Accenture wins $37M Education Department IES Digital Modernization Phase 2 task on Alliant 2

Awardee Name: ACCENTURE FEDERAL SERVICES LLC
Unique Entity ID: C47BNA8GM833
Total Contract Value: $37,341,622.86
Action Obligation: $11,390,579.18
Department Name: EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF
Funding Office: INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES
Number of Bidders: 1
Award ID: 91990024F0051
Referenced IDV ID: 47QTCK18D0036
Contract Vehicle: GSA ALLIANT 2
NAICS: 541512
Start Date: 2024-09-23
Ultimate Completion Date: 2027-09-22

IES intends to award a logical follow-on task order to Accenture Federal Services (AFS) on the Alliant 2 Governmentwide Indefinite delivery, indefinite-quantity contract (IDIQ)
pursuant to FAR 16.505(b)(2)(ii). The current task order 91990022R0032/RFQ ID
RFQ1556207 was awarded on September 26, 2022, and will expire on September 25, 2024. This logical follow-on task order will continue the digital modernization efforts that began in the current task order that ends on September 25, 2024.
Logical Follow-On Period of Performance
Base Period: September 26, 2024 – September 25, 2025
Option Year (OY) 1: September 26, 2025 – September 25, 2026
OY2: September 26, 2026 – September 25, 2027
 
IES intends to award a three-year (one base year plus two options) logical follow on
to continue the work Accenture is conducting as part of a digital modernization
project that the Institute has undertaken since 2020. Phase 1 of this digital
modernization is currently under a task order that ends on September 25, 2024. This
new task order is for Phase 2 work and is required as a direct continuation of the
work Accenture has conducted under 91990022R0032/RFQ ID RFQ1556207.

In 2020, IES embarked on a digital modernization effort in order to meet our statutory mission to conduct “wide dissemination activities in areas of demonstrated
national need” and to bring our digital properties in line with the 21st Century
Integrated Digital Experiences Act and the requirements laid out in OMB
Memorandum M-23-22. As such, this work is critical to the functioning of IES. Below are the critical elements of phase two implementation that will be required in this task order.
Phase Two Implementation and Continuation
Phase Two begins when the initial modernized IES website launches and will support
iterative enhancements and the development of additional capabilities and the continued
migration of legacy IES.ed.gov and nces.ed.gov web content to the modernized
environment. While Phase One has provided the foundation for the Phase Two work, a
significant effort is still required to move content, tools, and data from the previous site
into the new infrastructure. Phase Two work includes the following objectives:
Website Enhancements:
o Design: Draw upon Phase One implementation experience and lessons learned
and continue to transition legacy content to the modernized environment while
simultaneously implement enhancements for continued improvement to the
overall modern website experience and information hierarchy.
o Content Management System (CMS): Draw upon extensive understanding of
legacy system content and system interoperability to develop, modify, and version new or enhanced content and workflows within the IES Drupal environment.
Also, complete What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) and surveys and programs
page design, development, and migration.
o Universal Search: Apply lessons learned from analysis of legacy search
functions to enhance search functionality for continued improvement to the
search-based user experience, allowing users to quickly find the information they need.
o Operations and Maintenance: Support the Phase One Drupal CMS solution and ongoing releases including technical, feature-based, and administrative support in coordination with the IT Director while continuing to enhance the functionality
and infrastructure as part of Phase Two.
Universal Taxonomy: Continue term identification, definition, and hierarchical mapping using quantitative and qualitative measures to expand upon the existing universal
taxonomy.
Data Repository: Continue to ingest data into the data repository and facilitate the
consolidation and simplification of IES data structures. Complete setup and
implementation of metadata management platform.
Data Portal: Advance data portal functionality to include data analysis and visualization capabilities.
Internal Tools Consolidation: Build internal tools solution, migrate existing tool
datasets, archive existing internal tools, and train users on new tools and capabilities.
Key Digital Tool Updates: Enhance functionality and user experience of high-demand
digital tools across IES including retirement, replacement, consolidation, or modification. Customer Engagement: Implement framework and mechanisms for collecting,
analyzing, and applying user feedback to enable an iterative and continuous improvement to user experience across the digital landscape of IES.
Survey Tool(s): Support IES guidelines for implementation of a third-party hosted
survey tool for optional use across IES.
Governance: Implement and contribute to data, website design, and security governance standards and processes for the foundational phase of the digital modernization initiative as part of the uniform governance program of IES.

Acquisition History:
The IES DM is intended to be and was originally competed as a multi-phased
approach with the overarching vision to optimize the IT spend and environment,
increase access to IES data, and ease resource burden through the implementation of
new technologies, tools, and capabilities.
ED issued 91990022R0032/RFQ ID RFQ1556207 to all 38 Alliant 2 contract holders
on May 4, 2022. The solicitation included a Statement of Objectives (SOO) that
outlined the three key phases of work to complete the DM effort (as noted above, IES
has since made the decision to combine Phases 2 and 3). The solicitation included
Contract Line Item Numbers (CLIN) for each phase for a period of performance
extending through July 10, 2027, if exercised.
Moreover, the SOO described the need for a single vendor to support the full range of
future-state modernization activities in Section 11 of the Phase One SOO (quoting
directly):
As described at the beginning of this SOO, IES is working toward the
full implementation of a multi-phased digital modernization effort. IES
recognizes the interdependencies [outlined in this document in
Sections 4(2) and 4(3)] between Phase One foundational activities and
the activities to be addressed in future phases. Additionally, IES
appreciates that transitioning to a new vendor presents potential risks
of program disruption and quality impacts, therefore IES retains the
flexibility to award future phase activities to the Phase One vendor if it
is in the best interest of the government. Therefore, it is the intention
of the Government that should the implementing vendor for Phase One
successfully meet the needs of the Government, that vendor may also
be solicited to complete future tasks through available option periods
as related to the DM effort.
ED obtained labor pricing for three out-years based on the optional tasks provided in
the SOO. However, the Department could not definitize Phase Two activities with
sufficient granularity to include a pre-priced CLIN in the awarded task order, however
the requirement clearly notified vendors that three additional years of implementation
work beyond the initial two-year effort would be required.

Digital Modernization Roadmap

The IES DM roadmap laid out a five-year modernization roadmap for execution
using an iterative agile approach. This ongoing modernization identified three phases
with continuous development crossing phases as each phase builds on the prior and
the functionality continues to evolve. Phase One from 9/2022 – 9/2024 sets a
technical foundation, but not does not yet position IES to operate and maintain the
modernized technical architecture. After careful consideration of the
interdependencies of each of the phases that became evident in Phase One, IES
combined the work proposed in Phases Two and Three into a single phase (Phase
Two) to ensure that the necessary work is conducted in the most rational sequencing
possible. The DM roadmap was described in the initial RFP posted to Alliant 2 in
Section 18, Appendix D:

🔊 Listen to Story