Draft_SOW_PP515_Capstone_Simulation.pdf

Political Training

STATEMENT OF WORK

School of Professional and Area Studies (SPAS)

Political Training Division (POL) Design and Delivery of Capstone Negotiation Simulation for PP515

1.0 Introduction

The purpose of this Statement of Work (SOW) is to provide expert service to design a complex, day-long, multi-party negotiation simulation (capstone) to conclude the final day of training in the Foreign Service Institute’s (FSI) advanced negotiation course (PP515), including support to course coordinators for the delivery and revision of the capstone.

2.0 Background

FSI is the training bureau of the U.S. Department of State. FSI is the federal government's primary training institution for Department personnel and the U.S.

Government foreign affairs community. The mission of the FSI is to develop the men and women our nation requires to fulfill our leadership role in world affairs and to advance and defend U.S. interests. The George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center is located in Arlington, VA. Through additional locations in the National Capital Region, and at domestic and overseas regional training centers, FSI offers more than 545 classroom courses, including some 70 foreign languages and 250 custom-developed distance learning products available worldwide. Annual enrollments exceed 225,000 students.

3.0 General Scope

Support services will be provided by FSI. In providing these services, the contractor shall review existing FSI negotiation training to ensure the capstone design meets the needs of 21st century foreign affairs professionals and Department needs. This capstone shall be developed to reinforce and complement the core negotiation Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (KSA) consistent with the PP515 course curriculum. Key capstone elements shall be:

• Multiparty with adjustable number of players: To accommodate the varying number of students taking our courses and their range of skills, FSI seeks to create an adaptable simulation with an expandable number of parties to facilitate flexibility in execution. Structured properly, this could be achieved by designing several roles as “collapsible” into each other, or able to be discarded altogether in an alternate version of the simulation. Capstone must contain at least 20 distinct roles, but may be adjusted up to as many as 30 based on consultations with FSI.

• Foreign policy focus: To enhance the relevancy and realism, the narrative content will be centered on foreign policy topics. We seek a theme that is both timely and universal, adaptable for updating, and deals with issues students might are likely to encounter in U.S. interagency negotiations.

• Simulate “cognitive flooding”: To replicate the difficulty and accuracy of real high-stakes, multiparty negotiations, the capstone will use the speed of new information, time deadlines, disruptive scenarios, and/or decision-altering opportunities in the simulation. Ideally this will be captured with a cumulative building of pressure from time constraints, depreciating pay-off structures, and game-altering consequences based on the possibility of certain parties undertaking probability-based risk moves (i.e., launching a cyber attack, staging a protest).

• Use of “injects” and new information to alter scenario: One of the simulation objectives is to get students to adjust strategy and tactics in real time in response to new information that alters their payoffs or the relative balance of power among parties. Some potential ideas include: regular news updates via a simulated Twitter feed; additional incentives/bonuses granted to key players at certain intervals; a major game-changing factor introduced at a difficult point; periodic demands for public talking points from the White House or influential news entities; and progressive degradation of parties’ alternatives or payoffs as lack of agreement continues to endure over the course of the simulation.

• Simulated use of cyber weaponry: With the explosive growth of both offensive and defensive cyber technologies as an instrument in the foreign policy toolkit, the simulation will introduce the possibility of utilizing such tools in an exercise. Drawing on successful examples from several recent “mega-simulations,” such as The Transition, the capstone should provide several simulation parties a menu of cyber tools to be used at their discretion in the game with associated probabilities of success. Subsequent exploration in the post-simulation debrief will allow instructors to explore broader concepts such as how use of cyber weapons affects relationship-building, trust, reputation, and alternatives to negotiation.

• Key teaching points: The broad pedagogical lessons – aside from the more specific negotiation skills – FSI hopes to illustrate through the simulation are:

(a) the overwhelming speed, dynamism, and pressure of crisis negotiation;

(b) the power of managing emotions under stress;

(c) coalitional dynamics and how to adjust strategy to respond to events; and

(d) taking calculated risks in real time under high stakes.

FSI requires that when this capstone simulation project is complete, its participants will be able to:

• Systematically prepare for negotiations.

• Ask probing questions to differentiate negotiators’ positions and interests.

• Effectively brainstorm options to identify creative options.

• Map negotiation stakeholders and potential coalitions, and deploy effective coalition building and blocking strategies.

• Identify and manage barriers and difficult tactics that impact negotiations.

• Navigate spoilers to negotiating goals.

• Demonstrate negotiation leadership, both in formal and informal negotiation settings.

• Reach sustainable agreements under high stakes and time pressure.

3.1 Performance Requirements

3.1.1 Period of Performance

The period of performance of this purchase order shall be one (1), eight (8) month base period.

3.1.2 Place of Performance

The primary place of performance will be:

U.S. Foreign Service Institute 4000 Arlington Blvd

Arlington, VA 22204

3.2 Security Clearance Requirements

None

3.3 Contractor Description of Services

3.3.1 In support of FSI/SPAS/POL negotiations training and in consultation and collaboration with SPAS/POL course coordinators assigned to the negotiations courses, the contractor shall provide services as detailed in the paragraphs below to design a capstone simulation; beta test and refine the capstone; administer the pilot test of the capstone in the March 21, 2019 session of PP515; and provide two day-long (16 hours) train-the-trainer sessions for SPAS/POL course coordinators.

3.3.2 Design and develop a complex, multi-party, day-long (6 hours), foreign affairs negotiation simulation (capstone) for use as the final exercise in the PP515 Advanced International Negotiations course for mid- and senior-level State Department and personnel from other foreign affairs agencies:

The contractor shall:

• Design and author – in collaboration with SPAS/POL course coordinators – all written materials for the capstone. The form and content of the capstone shall be consistent with the requirements set out in the FSI Policies and Standards. The written materials will include, but are not limited to:

• a teaching note/guide for instructors to provide a debrief, including key teaching points and recommended questions as well as lessons learned from beta testing of capstone;

• all roles’ information including general and confidential/private instructions;

• additional print content such as action cards, graphs, memoranda for individual roles, and/or news updates;

• Provide any non-written materials as called for in the capstone (ex., props, name tents) other than those reasonably found in a classroom (ex., computer, dry erase board, table, writing materials)

• Consult with FSI at every stage to ensure theme, pedagogical lessons, narrative, and requested props meet FSI’s technological and pedagogical goals and requirements

3.3.3 Beta test and refine the capstone:

• Provide highly experienced international negotiation trainers to conduct at least three separate beta test sessions of the day-long (6 hours) capstone, consistent with the course developed per paragraph 3.3.2.

• Perform a review and written report on lessons learned from the beta tests, including student feedback, trainer observations, notable weaknesses in the capstone narrative or roles, and any changes or improvements undertaken to the capstone as a result of the beta tests

3.3.4 Administer a pilot of the capstone on March 21, 2019 at FSI, and revise the capstone following the pilot offering:

• Administer a pilot of the capstone on March 21, 2019 with SPAS/POL course coordinators during the final day of the March 18-21 PP515 course o Provide (1.5) Days with Senior SME/Trainer/Lead (1.5) Days with SME/Associate Trainer o Be on-site and in the classroom at the National Foreign Affairs Training Center in Arlington, VA, eight (8) hours, to deliver the capstone.

o Include and train FSI instructors to be able to administer future offerings of the capstone.

• In accordance with Para 5.1.1, the COR will provide technical directions in regards to position staffing requirements.

• Review pilot capstone feedback data provided to the contractor by FSI.

• Meet with FSI to discuss the pilot offering of the capstone, the evaluation data, and any other feedback and agree on modifications.

• Revise and update capstone, instructors’ packet, and materials in accordance with agreed modifications.

• Transition all capstone documentation after the pilot iteration and revisions, including simulation material, to FSI for continued delivery by FSI.

3.3.5 Provide sixteen (16) hours of coaching and support in the form of train-the-trainer sessions for FSI facilitators:

• Prepare to deliver a live, virtual train-the-trainer session of eight (8) hours in the National Capital Region, and another eight (8) hours in the National Capital Region and/or Boston in order to train the FSI facilitators through the instructors’ packet and provide coaching on how to administer and facilitate a debrief of the capstone.

• Senior SME will lead the coaching and support function as determined by the COR.

• In accordance with Para 5.1.1, the COR will provide technical directions in regards to position staffing requirements.

4.0 Deliverables and Milestones

The contractor shall prepare and deliver all deliverables/reports by the dates specified in the Reporting Requirements Checklist. The Government will provide the Report Requirements Checklist at the time of the solicitation. The Government reserves the right to modify the deliverable requirements during the performance of the order. Specific task milestones and deliverables will be identified by the Technical Monitor via technical direction.

Through the contract period of performance, the following deliverables shall be provided:

5.0 General Information

5.1 FSI will provide the following:

5.1.1 Assign Subject Matter Experts to work directly with the contractor on all aspects of the SOW.

• The COR will provide technical directions in regards to position staffing requirements.

5.1.2 Provide the contractor with FSI Policies and Standards and related Standard Operating Procedures.

5.1.3 Provide access to all materials related to the administration and instruction of FSI’s PP515 Advanced International Negotiations course.

5.1.4 Provide the raw data obtained in the survey to the contractor for use in developing the KSAs.

5.1.5 FSI will maintain final approval of capstone content and materials and provide:

5.1.6 The classroom facilities for delivery of the capstone.

5.1.7 Access to instructor computer and internet in accordance with Department and Diplomatic Security regulations.

5.1.8 Technology support for the classroom.

5.1.9 Conduct an evaluation of the capstone pilot.

5.1.10 Other Direct Costs. Travel not to exceed Total Other Direct Cost

5.2 Roles and Responsibilities:

Table 1: Roles and Responsibilities Chart

Role Responsibility

Contracting Officer (CO) The CO is an individual who has the authority to enter into, administer, or terminate contracts and make related acquisition determinations and findings.

As a warranted government professional, the CO is the only person who can make awards and changes/modifications to the contract, and legally bind the government.

Contracting Officer Representative

(COR)

The COR is the liaison to the CO for the contract. The COR performs day-to-day management of the program, ensuring that performance is done in conformance with the schedule and quality requirements within the scope of the contract. The COR’s responsibility is limited to technical direction, acceptance of deliverables, surveillance, monitoring, and recommending proposed changes in scope or provisions to the contract to the CO.

Project Lead (PL) This individual interfaces with the government COR and government TMs.

The PL’s primary job is to ensure that contractor personnel provide quality and timely performance within the scope of the contract. The PL will have responsibility for ensuring that all contractor personnel issues are addressed in a timely fashion to ensure minimal operational disruptions to the contract.