Award Notice: Firm Fixed-Price, Non-Personal Service Type, Commercial Item Purchase to provide IT Support Services for the Great Plains Area Office, Office of Information Technology, Aberdeen, SD.

Statement of Work (SOW)

The Indian Health Service (IHS) Great Plains Area (GPA) aims to procure comprehensive IT support services for its Enterprise Cisco Unified Communications (UC) and Collaboration Support, and Resource Patient Management System (RPMS) Systems Support. The goal is to ensure a reliable and efficient health information system, modernize IT infrastructure, and improve access to care.

• Enterprise Cisco UC and Collaboration Systems: Support includes voice, video, telehealth, conferencing, and communication systems. This also involves engineering services to migrate Billings into the GPA Calling Cluster and managing existing Cisco UC environments (UCM, Unity, Expressway, IM&P, Webex).

• RPMS/EHR Systems: Support encompasses clinical operations at nineteen facilities, including four 24/7 hospitals. This includes maintaining continuous RPMS/EHR operations, providing Tier 2 support, and coordinating Tier 3 escalations for RPMS servers, disaster recovery, beta testing, and patching.

• Period of Performance: One (1) year base period with four (4) one-year option periods.

• Place of Performance: Primarily remote, utilizing IHS-approved secure connectivity. On-site work will be authorized by the COR. Support may involve phone or VPN access, with travel requiring pre-approval.

• Technical Support: Tier 3 engineering support for Cisco UC, troubleshooting complex call flows, managing cluster operations, and interfacing with Cisco TAC. For RPMS, this includes server hardware and OS support (IBM AIX, Windows), patching, IRIS database maintenance, and backup management.

• System Optimization: Monitoring system performance, call quality, resource utilization, and implementing configuration adjustments for reliability.

• Security & Compliance: Ensuring systems adhere to IHS/HHS security baselines and hardening standards, coordinating vulnerability mitigation, and supporting compliance documentation.

• Reporting: Monthly performance and activity reports, quarterly optimization reports, and updated documentation after major changes.

• Deliverables: Monthly performance and activity reports, quarterly optimization reports, preventive maintenance schedule, updated documentation, and a quality control plan.

• Personnel Qualifications: Requires a senior-level Tier 3 Cisco UC Engineer and a team of 4-5 experienced personnel for RPMS/IRIS administration. All staff must hold required IHS credentials.

• Security: All personnel must pass background checks and comply with IHS/HHS security requirements, safeguarding PII and PHI.

• Accessibility: Services must conform to 36 CFR Part 1194 accessibility standards.

• Government-Furnished Resources: IHS will provide system access, administrative permissions, documentation, network diagrams, and maintenance coordination.

• Migrate up to 1600 phones and 6 sites into the existing GPA cluster.

• Configure new sites, gateway routers, and activate PRI for a specific site.

• Modify dial plan and configure paging groups.

• Duplicate Auto-Attendant features and configure E911 locations.

• Migrate sites/users in seven separate events, including testing and post-migration support.

Sources Sought Notice

This notice is for informational and planning purposes only, intended for market research to determine the availability of Indian Economic Enterprises (IEE) for IT Support Services for the Great Plains Area Office, Office of Information Technology, Aberdeen, South Dakota. It is not a solicitation or obligation by the Indian Health Service (IHS).

• The primary objective is to provide IT Support Services.

• The scope of work refers to an attached technical description (not provided in this document).

• The contractor must comply with all applicable federal, state, and local requirements for Computer Systems Design Services.

• The anticipated NAICS code is 541512 (Computer Systems Design Services), but other relevant codes may be considered.

• Type of Order: Firm Fixed-Price (FFP) purchase order.

• Anticipated Period of Performance: One-year base, plus four option years.

• Place of Performance: Great Plains Area Office, Office of Information Technology, 115 4th Avenue, SE, Aberdeen, South Dakota.

• Interested parties are requested to submit capability statements via email to David Jones, Contract Specialist, at David.Jones@ihs.gov.

• The subject line must include "Sources Sought Number IHS1521886".

• The due date for receipt of statements is March 19, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. Central Time.

• Responses will be reviewed by IHS personnel and held confidential.

• General overview of opinions on difficulty/feasibility and innovative ideas.

• Current capability, capacity, prior similar events, organizational experience, and management capability.

• Evidence of ability to fully satisfy requirements.

• UEI number, organization name, address, POC, business size/type, and applicable NAICS code.

• Any other information to help develop or finalize requirements.

• Maximum 10 single-sided pages, single-spaced, 12-point font, standard margins.

• Proprietary information should be marked.

• Indicate current certified small business status on the first page.

• Applicable company GSA Schedule number or other procurement vehicle.

• This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or pay for submitted information.

• Responses to this notice are not considered adequate responses to a future solicitation.

• No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included.

• Invoices submitted under any future award will be required to utilize the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP).

Form / Attachment / Pricing Sheet

This document is the Indian Health Service (IHS) Buy Indian Act Indian Economic Enterprise Representation Form. It serves as a self-certification for offerors to confirm they meet the definition of an "Indian Economic Enterprise" (IEE) as required by the Buy Indian Act. This form is to be submitted in response to a Sources Sought Notice, Request for Information (RFI), or Solicitation.

• Self-Certification: Offerors must certify whether they meet the definition of an IEE with "Indian Ownership."
• Eligibility Period: The enterprise must meet the IEE definition at the time of offer, contract award, and throughout the contract performance period.
• Notification Requirement: Contractors must immediately notify the Contracting Officer if they no longer meet eligibility requirements.
• Documentation: Contracting Officers may require documentation of eligibility.
• Registration: Successful offerors must be registered with the System of Award Management (SAM).
• Penalties: False or misleading information is a violation of law and subject to penalties.
• Required Fields:
  • Name of Federally Recognized Tribal Entity
  • Name of the 51% owner of IEE Firm
  • Business Name
  • Unique Entity ID (UEI) Number
  • Certifying Signature
  • Print Name

This form is critical for any bidder seeking to participate in opportunities designated for Buy Indian Act set-asides or sole-source awards. Bidders must accurately complete this representation to self-certify their eligibility as an Indian Economic Enterprise. Failure to meet these requirements or provide accurate information can lead to disqualification or penalties.