Scientific, Engineering, and Technical Assistance Support for the USDOJ/OJP Bureau of Justice Assistance

US DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICEOFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS (OJP)BUREAU OF JUSTICE ASSISTANCE (BJA) SCIENTIFIC, ENGINEERING, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT (SETA)This Request for Information (RFI) is being released pursuant to the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Part 10 Market Research. The information collected through the process is considered to be market research as described by FAR 2.101 and in accordance with FAR 10.002. This is NOT a Request for Proposals (RFP), and nothing shall be construed herein or through the Sources Sought process to commit or obligate the Government to further action. In addition, vendors responding to this RFI shall bear all risks and expenses of any resources used to provide the requested information. The submission of capability information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary.The Department of Justice (DOJ), the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) is issuing this RFI to identify qualified and responsible small business vendors (e.g.,

8(a); Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business; Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Small Business; Small Disadvantaged Business; Veteran-Owned Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business) having an interest in and possessing the resources and expertise to provide support for the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and assist in providing training and technical assistance services that address current and emerging issues in the victim services field.The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to these proposed services is 541611. The anticipated contract type is Time & Material. The anticipated period of performance is a base year plus four (4) option years commencing February 1, 2023. The anticipated place of performance will include some on-site work at OVC at 810 7th Street NW, Washington DC 20001, as well as the Contractor’s site.BackgroundThe mission of the Bureau of Justice Assistance is to provide leadership and services in grant administration and criminal justice policy development to support state, local, and tribal justice strategies to achieve safer communities. BJA works with communities, governments, and nonprofit organizations to reduce crime, recidivism, and unnecessary confinement, and promote a safe and fair criminal justice system. BJA focuses its programmatic and policy efforts on providing a wide range of resources, including training and technical assistance, to law enforcement, courts, corrections, treatment, reentry, justice information sharing, and community-based partners to address chronic and emerging criminal justice challenges nationwide.  It also has responsibility for administering statutorily mandated assistance programs and supporting criminal justice activities required by legislation and/or Executive Orders.The skills requirements in the Statement of Work (SOW) demonstrate the depth and breadth of disciplines required for the SETA support services contract. The specialized experience called for in the position descriptions span a forensic science portfolio, including but not limited to: Biology; Chemistry; Biochemistry; Genetics; Anthropology; Impression and Pattern Evidence (e.g., firearms and latent prints); Crime Scene Investigation; and Medicolegal Death Investigation.The depth required is indicated in the position descriptions which specify advanced degrees and years of specialized experience. The contractor must currently employ or have ready access to and be capable of delivering on short notice a large, highly talented team of professionals with advanced degrees in different scientific and criminal justice disciplines that can address the diverse set of BJA requirements. Support needed in the investigative and forensic disciplines may range from forensic DNA analysis technologies to drug chemistry analysis technologies, impression and pattern evidence analysis technologies to crime scene investigation activities. The contractor must have a detailed and proven staffing process that can respond to the dynamic and evolving nature of the BJA support effort.BJA is a fast-paced environment. Responsiveness and flexibility are key to effectively serving OJP/BJA leadership, the Attorney General, stakeholders, the public, and responding to Congress. The efficiency and effectiveness of the SETA team structure will be a critical success factor. The contractor shall use management techniques to provide effective and efficient output to such a complex and expansive effort.ScopeFrameworkThe scope of this SOW relates primarily to scientific and technical support services for BJA’s investigative and forensic sciences portfolio, which is integral to BJA’s mission and goals. BJA’s SETA requirement shall focus on the assessment of practitioner needs in forensic science and the subsequent deployment of investigative and forensic science training and technologies. The contractor must have experience providing professional scientific, engineering and technical support services to Federal agencies or other entities. While previous scientific or technical experience does not have to be directly related to forensic science, the scientific areas should be translatable to the areas that will be supported by this SOW, which are primarily in the following program areas:Law Enforcement Operations Forensic Science UnitBJA strengthens the Nation’s criminal justice system and helps America’s state, local, and tribal jurisdictions reduce and prevent crime, reduce recidivism, and promote a fair and safe criminal justice system by providing a wide variety of support to Fund – Invest in diverse funding streams to accomplish goals; Educate – Research, develop and deliver what works; Equip – Create tools and products to build capacity and improve outcomes; and Partner – Consult connect and convene. The Forensics Sciences Unit (FSU), housed within Law Enforcement Operations of the BJA Policy Office, is focused on providing resources to criminal justice agencies to improve the practice of forensic science, to increase capacity of forensic laboratories and medical examiner/coroner offices, to help law enforcement agencies solve violent crimes, and to provide support services to attorneys to improve the fair administration of justice through the use of forensic science.The FSU engages with a diverse set of forensic science stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, practitioners, and prosecutors, as well as federal partners including the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These relationships are key to implementing innovative technologies and best practices for the use of forensic science to help solve crime. The FSU brings together various criminal justice stakeholders through training and technical assistance to disseminate knowledge to improve the application of science to criminal justice.The FSU’s efforts to accomplish this mission are aligned with the Department’s mission, OJP’s policies, BJA’s strategic planning, and Congressional appropriations. The FSU is led by a Chief who oversees a portfolio of programs designed to support the application of forensic science in criminal investigations as well as in the identification of human remains.  The bulk of these programs support capacity enhancement activities and include the DNA Capacity Enhancement for Backlog Reduction (CEBR) Program; Paul Coverdell Forensic Science Improvement Grants (both formula and competitive programs); Postconviction Testing of DNA Evidence; Strengthening the Medical Examiner-Coroner System; and Prosecuting Cold Cases Using DNA. Other programs are more comprehensive in nature and support a more holistic approach to solving criminal justice matters, with the FSU’s flagship program the National Sexual Assault Kit Initiative (SAKI) and associated Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) program as well as the new Missing and Unidentified Human Remains (MUR) Program and Forensics Training and Technical Assistance Program. This list may change or evolve as new programs are added and current programs end, depending on the needs of the forensic science community. The FSU Supervisor is supported by Federal staff that provide expert technical and program management advice and a quality review of the planning and performance of each program. The FSU Supervisor integrates and coordinates activities both among the programs, and with the Forensics TTA, with scientific area committees, and with other DOJ offices and Federal agencies, including the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit/Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (BAU/ViCAP) and the FBI’s Investigative Genealogy team. In total, the FSU administers and manages a portfolio of over 500 active awards across its various individual forensic science programs and typically funds approximately 200 new projects annually.Capacity BuildingThis portfolio of programs is intended to enhance the capacity of forensic laboratories and law enforcement agencies with a focus on backlog reduction for DNA and other forensics; improving the quality and timeliness of forensic science or medical examiner services; and defraying the costs associated with criminal justice issues such as prosecuting cold cases using DNA, and postconviction testing of DNA evidence.Comprehensive ApproachThis portfolio of programs is designed to evaluate the broader needs of the criminal justice community with a nexus to forensic science. More specifically, each of the programs contained herein can be utilized by local jurisdictions as stand-alone programs or paired together to allow communities to individually tailor their crime control strategies with the infusion of federal resources. The comprehensive nature of these multi-faceted grant programs incorporates best practice recommendations from experts in the field, allowing local jurisdictions to embrace innovation in forensic science while combatting violent crime.Intramural Collaboration and Special ProjectsBJA’s FSU is home to well-trained, multi-disciplinary forensic science staff with a background and advanced training in numerous fields relevant to the criminal justice system. An engaged staff of this caliber is essential, for example, in guiding BJA’s TTA, developing new capacity programs, especially with respect to the most critical issues facing the justice system, and dissemination of scientific advances that further the administration of justice.Indeed, BJA’s FSU staff are uniquely situated and trained to engage with Federal entities or other security-sensitive environments that could provide important opportunities for informing the broader criminal justice community. Where appropriate, such access may be in collaboration with experts at other Federal, State, and local agencies to improve information sharing and coordination of forensic science efforts across a broad spectrum of stakeholders to have maximum impact on improving the criminal justice system. Specifically, the FSU participates in many multi-agency groups which help ensure staff are engaged with and can respond to the needs of the field.  For example, the FSU hosts the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) / Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Federal Interagency Medicolegal Death Investigation Working Group (MDI-WG) with the mission to identify both short- and long-term goals to develop and implement programmatic activities that support the MDI system, that in turn, support Federal public safety and public health national initiatives and strategies.ObjectiveSETA contractors shall provide professional expertise to support BJA programs, providing the expertise required to support scientific and technical analysis, engineering consulting, as well as onsite or remote technical project review.ServicesThe following are all concurrent tasks, and additional concurrent tasks may be added. The prospective contractor may be required to:Task 1    Strategic Planning for Funding Programs/ActivitiesThis task includes —Provide expert technical analysis of the state of the art in different scientific fields and technology areas such as forensic science and the application of forensic science to criminal justice.Provide expert technical analysis of technology development cycles and trends as well as the adoption of technology in the field.Prepare research studies and reports on different scientific fields, technology areas, and advanced forensic science technologies.Review and analyze academic and technical literature related to different scientific fields, technology areas, and advanced forensic science technologies.Identify and communicate with academic, practitioner and other experts on different scientific fields, technology areas, and advanced forensic science technologies.Contribute to the development of agendas, content, and identification of subject matter experts for technical meetings, conferences, and panel discussions on different scientific fields, technology areas, and advanced forensic science technologies.Contribute to the development of strategic and technical plans for new and ongoing forensic science programs.Task 2    Application Evaluation and Selection Support Services This task includes —Provide competent subject matter expertise that supports the work of BJA’s Capacity Enhancement, Comprehensive Approach and other Forensic programs.Contribute to the development of tools and plans designed to aid in the evaluation of applications.Review, analyze, and provide subject matter expertise for applications in support of BJA staff and award determinations. Support BJA staff through the peer review and subsequent award process.Task 3    Short Term Response This task includes —Review and analyze technical data, progress reports, performance metrics and other information produced by projects funded by BJA.Query complex databases, organize and compile large amounts of data into a meaningful document, search for specific information within the databases, and provide recommendations based on findings.Assist the Federal staff in communicating and interacting with recipients, subrecipients, and contractors of BJA awards regarding their technical progress and other project-related issues.Task 4    Expert / Professional ServicesThis task includes —Provide the expertise required to support scientific and technical analysis, engineering consulting, as well as onsite or remote technical project review.Provide expertise to be an effective interface between the BJA programs supported and the respective community at large.Identify and translate user/practitioner requirements into specific operational objectives, illustrate the benefits of applying technology to existing systems, and identify the commercial utility of new products and technology developments.Provide a keen understanding and strong working relationship with the BJA program being supported, government agents, performing contractors, and technical community.Provide expert analysis to a wide range of applied science and technology areas and integrated criminal justice systems in current and future related BJA program areas.Support BJA’s FSU staff with data gathering, data analysis, and data integration into scholarly products that can take the form of one or more published, peer-reviewed, scientific journal articles, and/or (if appropriate) law review journal articles, book chapter(s) or book(s) in the academic press, or similar scientific products.Task 5    Develop Strategic and Technical Plans and Technical Analyses for BJA programs Analyze technologies and research ideas for the formulation of new program areas.Engage in discussions on lessons learned, technical gaps, and solutions to challenges.Identify and translate user/practitioner requirements.Review and comment on progress assessment of progress reports, final reports, and other project deliverables.Use Excel spreadsheets to document and graph performance measurement data arising out of  projects funded by BJA, and perform an analysis of data to evaluate the impact/effectiveness of program(s). Data types will vary by program.Respondents to this RFI shall provide the following information:Vendor background summary including, contractor name, address, DUNS, point of contact information, email, phone, website address, small business designation, and any GSA schedule number.Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements.Past Performance - Provide a list of previous contracts where similar services were provided. Provide customer/Government Agency contact information where these services were provided including: contact name and organization, telephone number, and email address.The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to provide services consistent in scope with what is described in this notice and otherwise anticipated.Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. Interested vendors should monitor a government point of entry site for further information. Submission Instructions: Interested small business vendors who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed services are invited to submit a response to this RFI Notice by Monday, August 8, 2022 at 11:59PM Eastern Time.  All responses under this RFI Notice must be emailed to debashis.nag@usdoj.gov.