Sources Sought: Cloud Hosting, Provisioning, and Management for Indian Health Service (IHS)

The Indian Health Service (IHS) is launching a strategic modernization program to implement a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) utilizing GovCloud (FedRAMP). This initiative aims to centralize, secure, and automate cloud operations while supporting health IT objectives and adhering to federal compliance frameworks like FedRAMP High, NIST 800-53 Rev 5, and CISA’s Zero Trust Maturity Model. The CCoE will address existing deficiencies in cloud governance, security, and cybersecurity readiness, as identified in GAO Report GAO-21-20, by consolidating infrastructure, automating security workflows, and integrating role-based AI tools. The comprehensive scope of work includes cloud landing zone design, secure enclave provisioning, automation and orchestration, data engineering, Large Language Model (LLM) enablement for secure inference and documentation, compliance dashboards, Zero Trust Architecture implementation, security operations, secure data vaults, and stakeholder support. The project, with a one-year performance period, will be implemented in three phases: Foundation, Automation, and Transition, focusing on infrastructure deployment, workflow automation, and knowledge transfer. Key deliverables include architectural artifacts, automation playbooks, LLM toolkits, and training materials, all designed to modernize, secure, and automate IHS cloud operations.

The Indian Health Service (IHS) requires potential offerors to self-certify their status as an “Indian Economic Enterprise” (IEE) in accordance with the Buy Indian Act (25 U.S.C. 47) and HHSAR 326.601. This representation form is crucial for solicitations, sources sought, and requests for information (RFIs). To qualify, an enterprise must meet the IEE definition at the time of offer, contract award, and throughout the contract performance period. Any change in eligibility must be immediately reported to the Contracting Officer. While self-certification is primary, Contracting Officers may request additional documentation for eligibility verification, especially for set-aside or sole source contracts. All successful offerors must also be registered with the System for Award Management (SAM). The document warns against submitting false or misleading information, citing penalties under 18 U.S.C. 1001 for false information and 31 U.S.C. 3729-3731 and 18 U.S.C. 287 for false claims during contract performance. The form requires the offeror to explicitly state whether they meet the IEE definition, along with details such as the name of the 51% owner, certifying signature, tribal entity name, business name, and Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Number.