RFI-Sources_Sought_-_Graduate_Business_School_1.pdf

United States Department of the Interior

INTERIOR BUSINESS CENTER

Washington, DC 20240

SPECIAL NOTICE

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION, CAPABILITIES, & SOURCES SOUGHT

GRADUATE BUSINESS SCHOOL EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Notice Number:

Issue Date: January 16, 2024

Response Due Date: January 23, 2024 by 12:00 Noon Eastern Time

Issued by: This Request for Information (RFI) is being issued by the Department of the Interior, Acquisition Services Directorate (AQD) for the Secretary of Defense Executive Fellows (SDEF).

RFI Purpose: This RFI is a market survey to help identify potential sources and solutions for the requirement described in this document. The RFI is for planning purposes only and is being used as a market research tool in accordance with FAR 10.002(b). This is NOT a solicitation.

Quotes will not be accepted for this document.

All potential sources with the capability to provide the requirements referenced in this RFI are invited to submit their contact information with their responses. AQD will create an interested parties list for offerors that respond to questions.

Responses:

All respondents must provide a cover page that details the following information:

Business name, address, phone & email of individual for follow-up inquiries.

o Indicate if you wish to be placed on the Interested Parties List.

o DUNS number o CAGE Code o NAICS for this effort o Business Size of your firm.

o GSA Schedule Number (if available) o If applicable, are these services within scope of your GSA Schedule?

Please provide the following information in response to this RFI/Sources Sought:

Capability statement of the company. The Statement should address the following:

o Vendor’s capability as it relates to the requirement referenced herein;

o Description of recent and relevant experience;

o Additional, applicable information as it pertains to this announcement that could assist the Government in determining the contractor’s capabilities as it relates to the requirement referenced herein

Comments on the attached requirement document.

o What additional information should be in a request for quote?

o What deliverables are recommended?

o What is the preferred method of presenting a solution to an evaluation team

(written technical, online test portal, web-conference, in-person presentation, etc.)?

o What labor categories are relevant to these services?

o Other Recommendations and PWS comments.

*Please provide responses to the questions within this RFI in MS Word as editable text.

Supporting documents may be provided if they are in MS Word or PDF formats. There are no page limits.*

E-mail: Send your responses directly to Megan Trostle at Megan_Trostle@ibc.doi.gov, and provide a CC to An Cohen at An_Cohen@ibc.doi.gov. Questions submitted by a method other than electronic mail will not be accepted or answered. Ensure that your e-mail response has “Graduate Business School 140D0424Q0231” in the subject line.

Sincerely, Megan Trostle Contracting Officer

Graduate Business School Executive Education

Request for Information – Sources Sought Notice

December 12, 2023

Background: Each year, senior officers from each Service are selected to spend a year in Corporate America at leading edge businesses, i.e. Corporate Sponsors, to observe, participate in, and learn corporate best practices in such areas as, business processes and organizations, utilization of information technology, long-range planning, innovation, and change management that could be implemented to transform DoD. Secretary of Defense Executive Fellows (SDEF) form a cadre of future Service leaders sensitized to the organizational and operational opportunities made possible by the revolutionary changes in information and other technologies.

Each incoming group of new Corporate Fellows requires pre-assignment training to educate them on the fundamentals of contemporary business, and the different trends and factors that drive strategic business planning. This training should also examine transformations occurring in the corporate sector for their potential relevance to defense operations, restructuring and planning. Because the SDEF is a unique program, where military officers with no prior experience in the civilian corporate environment are assigned to train in corporate assignments, a customized curriculum is required.

Objectives:

a. Enable new SDEF Fellows to grasp the basics of business practices and fully prepare them for their assignments in corporate America.

b. Provide academic and advisory support throughout the year on both the business world and related issues at their corporate assignment

c. Provide academic and advisory support for research papers Corporate Fellows are required to submit.

Scope: The contractor will prepare and facilitate a customized seven-day Graduate Business School Executive Education equivalent seminar. During the remainder of the period of performance, participating graduate business school faculty will be available to answer SDEF Fellows’ questions and provide advice on business world issues, both in general and related to their corporate assignments. Also during the remainder of the period of performance, contractor personnel will attend one or more Corporate Fellows group training sessions at individual Corporate Sponsors to ensure training relevancy.

Place of Performance: Training will be performed through the Office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer. The type of training and availability of space will determine which location to host the seminar. This will occur on a case-by-case basis and the training locations may change during the performance of this contract. Except in emergency situations, the

Government will make an effort to provide at least seven (7) calendar day notices for training location changes. Performance of the tasks in the PWS will be accomplished at an educational institution or training facility identified by the Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellows Program.

Key Personnel: The key positions under this contract are:

a. Professor

b. Assistant Professor

c. Professor Emeritus

d. Senior Researcher/Case Writer

The contractor shall ensure that the skills, knowledge, training, and certification (s) required to satisfactorily perform all services required by the contract.

During the first 90 calendar days of performance, the Contractor shall make no substitutions of key personnel without the approval of the Contracting Officer, unless illness, death, or termination of employment necessitates the substitution. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer as soon as possible after the occurrence of any of these events and provide the information required below.

After the initial 90 calendar day period, the Contractor may propose a substitution. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer in writing of any proposed substitution at least thirty (30) days in advance of the proposed substitution. The Contractor shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the Contracting Officer.

The Contractor shall, prior to making any substitution permanent, demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Contracting Officer, that the qualifications of the proposed substitute personnel is equal to or better than the qualifications of the personnel originally identified for the position. The Contracting officer will notify the Contractor within 15 calendar days after receipt of all required information of the decision on proposed substitutions.

Specific Tasks Include:

1. Basic Services: The contractor shall provide services for Graduate Business School level education and post-training support.

2. Performance Requirements: the following specifies the Performance Objectives and Performance Elements for the contract.

3. Analytical Inputs: the contractor shall successfully conduct a survey of former and current Corporate Fellows to identify key skills and concepts that would be relevant and helpful to new Fellows, to better prepare them for their corporate assignments and to assist them in becoming fully engaged at entry and comfortable in a full variety of business settings needed to execute the requirements specified herein. The contractor shall present findings to SDEF Director and shall seek to ensure customer satisfaction and professional and ethical behavior of all contractor personnel.

4. Curriculum Design: the contractor shall design a customized curriculum that addresses the specific learning needs of the new Corporate Fellows and is approved by the COR. The curriculum should feature intensive learning modules, case studies and simulations, and technical notes to supplement and enhance the key concepts. Many of the cases and technical notes should be written specifically for the recipient Fellows. Learning modules must include, but not be limited to, the core areas of marketing, finance, strategy, organizational effectiveness, and internal/external communication. They should offer the tools and perspectives needed by the new Corporate Fellows to understand the key forces that are of concern to various functional areas of business, increase their agility in moving comfortably and effectively into their new situations and create additional value for their companies. In addition, each Corporate Fellow will receive instruction on, and conduct a thorough industry analysis of his or her corporate assignment, including an analysis of industry competitors.

5. Graduate Business School Executive Education Seminar Training: the contractor will facilitate and conduct a seven-day graduate business school executive education equivalent seminar with three or more experienced graduate business school level professors and one senior research assistant each day. Total number of graduate business school faculty participating in the seminar will be no less than five, drawn from the entire graduate business school faculty.

The curriculum will be customized for the new Executive Fellows and their specific corporate assignments. Course content will be designed to address the significant issues the Fellows will face on their corporate assignments. The contractor will provide seminar classrooms, access to library research facilities, computers, case studies, reading materials, presentation materials, and two meals per day.

6. Executive Coaching: the contractor will facilitate and conduct a seven-day graduate business school executive education equivalent seminar with three or more experienced graduate business school level professors and one senior research assistant each day. Total number of graduate business school faculty participating in the seminar will be no less than five, drawn from the entire graduate business school faculty. The curriculum will be customized for the new Executive Fellows and their specific corporate assignments. Course content will be designed to address the significant issues the Fellows will face on their corporate assignments. The contractor will provide seminar classrooms, access to library research facilities, computers, case studies, reading materials, presentation materials, and two meals per day.