36C10X23R0086 0002.docx

Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation

GENERAL INFORMATION

Department of Veterans Affairs

5202 Presidents Court, Suite 103 Frederick MD 21703

POINT OF CONTACT*

Michael Collins michael.collins7@va.gov

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

POSTAL CODE

COUNTRY

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

AGENCY’S URL

URL DESCRIPTION

AGENCY CONTACT’S EMAIL ADDRESS

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36C10X23R0086 - Amendment 2 to provide responses to additional vendor questions.

Questions for ILEAD, DAC Solicitation

1. Question: Can we submit additional illustrative SME and facilitator resumes for consideration? Government Response: Yes.

2. Question: What existing leadership training have occurred over the last 2-3 years? Government Response: VHA hosts a number of ongoing leadership programming from single event trainings to year-long coursework.

3. Question: Are you working with a vendor that’s delivering coaching support within ILEAD? Government Response: VHA has an internal office that provides long-term coaching support.

4. Question: How does Arthur define each of the meta competencies of communication, consideration and awareness of others, drive, influencing others, organizing, and planning, and problem-solving? Government Response: Will need to refer to the journal article for this distinction.

5. Question: Does ILEAD have a definition of leadership which unites with the Arthur competencies? Government Response: No.

6. Question: How is the pilot cohort (n=20) selected? Government Response: Will be selected by VHA.

7. Question: How long after award would the offeror like the pilot cohort (n=20) to be selected? Government Response: Per PWS guidance the pilot should be ready to run within 120 days after award.

8. Question: When does the pilot need to begin after cohort selection? Government Response: The pilot will need to test the DAC curriculum and secure participant feedback.

9. Question: What are the top problems that the VHA/ILEAD are trying to address through this leadership education program? Government Response: DACs are provided as a developmental resource to enhance one’s career path – no specific problems are being addressed.

10. Question: What is the 5 or 10 year vision for the VHA that this leadership training will help address and enable for success? Government Response: As with any leadership development program, the goal is build a strong leadership pipeline and DACs are one method for securing that developmental feedback.

11. Question: Does the VHA have a defined problem solving methodology (six sigma, lean, 8 step, etc.) already taught and a part of the VA culture? Government Response: Yes – Lean and Six Sigma.

12. Question: Group review of assessment (Hogan and VA 360) data is an important component of this curriculum. Do these assessments provide configurable comparison reports (between individuals) or are raw data exports of the survey data available so that we can build our own comparison reports to review in the group discussions? Government Response: DAC Assessors will receive copies of the participants’ reports – no raw data.

13. Question: Our interactive polling (Echo360) and online survey technology (Alchemer) allows users to respond on desktop/laptop and mobile phone without downloading an application. Are participants permitted to access these tools from personal devices for ease of use? Are they permitted to respond to online surveys off-site? Government Response: Unclear at this time if this software is acceptable outside the VA firewall.

14. Question: How much prior leadership training has the VHA conducted? What are some of the complaints about past leadership training at the VHA? Government Response: VHA has local-to-national offices across its 250 medical centers dedicated to leadership training for the last few decades.

15. Question: What are the top 3 cultural and leadership challenges identified by VA senior leaders? Government Response: A routine concern is the request for more developmental experiences and coaching input.

16. Question: What kind of misfires into leadership has the VA experienced in the past? Government Response: Individuals not understanding their potential, including areas for development, to achieve the next layer up of leadership.

17. Question: How effective is the After Action Review, AAR, process at the VHA? Are team members afraid to disclose mistakes? Government Response AAR processes work well in VHA, as the organization is aligned with a learning and psychology safety culture.

18. Question: Will participants need to retake these assessments after a certain period of time (1-2 years)? Government Response: Every 3 years.

Should videoconferencing be recorded, stored, and made available to those who could not attend and/or internal auditors? Government Response: No.

Does ILEAD have a particular pedagogy or view of human nature being followed? Government Response: Not to my knowledge.

Question: Does ILEAD have a current LMS in place? Government Response:

Yes.

19. Question: The PWS indicates that key personnel are made up of:

· DAC Assessors: Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Facilitator o SME – Master’s degree required with 10 years’ experience o Facilitator – BA/BS with 6 year’s experience o DAC Assessors shall have in-depth subject matter expertise on how to observe progressively senior leader competencies using a behavioral assessment center approach. This expertise is demonstrated by either formal academic training in Organizational Psychology, Leadership Development, or Clinical Psychology; experience in the design of live simulation-based learning exercises; or breadth of experience in executing Developmental Assessment Centers. Individual feedback sessions shall be facilitated by a DAC Assessor(s) with subject matter expertise and experience delivering performance feedback as demonstrated by a minimum of 200 hours providing developmental feedback and/or executive coaching to executive-level leaders. DAC Assessors shall be certified in Hogan assessment feedback or equivalent experience equivalent to certification levels required.

And Amendment 1 provides responses to questions submitted indicates:

A Facilitator should have experience in supporting the needs of the PWS, to include, but not limited to: group and individual debriefs of the DAC experience/results, running DAC simulations, providing/determining assessed competency results, and providing trend consults/data reviews to the VHA Program Manager. As noted in the RFP, this personnel shall have formal academic experience or subject-matter specialization in a field related to psychology, social work, counseling, public health, or other human behavior science.

Is it correct that you are looking for someone with 6 years of experience and a Bachelor’s degree to provide debriefs and determine assessed competency results? It would seem from other indications that these tasks are expected to be served by the SMEs with Master’s degrees and 10 years experience? Is this correct?

Government Response:

DAC Assessors: Subject Matter Expert (SME) and Facilitator are listed in the PWS Key Personnel section as: All DAC Assessors shall have formal academic experience or subject-matter specialization in a field related to psychology, social work, counseling, public health, or other human behavior science. Subject Matter Experts shall also have certification to consult on the Hogan Assessment Suite measuring personality (HPI), motives/preferences (MVPI), and stress derailers (HDS).

NOTES: Facilitators are part of the “DAC Assessor” group – yes, they may have, at minimum, a BA/BS with 6 years’ experience in the above-noted fields, and will still be expected to support, in some capacity, group and individual debriefs of the DAC experience/results (**maybe not debriefs of senior executives, but can help prep aspiring Quad group debrief actions), running DAC simulations (**potentially serve as a trained Actor or support participants through the simulation experiences), providing/determining assessed competency results (**may work collectively with the SME, if a second observer is needed), and providing trend consults/data reviews to the VHA Program Manager (**helping to support report/data prep). Individuals with a social sciences degree and experience in this human behavior/consulting/organizational development-related work (of a DAC) should have that breadth of exposure and skills set.“

All other terms, conditions and provisions remain unchanged.

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Amendment to a Previous Combined Solicitation