IT Research & Advisory Subscription Services

Sources Sought Notice:IT Research & Advisory Subscription ServicesINTRODUCTIONThis is a Sources Sought Notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of qualified small / other than small Indian-Owned Firms (25 USC 47) and small businesses (FAR Part 19) that are capable of providing subscription services for the technology based business research, industry-specific reporting, best practice methodologies, benchmarking, and market analysis research.   Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition strategy.BACKGROUNDThe Indian Health Service (IHS) Office of Information Technology (OIT) is responsible for executing a significant modernization project to replace the current Electronic Health Record (EHR) system with a modern cloud based EHR system.  This project will require significant resources and take several

years to complete due to the scope of the IHS enterprise.  The IHS is relying on private sector industry experts and consulting organizations to assist with this critical project to ensure the most current industry knowledge is leveraged for the best opportunity of project success.ScopeThis acquisition will provide IHS with industry best in class subscription service and IT consulting that will aid IHS with the EHR modernization project.ObjectivesContractor to provide subscription service to include technology based business research, industry-specific reporting, best practice methodologies, benchmarking, and market analysis research.   Contractor will assist IHS to improve and manage thousands of technical processes and projects by providing information and consulting for:Modernizing ApplicationsSelecting an Electronic Health Record systemIntegrating Threat Intelligence Into Security OperationsImproving Data QualitySecuring Critical Systems and Intellectual Property Against Advanced Persistent ThreatsDrive DevOps Adoption Using a Metrics-Driven ApproachRESPONSE INFORMATIONThe capability statement shall sufficiently address how the responder’s support services will be delivered for the proposed contract scope. The qualifying response for this notice must ensure that the offeror has the experience and capacity to take part in this specific type of requirement. The contractor will deliver access to high quality technology research resources through a variety of modern formats.  This may include written and verbal consultation, templates, webinars, websites, and workshops through the lifecycle of the contract. A dedicated executive advisor will be assigned to appropriate licensed seats within 30 days of the contract execution.In particular, the responders SHALL address each of the following information:Contractor’s past performance information that is relevant to this requirement.Contractor’s experience and knowledge in providing technology based business research services as listed in Tasks above.The contractor’s methodology to provide risk assessment and guidance in building an organizational framework for enhancing detective controls and related policies.Overview of contractor staff qualifications/certifications, and contractor’s method and capability to accommodate special project needs.Contractor’s capability to provide Tasks listed below:Contractor/Vendor will provide the following services:ON-LINE RESEARCH ACCESS Provide access to online IT industry research.IT VENDOR & COST COMPARISONS Provide access to Vendor Landscape™ toolkitsSOFTWARE REVIEWS Provide detailed reviews on enterprise softwareINDUSTRY SPECIFIC RESEARCH ACCESS Provide industry specific resources such as Case Studies, Research Notes, Budget Reports, Alignment Reports, briefs and social postings will be very important in terms of modern best practices for OIT.BENCHMARKING DATA COVERAGE (KEY IT METRICS) Enable data-driven decision making with quality deliverables that are low effort and high impact. Data-driven programs help justify IT spending to provide the most value to the organization as a whole by focusing on the end-user.IT STAFFING ASSESSMENT & IT BUDGET BENCHMARKING Provide reports showing where IT staff time is spent and whether or not it's effectively driving results.BUDGET METRICS Provide access to IT Key Metrics Data that covers a comprehensive database of the industry’s most definitive IT spending levels in addition to key technology cost and performance metrics.CIO BUSINESS VISION Perform effective Strategic Planning.IT MANAGEMENT & GOVERNANCE Build consensus around the processes that are important and effective by conducting an IT team alignment exercise.CEO-CIO ALIGNMENT Decipher business needs by understanding the Business Service.APPLICATION PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENT Determine what users think of IT’s applications.PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT DIAGNOSTIC Provide Project & Portfolio Management Diagnostics.SECURITY DIAGNOSTIC Provide Security Governance and Management scorecard that measures IHS performance against industry standard best practices.  The Security Framework Model shall be derived from COBIT and TOGAFRESEARCH ANALYST ADVISORY SERVICES Provide dedicated Account Management and Research Services Team.GUIDED IMPLEMENTATIONS Provide Guided Implementations with detailed step-by-step outlines to optimize, implement and manage IHS core IT processes.CONTRACT & DOCUMENT REVIEWS Provide reviews of contracts and documents to include Business Cases, Business/IT Policies, Strategic Plans, EA Frameworks, RFP’s, Job Descriptions, etc.DEDICATED EXECUTIVE ADVISOR Provide a dedicated Executive Advisor from the Research and Consulting Practice that will help shape an engagement plan and have regularly scheduled calls to complete a Key Initiative Plan. The Executive Advisor will also be a dedicated subject matter expert with specific experience, knowledge and expertise in your industry.KEY INITIATIVE PLANS Provide Roadmaps that help build and manage core IT functions to systematically improve performance.ACADEMY AND TALENT & LEADERSHIP RESOURCES Provide access to a learning management platform.TRAINING PROGRAMS AND EVENTS Provide access to LIVE Events and in-person training programs offered throughout Canada and the United States designed to drive business value and technological transformation while focusing on real, everyday challenges through keynotes, case studies, workshops, and one-on-one analysis.360 DEGREE FEEDBACK TOOL Provide a 360 Degree Feedback Tool to assist in developing effective Individual Development Plans that will benefit IT Leaders and significantly improve employee development, performance.EMPLPOYEE ENGAGEMENT DIAGNOSTIC PROGRAM AND EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE MONITOR Provide engagement survey/diagnostic programs to help measure employee satisfaction.ON-SITE WORKSHOPS Provide five day on-site workshops on technology topics of IHS choosing.INSTRUCTIONS TO INDUSTRYAll capable parties are encouraged to respond. Responses must directly demonstrate the company’s capability, experience, and ability to marshal resources to effectively and efficiently perform the objectives described above. Generic capability statements are not sufficient and will not be considered compliant with the requirements of this notice.The Government requests interested parties submit a written response to this notice which includes:a. Company point of contact, mailing address, and telephone number(s), and website addressb. If any, existing contract solutions by the company such as - Federal Supply Schedules contract, or any other procurement instruments intended for use by multiple agencies, e.g., Best in Class (BIC) contracts.c. DUNS and socio-economic category of the company.Disclaimer and Important Notes. This notice shall not obligate the Government to award contract. Any information provided by industry to the Government as a result of this sources sought synopsis is strictly voluntary. Responses will not be returned. No entitlements to payment of direct or indirect costs or charges to the Government will arise as a result of contractor submission of responses, or the Government's use of such information or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published on a government GPE. Furthermore, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.Confidentiality. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).  Responses must be submitted via email to Crystal.Showell@ihs.gov and Cole.Cook@ihs.gov, no later than 12:00pm EST on February 4, 2021.Capability statements will not be accepted after the due date. The maximum number of pages for this submission is ten (10) pages.