DTFH6117R00037,_Questions_1.pdf

QUESTION RESPONSE

1 Do the tailored resumes count towards the 20 pages for the staffing plan or are they separate?

No

2 Will all questions and responses be posted publicly to FBO, or will responses be only in the form of individual replies?

Responses will be posted to Grants.gov in the form of a Questions/Response format.

3 Page 3, Contract Scope: "Ensure that services and support is provided equitably…" Define "equitably."

Services and support shall maintain at the same quantity, quality and dedication regardless of the BIA region. There shall be no preferential treatment given to any specific region or areas within a region.

4 Under Task 1.6 (page 6) the RFP states that the

NTTAP will “Manage travel arrangements for NTTAP and VCoE staff.” Question: Does this mean that the prime contractor will pay for the travel for the entire program, even travel by the subs and consultants out of the $140,000 cost reimbursement travel budget? Will the Contractor be expected to pay for the travel of Tribal members attending any of the

VCoE trainings or Roads Scholar Programs?

The intent of the RFP is to have an entity with a number of subject matter experts deliver the work. The NTTAP and the VCoEs function as a team or group to undertake the requirements of the contract. It is up to the offeror to propose their organization structure. That structure could include consultants, subcontractors, partners, ect. The administrative resources for this effert are not under the VCoEs structure as the VCoEs are simply SMEs that deliver training and technical assistance in defined focus areas. The administrative staff housed in the NTTAP Center should provide for the travel arrangements and all administrative functions for all these subject experts.

Travel, when required by the Tribal members to receive training, will be at their own expense.

Training should be well distributed in multiple locations within the BIA regions to minimize travel for participants.

Any travel required to attend training at the Road Scholars facility will need to be covered by the tribal members.

5 Is 30% distance learning a maximum, minimum or target, and how is this defined and measured? Task

4 says "UP TO 30%", Page 12 section 5.1.4 says 75

hr. of training AND 30% distance and other places it is 75 hr. with up to 30% distance learning. Is the 30% requirement a fraction of the 75hr requirement, or in addition to the 75hr requirement? Does the 30% requirement apply to training above and beyond the

75hr minimum? For the purposes of these requirements, is one minute of live video (web based or any other live video network) training considered distance learning, live learning, or face‐ to‐face, and is each minute of recorded webinar a

"distance learning" minute? Is a 1 hour reading assignment distance or face to face training?

The RFP requires 75 hours of training per VCoE per month be provided. Thirty percent (22 hours) of this training requirement can be provided through distance learning. For this pilot, the maximum amount of distance learning should be 30 percent.

For the purposes of this RFP, distance learning should be defined as training broadcasted or conducted remotely over the Internet (i.e. the participants and trainer are in different locations).

Distance learning technologies under this RFP include Web‐Based Training (WBT), Web

Conference Training (WCT), Videoconference training (VCT), new technologies such as mobile apps and virtual world delivery. Distance learning may be asynchronous (activities do not occur at the same time), or synchronous (activities do occur at the same time). All training should include learner components such as video demonstrations, case analysis, problem solving, and hands on application.

Time or educational contact for training refers to time in which the attendees are in an active session working towards achieving the learning objectives. Preparatory work, home work, networking time, non‐working lunches, and breaks are examples of things that are NOT educational contact time and which should be counted towards the total training time.

6 Page 9, Task 5: Should we assume that content for classes will be delivered by the government for the training if development is not allowed by the contractor?

Offerors will be evaluated on the proposed demonstrated physical resources they have available to successfully carry out the proposed program. This includes training content. The

Government will provide additional content. Section C also indicates the need for an Offeror to maximize the effectiveness of collective services of other organizations and programs when

7 Page 8, Task 4: Only the annual work plan is identified as a deliverable. Is the PAR a deliverable?

The Program Assessment Report is a deliverable and will be added to the RFP in an Amendment.

DTFH6117R00037

Questions 1

8 Page 9 – Task 5 ‐ The Contractor shall: Deliver training and technical assistance, which is not focused on development of new materials. NOTE:

All training and distance learning content shall remain the intellectual property of the government.

QUESTION: Does this mean that all trainings specific to the core curriculums of the 5 VCoEs already exists and will be provided to the Contractor by FHWA? And if so, is it tribal specific? And would this preclude the Contractor from using a stand alone training tool developed by another organization?

See answer above.

9 Page 9, Task 5: "shall deliver the following topics" does this mean the contractor shall deliver all of the topics, and if so, shall it be once per contract, once per year, or some other frequency, and shall it be that frequency in every BIA region?

The core curriculum for each VCoE is provided and should be presented in basic to advanced levels to build a strong tribal network of roadway knowledge. The RFP states the Contractor shall organize its services as documented in their annual plan to offer the entire technical curriculum to the tribes nationwide. The Offerors will be evaluated on how they propose to deliver the core curriculum given the required VCoE hours of training in the 12 BIA regions.

10 Page 12, Task 5: Deliver training in all 12 BIA regions for 5 topics, does that mean touch each of the 5 areas or deliver entire core curriculum in each region, and shall it be once per contract, once per year, or some other frequency?

Services and support shall maintain at the same quantity, quality and dedication regardless of the BIA region. There shall be no preferential treatment given to any specific region or areas within a region.

11 The Government frequently uses the terms

"symposiums, workshops, forums, colloquiums, seminars" in an exclusionary manner without defining what these events are. A class of 30 people learning to operate heavy equipment is commonly described as a workshop in the workforce development industry. Please define what kind of events are included in the 4% cap and how to make the determination when a training event might not be allowed under the restriction on Page 9, "Provide training sessions hosted in conjunction with conferences, symposiums, workshops, forums, colloquiums, seminars, and summits must be approved, in advance, by the COR, if they are to be considered training."

The Government is looking to increase the effectiveness of the sessions provided. The RFP identifies topical course length of 3‐4 hours to multiple days. Traditionally the labels of conferences, symposiums, workshops, forums, colloquiums, seminars are a series of short sessions on multiple topics rather than more in‐depth training on a single topic. Class size has been capped at 30 participants to provide more focused skill building for trainees who can also contribute to the discussion in a way that larger events can’t.

The Offeror would need to demonstrate how a class of 30 people learning to operate heavy equipment could be accommodated and provide individual participants the level of proficiency needed for certification.

There will be regional conferences, symposiums, workshops, forums, colloquiums, seminars hosted by others where the subject matter experts will be asked to present. These events will need to be strategically identified to provide benefit to the overall program and ensure participation is under the cap.

12 Page 12, Task 5.2: "The use of the same location repeatedly shall be limited unless approved by the

COR." Define repeatedly, is it more than once, or some other number? The Government simultaneously recommends using government facilities to reduce cost. Shall these facilities also be used only once each? What is the minimum time between uses of any one facility? Is location a geographic description, or physical location? If it is a geographic location, what is the geographic extent to the term “location?”

The intent of this statement is to disperse training sessions across the regions. Tribes should see multiple venues being used in their regions. For example, training in Alaska should not just occur in Anchorage and Fairbanks. Given there are five VCoEs, a training plan may have Bethel used for a planning session, Juneau for a safety session, etc... There is no limit on how many times a site is used as long as the five centers as a whole disperse offering across the regions. Locations should be set to maximize participation.

Government facilities means public facilities at the federal, state, local and tribal levels.

Offerors will be evaluated on their proposed training plan.

13 Task 9: The Government uses many subjective measures of usability and operation for a web site.

How will terms such as "intuitive", "good", "advanced" and other subjective measures be defined so that the contractor can meet these requirements, or is it up to the contractor to define these subjective measures?

The Offeror will need to consider their audience when designing the site. Intuitive design means that when a user sees it, they know exactly what to do. The term "advanced" search function is a term recognized in the web development industry. The term good was associated with content management system. We are looking for ease of use, stability, security, easily upgradable and ease of transfer once the pilot is complete.

DTFH6117R00037

14 Task 9: The government says on page 19 not to use

COTS without approval, then says to use COTS in pages 18 and 21. When does COTS require approval, and when doesn't it?

The Contractor shall use non‐proprietary, Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) or open source based software whenever possible. All Task 9 COTS applications will need to be approved prior to use.

15 Task 12: The government uses subjective terms like, "Shall be attractive to catch the eye and make individuals want to read it without laying it down."

How shall this be determined to meet the government's requirements, or shall the contractor make this subjective evaluation?

The Contractor can make a subjective evaluation and work with the COR to ensure approval.

Under Task 12, the Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining COR approval 30 days prior to publishing

16 Page 14 Task 5.4 Distance Learning: “This blended learning strategy shall include incorporating job aids, simulations, skill practice, case studies, and opportunities to ask questions or chat during training.” QUESTION: Does this mean that the

Distance Learning cannot be a stand‐alone training

(example: download an existing training from

AASHTO), but instead must be in the form of a live webinar in order to facilitate questions and chat?

Blended learning can be developed in multiple ways. Depending on your source and topic, some blended learning principals may already be incorporated. Depending on the on‐line module you use, you may have to add some practice questions or relevant case studies in addition to what is in the module. Tools such as email and discussion boards, allow participants to communicate with trainers without having to be online at the same time. Distance learning may be asynchronous (activities do not occur at the same time) or synchronous (activities do occur at the same time).

17 PAGE 14 Task 5.4.1 ‐ Distance learning shall be recorded and made available for download on the

TTAP website, by the Contractor.

QUESTION: What are examples of distance learning that would need to be recorded? How formatted and managed for download?) Is the recording for future reference or can the recording be used as the actual training for a future trainee?

Examples are Web Conference Training (WCT) and Videoconference training (VCT). Formatting is dependent on the platform you are using. Recording can be provided by using a URL, MP4, etc.…

Recordings can be used as training in the future. See response to question above. Tools such as email and discussion boards, may also be needed to allow future participants to communicate with trainers without having to be online at the same time.

18 Page 14 Task 5.4.2

Contractor shall be able to provide both online and portable products. Portable product will be in the form of thumb drive or similar media storage device designed to be used by persons with limited internet connectivity.

QUESTION: For portable products, is the contractor expected to facilitate chat and questions (host a live teleconference while the trainee is viewing the thumb drive in case questions arise)?

Tools such as email and discussion boards, may also be needed to allow future participants to communicate with trainers without having to be online at the same time.

19 Page 14 Task 5.4.3 Accountability of Registrations.

QUESTION: Is the contractor responsible for online registration and tracking, OR manual consolidation of registrations etc.?

The Contractor is responsible for administration of content, registration, assessments when appropriate, communication and collaboration between participants and trainers. The

Contractor will have to determine how best to cost effectively maintain accurate training logs.

There are many tools on the market from simple Excel templates to systems. Each submittal must have the capability to be manipulated i.e. sorted, collated, etc.

20 Page 14 Task 5.4.4 ‐Training Evaluation Surveys.

QUESTION: ‐ Should the contractor provide the online survey, or physical hardcopy per training event? Digitally scanned for reference, or digitized results/response for analysis?

It is the Contractor's option on how best to collect this information from their audience and summarize for the Government.

21 Page 16 Task 6.1 Roads Scholar Training.

QUESTION: Does this training/certification already exist?

There are variation of Road Scholar curriculums across the country.

DTFH6117R00037

22 Task 6.1.1, a minimum of 48 hours of on site instruction? Per month? per year? per contract?

Injury prevention program does not have time associated with it, is there a minimum hour and geographic requirement for content delivered in the

VIP, and is there a prescription for the mix of distance learning and face‐to‐face? What is the expected payment time for completed items from when it is invoiced until payment received?

A minimum of 48 hours of on‐site instruction at the facility shall be provided for the Road

Scholars program.

The MVIP will have three full time Injury Prevention Specialists providing nationwide training and technical assistance in motor vehicle injury prevention related to child passenger safety and seat belt use. Training performed for the MVIP will amount to 75 hours per month. Training shall be provided in all 12 BIA regions by the Specialists. Distance learning mix is a similar requirement as the VCoEs; up to 30% distance learning can be utilized to meet the 75 hour requirement.

In accordance with the Prompt Payment Act, the Government will pay invoices within 30 day of

23 Page 21 – Task 9.3.1 Website Functions.

QUESTION: Does this imply automated tagging of documents or manual? When including documents produced by other entities, it can be difficult to verify compliance, or time consuming to make compliant.

It is at the discretion of the Contractor as to whether tagging is more efficiently and cost effectively performed automatic or manually for search optimization.

24 PAGE 22 Task 9.3.4 Video and Audio Posting

QUESTION: Would we anticipate posting actual recordings of meetings, or links to various services that hosted/recorded the virtual meetings?

Correct

25 Page 26 – Task 13‐ Mailing List/List Serve.

QUESTION: What mailing system is currently used?

The contractor is free to propose their own system.

26 Page 31, Travel: "Travel (other than local) may be expected to occur throughout the duration of the contract. The COR will issue the written request for travel if required (excluding local travel)." Shall the contractor request approval for travel to deliver the training and other activities required in this RFP?

Travel will be identified in the work plan and approved annually. Any additions or modifications to the plan will be requested through the Contractor's monthly status reports prior to travel and approved at that time.

DTFH6117R00037