A2321R0001 Synopsis.pdf

This is a PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE ONLY. The solicitation associated with his notice will not be available until approximately December 22, 2020. Contractors should not contact the contract specialist or contracting officer seeking the solicitation, as it will not be available until approximately December 22, 2020. However, this is a commercial service acquisition and therefore, the contracting officer may establish a shorter period than 15 days for issuance of the solicitation if needed. The solicitation will be posted to Contract Opportunities (beta.SAM.gov), the Government-wide point of entry.

The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) provides the support for the education of Native American Indian children in grades K-12 throughout 183 BIE-managed and tribally controlled schools, and two Native American colleges. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought challenges for distance learning which highlight the need to develop a “Strategic Transformation of Education Plan” (STEP) to transform the current educational approach at BIE-managed schools and to create an innovative but standardized approach to learning.

The vision for STEP is to develop an organization which supports the individual talent, provides resources and funding for BIE-managed and tribally controlled schools, and excels the educational community.

STEP is a long-term program plan and its first deliverable is the implementation of a cloud based standardized Learning Management System (LMS) related to instructional content, course curriculum, development and delivery. STEP long-term plan objectives are:

1. Standardized Learning Management System;

2. Standardized curriculums for Grades K-12;

3. Standardized technology for Learning Management System;

4. Standardized technology and hardware for schools;

5. Enhanced broadband support and mobility; and

6. Leadership in students’ learning; professional staff; and parent/teacher/student collaboration.

STEP contains six functional areas including statutory and departmental mandates. The functional areas provide a sustainable long-term program vision which encapsulates all aspects of Return to Learn assuring the sound fiscal investment and strategic goals are in alignment with BIE mission goals.

This program further aligns BIE’s identified College and Career Ready Standards (CRSS) and provide a wider variety of educational learning opportunities for students and professional staff.

Policy and Procedures This function is responsible for the ensuring handbooks, policies, procedures, guides and other applicable documents for the six functional areas’ and the over plan are developed and maintained. These policies and procedures objectives are:

Development of statutory and regulatory requirements.

Development of operational and sustainment documents.

Review, update and publish existing BIE-managed and tribally controlled schools operating documents.

Support for the Community of Practice for STEP to ensure established standards are in place.

Coordination with internal and external entities to publish policies and procedures.

Fiscal Planning This function will provide short- and long-term fiscal planning for the LMS and includes personnel and operating costs internal and external to the Department in support the LMS.

Fiscal Planning is responsible for the following objectives:

Coordination and development of all fiscal planning for the LMS.

Coordination and development of Greenbrook and like products to support fiscal management.

Management and sustainment of fiscal planning for the LMS.

Coordination and development of BIE-managed and tribally controlled schools budgets in alignment with the LMS.

Support eCPIC, strategic plans and other fiscal deliverables.

Training This functional area is responsible for the identification of educational requirements needed for all BIE-managed and tribally controlled schools in support of STEP. The objectives are:

Develop a standardized curriculum to align with the College and Career-Ready Standards (CRSS) for Grades K-12.

Identify professional staff (teachers and administrators) technology skill requirements to implement an instructional approach for the use of the LMS.

Coordinate the development of a training program that provides for continuous improvement in instructional delivery for teachers and increased test scores for students in alignment with the course curriculum and the LMS capabilities.

Set forth the requirements for learning that will support a successful standard assessment.

Maintain student information in NASIS and ensure the LMS is updated based on NASIS data.

Define the standards for approving instruction software (including curriculum and supplementary software) for schools’ use.

Logistics This functional area is responsible for the identification of both current state and the future state of the physical infrastructure at the BIE-managed and tribally controlled schools as well as property management, inventory and tracking of these components. This objectives includes:

School Floorplans and all associated schematics.

New and planned construction management.

Technology property and inventory management.

Coordination with BIA facilities to align facility construction, planning and design.

Coordinate and lead broadband telecommunications implementation.

Communications This functional area will provide centralized internal and external communications regarding the initiatives of STEP. Their objectives include:

Developing a Communications STEP to support consistency in internal and external messages, requests, or reporting.

Review and approval of all formal communications for reporting and providing or requesting information with BIE schools and other bureaus and offices in the Department.

Building and maintaining the communications infrastructure with the other functional leads and the Program Manager to ensure all documentation is reviewed and approved.

Identification and coordination of implementation of coalitions and partnerships with School Principals, Parents and Students to provide continuous reporting of progress and open lines of communication to ensure an inclusive STEP implementation and sustainability.

Information Technology Information Technology is responsible for identifying the technology hardware, software, services needed for STEP. Following a phased approach, information technology objectives are:

Full life-cycle implementation of an LMS Evaluate and Modernize IT.

Standardize IT components.

Implement sustained technology refresh.

Implement Continuity of Operations.

Modernize IT support.

Obtain, local, wide and ultra-wide broadband including satellite services.

This acquisition will be solicited as a set-aside for Indian Economic Enterprise (IEE), utilizing Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. The Government’s intent is to award up to four (4) hybrid Firm-Fixed-Price and Labor Hour Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts, with award anticipated no later than February 26, 2021, utilizing a Statement of Objectives (SOO). The The period of performance will be a base year and will include four option years. The NAICS code for this requirement is 519190, All Other Information Services, with a Size Standard of $30M. The applicable Product Service Code (PSC) is DH01, IT and Telecom – Platform Support Services: Database, Mainframe, Middleware (labor).

Any interested contractor must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) at www.beta.SAM.gov. Any prospective bidder’s SAM registration must include the applicable NAICS code 519190 for this acquisition.