GSA issues HSPD-12 solicitation

The government is expecting industry to make Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 actually happen.

Under a request for proposals issued last week, the General Services Administration asked vendors to submit their integrated approach to six business processes in six categories of requirements for each business process under HSPD-12.

Contractors have until July 12 to send in their proposals on how by Jan. 8, 2007, they will meet two multipart milestones. GSA said this would be a fixed-price contract.

"Through conversations with vendors, the government is convinced that industry is prepared to deliver an integrated HSPD-12 enabling system," the RFP said. "Additionally, the government accepts industry's assertion that compliant systems are 'ready-to-go.' "

GSA said they are looking for a contractor that has delivered a "large-scale integrated biometric identity management" system in the last three years and has rapidly deployed a "biometrically based credentialing" program.

The RFP asks the vendor to be able to successfully demonstrate in a test environment 20 days after the award of the contract a system that will provide sponsorship, enrollment, adjudication, issuance, activation and credential usage. By Sept. 29, the vendor would have to set the system up in a production hosting environment.

The production hosting environment includes producing eight PIV II cards at one enrollment station in two hours, having the system fully certified and accredited, and having it independently verified and validated.

By Oct. 20, the vendor would have to implement an enrollment station in a federal building in Baltimore, New York, Seattle and Washington. This includes printing one PIV II-compliant card at each site, and demonstrating the capability of creating at a minimum of 24 PIV II cards per 8-hour workday. The RFP said a maximum of 600 cards would be issued.

"The vendor would be required to provide a transition plan to roll these accounts into the government enterprisewide services if required," the RFP said.

This likely leaves the door open for federal shared-services providers to provide HSPD-12 services. The RFP said the government will make a decision whether to extend the vendor's contract by Nov. 3, and that seems to insinuate that the federal SSPs will need time to get ready. If the SSPs are ready to take over the work, the government may not extend the vendor's contract.

If the contract is extended, the vendor by Nov. 17 would have to implement enrollment and scheduling tool. And then by Jan. 8, 2007, the vendor would have to establish an interface between their system and at least two human resources Line of Business systems to automatically upload applicants and adjudicated results.

Jason Miller is assistant managing editor of Washington Technology's sister publication, Government Computer News.