36C77618Q9246-000.docx

FedBizOpps Presolicitation Notice

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63123 36C77618Q9246 09-11-2018 N 611420 Department of Veteran Affairs

PCAC-ST. LOUIS

11152 South Towne Square Saint Louis MO 63123

LEONARD JOHNSON

LEONARD.JOHNSON2@VA.GOV

leonard.johnson@va.gov leonard.johnson@va.gov

1. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items in accordance with Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

1. A response to this request shall consist of the submission of a quote, and any other requirements of the solicitation.

1. By submission of a quote, the offeror accedes to all RFQ requirements including: terms and conditions and representations and certifications. Any exceptions to the RFQ terms and conditions shall be clearly identified and contractor shall provide complete accompanying rationale.

1. This RFQ is not authorization to begin performance and in no way obligates the Government for any costs incurred by the contractor for this requirement. The Government reserves the right not to award a contract in response to this RFQ. Prior to commencement of any activities associated with performance of this requirement, the Government will issue a written directive or contractual document signed by the Contracting Officer with appropriate consideration established. The Government reserves the right to cancel this solicitation, with no obligation to the contractor by the Government.

1. The point of contact for this RFQ is Mr. Leonard Johnson, Contract Specialist; he can be contacted at leonard.johnson2@va.gov or (314) 894-6656 x65114. Responses are due by 5P CT on 11 Sep 18.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR RFI 36C77618Q9205_COGNIZEN

1. WILL THE VENDOR BE PROVIDED A LICENSE FOR THE COGNIZEN VA AUTHORING TOOL?

NONE NEEDED, OPEN SOURCE

2. IF THE NETWORK OR SERVER IS DOWN, CAN THE VENDOR STILL DESIGN AND DEVELOP ELEARNING COURSE MATERIALS?

YES

3. CAN THE VENDOR USE ANALYTICS DASHBOARDS TO GATHER USEFUL DATA, SUCH AS ENGAGEMENT STATS AND LOCATION ACCESS POINTS, TO HELP SHAPE THE FUTURE DESIGN? DISCOVER HOW LEARNERS RATED THE VENDORS EARNING CONTENT VIA SURVEYS?

NO

4. CAN THE VENDOR IDENTIFY HIGH-PRIORITY CONTENT WHERE LEARNERS NEED RE-CURRENT TRAINING?

NO

5. DOES THE VA HAVE EXISTING DETERMINED TEMPLATES, DESIGNS AND NAVIGATION STYLES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF E-LEARNING?

YES, UTILIZING ALL ID TEMPLATES IN TOOL

6. DOES THE VENDOR HAVE A WELL-ENTRENCHED CUSTOMER SUPPORT DEPARTMENT, OR WILL THE VENDOR BE ON YOUR OWN WHEN TROUBLE ARISES?

OWN THEIR OWN….OPEN SOURCE TOOL

7. CAN THE VENDOR DEVELOP USER TOOL TRAINING FOR BOTH DEVELOPERS AND ADMINISTRATORS? I.E. CUSTOMIZE THE ONBOARDING AND ADAPT IT TO THE QUALIFICATION LEVEL OF THE LEARNER? OFFER TRAINING OR INTRODUCTION ACCORDING TO DIFFERENT SKILL LEVELS: BEGINNER, ADVANCED, EXPERT.

YES

8. CAN THE VENDOR BREAK LARGE BLOCKS OF CONTENT INTO MODULES THAT CAN BE COMPLETED IN A SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME—SAY, THE LAST 15 MINUTES OF AN EMPLOYEE'S LUNCH HOUR.

YES

9. WHAT IS THE IDEAL LENGTH OF TIME FOR THE LESSONS/MODULES?

45 MINUTES TO 1 HOUR

10. WHAT FORMATS CAN THE VENDOR USE? E.G. AUDIO (+ CAPTIONS + TRANSCRIPT),

VIDEO (+ CAPTIONS + TRANSCRIPT)

ALL

11. AT SOME POINT, WILL IT BE NECESSARY FOR THE VENDOR TO TRANSLATE THE WEB-BASED LEARNING COURSES INTO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, FOR DIFFERENT VA STAKEHOLDERS OR TO CATER TO A CLIENT REQUEST?

NO

12. DOES THE COGNIZEN ELEARNING AUTHORING TOOL YOU WOULD LIKE TO USE COME WITH PREBUILT OR CLOSED THEMES, PAGE TYPES AND INTERACTIONS? WHERE HIGH-TECH PROGRAMMING DOES NOT MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO POSITION HOTSPOTS OR ADD ANSWER OPTIONS TO MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS?

NO

13. DURING THE WEB-BASED LEARNING PROCESS. DOES THE COGNIZEN AUTHORING TOOL YOU WANT TO USE HAVE A STREAMLINED ONLINE SYSTEM TO ENABLE REVIEWERS TO MAKE COMMENTS OR RECOMMENDATIONS RIGHT ON THE PAGE THEY’RE REVIEWING?

YES

14. CAN THE VA CONFIRM THE THEMES OR TEMPLATES? THAT POSITION AND LOCK-IN CERTAIN ON-SCREEN ELEMENTS, INCLUDING LOGOS, BACKGROUND COLORS, AND FORMATTED TEXT BLOCKS, AND TO ALLOW THE VENDOR COURSE AUTHOR FREE TO FOCUS ON MANIPULATING THE DYNAMIC ELEMENTS, FOR EXAMPLE TEXT CONTENT, IMAGES, AND DRAG AND DROP ELEMENTS.

YES

15. IF A COURSE REQUIRES AN URGENT FIX, AND THE PRIMARY AUTHOR IS ON THE ROAD, CAN ANOTHER VENDOR QUICKLY MAKE CHANGES DIRECTLY TO THE VA LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS)?

N/A: ALL USERS CAN MAKE CHANGES DIRECTLY USING THIS TOOL

16. WHAT BACK END DATA SYSTEM, DOES THE VA REQUIRE THE VENDOR TO STORE THEIR DATA? E.G. IN THE CLOUD OR VIA A SERVER?

CLOUD

17. WILL THE VENDOR BE REQUIRED TO CREATE A LEARNING CATALOG FOR PHYSICAL AND VIRTUAL RESOURCES? SUCH AS BOOKS, DVDS, VR/AR WEB APPS.

JOB AIDS

18. WHAT IS THE SIZE LIMIT FOR THE VENDORS MEDIA RESOURCE REPOSITORY? E.G. FOR STORING MEDIA FILES SUCH AS IMAGES, AUDIO CLIPS, VIDEOS, AND FLASH FILES.

NOT SURE

19. IS THERE A SANDBOX VERSION OF THE TOOL THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO ACCESS FROM WHICH TO DEVELOP TRAINING CONTENT?

OPEN SOURCE SO VENDOR CAN CREATE THEIR OWN

20. WHAT TYPE OF TRAINING WOULD THE END USERS BE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP? IS THERE A SPECIFIED PROCESS FOR CONTENT DEVELOPMENT THAT WE COULD LEVERAGE WHEN DEVELOPING USER TRAINING TO ENSURE A HIGH-FIDELITY LEARNING EXPERIENCE?

ADDIE: INTERACTIVE ONLINE COURSES UTILIZING THE ALL THE ID INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES IN TH ETOOL

21. THE EMAIL WE RECEIVED ASKED FOR “COGNIZAN” EXPERIENCE. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DID NOT MEAN A SIMILAR AUTHORING TOOL CALLED “CONGINZANT”?

NO

22. PWS 2.0 BACKGROUND

THIS SECTION STATES THAT, “THE TRAINING WILL BE ON-LINE INSTRUCTOR LED COURSES.” QUESTION: IS THE CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING AN INSTRUCTOR FOR THE ON-LINE COURSE?

YES

23. PWS 4.0 SCOPE OF WORK

THIS SECTION STATES THAT, “THE WEB-BASED LESSONS WILL BE BOTH USED FOR SELF-PACED TRAINING, AND ALSO USED TO PRESENT THE CONTENT FOR THE WEBINARS.” QUESTION: IF THE WEB-BASED LESSONS WILL BE USED FOR SELF-PACED TRAINING, ARE THEY AVAILABLE FOR STUDENT USE YEAR-ROUND, 24/7? IF SO, IS AN INSTRUCTOR REQUIRED TO BE AVAILABLE AS WELL?

YES TO AVAILABILITY BUT NO TO INSTRUCTOR SINCE LIVE SESSIONS WILL BE RECORDED FOR ENDURING MATERIAL

24. PWS TASK 6.2

THIS SECTION STATES THAT, “THE CONTRACTOR WILL DESIGN AND DEVELOP A NUMBER OF WEB-BASED LESSONS THAT CAN ALSO BE USED AS PART OF A WEBINAR SERIES.” QUESTION: WHAT IS THE NUMBER OF WEB-BASED LESSONS?

ENOUGH TO TRAIN STAFF

25. PWS TASK 6.2

THIS SECTION STATES THAT, “THE CONTRACTOR SHALL PROVIDE DOWNLOADABLE JOB AIDS FOR USE BY STUDENTS AS REFERENCES POST-TRAINING ALONG WITH ALL TRAINING RECORDINGS.” QUESTION: IS THERE ANY GOVERNMENT FURNISHED INFORMATION (GFI) PROVIDED?

NO

26. PWS TASK 6.3

THIS SECTION STATES THAT, “THE CONTRACTOR WILL PROVIDE 10 HOURS OF ONLINE TRAINING FOR UP TO 25 LEARNERS ON THE COGNIZEN TOOL.” QUESTION: IN TOTAL, THE CONTRACTOR ONLY HAS TO PRODUCE 10 HOURS OF ONLINE TRAINING? IS THERE AN INTERACTIVE MULTIMEDIA INSTRUCTION (IMI) LEVEL FOR THESE 10 HOURS?

10 WAS DETERMINED AS STANDARD FOR THE ELEARNING STAFF, BUT OPEN FOR SUGGESTIONS

27. PWS TASK 6.3

THIS SECTION STATES THAT, “THIS TRAINING WILL BE CONDUCTED IN THE FOLLOWING MANNER (EXAMPLE): FIVE (5) 1-HOUR SESSIONS CONDUCTED OVER THE COURSE OF ONE WEEK.”

QUESTION: IS THERE A SCHEDULE FOR WHEN THIS ONE WEEK OF TRAINING TAKES PLACE? DOES THE CONTRACTOR HANDLE THE SCHEDULING?

WE WILL SCHEDULE TOGETHER THE TRAINING

28. WILL THE VA PROVIDE COGNIZEN BASE SOFTWARE AND SUPPORTING MATERIAL ACCESS TO ENABLE FAMILIARITY AND DEVELOPMENT OF APPROPRIATE CONTENT TO MEET OBJECTIVES FOR THE ANTICIPATED LEARNERS?

NO

29. TASK 6.1, THERE IS A SPECIFIED PROVISION ON PROVIDING A STATUS REPORT(S) WHEN REQUESTED. IS THERE ANY ANTICIPATED FREQUENCY OF REPORTS DURING A GIVEN PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE?

YES

30. TASK 6.2-6.3. RECOMMEND CLARIFYING SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DOWNLOADABLE JOB AID FOR USE BY LEARNERS TO INCLUDE SIZE, CONTENT, AND INTENT FOR THE PRODUCT(S).

JOB AIDS SHOULD BE PDF’S OR SIMILAR USED AS REFERENCE POINTS FOR LEARNERS AND USERS FO REACH INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY IN TOOL

31. OUR HR TEAM HAS SEARCHED THE ENTIRE CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES FOR AN E-LEARNING TRAINER, THAT SPECIALIZES IN “COGNIZEN AUTHORING TOOL TRAINING – WEB BASED”. WE HAVE NUMEROUS CANDIDATES WITH EXPERTISE IN AUTHORING TOOL TRAINING, SUCH AS COMPOSICA, ADOBE CAPTIVATE, ARTICULATE STORYLINE 2 & 360, BUT NONE HAS EVER HEARD OF THE COGNIZEN AUTHORING TOOL.

IF YOU GOOGLE “COGNIZEN AUTHORING TOOL TRAINING – WEB BASED” THE ONLY RESULT YOU WILL GET IS ASYNC-NU’S SEARCH FOR A CANDIDATE THAT HAS EXPERTISE IN THAT AREA.

WOULD THE VA CONSIDER USING ANOTHER AUTHORING TOOL PLATFORM? IF NOT, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO SUBMIT THE PROPOSED PERSONNEL IF THEY DO NOT HAVE EXPERTISE WITH THE COGNIZEN AUTHORING TOOL PLATFORM IF WE ENSURE THEY MEET ALL THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND ARE CAPABLE OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPING THE REQUIRED MATERIAL USING THE COGNIZEN TOOL?

YES