B08_Att_1_SOW.docx

STATEMENT OF WORK

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, INDIAN AFFAIRS

INDIAN AFFAIRS EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM BUILDING SEMINAR

1. BACKGROUND

There are 574 federally recognized Tribal Nations (commonly referred to as tribes, nations, bands, pueblos, communities, and native villages) in the United States. Approximately 229 of these tribes are in Alaska; the other 345 federally recognized tribes are in 35 other states. Indian Affairs has the direct responsibility to:

· Strengthen the government-to-government/nation-to-nation relationship with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes,

· Advocate policies that support AI/AN self-determination and tribal sovereignty,

· Protect and preserve AI/AN trust assets held by the Federal Government for their benefit, and

· Administer a wide array of laws, regulations, and functions relating to AI/AN tribes, individual AI/AN trust beneficiaries, tribal members, and Indian Affairs bureaus, offices, and programs that are vested in the Secretary by the President and the Congress of the United States.

2. OBJECTIVE

The scope of this effort is to build on prior discussions convened during a Seminar/Retreat held summer 2022 among Indian Affairs senior executives. Last year the focus was team building, internal and external communications coordination as well as building cohesion among senior leaders for improving organizational culture. For 2023, leadership would like to build on those conversations to create sustained organizational health amid capacity challenges and the post-COVID environment. The courses planned for a 2023 seminar program shall provide interactive management exercises and case studies, opportunities for updates on policy priorities and next steps, social team building to expand on professional development and welcome new members of the team while focusing on solidifying a legacy of customer service and sustained organizational improvement.

Indian Affairs requires professional facilitation support for the above among the Indian Affairs executive and senior leadership team as well as developing an executive leader program inclusive of a scenario-driven, unique, and tailored program that addresses the requirements herein. The seminar shall include a single event with no more than 40 participants from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) and Bureau of Trust Funds Administration (BTFA).

3. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for the resulting contract is estimated to be July 1 – August 31, 2023

4. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

This will be an in-person training course: August 2023 targeting August 8-9, 2023; for Indian Affairs leadership with the event located at the National Indian Programs Training Center in Albuquerque, NM. All AV equipment will be provided by the US government.

5. REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall conduct the seminar at the executive level but shall approach the experience by incorporating a variety of teaching methodologies that consider different learning styles and cultural needs. Given the wide range of educational background, years of experience, and a workforce that spans generations and work locations, including remote work locations, this training must consider field-tested scenarios and provide valuable take-home applications for creating lasting change and sustained improvement. Other contents related to Executive Leadership, workforce development and strategic planning can be added to strengthen learning outcomes. The contractor must have general knowledge of Indian Affairs organizations and how its mission supports Indian Tribes and Indian Country.

The seminar shall incorporate the following principles and considering Indian Affairs’ unique mission, its customer service and organizational culture to inform seminar exercises, including:

· Best practices for creating lasting change and sustained organizational success, including best practices and non-governmental case studies such as those at the Tribal governance level as well as the private sector

· Strategies to increase coordination among individual teams as well as with their fellow leaders, including but not limited to innovation in recruitment and retention strategies and being a change agent to improve team culture Creating challenging but rewarding environments as high impact leaders

· Facilitate collaboration to promote innovation amongst internal and external teams

6. CORE CONTENT

The tailored program and facilitation shall incorporate the below principles but shall not be exclusive of the final end product. The contractor shall work with the USG Contracting Officer Representative who is informed by Indian Affairs leadership to finalize the course outline, training topics, and expected tone of facilitators to ensure expectations are met. These sessions shall include participatory, interactive dialogue with case studies and/or simulations included to maximize participation and sharing of best practices. The training must include but not be limited to the following contents:

· Change management for creating lasting improvement and organizational capacity

· Update on Indian Affairs' policy priorities that support its unique mission and customer service when dealing with tribal governments and external stakeholders.

· Improving culture to increase diversity and inclusiveness

· Leading in a diverse workplace

· Strategic management and effective decision-making tools and technics

· Leadership, management, and innovation

· Organizational improvement for recruitment and retention post-pandemic to enhance service delivery and performance in a highly competitive market.

· Empowering others to lead and develop teams

· Authentic Leadership and Communication

· Risk Control and Performance Measures

· Negotiations and Decision Making

· Ethics

· Visioning

· Management style

7. DELIVERABLES

Training Course: This will be an in-person training course: August 2023 with specific dates targeting August 8-9, 2023; for Indian Affairs leadership with the event located at the National Indian Programs Training Center (NIPTC) in Albuquerque, NM. All AV equipment will be provided by the US government.

Offeror shall have to ability to accommodate virtual participants as required but focus is for on-site, in-person participation.

a) Session Logistics

(i) Training Time: 1.5-2 days (no more than 20 hours). The training will be offered from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm MT Tuesday and Wednesday with the possibility Wednesday is only a half day.

(ii) Training Dates: August 8-9, 2023

(iii) Audience: Indian Affairs Senior Executives including leaders within the BIA, BIE and BTFA

(iv) Number of participants: No more than 40 but possibly as few as 25

b) Pre-training Requirement:

(i) Meeting: The offeror must organize pre-training discussions with the Indian Affairs POC within five (5) days after award to tailor initial course activities and material to meet the specific and diverse needs of the participants. The offeror must then work with Indian Affairs leadership to provide a subsequent overview and tailor final production as needed.

(ii) Training Materials: The offeror must submit course materials including but not limited to presentations, logistical information, and participant handouts for approval at least ten (10) days before the seminar.

(iii) Evaluation Form: The offeror must submit an evaluation form for approval at least ten (10) days after the training. The survey includes but not be limited to the following evaluation criteria: course content, training materials, instructor, participants’ comments, and suggestions.

c) Post-training Requirement:

(i) Evaluation Report: The offeror must submit a post-training evaluation survey results completed by at least 80% of participants along with summarized metrics and narrative to the Indian Affairs POC within two (2) weeks of seminar completion.

8. NOTICE REGARDING LATE DELIVERY

The contractor shall notify the COR, as soon as it becomes apparent to the contractor, that a scheduled deliverable may be late. The contractor shall include in the notification the rationale for late delivery, the expected date for the delivery and the project impact of the late delivery. The COR will review the new schedule and provide guidance to the contractor. Such notification in no way limits the Government’s right to any and all remedies up to and including termination.

9. PERSONNEL

The Contractor is responsible for providing personnel with the necessary level of expertise to support the task activities and requirements in this SOW. The contractor shall provide a single point of contact that shall serve as the project manager for the life of the Contract.

Personnel proposed must include at a minimum a Project Manager and facilitator(s) to execute the contract. Personnel are expected to be dedicated to this effort and be available during the duration of the training. For each proposed person, a resume is required. Specific personnel requirements are as follow:

Project Manager (PM) – must have or possess a bachelor’s degree, preferably a graduate degree from an accredited university with a minimum of ten (10) years’ experience, or five (5) years of significant experience in working with executive leadership. The PM must also have significant experience working with executives and the ability to provide advice and guidance regarding de-escalation tactics in difficult conversations.

Facilitator(s) – must have or possess a bachelor’s degree, preferably a graduate degree from an accredited university with a minimum of ten (10) years’ experience, or five (5) years of significant experience in facilitating seminars with executive leadership and Indian tribes. The facilitator must also have significant experience working with executives and the ability to provide advice and guidance regarding de-escalation tactics in difficult conversations.

10. RESUMES

The contractor shall provide a resume for all personnel including licensure and certification, as necessary.

11. QUALITY ASSURANCE AND MONITORING OF WORK DELIVERABLES

Work under this contract shall be monitored by the COR, who will coordinate with the Indian Affairs POC, to act as the primary technical representative of the Government. Final inspection and acceptance of work performed shall be performed at the place of delivery by the COR.

The COR, with the assistance of the Indian Affairs POC, is responsible for:

· Setting training priorities, revising priorities when necessary;

· Communicating priorities to the contractor;

· After consultation with the Contracting Officer when appropriate, modifying delivery dates and schedules, so that the revised priorities can be met; and

· Formally assessing the level of contractor performance and ascribing the extent to which quality assurance and acceptable performance levels have been met.

12. GENERAL ACCEPTANCE CRITERIA

General quality measures as set forth below shall be applied to each work product received from the Contractor under this statement of work.

· Accuracy – Work Products shall be accurate in presentation, technical content, and adherence to accepted elements of style. Work product must follow the Trial Court Performance Standards.

· Clarity – Work Products shall be clear and concise. Any/All diagrams shall be easy to understand and be relevant to the supporting narrative.

· Consistency to Requirements – Work products must satisfy the requirements of this statement of work.

· File Editing – Text and diagrammatic files shall be editable by the Government and 508 compliant.

· Format – Work Products shall be submitted in electronic form and in hard copy (where applicable). Format shall follow the specific assessment template provided.

· Timeliness – Work Products shall be submitted on or before the due date specified in this statement of work or as described in assigned tasks or submitted in accordance with a later scheduled date determined by or approved by the Government.

13. QUALITY ASSURANCE

The PO/COR shall review, for completeness, preliminary or draft documentation that the Contractor submits, and may return it to the Contractor for correction. Absence of any comments by the PO/COR shall not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for complying with the requirements of this SOW. Final approval and acceptance of documentation required herein shall be by written approval and acceptance by PO/COR. The Contractor shall not construe any written acknowledgment of receipt material as a waiver of review, or as an acknowledgment that the material is in conformance with this SOW. Any approval given during preparation of the documentation, or approval shall not guarantee the final acceptance of the completed documentation.

14. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT, GOVERNMENT FURNISHED INFORMATION AND APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

The Government will provide the Contractor with the audio/visual equipment to present the training. Even so, the Contractor shall have a back-up laptop that can provide the training.

15. NON-PERSONAL SERVICES:

As stated in the Federal Register, Volume 57, No. 190, page 45096, dated September 30, 1992, Policy Letter on Inherently Governmental Functions, no personal services shall be performed under this contract. All work requirements shall flow only from the Project Officer to the Contractor's Senior Project Manager. No Contractor employee shall be directly supervised by the Government. The applicable employee supervisor shall give all individual employee assignments, and daily work direction. If the Contractor believes any Government action or communication has been given that would create a personal services relationship between the Government and any Contractor employee, the Contractor shall promptly notify the Contracting Officer of this communication or action.

The Contractor shall not perform any inherently governmental actions under this contract. No Contractor employee shall hold him or herself out to be a Government employee, agent, or representative. No Contractor employee shall state orally or in writing at any time that he or she is acting on behalf of the Government. In all communications with third parties in connection with this contract, Contractor employees shall identify themselves as Contractor employees and specify the name of the company for which they work. In all communications with other Government contractors in connection with this contract, the Contractor employee shall state that he/she has no authority to, in any way, change the contract and that if the other contractor believes this communication to be a direction to change their contract, they should notify the Contracting Officer for that contract and not carry out the direction until a clarification has been issued by the Contracting Officer.

The Contractor shall insure that all its employees working on this contract are informed of the substance of this article. Nothing in this article shall limit the Government’s rights in any way under the other provisions of the contract, including those related to the Government’s right to inspect and accept the services to be performed under this contract. The substance of this article shall be included in all subcontracts at any tier.

16. TRAVEL

Travel will be in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations (FTR).

17. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND NON-DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

If the Contractor is providing support or anticipates providing support to AS-IA that creates or represents an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI), the Contractor shall immediately disclose this actual or potential OCI in accordance with FAR Part 9.5. The Contractor is also required to complete and sign an Organizational Conflict of Interest Statement in which the contract (and any subcontractors, consultants or teaming partners) agree to disclose information concerning the actual or potential conflict with any proposal for any solicitation relating to any work in any task order. All actual or potential OCI situations shall be handled in accordance with the FAR.

18. GOVERNMENT HOLIDAYS

Unless otherwise notified in writing by the CO or COR, no services will be required on the following list of observed federal holidays. An up-to-date list of all federal holidays for each calendar year is available at https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/.

The Contractor shall observe Inauguration Day as a holiday for Washington, D.C. based Contractor employees. Federal Agencies in the Washington, D.C. metro area are closed on Inauguration Day. However, Inauguration Day is not observed outside of the Washington, D.C. area and Contractor employees in those areas should report to their established duty station. NOTE: If a Public Holiday (observed on a specific calendar date) occurs on a Saturday, the holiday is observed on the preceding Friday; if the holiday occurs on Sunday, the holiday is observed by the Federal Government on Monday.

If Government facilities are closed nationwide or in specific locations for other than listed holidays by direction of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Order of the President or other Official Government entity, Contractor staff shall not report to Government facilities (except for positions designated as 24/7). If Government offices close early and federal employees are dismissed, the COR in consultation with the Program Managers and/or the Contracting Officer will make a determination on a case-by-case basis regarding dismissal of Contractor employees.