(PRWEB) May 24, 2017
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
The mission of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) is to assist Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs), Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (VOSBs), Small Disadvantaged Businesses, HUBZone Businesses, and Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) to add value to the work of VA.
VA OSDBU provides outreach and liaison support to businesses (small and large) and other members of the public and private sectors concerning small business acquisition issues. VA OSDBU is responsible for monitoring VA implementation and execution of the Department’s socioeconomic programs and provides numerous outreach services for Veterans and Service-disabled Veterans who seek to open or expand a business. VA OSDBU is the verification authority responsible for investigating and adjudicating the background of applicants to determine their eligibility as a SDVOSB or VOSB to participate in the Veterans First Contracting Program. VA OSDBU spearheads initiatives to maximize business opportunities for SDVOSB/VOSB and other small businesses by synchronizing critical resources through extensive marketing, counseling, and training. VA OSDBU also provides policy guidance, direction, and education to the VA acquisition community to assist in the implementation of VA Small and Veteran Business Programs.
To meet its mission, VA ODSBU is issuing a Sources Sought Notice to conduct market research to determine capabilities and innovative solutions to implement its integrated portal. The proposed North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Code is 541512, Computer System Design Services. The government may use this information to determine the best acquisition strategy and implementation approach for this procurement. The government requests that interested parties respond to this request, if applicable. This is sources sought and for planning purposes; it is not to be construed as a commitment by the government, nor will the government pay for information solicited.
Disclaimer and Important Notes:
This Request for Information (RFI) is issued for market research and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation nor does it restrict the government to the ultimate acquisition approach. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the government to form a binding contract. Any contract that might be awarded based on information received or derived from this market research will be the outcome of a competitive process.
Scope:
VA OSDBU requires a unified user-experience platform to provide consistent branding and user experience via a single-window interface for all VA OSDBU enterprise functionalities, applications, and services. This portal should support internal and external users. VA requires contractor support to design, develop, and maintain various aspects of this new portal including, but not limited to, website design, content creation, application development, and authentication integration. Eventually the VA OSDBU Integrated Portal will connect to a unified department online resource, Vets.gov.
Personalization:
User-tailored presentation services and customization
Content and Application Aggregation/Integration:
Consolidation and integration of applications and data from disparate sources into one or more pages.
VA OSDBU is requesting interested organizations to create a prototype of the portal in line with the portal requirements listed below on
https://sambuq.com/#!/59110de719fe6c71021dfd56/591141ba19fe6c71021dfd57/d
Required Portal Prototype Capabilities and Requirements:
Graphical User Interface and Integration Capabilities:
Portal needs to support static and dynamic content
Portal needs to support Web services for remote portlets (WSRP) standard to consume external Web services through a portlet and to expose the portlet functionality to external systems
Should support self-registration and associated workflows for self-registration
Integrated Graphical User Interface (GUI) to integrate securely with multiple systems with standard Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
Provide services-based integration using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) and Representational State Transfer (REST)-based Web services
Support portlet-based integration such as content, feed, iframe, link, and Web-clipping portlets
Support third-party plugins such as widgets or client-side component plugins
Portal needs to integrate with Microsoft Dynamics CRM system and other technologies including Java applications
Portal should have customizable widget interfaces and integration capabilities to integrate with VA ODSBU IT systems
Security Capabilities:
Provide in-built support for Active Directory (AD) Services and other forms of authentication that can be extended to suit and satisfy custom needs
Provide coarse-grained authorization at page level and fine-grained authorization at portal resource level
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)/ Transport Layer Security (TLS) support
Windows-based AD authentication
Support for multiple staff profiles (i.e., examples are system administrator, contracting officer, small business, program manager) and multiple team roles and responsibilities (i.e., examples are analytics, system administration, goals management, market research)
Submission Instructions:
Interested vendors can submit responses in the following manner.
1) SAMBUQ.com
Respondents are requested to create their organization profile, solution details, and SAMBUQ sandbox prototype in https://www.sambuq.com.
Required SAMBUQ submission artifacts:
Portal prototype in SAMBUQ sandbox
Instructions for logging into, navigating, and testing the portal in SAMBUQ sandbox
Portal solution technical components and architecture attached to the Solution in SAMBUQ Solutions
Organization capability statement attached to the Organization profile in SAMBUQ
To help you respond to this sources sough notification, the following SAMBUQ Responding to a Solicitation tutorial video can be used as a guide: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8_Yw0UB5L0
OR
2) Alternate Email Method
Respondents are requested to create a website of the integrated portal prototype and submit the following artifacts via email to vacovavip7(at)va.gov.
Required emailed submission artifacts:
Portal prototype URL
Instructions for logging in, navigating, and testing the portal
Portal solution technical components and architecture
Organization capability statement
Submission Deadline:
Responses must be submitted by 4 p.m (Eastern), on June 19, 2017, via https://www.sambuq.com.