SHAPE-0028 Provision Operational Acceptance Support to SHAPE (NS) - THU 22 Oct

Deadline Date: Thursday 22 October 2026

Requirement: Provision of Operational Acceptance Support to SHAPE

Location: Brussels, BE

Full Time On-Site: See 7.2.2 Below

Total Scope of the request (hours): 1620

2028 Option: 1620 hrs

Period of Performance: Base Period: 1st January 2027 to 31st December 2027 with the possibility for the contracting authority to exercise up to one additional one-year option period.

Evaluation Methodology: Best Value.

1. The scoring will be conducted by SHAPE based on the RFQ responses received from the bidders following a best value approach where the price factors and non-price factors are both accountable for 50% of the overall evaluation score. Each resource will be subject to a separate evaluation; the modalities set out below therefore apply to each evaluation.

The Best Value Final Score (FS) will be the sum of the weighted Technical Score (TS) plus the weighted Price Score (PS) according to the following formula: FS = 0.5 x PS + 0.5 x TS

All mathematical calculations will be rounded up to the fourth decimal.

2. The first stage of the evaluation process will consist of assessing the administrative and technical compliance of the bidder’s proposal with the mandatory requirements set forth in the RFQ (Pass / Fail). Only proposals deemed compliant will proceed to the second stage of the evaluation process.

3. The second stage will consist of the scoring of the non- price/technical factors (TS) in accordance with the following criteria and points :

 Extent and relevance of experience in CIS project and services analysis, monitoring and reporting, in particular within the domain of Core communications and IT infrastructure. [Max. Achievable Points = 40]

Extent and relevance of experience in planning and execution of acceptance testing activities. [Max. Achievable Points = 40]

Extent and relevance of experience with ITIL v3. [Max. Achievable Points = 20]

Extent and relevance ofknowledge and qualifications in software/system/service life cycle management and quality management. [Max. Achievable Points = 20]

Knowledge of NATO environment. [Max. Achievable Points = 10]

TOTAL Max. Achievable Points = 130

Bidders whose RFQ response achieve an overall technical score below a minimum of 65 out of 130 will be “technically non-compliant” and will not proceed to the next stage.

4. The third stage will consist of the scoring of the price factor (PS) in accordance with the following formula: PS = Lowest bid price for resource / Bidder’s price for resource x 130

Where the bid price is the overall value of the unit prices proposed by the bidder for the base period + the option year.

5. The bidders will then be assigned a Final Score by applying the formula set out in point 1 above. The RFQ response having the highest Best Value Final Score (FS) will be selected as the successful one unless there is a statistical tie. A statistical tie is deemed to exist when the final scores of the highest scoring RFQ responses are within 1 (one) percent (%) of each other. In such case the RFQ response with the best cost/technical ratio – defined as the lowest cost per technical score, i.e. Bid Price / TS – will be selected as the successful one for a task order award. In the remote event that this last calculation (Bid Price / TS) would produce an even result for the bidders with highest scoring RFQ responses then SHAPE will hold negotiation session(s) with those bidders until the best price is finally identified for the task order award (best & final procedure).

Required Security Clearance: NATO SECRET

SPECIAL PROVISIONS

1 DEFINITIONS

1.1 As used throughout this RFQ and/or any task order awarded as a result of this RFQ, the following terms shall have the meanings as set forth below:

ACO – Allied Command Operations

CIS – Communications and Information Systems

COTR – Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative

HQ – Headquarters

IKM – Information and Knowledge Management

IT – Information Technology

NIMP – NATO Information Management Policy

SACT – Supreme Headquarters Allied Command Transformation

SHAPE – Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe

SME – Subject Matter Expert

TDY – Temporary Duty

2 INTRODUCTION

ACO requires contractual support for Operational Acceptance Criteria (OAC) definition, correlation between OAC, Test cases/ Use Cases, Test results, reports, use objective assessment of OAC fulfillment based on KPIs and performance metrics.

For 2027, these ACO tasks for acceptance are translated in the following activities required in order to fill shortfalls in ACOs ability to plan, manage, execute and report on user and operational acceptance tasks / activities on priority projects, to include the upcoming Digital Backbone developments. The key activities that must be executed include:

Mapping projects' Operational acceptance criteria to test cases based on the Requirements traceability matrix;

Establishing current baseline for all services under development;

Reviewing the comprehensive set of tests (validation, pre-migration, post migration, site acceptance);

Testing performance, availability, failover;

Service based testing – utility – test if service delivers the required functionality;

Main test process /activities – planning, specification, execution, recording and ensuring test completion;

Test Document Package and Test Plan, readiness review;

Test cases review, test execution, quality based testing;

Site acceptance, user acceptance;

Operational life testing.

3 TASK ORDER MANAGEMENT

3.1 All correspondence pertaining to the Task Order (if any awarded by SHAPE as a result of this RFQ) shall be submitted in first instance to:

SHAPE FINANCE AND ACQUISITION DIRECTORATE

ACO Acquisition Management Branch

Contracting Officer

3.2 Technical and operational issues:

For his direct official control and coordination requirements, the Contracting Officer designates a Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COTR) as the staff element that has the authority to coordinate, monitor, and control Contractor’s performance from the technical standpoint, as detailed below. The COTR’s contact details will be provided upon task order award.

4 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE

4.1 The COTR is appointed by the Contracting Officer for the purpose of determining compliance with the technical requirements for services delivered under the contract.

4.2 By this designation the COTR is authorized to take the following actions:

4.2.1 Verify that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract/task order in accordance with the contract/task order terms, conditions, and specifications by:

4.2.1.1 Monitoring the Contractor’s performance and notifying the Contracting Officer of deficiencies observed during surveillance. Recording and reporting to the Contracting Officer incidents of faulty or non-conforming supplies, delays, or problems.

4.2.1.2 Submitting to the Contracting Officer the Contractor's Performance Evaluation Report, regarding services rendered under this contract, at the end of each evaluation period and/or at the completion of every contract/task order. This information will be regularly reported to NCIA as the primary Purchaser responsible for the framework contract for advisory and assistance services (AAS+).

4.2.2 Maintain liaison and direct communication with the Contractor. The COTR will sign written communications with the Contractor and other documents pertaining to the contract as “Contracting Officer’s Representative” and will furnish a copy furnished to the Contracting Office and NCIA as required.

4.3 The COTR is not authorized to:

4.3.1 Award, agree, or sign any contract (including delivery orders) or modifications thereto, or in any way to obligate the payment of money by SHAPE.

4.3.2 Take any action that may impact on the contract or delivery terms, funds, or scope. Only the Contracting Officer shall make these.

4.3.3 Interpret the contract and settle any potential claim; instead, he shall promptly refer any potential claim or inquiry to the Contracting Officer.

4.4 This designation as a COTR remains in effect through the life of the contract, unless sooner revoked/terminated by the Contracting Officer.

4.5 Should there be any uncertainty regarding a request from the COTR, the Contractor shall immediately contact the Contracting Officer to confirm the proper course of action.

[Section 5 Omitted by NATO]

6 PERSONNEL REPLACEMENT DURING PERFORMANCE

6.1 The provisions of the NCIA awarded CO-115786-AAS+ shall apply.

7 AVAILABILITY OF SERVICES

7.1 Availability: The target start date for the services is set for 1ST January 2027. The Contractor shall be able to start the services within 8 weeks from receipt of the Task Order from SHAPE.

7.2 Services are expected to be performed on-site at SHAPE. The Contractor may be requested to work at any ACO site since many tests/acceptance activities are executed at ACO HQs. In such cases, the on-site rate applies as well as Clause 11 below where necessary. The Contractor may be authorized or requested to perform services off-site, as per the following definitions :

7.2.1 On-site is defined as SHAPE’s Belgium-based facility or other ACO locations.

7.2.2 Off-site is defined as the Contractor designated business address, as recognized by the relevant national tax authorities, for the provision of contracted off-site support services to SHAPE J6 through the Contractor’s resource proposed in response to this RFQ and as declared using the format at Annex A to this RFQ (Declaration of Designated Location for the Provision of Contracted Off-Site Support Services). Such designated off-site address must be within one of the NATO member states. The Contractor shall respect SHAPE J6 hours of operations (see para. 7.4 below) while performing services off-site.

7.3 In/Out Processing: The Contractor’s resource is required to complete all on-site in-processing and out-processing procedures at the commencement and conclusion of the services.

7.4 Hours of Operations: The standard hours of operations for the Contractor’s performance of work is 8 hours on Monday through Thursday and 6 hours on Friday, within the period of 0700 to 1900 Central European Time (CET). Specific working hours within that range will be specified by the COTR. If mutually agreed between the CO and the Contractor and under exceptional circumstances, work can be performed outside of the standard business hours of operation, however, the contracted business hours rate shall apply.

7.5 Recognized Holidays. SHAPE official holidays are excluded from the standard hours of operations. The SHAPE official holiday schedule, determined at the sole discretion of SHAPE, applies and will be provided upon request.

7.6 The Contractor will not charge SHAPE, and SHAPE will not pay, for any time the Contractor’s personnel are not working including due to holidays, standard vacation leave, or sick leave.

7.7 Based on the following estimated requirement for off-site and on-site hours to perform deliverables for the service as described in this SOR; each Contractor shall be able to ensure the availability of estimated 1 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) equivalent qualified resource in 2027, If required by SHAPE, Task Order will be extended for 1 option year (2028) thereafter. The following are the estimated volume of hours that SHAPE anticipates for the execution of requirement stated in this SOR for each resource; the COTR shall agree on the actual assignment of hours on a month- to-month basis within the maximum limits of the overall contracted hours for the Task Order awarded as a result of this RFQ, though available hours of one type maybe used for the other bearing in mind that the rates may be different:

2027 Hrs: 1620

2028 Option Hrs:1629

Total Hrs per Resource (Inc Options): 3240

8 PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM

8.1 Contractor’s performance of the RFQ’s tasks shall be subject to SHAPE’s evaluation through the appointed COTRs.

8.2 Contractor’s Personnel Preliminary Evaluation. One month after the effective date of the contract, there will be a preliminary evaluation milestone focused on the verification of the professional skills, language proficiency, and functional capabilities of Contractor’s employees performing work with SHAPE J6, including their inprocessing week at SHAPE. Depending on the outcome of this preliminary evaluation, SHAPE reserves the right to request the replacement of any employee that, according to the COTR’s assessment, does not demonstrate possession of the minimum qualifications required to perform the tasks detailed in the Task Order descriptions (fully described further down in this SOW).

8.3 Periodic Contractor’s Performance Evaluation Reports. The COTR will issue periodic evaluation report to comply with NCIA regular performance assessments (estimated to occur on mid-term, annual basis). This is meant to document Contractor’s performance under the contract/task order and to report to NCIA accordingly.

9 NATO PROVIDED SUPPORT

9.1 In the event of award resulting from this RFQ; SHAPE will provide Contractor’s resource assigned for the performance of the Task Orders the following:

9.1.1 On-site workspace at SHAPE, including appropriate CIS equipment;

9.1.2 NATO end-user devices; and

9.1.3 Access to appropriate databases, repositories, procedures, and forms that are available to SHAPE J6.

10 COMPLIANCE WITH ACO DIRECTIVES AND REGULATIONS

10.1 The Contractor shall comply at all times with ACO directives and regulations, specifically ACO Directive 040-007 establishing the ACO standards of conducts and ACO Directive 015-026 on ACO Personal Data Protection Policy. A copy of the applicable regulations shall be provided by the Contracting officer upon request or upon award of a task order.

11 CONTRACTOR’S PERSONNEL TRAVEL

11.1 Any official Temporary Duty (TDY) at NATO locations other than SHAPE will be at NATO’s expense. The Contractor shall obtain prior written approval from the Contracting Officer or his/her duly designated representative, before starting any kind of travel at SHAPE expense. SHAPE will not  reimburse any travel costs or per diem incurred by the Contractor’s personnel without appropriate authorisation. In addition, the Contractor shall provide on its own cognisance suitable insurance for its resources assigned to the Task Orders. Suitable insurance will consist of travel insurance, medical evacuation insurance, and insurance to cover continuing medical cover and loss of income due to injuries or disablement that may be incurred.

11.2 Other than the initial and return travel of Contractor’s personnel to/from SHAPE for their in- processing or periodic visits, all travel and other expenses incurred whilst on task will be authorised in advance and sufficient funding to cover such costs will be included.

11.3 For the purposes of reimbursement, AD 060-050, Travel on International Duty (copy available upon request) per diem rates will apply. Reimbursement will be made on the basis of these rates and not on “actual costs” incurred. SHAPE will provide the Contractor with NATO per diem rates at the beginning of the Contract/Task Order and periodically as changes and/ or updates occur.

11.4 Transportation expenses will be reimbursed up to the ceiling defined in directive AD 060-050.

11.5 When personal vehicle is authorised for travel as per the Directive, rate of compensation will be based on kilometers driven from SHAPE to the TDY location and subject to the limitations in directive AD 060-050.

11.6 The Contractor is responsible for insuring its own personnel during the performance of the Contract. SHAPE accepts no liability for any loss or damages whatsoever caused as a result of Contractor-directed travel.

11.7 Per Diem will be paid based on AD 060-050.

11.8 Contractor’s personnel travelling on weekends or public holidays will not be entitled to charge those days as work days unless authorized by the Contracting Officer.

11.9 While on overnight TDY or travelling for overnight TDY, including weekends and holidays, Contractor may not charge actual hours but only the on-site flat-rate of eight hours per day for their Task Order.

11.10 While on same-day TDYs within the Benelux (Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands), contractor personnel will charge the actual hours (on-site rate) for their Task Order rather than 8 hours.

11.11 The Contractor’s personnel will not be required to undertake TDY assignments to NATO theatre of operations.

12 SECURITY CLEARANCE

12.1 The Contractor is to perform the Contract Task Orders using only resource who has current and valid NATO Secret security clearances. The Contractor shall confirm, through the appropriate official channels, for any of its proposed resources(s), the possession of a current and valid NATO Secret security clearance that will allow, in case of Task Order award, the execution of Task Order services at the tentative start date provided in this RFQ.

12.2 The Contractor shall ensure, for any of its proposed resources, that the security clearance will  be current for at least the initial (base) performance period of the Task Order. If requested by the Contractor, SHAPE may, at its sole discretion, accept as sufficient security clearances valid for at least 3 (three) months (counting from the tentative Task Order start date as stated in this RFQ) provided the Contractor also submits in its RFQ response a copy of the clearance renewal documents that confirm the renewal process has been timely initiated.

12.3 It is the Contractor’s responsibility to seek renewal of expiring clearances in a timely manner.

12.4 The Contractor shall also ensure that it holds a valid facility security clearance up to NATO Secret during the entire duration of the task order and that any sub-contractor be declared and hold the appropriate level of facility security clearance.

13 NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

13.1 The Contractor’s shall require all Contractor personnel employed under the provision of this contract to sign a non-disclosure agreement in accordance with the provisions of the NCIA contract CO-115786-AAS+.

14 INVOICES AND PAYMENTS

14.1 Payments under the contract will be made in EURO within 30 days from the date of receipt of a properly supported and acceptable invoice submitted upon completion of delivery, inspection and acceptance.

14.2 Unless otherwise specified, invoices shall be submitted monthly electronically (i.e.: by email) and in non-modifiable format (such as PDF, other) to SHAPE Accounts Payable at shape.accountspayable@nato.int and contain:

• Its reference and issue date;
• The Purchase Order number;
• The description of services provided;
• The quantities delivered;
• The unit prices (exclusive of taxes and duties);
• The total amount to be paid;
• The bank account details where the Contractor will receive the payment.

14.3 No payment shall be made with respect to undelivered supplies, work not performed and/or services not rendered under the Contract;

14.4 Payment shall be made in the currency or currencies of the Contract and the Contractor shall bear all related charges.

STATEMENT OF WORK

1. BACKGROUND

1.1. The ACO (Allied Command Operations) J6 Cyberspace Division has assigned the role of Senior Requirements Owner (SRO) for all CIS Capabilities, Projects and services that are delivered to ACO, in support of SACEUR missions. Key roles of the SRO, in relation with this job, are:

1.1.1. Monitor the projects and services implementation milestones and report to the management about the progress of ACO critical CIS projects

1.1.2. Monitor and report the operational risk related to CIS projects changes (scope, timeline, costs)

1.1.3. Manage the Operational Acceptance of the delivered projects, manage transition to service and the “in service” stage.

1.2. Project / services that enable acceptance, requires confirmation of receipt of the completed project/service provision verifying the operational usability, suitability and sustainability (from an O&M affordability point of view) of the project based on agreed operational acceptance criteria.

1.3. ACO verification of acceptance criteria is conducted via User and Operational acceptance.

1.4. Projects milestones monitoring, operational risk management are intrinsically linked with Operational Acceptance and transition to service;

1.5. The scope of the projects for which ACOS J6Cy is assigned SRO covers the user facing services from the C3 taxonomy, dedicated to the ODW: Core communications services (Voice VTC), Core enterprise services (IKM, Office suites), CIS Security and Cyber defense (Situational Awareness), Service Management and Control and Software applications (i.e. Operational C2, INTEL, or Business Functional services - LOG, MED).

1.6. The ability of staff to perform the full scope of acceptance activities is constrained. Therefore, the ACO J6Cy SM/SDMO) requires access to contractual support that provides Subject Matter Expertise in areas that include: risk management, project management (project monitoring and controlling; project closure), acceptance testing for Software projects, transition to service (business analysis and business change).

2. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The work will be primarily undertaken at SHAPE HQ, Belgium, Cyber Directorate, J6 Cyberspace Division, Service Management Branch, Service Delivery Management Office. Some analysis and verification efforts may be undertaken in The Hague, Netherlands. When services are being deployed to sites other than SHAPE HQ, the contractor may be deployed to those sites to conduct reviews and site activities related to this SOW.

Travels and related expenses shall be authorized in accordance with Paragraph 11 of the above special provisions.

3. SCOPE OF WORK

3.1. This Statement of Work (SoW) identifies the acceptance assessment services to be provided by the contractor supporting Allied Command Operations (ACO) with the software projects and services monitoring and reporting, User Acceptance (UA) and Operational Acceptance (OA) of new or modified systems and projects, services delivered by the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA).

3.2. The goal of project monitoring, operational risk management and acceptance assessment is to ensure that the projects / services are delivered timely, meet the user and customer’s operational requirements, operational acceptance criteria, and that the transition to service is performed in a planned and managed manner.

3.3. CIS services are End-to-End (E2E) services consisting of systems delivered by NCIA projects and contractors, bundled with various NCIA service management and service operations processes that interact with operational processes.

4. TASKS, DUTIES

4.1. Software projects and services analysis, monitoring and reporting includes the support project management milestones tracking, operational requirements traceability, scope, time, cost change analysis and impact. This will be done for prioritized projects, ACO CIS critical projects and comprises following tasks:

a. Collect inputs from a variety of sources and prepare and coordinate deliverables.

b. Conduct analysis and communicate findings to project team and decision makers.

c. Interface with the NCIA PM and ACO SRO, Cy Service Operational Requirements managers.

d. Work within a multi-stakeholder, technical, and matrixed organizational environment.

e. Identify each critical dependency.

f. Identify the commitments to address each critical dependency and document the commitments made by those responsible for providing the work product (NCIA PM) and those receiving the work product (ACO SRO).

g. Prepare and maintain a Dependency Structure Matrix identifying project interdependency, interdependencies with other programmes, and critical commitments.

h. Track critical dependencies and commitments and recommend corrective actions, as appropriate.

i. Contribute to the establishment of a continuing capability to monitor and control the critical projects.

j. Monitor and create situational awareness for the projects.

k. Contribute for quarterly progress reviews of each portfolio of projects and develop reports and dashboards.

4.2. Operational Risk management is a proactive event-based approach to continuously assess "what might go wrong" within the project and set activities into action to control, minimize or even eliminate the risk. Risks are typically defined with parameters such as the probability and likelihood of failing to achieve a particular operational outcome, the consequences and impacts of failing to achieve that outcome, and thresholds to determine if the status of a risk requires action. Main tasks for operational risk management are:

a. Pro-actively identify risks, assess impacts, and recommend responses to decrease the probability of negative events and increase the probability of positive outcomes.

b. Identify, characterize, and develop responses to systemic risks within Implementation processes of ACO critical projects.

c. Contribute to the development of a project risk management processes assessing stakeholder risk perception and acceptance, and identifying the standards for risk identification, risk assessment, risk reporting, and risk review.

d. Establish and maintain the Risk Register product, for ACO critical projects.

e. Provide impact assessment of projects issues, risks, and changes.

f. Perform periodic project risk assessments.

g. Perform periodic project risk reviews.

4.3. User Acceptance and Operational Acceptance requires project monitoring and operational risk management support. The UA and OA assessment include the following tasks that will be conducted by the Project and acceptance analyst:

a. Support project acceptance for the SHAPE CIS projects as assigned.

b. Develop Operational acceptance criteria (OAC) based on a thorough analysis of Operational Requirements (functionality, performance and other characteristics) from a stakeholders or usage perspective.

c. Establish current baseline for current delivered services (in case of replacement).

d. Plan and conduct or witness Service based testing – utility – to confirm if service delivers the required functionality (for each type of service and each type of user).

e. Conduct Operational Test and Evaluation (OTE) in conjunction with ACO as required and agreed with them. This will assure the proper functioning of the E2E service.

f. Identify project milestones that can affect the OA activities.

g. Identify and manage the risk associated to OACs in order to inform their prioritization.

h. Assure that any remaining defects to the technical systems are fixed or have acceptable work-arounds or capture as deficiencies.

i. Identify and asses the residual risk associated with the deficiencies resulting after UA, OA or OLT.

j. Assure that user is ready to use the new service with no or minimal risk (not affecting the mission).

k. Performs other tasks duties as may be required, within the general scope of this SOW.

5. CONTRACTOR’S RESOURCE PREREQUISITES

[See Requirements]

6. DELIVERABLES

6.1. Acceptance analyst staff will generate the following deliverables when carrying out activities:

a. Dependency structure Matrix.

b. Project review report.

c. Project dashboard.

d. Operational risk register.

6.2. Provide support for:

a. User Acceptance and Operational Acceptance Reports.

b. Test Reports (UA,OA,OLT, OTE).

c. Corrective Action, Acceptance deficiencies Reports.

d. Requirements Traceability Matrix.

e. UA and OA Dashboard for the assigned projects.

ANNEX A. DECLARATION OF DESIGNATED LOCATION FOR THE PROVISION OF CONTRACTED OFF-SITE SUPPORT SERVICES TO SHAPE J6.

12 SECURITY CLEARANCE

• The Contractor is to perform the Contract Task Orders using only resource who has current and valid NATO Secret security clearances. The Contractor shall confirm, through the appropriate official channels, for any of its proposed resources(s), the possession of a current and valid NATO Secret security clearance that will allow, in case of Task Order award, the execution of Task Order services at the tentative start date provided in this RFQ.

5. CONTRACTOR’S RESOURCE PREREQUISITES

5.1. The Contractor shall provide their proposed resources’ detailed Curriculum Vitae tailored to address the below essential and desirable qualifications including any formal certification training information relevant to these qualifications.

5.2. The following requirements apply:.

Essential (minimum requirement):

• A Master of Science (MSc) degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in a related discipline (Computer Science or Engineering), with 5 years post-related experience.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in CIS project and services analysis, monitoring and reporting.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in planning and execution of acceptance testing activities.
• Minimum 3 years of experience with ITIL v3.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in CIS projects within the domain of Core communications and IT infrastructure.
• Knowledge of NATO responsibilities and organization.
• Knowledge of software/system/service life cycle management and quality management preferably in a Prince 2 & ITIL environment.
• Working-level knowledge of MS-Office, Project, Visio and SharePoint.
• Working knowledge in JIRA.
• Ability to communicate effectively, orally and in writing with good briefing skills. Desirable:
• PMP certificate, PRINCE 2 foundation/practitioner certificate, International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB) certification at the foundation level.
• Experience in NATO CIS projects within the domain of Software applications for the Operational Digital Workplace.
• Prior experience of working in an international environment comprising both military and civilian elements.
• Knowledge of NATO responsibilities and organization including ACO and ACT.