Nationwide Default Management Services (NDMS)   5

DRAFT RFP

RELATED NOTICE 12SAD122R0001 (Original Special Notice)

The United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development (USDA-RD) is releasing the Draft Request for Proposals (DRFP) pertaining to the Nationwide Default Management Services (NDMS) procurement for review. The purpose of the DRFP is to solicit questions and comments from all interested parties and to assist USDA-RD in developing a final RFP for this procurement.

USDA- RD IS NOT REQUESTING PROPOSALS AT THIS TIME, AND INSTERESTED PARTIES SHALL NOT SUBMIT PROPOSALS IN RESPONSE TO THE DRFP. USDA-RD WILL NOT EVALUATE ANY PROPOSALS RECEIVED IN RESPONSE TO THE DRFP.

USDA-RD invites all interested parties to thoroughly examine the DRFP it its entirety and to submit comments or questions to the procurement mailbox at NDMS-Acquisition@usda.gov by March 25, 2022 at 4:00 PM ET using the Draft RFP Question and Comment Template. USDA-RD may provide written responses later, via posting to SAM.gov; however, USDA-RD is not obligated to respond to all questions/comments, and the decision of whether to respond to a particular question/comment will be solely at USDA-RD's discretion.

INDUSTRY DAY

USDA-RD will conduct an Industry Day for the NDMS procurement. The purpose of the Industry Day is to share preliminary information regarding the procurement. Due to Covid-19-related health concerns, the conference will be conducted virtually via MS Teams. No recording, copying or transcription devices will be allowed by attendees. Only USDA-RD may record the conference. One-on-one sessions will NOT be conducted during the Industry Day.

General information:

The Industry Day will be held on March 21, 2022 at 10:00 AM ET. Industry Day is anticipated to conclude no later than 1:00 PM ET. The slides presented at the conference will be subsequently posted to SAM.gov.

Questions or comments pertaining to the information presented at the conference can be submitted electronically to the procurement mailbox at NDMS-Acquisition@usda.gov by March 25, 2022 at 4:00 PM ET using the Draft RFP Question and Comment Template. USDA-RD may provide written responses later, via posting to SAM.gov; however, USDA-RD is not obligated to respond to all questions/comments, and the decision of whether to respond to a particular question/comment will be solely at USDA-RD's discretion.

Attendance to the Industry Day is voluntary and will not a factor in USDA-RD's evaluation of an Offeror's proposal. The Government will not reimburse any entity for expenses related to attendance at the conference.

None of the information stated or presented during the Industry Day should be construed as a component of the final RFP. The information provided is at a summary level and subject to change. The written terms and conditions of the final RFP, once issued, shall govern over any of the information presented at the Industry Day.

Registration:

Registration for the Industry Day will close on March 17, 2022 at 1:00 PM ET. Pre-registration is required. Registration is limited to three representatives from each company. The MS Teams hyperlink and login information will be sent directly to registrants on March 18, 2022. Registration requests should be sent to NDMS-Acquisition@usda.gov, and include each individual's name, company/organization represented, telephone number, and email address.

LESSONS LEARNED

USDA- RD is sharing the attachment NDMS Lessons Learned to illustrate common mistakes Offerors make when submitting proposals.

USDA-RD looks forward to continued engagement with industry in a transparent and collaborative manner throughout the procurement process for the NDMS requirement.

UPDATE

March 22, 2022- Added the slide deck and Q&A that were presented during the Industry Day

March 24, 2022- Due date for questions or comments revised in the announcement from March 24 to March 25, 2022 at 4:00 PM ET

April 01, 2022- Added the Draft RFP Questions and Answers

April 07, 2022- Added updated Draft RFP Questions and Answers