DHS/CBP Commercial Solutions Opening - General Solicitation Final Release - NII Anomaly Detection Algorithm (ADA) - CSOP-BP-GS-23-0001   5

4/25/2023
This update is to clarify one additional question (in addition to the questions and answrs posted in the 4/24 update).
Question received: The Q&A document states that the cover page and cover letter are exempt from the 11-page maximum. We understand that Section 2 details how many pages are allowed for certain questions, but those 11 pages do not include any page count for the security acknowledgement and CSOP adherence questions in Section 1. Are the answers to those compliance questions to be included in our cover letter, or in a separate page that will also not count towards the 11-page maximum?

Government Response: The Government will exempt Section 1 (security acknowledgement and CSOP adherence questions) from the 11-page maximum limit. However, Section 1 will be limited to only one page. Please note that Section 1's Security acknowledgement questions require a simple statement of yes or no for each question. There is no need to replicate the questions. For example, "Section 1.1, Q1: yes. Section 1.1. Q2: yes".

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4/24/2023:

This update is to provide the Government's Responses to questions received from this solicitation. Please see attached document "Amendment 1 - ADA CSO Solicitation Q Responses.xlsx ".

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4/14/2023:

This solicitation is the official/final solicitation release to industry, that is in connection to the Virtual Industry that was held, per Sam.Gov Notice ID 20221606. Information and answers from that Industry Day can be found on Notice 20221606's posting that is still accessible. Additionally, a draft solicitation was posted prior to this solicitation release, per SAM.Gov Notice ID 23-0001 (still accessible), in which the Government provided answers to questions received from industry.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) is a Non- Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) based solicitation authority for acquiring innovative and commercial solutions. Section 880 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2017 (Pub. L.114-328), which was recently extended in December 2022 through 2027, authorized DHS to implement a pilot program to competitively procure innovative commercial items, technologies, and services using CSO procedures. CSO is a new acquisition mechanism that provides a streamlined acquisition process and simplified contract terms that is designed to maximize efficiency and economy and minimize burden and administrative costs for both the Government and industry.

The DHS, U.S. Customers and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Acquisition (OA) will use the CSO procedures to acquire innovative, commercial items, technologies, and services currently in the production/commercialization phase as well as adaptations of existing commercial products. The CSO procedures are described throughout sections 1, 3, and 4 of the attached Solicitation document.

For purposes of this posting, "Innovative" is defined as follows:

Any item that is-

A new technology, process, or method as of the date of submission of

a proposal; or

A new application or adaptation of an existing technology, process, or

method as of the date of submission of a proposal.
The CSO solicitation process will include a multi-phased solicitation and evaluation approach: Phase 1 - Submission and Evaluation of the Written Solution Brief, which may also include an optional invitation for Oral Presentations/Technical Challenge Demonstrations, and Phase 2-Request for Full Proposal Submission.

Potential submitters are hereby advised of the following:

1. This Solicitation for solution briefs is not a guarantee that award and obligation of funds will be made.

2. The costs incurred by companies in the preparation and submission of their solution briefs in response to solicitations will not be paid by the government.

3. Submission and proposals are evaluated on its individual merits rather than on a comparative basis, and the Government has considerable latitude in determining which of the submitted proposals it will fund.

4. All potential recipients of CSOP awards must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before the recipient is awarded the CSOP contract.

5. Awards made through this upcoming CSOP solicitation are intended to be made through Fiscal Year 2024

Please review the attached solicitation instructions for submission instructions and evaluation procedures. Additionally, please review the attached Statement of Work as a supplement to the solicitation document.

See Attachments:

1. Solicitation Document CSOP-BP-GS-23-0001_NII ADA Solicitation_4.14.23_ FINAL
2. Statement of Work Anomaly Detection Algorithm SOW 4.13_Final