Inactive

THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY This Request for Information (RFI) is a means of obtaining feedback from contractors concerning the requirements stated below, under Description of the Requireme... THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ONLY This Request for Information (RFI) is a means of obtaining feedback from contractors concerning the requirements stated below, under Description of the Requirement, which is part of the acquisition planning and market research phase for this procurement. The industry input received from this RFI will aid in determining available sources that can meet the Government’s below stated requirements and may be considered in the preparation of the official solicitation package. This Request for Information does not constitute a solicitation. Instead, it is an opportunity for the Department of Energy (DOE or Department) to maximize small business participation by measuring the capacity and competency of small businesses to perform in all areas of this acquisition. Furthermore, DOE is interested in the capabilities and interest of other than small businesses in this procurement. The Department anticipates the release of a Request for Quotations (RFQ) in the fourth quarter of this calendar year. DESCRIPTION OF THE REQUIREMENT Background: The Department of Energy’s Office of the General Counsel (GC) provides legal and policy advice and analysis, counsel, and support to the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, and program offices throughout DOE to further the Department’s mission of advancing the national, economic, and energy security of the United States through scientific and technological innovation and the environmental cleanup of the national nuclear weapons complex. Requirement: GC provides legal services to all DOE offices across the country and in different parts of the world and determines DOE’s authoritative position on any question of law. This mission requires comprehensive and advanced legal research tools, and ready access to legal information. DOE requires access for up to 175 users to a computer-assisted legal research (CALR) platform in order to obtain access to legal, news, and other databases in support of GC’s mission, with an option to add or subtract a limited number of new users over the course of a contract, if necessary. Objective: DOE GC seeks to award a contract (or contracts) for CALR subscription services. The goal, throughout the life of the contract, is to obtain a cost-effective, complete, accurate, efficient, flexible, innovative, and productive blend of online legal research to support DOE’s mission. Scope: The resulting contract(s) will be used to obtain online computerized access to complete legal, news, financial, public record, docket and related information databases. Examples of such databases include: federal and state court case documents, legislative documents, regulatory/administrative decisions, statutes, regulations, legal treatises, legislative histories, specialized materials, and expert witness data – with full-text search and retrieval capability (both within individual databases and across databases); and related support services for the DOE on an unlimited access basis. This contract will support the CALR needs of all DOE component organizations and personnel, including DOE-authorized contractor personnel, detailees from client agencies, joint project personnel, interns, and DOE employees performing authorized work, at any location within the continental United States (CONUS), Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and Mariana Islands. There are also a few DOE users stationed in foreign countries who may also require access to the Contractor's CALR services – and DOE will bear any telecommunications costs necessary for this subset of DOE users to access the Contractor's system. Platform access must generally be made available to DOE users on both computer and mobile devices on a 24-hours/day, 7 days/week, 365 days/year basis, with limited downtime for platform maintenance/technical issues. In addition to an online legal research platform and database, a resulting contract would also require provision of the customer service support needed to both train and advise DOE users on the use of the platform and to provide maintenance and technical services for the platform. Firms are encouraged to describe the breadth and reliability of their database offerings and their end user support features. A resulting contract may also require provision of AI-powered tools for assisting with legal research. Firms are encouraged to describe any AI technology they offer and to explain how this technology can assist with legal research and whether it can be enabled and disabled per individual end-user’s preferences. If solicited, a resulting contract would be the main source for CALR within the Department, but not necessarily the only source for each DOE GC component office, i.e., other commercially available research products/services may be used to supplement services available under this contract. DOE reserves the right to award more than one contract under a resulting RFQ, if that is the chosen solicitation format. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Capability Statement: All interested contractors that are certified small business concerns (please specify which type) or other than small business concerns who believe they can meet the requirements described in this Request for Information are invited to submit, in writing, complete information describing their ability to provide the deliverables under this effort. Qualified firms shall submit a Capability Statement on company letterhead demonstrating the firm’s qualifications to perform the defined work. Responses must be complete and sufficiently detailed to address the specific information. The Capability Statement shall address, at a minimum, the following: A. Company Profile, to include: 1. Company name and address; 2. Affiliate information, parent company, joint venture partners, and potential teaming partners; 4. What other large procurement vehicle(s) (e.g., GSA FSS/MAS) the firm holds contracts under and what is the contract number(s)? 5. Point of contact (name, title, phone number, and e-mail address); 6. UEI number and CAGE Code, as registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov/, and confirmation of an Active SAM registration; and 7. SBA Size (must correlate with SAM registration) under the applicable NAICS code. B. Documentation of the firm’s CALR platform to meet DOE’s objectives, to include: 1. An outline of the products and services the firm could offer in response to this information request. 2. A summary of the firm’s key methods and techniques for implementation and operation of services. 3. An overview of any innovative or advanced features or approaches offered, in particular the use of AI-powered tools. 4. A summary of the firm’s experience in delivery of similar products and services. 5. An outline of the firm’s cost model and any phased pricing arrangements. 6. A brief statement about the anticipated CALR industry challenges in the next five years and proposed solutions for addressing same. C. Responses are requested to indicate the likelihood of responding to an actual solicitation, if an actual solicitation is issued, using the following: ? 75% to 100% ? 50% to 74% ? 25% to 49% ? Less than 25% D. The anticipated NAICS code for this requirement is 518210: Data Processing, Hosting, and Related Services (SB size standard: $35 million). If contractors believe a more appropriate NAICS code applies to the requirement as detailed above, include the feedback in the firm’s response. E. Additional comments or questions: Firms may also provide additional comments or questions relevant to the procurement. Video Presentation: Firms may also (but are not required to) submit a brief video presentation (no more than 1.5 hours in length) showcasing the salient features of the firm’s legal research platform. Format of Responses: Please provide the Capability Statement in no more than five (5) single-sided pages, 12-point font, minimum one-inch margins, in Microsoft Word format with a “.docx” or “.doc” extension or in Adobe format with a “.pdf” extension. The Company Profile information requested does not count towards the 5-page limit. An accessible link to the video presentation may be submitted via email to the Contracting Officer, Kelley Vandecoevering, at Kelley.Vandecoevering@hq.doe.gov. The video link must remain accessible for a minimum of 30 calendar days from the submission deadline. To the extent possible, all responses should be unclassified and provided for general access by the Government. Any proprietary information submitted must be clearly and separately identified and marked and will be appropriately protected. The Government will NOT be responsible for any proprietary information not clearly marked. Any material provided may be used in the development of future solicitations. All responses shall be submitted via email on or before 12:00 PM Eastern Time (ET), November 29th, 2024, to the Contracting Officer, Kelley Vandecoevering (e-mail: Kelley.Vandecoevering@hq.doe.gov), and must include the information requested above. The subject line for all responses should be: “RESPONSE – DOE CALR SERVICES.” Late responses will not be accepted. Responses are strictly being requested for market research purposes only and should not include additional or alternative information. Note: As permitted by Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 10, this is a market research tool being utilized for informational and planning purposes. Firms’ responses will assist the Government in the development of its acquisition strategy for a possible Request for Quotations (RFQ), to be issued at a later date, and in determining whether there are contractors capable of completing these requirements. This RFI shall not be construed as a solicitation or as any commitment or obligation on the part of the Government to issue a solicitation. The Government does not intend to award a contract based on this request, so quotes will not be considered. No reimbursement will be made for any costs associated with providing information in response to this synopsis or any follow-up information requests. Response is strictly voluntary – it is not mandatory to submit a response to this RFI to participate in any formal RFQ process that may take place in the future. However, it should be noted that information gathered through this RFI may significantly influence the Department’s acquisition strategy. All interested parties will be required to respond separately to any solicitations posted as a result of this Request for Information. Request for Information Expansion: Depending upon the responses received, DOE may request additional information about firm capabilities, may conduct question and answer sessions, or may conduct meetings or industry engagement sessions regarding this requirement. Answers to Vendor Questions: Would the Government be willing to extend the page limit to 10 pages? This would allow respondents to submit a Capability Statement that provides adequate information on available products and services to benefit the Government as it conducts market research. The additional pages would also provide space for respondents to provide all other required information as stated in the RFI. Answer: No, the Government is not willing to extend the page limit on this market research requirement. Does the Government have a preferred format for the video presentation? Answer: No, there is no preferred format for the video presentation. Can respondents include a link to their video presentation with their RFI email submission? Or, is there another preferred submission method for the video presentation? Answer: The RFI addresses how to submit the video presentations, should a vendor choose to include it.