SOURCES SOUGHT
W -- Lease of Student Laptop Computers for National Defense University.
- Notice Date
- 4/10/2003
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- Contracting Office
- National Defense University, Directorate of Contracting, 300 5th Avenue, Bldg 62, Room 203, Fort McNair, DC 20319-5066
- ZIP Code
- 20319-5066
- Solicitation Number
- DABJ29-03-T-0071
- Archive Date
- 6/14/2003
- Point of Contact
- Eva Lewis, 202-685-2171
- E-Mail Address
-
Email your questions to National Defense University
(lewise@ndu.edu)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- NA Sources Sought Notice /// Student Laptop Computers For National Defense University /// The National Defense University educates military and civilian leaders through teaching, research, and outreach in national security strategy, national military strategy, and national resource strategy; joint and multinational operations; information strat egies, operations, and resource management; acquisition; and regional defense and security studies. // The three major colleges execute curricula that are highly enriched in the use of electronic media. Scheduling, preparation, classwork, coordination, research, evaluation, and many other functions are performed via the university network and web based app lications. As such, the students require a reliable, portable computer with which to access this environment both at home and on campus to complete the prescribed curriculum effectively. In the past the university has relied on the use of left over funds to purchase computer for student use. This has proved to be inadequate due to the sporadic and unreliable nature of these funds and the inability to purchase an entire fleet for each school that is supportable. // Given the above, the University is considering entering into a lease arrangement with a GSA schedule vendor to provide computers at the beginning of each school?s curriculum cycle with the intent of offering the student to option of purchasing the laptop c omputer at the end of the term of study. Recent surveys of the 500+ students at the National War College (NWC) and Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF) indicate that more than half of the students are attracted by this option. Since the students use the computer daily in their preparation, studies, research, and writing they look at it as the electronic repository for the critical information they personally found important during the course of their study. The ability to carry this information away with them in a laptop computer that has at least two more years of useful life is very attractive. /// Operating Parameters // For the NWC, ICAF and Information Resource Management (IRMC) students the university would expect the selected vendor to be able to supply approximately 500+ laptop computers pre-configured with a ?standard load? of functionality about mid-July for each in coming class. For IRMC, the load will be three times per year (40 students per session, increasing to 72 students per session in 2004). The university would supply the mirror image of the software load sufficient time in advance for the laptops to be con figured. Each school?s Information Management Officer (IMO) would be responsible for coordinating with the faculty to determine to full range of functionality required by school. A prototype load would be configured and tested by the IMO in conjunction with university CIO personnel in time to supply it to the vendor. // Once the loaded laptops are delivered to NDU each school will be responsible for issuing the computers to their respective students. The University CIO organization will provide day-to-day maintenance of the software load and configuration changes necessa ry to support the curriculum execution. The vendor will provide maintenance on the laptop to cover individual item failures through the usual warranty process. In order to ensure that no student is left without a laptop the vendor is encouraged to mainta in adequate spares on site (~5%) for the CIO organization to issue while the warranty item is out for repair. // Each year the University CIO organization, in conjunction with the NWC, ICAF and IRMC IMOs, will review available laptop computer technology and, in conjunction with the vendor, select the one with best value for the upcoming class to replace those laptops either sold to students from the previous year or meeting obsolescence. Ultimately no laptop computer should reach over three years of age while in use at NDU. /// Minimum Laptop Computer Functionality // NWC, ICAF, and IRMC expect their students to require a laptop computer with capabilities nearing a ?desktop equivalent.? This means at least a 15? color monitor, a full size keyboard, state-of-the-art processor, at least 512MB RAM, internal modem, integra ted 10/100MB/s NIC, 30 GB hard drive capacity, combination DVD-CDRW, internal card slot for wireless, carrying case, scroll mouse, and adequate video RAM to support curriculum requirements to be able to load and view multi-media files on a regular basis. No more than two models will be existent at any time and full compatibility will be maintained on all laptop computers on removable devices to include power cords. /// Proposals // Please address expected time required to load and configure ~500 laptops computers per NDU specification. Also, address appropriate payment scheme based on the cycle times listed above. In particular, we are interested in whether a yearly, semi-annual, o r quarterly payment scheme is possible. /// Additional Information for Vendors (NOT part of the Lease Agreement with NDU) // At the end of the prescribed period of study (early June for NWC and ICAF) the students would like to make a decision whether or not to buy the laptop computer he/she had been using during their course of study. After the first year of operation if a stude nt desires to purchase a laptop one year older or one year newer than the one he/she was issued then the vendor is free to offer whatever is available to sell. // If the student chooses to buy the computer the vendor is free to negotiate the sale of the laptop to the individual. The laptop must be wiped clean of all NDU-owned software and a fresh operating system installed. The individual student is free to negoti ate with the vendor on any additional software they want installed. Once sold the vendor is expected to supply the University with a replacement laptop computer for the next term of study. // If the student chooses not to buy the computer the vendor is expected to reconfigure it to the specified new ?standard load? provided by the faculty for the next academic year. If a laptop computer goes unsold for more than two successive cycles the vendo r is expected to replace that laptop with a new version that meets University specifications.
- Place of Performance
- Address: National Defense University Directorate of Contracting, 300 5th Avenue, Bldg 62, Room 203 Fort McNair DC
- Zip Code: 20319-5066
- Country: US
- Zip Code: 20319-5066
- Record
- SN00300868-W 20030412/030410213712 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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