NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS) - Pre-Solicitation Notice

The Government intends to issue a solicitation under the authority of FAR Parts 12 and 15.  The Government intends to use a price/non-price trade-off process to award multiple IDIQ type contracts to the responsible offeror(s) whose Proposal(s) represent the best value to the Government.

The Government intends on issuing a solicitation within the next 30 days for the award of multiple IDIQ contracts for NIST Cybersecurity and Privacy Support Services (CAPSS).  The requirements of the planned contract will be described in the anticipated official solicitation.  NIST anticipates that the official solicitation will require potential offerors to respond to the requirements of the IDIQ Performance Work Statement (PWS) along with the requirements of the PWS’ for five (5) separate mock task orders under the IDIQ.  NIST anticipates the award of multiple IDIQ contracts to the offerors that represent the best value to the government based on the evaluation factors for award; however, NIST will reserve the right to award only one contract to the offeror that represents the best value to the government if the proposals received indicate that such a strategy would be in the best interests of the government.  Additionally, as a result of the official solicitation, NIST reserves the right to award all, some or none of the five (5) mock task orders that will be included in the official solicitation.

The anticipated contract(s) will be issued for a base ordering period of five years with a maximum cumulative value of $125,000,000.00 across all IDIQ contract holders.

Description 

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) develops cybersecurity standards, guidelines, best practices, and other resources to meet the needs of U.S. industry, federal agencies, and the broader public. Our work ranges from specific information that can be put into practice immediately to longer-term research that anticipates advances in technologies and future challenges.

As part of NIST’s efforts to cultivate trust in information, systems, and technologies and to help organizations measure and manage risk, we carry out cybersecurity assignments defined by federal statutes, executive orders, and policies, including developing cybersecurity standards and guidelines for federal agencies.

NIST’s cybersecurity activities are driven by the needs of U.S. industry, government agencies, and the broader public, and they are undertaken only if our expertise is appropriate for NIST, which is a non-regulatory agency, and can make a difference. We manage very few operational cybersecurity programs, recognizing that other agencies and organizations focus on those aspects of cybersecurity, often using NIST-developed resources to inform their work.

The purpose of this contract is to gain technical expertise and consultation in multiple specified areas of cyber and information security and privacy to ensure that the NIST mission can be met to "provide standards, technology, tools, and practices to protect our nation's information and information systems."  Operational cybersecurity services will make up only a small portion of this IDIQ.

Logistical/Administrative Information:

All offerors are advised that this project may be delayed, cancelled or revised at any time during the solicitation, selection, evaluation, negotiation and/or final award process.  The solicitation and all amendments for this anticipated Request for Proposal will be posted on www.sam.gov.

It is the responsibility of the contractor to check www.sam.gov frequently for any amendments or changes to the solicitation. The Government is not responsible for any loss of internet connectivity or for an offeror’s inability to access the documents posted at the referenced website. The Government will not reimburse respondents for any cost associated with the submission of a price/technical proposal or if an award cannot be made.

The anticipated solicitation notice will reference this Pre-Solicitation Notice in the body. Interested parties must respond to the official solicitation in order to be considered for award of any resultant contract. However, no responses are requested in response to this Pre-Solicitation Notice. No phone calls will be accepted for this notice, and an offeror list will not be maintained.

All interested vendors must be registered in SAM (www.sam.gov) for contract award and shall have their Representations and Certifications completed.

The contract specialist for this solicitation will be Hing Pan Wong ([email protected]).  Questions are not being accepted at this time.