PWS.docx

DRAFT PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

CORE PLUS

WORKPLACE CONFLICT MANAGEMENT SERVICES

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Background

The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is the nation’s principal conservation agency, charged with the mission “protect America’s natural resources and heritage, honor our cultures and tribal communities, and supply the energy to power our future.” Over 70,000 individuals work for DOI and its nine Bureaus in 1,900 locations across the United States, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S. Territories, and Freely Associated States.

The Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution (CADR), established in October 2001, is located within the Office of the Secretary under the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget (PMB) of DOI. The CADR office promotes, coordinates and facilitates greater use of conflict management and consensus-building processes throughout the Bureaus and offices of DOI to support the missions of DOI.

Workplace conflict management in DOI is addressed through the Department’s Integrated Conflict Management System, known as CORE PLUS (COnflict REsolution PLUS). CORE PLUS represents a DOI-wide effort to promote a culture where employees are able to recognize and respond to conflict in constructive ways that decrease tensions, increase understanding, improve problem-solving, and produce better results. CORE PLUS attempts to manage and resolve informal and formal workplace disputes, grievances, and Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) matters. The purpose of CORE PLUS is to provide DOI employees with processes, tools, and skills that will allow them to prevent the escalation of differences and collaboratively solve problems as close to the origin of those problems as possible. It includes the adoption of Department-wide practices and structures that assist the Department in preventing and managing conflict. CORE PLUS creates an environment throughout DOI for raising all kinds of concerns, allowing for concerns to be heard, people to be treated respectfully, and problems to be solved effectively in a fair, friendly, flexible, and fast manner.

B. Purpose

To fulfill this mission, the CADR office is seeking to procure the services of high quality mediators, facilitators, executive and conflict coaches, trainers, ombuds experts, organizational development experts, change management experts, curriculum designers, and other individuals involved in the field of conflict management, in order to better manage their respective workplace conflicts and collaborative problem-solving activities.

II. SUMMARY REQUIREMENTS

A. Provide Conflict Management Professionals

The Contractor shall have the resources to provide Conflict Management Professionals (CMPs) in all of the geographic regions in which the DOI operates. The Contractor shall: provide a pool of qualified CMPs throughout the country; oversee their performance; manage and administer Task Orders and deliverables; and provide technical direction. The Contractor shall manage a roster of experienced professional service providers in all the disciplines described below.

B. CMP Services

The Contractor shall provide neutral third party CMP services in the following areas.

1. Facilitation - Facilitate conversations between two or more DOI employees.

2. Mediation - Help DOI parties in conflict to reach agreements.

3. Coaching - Work one-on-one with DOI employees to manage their conflicts and enhance their collaborative and leadership skills.

4. Ombuds Services - Help DOI organizations track problem areas and make recommendations for change, and provide a forum for employees to raise work-related concerns or questions.

5. Process Design - Assess issues, relationships, and conflicts in order to design the best process for addressing the conflict.

6. Organizational Development - Help DOI organizations to develop the internal capacity to maximize and sustain their effectiveness, and address leadership, team, and structural challenges.

7. Change Management - Use a structured approach to promote change in DOI individuals or organizations.

8. Strategic Planning - Help DOI organizations to develop strategies for achieving their goals.

9. Conducting Assessments - Conduct climate assessments of organizations to ascertain the organizations level of need for conflict management services.

10. Training - Train DOI employees in the skills and methods of conflict management including for example, conflict management skills, negotiation skills, and effective communication skills. Also design curricula for training.

11. Direct Support and Technical Support - Provide administrative assistance, expert technical advice, systems design, and communications assistance with respect to CORE PLUS.

C. Contractor Offices

The Contractor shall maintain a Washington, D.C. metropolitan area office. DOI expects this office to be staffed during normal working hours by the Contractor's staff in order to facilitate regular meetings and conferences between the Contractor and DOI staff located in Washington, DC. The Contractor's project management and financial staff shall work hours compatible with normal work hours in the Eastern Time zone to facilitate easy contact with the DOI Program Office and DOI Contracting Officer.

D. General Requirements

1. As used in this contract, the term CMP refers to mediators, facilitators, executive and conflict coaches, trainers, ombuds experts, organizational development experts, change management experts, curriculum designers, and other individuals involved in the field of conflict management. The DOI Contract Officer Representative (COR) and DOI Bureau CORs will be charged with overseeing and providing technical guidance on the day-to-day administration of the contract and individual Task Orders and technical directives.

2. Requirements for services will be developed by the COR or designee through Technical Guidance.

3. When acting as a third-party neutral in performing any service under this contract, the Contractor shall not take a position on the merits of a case or issue nor decide the appropriate resolution of the conflict for the parties.

4. If at any time the impartiality, credibility, practices, or effectiveness of a CMP becomes unacceptable to DOI or any of the parties involved in a service provided under this contract, upon notification from the DOI Contracting Officer (CO), the Contractor shall cease all work, and if deemed appropriate by the COR or CO, reassign the service to another CMP.

5. The Contractor shall work collaboratively with DOI personnel in performing certain services. This could involve co-mediation, co-facilitation, co-coaching, and other activities.

6. Upon the issuance of a Task Order or COR Guidance for the development of a written product such as a report, case study, fact sheet, minutes of a meeting, white paper, brochure, power point presentation, or similar product, the Contractor shall first develop a draft product. The Contractor shall submit the draft product to the appropriate DOI or Bureau Point of Contact (POC) and the parties to the process (if deemed an appropriate step by the POC) for comment. The Contractor shall then incorporate the comments into the draft and submit the final product to the POC.

7. The Contractor shall abide by the standards of ethical conduct relevant to the field in which it is providing service. These include the standards of the Association for Conflict Resolution, the American Arbitration Association, the Dispute Resolution Section of the American Bar Association, the International Coaching Federation, and the International Ombuds Association, or the equivalent professional associations.

8. The Contractor must have the capability of receiving payment for micro-purchase engagements (total value of engagement is $3,000 or less) by Government Purchase Card.

9. The Contractor must demonstrate itself to be a healthy, ongoing financial concern, with the financial wherewithal to withstand slowdowns in business, including the potential for Government furloughs and shutdowns due to a lapse in appropriations and/or end of year black-out periods.

10. The Contractor must demonstrate it has the organizational resources to ensure there is no drop off in service if the primary Point of Contact for the Contractor is unable to perform.

E. Contractor’s Management Systems

The Contractor shall administer and maintain the following.

1. A comprehensive status, deliverable, and cost tracking mechanism(s) or process(es) capable of tracking each Task Order and each project and subproject assigned to a Task Order, as part of the normal record keeping, cost tracking and invoicing process. The tracking system(s) shall be available to the CO and COR.

2. A comprehensive methodology that is consistent with CORE PLUS for expeditiously identifying, matching, selecting, and managing CMPs to meet the needs of DOI. The process shall be responsive to the needs of DOI in identifying a recommended individual or a slate of potential individuals and assisting the parties in selecting a CMP(s) with appropriate skills, knowledge and experience in the processes and substantive issues described in a particular task order, and for responding to such needs as geographic location, foreign language ability, and cultural sensitivities. DOI reserves the right to reject any CMP offered by the Contractor for a particular Task Order.

3. A methodology for contract administration/program administration, evaluation, oversight, and quality assurance for services performed under each task to ensure DOI receives the highest quality of service at all times, consistent with the CORE PLUS program.

4. Consistent contact with DOI. In administering the contract, the Contractor’s primary responsibilities shall include contact with DOI and/or Bureau contracting and program staff, selection and oversight of CMP(s) for individual Task Orders, and oversight of tracking, invoicing and quality control evaluative aspects of this contract. The Contractor shall have: 1) sufficient knowledge of conflict management and Integrated Conflict Management Systems (ICMS), so as to be able to identify, select, manage, and evaluate service providers; and 2) sufficient knowledge of Federal contracting regulations and practices so as to efficiently manage the contracting relationship.

F. Direct Support and Technical Support

The Contractor shall perform the following as ancillary to a service provided under this contract.

1. Administrative Assistance

Ancillary to a service provided under this contract, and with approval of the DOI COR or designee, the Contractor shall provide the following administrative assistance.

· Obtain meeting room facilities and the use of appropriate equipment for the meeting.

· Arrange the travel of CMPs or other experts or consultants, as appropriate and when necessary, and in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations.

2. Expert Technical Assistance

Ancillary to a service provided under this contract, the Contractor shall provide assistance in locating, retaining, and managing subject matter experts (SMEs) from other fields. Such support shall require the advance approval of the DOI COR. The Contractor may need to consult with parties involved in the matter in identifying the experience, education and skills required of the expert and to further define the scope of the expert’s work. The Contractor will be responsible for reimbursing travel and other related direct expenses of such consultants and experts when necessary and appropriate.

3. Systems Design

The Contractor shall provide expert assistance to DOI in designing, implementing, and evaluating the CORE PLUS system.

4. Communications Assistance

Ancillary to a service provided under this contract, the Contractor shall assist DOI in implementing efficient and effective communications, information exchange and education processes through teleconference calls, electronic communications, fact sheets, brochures, white papers, and other means of communication.

5. Document Creation, Editing and Assistance

The Contractor shall provide assistance as follows.

· Designing, writing and editing educational materials, including fact sheets, brochures, talking points, checklists, analyses, web site content, and other forms of communication necessary to educate parties about tools for addressing potential or actual conflict situations.

· Researching technical or process information necessary for the project, including but not limited to collecting information, conducting analyses, and performing data surveys.

III. TASKS

A. Labor Category Requirements

1. Crosswalk - Tasks, Labor Categories, Experience, Years of Experience

Also see Attachment 1 – Labor Category Definitions.

Experience in the discipline

2. General Labor Category Requirements

The Contractor shall maintain a pool of qualified, professional CMPs that can meet the diverse subject matter and geographic requirements of DOI as follows.

· A minimum of 40 hours of training in the discipline in which they are to provide the service.

· An understanding and knowledge of the theories, concepts and practices in the discipline in which they are to provide the service.

· Subject Matter Expert Labor Category - A minimum of 8 years of experience in the relevant discipline.

· Senior-level CMP Labor Category- A minimum of 11 years of experience in the relevant discipline.

· Mid-level CMP Labor Category - A minimum of 6-10 years of experience in the relevant discipline.

· Junior CMP Labor Category - A minimum of 2-5 years of experience in the relevant discipline.

The Contractor shall be responsible for the following tasks under this contract.

B. Task 1 - Provide Conflict Management Program Services, and Design and Conduct Workplace Conflict Prevention and Resolution Processes

The Contractor shall provide expert conflict management services including mediation, facilitation, conflict and executive coaching, ombuds services, or other conflict management services appropriate for DOI as part of CORE PLUS Tasks performed by the Contractor. This includes but is not limited to the following.

The Contractor shall maintain a pool of qualified, professional CMPs that can meet the diverse subject matter and geographic requirements of DOI. CMPs providing mediation, facilitation, coaching, or ombuds services shall demonstrate the following qualifications.

· A minimum of 40 hours of training in the discipline in which they are to provide the service.

· An understanding and knowledge of ICMS and administrative processes and time frames applicable to resolving conflict in matters involving issues relating to EEO, sexual orientation, administrative grievance, whistleblowing, prohibited personnel practices, and other related issues.

· Subject Matter Expert Labor Category - A minimum of 8 years of experience in the Conflict Management discipline in which the CMP is held out as a subject matter expert.

· Senior-level CMP Labor Category - A minimum of 11 years of experience in mediation, facilitation, coaching, or ombuds services.

· Mid-level CMP Labor Category - A minimum of 6-10 years of experience in mediation, facilitation, coaching, or ombuds services.

· Junior CMP Labor Category - A minimum of 2-5 years of experience in mediation, facilitation, coaching, or ombuds services.

The Contractor shall ensure that the selected CMP does the following.

· Contacts all participating parties to arrange a mutually acceptable time, place and design for the process, and if the parties are willing, to discuss with them the background of the case.

· Arranges logistics of meetings, conference calls or electronic communications for participants upon request; this includes scheduling, arranging facilities and equipment, and notifying participants if necessary.

· Provides the conflict management services agreed to by the parties, which may include mediation, facilitation, coaching or ombuds services. The services may entail individual phone calls, conference calls, joint session meetings, individual meetings or caucuses, group processes, such as team building or training sessions, or any other process found acceptable by the parties.

· Assists with drafting any agreement document and ensuring that any written agreement is consistent with DOI policy and CORE PLUS requirements and is appropriately reviewed pursuant to DOI policy and CORE PLUS requirements.

· Provides a report on the process within 30 days of the completion of any conflict management or dispute resolution process. The CMP shall assist in the evaluation of processes per DOI policy and CORE PLUS requirements.

· The CMP shall complete the appropriate evaluation questionnaire and/or participate in interviews for evaluation purposes.

C. Task 2 – Strategic Planning, Change Management, and Organizational Development Support

The Contractor shall provide expert strategic planning, change management, and organizational development support appropriate for DOI as part of CORE PLUS. This includes but is not limited to the following.

The Contractor shall maintain a pool of qualified, professional CMPs that can meet the diverse subject matter and geographic requirements of DOI. CMPs providing strategic planning, change management, and/or organizational development services shall demonstrate the following.

· A minimum of 40 hours of training in the discipline in which they are to provide the service.

· An understanding and knowledge of the theories, concepts and practices in the discipline in which they are to provide the service.

· For Subject Matter Expert - A minimum of 8 years of experience in the Conflict Management discipline in which the CMP is held out as a subject matter expert.

· For Senior-level CMP - A minimum of 11 years of experience in strategic planning, change management, and/or organizational development services.

· For Mid-level CMP - A minimum of 6-10 years of experience in strategic planning, change management, and/or organizational development services.

· Junior CMP - A minimum of 2-5 years of experience in strategic planning, change management, and/or organizational development services.

The Contractor shall ensure that the selected CMP does the following.

· Consult on collaborative change management initiatives, organizational development needs, strategic planning and evaluation of program performance.

· Assist DOI program staff in developing a list of potential participants, identifying a tentative set of issues to be addressed, preparing background information, interviewing participants, and designing appropriate processes.

· When requested, arrange logistics of training sessions, workshops, conferences, meetings for participants, including scheduling, arranging facilities, notifying participants, and providing advance materials.

· When requested, prepare summaries or minutes of each meeting/event and distribute them to the participants.

· Communicate (orally and in writing) with parties before, during, and after meetings as appropriate.

· Conduct a process debriefing with DOI officials to identify lessons learned.

· Conduct an evaluation of the process and makes recommendations for continuous improvement.

· When requested, writes final report on the process including follow up recommendations or plans for future activities.

D. Task 3 - Training / Curriculum Development The Contractor shall provide training in all areas that relate to conflict management, such as: effective conflict management, conflict prevention and conflict resolution processes, negotiation skills, consensus building processes, collaborative leadership, communication skills, team building, and other subject matter courses that increase the effectiveness of interactions and negotiations with the goal of building organizational capacity to constructively manage conflicts and resolve disputes in the workplace. To promote efficiency, where requested, training shall be designed so that it can be replicated by other service providers, including DOI employees. The Contractor may be requested to train DOI personnel so that they may become trainers of the particular subject matter.

The Contractor shall maintain a pool of qualified, professional CMPs that can meet the diverse subject matter and geographic requirements of DOI. CMPs providing training services shall demonstrate the following.

· An understanding and knowledge of the theories, concepts, and practices in the discipline in which they will provide the training.

· For Senior-Level CMP - A minimum of 11 years of experience in the substantive area in which the training is being given.

· For Mid-Level CMP - A minimum of 6-10 years of experience in the substantive area in which the training is being given.

· For Junior CMP - A minimum of 2-5 years of experience in the substantive area in which the training is being given.

The Contractor shall perform the following as needed.

· Conduct a needs assessment with DOI staff that identifies training needs, training objectives, and sources of materials to meet those needs.

· Design and/or conduct training seminars or workshops.

· Produce training materials (manuals, videos, computer-assisted text, etc.).

· Provide expertise on training delivery and training content.

· Prepare and present educational information such as fact sheets, handouts, and other materials in support of training.

· Handle all logistics of arranging meetings for participants, including scheduling, arranging facilities, notifying participants, and providing advance materials.

· Prepare summaries for each training session.

· Conduct a debriefing after each event to discuss lessons learned with DOI officials.

· Conduct an evaluation of the training or other educational event and makes recommendations for improvement of the training process.

· Write report summarizing the training.

CMPs providing curriculum design services shall demonstrate the following.

· An understanding and knowledge of the theories, concepts and practices in the discipline in which they provide the service.

· For Senior-level CMP: A minimum of 11 years of experience in the substantive area in which the curriculum is being developed.

· For Mid-Level CMP: A minimum of 6-10 years of experience in the substantive area in which the curriculum is being developed.

· For Junior-Level CMP: A minimum of 2-5 years of experience in the substantive area in which the curriculum is being developed.

The Contractor shall ensure that the selected CMP develops and designs curriculum (including, among other things, training manuals, train-the-trainer sessions, and visual aids), for training on conflict management.

Attachment 1 Labor Category Definitions

Facilitator:

Facilitates processes as an impartial practitioner to improve the flow of information between parties. Helps parties or group move through a problem-solving process to reach group decisions, achieve stated goals, or resolve or improve a situation. Facilitators generally become less involved in the substantive issues than a mediator.

· Junior Facilitator - Requires Bachelor’s degree with two to five years of related work experience (minimum of two years of work specialized in facilitation)

· Mid-Level Facilitator - Requires Bachelor’s degree with six to ten years of related work experience (minimum of four years of work specialized in facilitation)

· Senior Facilitator – Requires Bachelor’s degree with eleven or more years of related work experience (minimum of six years of work specialized in facilitation)

Mediator:

Mediates confidential processes as an impartial practitioner. Assists parties in attempting to reach mutually acceptable resolution of the issues.

· Junior Mediator – Requires Bachelor’s degree with two to five years of related work experience (minimum of two years of work specialized in mediation)

· Mid-Level Mediator – Requires Bachelor’s degree with six to ten years of related work experience (minimum of four years of work specialized in mediation)

· Senior Mediator - Requires Bachelor’s degree with eleven or more years of related work experience (minimum of six years of work specialized in mediation)

Coach:

Provides one-on-one executive or conflict coaching services to clients in need of coaching services.

· Junior Coach – Requires Bachelor’s degree with two to five years of related work experience (minimum of two years of work specialized in coaching)

· Mid-Level Coach – Requires Bachelor’s degree with six to ten years of related work experience (minimum of four years of work specialized in coaching)

· Senior Coach – Requires Bachelor’s degree with eleven or more years of related work experience (minimum of six years of work specialized in coaching)

Training Specialist:

Provides training services. Can entail any function within the training area, including curriculum design, train-the-trainer services, as well as standard training.

· Junior Training Specialist – Requires Bachelor’s degree with two to five years of related work experience

· Mid-Level Training Specialist – Requires Bachelor’s degree with six to ten years of related work experience

· Senior Training Specialist – Requires Bachelor’s degree with more than eleven years of related work experience