TSA Issues RFI for Program Analysis and Strategic Support Services

The Transportation Security Administration has issued a Request for Information (RFI) as part of its market research to help refine the acquisition strategy for the Program Analysis & Strategic Support (PASS) services. PASS functional areas fall into three major categories: Portfolio, Program and Project Assistance; Acquisition, Programmatic, Strategic Planning, Engineering Technical Assessments & Recommendations; and Professional Engineering and Logistics. Sol. No. 70T0401919NA8015. Respond by Sept. 5. Contact: Jason Richards, contracting officer, [email protected]

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DHS to Use New Acquisition Tool to Examine AI to Help Contracting Officers

The Department of Homeland Security says it will use a new acquisition mechanism, the Commercial Solutions Opening Pilot Program (CSOP), to acquire artificial intelligence (AI)-based capabilities that can assist contracting officers make more efficient and effective use of Contract Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) data by rapidly identifying potentially relevant records to support past performance evaluations. Past performance data about a contractor is relevant for future source selection purposes. The CSOP is a non-Federal Acquisition Regulation based solicitation authority for acquiring innovative and commercial solutions. DHS received the authority under the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. The CSOP allows for a streamlined acquisition process and simplified acquisition terms. DHS wants at least one demonstration of a proof of concept or a viable prototype to determine the extent to which AI can help contracting officers conducting past performance evaluations in using CPARS data. Awards are expected before the end of September. Sol. No. CSOP-HQ-GS-000001. Contact: Jessica Phillips, contract specialist, [email protected], 202-447-5563.

DHS S&T Seeks Info on Handheld Ruggedized Mobile LTE Devices

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) is seeking information on commercially available handheld ruggedized mobile long-term evolution (LTE) devices to meet the needs of emergency responders, in this case emergency medical personnel. The information is for the System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) program to help emergency responders make procurement decisions. The SAVER program conducts objective assessments and validations on commercially available equipment and systems and develops knowledge products that provide relevant equipment information to the emergency responder community. Sol. No. FY19_SAV823A. Respond by Sept. 20. Contact: Sharon Flowers, contracting officer, [email protected], 202-447-5736.

State Dept. Issues RFI for Multimodal Biometric Solution

The U.S. Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security, Office of the Chief Technology Officer has issued a Request for Information (RFI) as part of market research on current and near-term multimodal biometric systems capable of collecting and receiving biometric and biographic information. The bureau currently uses an application called THOR, which is a derivative of the Biometric Automated Toolset, to perform multimodal biometric collection and identification using fingerprints, iris, and facial recognition to provide enhanced security at State Department facilities overseas. THOR includes the Enrollment Interface, which is an application that is locally installed on a user’s department-owned computer and used to enroll individuals into the system. The department says its primary “challenge” that it wants addressed “with THOR is that updates to the locally installed Enrollment Interface requires each computer to be manually updated, which is a resource intense endeavor that limits our ability to deploy new capabilities.” Some considerations include biometric peripherals must be FBI certified, work within the department’s OpenNet environment, support single-sign-on, and all software components must adhere to the federal government’s network and software security standards. The planned effort is a small business set aside. Sol. No. 19AQMM19N0064. Respond by Sept. 4. Contact: Tracie Hardy, contract specialist, [email protected].