05/10/2024 - PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED HUD INDUSTRY DAY NOTICE

To register, email [email protected] by 11:59 PM EST on May 24, 2024.

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**UPDATED to update the response date from April 20, 2024 to May 20, 2024.

Request for Information (RFI) and Industry Day

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is issuing this request for information synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support this requirement for a Contractor’s FEDRAMP compliant solution to provide, manage, and maintain an enterprise-wide, omnichannel, front-door contact center with an ecosystem of supporting infrastructure, technology, and organizational management that provides internal and external customers with timely, accurate, and consistent services leveraging best practices and best in class and emerging technologies.  The result of this market research will contribute to determining the method of procurement. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement is 561422 – Telemarketing Bureaus and Other Contact Centers.

This Request for Information (RFI) / Industry Day Announcement is being issued solely for information and planning purposes, it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a guarantee to issue an RFP in the future. There is no solicitation at this time and the Government will not accept unsolicited proposals. This request for capability information does not constitute a request for proposals; Submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary. Responders are advised that the Government will not reimburse for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI; all costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested parties' expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in a future RFP, if one is issued. The government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. 

If your organization has the potential capacity to perform these contract services, please provide the following information in the capability statement:

1. Company name, mailing address, e-mail address, telephone and FAX numbers, website address (if available), and the name, telephone number, and e-mail address of a point of contact having the authority and knowledge to clarify responses with Government representatives.
2. Name, title, telephone number, and e-mail addresses of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the responses.
3. Business size for NAICS 561422, (size standard $25.5 million or number of employees) and status, if qualified as an 8(a) firm (must be certified by SBA), Small Disadvantaged Business (must be certified by SBA), Woman-Owned Small Business, HUBZone firm (must be certified by SBA), and/or Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (must be listed in the VetBiz Vendor Information Pages).
4. DUNS number, CAGE Code, Tax Identification Number, Unique Entity ID (UEI) and company structure (Corporation, LLC, partnership, joint venture, etc.).  Companies also must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/#1 to be considered as potential sources.
5. Identification of the firm's GSA Schedule contract(s) by Schedule number and contract number and SINs that are applicable to this potential requirement are also requested.
6. If the company has a government approved accounting system, please identify the agency that approved the system.
7. Responses to Attachment A - FHA Resource Center Industry Questionnaire.

The government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to 1) provide services consistent in scope and scale with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; 3) implement a successful project management plan that includes: compliance with program schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of personnel and risk mitigation; and 4) provide services under a performance based service acquisition contract.

Based on the responses to this sources sought notice/market research, this requirement may be set-aside for small businesses or procured through full and open competition, and multiple awards may be made. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions.

The government expects to conduct an Industry Day for the FHA Resource Center requirement.  The Industry Day details will be published on the System for Award Management (SAM) at Sam.gov.

The government expects to conduct one-on-one market research sessions in 30-minute intervals to discuss the tasks of the proposed contract and the responses to the questionnaire for Vendors who successfully demonstrate their ability to perform the tasks identified in the draft PWS.

Background:   The Federal Housing Administrations (FHA) Office of Single Family Housing (Single Family), a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), provides guidance and assistance to the public and industry groups in all aspects of the FHA mortgage insurance process. FHA utilizes a contracted omnichannel contact center to provide information to industry and consumer clients.

The FHARC is an omnichannel contact center initially implemented in 2007 as the primary point of contact for all public inquiries related to FHA-insured financing.  Over time, it has become a critical piece of the HUD/FHA client management infrastructure and has significantly improved the quality and consistency of information delivered to FHA clients. The FHA Resource Center provides a suite of offerings to help agencies manage and enhance their customer contacts where they need assistance the most. At the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD/FHA), the FHA Resource Center Contact Center has continually advanced to provide a future state contact center modernization and optimization strategy. HUD/FHA has leveraged contact center best practices to identify pain points and opportunities for optimization, including self-service tools, emerging technologies, internal business processes and systems to manage day-to-day performance, acquisition solutions, and customer experience.

General Description of Work:  The Federal Housing Administrations (FHA) Office of Single Family Housing, a part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, requires a scalable FedRAMP approved omnichannel contact center which shall provide guidance and assistance to the public and industry groups regarding HUD/FHA programs and the FHA mortgage insurance process.  Offices include, but are not limited to Headquarters, four (4) Homeownership Centers, the National Servicing Center, Office of Housing Counseling, Disaster Recovery, Office of Residential Health Care, and the Office of Multi-Family Housing Resource Center (aka Clearinghouse).  The FHA Resource Center services shall be a central point of contact for inquiries and shall provide information to industry and consumer clients.  All contacts, regardless of client type (housing industry or consumer) or communication channel (telephone, email, Chat, web, fax) will be directed to the FHA Resource Center (RC) access point via a designated toll-free number(s), email address(es), web portal/URL, and fax number(s).

The Contractor shall provide a fully managed enterprise-wide scalable omnichannel contact center solution using best in class technology which supports telephone, email, Chat, web, fax and self-service features to provide the American public and the FHA industry participants with easily accessible, consistent, timely, and professional responses to their inquiries via their preferred method of communication.  Services under this contract shall meet all HUD Information Security requirements and shall be Section 508 compliant.  The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, training, and facilities except as excluded within the PWS.

Below are the characteristics of this requirement:

• Demonstrated experience in providing scalable call center services at the volumes identified in the chart below, between the hours of 8:00AM to 8:00PM Eastern Monday through Friday except for Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed.

Table 1: Annual Estimated contact volume by channel
Channel    Volume
Phone    1.5 million
Email    0.3 million
Web    <10,000
Chat    <15,000
Self-Service     <100,000
Other (e.g., literature fulfillment, etc.)    0.1 million
Office of Housing Counseling IVR/Web    >2.0 million

• Demonstrated ability to operate in an omnichannel environment where websites and digital channels are integrated with other channels, enabling customers to move seamlessly from one channel to another.  The services shall be provided through the following contact channels:  Telephony, Email, Postal Mail Fulfillment, SMS and MMS, Chat, Automated Services, and Web.
• Demonstrated ability to provide an automated self-service portal to deliver unattended service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (i.e, 24 x 7)
• Demonstrated ability to be able to meet the following requires at the time of contract award:  Cloud-based; 508 compliant; FedRAMP Compliant; Omnichannel capable, current (i.e., at least the n-1 version); commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) based; and flexible enough to scale up or down to meet our needs.

The tasks require a set of skill categories based on the following approximate breakdown:

Staffing, 88%

• Project Manager
• Customer Service Representatives (CSR)
• Other necessary labor categories

Technology/Materials & ODC 12%

Contemplated performance metrics:

• 100% compliance with all security requirements.
• 100% compliance with all reporting requirements.

Contemplated report requirements:

Management Plan

Transition-In Plan

Transition-Out Plan

Data Analysis and Reporting Plan

Enterprise-Wide KM Plan

Configuration and Change Management Plan

Disaster Recovery Plan

Quality Control Plan

Risk Management Plan

System Security Plan

System Security Plan

SA&A Expiration SSP Update

Semi-Annual SSP Update

Weekly Status Report

Monthly Status Report

Monthly Calibration Report

Monthly Knowledge Management Report

Monthly Housing Counseling Tool Utilization Report

Monthly Self-Service Portal Management Report

Monthly Survey Status Report

Contemplated dollar value of the project:

It is anticipated that the dollar value will be between $95 million and 140 million for the base year plus four 12-month option periods for a total of five years.

Contemplated place of performance:

Performance will be at the Contractor’s facility.

Submission Instructions:

Interested parties who consider themselves qualified to perform the above-listed services are invited to complete the attached questionnaire and submit a capability statement no larger than 12 pages (8.5x11 inches), single spaced, 12pt font. The questionnaire will not be included in the page count of the capability statement. The capability statement shall demonstrate your experience/qualification to successfully perform the tasks identified in the PWS. 

Responses to this announcement will not be returned, nor will there be any ensuing discussions or debriefings of any responses.  However, information obtained as a result of this announcement may be reflected in the subsequent solicitation, and HUD, OCPO may contact one or more respondents for clarifications and to enhance the Government’s understanding.  This announcement is Government market research and may result in revisions in both its requirements and its acquisition strategy based on industry responses. RESPONDENTS MUST SUBMIT CAPABILITY STATEMENT VIA E-MAIL to [email protected] no later than Monday, May 20, 2024, 2:00 PM Eastern Time for consideration.

Bid Protests Not Available