THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY: This request is for planning purposes only, it is not a request for offers, quotes, or proposals. This notice does not represent a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred by interested parties responding to this notice. This notice is for Market Research only in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10 to determine the capability of potential sources. The Food & Nutrition Service (FNS) anticipates establishing a contract under North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) Codes 541511 (Custom Computer Programming Services) with a Small Business standard of $30M and 541519 (Other Computer Related Service) with a Small Business standard of $30M. FNS is issuing this notice in order to solicit Capability Statements from qualified sources to ensure sufficient competition exists to meet the Government’s requirements. It is the Government’s intent to use information gathered in response to this notice to assist in Market Research to determine whether to, in accordance with applicable laws, set-aside, solicit offers from all responsible sources or use the GSA Federal Supply Schedule (FSS). GSA FSS holders are encouraged to submit their current GSA FSS number(s) and appropriate SIN(s). The anticipated length of performance is one (1) twelve (12) month Base Period and four (4) twelve (12) month Option Periods. BACKGROUND: FNS has a responsibility to ensure that Child Nutrition Program (CNP) operators have the requisite knowledge and tools needed to plan, purchase, prepare, and serve nourishing meals that meet Federal meal pattern requirements while meeting their operational needs. FNS seeks a qualified Contractor to provide Operations, Maintenance, and Enhancement support on the Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (FBG) Interactive Web Tool and FBG Mobile App, as well as their components, including the Recipe Analysis Workbook, Product Formulation Statement Workbook, FBG Calculator, the Exhibit A Grains Tool, and the downloadable and printable FBG publication. The USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs (FBG) is available as Downloadable PDF, Interactive Web Tool and a Mobile App. The FBG is an essential tool used to assist in: 1) purchasing the right amount of food and purchasing it most economically, and 2) determining the specific contribution each food makes toward the Federal meal pattern requirements to ensure that meals served in CNPs meet program requirements for reimbursement. In addition, with yield data for more than 2,100 food items, this guide can provide ideas for adding new foods or new forms of familiar foods to menus served in CNPs. The FBG is widely used by School Nutrition Professionals such as Directors, Supervisors, Managers, School Menu Planners, School Food Authorities (SFA), Local Education Agencies (LEAs), and others participating in the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program. It is also used by Program Operators in the Child and Adult Care Food Program as well as the Summer Food Service Program. The Performance Work Statement (DRAFT) describes in detail the contractor support and services required for FBG Interactive Web Tool and Mobile App, including project management; communications and stakeholder engagement; requirements/user story management; system design, system and reports development, testing, security, and implementation; continuous system monitoring; and user support. The scope for this effort encompasses all technical and management support required to provide comprehensive Operations, Maintenance, and Enhancement (OM&E) support to sustain the operation of the FBG Interactive Web Tool and FBG Mobile App (including all features (electronic hard copy (Downloadable PDF), Recipe Analysis Workbook (RAW), Product Formulation Statement (PFS) Workbook, FBG Calculator, Exhibit A Grains Tool) and enhancements). The web tool shall be sustained at Digital Infrastructure Service Center (DISC), and the mobile app shall be sustained on all platforms (iOS, Android). The FBG Web Tool is accessible through FNS’ website, with a login e-authentication; the FBG Mobile App is available to download for free from each of the provider play stores and can be accessed with a login e-authentication. The web/mobile application is used by an audience that varies widely in technical resources and knowledge and shall be intuitive to use and be accessible to food manufacturers and Child Nutrition Program Professionals such as: Directors, Supervisors, Managers, Menu Planners, School Food Authorities (SFA), Local Education Agency (LEA), Program Operators and others who develop menus and purchase foods for meal production. PLEASE ENSURE YOU HAVE READ ALL ASPECTS OF THE PWS Interested parties shall review the attached DRAFT Performance Work Statement and provide their capability to perform the requirements. Small Businesses are encouraged to respond. SPECIFICATION REQUIREMENTS : The contractor must have experience and show capability in the following areas: Understanding/familiarity with Child Nutrition Programs (National School Lunch Program (NSLP), National School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), NSLP Afterschool Snack Service, Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) and how these programs operate. Understanding/familiarity with the USDA Food Buying Guide for Child Nutrition Programs. Minimum of five years of experience in web and mobile applications (similar to FBG applications) development. Utilizing an Agile Software Development methodology, Scrum preferred, and the associated industry leading practices and Agile Scrum automated tools (such as JIRA) to keep historic records of all Sprint-related activities. The contractor shall develop and propose a Product Roadmap for this development project in which Sprints do not exceed 4-weeks in duration, provides for quarterly software releases, and utilizes automated tools that maintain, generate, and track the Product Backlog, Sprint Backlog, Velocity Charts, Burndown Charts, Bugs/Issues, and Risks for the life of the project. Providing story point / level of effort (LOE) estimations in the product backlog on an ongoing basis to ensure a minimum of 1.5 to 2 sprints worth of change requests/users stories have been estimated at any given time based on the COR’s prioritization. Delivering the software design, development, and testing in 2–4-week sprints that produce discernible, incremental progress deliveries and COR-approved production ready software. COR expect these deliveries of capabilities shall be implemented in the production environment. Conducting Sprint Review for all items that have been completed (developed and tested) at the end of each Sprint and discuss user stories that were identified for the Sprint and not completed Understanding FNS Systems Development Lifecycle (SDLC) and experience in following all FNS procedures for moving the system into the User Acceptance Testing (UAT) (pre-deployment environment) and production environments. The contractor shall also be responsible for implementing the final code into the backup environment. Providing comprehensive test plan for UAT. Providing comprehensive thorough quality control check/testing prior to UAT. Mobile App: Familiarity with modernization of mobile applications by utilizing a cross-platform solution to transition from legacy mobile application development platform Minimum of two Years of experience with Spanish translation of the web tools and mobile applications. Understanding and implementing Section 508 Accessibility Standards on webtool and mobile applications, as well as online manuals/publications (PDF documents). Utilizing Adobe InDesign for professional design and preparing publication for print. Minimum of five years of experience with Webtool and Mobile Applications Database management and support. Familiarity with producing and maintaining training videos within web applications. CONTRACTOR KEY PERSONNEL/STAFF SUPPORT REQUIREMENTS: Senior Project Manager – Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or a Related Field Minimum of 10 years IT experience with at least 1 year of Federal experience Web Developer - Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or a Related Field Minimum of 10 years IT Development experience, 2 years database development Mobile App Developer - Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or a Related Field Minimum of 6 years IT Development experience, 2 years database development RESPONSE REQUESTED : This notice is a Market Research tool being used to determine the availability and capability of potential sources prior to determining a procurement strategy. No basis for a claim against the Government shall result from a response to this notice. If a solicitation is issued as a result of this Sources Sought, information submitted in response to this notice may be used to determine the appropriate procurement strategy. INTERESTED FIRMS SHALL SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING: Name and address of company and or companies (if there is a teaming arrangement). Include mailing address, telephone, fax number, website address (if applicable), Point of Contract Name, telephone and email address of the individual(s) authority and knowledge to clarify responses with Government representatives. Potential teaming arrangement – Describe whether the company intends to fulfill the subject requirement alone, or whether a teaming arrangement in anticipated. The Government recognizes that one company may not possess all of the necessary knowledge, skills, and experience needed to meet the requirements specified in the PWS. If knowledge, skills or other expertise from this type of arrangement are needed, vendors shall describe the efficiencies gained through teaming, but members need not be identified. Explain how expertise and experience gained through teaming will benefit the Government. Technical Capability relevant to the requirement; Technical Approach relevant to the requirement (no more than 2-3 paragraphs); Management Approach relevant to the requirement (no more than 2-3 paragraphs); Any Corporate experience relevant to the requirement; Relevant past performance. Your Capability Statement needs to include a list of three (3) customers (Government) within the past three (3) years highlighting similar work in nature, scope, complexity and a brief description of the scope of work. Your submission for relevant past performance must include for each customer: Contract name/Contract Number, Contracting Agency or Department, POC and contact information; Yearly Contract value (in$); State whether your firm was the prime or a subcontractor; Period of Performance; Description of work and how it relates to the requirements. Representative sample labor categories and rates for providing support services using GSA Schedule and SIN number(s), current unit rates (shown current year rate). Indicated business size, size standard and status, if qualified as an 8(a) firm (must be certified by the SBA), Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA), Woman-Owned Small Business, HUBZone firm (must be certified by the SBA), and/or Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business. DUNS Number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number, and company structure (Corporation, LLC, Partnership, Joint Venture, etc.) Companies also must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), to be considered as a potential source. *Please note: FNS will only make one award from any solicitation resulting from this Sources Sought. Submission Instructions: Interested firms responding to this Sources Sought must provide a Capability Statement demonstrating their experience, skills, and capability to fulfill the Government’s requirements for the above. The Capability Statement shall be in sufficient enough detail, but not exceed five (5) pages, so that the Government can determine the experience and capability of your firm to perform requirements specified in the DRAFT PWS. Please specify one primary and one alternate Point of Contact (POC) within your firm, including telephone numbers and email addresses in case clarifications of your submission are needed. DO NOT SUBMIT RESUMES. Respondents shall submit their response via email to the Point of Contact provided below. *The page size is to print to a standard 8.5X11 inch paper using Times New Roman, 11-point font, with one (1) inch margins using Microsoft Word. *The file shall be only one, in PDF or Word, and shall be no more than five pages in its entirety. Do not send a separate cover letter or any other document, submit only one file. The response must be received by April 25, 2022, 09:00 AM EST. Other electronic copies of Capability Statements will be accepted and should be emailed to (Contracting Officer: Antoine Boissonniere,
[email protected] & Contract Specialist Jessica Carrillo,
[email protected]. The email shall contain the following subject line “Food Buying Guide (FBG) Web Tool and Mobile App.” Questions or answers will not be considered. NO PHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED or RETURNED . The decision to proceed with the acquisition is at the sole discretion of the Government.