ICLN Administrative and IT Support Services

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITYOFFICE OF PROCUREMENT OPERATIONSICLN Administrative and IT Support ServicesTHIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Nonetheless, submitters should properly mark their responses if the information is confidential or proprietary. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regards to its submission other than acknowledgment of receipt, should the submitter request an acknowledgement. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government and will not be returned. Responders are solely responsible for all expense associated with responding to this RFI.1.0 INTRODUCTIONIn 2005, the Integrated Consortium of Laboratory Networks (ICLN) was established through a Memorandum

of Agreement (MOA) among ten federal departments and agencies (Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense, Health and Human Services, United States Department of Agriculture, Department of Justice, Department of Energy, Department of Interior, Department of Commerce, Department of State, and the Environmental Protection Agency). The ICLN is envisioned as a U.S. homeland security infrastructure comprising a coordinated and interoperable system of laboratory networks, accountable for provision of timely, credible, and interpretable data in support of surveillance, early detection, and effective consequence management of acts of terrorism and other events requiring an integrated laboratory response. The signatory agencies and their respective laboratory networks specifically agreed to create and support an integrated and operational system promoting laboratory response by fulfilling their responsibilities as part of the ICLN structure described in the MOA. The MOA, renewed by these agencies in 2016, and the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act requires DHS to lead this effort.The DHS CWMD supports the effort to define and validate how the ICLN system functions relative to the overall concept of operation and agreements on strategic interdependencies for terrorism preparedness and emergency response. DHS CWMD supports: assessments of modeled and actual laboratory response capacity and capabilities across a variety of scenarios requiring joint agency response action; development of guidelines and exercises to promote interoperability among different member networks; development and use of an information technology infrastructure to promote collaboration, emergency coordination, and data aggregation across the laboratory response enterprise; and documentation of standard protocols that define how networks operate collectively.DHS CWMD provides the chair and executive secretary of the Network Coordinating Group (NCG) which is comprised of the principal representatives and other key personnel of the networks participant to the ICLN (HHS Laboratory Response Network [LRN], USDA National Animal Health Laboratory Network [NAHLN], USDA National Plant Diagnostic Networks [NPDN], HHS/USDA-cosponsored. Food Emergency Response Network [FERN], EPA Environmental Response Laboratory Network [ERLN], DoD Laboratory Network [DLN], and the HHS Veterinary Laboratory Investigation Response Network (Vet-LIRN). The NCG meets monthly to progress the objectives of ICLN. The Joint Leadership Council consists of senior management officials of the participant Agencies who provide steering advice with a meeting scheduled annually. Much of the technical work of the ICLN is accomplished through a number of technical subgroups who report to the NCG.The ICLN currently comprises federal government regulatory laboratories with varying capacities to perform threat agent testing, as noted above.  ICLN is seeking to award a contract for providing administrative and IT support, to included providing and maintaining, in its current active state, a secure communication and collaboration portal which will provide the ICLN with capability, capacity and readiness data for the network member laboratories.2.0 PURPOSE OF THIS RFIThe ICLN Program within the DHS CWMD Office seeks a qualified source to support the ICLN through the execution of the administrative and IT tasks outlined below:I. Administrative SupportA. Administrative and Program support functions to include, but not limited to:1. Technical Project Management associated with ICLN activities.2. Meeting facilitation of the ICLN, including the monthly ICLN NCG meetings and those associated with technical subgroups (e.g., Radiological Laboratory Subgroup, Methods Subgroup, etc.).3. Development and Management of an Exercise Program, to include but not limited to:a. Portal drills in coordination with IT/Portal support, frequency to be determined by NCG (currently bimonthly, but could increase to monthly).b. Annual ICLN Table Top Exercise, timing and topical focus to be determined by NCG.  Development and execution in conjunction with NCG/constituent lab membership.c.  Integration with National level WMD exercise, in coordination with CWMD Training and Exercise Division.d.  Development and support of CBCT and IC/QA exercise program, as defined and directed by the NCG.  This sub-task is currently not being performed, but will be a funded priority, subject to availability of resources.4. Support related to Coronavirus and/or other incidents that may arise and require ICLN support and coordination.B. Other ICLN-related technical project management duties, as assigned, including but not limited to:1. Maintain and update the “ICLN Network Coordinating Group (NCG) Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for Incident Response” Document.2. Maintain and update the “ICLN Integrated Response Architecture (IRA)”II. IT and Portal supportA. IT and Portal Support functions including but not limited to:1. Maintain and upgrade the ICLN Portal:a. Update configurations to new standardsb. Update portal to latest releasec. Update the Data Exchange Utility (DEU)d. Testing and debugging, as needede. Issue logins to staff supportf. Develop and integrate portal functionality tools as directed by NCGf. Perform other portal maintenance and upgrade tasks as directed by NCGg. The following specific elements of the portal and its’ functionality will be addressed:(1) Emergency management dashboard including incident specific communications; including lessons learned modules and fully version controlled document management(2) Real time activity feeds and notification functions of relevant activities, managed by profiles of Network members(3) Data exchange utility operating in server-less, rapidly scalable environment in AWS GovCloud with dynamic network mapping and merge tools available from first day of award date(4) Standardized Situation Report and Preparedness alerts modules that allow for administrative customization without code changes(5) ICLN Proficiency test tracking(6) ICLN methods repository complete with search functionality for all capabilities of network;(7) SMS/Email/Audio alert functions with filtering on conditions, for members or loaded from external resources(8)  Secure document sharing utilities with external parties with full retention, read only, and activity limitations without access to ICLN Portal(9) Public website maintenance and integration with data feeds from Portal;  portal should include a web based management toolset(10) Calendar functions that rollup data from all activities and allow for syncing to user accounts(11) Active integration with ZoomGov via portal to allow for dynamic license management and transparent management of meeting functions (12) Active human-based helpdesk assistance and online management of user accounts2. Support of Users and Stakeholdersa. Preventive maintenance support for bugsb. Training/Meeting support to orient users to portal protocolsc. Monitor infrastructure and scale resourcesd. Provide helpdesk/end user support capability via chat or email.B. Perform as appropriate other ICLN-related functions as assigned by the DHS NCG Chairperson and/or the DHS Executive Secretary.Note: In supporting the above tasks, a contractor may not engage in inherently governmental functions such as the functions identified in FAR 7.503, including drafting congressional testimony or agency responses to audit reports from the Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office, or other Federal audit entity.Ownership of Intellectual Property Related to the ICLN PortalEJH and Associates owns the portal software and code but does not hold rights to the data or the “ICLN” name. The Contractor may not use the data resulting from the Intellectual Property for any purpose other than that contracted for in this agreement except with the written consent of the DHS ICLN (government). Return of Property Upon the expiration or termination of the proposed agreement, the Contractor will return to the government any property, documentation, records, or Confidential Information which is the property of the government. 3.0 SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS The electronic copy of responses is to be in Microsoft Word 2003, Microsoft Word 2007 or Adobe Acrobat 9 compatible format using a size 12 font with one inch margins. Responses are limited to five (5) pages each. The Cover Page does not count toward this page limit.Following a review of the responses received, the ICLN may elect to request additional information, or schedule one-on-one meetings with some respondents to gain additional information about their proposed solution(s).Submissions should include:A Cover Page containing the following:Heading “ICLN Administrative Services and IT Support Services;”Name of Company (Company or Government Agency);Company address;Technical Point of Contact (POC), telephone number, email address; andIf applicable, your company’s socioeconomic status under the following NAICS code: 541990 – Other Professional, Scientific, and Technical ServicesIf the service is available on GSA and the appropriate GSA Schedule numberOrganizational/Business Information4.0 SUBMISSION DATE AND ADDRESS: Electronic responses to this notice are to be emailed to the Contacting Officer, Chiara Best at chiara.best@hq.dhs.gov  no later than April 2, 2021 by 1:00 pm ET. The subject line of the email should contain the RFI number (RFI-21-0001), and the body of the email should contain the words “ICLN Administrative Services.”