SF-30 19AS2026Q0034 SPORTS HUB.pdf

This amendment is issued to:

Continuation Page to Amendment 19AS2026Q0034 EdUSA Pacific Sport Diplomacy Hub

Questions and Answers

Question 1. 1 DOSAR 652.242-73 For a U.S.-incorporated contractor performing the majority of development and project management remotely from the United States, what Australian business registrations, licenses, permits or authorizations does the Government expect the contractor to possess?

Answer: It is the contractor's responsibility to determine whether any Australian business registrations, licenses, permits, or authorizations are required. If the services are being provided entirely from the United States, an Australian Business Number (ABN) and Australian insurance coverage would likely not be required.

Question 2. CLIN 0002 The RFQ says the hub should be "similar to dreambuilder.org." Which specific functionality is intended by this comparison—visual organization, user accounts, course delivery, learner progress tracking, administration, reporting, certificates, communications, or other functionality?

Answer: The user accounts, course delivery, and reporting should be similar.

Question 3. CLIN 0002/0003 Is the Government expecting a Learning Management System, or may the six modules be delivered as web-based learning experiences within the CMS? Are SCORM, xAPI or any other interoperability standards required?

Answer: Web-based learning experiences may be used with no specific interoperability standards required.

The vendor should use either an LMS or CMS that they identify that best delivers the functionality needs of the sports hub.

Question 4. CLIN 0003 What seat time planned per module (e.g., 5 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes), instructional depth and level of interactivity does the Government envision for each of the six modules?

Answers: Modules should each be a minimum of 30 minutes and contain interactive components for the user.

Below please see a list of potential module topics:

Understanding the U.S. College Sports Landscape Athletic Recruiting and Coach Communication (also to include NCAA core course worksheet tracker) Eligibility Rules and Academic Preparation Scholarships, Offers and Choosing the Right Program Financial Planning for U.S. College Athletics The Applied Playbook: Case Studies and Brand-Building to Put Modules 1–5 into Practice

Question 5. CLIN 0003 Will the Government provide authoritative source material and/or Government SMEs regarding NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, scholarships, recruitment and international eligibility, or is the contractor expected to research and serve as the authoritative subject-matter source?

Answer: All sports associations have publicly available resources. It is the responsibility of the vendor to source those materials. The Government POC will then review the deliverables and provide final sign-off on subject-matter source.

Question 6. CLIN 0003 Will EducationUSA provide access to existing U.S. college sports pathway content, recorded programming, subject-matter experts, institutional contacts, and alumni relationships developed through its existing Australia student-athlete programming for use in developing the Hub?

Answer: EducationUSA Australia has built strong networks and relationships through its existing student-athlete programming, including connections with subject-matter experts, institutional partners, and alumni who have gone through the U.S. college sports pathway.

That said, it remains the vendor's responsibility to independently source, develop, and secure the content, materials, and relationships necessary to build the Hub. While Education USA Australia can help open doors and share what is reasonably available, we cannot guarantee the availability, exclusivity, or transferability of all existing content, recorded programming, or third-party relationships for this purpose.

Ultimately, the vendor is responsible for ensuring it has the necessary materials, expert input, and institutional relationships in place to deliver the Hub successfully.

Question 7. CLIN 0002/0003 Please identify the countries for which "country-specific eligibility information" is required. Is the contractor expected to address only Australia plus selected countries, or all Pacific/East Asia countries served by the initiative?

Answer: NCAA eligibility requirements include an overarching set of standards that apply broadly to all international students, regardless of country of origin. Beyond this baseline, the vendor is expected to provide information for those countries served by the initiative, not solely Australia. This information can be sourced publicly and does not require original research or proprietary data collection.

Priority countries for this country-specific content include all nations listed under NCAA's Oceania grouping, plus Indonesia, Malaysia, and Solomon Islands.

The vendor should ensure these priority countries are addressed with sufficient depth, while there should be reference on how to find further information all other world regions.

Question 8. CLIN 0003 Regarding the interactive assessment of NCAA core-course requirements, is the Government seeking an automated eligibility assessment/calculator, an interactive educational exercise based on NCAA worksheets, links to NCAA tools, or another approach?

Answer: An automated eligibility assessment/calculator is preferred, an interactive educational exercise based on NCAA worksheets and links to NCAA tools.

Question 9. CLIN 0002/0003 What information must be collected through registration and "contact management," and what administrative functions must the system provide?

Answer: The information collected through registration should include at minimum: Type of participant (student, parent/guardian, coach, school practitioner, other), Name, Year in study, Sport, Country, Email.

The administrative functions should include reporting and analytics, generating completion and progress reports, tracking engagement metrics. The administrative functions should include reporting and analytics, generating completion and progress reports, tracking engagement metrics.

Question 10. CLIN 0002 Will users include minors? If so, are there Government requirements concerning parental consent, privacy notices, collection of personal information, data retention, data residency or protection of student information?

Yes, users will include minors. It is the contractor's responsibility to research and remain compliant with applicable government requirements concerning parental consent, privacy notices, collection of personal information, data retention, data residency, and protection of student information.

Question 11. CLIN 0006 Must translations be performed by certified translators or independently reviewed native-language linguists? Will the Government provide language reviewers?

Answer: The translations should be performed by the necessary expert or service provider as identified by the vendor. Please note the modules are English-only. The translations are necessary for the Sport Pathway Advising Toolkit.

Question 12. CLIN 0006 By what date will the Government finalize the three languages, given that the RFQ allows them to change with POC concurrence?

Answer: The Government does not anticipate changes to the three selected languages of Bahasa Indonesia, I-Kiribati, and Samoan. That said, the RFQ retains flexibility to account for unforeseen circumstances. If the language section changes an SF-30 Modification will be issued, after negotiations with the contractor.

Question 13. User Target / Final Report Is the contractor responsible for recruiting/attracting at least 50 users, or simply providing a platform capable of serving at least 50 users while EducationUSA conducts outreach?

Answer: EducationUSA can support promotion of the platform through its existing channels, networks, and partner relationships. However, the responsibility for ensuring that at least 50 users actively engage with the platform rests with the vendor. Additionally, while the 50-user threshold represents the minimum engagement requirement, the platform itself must be technically capable of serving well beyond 50 users to ensure scalability as adoption grows across the region.

Question 14. CLIN 0002 What hosting, uptime, backup, cybersecurity, technical-support and incident-response requirements should contractors assume?

Answer: This is a public-facing educational/outreach platform, not a government-specific system, so standard commercial hosting practices apply:

Hosting: Commercial cloud hosting (e.g., AWS, Azure, or equivalent) is acceptable.

Uptime: Standard commercial SLA of ~99.9% uptime, excluding scheduled maintenance.

Backup: Routine automated backups (e.g., daily) with a reasonable retention period (30–90 days).

Cybersecurity: Industry-standard practices — encryption in transit/at rest, access controls, routine vulnerability scanning.

Technical Support: Standard business-hours support with defined ticket response times.

Incident Response: A documented plan with prompt breach notification (e.g., 24–72 hours), especially given potential minor/student data involvement.

Question 15. CLIN 0002 What Government administrative access will be required to the CMS, learner records, contact information and analytics?

Answer: The Government does not require direct administrative access. The vendor will provide reporting and analytics, completion and progress reports, and engagement metrics to the Government.

Question 16. CLIN 0002 What is the requirement for content management and maintenance/updates of content?

Answer: It is the responsibility of the vendor to maintain and manage content/update content for the period of performance of the contract.

Question 17. Platform ownership At contract completion, what rights does the Government require in the instructional content, toolkit files, videos, user data and editable/source files, as distinguished from the contractor-owned platform/source code?

Answer: The Government maintains the right to be able to use the instructional content, toolkit files, videos, user data and editable/source files for other purposes after the end of contract.

Question 18. Is the government expecting their staff to maintain the content of the delivered material?

Answer: No. The Contractor is responsible for maintaining the content of the delivered materials in accordance with the requirements of the solicitation.

Question 19. Can the government provide guidance on their budgeted dollars for this project?

Answer: Offerors should submit their most competitive pricing based on the scope, deliverables, and requirements outlined in the solicitation.

Question 20. Is there an incumbent for this solution? Is this a replacement for an existing system?

Answer: No. There is no incumbent contractor for this requirement, and this is not a replacement for an existing system or solution.

Question 21. Is there an existing CMS that the new solution will need to be integrated into?

Answer: No. There is no existing CMS that the new solution is required to integrate with.

Additional questions

Question 22. A question was asked about seat time. To expand on that question, are there expectations for qualitatively assessing course participation? Or should the focus be on practical exercises such as completing course pre-requisite worksheets and things of that nature that would not be graded?

Answer: There is no requirement for a graded component within each module, nor is the vendor expected to build formal assessment tools (e.g., quizzes with scoring, rubrics, or pass/fail thresholds). The focus should instead be on practical, non-graded exercises such as worksheets, checklists, and applied activities that reinforce the learning outcomes of each module. Each module should include a completion checklist or set of practical exercises that learners must complete to demonstrate they have engaged with the material.

These exercises are intended to confirm participation and application of concepts, not to formally grade performance. A final certificate of completion, issued upon finishing all six modules, to reinforce the sense of accomplishment and provides a tangible takeaway for users.

Question 23. I would also like to ask about the timeline. How much flexibility is there? It may take longer to produce course modules depending on the seat time and assessment expectations, for example.

Answer: The launch date of course modules is to align with the start of the Australian high school year, which is start of February 2027. Any timeline changes need to be signed off by Government POC.

Question 24. The RFQ lists a contract start date of September 20, 2026, while quotations are due September 21, 2026. Please provide the anticipated award/Notice to Proceed date and confirm whether the January and February 2027 deliverable deadlines will be adjusted if award occurs later than currently contemplated.

Answer: This contract will be awarded by End of September 2026. The launch date of course modules is to align with the start of the Australian high school year, which is start of February 2027. Any timeline changes need to be signed off by Government POC.

Question 25. Please define the expected duration, level of interactivity, assessment requirements, completion tracking, and any SCORM, xAPI, certificate, or learning-standard requirements for each of the six self-paced modules. Please also identify any Government-furnished source content or subject-matter experts that will be available.

Answer: Refer to responses in #4 and #6 above.

Question 26. What privacy, cybersecurity, hosting-location, data-retention, analytics, and data-export requirements apply to the registration and demographic information collected from users, and is any Department of State security review or authorization required before launch?

Answer: This is a public-facing educational/outreach platform, so hosting itself is standard commercial practice (per Q14). However, because the platform collects registration and demographic data, it is the contractor's responsibility to confirm and remain compliant.

Question 27. Will EducationUSA facilitate introductions to suitable alumni, or should the contractor include all alumni recruitment, scheduling, release management, and usage-rights acquisition in its fixed price? Please also confirm the required duration of Government usage rights for the final videos.

Answer: EducationUSA may facilitate introductions to suitable alumni, if needed; however, the Contractor may also identify potential alumni independently. All proposed alumni must be submitted to the Government POC for approval prior to being contacted. The Contractor shall provide the final video files to the U.S. Government in addition to uploading them to the resource hub. The U.S. Government shall retain usage rights to the final videos.

Question 28. Is the minimum target of 50 hub users solely a platform-capacity and reporting requirement, or is the contractor responsible for marketing, outreach, and user recruitment necessary to achieve that target? If contractor outreach is required, please define the expected activities, countries, and performance measures.

Answer: EducationUSA may support promotion of the platform through its existing channels, networks, and partner relationships. However, the Contractor is responsible for ensuring that a minimum of 50 users actively engage with the platform. The 50-user threshold represents the minimum engagement requirement and does not represent the platform’s maximum capacity. The platform must be technically capable of supporting significantly more than 50 users to allow for scalability as adoption grows across the region.