Inactive

This is a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) for market research purposes only. This SSN is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a prom... This is a Sources Sought Notice (SSN) for market research purposes only. This SSN is issued solely for information and planning purposes – it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This SSN does not commit the IRS to contract for any supply or service. Further, the agency is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. This SSN is being published to identify potential sources capable of providing support services for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Program Management Testing. Responders are advised that the agency will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this SSN; all costs associated with responding to this SSN will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this SSN does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. It is the responsibility of the potential offerors to monitor the agency sources for additional information. Background The Office of Safeguards (Safeguards) within Governmental Liaison, Disclosure and Safeguards (GLDS) function of Privacy, Governmental Liaison and Disclosure (PGLD) is responsible for ensuring that Federal Tax Information (FTI) provided outside of the IRS is protected as if it is in IRS’ possession. Safeguards evaluates more than 300 federal, state and local agencies, as well as their authorized contractors receiving FTI under various sub-sections of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 6103 and other IRC provisions. Agencies must implement safeguards to protect confidentiality and prevent unauthorized access and use of FTI. Safeguards works in partnership with the recipient agencies to identify and mitigate risks to FTI. The specific safeguards are outlined in IRC §6103(p)(4) and Publication 1075, Tax Information Security Guidelines for Federal, State, and Local Agencies. The Office of Safeguards has a need to increase security of FTI and to ensure consistent application of information security standards across all partner agency information systems by obtaining computer security review expertise and ancillary contractor support for the Safeguards Program. Safeguards seeks contractor support to optimize its processes to reduce costs and minimize risk to FTI in possession of agency partners, while continuing to meet all regulatory and agency documented standards and guidance; and obtain information technology expertise and ancillary support to enable Safeguards to meet on-going and new regulatory objectives having an impact on the Safeguards Program. The anticipated requirement encompasses Contractor support to provide cybersecurity and IT expertise, and other related skills. It is the mission of Safeguards is to promote taxpayer confidence in the integrity of the tax system by ensuring the confidentiality of IRS information provided to federal, state, and local agencies. Safeguards verifies compliance with IRC 6103(p)(4) safeguard requirements through the identification and mitigation of any risk of loss, breach, or misuse of FTI held by external government agencies. The Contractor shall collaborate with IRS leadership, staff, and other contractors in support of agency computer security reviews. Support shall include but is not limited to the following: conducting preparatory agency outreach; conducting pre-review research and analysis to determine scope and potential areas of concern; executing automated and manual computer security scans of partner agency systems during the review; preparing reports documenting scan results and other computer security findings; and analyzing and responding to various partner agency computer security information submissions. Other computer security review-related support includes stakeholder outreach, risk-based modeling for agency review selection, computer security review methodology updates, and providing general IT expertise. The Contractor shall provide ad hoc support for the assessment of other projects, pilots, and new legislation that include provisions falling within the purview of Safeguards. Objective No decision has yet been finalized regarding the small business strategy for this acquisition. The purpose of this SSN is to identify interested vendors with capabilities to meet all the Government requirements at a fair market price. The agency anticipates awarding a Task Order to obtain contractor support services for IT Computer Security Support. The agency anticipates that it will issue an RFP in the first Quarter of FY23. Vendors’ SSN responses shall be sent to Contract Specialist, Michele Evans, at Michele.N.Evans@irs.gov on or before 12 August 2022, 3PM EST. The agency is not seeking marketing information and will not review it. Submission Instructions The North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) Code proposed for the requirement is 541512 with a size standard of $30M. The Government requests that all interested parties submit the information outlined below. Contractor Name Address Point of Contact (POC) POC phone number and e-mail address DUNS number and CAGE Brief description of the company's business size (i.e., annual gross revenue for the prior three (3) years) to include all Small Business information (if applicable) Anticipated teaming or subcontracting arrangements (delineate between work accomplished by prime and work accomplished by teaming partners) No more than three (3) corporate experiences in similar size, scope and complexity to the enclosed PWS scope shall be submitted. The corporate experience shall demonstrate the company’s experience in completing the information as stated in Section 3 of the draft PWS included in this announcement. Contractors shall include the contract number, funded dollar value(s), period of performance, and a relevant scope summary. Page limit and formatting requirements: The company's standard format is acceptable; however, the limit for all responses shall be five (5), 11 font size, 8 ½ x 11-inch pages. If you have any questions, please contact Michele Evans at Michele.N.Evans@irs.gov.