THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE ONLY: This is a sources sought notice to aid in the identification of potential vendors to provide the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, Central Office, license for access to a single online web-based portal to obtain credit reports and criminal background checks. This announcement is seeking information from industry, which will be used for preliminary planning purposes. No proposals are being requested or accepted with this notice. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS. The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Benefits Administration, is issuing this Sources Sought Notice as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the stated requirement. General Description: A subscription web-based portal is needed to access credit and criminal background reports to determine if a particular person is qualified as a fiduciary for a VA beneficiary. The purpose of this requirement is to acquire a subscription to a web-based browser to obtain address verification, criminal history, credit inquiries, consumer identifying information, demographics, fraud summary, credit score summary, profile summary, public records and trades. In addition, the contractor shall provide batch alerts on adverse changes noted on a fiduciary s credit and or criminal background. Batch alerts shall continuously check for updates on the list of people or companies submitted and alert to new or changed records associated with those topics. Batch alerts shall be incorporated within the web-based portal for monthly review. The contractor shall provide utilization for no more than three-hundred (300) VBA employees, to both credit and criminal background checks electronically as well as in paper format. The contractor shall allow access to credit and criminal information at VACO Central Office located at 1800 G Street NW, Washington, DC 2006 as well as the fiduciary hub locations listed below: Indianapolis, Indiana Fiduciary Hub Milwaukee, Wisconsin Fiduciary Hub Lincoln, Nebraska Fiduciary Hub Columbia, South Carolina Fiduciary Hub Salt Lake City, Utah Fiduciary Hub Louisville, Kentucky Fiduciary Hub Web-Based Portal Subscription Service: All credit and criminal background checks will be conducted via an internet portal and should not require additional software added to the VBA system. The information shall be searchable by name, SSN, and date of birth. Access to the web-based database shall be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, excluding routine scheduled back-ups and upgrades, which shall require advanced notification to the VBA. This information shall be available to all users and provide access to printable reports for all users. Through a web-based portal, the contractor shall provide access to a secure web-based database to include: Current Addresses Social Security Numbers Dates of Birth Email Addresses Telephone Numbers Criminal Background History Criminal and court records Criminal offense description-case disposition Infractions UCC filings Law enforcement records Credit summary, including the following account information: Revolving (payments, balances, additional information), Installments (payments, balances, additional information). Real estate (payments, balances, additional information). Credit summary for bankruptcies, defaults, judgments, and past due information. Credit history, derogatory summary and credit score. Scoring mechanism to assign risk if appointed to manage financial assets Quantifiable scale of the level of risk to manage financial assets based on the elements identified below: Low-risk and identifying factors that contributed to risk Medium-risk and identifying factors that contributed to risk High- risk and identifying factors that contributed to risk Monitored Inappropriate use of web-based portal by internal employees Training and Instruction Materials: The contractor shall provide initial training, new employee training and annual training to all VBA employees upon the request of VBA. Also, training shall be provided to all users prior to any updates and or changes made to the web-based portal if necessary. The contractor shall provide training in person, virtually or any other methods that prove as an advantage to users. The contractor shall provide detailed narrative instructions and reference materials, to include computer screen captures, web links, computer system/application navigation and job aides. The contractor should also provide recorded training that can be posted on the web-based platform or VBA s Knowledge Management (KM) system for users. The contractor shall prepare and assist in the distribution of communications to all affected employees, supervisors, and union representatives to explain the purpose of the web-based portal. The contractor will develop briefings and presentations with VBA for delivery to field personnel to support the web-based portal. Specific responsibilities of the contractors include: Development and distribution of any materials and agendas to be used in meetings. Preparation, scheduling, and coordination of meetings. Facilitation of meetings. Preparation and publication of all meeting minutes. Web-Based Portal Support and Performance: The contractor shall provide telephone and/or email service to users to assist with the use of the web-based platform, password resets, and technical issues. The contractor shall designate a point of contact which includes the name, email address, and phone number to the COR and any other personal in VBA the COR deems necessary. The Contractor shall provide monthly Project Status Reports (PSR) to include status updates on deliverables and issues that arise during the performance period. These are due to the COR by the fifth workday of each calendar month throughout the project or upon request by the COR. The report shall detail work accomplishments, problems encountered with the web-based portal and corrective actions taken. This report will also identify any problems that have arisen but have not been completely resolved with an explanation. Reporting Capability: The contractor shall provide reporting capability through a web-based portal for VBA. The contractor will ensure VBA Administrators have access to reports containing information entered by users. The contractor shall have capability or an ad-hoc report for VBA to track the number and name of searched persons by users. In addition, the contractor shall email VBA administrators a monthly report of each fiduciary hub s search reports listed by users and a list of any inappropriate use of the web-based portal by internal employees. The contractor shall email monthly user reports to VBA administrators no later than the 5th of every month. The contractor will schedule an initial meeting with VBA for a demonstration and discussion of monthly reports. Based on these discussions, the contractor may be required to make revisions prior to acceptance. Batch Reporting: The contractor shall provide ongoing monitoring by the web-based portal to alert VBA administration of adverse changes noted on a fiduciary s credit and or criminal background. Batch alerts shall work as an ongoing monitoring of an individual as opposed to a one-time search. Batch alerts shall continuously check for updates on the list of people or companies submitted and alert to new or changed records associated with those topics. Batch alerts shall be presented monthly in an output file or via email to a document viewer within the web-based portal. Alertable content includes: Address change Phone number change Lawsuits Bankruptcies Sanctions Arrest records Real estate transactions Death records Divorce records Carry concealed weapons licenses Liens and Judgments Real property pre-foreclosure records Period of Performance:Â April 1, 2017 March 31, 2018 (with four option years). Applicable North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 519130 (Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals), with a Small business size standard of 1,000 employees. Interested parties responding to this sources sought request shall submit the following information at a minimum: (1) Company name, address, DUNS Number, and point of contact with phone number, and e-mail address; (2) Type of business (i.e. Large Business, Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB), Small Business (SB), etc.) under NAICS 519130, which contains a size standard of 1,000 employees; (3) Detailed information showing specifications of the tentative proposed product anticipated to meet the requirements of the VBA. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. (4) GSA Contract Number (if applicable) (5) A positive statement of your firm s intent to submit a proposal in response to a solicitation for this project; The response date to this Sources Sought notice is January 17, 2017, at 2:00 PM EST. The Government will not pay any costs for responses submitted. Electronic submissions are required via email to
[email protected]. BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SDVOSB, VOSB, OR SMALL BUSINESSES, OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION NOTE: Potential firms must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov) in order to be considered.