BAA Sources Sought Notice_Organizational and Professional Identity Influence on Careers_Final.pdf

Ver. 20DEC2016

W911NF-23-S-0010

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE

REQUEST FOR WHITE PAPERS

BAA TOPIC II A.2.a.i: Improving Talent Management Through Data Science

“Understanding Organizational and Profession Identity influence on Career Pathing and Retention”

INTRODUCTION

Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) W911NF-23-S-0010 was publicized on SAM.gov and Grants.gov on 01 May 2023. This Sources Sought Notice calls for White Paper submissions in reference to the BAA Topic II A.2.a.i: Improving Talent Management through Data Science. The United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences (ARI) Broad Agency announcement W911NF- 23-S-0010, issued under the provisions of paragraph 6.102(d)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation, provides for the competitive selection of basic and applied research and that part of development not related to the development of a specific system or hardware procurement. A Proposal submitted in response to this BAA and selected for award is considered to be the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of Public Law 98-369, “The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984," and subsequent amendments. Funding of research and development (R&D) within ARI areas of interest will be determined by funding constraints and priorities set during each budget cycle. Any award related to the submission of a White Paper and subsequent Proposal requested by this Notice is subject to funds availability and priorities. ARI may choose not to select any new award due to unavailability of funds or other factors.

The sequence of steps leading to an award is:

1) Request for White Paper initiated by ARI through this Sources Sought Notice

2) Submission of a timely White Paper no more than six pages in length (one page is the cover page) to the POC for the U.S. Army Contracting Command, wilveria.a.sanders.civ@army.mil, and copy furnish (CC) the ARI Technical Point of Contact (TPOC), ryan.p.royston.civ@army.mil.

3) The ARI will provide written or telephonic feedback for whitepapers submitted and will provide a response with either “encouraged to submit a proposal” or “not encouraged to submit a proposal”.

as per established criteria presented in Part III.

4) If the White Paper merits it, a request of a formal proposal initiated by ARI

5) Submission of a timely, formal proposal

6) Evaluation of the formal proposal as per established criteria presented in Part III

7) Award for selected proposal based on availability of funds or other factors mailto:wilveria.a.sanders.civ@army.mil mailto:ryan.p.royston.civ@army.mil

This sequence allows earliest determination of the potential for funding and minimizes the labor and cost associated with submission of a full proposal that has minimal probability of being selected for funding.

Note that an interested Applicant must submit a White Paper electronically in order to be eligible to submit a formal proposal under this Notice. This Notice requires that a White Paper be submitted electronically no later than 7 October 2023, 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time. See Part V, Deadlines, for additional details. BAA W911NF-23-S-0010 allows several potential instrument types (e.g., contract, grant, cooperative agreement) to result from a successful proposal. For this Notice, the intention of the Government is to award a contract.

THOSE SUBMITTING A WHITE PAPER/PROPOSAL ARE CAUTIONED THAT ONLY A

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING OR GRANTS OFFICER CAN OBLIGATE THE GOVERNMENT

THROUGH AWARD OF A LEGAL INSTRUMENT INVOLVING EXPENDITURE OF

GOVERNMENT FUNDS.

This Sources Sought Notice for a Requested White Paper consists of seven parts as follows:

• Part I: Research and Development Interests of the Requested White Paper

• Part II: Preparation and Submission

• Part III: Evaluation Criteria

• Part IV: Feedback

• Part V: Deadlines

• Part VI: Inquiries

• Part VII: References

ACC (APG) RTP Agency Point of Contact:

The POC for the US Army Contracting Command (Aberdeen Proving Ground) Research Triangle Park Division is: Ms. Wilveria Sanders, (919) 549-4328, wilveria.a.sanders.civ@army.mil.

ARI Agency Point of Contact:

The ARI POC for technical matters for this White Paper topic is: Dr. Ryan Royston, (571) 536-1610, ryan.p.royston.civ@army.mil.

I. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INTERESTS OF THE REQUESTED WHITE PAPER:

The United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences is the Army’s lead agency for the conduct of research, development, and analyses for Army readiness and performance via research advances and applications of the behavioral and social sciences that address personnel, organization, training, and leader development issues. ARI contracts with educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and private industry for research and development (R&D) in different areas, including the areas specifically identified in Section II-A W911NF-23-S-0010. Efforts funded under this White Paper request will only include Applied Research and/or Advanced Technology Development.

Applied Research provides a systematic expansion and application of knowledge to design and develop useful strategies, techniques, methods, tests, or measures that provide the means to meet a recognized and specific Army need. Applied Research precedes system specific technology investigations or development, but it should have a high potential to transition into the Advanced Technology Development (ATD) Program.

The ARI ATD Program includes the development of technologies, components, or prototypes that can be tested in field experiments and/or simulated environments. Projects in this category have a direct relevance to identified military needs. These projects should demonstrate the general military utility or cost reduction potential of technology in the areas of personnel selection, assignment, and retention;

training strategies and techniques; leader education and development; performance measurement; and team and inter-organizational mission effectiveness. These projects should be focused on a more direct operational benefit and if successful, the technology should be available for transition.

WHITE PAPER TOPIC: Understanding Organizational and Profession Identity influence on Career Pathing and Retention

Army personnel fill a large number of professional roles, each of which requires position-specific education and training. Many key Army jobs (including many highly-trained professions such as physicians, lawyers, cyber staff, and acquisitions professionals) have direct (or near-direct) civilian analogues. In such jobs, the Army is directly competing against the private sector for qualified personnel.

Due to the high cost associated with specialized training (e.g., pilot, law, medical, and dental education frequently cost hundreds of thousands of dollars), people may join the military to help fund their education but separate from the Army as soon as their commitment is fulfilled. This cycle means the loss of highly capable personnel for critical positions, as well as significant increases in overall costs to the Army.

Consequently, the Army is interested in identifying effective retention strategies for those careers where Soldiers may have a number of more immediately visible options outside of the military, and where training is especially expensive or time-consuming. Importantly, approaches to retention used for other positions may not be effective for Army professions with direct civilian equivalents, which frequently offer increased compensation and flexibility.

To effectively recruit and retain people in professions requiring extensive training, the Army especially needs to better understand the reasons people in such positions join and make decisions about whether to remain, especially non-monetary reasons – for example, identification with the Army, beliefs about the importance of their mission, etc. Research on organizational and professional identities, along with how individuals hold multiple, sometimes conflicting identities has a long history (e.g., Burke, 2003; Deaux & Burke, 2010; Hogg et al., 1995; Ramarajan, 2014; Stets & Burke, 2000; Stryker & Burke, 2000; Tajfel, 1978). Individuals commonly hold multiple social identities, including professional, family, and cultural identities (e.g., Benet-Martinez & Haritatos, 2005; Carminati & Héliot, 2022; Chen et al., 2013).

However, there is less research on how Army personnel manage their Army and professional identities and how related social and psychological factors influence their intentions to stay in the Army.

The Army needs to better understand how such professional beliefs and identifies develop and evolve across a career, the conditions under which other non-Army identities and beliefs could potentially conflict with or supplement Army identities (e.g., for medical or dental officers, beliefs about the role of doctors generally, as opposed to beliefs about Army medicine specifically, or in the case of Army lawyers, the role of a lawyer generally vs. practicing law specific to military contexts), and how the issues surrounding such beliefs relate to individuals’ career plans.

White Papers on this topic should discuss how any proposed effort will (a) identify characteristics of profession identities, (b) identify and differentiate professional identities from overall Army identify, and

(c) outline a mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) approach to examine these retention-related issues in specific Army jobs with civilian analogues, with an emphasis on understanding the role of professional and Army identities.

Specifically, the proposed approach should:

• Develop a sampling plan for positions with direct civilian equivalents and the Knowledge Skills and Abilities (KSAs) that tend to characterize such positions in at least five critical areas:

o Cyber o Aviation o Health Services (e.g., Medical/Dental/Veterinary Corps) o Logistics o Judge Advocate General

• Propose quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine ways in which individuals in such professions identify with the Army (for example, the kind of beliefs they hold about their profession both inside and outside the Army), how such identities and beliefs change over time, and how they interact or conflict with other relevant identities and roles (e.g., non-Army professional expectations). Potential approaches may involve using both active-duty Army personnel and civilians in equivalent job positions and using Likert and open-ended survey items and focus groups to identify KSA requirements, occupation and organizational identity, relevant work contexts, work satisfaction, motivation, and engagement.

• Describe analytic approaches (e.g., text mining and natural language processing techniques to assess text data collected in open-ended survey items, focus groups, or interviews) to understand the role of professional and Army identities in recruitment, career pathing, and retention strategies for the five critical and high demand career fields mentioned above; and

• Develop practical recommendations for recruitment, career pathing, and retention strategies tailored to the five career fields mentioned above. Recommendations for these positions should consider the unique KSAs and work context requirements for these positions, identification of the benefits or perks existing within the Army that may counterbalance compensation alone, and current reasons for exiting the Army.

The results of this effort will support The Army People Strategy (2019) of acquiring, developing, employing, and retaining talent by understanding unique work contexts and the role of competing identities that influence Soldier decisions on career pathing and decisions to stay in the Army.

This research will also facilitate ARI’s understanding of how Soldier career development and trajectories may be impacted by competing identities and contexts in which they work, allowing the development of more valid and reliable assessments tailored to the needs of Soldiers working in specific contexts. It will also facilitate Army Talent Management’s identification of training, employment, and retention needs for Soldiers who are pursuing particular career trajectories or will be working in specific work environments (e.g., field, garrison, deployment). Results can also be used to identify and develop efficient methods for assessing Soldier attributes and aligning these individuals to professional career paths in ways that will provide greater work satisfaction and meet professional goals.

The award will be a 36-month period of performance (Base, 12 months, not to exceed $400k;

Option 1, 12 months, not to exceed $400k; Option 2, 12 months, not exceed $400k) with a total budget not to exceed $1,200k.

The Army Contracting Command- Aberdeen Proving Ground, RTP Division has the authority to award a variety of instruments, to include contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements. The ACC (APG) RTP Division reserves the right to use the type of instrument most appropriate for the effort proposed (contract, cooperative, or grant).

II. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF A WHITE PAPER:

Preparation of White Paper

A White Paper should focus on describing details of the proposed research for both the base and if applicable, option (s) approach, including how it is innovative and how it could substantially advance the state of the science. Army relevance and potential impact should also be described, as well as an estimate of total cost for both the base and option approach. White Papers should present the effort in sufficient detail to allow evaluation of the concept's technical merit and its potential contributions to the Army mission.

A White Paper must be limited to six (6) pages (page one is the cover page) and an addendum in which the Applicant must include a biographical sketch (up to 300 words per individual) of all key personnel (i.e., Principal Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators) who will perform the research, highlighting their qualifications and experience as discussed below. All files and forms must be compiled into a single PDF file or MS Word document before submitting. Reviewers will be advised that they are only to review the cover page and up to five pages plus the addendum. Any pages submitted in excess of the six (6) page limit will not be reviewed or evaluated.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION FOR WHITE PAPERS:

1. Technical Approach: A detailed discussion of the effort's scientific research objectives, approach, relationship to similar research, level of effort, and estimated total cost; include the nature and extent of the anticipated results, and if known, the manner in which the work will contribute to the accomplishment of the Army's mission related to this request and how this would be demonstrated.

2. Requests for Government Support: The type of support, if any that the Applicant requests of the Government (such as facilities, equipment, demonstration sites, test ranges, software, personnel or materials) shall be identified as Government Furnished Equipment (GFE), Government Furnished Information (GFI), Government Furnished Property (GFP), or Government Furnished Data (GFD). The Applicant shall indicate any Government coordination that may be required for obtaining equipment or facilities necessary to perform any simulations or exercises that would demonstrate the proposed capability.

3. The cost portion of the whitepaper shall contain a brief cost estimate including research hours, burden, material costs, travel, etc.

4. Key Personnel Biographical Information: As an addendum to the White Paper, the Applicant must include a biographical sketch (up to 300 words per individual) of all key personnel (i.e., Principal Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators) who will perform the research, highlighting their qualifications and experience.

RESTRICTIVE MARKINGS ON WHITE PAPERS:

1. The Applicant must identify any proprietary data the Applicant intends to be used only by the Government. The Applicant must also identify any technical data or computer software contained in the White Paper that is to be treated by the Government as limited rights or restricted rights respectively. In the absence of such identification, the Government will assume to have unlimited rights to all technical data or computer software presented in the White Paper. Records or data bearing a restrictive legend may be included in the White Paper, but must be clearly marked. It is the intent of the Army to treat all White Papers as procurement sensitive information before the award and to disclose their contents only to Government employees or designated support contractors for the purpose of procurement related activities only. Classified, sensitive, or critical information on technologies should not be included in a White Paper.

2. An Applicant is cautioned that portions of White Papers may be subject to release under terms of the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. 552, as amended.

Submission of White Paper

White Papers must be submitted by e-mail to the POC for the U.S. Army Contracting Command, wilveria.a.sanders.civ@army.mil, and cc’d to the ARI Point of Contact (POC), ryan.p.royston.civ@army.mil, in electronic MS Word document format or PDF file format. Cite “ARI BAA W911NF-23-S-0010, Understanding Organizational and Profession Identity influence on Career Pathing and Retention” in the e-mail subject line.

III. EVALUATION CRITERIA:

A White Papers and full Proposals received in response to this request will be evaluated by the ARI designated point of contact identified in this request using the following factors/criteria:

1. Scientific and Technical Merit- The overall scientific and/or technical merits of the proposed research.

2. Potential Contribution- The potential contributions to ARI’s mission.

3. Qualifications/Capabilities- Proposed principal investigator and key personnel qualifications, capabilities, related experience, and techniques and also institutional resources and facilities.

4. Cost- Addresses the level of support requested. Will be considered for realism, affordability, and appropriateness, and may be grounds for rejection independent of evaluation on other factors

The request for a proposal will be made based on the overall evaluation of a White Paper using the four criteria listed above. The overall scientific and/or technical merit of the proposed approach will be weighted more strongly than all of the other non-cost factors combined. All evaluation factors/criteria other than cost, when combined, are significantly more important than cost or price. A request for proposal may not necessarily be made to the lowest proposed price. During the evaluation of White Papers, ARI’s POC for technical matters may request a telecon with an Applicant, but telecons are not guaranteed nor required for competition and award purposes. ARI’s POC for technical matters reserves the right to evaluate a White Paper and request a proposal without discussions. The Applicant’s initial submission should contain the Applicant’s best terms from a technical and price standpoint. Once a full proposal has been requested, all communications must go through the POC for the U.S. Army Contracting Command.

If the White Paper evaluation results in the request and submission of a full proposal, the proposal will be evaluated by a panel of scientific peers using the same factors/criteria as those listed above under Evaluation Criteria. A request for a full proposal does not guarantee an award. The decision to award will be based on feedback from the panel, considerations presented by ARI’s POC for technical matters identified in this document, and other factors like budgetary constraints. ARI may choose not to select any award due to unavailability of funds or other factors.

IV. FEEDBACK:

Written or telephonic feedback will be provided to the Applicant regarding the White Paper’s scientific merit and potential contributions to the ARI’s mission. If the Government decides to request a full proposal, a written request will be sent to the Applicant. The Written Request will, at a minimum, invite a full proposal. The request may also include feedback intended to improve the proposal’s potential for award.

V. DEADLINES:

Electronic versions of the White Paper must be received by the POC for the U.S. Army Contracting Command and the ARI POC, with e-mail subject line “ARI BAA W911NF-23-S-0010, Understanding Organizational and Profession Identity influence on Career Pathing and Retention” by e-mail no later than 5:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time on 7 October 2023. Any extension to the White Paper submission deadline will be posted to SAM.gov and Grants.gov an amendment to this Notice. Note that a timely White Paper received under this Notice will be evaluated and considered for proposal requests throughout the period beginning 8 September 2023 and ending 7 October 2023. An extension of this timeline may be granted based on the number of White Papers submitted or other factors out of the control of the designated point of contact reviewing the White Papers. An Applicant will be notified by email if the White Paper evaluation timeline is extended beyond 7 October 2023.

Please refer to the BAA, W911NF-23-S-0010 for instructions for the submission of a full Proposal.

An Applicant is responsible for submitting an electronic White Paper or full proposal so as to be received and accepted at the Government site indicated in this Notice no later than the date and time specified above. When sending electronic files, an Applicant shall account for potential delays in file transfer from the originator’s computer to the Government website/computer server. An Applicant is encouraged to submit their response early (48 hours if possible) to avoid potential file transfer delays due to high demand or problems encountered in the course of submission.

An Applicant should receive confirmation of delivery at the Government site, not just successful relay from the Applicant’s system. Acceptable evidence to establish the time of receipt at the Government site includes documentary and electronic evidence of receipt maintained by the Government site. All submissions shall be submitted before the deadline identified above in order to be considered – no exceptions.

If an emergency or unanticipated event interrupts normal Government processes so that a White Paper or full proposal cannot be received at the site designated for receipt by the date and time specified above, then the date and time specified for receipt will be deemed to be extended to the same day and time specified in this Notice on the first work day on which normal Government processes resume.

An Applicant agrees to hold the terms of their White Paper and any subsequent proposal valid for 180 calendar days from the date of submission.

VI. INQUIRIES:

ACC (APG) RTP Agency Point of Contact (Contractual Questions)

The POC for the US Army Contracting Command (Aberdeen Proving Ground) Research Triangle Park Division is: Ms. Wilveria Sanders, (919) 549-4328, wilveria.a.sanders.civ@army.mil.

ARI Agency Point of Contact (Technical Questions)

The ARI POC for technical matters for this White Paper topic is: Dr. Ryan Royston, (571) 536-1610, ryan.p.royston.civ@army.mil.

VII. REFERENCES:

Benet‐Martínez, V., & Haritatos, J. (2005). Bicultural identity integration (BII): Components and psychosocial antecedents. Journal of Personality, 73(4), 1015-1050.

Burke, P. J. (2003). Relationships among multiple identities. In P. J. Burke, T. J. Owens, R. T. Serpe, P.

A. Thoits, P. J. Burke, T. J. Owens, ... P. A. Thoits (Eds.), Advances in identity theory and research (pp. 195-214). Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-9188-1_14

Carminati, L., & Héliot, Y. G. (2022). Between multiple identities and values: Professionals' identity conflicts in ethically charged situations. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 2022.813835.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.813835

Chen, S. X., Benet‐Martínez, V., Wu, W. C., Lam, B. C., & Bond, M. H. (2013). The role of dialectical self and bicultural identity integration in psychological adjustment. Journal of Personality, 81(1), 61-75.

Deaux, K., & Burke, P. (2010). Bridging identities. Social Psychology Quarterly, 73(4), 315-320.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0190272510388996

Hogg, M. A., Terry, D. J., & White, K. M. (1995). A tale of two theories: A critical comparison of identity theory with social identity theory. Social psychology quarterly, 255-269.

Ramarajan, L. (2014). Past, present and future research on multiple identities: Toward an intrapersonal network approach. The Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 589-659.

https://doi.org/10.1080/19416520.2014.912379

Stets, J. E., & Burke, P. J. (2000). Identity theory and social identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(3), 224-237.

Stryker, S., & Burke, P. J. (2000). The past, present, and future of an identity theory. Social Psychology Quarterly, 63(4), 284-297. https://doi.org/10.2307/2695840

Tajfel, H. E. (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. London, UK: Academic Press.