The requirement is for the provision of technical support in the performance of NATO Information Assurance Operations Center (NIAOC) operations in order to provide a first line of assistance and expertise for information assurance (IA) incidents and to provide engineering and technical oversight on assigned NIATC SMI systems and networks. NIAOC on-site technical support services shall be rendered 24 hours a day and 7 days a week by a team of two consultants, with at least one engineer and one technician.

NCSA is the procurement agency for this project, which was authorized by the Military Budget Committee. NCSA intends to use the two envelope bidding procedure. Partial bidding is not authorized.

Funding is anticipated for fiscal years 2012 and 2013-1016.

The reference for the Invitation for International Bidding (IFIB) is IFIB-12-03-NCSA-NCHQ and all correspondence in relation to this procurement shall refer to this reference.

Potential U.S. bidders 1) must be pre-approved by the U.S. Department of Commerce for participation in NATO International Competitive Bidding (ICB) and 2) must be in possession of a current facility security clearance at the level of SECRET. Contractor personnel must be in possession of a COSMIC TOP SECRET (CTS) clearance during the bidding phase and a CTS-A clearance for the execution. The contractor is responsible for ensuring that the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Office (DISCO) forwards to NCSA the required NATO security clearance certifications.

BIDDING PROCEDURE

Before a firm can be nominated to the bidders list for this ICB procurement, it must be approved for participation in NATO ICB. Firms are approved for NATO ICB on a facility-by-facility basis. Only facilities located in NATO member nations may participate in NATO ICB. The U.S. Department of Commerce approves facilities that are located within the United States.
U.S. firms will find a copy of the U.S. NATO ICB application at the following website:

http://www.bis.doc.gov/defenseindustrialbaseprograms/OSIES/NATOprograms/index.htm

The NATO ICB application is a one-time application. The application requires supporting documentation in the form of 1) a company resume and 2) an annual report or set of financial documents indicating compilation, review, or audit by an independent CPA. The application and supporting documentation may be submitted as e-mail attachments. If, when submitting the application, your firm is interested in a specific NATO ICB project, please include the following in the text of your email:

- the title and/or solicitation number of the project
- the name/phone/FAX/email of the point of contact for the bid documents

Upon approval of your one-time NATO ICB application, the U.S. Department of Commerce will then know to follow up by issuing a Declaration of Eligibility (DOE) for that project. A DOE is used to nominate an approved firm to the bidders list for a particular NATO ICB project.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES

Deadline for requesting DOE (and, for firms new to NATO ICB, submitting the one-time NATO ICB application): 02 April 2012

Please note that under MBC rules, the contracting entity will continue to accept nominations to the bidders list until the bid closing date.

Estimated IFIB release date: mid-April 2012

Estimated bid closing date: end of May 2012