Industry Feedback and Clarification Questions (CAO 14 Apr 26).pdf

Industry Feedback and Clarification Questions

Request for Information - Executive Writing Course (Notice ID: FA701426QB008)

The questions below are provided as targeted industry feedback on areas where the current draft requirement may benefit from clarification or refinement. They are intended to support a common understanding of scope, access, deliverables, pricing assumptions, and execution risk.

A. SCOPE, AUDIENCE, AND COURSE DESIGN

1. Can the Government clarify the expected duration of each course delivery?

The draft requirement indicates that contractor feedback is being sought on course duration. Clarification will materially affect pricing, staffing, and instructional design assumptions.

Answer: 2 days or less is prefered. However, we expect the contractor to present suggestions based on their professional opinion.

2. Can the Government clarify the expected class size per course delivery?

Minimum, average, and maximum class size assumptions will affect facilitation approach, grading workload, and per-course pricing.

Answer: Minimum 4, Maximum 30. Based on the current contract the average size class is 4.

3. Will all students be Space Staff action officers who have already completed the SAF Action

OfficerCourse, or should the contractor anticipate mixed student populations?

This affects entry-level assumptions, examples used in instruction, and the level of remediation the contractor may need to support.

Answer: The intent is to have all students attend the SAF AO course prior to attending this course, however there may be exceptions.

4. Does the Government anticipate a standardized curriculum for all deliveries, or should the contractor expect to tailor content by organization, audience seniority, or mission area?

This distinction affects development effort, update frequency, and sustainment workload.

Answer: We expect a standardized curriculum; however, we do expect some students to have more experience than others.

5. Will the Government provide copies of HOI 33-3 and any supplemental executive writing guidance to be incorporated into course development?

Offerors will need to know whether the applicable standard and any templates or local guidance will be furnished by the Government.

Answer: Yes, HOI 33-3 will be provided, and we expect to have meetings to discuss expectations regarding curriculum development.

6. Will the Government provide source examples of approved executive products for instructional use?

This is important because the requirement references approved EXSUMs and decision-ready staff products as central to the course objective.

Answer: Yes, approved EXSUMs and decision-ready staff products will be provided.

7. Will the Government provide any existing course materials, learning objectives, or prior training artifacts to inform development of the new Executive Writing Course?

This will affect the amount of net-new development required under the contemplated solution.

Answer: Yes, pending any issues, artifacts from the current course will be provided.

B. GOVERNMENT SYSTEMS, ACCESS, AND DELIVERY ENVIRONMENT

8. Will the Government provision contractor personnel with the required HQSF Teams account, CAC-enabled access, and government-furnished equipment necessary to facilitate the course?

This is a core feasibility issue. If Government provisioning is required, the onboarding timeline could directly affect performance start assumptions.

Answer: Yes, access and equipment will be provided.

9. How many contractor personnel will require CAC-enabled access and government-furnished equipment?

The Answer: may differ depending on whether access is limited to the instructor or extends to program management, course administration, reporting, or attendance tracking staff.

Answer: This number will not be determined by the government. We suggest no more than absolutely necessary.

10. What level of system access will be granted to contractor staff using Government tools such asETMS2, Teams, and Outlook for course administration?

Clarification is needed because the requirement assigns administrative responsibilities that may require more than basic guest access.

Answer: Basic access will be provided to ensure that students and the contractor are able to access the course via Teams.

11. Will the Government host the Microsoft Teams sessions, or is the contractor expected to manage the virtual classroom environment within the Government tenant?

This affects operational control, scheduling, user permissions, and delivery risk.

Answer: The contractor is responsible for the virtual classroom via the Government network.

C. ADMINISTRATION, TESTING, AND STUDENT MANAGEMENT

12. Does the Government expect the contractor to perform full enrollment coordination, reminder notices, roster reconciliation, and student communications, or will DSK retain any portion of the registration process?

The level of administrative ownership assigned to the contractor affects labor mix and recurring support effort.

Answer: DSK will manage course advertising and enrollment. DSK will provide a roster to the contractor for student communication and reminder notices. Once the course is complete, the contractor will reconcile the roster with DSK.

13. What are the Government’s expectations regarding the design of the test and grading scale?

Clarification is needed on whether the assessment is expected to be objective, rubric-based, practicum-based, or a blended model.

Answer: The End-of-Course (EoC) exam is expected to be a written product that will be graded by the contractor, which will be based on the rubric provided by the contractor.

14. Does the Government require the contractor to issue certificates of completion, maintain training records, or report pass/fail status into a Government training management system?

These are distinct administrative tasks that may not be fully captured in the current draft language.

Answer: Depending on assessment type, the contractor will be responsible for providing DSK with a comprehensive pass/fail report. The contractor will also be required to provide DSK with the completed and scored tests, for record keeping purposes.

15. If a student does not achieve the required passing score, what remediation or retesting process does the Government expect the contractor to support?

This could affect course design, instructor time, and sustainment assumptions.

Answer: If a student scores below 70% then it is the responsibility of the Government to provide remedial training. However, those students will be required to attend the course again.

D. DELIVERABLES, METRICS, AND REPORTING

16. Can the Government clarify what is meant by the “Course” deliverable in the deliverables table?

It is not yet clear whether this refers to the live course event, the course materials package, or both.

Answer: This table is referencing the reoccurring items that are expected from the Contractor. A curriculum, or review of current material, will need to be worked and delivered on a monthly basis.

17. What content and level of detail does the Government expect in the monthly status report?

Clarification will improve consistency in industry ROM assumptions and future performance expectations.

Answer: Depends on assessment type, but a copy of the scored assessment with notes if applicable.

Additionally, we would like class demographics to include rank, years of AO experience, years of service, etc.

18. What content and level of detail does the Government expect in the quarterly data analysis deliverable?

This affects labor planning for analytics, trend reporting, and recommendations.

Answer: Feedback from students, pass/fail rates, recommendations, other data points deemed necessary.

19. Does the Government have required templates, branding standards, or formatting guidance for monthly reports and quarterly data analysis?

Formatting standards can affect report production time and deliverable consistency.

Answer: No.

20. How will the Government measure the threshold that 95% of course content align with desired course outcomes?

The current metric would benefit from clarification on the assessment method, such as checklist review, curriculum crosswalk, or another evaluation approach.

Answer: Curriculum crosswalk.

21. How will the Government measure the requirement that 90% of participants report improved skills as a result of taking the course?

Clarification is needed on whether this is expected to be based solely on post-course survey responses or another measurement method.

Answer: The contractor will be responsible for providing student DoW email addresses for everyone who attended so that DSK can send student feedback forms.

22. Does the Government have an existing instructor evaluation instrument, or is the contractor expected to develop one for approval?

This will affect both course administration and the method used to assess the instructor quality threshold.

Answer: This is a contractor responsibility.

23. How will delays caused by Government system outages, CAC access issues, closures, or scheduling changes be handled in relation to the requirement that 100% of courses are held on scheduled dates?

This would help distinguish contractor-controlled performance from Government-driven schedule impacts.

Answer: We expect the contractor to be flexible, and to hold classes during the first week of the month in order to flex dates within that same month if required by unforeseen issues.

E. PRICING, CONTRACT STRUCTURE, AND STAFFING

24. Can the Government clarify the anticipated BPA ordering structure?

The contemplated ordering method will directly affect ROM pricing assumptions and the recommended contract structure.

Answer: This is a draft document; no ordering structure has been established. The goal is to award either an IDIQ or BPA vehicle, so that DSK can place orders. Any input on this from a contractor’s perspective will help shape strategy.

25. Should offerors price for 12 deliveries per year only, or should pricing also account for the anticipated surge in capability of approximately three additional courses annually?

This affects annual volume assumptions and the treatment of surge capacity in ROM pricing.

Answer: Pricing should include 12 courses and show the additional cost of 3 courses on an as-needed basis.

26. Will surge deliveries be ordered and funded separately from the baseline anticipated annual course schedule?

This clarification will help industry distinguish baseline sustainment from variable demand.

Answer: DSK is hoping to have the 3 additional courses ordered as needed.

27. Is the Government considering fixed unit pricing per course delivery, or a broader task order pricing model that includes development, administration, instruction, and reporting as integrated elements?

Different structures may produce materially different pricing and staffing approaches.

Answer: We were thinking of fixed unit pricing per course delivery, but we’re open to suggestions on the best commercial approach.

28. Does the Government anticipate one instructor per course delivery, or is the use of multiple personnel for administration, facilitation, grading, and reporting acceptable?

This affects labor mix and how small business teams may structure support.

Answer: The contractor should determine best course of action.

29. May the contractor propose separate labor categories for curriculum development, course administration, instruction, and data analysis, or does the Government prefer a consolidated staffing model?

This would improve alignment between the requirements and how vendors build realistic staffing plans.

Answer: We are open to recommendations as we work to finalize our strategy. We want to use commercial business practices, to include pricing structure.

30. Is there any required subject matter experience, military staff-writing background, or Air Force or

Space Force correspondence experience the Government expects offerors to demonstrate for instructor personnel?

Instructor qualification expectations may materially influence teaming, recruiting, and pricing assumptions.

Answer: It would be preferable to have an instructor(s) with real-world experience.

F. DATA RIGHTS AND PROPRIETARY MATERIALS

31. Can the Government clarify the scope of the Government Purpose Rights provision as it applies to materials developed under this requirement?

Clarification would help industry distinguish between deliverables created under the effort and any pre-existing contractor materials or methods.

Answer: The Government would like the rights to all materials used for the course.

32. May the contractor incorporate pre-existing proprietary training methods, templates, or instructional frameworks into the solution, and if so, how will those materials be treated under the

Government Purpose Rights provision?

This is important for vendors that use established frameworks while still delivering Government-required products.

Answer: This is negotiable.

Prepared for submission as optional industry feedback in response to the RFI.