Brazil - Sergipe State Government Information Technology Modernization and Expansion Plan Technical Assistance

Solicitation Number: 2015-51011A

Notice Type: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation

Synopsis:

Added: Aug 18, 2015 3:09 pm

Proposal Submission Place:
Ezio Prata Faro; President
Empresa Sergipana de Tecnologia da Informação - EMGETIS
Av. Adélia Franco, 3165; Bairro Grageru - CEP 49.027-010
Aracaju, SE; Brazil
Phone: 55 (79) 3216-1001

The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the "Proposal") from interested U.S. firms that are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to provide technical assistance for the development of a roadmap to expand the State of Sergipe's fiber and wireless broadband network and modernize the state government's existing data center.

The state of Sergipe is located in Northeast Brazil, with a territory approximately the size of Israel. The state's economy has been primarily driven by the services and agricultural sectors. Efforts toward diversification of economic activity, however, have prompted a need to modernize and expand communication networks in the state.

The Empresa Sergipana de Tecnologia da Informação (Information Technology Company of Sergipe - EMGETIS) was formed in 2008 and has its own capital and sources of revenue. Its mandate is to promote, execute and manage the overall ICT policy for Sergipe. The Sergipe state government has just been reelected for another four-year term and has indicated that a complete communications infrastructure upgrade would be one of the top priorities for the coming years, and this project is already in their 2015 strategic plan.

This proposed technical assistance would develop a plan to expand the state's existing hybrid fiber/wireless broadband network in order to provide connectivity and e-government services throughout the state. It would also develop the fundamental design requirements (including hardware and software specifications), budget and implementation plan for the expansion of the state's existing data center, including in-house backup capabilities. Currently, the state relies on the Sergipe State Bank's data center to back up their critical data, but the bank's data center has limited storage capacity. In addition, the technical assistance would develop a strategy and preventive procedures to ensure that essential services are preserved in the event of an incident or disaster.

The technical assistance would also provide recommendations and define necessary standards to ensure all future IT systems adopted by EMGETIS and state agencies are installed in a complementary and interoperable fashion. EMGETIS is currently developing a cloud computing strategy along with other state IT companies in the country, and Sergipe will be better positioned to take advantage of cloud services once this new ICT infrastructure is in place. Lastly, the technical assistance would also help prepare the bidding documents for implementation.

The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $595,200 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA).

A detailed Request for Proposals (RFP), which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and portions of a background Definitional Mission report are available from USTDA, at 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600, Arlington, VA 22209-3901. To request the RFP in PDF format, please go to:

https://www.ustda.gov/businessopps/rfpform.asp

Requests for a mailed hardcopy version of the RFP may also be faxed to the IRC, USTDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want USTDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to USTDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to USTDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, USTDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling USTDA.

Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this USTDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under USTDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the USTDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the USTDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the USTDA grant amount. Details of USTDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP.

Interested U.S. firms should submit their Proposal in English and Portuguese directly to the Grantee by 4:00pm, October 5, 2015 at the above address. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals.

Contracting Office Address:

1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600,
C/O US TDA 1000 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1600
Arlington, Virginia 22209-3901

Primary Point of Contact.:

Jennifer Van Renterghem,

USTDA - 1000 Wilson Blvd. Suite 1600 Arlington, VA 22209

RFPQuestions@ustda.gov

Phone: 703-875-4357

Fax: 703-875-4009