Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 1.0 BACKGROUND. 1.1 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a 21st century agency that helps make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Ameri... REQUEST FOR INFORMATION 1.0 BACKGROUND. 1.1 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a 21st century agency that helps make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans — whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial products. The CFPB is committed to a work environment that promotes fairness and equality of opportunity for everyone — employees and job applicants — on the basis of merit and without regard to race, color, disability, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, transgender status, gender identity or expression, gender non-conformity, or sex stereotyping of any kind), genetic information, parental status, or prior protected Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) activity (collectively, “EEO bases”). The CFPB has a zero tolerance standard for unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation in the workplace. 1.2 CFPB provides a neutral and impartial forum for employees, former employees or applicants for employment to lodge complaints of discrimination based on any one or more of the protected EEO bases identified above. Pursuant to CFPB policy and 29 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 1614.104 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Management Directive 110 (MD-110), the CFPB is required to provide Counselees access to pre-complaint counseling and an alternative dispute resolution program, offering the parties an opportunity for an early resolution of disputes in a mutually-satisfactory fashion. If the parties fail to reach a resolution, the Counselee may file a formal complaint of discrimination. The CFPB is required to investigate the complaint of discrimination in accordance with 29 CFR §§1614.106-1614.108, MD-110, and CFPB policy. 1.3 The CFPB has an in-house investigator, but at times, the workload is too substantial for one investigator. In addition, our in-house investigator cannot process cases that are conflicts for the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). CFPB is considering establishing a single-award Blanket Purchase Agreement for EEO investigation services to maximize efficiency and standardization of approach in each investigation. This RFI will serve to help us determine whether small businesses can meet CFPB’s needs and provide the necessary capacity, especially when there is a surge in investigator needs. 1.4 OCR places extraordinary emphasis on ensuring all EEO investigations are complete, thorough, impartial, and timely. The standards of quality that may be deemed sufficient for EEO investigations in other federal agencies may not suffice to meet OCR’s high expectations and requirements. Many CFPB EEO investigations require extensive redaction of confidential information and evidence-gathering for original claims and amendments, including follow-up conversations with multiple witnesses and follow-up document requests. OCR expects and demands vendors/investigators to produce work product and deliverables of the highest quality. OCR will work closely with the vendor in non-conflict cases, and reserves the right to reject drafts or final versions of any required deliverables that do not meet OCR’s standards, and to require the vendor/investigator to revise deliverables accordingly. CFPB allows investigations to be conducted using an investigator’s personal laptop, following protocols that ensure security and follows the Bureau’s security protocols. CFPB also wishes to minimize the number of individual contract investigators assigned to conduct CFPB work to the lowest number of investigators necessary to handle the workload to enhance efficiency and standardization of approach. CFPB prefers that the same small cadre of investigator(s) conduct all assigned CFPB investigations. CFPB is therefore interested in hearing from businesses of all sizes to gain a better understanding of structure and pricing related to investigations. CFPB is considering establishing one flat unit price for all investigations based on historical costs of investigation. The flat unit price would fairly compensate the vendor for the quality standards demanded by CFPB. CFPB is also considering including an option for hourly compensation in excess of the flat unit price for work deemed extraordinary and unexpected that arises after the investigation is underway. For example, an unusually high number of accepted amendments (more than 3). CFPB seeks your input about this proposed structure, including information about price ranges for this structure. Additional information regarding our typical investigations can be found in Section 3.0. 2.0 Summary of Scope and desired vendor capabilities. 2.1 Scope. A vendor should be able to provide EEO investigation services to CFPB as follows: Prepare and revise (as necessary) an investigation plan, including: Identify relevant legal standards based on most recent case law. Identify potential witnesses initially and as uncovered during the investigation and develop legally thorough and efficient questions to ask in an affidavit. Identify necessary documentary evidence needed initially and as uncovered during the investigation. Conduct Investigation in accordance with 29 C.F.R. Part 1614, MD-110, and CFPB policy requirements, including timeframes. Prepare a draft Report of Investigation which will include the signed witness statements and documentary and comparator evidence collected, to be reviewed and approved by the Office of Civil Rights (except for in conflict cases). Draft a final Report of Investigation reflecting all required revisions provided by the Office of Civil Rights (except in conflict cases). Provide an investigator that is available immediately. Have capacity to provide investigator(s) during case surges, which could mean CFPB has requests for more than 1 case in the same week. Have the ability to provide draft and final ROIs in both electronic and printed formats (if OCR requests) in the number requested by the Office of Civil Rights. 2.2 Desired Investigator Requirements: Assign investigator(s) (for the minimal number of investigators necessary to conduct all CFPB work), with the following experience: Minimum 3 years of experience conducting federal sector EEO investigations. Currently meets training requirements set forth in MD-110 (submit proof) and will maintain current certification in accordance with MD-110 requirements. Able to meet Timeline to completion of Report of Investigation: 60 days with option for reasonably and mutually agreed upon extensions. Abide by other Office of Civil Rights requests and requirements, as relayed. Willing to sign and comply with a Non-Disclosure Agreement. 2.3 Location of Work: It is anticipated that all work contemplated under this BPA will be conducted remotely. CFPB has personnel located throughout the United States and is amenable to telephonic or videoconferencing to conduct these investigations. CFPB reserves the right to require travel of the investigator(s) to a location outside of Washington, DC in very rare circumstances and would pay for such travel. 3.0 Context and background for typical investigations: To provide some context and background regarding our typical investigations, we have gathered the following data: Reports of Investigations: Range and Averages Of 29 ROIs reviewed, the pages ranged from 152 pages to 3312 pages. Average of 835 pages. Of 25 ROIs reviewed, the witness ranges were from 2 to 14. Average of 7. Investigations by FY (not all investigations initiated ultimately result in the completion/issuance of an ROI because some settle). FY 21 – 9 complaints with ROI sent to filer (3 processed external, 6 internal) out of 12 complaints (formal/mixed/class) with an initial contact date this fiscal year FY 20 – 12 complaints with ROI sent to filer (8 processed external, 4 internal) out of 16 complaints (formal/mixed/class) with an initial contact date this fiscal year FY 19 – 9 complaints with ROI sent to filer (all processed external) out of 11 complaints (formal/mixed/class) with an initial contact date this fiscal year FY18 – 20 complaints with ROI sent to filer (all processed external) out of 21 complaints (formal/mixed/class) with an initial contact date this fiscal year FY17 – 5 complaints with ROI sent to filer (all processed external) out of 6 complaints (formal/mixed/class) with an initial contact date this fiscal year Average number of claims per case to date (across fiscal years): 2.7 per case Percentage of cases that involved harassment (of any type): 49% Amendments: We estimate that less than one third of our complaints involve at least one amendment. The number of amendments typically ranges from 0 to 4 with an average of 2 when there is an amendment. 4.0 Requested Response to RFI. CFPB is interested in determining whether a small business vendor can meet its needs, in particular the service capability that may be needed during case surges, and how businesses can meet the proposed pricing structure. In the near term, CFPB contemplates the release of a solicitation requesting quotes addressing the Scope and Requirements described above. Accordingly, CFPB is requesting information from industry leveraging experience and capabilities that already reside within the marketplace. If your firm has the requisite expertise and capabilities, and is interested in this potential requirement, please submit all the following: Vendor’s name, address, Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) number, point of contact, phone number, and email address. A description of your firm’s expertise and ability explaining how your company can meet the scope and requirements in 2.0 above, especially the capacity to provide enough investigators during the case surges, which may include 15-18 total investigations at a time. Vendor’s small business size status, including whether the vendor is a woman-owned, minority-owned, HUBZone, or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Comments about the proposed structure and pricing described above. The written response to this notice shall be limited to three (3) pages. Interested vendors are asked to respond no later than 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday, May 16, 2016. Responses shall be sent via e-mail to Vanessa del Toro at vanessa.deltoro@cfpb.gov. All information in response to this notice must be sent via e-mail in Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) or Microsoft Word format. Please Note: This Request for Information (RFI) is not a request for proposal or quote, and does not imply an obligation on the part of the CFPB to purchase services or issue a solicitation(s) for such services. Any information provided in response to this RFI will become the property of CFPB and, in addition, may be subject disclosure under a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.