Notice of Intent to Sole Source for “Development of Training and Tools to Aid Opioid Trafficking Investigations”.

The Office of Procurement Operations (OPO) on behalf of the Office of Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) hereby issues this notice of intent to award a sole source procurement.  DHS OPO intends to solicit and award a sole source contract to Marshall University located at 1 John Marshall Dr, Huntington, WV 25755.  This is a notice of intent to solicit and award a sole source contract under the authority of FAR 6.302-1 “Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements”.

Summary of the requirement

Background

DHS has the mission to prevent the entry of illicit substances, including synthetic opioids, into the United States (US). The enormity of the synthetic opioid crisis has now been well-documented, and recent testimony before Congress by DHS Components, and others, highlight the impact on homeland security missions. In addition to traditional drug trafficking networks and distributors, much of the opioid criminal activity is facilitated by the intranet and dark web sites and through U.S. mail and commercial courier services, domestically and abroad. As such, the ability to reliably identify and dismantle these complex illicit opioid trafficking operations is a high priority for the current administration and DHS.

To address the ongoing opioid crisis, the DHS S&T Opioid Detection Program is funding efforts to develop improved capabilities including detection technologies, analytics, and knowledge products to enhance DHS Components’ counterdrug mission performance. In line with this mission, there is a recognized need to improve opioid-related investigative capabilities and training for DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and their law enforcement partners.  S&T will support development of improved capabilities to aid in the identification, investigation, and disruption of opioid supply chains. Specifically, S&T is seeking the development of a new training curriculum and analytical tools focused on key topics that currently challenge effective opioid smuggling investigations for use by DHS ICE HSI Cyber Crimes Center (C3) and Border Enforcement Security Taskforce (BEST) teams, state and local law enforcement partners, and university students. These capabilities will provide significant improvements in effectively combatting opioids, as they will not only prepare investigators in the field and at HSI headquarters on current and evolving technical challenges in opioid supply chain investigations, but also ensure a capable, mission-ready workforce pipeline of future investigators.  In addition, the research proposed for this requirement will align with existing DHS ICE contract 70CMSD19P00000064 with Marshall University. Outputs from this effort will complement and integrate into ICE HSI’s existing suite of investigative capabilities, for use by HSI Headquarters, field offices, including the ICE/HSI BEST teams, and state/local law enforcement. This work will also enable DHS to ensure a future workforce of knowledgeable, trained narcotics trafficking investigators.

Scope

The scope includes the research on critical gaps in existing opioid-related investigative techniques, including cyber, digital, and chemical forensics, and to develop advanced training and tools to aid in the effective identification, investigation, and disruption of opioid supply chains. The Contractor will need to work closely with DHS personnel to ensure government requirements are clear and documented, and the training tools and knowledge products meet the specifications and requirements to gain S&T and HSI approvals.  In addition, the contractor will need to meet the following minimum capabilities:

• Expertise and experience in developing curricula on digital and physical forensics. In particular, topics including but not limited to cryptocurrency, dark web supply chain exploitation, and digital data tracing and recovery are highly desired.
• A university or educational institution that is co-located with a State law enforcement agency.
• Located in an area disproportionately negatively impacted by the opioid crisis.
• Within 50 miles of an ICE HSI Border Enforcement Security Taskforce.
• Accredited forensics laboratory capabilities.

Place of Performance: The primary place of performance will be at Marshall University’s facilities and certain Government facilities designated by DHS S&T.

Period of Performance:  36 months after date of award.

Market research was performed and supports the sole source determination. A determination by the government not to compete based upon responses to this notice is solely at the discretion of the government.

This is a notice of the intent to award a sole source contract. It is published for informational purposes only and not a request for competitive proposals. Therefore, no solicitation document exists for this requirement.  Any firm believing that they can fulfill the requirement may be considered by the agency. Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities in response to this synopsis. All questions and/or comments regarding this notice shall be addressed in writing to the Contracting Officer at [email protected] by July 14, 2020 by 12:00 PM EST.  Questions by phone will not be considered.