Final 19AQMM20R0142 5-26-2020 (JAS) FSOT Development.pdf

SOLICITATION, OFFER, AND AWARD

1. THIS CONTRACT IS A RATED ORDER UNDER DPAS (15 CFR

700)

RATING

2. CONTRACT NUMBER 3. SOLICITATION NUMBER

19AQMM20R0142 SEALED BID (IFB)

X NEGOTIATED (RFP)

4. TYPE OF SOLICITATION 5. DATE ISSUED

05/26/2020

6. REQUISITION/PURCHASE NUMBER

CODE: LMAQM

OFFICE OF ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT (A/LM/AQM)

PO BOX 9115, ROSSLYN STATION

US DEPARTMENT OF STATE

ARLINGTON, VA 22219

7. ISSUED BY 8. ADDRESS OFFER TO (If other than Item 7)

NOTE: In sealed bid solicitations "offer" and "offeror" mean "bid" and "bidder".

SOLICITATION

CAUTION - LATE Submissions, Modifications, and Withdrawals: See Section L, Provision No. 52.214-7 or 52.215-1. All offers are subject to all terms and conditions contained in this solicitation.

9. Sealed offers in original and __1__ copies for furnishing the supplies or services in the Schedule will be received at the place specified in item 8, or if handcarried, in the depository located in ____ until __14:00:00__ local time __06/23/2020 __

10. FOR

INFORMATION

E-MAIL:

A. NAME

JoAnn Stewart 703-875-6646

B. TELEPHONE (NO COLLECT

CALLS)

C. E-MAIL ADDRESS

stewartj@state.gov

11. TABLE OF CONTENTS (See Table of Contents on page 2)

(X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S) (X) SEC. DESCRIPTION PAGE(S)

PART I - SCHEDULE PART II - CONTRACT CLAUSES

X A SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM 1 X I CONTRACT CLAUSES 33-52

X B SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS 2-10 PART III - LIST OF DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS AND OTHER ATTACHMENTS

X C DESCRIPTION/SPECS./WORK STATEMENT 10-26 X J LIST OF ATTACHMENTS 52-54

X D PACKAGING AND MARKING 26 PART IV - REPRESENTATIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS

X E INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE 26-27 X K REPRESENTATIONS CERTIFICATIONS AND OTHER

STATEMENTS OF OFFERORS

54-62

X F DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE 27-28

X L INSTRS., CONDS., AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS 62-67X G CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA 28-30

X M EVALUATION FACTORS FOR AWARD 67-69X H SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS 30-33

OFFER (Must be fully completed by offeror)

NOTE: Item 12 does not apply if the solicitation includes the provisions at 52.214-16, Minimum Bid Acceptance Period.

In compliance with the above, the undersigned agrees, if this offer is accepted within __________ calendar days (60 calendar days unless a different period is inserted by the offeror) from the date for receipt of offers specified above, to furnish any or all items upon which prices are offered at the price set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s), within the time specified in the schedule.

12.

13. DISCOUNT FOR PROMPT PAYMENT (See Section I, Clause No.

52.232-8)

10 CALENDAR DAYS(%)

0.00 %

20 CALENDAR DAYS(%)

0.00 %

30 CALENDAR DAYS(%)

0.00 %

0 CALENDER DAYS(%)

0.00 %

14. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF AMENDMENTS (The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the SOLICITATION for offerors and related documents numbered and dated):

AMENDMENT NO. DATE AMENDMENT NO. DATE

15A. NAME AND

ADDRESS OF

OFFEROR

CONTACT: DUNS: 16. NAME AND TITLE OF PERSON AUTHORIZED TO SIGN OFFER (Type or Print)

15B. TELEPHONE NUMBER

15C. CHECK IF REMITTANCE ADDRESS IS DIFFERENT FROM

ABOVE - ENTER SUCH ADDRESS IN SCHEDULE.

17. SIGNATURE 18. OFFER DATE

AWARD (To be completed by Government)

19. ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS NUMBERED 20. AMOUNT 21. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION

10 U.S.C. 2304(c) ( ) 41 U.S.C. 253(c) ( )

22. AUTHORITY FOR USING OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION: 23. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN (4 copies unless otherwise specified)

ITEM

CODE:24. ADMINISTERED BY (if other than Item 7) CODE: RMGFO

GLOBAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CENTER, CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

PO BOX 150008; Fax To: 1-866-483-3436

ATTN: OFFICE OF CLAIMS

CHARLESTON, SC 29415-5008

25. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

26. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (Type or print)

Reaver Clements

(Signature of Contracting Officer)

27. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 28. DATE

IMPORTANT - Award will be made on this Form, or on Standard Form 26, or by other authorized official written notice.

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

Previous edition is unusable

STANDARD FORM 33 (REV. 9-97)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.214(c)

19AQMM20R0142

001 0.00 EA

Type of Contract Pricing:

Doc Ref No:

Delivery Date FOB:

Identifier Title Date Number of Pages

B-010 TYPE OF CONTRACT

This is a Firm Fixed Price type contract. (end of clause)

PRICES/COSTS

TASK 1: FSOT Components TASK 2: Information Guide to the Foreign Service Officer Selection Process and Becoming A Foreign Ser-vice Officer brochure TASK 3: FSOT Test Specifications and Validation Plan TASK 4: FSOT Reports TASK 5: Litigation Support TASK 6: Copyright Registration TASK 7: Travel TASK 8: Test Development for the Consular Fellows Program (CFP) and Information Management Specialist (IMS) Online Tests TASK 9: OMST and HROT Components (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined) TASK 10: OMST and HROT Test Specifications and Validation Plan (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined) TASK 11: Services for Administration of the OMST and HROT (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined) TASK 12: English Expression and Situational Judgment Item Banks – Specialist Career Tracks (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined) TASK 13: Job Knowledge Items for the Office Management Specialist Test (OMST) and Human Resources Officer Test (HROT) (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: BASE YEAR

CLIN 0001 TASK 1 FSOT Components

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0002 TASK 2 Information Guide to the For-eign Service Officer Selection Process and Becoming A For-eign Service Officer brochure

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0003 TASK 3 FSOT Test Specifications and Validation Plan

19AQMM20R0142

Line Item Summary

Solicitation Number:

19AQMM20R0142

Contract Number: Title: Foreign Service Officers Test Date of Solicitation:

05/26/2020

Line Item No. Description Quantity Unit Unit Price Total Cost

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0004 TASK 4 FSOT Reports

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0005 TASK 5 Litigation Support

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0006 TASK 6 Copyright Registration

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0007 TASK 7 Travel

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0008 TASK 8 Test Development for the Con-sular Fellows Program (CFP) and Information Management Specialist (IMS) Online Tests

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0009 TASK 9 OMST and HROT Compon-ents (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be de-termined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0010 TASK 10 OMST and HROT Test Spe-cifications and Validation Plan (Contingent on fund-ing and timeline is to be de-termined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0011 TASK 11 Services for Administration of the OMST and HROT (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0012 TASK 12 English Expression and Situational Judgment Item Banks – Specialist Career Tracks (Contingent on fund-ing and timeline is to be de-termined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 0013 TASK 13 Job Knowledge Items for the

Office Management Specialist Test (OMST) and Human Re-sources Officer Test (HROT) (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: OPTION YEAR ONE

CLIN 1001 TASK 1 FSOT Components

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1002 TASK 2 Information Guide to the For-eign Service Officer Selection Process and Becoming A For-eign Service Officer brochure

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1003 TASK 3 FSOT Test Specifications and Validation Plan

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1004 TASK 4 FSOT Reports

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1005 TASK 5 Litigation Support

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1006 TASK 6 Copyright Registration

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1007 TASK 7 Travel

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1008 TASK 8 Test Development for the Con-sular Fellows Program (CFP) and Information Management Specialist (IMS) Online Tests

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1009 TASK 9 OMST and HROT Compon-ents (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determ-ined)

CLIN 1010 TASK 10 OMST and HROT Test Spe-cifications and Validation Plan (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1011 TASK 11 Services for Administration of the OMST and HROT (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1012 TASK 12 English Expression and Situ-ational Judgment Item Banks – Specialist Career Tracks (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 1013 TASK 13 Job Knowledge Items for the Office Management Specialist Test (OMST) and Human Re-sources Officer Test (HROT) (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: OPTION YEAR TWO

CLIN 2001 TASK 1 FSOT Components

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2002 TASK 2 Information Guide to the For-eign Service Officer Selection Process and Becoming A For-eign Service Officer brochure

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2003 TASK 3 FSOT Test Specifications and Validation Plan

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2004 TASK 4 FSOT Reports

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2005 TASK 5 Litigation Support

CLIN 2006 TASK 6 Copyright Registration

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2007 TASK 7 Travel

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2008 TASK 8 Test Development for the Con-sular Fellows Program (CFP) and Information Management Specialist (IMS) Online Tests

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2009 TASK 9 OMST and HROT Compon-ents (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determ-ined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2010 TASK 10 OMST and HROT Test Spe-cifications and Validation Plan (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2011 TASK 11 Services for Administration of the OMST and HROT (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2012 TASK 12 English Expression and Situ-ational Judgment Item Banks – Specialist Career Tracks (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 2013 TASK 13 Job Knowledge Items for the Office Management Specialist Test (OMST) and Human Re-sources Officer Test (HROT) (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: OPTION YEAR THREE

CLIN 3001 TASK 1 FSOT Components

CLIN 3002 TASK 2 Information Guide to the For-eign Service Officer Selection Process and Becoming A For-eign Service Officer brochure

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3003 TASK 3 FSOT Test Specifications and Validation Plan

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3004 TASK 4 FSOT Reports

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3005 TASK 5 Litigation Support

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3006 TASK 6 Copyright Registration

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3007 TASK 7 Travel

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3008 TASK 8 Test Development for the Con-sular Fellows Program (CFP) and Information Management Specialist (IMS) Online Tests

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3009 TASK 9 OMST and HROT Compon-ents (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determ-ined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3010 TASK 10 OMST and HROT Test Spe-cifications and Validation Plan (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3011 TASK 11 Services for Administration of the OMST and HROT (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

CLIN 3012 TASK 12 English Expression and Situ-ational Judgment Item Banks – Specialist Career Tracks (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 3013 TASK 13 Job Knowledge Items for the Office Management Specialist Test (OMST) and Human Re-sources Officer Test (HROT) (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: OPTION YEAR FOUR

CLIN 4001 TASK 1 FSOT Components

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4002 TASK 2 Information Guide to the For-eign Service Officer Selection Process and Becoming A For-eign Service Officer brochure

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4003 TASK 3 FSOT Test Specifications and Validation Plan

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4004 TASK 4 FSOT Reports

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4005 TASK 5 Litigation Support

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4006 TASK 6 Copyright Registration

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4007 TASK 7 Travel

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4008 TASK 8 Test Development for the Con-sular Fellows Program (CFP) and Information Management Specialist (IMS) Online Tests

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4009 TASK 9 OMST and HROT Compon-ents (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determ-ined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4010 TASK 10 OMST and HROT Test Spe-cifications and Validation Plan (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4011 TASK 11 Services for Administration of the OMST and HROT (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4012 TASK 12 English Expression and Situ-ational Judgment Item Banks – Specialist Career Tracks (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

CLIN 4013 TASK 13 Job Knowledge Items for the Office Management Specialist Test (OMST) and Human Re-sources Officer Test (HROT) (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Total Estimated Cost

OPTION YEAR TOTALS

BASE YEAR TOTAL: $__________________

OPTION YEAR ONE TOTAL: $__________________

OPTION YEAR TWO TOTAL: $__________________

OPTION YEAR THREE TOTAL: $__________________

OPTION YEAR FOUR TOTAL: $__________________

FIVE YEAR TOTAL: $__________________

B-015 TRAVEL COSTS (Cost-Reimbursement)

(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, the Contractor shall be reimbursed for its reasonable actual travel costs in accordance with its usual accounting practices consistent with FAR Subpart 31.2, specifically FAR31.205-46. Travel must be directly related to and re-quired for performance of this contract, and authorized in advance and in writing by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR).

In no event shall costs associated with employee commuting be reimbursable as a direct cost under this contract.

(b) The Contractor shall include a breakout of all authorized travel expenses as an attachment to its invoices.

(c) Administrative support (coordination of travel arrangements, etc.) will be the responsibility of the Contractor.

(d) Should any Contractor personnel be requested to perform in any area which has been determined by the Department of State to be a hazardous duty area, hazardous duty premium pay may be payable at the same rate as would be given to Department of State direct-hire employees pursuant to Chapter 650 of the U.S. Department of State Standardized Regulations (Government Civilians, Foreign Areas). Each employee will be notified upon arrival at any hazardous duty area of the applicable rates, terms and conditions at the time of performance. Hazardous duty premium pay shall not be burdened with any indirect costs (e.g., overhead, G and A) or fee/ profit.

(e) When local travel between the Contractor employee's regular place of performance and other locations is specifically authorized by the COR, transportation expenses shall be allowable costs under this contract. For the purposes of this clause, local travel means travel within a 50 mile radius of the Contractor employee's regular place of performance and does not include daily commuting or as-sociated costs.

(f) For travel where use of a personal automobile has been specifically authorized by the COR, reimbursement shall be computed on the basis of actual miles traveled from stat starting point to destination. Other related miscellaneous expenses, such as tolls and park-ing fees, incurred in the performance of tasks authorized under this contract, will be reimbursed. Car rentals require advance approval by the COR and will be authorized only when consistent with good business practice. Allowable costs shall not exceed the actual cost of renting a compact automobile (a maximum of one for four Contractor personnel), unless extenuating circumstances (e.g., excess baggage) require other arrangements and subsequent COR approval is obtained.

(g) The Government will reimburse the Contractor for Contractor employee's travel time to or from other authorized work locations, except that for labor categories which are exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FSLA),, a reimbursement will be allowed only for travel during the employee's regular working hours. The Contractor will not be reimbursed for time spent in stand down or tempor-ary layovers by FLSA exempt contractor employees for the convenience of the Contractor except as authorized by the Federal Travel Regulations.

(h) The Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that all personnel who will be required to travel outside the United States have current and valid passports. The Contractor shall also be responsible for obtaining any visas required for travel to foreign countries un-der this contract. The Contractor shall make no direct labor charges for obtaining/maintaining passports and/or visas.

(end of clause)

C-1 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Services for Test Development for Foreign Service Selection Process

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

C.l – Background

The Department of State (DOS), Bureau of Human Resources (HR), Office of Recruitment, Examinations and Employment (HR/REE) requires the development of legally and professionally validated written examinations to be the initial screening in the selection process to identify qualified candidates for Foreign Service employ-ment (Foreign Service Officer and Foreign Service Specialist).

Pursuant to the Foreign Service Act of 1980, as amended, the Secretary of State is charged with prescribing written and other examinations for appointment to the Foreign Service of the United States. The DOS requires that the examinations be non-discriminatory and conform to professional testing guidelines. Test development shall be based on the results of Job Analyses reports. Test development for the Foreign Service Officer examin-ation (FSOT) includes test item development for up to three test administrations per year and compilation of a bank of essay prompts for up to three administrations. For the on-demand tests to include the Consular Fellows Program Test (CFPT) and the Information Management Specialist Test (IMST) and potentially—contingent on available funding with no specified timeline—the Office Management Specialist Test (OMST), and the Human Resources Officer Test (HROT) and other selection processes requested by the State Department. The contract-or will provide the following work: validation, report generation for fully accessible (i.e., conformant with the requirements of Section 508) and statistical reporting.

The contractor shall be conversant with:

• The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures. These guidelines were established by federal agencies in charge of enforcing employment anti-discrimination laws. Among those agencies are the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance, and the Department of Justice.

• The Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures, published by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

• The contractor should be an expert in psychometrics, the statistical science of psychological measures used to compose knowledge tests.

• The contractor must provide demonstrated understanding of the Department of State’s Foreign Service ca-reer system and talent management process.

C.2 Statement of Objectives

HR/REE requires a Contractor to ensure DOS hiring and promotion systems legally and professionally address its unique context and changing requirements. This should include the following tasks:

1. Provide a timeline plan for the development, production of test materials;

2. Develop Job Knowledge; English Expression; and Situational Judgement Tests;

3. Produce an Information Guide for the Foreign Service Officer Selection Process and prepare materials for

Becoming a Foreign Service Officer brochure;

4. Develop validation plan for compliance with test blueprints;

5. Litigation support on an as needed basis if and only when requested by DOS;

6. Copyright test items that are part of the Foreign Service selection process and Information Guides; and

7. Travel.

For purposes of this Agreement, “Base Year” means June 01, 2020 to May 31, 2021; “Option Year One” means June 01, 2021 to May 31, 2022; “Option Year Two” means June 01, 2022 to May 31, 2023; “Option Year Three” means June 01, 2023 to November 30, 2024; and “Option Year Four” means June 01, 2024 to Novem-ber 30, 2025.

C.3 Task Descriptions

C.3.1 TASK 1 - FSOT Components

Description - Develop a computer-based testing instrument known as the Foreign Service Officer Test (FSOT) for administration as the initial part of the selection process for Foreign Service Officers. This instrument shall be based on the results of a 2019 Job Analysis Update of Foreign Service Officer generalist positions that shall be made available to all bidders. The FSOT shall also conform to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selec-tion Procedures (29 Code of Federal Regulations Section 1607).

It must also meet other professional testing guidelines such as "The Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures" (Society for Industrial and Organization Psychology, 2003) and "The Stand-ards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (American Educational Research Association, American Psy-chological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education, 1999). Test content shall be de-veloped in consultation with subject matter experts (SMEs) identified by the DOS, in a manner consistent with the effort to make the FSOT job-related and within accepted legal and professional standards and applicable Federal and professional guidelines.

The FSOT shall include the following components:

1) Job Knowledge (JK) multiple-choice component based upon areas identified in the 2007 Job Analysis Up-date;

2) English Expression multiple-choice component (EE); and

3) Situational Judgment Tests (SJT).

The actual test questions shall be based on the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics identified in the Job Analysis Update. The essential duties of career Foreign Service Officer positions include:

1) formulating and implementing U.S. foreign policy;

2) analyzing and reporting on economic and commercial trends and promoting commercial opportunities;

3) administering U.S. immigration and nationality laws and assisting Americans overseas;

4) explaining American objectives and cultures to people of other countries; and

5) providing management support, facilities and services to U.S. government agencies overseas.

The Contractor shall:

a) Review the 2018 Job Analysis Update and FSOT specifications (blueprints) for each test component;

b) Develop an item writer's guide and training materials for item writers;

c) Recruit item writers as needed;

d) Conduct academic and test expert review of new FSOT items to confirm content accuracy, to evaluate content validity of items, and to document linkage of items to blueprints prior to pretesting.

e) Submit new items for external review for cultural sensitivity, bias and potential adverse impact; revise as needed;

f) Facilitate the Foreign Service Officer Item Rating Workshop for rating new JK items by Foreign Service Officer subject matter experts (SMEs) identified by DOS during a one-day workshop in Washington, DC held to evaluate appropriate linkage of items to test specifications and evaluate content validity of items for eligibil-ity of items for pre-testing (rating scales provided by DOS); and analyze rating data collected during the work-shop (above) to identify items that meet content validity criteria.

All items (including essay prompts) and other data prepared in the performance of this task, except for items copyrighted by the Contractor with the authorization of the Government, shall be deemed the property of the Government per Section H.20 of this Contract and FAR 52.227-14, shall be used by the Contractor only for the performance of this contract, and shall be transferred to the Government in usable electronic form if requested at the expiration or termination of the Contract. Any copyrights in materials produced in the performance of this task shall be assigned by the contractor to the Government at the termination or expiration of the Contract at no additional cost. Any conversion or other expenses that would be required to transfer these items from the Con-tractor's systems to another system shall be identified prior to proceeding with any solution to this Task in-volving such expenses.

C.3.2 TASK 2: Information Guide to the Foreign Service Officer Selection Process and Becoming a For-eign Service Officer brochure.

Description - Prepare and update electronic versions of the Information Guide to the Foreign Service Officer Selection Process upon request from the DOS. Contribute to HR/REE information for Becoming a Foreign Ser-vice Officer brochure.

The Contractor is authorized to copyright the Information Guide and any versions or updates thereof it prepares in the performance of the Contract, but at the termination or expiration of this Contract the Information Guide and all components thereof shall be transferred to the Government in usable electronic form if requested and the copyrights therein assigned to the Government at no additional cost. Any conversion or other expenses that would be required to transfer these materials from the Contractor's systems to another system shall be identified prior to proceeding with any solution to this Task involving such expenses.

C.3.3 TASK 3: FSOT Test Specifications and Validation Plan

Description - Provide professional and technical services and produce materials, procedures and reports with re-spect to the FSOT that will satisfy legal and professional standards and prevailing guidelines in the field of per-sonnel measurement and selection (Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, The Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures, and the Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests). The FSOT shall be free from non-job-related factors that might function as biases against any candidate on the basis of race, sex, national origin, or other legally protected categories.

The Contractor shall provide a plan to populate a sufficient number of forms each year (up to three test win-dows) that will ensure the integrity of the FSOT. Test specifications include:

• Job Knowledge: each form will consist of 50 operational items and 10 pre-test items for a section 40 minutes in length

• English Expression: each form will consist of 45 operational items and 20 pre-test items for a section 50 minutes in length

• Essay Prompts: The essay prompts shall be on a substantive topic to allow candidates to draft an essay of sufficient length to evaluate each candidate's ability to analyze a substantive topic, organize his or her ideas, and express them in correct and readable English prose. However, only writing skill, and not the essay con-tent, will be scored. The Contractor shall maintain an essay prompt bank of at least 15 prompts on a variety of topics that will allow candidates to choose from two or more topics. Prompts used operationally in one window cannot be used in the next test window. The time allotted candidates to draft the essay will be 30 minutes.

• Situational Judgment Test (SJT) to assess non-cognitive skills and abilities to reduce potential adverse im-pact. Duration of this section should be about 40 minutes in length.

The Contractor shall

a) Design configuration of pre-test items to be included as part of operational tests forms;

b) Conduct and review statistical (psychometric) performance of pre-test items to screen for operational us-age (test for performance by demographic subgroups, thereby minimizing potential adverse impact);

c) Ensure comparability of test items between the forms used in a given administration;

d) Facilitate a yearly workshop for the BEX to review the forms to be administered for the following year to ensure that items are correct, not dated, and free of cueing.

e) Ensure security of all test materials and test development activities;

f) Document all test development and administration activities in an annual technical report, including con-tent validation, item pre-testing, linkages with the job analysis, item development review, examination assembly and review, and examination administration and scoring, thereby supporting the professional and legal defensib-ility of the FSOT.

g) Provide ongoing consultation on the best methods for assessing the required content areas, and for devel-opment and validation of test items, as needed, and

h) Ensure fully accessibility of all test materials and test development activities.

All data prepared in accomplishing this task shall be deemed the property of the Government per Section H.20 of this Contract and FAR 52.227-14, shall be used by the Contractor only for the performance of this contract, and shall be transferred to the Government in usable electronic form if requested at the expiration or termination of the Contract. Any conversion or other expenses that would be required to transfer the application database from the Contractor's systems to another system shall be identified prior to proceeding with any solution to this Task involving such expenses.

C.3.4 TASK 4: FSOT Reports

Description – Provide services related to test reporting and statistics of the FSOT.

With regards to reporting, the Contractor shall provide a secure data transfer file (XML format) to allow to al-low the transfer of the candidates' application forms, as well as raw test scores, final scores and essay response text, within the agreed upon number of business days of the closing of the test window from the FSOT Test Ad-ministrator contractor. Reporting requirements to the Department include:

a) Post-administration reports (e.g., passing and failing candidate score frequency distributions) within ap-proximately two weeks following receipt of the DOS determination on those candidates who are to be invited to the Oral Assessment; standard reports shall include breakdowns by demographic categories such as gender, eth-nicity, and career tracks;

b) Tabular Reports that include data based on demographic information within two weeks of receipt of the file from DOS identifying candidates who are to be invited to the Oral Assessment;

c) Final item and test statistics after each test window; and

d) Essay test statistics after each test window.

All data prepared in accomplishing this task shall be deemed the property of the Government per Section H.20 of this Contract and FAR 52.227-14, shall be used by the Contractor only for the performance of this contract, and shall be transferred to the Government in usable electronic form if requested at the expiration or termination of the Contract. Any conversion or other expenses that would be required to transfer the scoring and reports database from the Contractor's systems to another system shall be identified prior to proceeding with any solu-tion to this Task involving such expenses.

C.3.5 TASK 5: Litigation Support

Description - Provide support to the DOS in connection with litigation-related matters regarding development and administration of the Foreign Service Officer Test for any test that the Contractor has developed and admin-istered. Support services could include assistance in responding to discovery requests, furnishing requested doc-uments, depositions, court testimony, and other tasks related to any legal challenges asserted against the Depart-ment in regard to the FSOT. Such services shall be rendered on an as-needed basis if and only when requested by the Department. The Contractor shall provide support, billed at the prevailing contract rates, together with reasonable expenses associated with such support, including, but not limited to, travel expenses, shipping and copies, up to the agreed-upon cost amount.

C.3.6 TASK 6: Copyright Registration

Description – Provide registration of the FSOT copyright in Contractor’s name on behalf of DOS. Contractor shall register the copyright on the FSOT (“Copyright”) in Contractor’s name. In the case the Department de-sires Contractor to take an action to enforce the Copyright, the parties will discuss the situation including any compensation to be paid to Contractor if Contractor takes enforcement action (enforcement actions are not in-cluded in the compensation). At the termination or expiration of the Contract, the copyrighted material shall be transferred to the Government in usable electronic form if requested and the copyrights therein assigned to the

Government at no additional cost.

C.3.7 TASK 7: Travel

Description – A travel expenses CLIN is included in the table for travel expenses. This CLIN contains a not-to-exceed amount established by DOS. The contractor shall not change this amount. The amount may be ad-justed, if needed, during the performance of the contract.

C.3.8 TASK 8: Test Development for the Consular Fellows Program (CFP) and Information Manage-ment Specialist (IMS) Online Tests

Description – Provide services related to test development and reporting of the Consular Fellows Program (CFP) and Information Management Specialist (IMS) tests.

a) The contractor shall review CFP items prior to their administration. The contractor shall set up CFP and IMS item banks and import test items, all of which will be multiple choice and include no graphics. The con-tractor shall provide test items in the required format (e.g., QTI files) to enable their electronic administration.

The contractor shall conduct pre- and post- publishing quality control of the test forms. Because there is only one form of each test each year, the contractor shall perform the quality control portion of this task each year upon receipt of the items. The Lead Industrial Psychologist will develop the first test form post every CFP and IMS job analysis and document the content validity of the test questions. The contractor will develop all sub-sequent test forms and document the content validity of those test questions. As part of this task, the contractor also will update the item bank after each administration and will import item statistics. This will occur periodic-ally as specified by DOS.

b) The contractor shall provide tabular reports that document pass/fail rates on variables of interest to DOS.

The format for these reports and the quality control procedures will be similar to those used for FSOT.

c) Similar to the process for FSOT, the contractor shall provide copyright registration of the CFPT and IMST in the contractor’s name on behalf of DOS, following the procedure for copyrighting a secure test.

C.3.9 TASK 9 – OMST and HROT Components (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determ-ined)

Description - Develop computer-based testing instruments known as the Office Management Specialist Test (OMST) in Fiscal Year 2021 and the Human Resources Officer Test (HROT) in Fiscal Year 2022 for adminis-tration as the initial part of the selection process for Foreign Service Specialists. These instruments shall be based on the results of Job Analyses. The tests shall also conform to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Se-lection Procedures (29 Code of Federal Regulations Section 1607).

They must also meet other professional testing guidelines such as "The Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures" (Society for Industrial and Organization Psychology, 2003) and "The Stand-ards for Educational and Psychological Testing" (American Educational Research Association, American Psy-chological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education, 1999). Test content shall be de-veloped in consultation with subject matter experts (SMEs) identified by the DOS, in a manner consistent with the effort to make the FSOT job-related and within accepted legal and professional standards and applicable Federal and professional guidelines.

The tests shall include the following components:

1) English Expression multiple-choice component (EE);

2) Job Knowledge (JK) multiple-choice component based upon areas identified in the Job Analyses; and

3) Situational Judgment Tests (SJT).

The actual test questions shall be based on the knowledge, skills, abilities and other characteristics identified in the Job Analyses.

The Contractor shall develop based on the Job Analyses and subsequent test specifications or "blueprints", a data bank of multiple-choice questions (known as "items").

The Contractor shall:

a) Review the Job Analyses and specifications (blueprints) for each test component;

b) Develop an item writer's guide and training materials for item writers;

c) Recruit item writers as needed;

d) Conduct academic and test expert review of new items to confirm content accuracy, to evaluate content validity of items, and to document linkage of items to blueprints prior to pretesting.

e) Submit new items for external review for cultural sensitivity, bias and potential adverse impact; revise as needed;

f) Facilitate workshops (in-person or via DVC) for rating new JK items by Foreign Service subject matter experts (SMEs) identified by DOS to evaluate appropriate linkage of items to test specifications and evaluate content validity of items for eligibility of items for pre-testing (rating scales provided by DOS); and analyze rat-ing data collected during the workshop (above) to identify items that meet content validity criteria.

All items and other data prepared in the performance of this task, except for items copyrighted by the Contract-or with the authorization of the Government, shall be deemed the property of the Government per Section H.20 of this Contract and FAR 52.227-14, shall be used by the Contractor only for the performance of this contract, and shall be transferred to the Government in usable electronic form if requested at the expiration or termination of the Contract. Any copyrights in materials produced in the performance of this task shall be assigned by the contractor to the Government at the termination or expiration of the Contract at no additional cost. Any conver-sion or other expenses that would be required to transfer these items from the Contractor's systems to another system shall be identified prior to proceeding with any solution to this Task involving such expenses.

C.3.10 TASK 10: OMST and HROT Test Specifications and Validation Plan (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Description - Provide professional and technical services and produce materials, procedures and reports that will satisfy legal and professional standards and prevailing guidelines in the field of personnel measurement and selection (Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, The Principles for the Validation and Use of Personnel Selection Procedures, and the Standards for Educational and Psychological Tests). The tests shall be free from non-job-related factors that might function as biases against any candidate on the basis of race, sex, national origin, or other legally protected categories.

The Contractor shall provide a plan to populate one test form each year for each test that will ensure the integ-rity of the tests. Test specifications include:

• Total seat time for each test will not exceed 90 minutes (test items plus instructions).

• English Expression: each form will not exceed 25 minutes in length.

• Job Knowledge: each form will not exceed 25 minutes in length.

• Situational Judgment Test (SJT) to assess non-cognitive skills and abilities to reduce potential adverse im-pact. Duration of this section should be about 31 minutes in length.

The Contractor shall

a) Design configuration of pre-test items to be included as part of operational tests forms;

b) Conduct and review statistical (psychometric) performance of pre-test items to screen for operational us-age (test for performance by demographic subgroups, thereby minimizing potential adverse impact);

c) Ensure comparability of test items between the forms used in a given administration;

d) Facilitate workshops for BEX to review the forms to be administered for the following year to ensure that items are correct, not dated, and free of cueing.

e) Ensure security of all test materials and test development activities;

f) Document all test development and administration activities in an annual technical report, including con-tent validation, item pre-testing, linkages with the job analysis, item development review, examination assembly and review, and examination administration and scoring, thereby supporting the professional and legal defensib-ility of the tests.

g) Provide ongoing consultation on the best methods for assessing the required content areas, and for devel-opment and validation of test items, as needed, and

h) Ensure fully accessibility of all test materials and test development activities.

All data prepared in accomplishing this task shall be deemed the property of the Government per Section H.20 of this Contract and FAR 52.227-14, shall be used by the Contractor only for the performance of this contract, and shall be transferred to the Government in usable electronic form if requested at the expiration or termination of the Contract. Any conversion or other expenses that would be required to transfer the application database from the Contractor's systems to another system shall be identified prior to proceeding with any solution to this Task involving such expenses.

C.3.11 TASK 11: Services for Administration of the OMST and HROT (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Description – Provide services related to the test development and reporting of the OMST and HROT.

The contractor shall provide tabular reports that document pass/fail rates on variables of interest to DOS. The format for these reports and the quality control procedures will be similar to those used for FSOT and CFTP.

1. Similar to the process for FSOT and CFPT, the contractor shall provide copyright registration of the tests in the contractor’s name on behalf of DOS, following the procedure for copyrighting a secure test.

C.3.12 TASK 12: English Expression and Situational Judgment Item Banks – Specialist Career Tracks (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

HR/REE requires a contractor to create English Expression and Situational Judgment items banks for specialist on-demand tests administered by contractor and online tests administered by HR/REE as part of the specialist oral assessment.

a) Create multiple alternate English Expression forms, and those forms would be randomly administered to ALL specialist candidates. Item banks should be separate from the FSOT and CFPT.

All items used for operational scoring should be pretested on applicants and screened for their psychometric properties (e.g., difficulty level and item-total correlations).

• The candidates taking the specialists tests have similar requirements for English Expression (i.e., their KSAs regarding EE are similar across specialties; all need grammar, punctuation, syntax).

• The consolidated item bank should consist of items that use source documents from different specialties, such that specialist candidates could see some items that seem face valid (applicable to their own specialty) and others than may not seem face valid (applicable to specialties other than their own)

• A core set of items should measure principles of English expression with items that are appropriate across specialties, even if the stimulus materials appear relevant to a specific specialty.

• Contractor will prepare an EE exam blueprint to be used across specialties. The EE exam blueprint (numbers of items measuring various EE constructs) should be similar across specialties.

• All operational items will have the same “look and feel” as FSOT and CFPT items.

• For the Office Management Specialist (OMS) specialist career track, include questions on proofreading.

• Once a year, contractor will provide the DOS with English Expression test forms to be used in the follow-ing on-line specialist tests administered as part of the Oral Assessment: Office Management Specialist (OMS), Financial Management Officer (FMO), General Services Officer (GSO), Human Resources Officer

(HRO), Information Management Technical Specialist – Unified Communication (IMTS-UC) and Radio (IMTS-R), Medical Provider (MP), Regional Medical Laboratory Scientist (RMLS), Regional Medical Of-ficer (RMO), Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatry (RMO/P), Construction Engineer (CE), Facilities Man-ager (FM), PD: Regional English Language Officer (RELO) and Regional Public Engagement Specialist

(RPES).

• On-demand specialist tests administered by the contractor will also use the contractor-developed EE forms to be randomly administered, i.e. OMST and HROT.

b) Create multiple Situational Judgment Test (SJT) items to be used across multiple specialist tests.

• SJT items are for entry-level positions that do not require knowledge of DOS policies and procedures.

• Scenarios should be created that are relevant to the Foreign Service that target entry-level precepts.

• Given the same scenario, the judgment of which option is best or worst should not differ across specialty.

• All items used for operational scoring should be pretested on applicants and screened for their psychometric properties (e.g., difficulty level and item-total correlations).

• Once a year, usually in January, contractor will provide the DOS with Situational Judgment Test forms to be used in the following on-line specialist tests administered as part of the Oral Assessment: Office Man-agement Specialist (OMS), Financial Management Officer (FMO), General Services Officer (GSO), Human Resources Officer (HRO), Information Management Technical Specialist – Unified Communication (IMTS-UC) and Radio (IMTS-R), Medical Provider (MP), Regional Medical Laboratory Scientist (RMLS), Regional Medical Officer (RMO), Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatry (RMO/P), Construction Engineer (CE), Facilities Manager (FM), PD: Regional English Language Officer (RELO) and Regional Public En-gagement Specialist (RPES).

• On-demand specialist tests administered by the contractor will also use the contractor-developed SJT items to be randomly administered, i.e. IMST, OMST, and HROT.

C.3.13 TASK 13: Job Knowledge Items for the Office Management Specialist Test (OMST) and Human Resources Officer Test (HROT) (Contingent on funding and timeline is to be determined)

Description – create Job Knowledge items for the OMS and HRO on-demand tests to be administered by the contractor. Initial Form and every year thereafter.

a) Create Job Knowledge items for the OMST in Fiscal Year 2021 using the DOS-provided reports.

b) Create Job knowledge items for the HROT in Fiscal Year 2022 using the DOS-provided blueprint and job analyses reports.

c) Create new forms annually thereafter.

d) All items used for operational scoring should be pretested on applicants and screened.

C.4. HR Standard COCO Contract Security Requirements

C.4.1 SUMMARY:

HR ISSO team will work with the service provider/business users to make the final determination on system categorization. Items below are required prior to meeting with the ISSO team to assist with the determination.

i. List of data elements involved

ii. Details about the hosting environment

iii. Any system connections

iv. A basic business process diagram

v. Preliminary data sharing process/procedures

Section 1.2 describes the type of applicable security requirements for each categorization. Detailed require-ments and deliverables are located in Section 1.3, 1.4, and 1.5.

C.4.2 COCO Security Prerequisites

1) Minimum System Security Requirement: COCO systems supporting HR shall meet FISMA or Fed- RAMP {Low/Moderate/High} Security Impact Level security controls

2) OMB Circular A-130: COCO systems dealing with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) on be-half of HR must abide and comply with OMB Circular A-130, Appendix I, Responsibilities for management of Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

3) Binding Operational Directives (BODs) - COCO systems collecting, processing, storing, or transmitting information on behalf of HR must abide by and comply with all BODs that apply to the system/service.

4) Alt-ISSO: Vendor must train and appoint an Alternate Information Systems Security Officer (Alt-ISSO) who will be the primary POC for all security related services/communications.

5) NIST SP 800-171 –COCO systems must implement the security control tailoring guidelines in NIST SP 800-171 (latest final revision) if the system processes, stores, or transmits Controlled Unclassified Information

(CUI).

6) Supply Chain/Subcontractor Security: Vendor must ensure that any/all sub-contractors adhere to these security protocols; vendor must ensure that the system supply chain meets the security controls applicable to the system.

7) Notification of Management and Foreign Ownership: Vendor must include information about manage-ment officers (org chart), ownership, as well as for subs. Vendor must notify DoS of any changes to manage-ment/ownership, as well as for subs.

8) FISMA - COCO systems that are not FedRAMP authorized shall have or will attain:

a) an Authority to Operate (ATO) granted by a federal agency

b) a security assessment conducted by an independent 3rd Party Assessor (3PAO).

c) Provide HR with a list of all organizational values applied to the control implementation and abide by De-partment of State, HR values if there are any discrepancies.

9) FedRAMP – COCO Cloud Service Provider (CSP) shall have a Provisional Authority to Operate

(P-ATO).

a) Cloud Services – Any underlying cloud service provider’s (CSP) leveraged must be/in the process of get-ting - FedRAMP certified.

b) HR Cloud Security Control Responsibility – COCO shall provide the HR/ISSO team with a customer responsibility matrix from the cloud service provider.

c) Organizational-defined values - Provide HR with a list of all organizational values applied to the control implementation and abide by FedRAMP defined or Department of State, HR values if there are any discrepan-cies

10) High Value Asset (HVA)

a) Given the nature of the data involved, HR may require that a COCO system implement the HVA Overlay controls or a subset of the HVA Controls overlay from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).