50310219R0002_QA_Doc_Attachment.docx

CFKMO QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

FINAL 10/18/2018

1. Is this a new requirement? If not, please provide contract number & incumbent name.

A: Yes, it is a new requirement.

2. Under Section 2.0 Assessment of prior and existing training curricula, review all current and prior training materials. How many trainings are expected to be reviewed? What is the average length of each training?

A: It depends on the recommendations provided in the project plan. For planning purposes, CF generally offers 12 sessions a year averaging 2 hours or less in length each.

3. Under Section 2.0 Assessment of prior and existing training curricula, implement new curriculum/structure and design and deliver new programs (to include train-the-trainer modules). How many new programs will be needed?

A: This will be developed during the performance of the contract.

4. What are the font specifications (in text as well as charts, graphics, tables) and page-limits for technical and business volumes?

A: 12pt font, limitations are 25 pages per volume.

5. Is the KMO a new entity within CF?

A: Yes, it is a new entity.

6. Given that this effort is only 1613 hours and is expected to be closed out by the end of base year, what is the objective of the government in procuring these training services? Is it to review and update the current curriculum OR update curriculum as well as develop and deliver one or more courses OR setting up the KMO as well as updating the curriculum and preparing and delivering one or more courses?

A: The objective is to design and implement a centralized training structure and curriculum within the Knowledge Management Office focused on the Division’s legal, accounting, industry-specific, and new employee development training programs.

7. Is the training being planned considered a new employee training? Can you provide examples of training that you anticipate being developed as part of the base year contract?

A: Training will be for existing and new employees. An example is Accounting for Lawyers training.

8. Is the training being planned for delivery going to be integrated with any Learning Management System?

A: It depends on the recommendations provided in the project plan; however, no integration with a Learning Management System is planned at this time.

9. What is driving the need for curriculum revision?

A: The updates to CF’s curriculum is driven from our need to align our training to the Agency’s mission and strategic goals, while also striving to stay current with workforce trends in the training and development space.

10. Given the time-frame and part-time work requirements, does SEC have any pre-defined deliverable review and approval timeline, to help meet deadlines?

A: The deliverable review and approval timeline will be mutually determined after award.

11. Will SEC schedule and co-ordinate the training sessions with the attendees or is the contractor expected to execute such training logistics?

A: CF plans to handle training logistics.

12. What assumptions we should make about the training courses being offered and delivered in order to develop a realistic project plan? Number of training courses to be designed and delivered, frequency of offering (per year or month) for each course, Number of sessions per offering of a course, duration of each session, number of attendees per session/course etc.

A: These statistics will be decided after the Training Needs Assessment and/or during the Design and Development phase. Historically CF offers 1-2 courses per month but that is subject to change based on the Project Plan.

13. It states that the contractor will need to assess programs as part of this contract, can you provide the a) total number of programs, the 2) type of program delivery (e-Learning, classroom, CBT, etc.), and 3) the time length of each program the contractor will need to assess as part of this contract?

A: It depends on the recommendations provided in the project plan. For planning purposes, CF generally offers 12 sessions a year averaging 2 hours or less in length each.

14. In Section 3.1, Kick-off Meeting

1. Where will the kick-off meeting be held?

1. Will the awarded contractor be given detailed information about CF’s mission, business, practices and systems that will be utilized in the performance of this contract prior to the kickoff meeting? If so, how many days prior to the kickoff meeting will this information be provided?

A: The Kick-Off Meeting will be held at SEC Headquarters, possibly via teleconference if the awardee is located out of the metropolitan area. Detailed information about CF will be provided at kickoff.

15. In Section 3.2, Project Plan

1. It states, “No later than 30 calendar days of contract award, the contractor shall develop a proposed project plan that defines how the contractor proposes to conduct the work outlined in Section 2.0.” Should this have been stated “No later than 30 calendar days after contract award…”?

A: Both phrases have the same meaning.

16. In Section 3.4.1, Training Design and Development

0. What type of training delivery methods should be used for the training created as part of this contract (i.e. CBT, e-Learning, classroom, combination, etc.)?

A: The training delivery method will depend on the most efficient and effective learning technique.

17. In Section 5.2, Training Implementation

0. Where will the testing of the training programs take place? On the government site or at the contractor location? If at the contractor site, will the contractor be given access to the government systems from their location (i.e. via vpn, etc.)

A: It depends on the training delivery method but the primary project work will take place at SEC Headquarters. The contractor personnel is permitted to work off-site as the project allows, and at the discretion of the COR and PM. Per a favorable suitability determination, the Contractor will be provided with a laptop computer along with access to the SEC network.

18. In Section 6.0, Staffing Qualifications

0. It only mentions three (3) positions recommended by the government in the performance of this contract, does this mean the government expects the contractor to have a maximum of only 3 persons performing this contract?

A: The Contractor may choose alternate staff, but they must meet the staffing qualifications. There is no maximum number of staff.

19. In Section 6.1, Training Project Manager (Key Personnel)

0. It states, “PREFERRED EXPERIENCE: It is highly desired that the Training Project Manager possess a J.D., LL.B Degree or Accounting degree.” By the use of the term “highly desired”, does this mean the person filling this role does not need to have the degrees mentioned? Is it satisfactory/acceptable if the person has a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree and not one of the degrees mentioned?

0. Will this key personnel be required to attend meetings either over phone, video conferencing, or in person during the performance of this contract? If so, please approximate the number of hours they will need to perform on this contract

A: Highly desired does not mean mandatory. A bachelor’s degree is mandatory. Key personnel will be required to attend meetings. There is no estimate for this function at this time.

20. In Section 8.0, Level of Effort Estimate

0. For the 1613 hours expected to perform this contract each year, does the government expect the work from all contract personnel to total 1613 hours or does this mean each of the contract personnel would individually max out at 1613 hours each year?

A: 1613 hours per year is the Government estimate for this project.

21. In Section 9.0, Place of Performance

0. It states, “The Contractor will be expected to attend meetings on regular basis (e.g., monthly) at: SEC Headquarters, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549.” Does this mean the contract staff will be expected to travel to Washington, D.C. for these meetings? If so, will this travel expense be reimbursed by the government?

0. Which personnel of the contractor is expected at these meetings?

0. Approximately, how often during a one year period will these meetings be scheduled?

A: Yes, monthly meetings will be held at the Government site. Key personnel are expected to attend as appropriate. Travel costs are not anticipated for this contract. There are 12 monthly meetings in a year. In-person or virtual attendance is at the discretion of the COR and PM, but the default will be in-person attendance.

22. For the requirement “3.9 “Final Close-out and Report,” is the intention for this report to solely cover what was achieved during the base year? One may infer from the paragraph that all the requirements listed for the multi-year BPA be completed in year one, based on the components of the report.

A: Final Report will include accomplishments for the current year.

23. For the Management Approach, how detailed should the draft Project Plan be? When activities occur and how long they take may be contingent on the analysis phase. Does this project plan need to cover beyond the base year? Does the project plan need to detail all of the subtasks that are anticipated to be performed?

A: The Project Plan should be described by task for the base year.

24. Within the technical proposal, should the offerors include any proposed technical or management support services or timeline beyond the 365 day Base Period of the: Training Needs Assessment, Training Design, and Development, Training Implementation, Evaluation and Improvement Assessment.

A: The support services and timeline will depend on the project plan recommendations, and any of the support services may be extended beyond the base year.

25. Is a legal subject matter expert, possessing five or more years expertise, required if the offerors proposed key personnel has the training analysis, curriculum development, and financial accounting expertise of eight or more years?

A: As stated in sections 6.1 and 6.2 either the Training Project Manager or SME must possess eight (8) or more years of experience in a law firm, financial services, or training and development environment.

26. Are the offerors required to include Phase II's slide decks for review in the preliminary technical and price proposals as mentioned in this RFP? Or will the offerors be contacted, only when deemed qualified to proceed for further review, to submit the slide decks to the SEC Division of Corporate Finance, Knowledge Management Office Training Support Services, two weeks before the presentation?

A: No, Phase II slide decks should not be included. Offerors will be contacted if selected for oral proposals.

27. Who is the audience for the different trainings?

A: Primarily the audience will consist of Corporation Finance employees such as accountants, lawyers, and other employees.

28. How often will the trainings be used?

A: To be determined

29. Is training delivery expected to be web-based or face to face?

A: It depends on the project plan recommendations provided by the Contractor.

30. What is the existing & preferred training technology to be used?

A: It depends on the project plan recommendations provided by the Contractor.

31. Will SEC provide unpaid SMEs to collaborate in the analysis, design, development phases?

A: This question is unclear as the Government does not employee unpaid SMEs. The CF SMEs will be providing assistance to this project.

32. How many courses (estimate) currently exist in the CFKMO curriculum? In what format?

A: Currently, CF offers 12 sessions a year averaging 2 hours or less in length each. The CFKMO curriculum will depend on the assessment outcome.

33. How many courses currently exist in the CFKMO per program area; legal, accounting, industry-specific, and new employee training and development programs. Is each of these considered its own program area with a unique set of stakeholders, i.e., Training Specialists, CORs

A: Currently, CF offers 12 sessions a year averaging 2 hours or less in length each. The courses per program area will depend on the needs of the Division which will be driven from the assessment outcome.