PWS 01072025 V8 (1).docx

U.S. Department of Treasury Internal Revenue Service Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

Instructional Systems Designer and Industrial Organizational Psychologist Support Services Performance Work Statement (PWS)

1.0 Information and Purpose

This Performance Work Statement (PWS) defines the requirements for providing support from Instructional Systems Designer (ISD) and Industrial and Organizational Psychologist (IO) professionals to assist the IRS in its continuing efforts to optimize training programs that align with business goals and enhance employee performance. ISD support includes updating and/or developing course curricula, courseware, and learning strategies/solutions for mission critical occupations within identified business units. IO support includes assessing employee career paths and aligning the relevant competencies and behavioral indicators to each mission critical occupation and developing assessment tools to accurately measure gains in proficiency to enhance employee performance.

IRS University (IRSU) serves as the framework for developing and educating IRS employees to deliver the IRS mission by strengthening individual and organizational learning, knowledge, competencies, and skills. IRSU follows a corporate university model, serving as an innovative, centralized learning function that relies on technology to provide employees with enhanced training experiences.

The IRSU supports all of IRS, including all the various groups within IRS. The level of training ranges from introductory customer service skills to IRS propriety processing technical, to deep tax law and auditing.

2.2 Objectives

The Contractor shall support the objectives for IRSU in developing, modernizing, and maintaining the IRSU capabilities with a full range of services. The Contractor shall also perform technical and support services to assist the organization. Some other key objectives of this project are as follows:

Assist IRSU Academies as they work to:

Assess and evaluate existing training programs.

Customize and adapt training content to suit the needs of different employee groups, job roles, and learning preferences.

Add or strengthen learner engagement and interactivity within IRS training content.

Ensure all training products are founded on sound instructional design principles, adult learning theory, and instructional technology.

Leverage current technology and innovations to make learning more effective.

Use assessments of performance data, current trends, and job requirements to assist the IRS in the creation, production, and redevelopment of learning products, including:

Career paths.

Curriculums.

Training plans, products, enhancements, and events.

Training evaluation implementation and improvement.

Other development products for specific career field, area, or job series.

Cross functional analysis and training which relate multiple career fields and leverage training benefits to address competencies that are common to multiple career paths.

2.3 Contract Line-Item Numbers (CLINS)

The following CLINs specify the labor categories, associated NAICS, and estimated labor hours required for this contract:

CLIN 0001: Instructional Systems Designer (ISD) – NAICS 611430 (Estimated pool of labor hours - 38,500) CLIN 0002: Instructional and Organizational Psychologist Support (IO) (Estimated pool of labor hours - 10,043)

3.0 Scope of Work

The scope of this PWS encompasses Contractor Support for IRS University (IRSU} activities including, but not limited to, support for training services. IRSU serves as the framework for developing and educating IRS employees to deliver the IRS mission by strengthening individual and organizational learning, knowledge, competencies, and skills. IRSU follows a corporate university model, serving as an innovative, centralized learning function that relies on technology to provide employees with enhanced training experiences. The Contractor shall provide support from Instructional Systems Designer (ISD) and Industrial and Organizational Psychologist (IO) professionals to assist the IRS in its continuing efforts to optimize training programs to align with business goals and enhance employee performance.

ISD support includes updating/developing course curricula, courseware, and learning strategies/solutions for mission critical occupations within identified business units. IO support includes assessing employee career paths and aligning the relevant competencies and behavioral indicators to each mission critical occupation and developing assessment tools to accurately measure gains in proficiency to enhance employee performance.

The IRS mission requires Contractors who have expertise in such areas as program and project planning, creating web-based applications, databases, and associated utilities for service-wide communications, program management and administration, performance measurements, cost reporting, and recommended solutions based on understanding of the IRS’s information architecture, infrastructure, and organization.

As the federal agency that collects taxes and administers internal revenue laws, the IRS is required to administer the tax provisions included in all legislation. The Contractor will provide services to support current tax code applications and build new processes that do not exist in tax administration today.

The scope of work for this requirement is set forth as a collection of tasks necessary for successful support services to the IRSU. These tasks are:

Planning and Analysis Access Training Status and Needs Design and Implement Training Plan Create and Revise Training Content Measure Training Effectiveness All work performed shall be in conformance with all Government regulations and policies, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulation (DTAR), and other agency supplemental regulations and policies as appropriate.

3.1 Multiple Methodologies

IRS development paths may include Agile, Waterfall, Iterative, Commercial-Off the-Shelf (COTS), Mobile Apps, Managed Services, or other IRS approved paths. Capability development and delivery may be accomplished using traditional, largely sequential, or waterfall-based approaches, as well as more iterative and incremental approaches that include leveraging Agile and development Operations (DevOps) principles, methodologies, practices, and tools.

3.2 Description of Tasks

The Contractor shall provide expertise, knowledge, and skills to deliver performance in accordance with the PWS. The activities and responsibilities of the Contractor will include those identified under the task areas listed below. These tasks are projected to be labor hours.

3.2.1 Task One: Planning and Analysis

The Contractor shall:

Participate in strategy development by the Government.

Provide goals relating to the IRSU organization’s mission, vision, and values.

Design and follow an appropriate governance model.

Develop plans in alignment with Government goals and plans.

Document and codify new and modified business processes and requirements.

Develop enterprise and program-level implementation plans, timelines, and schedules for activities.

Prioritize and sequence business capabilities and requirements into roadmaps and release plans.

Develop project monitoring and tracking tools for use at the project or IRS Enterprise level.

Design Outreach efforts and develop and implement a communication strategy that includes drafting inter-agency communications, coordinating messages, and delivering key communications products.

Review information used to advise, assist, and make recommendations to Government executives and other senior staff.

3.2.2 Task Two: Assess Training Status and Needs

The Contractor shall:

Identify the organization’s business goals, customer base, and employee needs impacted by legislation or other initiatives.

Review existing documentation about the organization.

Review existing processes used within an organization.

Develop and implement studies to gather data.

Conduct job analysis studies and develop competency models for specific jobs series.

Map, benchmark, and analyze business processes.

Evaluate existing career path and learning plan processes.

Interview employees and customers of the organization.

Observe organizational behavior.

Collect and analyze performance data.

Analyze findings to construct a narrative about the organizational culture.

Recommend improvement(s) to an organization.

Prepare and present reports of findings and recommendations, including statistical data.

3.2.3 Task Three: Design and Implement Training Plans

The Contractor shall:

Identify data elements relevant to implementing training processes.

Analyze stakeholder needs, abilities, and capabilities.

Analyze and document who the learners are, what their desired performance is, what career path the learner is on (or wishes to join), what learning is needed, when the learning is needed, and the environment where the learning will take place.

Develop user stories and test cases for learning development projects.

Identify measures and techniques for evaluating the training’s effect on business goals.

Determine delivery modes and methods based on job requirements, system limitations, and employee criteria.

Design plans to implement training activities based on training needs assessments and analyses.

Develop and implement action plans for training or training improvement.

Devise training plans, content, and curriculum(s) to meet training needs based on performance needs, business goals, and learners’ career growth needs.

Design the objectives, training product plan, content, assessment tools, and formats for each work group.

Design training product plans for specific content, including courses, job aids, and user guides, based on topic and job skills.

Redesign existing training processes to meet legislative requirements, business goals, and customer needs.

As needed, design new training processes to meet legislative requirements, business goals, and customer needs.

Design instruments to evaluate and measure the effectiveness of the training product in facilitating or improving performance.

Develop and implement change management plans relating to training programs.

Provide training and learning development goals relating to the IRS’ and the organization’s mission.

3.2.4 Task Four: Create and Revise Training Content

The Contractor shall:

Develop [new and existing] training products, content, materials, storyboards, graphics, using electronic [program and development] tools.

Produce instruments to evaluate the course via formative and summative processes.

Provide instructional material to facilitate learners to acquire knowledge or skills.

Implement training curriculum and assessment procedures.

Maintain and archive communication and training materials.

Monitor IRS employee training related to the legislation or initiative.

3.2.5 Task Five: Measure Training Effectiveness

The Contractor shall:

Identify data elements relevant to evaluating training processes.

Identify which measurements reflect business performance.

Associate measures and metrics with business goals.

Analyze existing business metrics, identifying gaps and areas for improvement.

Devise training data capture and storage methodology relevant to business processes.

Develop analytical plans to address business questions relating to training and training processes.

Develop and implement studies to gather data.

Collect and assemble training data relevant to business processes.

Analyze training data to determine the impact of training on performance; analysis will include statistical interpretation.

Evaluate performance of existing, new, and redesigned training products and processes.

Monitor, analyze, and report on the effectiveness of training efforts.

Monitor, analyze, and report on the effectiveness of communication efforts.

Prepare and present reports of training data, including statistical content.

4.0 Adherence to Regulations and Policy

All work performed shall be in conformance with all Government regulations and policies, including the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Department of the Treasury Acquisition Regulation (DTAR), and other agency supplemental regulations and policies as appropriate.

5.0 Multiple Methodologies

IRS development paths may include Agile, Waterfall, Iterative, Commercial-Off the-Shelf (COTS), Mobile Apps, Managed Services, or other IRS approved paths. Capability development and delivery may be accomplished using traditional, largely sequential, or waterfall-based approaches, as well as more iterative and incremental approaches that include leveraging Agile and development Operations (DevOps) principles, methodologies, practices, and tools.

The Contractor shall identify Key Personnel for the contract that shall be dedicated to this project. The Key Personnel will possess minimum education/experience as set forth. If any changes in proposed key personnel become necessary during performance, the Contractor shall provide written notification thirty (30) calendar days in advance. In the event of a sudden change in key personnel (death, incapacitation, immediate termination, etc.), the Contractor shall provide written notice to the CO within three (3) calendar days of the event. For any substitution, the Contractor shall submit justification with a proposed substitute whose qualifications are equal to or greater than the person being replaced, along with a 1 to 2-page introductory summary, in sufficient detail to permit evaluation within ten (10) calendar days of notification of a substitution.

The following positions describe the Key Personnel needed for this project:

Instructional Systems Designer (ISD):

Provide a pool of available hours staffed by contactors with a relevant master’s degree (or Bachelor’s + experience) and at least eight (8) years of experience completing similar work for similarly large and complex organizations.

Industrial/Organizational Psychologist (P):

Provide a pool of available hours staffed by contactors with a relevant Doctoral degree (or Master’s + experience) and at least eight (8) years of experience completing similar work for similarly large and complex organizations.

Suggested Personnel:

Experience

· Defines and documents learning objectives, conducts research, and collaborates with subject matter experts.

· Creates instructional materials.

· Designs content to optimize learning.

· Redesigns content to ensure it matches the learner's needs.

· Creates visual, audio, and interactive learning tools.

Minimum Education: Master’s Degree Required Experience: 8 Years

· Responsible for observational techniques to document how an employee or team performs in their work environment.

· Develops and utilizes surveys designed to identify issues impacting learning or learning transfer and how training affects workplace behavior.

· Responsible for applying tools to increase employee productivity.

· Develops screening procedures for new applicants.

· Increase overall workplace quality.

· Responsible for determining the root of work-related issues that interfere with performance.

· Identify training and development needs designed to optimize job and work and quality of work life.

· Formulate and implement training programs and evaluate their effectiveness using research-backed and industry standard methodology.

· Coach employees.

· Develop criteria to evaluate performance of individuals and organizations.

· Assess consumer preferences, customer satisfaction, and market strategies.

Minimum Education: Master's or Doctorate degree or PhD in Primary Field of Expertise

Required Experience:

• Master’s degree and 10-12 years of related experience

• PhD and 8-9 years of related experience.

6.2 Invoicing

The Contractor must submit all invoices in accordance with the clause 1052.232-9001 Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements for the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP) (JUL 2019),

The period of performance is estimated to be 12 months base period with no option years, beginning March 3, 2025 – March 2, 2026

6.3.2 Place of Performance

The place of performance will be at the contractor’s work site (remote work).

6.3.3 Legal Holidays, Excused Absences, and Lapses in Appropriations Government personnel will observe the following Federal Holidays.

New Year’s Day Martin Luther King’s Birthday President’s Day Memorial Day Juneteenth Day Independence Day Labor Day Columbus Day Veteran’s Day Thanksgiving Day Christmas Day

6.3.3 Telework

This requirement is for remote positions. Telework is not applicable.

6.3.4 Government Furnished Property

The IRS will furnish the following items to the contractor for the performance of required duties of this contract.

6.3.5 Government-furnished-information

Contractor may be issued IRS laptop and access to specific IRS program information. Access to PII related to IRS staff is inevitable and must be protected. Information to IRS career fields, related training, and specific duties and practices of IRS staff will be shared and analyzed. This information may include some sensitive information about IR internal practices that may not be shared outside the Service and may require non-disclosure agreement for contract staff.

6.3.6 Physical Security, System Access, and Safeguarding Information In accordance with Title III of the E-Government Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-347), also known as the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA), which requires each federal agency to provide security for the information and information systems that support the operations and assets of the agency and Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) 10.8.1, which provides overall security control guidance for the IRS, the Contractor must comply with the following IRS security clauses and provisions, as applicable:

1. FAR 52.204-9 – Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel (JAN 2011)

2. FAR 52.224-1 – Privacy Act Notification (APR 1984)

3. FAR 52.224-2 – Privacy Act (Apr 1984)

4. FAR 52.239-1 – Privacy or Security Safeguards (AUG 1996)

5. IR1052.204-9000 – Submission of Security Forms and Related Materials (JUN 2021)

6. IR1052.204-9001 – Notification of Change in Contractor Employee Employment Status, Assignment, or Standing (JUN 2021)

7. IR1052.204-9002 – IRS Specialized Information Technology (IT) Security Training (Role-Based) Requirements (NOV 2021)

8. IR1052.224-9000 – Safeguards Against Unauthorized Disclosure of Sensitive but Unclassified Information (NOV 2021)

9. IR1052.224-9001 – IRS Mandatory Information Protection and Security Awareness Training Requirements (NOV 2022)

10. IR1052.239-9007 – Access, Use or Operation of IRS Information Technology (IT) Systems by Contractors (JUN 2021)

11. IR1052.239-9008 – Information Systems and Information Security Controls for Contracting Actions Subject to Internal Revenue Manual (IRM) 10.8.1 (JUN 2021)

12. IR1052.239-9009 – Information Systems and Information Security Controls for Contracting Actions Subject to Publication 4812 (JUN 2021)

13. IR1052.239-9010 – Information System and Information Security Control Standards and Guidelines Applicability (JUN 2021) The IRS reserves the right to add requirements (e.g., mandated briefings or training, signature on forms, submission of information) necessary to ensure compliance with new or updated laws, executive orders, standards, and directives.

The IRS may, at its sole discretion, direct the Contractor to remove any Contractor employee for misconduct or security reasons. The Contracting Officer will communicate the direction to the Contractor in writing along with an explanation of the rationale underlying the direction. Removal does not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility to continue providing the services required under the contract.

7.0 Deliverables

The Contractor shall ensure that all deliverables are clearly marked with the contract number and award order number. The Contractor will ensure that the contract number and award order number are visible on all shipping/service documents, files, and invoices.

7.1 Submission and Review of Draft Documents

· Initial Review: The Government will perform an initial review of deliverables within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt. The Contractor must make modifications at no additional cost. If necessary, a meeting may be convened to resolve any differences.

· Required Modifications: The Government will, in accordance with the approved award schedule, provide the necessary documentation when modifications are necessary. It will then be the responsibility of the Contractor to incorporate the comments properly and consistently into the final product.

· Additional Deliverables Requirements

1. Analytical Information: Complete analysis includes explanations and documentation of any deviations, trends, or anomalies. Reports will be measured upon the clarity of presentation and quality and depth of the analysis.

2. Data Collection: Contractor shall provide IRS with all raw data collected from job analysis activities in a format compatible with SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) (www.spss.com/corpinfo/history.htm).

3. Accuracy: Work products shall be accurate in presentation, technical content, and adherence to accepted elements of style.

4. Clarity: Work products shall be clear and concise; engineering terms shall be used, as appropriate. All diagrams shall be easy to understand and relevant to the supporting narrative.

5. AP product: Without adaptation by IRS personnel.

Final - thirty (30) business days after Government request MS Word or PDF

Assess Training Status and Needs/3.2.2 Design and Implement Training Plans/3.2.3 Measure Training Effectiveness/3.2.5

Assess Training Status and Needs/3.2.2 Design and Implement Training Plans/3.2.3

Assess Training Status and Needs/3.2.2 Measure Training Effectiveness/3.2.5

Final - thirty (30) business days after Government request MS Word, PowerPoint or LMS-ready file, and SAP success factors

7.1.2 Inspection and Acceptance

The IRS will inspect and accept work in accordance with the terms of the Contractor’s underlying contract and using the methods and quality standards outlined in the Quality Assurance Plan (QASP). The IRS will reject any deliverables that do not satisfy quality standards, are not fit for purpose, do not include requisite content, or which include significant errors or other deficiencies (e.g., are not Section 508 compliant). The IRS will reject deliverables in writing and will specify the rationale for the rejection and date by which the deliverable must be resubmitted. The Contractor must replace, or correct, and resubmit rejected deliverables by the date specified in the rejection notice. Unless explicitly required by the terms of the Contractor’s MAS contract, the IRS will not pay for labor required to correct and resubmit rejected deliverables.

Inspection will be at the same place as performance and delivery, unless otherwise specified. General acceptance criteria include acknowledgment by an authorized government official that goods and services rendered conform to contract requirements.

Stakeholder Collaboration: Successful project completion will necessitate active collaboration with key business unit stakeholders, including IRS University, Executives, Managers, subject matter experts (SMEs), and employee feedback within the business unit.

7.1.3 Contractor’s Quality Control:

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a complete Quality Control Plan (QCP) to ensure services are performed in accordance with this contract. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-reoccurrence of defective services. The Contractor's QCP is how the company assures itself that its work complies with the requirements of the contract. The Contractor shall provide the associated QCP to the Government as directed.

7.1.4 Contractor Performance Monitoring

The COR will monitor the Contractor's performance, which will include soliciting feedback from individuals who utilize training services via customer feedback, the program manager and COR observation, and contractor reporting of performance. as well as the COR or the Government Project Manager making visits to scheduled events to monitor performance and perform on-site reviews.

As specified in the clause at 1052.242-9000 Post Award Evaluation of Contractor Performance (Jun 2020), the IRS will use CPARS to prepare interim and final performance assessments.

image1.png