Biometric Collection Devices - Request for Information (RFI)

Amendment 1:

The purpose of Amendment 1 is to clarify the due date for submission is Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 4:00 PM ET. All submissions shall be submitted to Christopher.Carroll@hq.dhs.gov and Amy.Driver@hq.dhs.gov.

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THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. Nonetheless, submitters should properly mark their responses if the information is confidential or proprietary. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regards to its submission other than acknowledgment of receipt, should the submitter request an acknowledgement. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government and will not be returned. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future solicitation.

The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Government and will not be returned. Responses to the RFI may be used to develop Government documentation.

Responses to this RFI may be reviewed by Government technical experts drawn from Federal employees and Contractor subject matter experts (SMEs) supporting the effort.

INTRODUCTION

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) seeks to establish a multi-agency contract (MAC), for Biometric Collection Devices (BCD) to support biometric identification operations of its components and several other federal agencies. Among the objectives of the planned MAC is to promote standardization and interoperability of BCDs while maximizing the buying power across federal agencies. Note that for this RFI, the government is looking at solely Biometric Collection Devices, not fully integrated Biometric systems.

BACKGROUND

The proposed strategy for the MAC is the establishment of a comprehensive BCD equipment offering. Only equipment complying with all Minimal Essential Requirements (MERs) for a given modality of the Final BCD Requirements will be listed in the MAC. The equipment offering would be generated from vendor submissions describing the features, capabilities, and any SPECIFIC Requirements that their BCD product complies with. Government end users would select products meeting their respective mission needs from the BCD equipment offering. The BCD Requirements Matrix is currently in draft form.

A primary objective of the BCD equipment offering is to consolidate a wide variety of BCDs capable of supporting diverse missions and provide a convenient, user-friendly listing of the devices and their capabilities for Government users to make informed decisions.

The BCD requirements are categorized by modalities and capabilities to support diverse operational needs of each agency. These BCD capabilities include mobile, stationary, standoff, physical contact, ruggedization, and multi-modal. The BCD modalities under primary consideration include Face, Fingerprints, and Iris (FFI). Other modalities may be sought in the future.

See attached PDF for draft BCD FFI Requirements Matrix showing requirements by Modality.

Minimum Essential Requirements (MERs) must be met by all BCDs in that category (Fingerprint, Face, Iris, etc.). So, every Fingerprint BCD must meet all the Fingerprint MERs.

In addition to MERs, SPECIFIC Requirements apply to certain types of equipment or implementations within each modality, such as for ruggedized mobile BCD or CBP Land Vehicle. For the BCD equipment offerings, companies will list the SPECIFIC requirements each device complies with. The mixture of MER and SPECIFIC requirements allows end users to select BCDs meeting the appropriate functionalities and criteria for their needs.

Example:

Vendor XYZ proposes four (4) BCDs for the BCD equipment offerings:

• Device #1: A Fingerprint BCD. It meets all Fingerprint MERs, but does not meet any Fingerprint SPECIFICS.
• Device #2: A Fingerprint BCD. It meets all Fingerprint MERs, but also meets Fingerprint SPECIFIC Requirements #4, #8, #11, and #22.
• Device #3: A Face BCD. It meets all Face MERs, but also meets Face SPECIFIC Requirements #49-#85.
• Device #4: A FFI BCD. It meets all Fingerprint, Face, and Iris MERs, but also meets, Fingerprint SPECIFICS #22 & #28, Face SPECIFIC #16-#26, and Iris SPECIFIC #32, #35-#38.

PURPOSE OF RFI

The purpose of this RFI is to request feedback from relevant industry sources regarding:

• The availability of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) biometric collection devices that comply with applicable attached draft BCD requirements
• The availability of COTS products capable of mitigating obsolescence by accommodating new functionalities as biometric technologies advance
• The feasibility of the attached Government (draft) BCD requirements
• Address the following Questions:
  • Does the differentiation between MER and SPECIFIC requirements make sense? Do you understand how the SPECIFIC requirements may be important for individual implementations?
  • What are your pain points with the current government implementations of the Biometric collection devices?
  • Given the MERs, do you offer compliant devices? If not, which requirements are problematic?

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

For the purposes of this RFI, please describe in your submission your company's relevant product offerings, which applicable requirements/standards/certification those products meet, post-sale support of BCD implementation, hardware maintenance and software/firmware updates and upgrades, supply-chain dependencies, along with applicable warranties (summary table format preferred for vendors offering several products).

Additionally, please provide any requirement-related feedback you may have under the column titled Industry Feedback in the attached draft Biometric Collection Device (BCD) Fingerprint, Face, and Iris (FFI) Requirements Matrix.

The information obtained may be utilized in the preparation of a Request for Proposal (RFP) provided DHS finds it in its best interest. Vendors are encouraged to review this RFI and determine if their offerings meet the DHS requirements.

Finally, RFI submissions should include a cover letter no longer than two (2) pages in length with the following information:

1. Vendor official name, address and phone number.
2. Point of Contact information, including name, phone number and email address.
3. The vendor's country of origin.
4. If applicable, one URL for the organization's official web site.
5. The socio-economic category under which the vendor is currently certified to perform under NAICS code 334118 Computer Terminal and Other Computer Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing and/or other relevant NAICS code
6. If applicable, your company's GSA Schedule contract number; and
7. If applicable, any relevant DHS strategic sourcing vehicle your company currently holds a contract under and the associated contract number.

Responses are limited to a maximum of 10 pages (including cover letter, but not including the BCD FFI Matrix), must be in 12pt Calibri font with .75 inch margins and submitted via e-mail only to:

1. Contracting Officer: Christopher Carroll (Christopher.Carroll@hq.dhs.gov)

2. Contract Specialist: Amy Driver (Amy.Driver@hq.dhs.gov)

no later than Wednesday, May 8, 2024 at 4:00 PM ET. The subject line of the email should contain the RFI number 70RDA124RFI000009. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized, segregated from non-proprietary information and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned.

Note: The Government reserves the right to hold one-on-one meetings resulting from RFI responses received as part of its market research. Meetings may be held with companies who provide comprehensive and relevant responses to the topic and questions in this notice.