Request for Information and Draft PWS Feedback for DICE Laboratory Sustainment and Engineering Support

Background
The Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to conduct market research and solicit industry feedback on a draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) regarding the DICE Laboratory Sustainment and Engineering Support.

The goal is to transition the DICE Laboratory Support requirement from a 100% Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) structure to a hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) and CPFF structure. The DICE Laboratory serves as an enterprise-level testing facility for Navy Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems, supporting major programs including CANES. A TS/SCI cleared workforce is required for this effort over an anticipated period of five years.

Work Details
The contractor will provide performance-based laboratory sustainment services including:
1. Core Laboratory Operations & Sustainment: Daily facility operations, IT systems administration, cybersecurity compliance maintenance, and logistics support.
2. Technical & Test Event Surge Support: On-demand technical support for unscheduled fleet emergencies and rapid testbed reconfigurations.
3. Laboratory Infrastructure Sustainment: Maintenance of physical plant operations, cable management, server racking, power distribution, and safety inspections.
4. Laboratory IT Support: Daily systems administration, vulnerability scanning, patch management, and user support.
5. Testbed Staging & Validation: Configuration of test environments for scheduled customer events and live operational support during tests.
6. Configuration Management: Maintenance of accurate records for laboratory assets and change management processes.
7. Project Management & Reporting: Monthly status reporting on task completion and operational tracking.

Period of Performance
The anticipated period of performance is one base year with four 12-month option years.

Place of Performance
The contract will be performed at NIWC Pacific facilities in San Diego, CA.

Bidder Requirements
Bidders must be SeaPort-NxG contract holders and provide personnel with TS/SCI security clearances to perform work in secure environments. All contractor personnel executing cybersecurity tasks must maintain active DoD 8140.01 / DoDD 8570.01-M Cyberspace Workforce IAT Level II credentials.

Incumbent Analysis (see Incumbents section for more detail)
This opportunity appears to have a confirmed incumbent and/or closely related prior contract, with Science Applications International Corporation currently performing SeaPort-NxG work under N6600123D0004 valued at $260,069,219 (12/09/22–12/08/27) that includes in-service engineering agent sustainment and technical support for C4I/C4ISR programs such as CANES, including network information assurance accreditation, installation/integration, configuration management, and life-cycle support. The DICE Laboratory Sustainment and Engineering Support scope similarly emphasizes ongoing sustainment of secure laboratory operations and IT/cybersecurity compliance, along with testbed staging/validation and surge engineering support for major C4ISR programs (including CANES), which aligns with the prior contractor’s continued engineering and integration support activities.