Attachment 1 - Statement of Work_CLE training.pdf

Statement of Work Office of General Counsel

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) platform

1. Background

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 as an independent agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build, and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

The Office of General Counsel (OGC) provides comprehensive legal services to the Administrator and all Agency offices. These services include advising, analyzing statutes and regulations, and drafting legislative and regulatory materials. OGC represents the Agency in judicial and administrative proceedings, legal negotiations, and consultations with government and non-governmental entities.

This acquisition seeks to secure a subscription to a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution that offers unlimited access for 90 users to a comprehensive Continuing Legal Education (CLE) platform.

2. Objectives

Obtain a subscription to a SaaS CLE platform specializing in continuing legal education. This platform provides unlimited access to pre-approved Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) resources and professional development programs, effectively supporting the ongoing training requirements and needs of OGC staff.

3. Scope

The contractor will provide unlimited access for 90 users to comprehensive CLE resources designed to support the professional development and ongoing education of attorneys, paralegals and other members of OGC’s team. The platform will facilitate access to a wide array of legal courses, resources, and tools that are essential for meeting MCLE requirements. The platform should include the following:

3.1 Unlimited Access to state specific pre-approved CLE Programs.

Unlimited access to CLE courses that have been pre-approved by applicable state authorities covering diverse legal topics and practice areas including Federal court litigation, Federal Government procurement law, Federal labor law, Federal regulatory practices, finance law, bankruptcy law, and ethics. In particular, SBA seeks courses related to the following:

i. Federal Court Litigation – taking depositions, written discovery, trial practice, evolving regulations of Supreme Court decisions and strategies for applying civil procedures and evidence rules.

ii. Federal Government Procurement Law - small business procurement issues, regulatory and statutory updates related to small business Government contracting, and courses relevant to a bid protest practice.

iii. Federal Labor Law – employment, EEOC, and workers compensation.

iv. Federal Regulatory, Finance & Bankruptcy Law – administrative law, regulatory, rulemaking, enforcement and compliance, mergers and acquisitions, transactional, private equity, financing provisions, commercial loan agreements, corporate & securities, accounting of business secured transactions and UCC filings and bankruptcy proceedings.

v. Ethics – subsets in professionalism, mental health, substance abuse, cyber security, privacy act, diversity, inclusion, and elimination of bias.

vi. Offeror must have courses in each of the listed areas and the courses must be pre-approved by numerous state bar associations for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.

Nation-wide coverage – SBA has attorneys who are admitted to practice in all states and territories, and the service must provide sufficient pre-approved CLE courses for all lawyers within SBA to satisfy the CLE requirements wherever they are admitted to practice law.

Offeror must provide access to pre-approved CLE courses that satisfy jurisdiction requirements for live courses, ethics courses, and any other CLE requirements in any U.S.

jurisdiction.

Regular updates and additions to the course library to reflect the latest legal developments and trends.

Access to information from local, state, and national bar associations integrated into the platform.

3.2 Expert-Led Instruction

Courses and seminars conducted by leading legal experts and practitioners.

Access to high-quality instructional materials, case studies, and real-world examples.

3.3 Interactive and Engaging Learning Experience

Access to interactive webinars, live sessions, and on-demand content.

Opportunities for participation in Q&A sessions, discussion forums, downloadable content, and peer networking.

3.4 User-Friendly Platform

Intuitive, easy-to-navigate platform accessible from various devices (desktop, tablet, and mobile).

Technical support and customer service available to assist with any platform-related issues.

3.5 Certificates of Completion

Functionality for users to download and print certificates of completion for courses taken, ensuring they can easily document and report their continuing education activities.

3.6 Tracking, Assessment, and Reporting

Comprehensive tools for generating detailed reports on platform usage, user engagement, and completion rates.

3.7 Administrative User Capabilities

Tools for creating and modifying user profiles, resetting passwords, and controlling access permissions.

Ability to assign courses and monitor individual user programs.

4. Specific Tasks

4.1 Subscription Activation

Assist with setting up user accounts and provisioning access for unlimited access to the SaaS platform.

Provide guidance on initial login procedures and user account management within the SaaS environment.

Provide administrative access to assign usernames, passwords, and manage user accounts.

4.2 User Training

Develop and deliver comprehensive training materials and resources to familiarize end-users with the features and functionalities of the SaaS platform.

Conduct an interactive training session or webinar to educate users on how to effectively navigate and utilize key features of the platform.

4.3 Support Services

Establish a dedicated support channel or helpdesk to address user inquiries, troubleshoot technical issues, and provide assistance related to the SaaS platform.

Offer ongoing support, including timely responses to user tickets and proactive communication of platform updates or maintenance schedules.

4.4 Security and Access Management

Implement and robust security measures within the SaaS platform to safeguard user data and ensure compliance with data protection regulations.

Configure access controls and user permissions based on defined roles to ensure secure and appropriate access to platform features and content.

4.5 Performance Monitoring and Optimization

Monitor the performance of the SaaS platform to ensure optimal responsiveness and reliability for end-users.

Proactively address performance issues by implementing tuning strategies and optimizing resource utilization within the SaaS environment.

4.6 Documentation and User Guides

Create user-friendly documentation, including quick-start guides, FAQs, and troubleshooting tips, to support self-service capabilities for end-users.

Maintain updated documentation that reflects platform changes, new features, and best practices for maximizing user productivity within the SaaS platform.

4.7 Compliance and Governance

Ensure adherence to regulatory requirements and industry standards relevant to the use of the SaaS platform, such as data privacy and legal industry regulations.

5. Deliverables/Delivery Schedule

Table 1: Deliverables

Deliverable Title Task Frequency Medium/Format Recipient Activation Confirmation 4.1 One-Time

Upon Award Email with subscription details and access instructions

COR

Grant Access to Administrative User

4.1 One-Time

Upon Award

Email with instructions

COR

Training Session 4.2 One-Time Within 1st Month of Award

Webinar End Users

Helpdesk Support 4.3 Ongoing Email, phone, online chat support.

End Users

6. Inspection and Acceptance

The government will review, for completeness, preliminary or draft deliverables submitted by the Contractor, and may return them to the Contractor for correction. Absence of comments by the government will not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for complying with the requirements of this work statement. Final approval and acceptance of deliverables required herein shall be provided to the contractor in writing by the Contracting Officer’s Representative. The Contractor shall not construe any letter of acknowledgment of receipt as a waiver of review, or as an acknowledgment that a deliverable is in conformance with this work statement. Any approval given during preparation of a deliverable, or approval for shipment shall not guarantee the final acceptance of the completed deliverable.

7. Security

a. Physical Security The Contractor shall establish and comply with appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect all Government data, property, facilities, and personnel.

b. Data All electronic data and documentation provided or made accessible by the Government, and all electronic data and documentation produced during performance of the services associated with this award are the property of, and are owned by, the Government.

The Contractor shall not disclose and must safeguard all data and personnel work products that are obtained or generated in the performance of this contract. The Contractor shall not access data or documentation that is not required in the performance of services awarded via this contract/task order, even if the data or documentation is available to contractor personnel. The Contractor shall immediately report any instance of non-compliance with this requirement to the Contracting Officer.

The government may authorize contractor access to controlled, sensitive, classified, or other government information for use in performance of this contract. The term “government information” includes information furnished by the government and information acquired or developed by the contractor in performance of the contract. The contractor shall provide immediate written notification the Contracting Officer if a breach of any of the requirements in this section occurs.

The contractor shall not publish or otherwise divulge government information, in whole or in part, in any manner or form, or authorize or permit others to do so, taking such measures as are necessary to restrict access to such information to only those employees needing the information to perform work required by the contract, i.e., on a “need to know” basis. The contractor is cautioned that its employees and subcontractors have no blanket authorization for access to government information based on their employment status.

Government data, including electronic data, shall not be removed from the Government facility without the express permission of the Contracting Officer or the Contracting Officer’s Representative.

Government data including documentation shall be surrendered to the Government upon contract completion and upon request. Government personnel, including government security personnel, have the express right to inspect documentation for any reason and at any time during the term of this award. The contractor shall ensure that direct and subcontract employees:

Only access information required to perform their tasks as specified in this contract, and do not access information that is not required to perform these tasks.

Ensure continuous government access to their work product in support of this contract.

Do not email government information to non-government email accounts.

Do not discuss government information with non-government personnel (including the contractor employee’s management).

Do not remove, or conspire to remove, government information out of a government facility or system, either physical and electronic, without written Contracting Officer or Contracting Officer Representative authorization.

Comply with non-disclosure agreements.

Protect the confidentiality of government information, and do not disclose government information to any unauthorized person.

c. Property and Personnel The Contractor shall report threats to government property and personnel employed by or supporting the Government.

To help ensure the protection of the life and health of all persons, and to help prevent damage to property, the Contractor shall comply with all Federal, State, and local laws and regulations applicable to the work being performed under this contract. These laws are implemented or enforced by the Environmental Protection Agency, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and other regulatory/enforcement agencies at the Federal, State, and local levels.

The Contractor agrees to use only qualified, responsible, ethical, and capable people to perform the work. Contractor employees shall perform services at all times in a professional, ethical manner.

Unprofessional, unethical, or threatening conduct will not be tolerated. Contractor employees with knowledge of unprofessional, unethical, or threatening behavior or conduct by any person shall immediately report such behavior or conduct to the Contractor. The Contractor shall immediately report receipt of a report concerning such behavior or conduct to the Contracting Officer.

The contractor and its employees shall only conduct business covered by this contract during periods paid for by the government and shall not conduct any other business on government premises or government time. The contractor shall not use government time, equipment, materials except for the express purpose of providing government support.

The Contractor shall also ensure that all documents or reports produced by the Contractor are suitably marked as Contractor products or that Contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.

The Contractor shall, at its own expense, immediately remove employees who have displayed or are displaying or engaging in unprofessional, unethical, or threatening behavior or conduct. The Contracting Officer may require that the Contractor remove from the job at its own expense, employees who jeopardize or interfere with mission accomplishment, or endanger or threaten to endanger persons or property, or whose continued employment under this contract is inconsistent with the interest of agency security.

d. Information Technology (IT) Security Requirements See Attachment 2 – Cybersecurity Language

e. Personnel Security Requirements N/A

f. Government Furnished Property/Equipment/Information N/A

8. Type of Contract

The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed Price type contract.

9. Period of Performance

The anticipated period of performance consists of one (1) 12-month period.

Start Date End Date August 20, 2024 August 19, 2025

10. Place of Performance

The place of performance will be off-site at the Contractor’s location.

11. Hours of Operation

The Contractor is responsible for providing support between the hours of 0730 and 1800 Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings, or similar Government-directed facility closings. The Contractor must maintain an adequate work force for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this work statement when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons.

When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind the stability and continuity of the work force are essential.

12. Travel and Other Direct Costs (ODC)

Travel is not required in support of the requirements in this work statement.

13. Conflicts of Interest

No potential organizational conflicts of interest have been identified by the government. The contractor shall ensure that neither the contractor or any subcontractor is biased because of financial, contractual, organizational, or other interests which relate to the work under this contract. The contractor agrees it will make an immediate and full disclosure, in writing, to the Contracting Officer of any potential or actual organizational conflict of interest or the existence of any facts that may cause a reasonably prudent person to question the contractor's impartiality because of the appearance or existence of bias or an unfair competitive advantage. Such disclosure shall include a description of the actions the contractor has taken or proposes to take to avoid, neutralize, or mitigate any resulting conflict of interest.