the development and deployment of the RRP system. Vendors shall provide answers to the following questions: 1. Describe past project(s), similar in nature, to the objectives for the RRP. Describe how your company addressed the following: a. Developed requirements into a logical and physical design b. Programming languages c. Describe the specific data mining algorithms and approaches that have been used to predict fraud d. Provide examples of dynamic change functionality within the predictive analytic model software and use of predictive analytics to detect fraud schemes e. Experience in applying data mining techniques and technology to large datasets. Describe the size of the dataset(s) involved in the experience. f. Knowledge of issues and experience related to data mining [for tax administration], fraud anomaly detection, scoring, and audit selection. The ability to isolate the factors or patterns that indicate or predict non-compliance [in tax data]. g. Knowledge of data mining risks as they relate to data security and privacy as well as model failure and performance analysis. h. Specific industries requiring similar solutions i. Collaboration with customers’ existing or in-house developers j. Interaction with separate infrastructure and testing vendors k. COTS products used l. Sub-contracting efforts m. Challenges/critical issues encountered during development and solutions n. Internal management processes to include but not limited to EVM, Configuration Management o. Capabilities in case processing, inventory management, and reporting as well as treatment stream assignment and treatment effectiveness measurement and tracking 2.Describe how you would incorporate your past experience and technical expertise to create a best value solution for the above listed RRP objectives. 3.Address any gaps in past experience and to that of the objectives in the RFI and provide your plan to overcome those gaps. 4.Describe any new or recent predictive analytical functionality, fraud identifying capabilities, or otherwise data mining techniques that are forthcoming in the tools that should be utilized to meet the objectives for the RRP. 5. Provide a list of references that the IRS can contact who have implemented a solution similar to the one described in the requirements above. 6.What contract type(s) and contract vehicle(s) would be most appropriate in procuring such services? Vendors may be selected, at the IRS’ discretion, to conduct a presentation to review the vendor’s RFI response in detail with the IRS functional and technical personnel. Date, time, and location of the presentation will be determined at a later date. RFI responses shall include the company name, physical address, and email address and phone number of a designated representative. Vendors shall submit responses in electronic format via email, not later than 2:00 PM EST, Thursday, January 14, 2010. Responses shall be submitted to Shontae Harley at shontae.t.harley@irs.gov. They shall not exceed ten (10) single-sided, Times New Roman 12-pitch font, double-spaced pages. QUESTIONS Questions shall be submitted to Shontae Harley at shontae.t.harley@irs.gov. PUBLIC RECORDS AND REQUESTS FOR CONFIDENTIALITY Any document submitted that contains confidential information must be marked on the outside as containing confidential information, and each page upon which confidential information appears must be marked as containing confidential information. The confidential information must be clearly identifiable to the reader wherever it appears. COPYRIGHTS By submitting a response, the vendor agrees that the government may copy the response for purposes of facilitation of review or to respond to requests for public records. The vendor represents that such copying will not violate any copyrights in the materials submitted. CONTENT OF RESPONSES Responses should be based on the material contained in this RFI and any other relevant information the vendor thinks is appropriate. Responses will not be returned. COST TO VENDORS The government is not responsible for any costs incurred by a vendor in relation to the preparation of a response to this RFI. NO OBLIGATION TO ISSUE REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL The issuance of this RFI does not obligate the government in any way to issue an RFP for the services described.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/TREAS/IRS/NOPAP/RRP_RFI/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: TBD, Oxon Hill, Maryland, 20745, United States
- Zip Code: 20745
- Zip Code: 20745
- Record
- SN02033448-W 20100101/091230235750-a144541a835e1da1aa2d6952a9244d73 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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