FA301018R0024__Cyber_Curriculum_Solicitation_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

FA301018R0024

Cyber Curriculum Development

Solicitation Questions and Answers

28 June 18

Provided Refere Question Answer

2.2.2 There is no indication of what level of IMI is required. Has the customer decided on a percentage of varying levels of IMI within each Block of instruction and to which modules they would apply? Or is the customer relying on the contractor’s analyzation to determine?

The levels of IMI or e-Learning will vary based on the proficiency required for each training element and will not be a standard percentage across the board. The 333 TRS is relying on contractor analysis of the training elements to determines the levels of IMI for each.

2.2.2 From this task, it looks like the contractor will only deliver 3 courses total. Please confirm that these blocks are the only new blocks/modules to be developed IOT replace the 3 courses.

This contract will deliver new block/modules that will replace the current three courses.

2.2.2 Are the in-residence courses delivered as Instructor-Led Training or as self-paced with instructor facilitation? Currently they are delivered as Instructor-led. The 333 TRS is requiring that course material be developed for use in-residence, facilitated and distance learning platforms

2.2.2 Is the intent to update the curriculum with new modules or is it to create all new curriculum? Is the effort an update or new development?

The 333 TRS is requesting new development to replace the current three courses

2.2.2.14 Do all modules required to be SCORM compliant? What SCORM version is required? All modules must be compliant with SCORM 2004

2.3 Please clarify “course lifecycle”. Does this mean a continual reach-back/help desk capability provided for 333 TRS?

Our interest in student management and the course lifecycle is in reference to management in the contractor selected LMS. Course sustainment is outside the scope of this PWS. The 333 TRS will not require assistance outside the 1 year contract period.

2.3.1 Does a LMS/Learning Content Management System (LCMS) not already exist within Air Force training?

The 333 TRS is already utilizing the Blackboard LMS but is open to new technologies/platforms

2.4.4 Is there an existing COMPTIA Security + certification course of instruction? Yes

2.4.8 In order to ensure the contractor can significantly reduce risk to the government, and the build an appropriate staffing plan and CLIN pricing. Please provide a description of the architectures, specifications and engineering requirements of the 333 TRS cyber operations training range (“COTR”) enclave.

Please see Appendix 6 of updated PWS

2.4.9 Is there a required system such as questionmark perception or some other testing database? AETC requires/utilizes questionmark, but the 333 TRS is open to new technologies Will there be further guidance on proposal submission format (e.g. Vol I Technical, Vol II Past Performance, Vol III Pricing)? Or is there just one volume?

All required documents as referenced in the Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 and the solicitation attachments are one volume

Is there a page count limit? There is no page limit set for proposals. The contractor is only required to provide the documents as referenced in the Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 and the solicitation attachments

FAR 52.212-1,

52.212-2

Will the government confirm that a technical description as part of the Offeror’ response is required and will not be evaluated. Confirm that the information set forth on Solicitation Page 8, Paragraph (b) is the information required for Subfactor (a) Compliance with Solicitation Requirements.

Per FAR 52.212-2, For the purposes of this solicitation Technical Requirements are defined as compliance with solicitation requirements to include a complete signed copy of the SF Form 1449 utilizing the CLIN structure to show unit and extended prices for each line item as well as compliance with the requirements of the appropriate copyright release and the appropriate Government Purpose Rights for all deliverables and compliance with the requirement of the contractor to hold a current and valid Top Secret/SCI facility clearance. Please see Instructions to Offerors Addendum for additional information. The contractor shall provide the required signed and filled out SF1449 and all amendments as well as adeuqate information for the GOverment to review, assess, and validate the contractors assessed copyright and data rights as well as the contractors Facility Clearance level.

FAR 52.212-1 Will the government confirm that questionnaires are not required if the contract/effort is evaluated by their customer is CPARS/PPIRS?

Yes, CPARS/PPIRS reports can be used in place of Past Performance Questionnaires. The Offeror shall indicate on the Past Performance List of References if the indicated reference is available on CPARS/PPIRS

FAR 52.212-1 Will the Government confirm that completing the fixed price for CLINs 0001 through 0003 is all the Government is all that is required expecting and is all that will be evaluated?

Please review FAR 52.212-2 for all documentation required to meet the Compliance with Solicitation Requirements, Past Performance, and Price Factors.

2.3 & 1.5.3.1 Please confirm that the Offeror will NOT instruct to any USAF Cyber Students with the scope of the contract and during this POP.

The contractor shall not be instructing any USAF Cyber Students. However, the contractor shall participate in video recorded staff training sessions.

1.5.1 – 1.5.3 What is the anticipated United States Government (USG) turnaround for each milestone approval? The Government intends to validate and approve contractor deliverables for each milestone within two weeks of delivery.

2.1 Is the intent to develop the courses (i.e. deliverable via Blackboard, Sakai, etc.) that can be delivered in either environment or is it to develop in-residence training and online accessible training as separate entities to each course?

Developed content needs to be delivered in either environment (in-residence, facilitated or at a distance)

APPENDIX 1

and APPENDIX

Please provide the number of curriculum hours expected for the UCT course. Specifically, please provide the number of hours for Phase 1 and Phase 2 for both UCT and CWOAC courses.

Current UCT Phase 1 is 45 training days. Current UCT Phase 2 is 70 training days. Current CWO is 97 training days.

However, there are no required amounts of contact hours per course as long as all the training elements are taught to the proficiency level required.

2.4.6 Please provide a draft DD 254. A draft DD254 has been attached to the solicitation for review and use by the contractor. The contractor is not required fill out the DD254, but may use it to provide the information required for the Government to validate the contractors Facility Clearance.

Page 39 Please clarify what constitutes a certified declaration. Is there a USG form to complete? The Offeror must provide a copyright release as well as a declaration of the provided data rights signed by the appropriate level within the Offeror's corporate structure. This can be on the Offeror's corporate forms or letterhead.

Page 39 Can Contractor Performance Assessment Reports (CPAR) be submitted with proposals in lieu of Past Performance Questionnaires (PPQ)?

Yes, CPARS/PPIRS reports can be used in place of Past Performance Questionnaires. The Offeror shall indicate on the Past Performance List of References if the indicated reference is available on CPARS/PPIRS

Solicitation Questions and Answers

28 June 18

Page 30 Which of the topics are required to be developed in a classified environment?

If all, is there any part or percentage that can be done outside of classified environment?

There are no training elements that require course content contain a certain percentage of classified material, as outlined in Appendix 1 & 2. If it is determined that training will be enhanced by adding classified examples and material then that content must be developed in a classified environment. The 333d is relying on contractor analysis of the training elements to determines the best methodology to teaching the training elements to students to prepare them for current Air Force (AF) and Joint cyber operations environments.

Page 31- 52.222-42

This does not appear to be a labor hour contract, so are SCA rules applicable for this requirement? Although this is not a labor hours contract, the contractor is advised that they must meet all requirements of the Service Contract Act for employees that will be working on any subsequent contract from this solicitation for those employees that meet the requirements of the Service Contract Act. Please review the Service Contract Act or consult the Department of Labor for additional information.

Is 100% of the content expected to be available on-line? Yes When you say on-line, is all course material expected to be in an eLearning format or only virtual instructor-led format?

The 333 TRS requires course material be developed that can utilized through interactive in-residence, facilitated and distance learning platforms

If eLearning, what level of interactivity is expected across what percentage of the course blocks? The levels of IMI or e-Learning will vary based on the proficiency required for each training element and will not be a standard percentage across the board. The 333 TRS is relying on contractor analysis of the training elements to determines the levels of IMI for each

2.3 Will classified content be included in these videos?

If so, will the government provide a Top Secret cleared videographer for this effort?

Classified content will be included in these videos. The Government will not provide TS cleared videographers

2.4 Will 100% of course content have to be 508 compliant? Yes

3.2 Are the PM and alt-PM the only contractor personnel required to be onsite during normal duty hours? Per PWS paragraph 2.4.6, 2.4.6. Development need not occur entirely at Keesler Air Force Base. However, we require the contractor maintain a full-time presence at 333 TRS (Stennis Hall) with space provided by the 333 TRS. At a minimum, the assigned Program Manager (PM) and at least one Subject Matter Expert (SME) shall be present at Keesler Air Force Base for the entire period of performance. Off site development of any classified material must occur within facilities approved by the 81st Training Wing SSO via a DD 254. The 81st Training Wing will not sponsor the contractor’s secured facilities.

For the solicitation is presence at the Air force Base mandatory. Per PWS paragraph 2.4.6, 2.4.6. Development need not occur entirely at Keesler Air Force Base. However, we require the contractor maintain a full-time presence at 333 TRS (Stennis Hall) with space provided by the 333 TRS. At a minimum, the assigned Program Manager (PM) and at least one Subject Matter Expert (SME) shall be present at Keesler Air Force Base for the entire period of performance. Off site development of any classified material must occur within facilities approved by the 81st Training Wing SSO via a DD 254. The 81st Training Wing will not sponsor the contractor’s secured facilities.

Should there be more than one test to handle test failures? If so, how many versions of a test must exist? The 333d is relying on contractor expertise to determine the best mythologies to evaluate student mastery and retention of course content. Evaluation methods should reflect mastery to the level assigned to the training standard in accordance with the AETC proficiency code key (Appendices 1-3). If a test is proposed/adopted as the best methodology for verification of content retention, then the 333d will require 3 unique versions of that evaluation method.

2.1 Will the Gov’t provide facilities for development at the 333 TRS? Yes, per the PWS the contractor will have facilities provided within the 333 TRS per PWS paragraph 6.1

1.5.3 Are the iterations required for validation in 1.4 expected to occur within Phase 3 (1.5.3)? If not, how much time will be allowed for validation?

The 3 iterations of each block will occur in Phase 3, Milestone 6. Phase 3 has an allotted time of four months for implementation.

2.3.1 Is the 333 TRS using any enrollment system today to track training modules? Are there any additional requirements that can be provided?

AETC requires/utilizes questionmark, but the 333 TRS is open to new technologies/platforms

2.4.4 How much time is allowed to prepare student for Security+? A 2 week course is currently being utilized

4.3 Is there a maximum percentage of the course that can be classified, and does that differ between SECRET and

TS/SCI?

There are no maximum percentages

2.2.2 Is there any benchmark, or parametric basis of estimate that we can rely on to develop our labor and pricing? No, there are no benchmark or parametric basis of estimate for this requirement.

2.2.5 How do we factor this into the pricing and over what period of time does this cover? Software licenses are required for one year after contract completion. The software license costs associated with the delivered software shall be included in the CLIN where that software is delivered to the Government per PWS Table 1, Deliverables.

3.2.1 Is the government including labor for off-site work as part of the documented expenditure All labor costs, on-site or off-site, shall be allocated to the appropriate CLIN based on the phase the contractor is incurring labor against.

Page 39 Please confirm that the government intended to request that contractors have a TS facility clearance (FCL), not a TS/SCI FCL, since TS/SCI FCLs are not granted

Correct, contractors must posses a TS facility clearance, but must have personnel able to work at the TS/SCI level.

Solicitation Questions and Answers

28 June 18

3.1.2 Can you confirm which blocks will likely require a SME who has a TS/SCI? Currently there are TS/SCI elements in the Operating Systems, Scripting, Network Fundamentals & Configurations, Offensive Cyber Operations, Defensive Cyber Operations, Industrial Control Systems, Telephony, Cyber Law & Ethics, and Operational Planning blocks of Instruction. This does not mean that TS/SCI elements are required in all blocks. The 333 TRS is open to contractor inputs on the objectives that should or should not require TS/SCI course materials.

2.2.2.3 Will awarded contractor have access to current test bank for reuse purposes? Yes

2.2 Will the vendor be granted access to the delivery environment(s) (LMS, range, LRS, etc.) to conduct developmental testing?

Yes

2.2.2 Will the offeror provide the vendor with a breakdown in percentage of required IMI levels of interactivity, e.g., what percentage of the total course should be level one, two, or three?

The levels of IMI or e-Learning will vary based on the proficiency required for each training element and will not be a standard percentage across the board. The 333 TRS is relying on contractor analysis of the training elements to determines the levels of IMI for each

Addendum TO

FAR 52.212-1

We noticed there is not any instructions outlined in the Addendum TO FAR 52.212-1 Instruction to Offerors starting on page 39 for the proposal structure besides the SF1449/ continuation sheets and Attachment 3 Past Performance Reference sheet and Questionnaire. Is it your intent for potential companies to only submit these 3 items only

The only required items for submission by the contractor are identified in Addendum to FAR 52.212-1 of the solicitation.

Sheet1