FS_Writing_SOW_July_2017.pdf

UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY

Statement of Work

RFQ# SFSIAQ17Q4035

OR

STATEMENT OF WORK

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

FOREIGN SERVICE WRITING

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Foreign Service Institute

School of Professional and Area Studies

July 2017

STATEMENT OF WORK

FOREIGN SERVICE WRITING

1. Introduction

The contractor will provide support services for Department of State Foreign Service writing.

2. Background

The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) is the U.S. government’s primary training institution for officers and support personnel of the U.S. foreign affairs community, preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign affairs interests overseas and in the U.S.

At the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center (NFATC), the FSI mission 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 NFATC is located in Arlington, VA with other locations in the Washington metropolitan area;

and domestic and overseas regional training centers. FSI offers more than 700 classroom courses, including some 70 foreign languages, about 270 custom-developed distance learning products and over 2,700 commercial distance learning courses available worldwide 24/7 through the Internet.

Annual enrollments exceed 100,000 students.

3. General Scope

The contractor will provide support services to design and deliver instruction on Department of

State Foreign Service drafting skills and to conduct writing skills sessions as part of orientation and tradecraft courses. These courses introduce new Foreign Service Officers (FSOs) and Foreign

Service Specialists (FSS) to the diplomatic work of the Foreign Service and develop core skills.

Courses

Orientation for Foreign Service Officers (PG-101)

The writing skills sessions are part of a six-week orientation course that introduces new FSOs to the diplomatic work of the Foreign Service. The writing skills portion of the course is approximately eight (8) hours of in-class instruction during four (4) different sessions. Each session will be conducted with sufficient time between sessions to allow participants to prepare and submit assignments. Although some in-class instructional time will allow participants to prepare and submit assignments in class, other assignments must be assessed outside the classroom hours. Quantity and due dates of assignments will be determined by the Orientation (OR) staff in coordination with the contractor. Class size and the number of course offerings during the year are subject to change with notification of such changes made as early as possible.

Orientation for Foreign Service Specialists (PN-106)

The writing skills sessions are part of a three-week orientation course that introduces new FSSs to the diplomatic work of the Foreign Service. The course is scheduled to be held four (4) times a fiscal year. The writing skills portion of the course is approximately three (3) hours of in-class instruction during two (2) different sessions. Each session is conducted with sufficient time between sessions to allow participants to prepare and submit one writing assignment for review and critique. Assignments must be assessed outside the classroom hours. Due dates of assignments will be determined by the OR staff in coordination with the contractor. Class size and the number of course offerings during the year are subject to change with notification of such changes made as early as possible.

Political/Economic Tradecraft (PG-140)

The Political/Economic Tradecraft course is a three-week-long course offered seven (7) times per year. Students are full time government employees being assigned for the first time to work in an embassy or consulate's political, economic, or combined political/economic section overseas. This course is designed to develop the foundation of core skills, basic knowledge, and professional attitudes needed for political and economic officers. Participants will practice skills related to communication, persuasion, and analysis, including: drafting cables, delivering demarches, briefing senior officials, analyzing economic data, commercial diplomacy, and negotiating with foreign officials.

3.1 Performance Requirements

3.1.1 Period of Performance

The period of performance for the Blanket Purchase Agreement will be five (5) years with no options.

3.1.2 Place of Performance

o U.S. Department of State, Building Annex SA-42

NFATC

4000 Arlington Boulevard

Arlington, VA 22204

The government employees are mostly DOS FSOs.

3.2 Personnel Qualifications

The contractor will provide one (or more) contract employee(s) that:

Possess a minimum of ten years of Department of State Foreign Service overseas and domestic political or economic reporting experience

Are experienced with the generally accepted written forms of communication currently used in the Department of State Foreign Service environment;

Possess professional experience as an instructor teaching writing courses;

Have a successful background as an educator/facilitator of adult training programs; and

Possess a general understanding of the U.S. government agencies’ missions with considerable foreign operations.

3.3 Contractor Description of Services

Task Area 1 (PG-101 and PN-106)

3.3.1 General

The contractor will provide instruction on writing disciplines and practices related to writing in general and to the Foreign Service in particular based on guidance from the

OR staff as outlined in the “Objectives” section above. The length and number of writing skills segments will be determined by OR staff in conjunction with the contractor. In-class instruction is typically conducted in four (4) sessions over approximately eight (8) hours with sufficient time between sessions to allow participants to prepare and submit assignments.

PG-101 and PN-106 average class sizes are 60 students with a minimum class size of 25 students with a maximum of 98 students.

3.3.2 Pre-Course Contractor Responsibilities

Prior to the beginning of courses, the contractor will:

Arrange a meeting with the course coordinator and any subcontractor(s) who will participate in the development and/or delivery of the course;

Minimum years are a requirement for PG-140.

Provide a general outline of the proposed presentation to be approved by the course coordinator or designate;

Present a detailed outline of the proposed presentation to the course coordinator or designate for review and approval three (3) weeks prior to the first course including related training materials and visual aids;

Transmit to the course coordinator or designate for approval two (2) weeks prior to each class a student instruction sheet outlining the requirements for the written assignments to be prepared and submitted during the course;

Obtain all necessary or appropriate licenses and permits relative to teaching materials selected for distribution to students in the course; and, Define teaching aids and audio-visual materials to be used in the course.

3.3.3 Course Objectives

The writing skills segments of the orientation course are designed to introduce new FS

Generalists and Specialists to the basics of Foreign Service writing and the major forms and formats of written products at the DOS.

By the end of the each class, students should be able to:

o Understand the need for drafting clear, concise reporting and analysis documents;

o Recognize different forms of Foreign Service and DOS writing, including but not limited to demarches/instruction cables/talking points, spot reports, think pieces, scene setters, consular cables, administrative cables, and Diplomatic

Notes;

o Understand the importance of, and be able to draft effective cable subject lines and summary paragraphs;

o Describe and apply effective techniques for note-taking, including application of the “so what” factor by identifying what information is relevant for reporting purposes;

o Recognize specific "do's" and "don'ts" in Foreign Service writing;

o Recognize the need and apply lessons for including useful comments, analysis and action requests;

o Draft a concise but thorough reporting cable, including a sharp, conclusive subject line and summary using appropriate techniques;

o Demonstrate an ability to classify cables, including declassification information;

o Recognize clearance/distribution/precedence information on a cable, possibilities for special channels/handling/distribution, formats for cable addressees and slug lines and identify circumstances in which to use them; and o Identify the purpose of the TAGS system and demonstrate the ability to apply

TAGS to cables.

Task Area 2 (PG-140)

3.3.4 General

The contractor will provide professional support services to the government as it pertains to design and delivery of instruction on Foreign Service cable-drafting skills.

PG-140 average class size is 30 students with a minimum class size of 15 students with a maximum of 35 students.

3.3.5 Pre-Course Contractor Responsibilities

Prior to the beginning of courses, the contractor will:

Arrange a meeting with the course coordinator and any subcontractor(s) who will participate in the development and/or delivery of the course;

Provide a general outline of the proposed presentation to be approved by the course coordinator or designate;

Present a detailed outline of the proposed presentation to the course coordinator or designate for review and approval three (3) weeks prior to the first course including related training materials and visual aids;

Transmit to the course coordinator or designate for approval two (2) weeks prior to each class a student instruction sheet outlining the requirements for the written assignments to be prepared and submitted during the course;

Obtain all necessary or appropriate licenses and permits relative to teaching materials selected for distribution to students in the course; and, Define teaching aids and audio-visual materials to be used in the course.

3.3.6 Course Objectives

Contractor will provide, per offering of each class:

1. Two (2) ninety-minute presentations on Foreign Service drafting for political/economic officers. The contractor is responsible for the design and preparation (including photocopies) of instructional and exercise materials for each of these two presentations.

Instruction will be specifically related to cable-writing done by political/economic officers assigned to work at U.S. diplomatic posts overseas.

For these sessions, the focus should be on practical advice and exercises in preparing effective, concise, and relevant Foreign Service cables from the field.

Instruction must include at least one writing assignment for students in the form of a sample cable to be submitted to the contractor for feedback and edits. This exercise should include a notetaking component, and those notes should be transformed into a cable by the student. The students should be able to draft the cable without any additional research. Guidance for this exercise should be adequately clear about the nature of the assignment, but leave latitude for the students to interpret the material provided and make decisions about how to organize each draft cable.

2. Detailed editing and evaluation of up to 35 student cables and detailed individual feedback in writing to each student.

The contractor will provide detailed instruction and guidance to help participants improve their ability to organize and draft nuanced cables on complex foreign policy topics. The contractor will evaluate each individual student’s cable writing assignment, focusing on specific strengths and weaknesses including accurate notetaking, grammar, sentence construction, a strong summary, and a useful comment paragraph.

After returning each cable, the contractor will provide, as part of the second 90-minute classroom presentation, feedback on patterns in students’ cables regarding sentence construction, grammar, cable accuracy, and alternate ways the students could have completed the assignment. In this regard, the contractor will work with the course coordinator(s) and be prepared to offer optional models of effective writing related to each assignment (e.g. how the contractor might have written it).

4. Deliverables

The contractor will prepare and deliver all deliverables/reports by the dates specified in Table

1, Delivery Schedule listed on the following page. The government reserves the right to modify the deliverable requirements during the performance of the agreement.

Table 1: Deliverables

Deliverable Due Date

Delivery of writing modules in PG-101 and

PN-106 Courses

FSI will coordinate with contractor to determine dates

3.3.2: Pre-course responsibilities for PG-101 and PN-106

To commence at least four weeks before the respective PG-101 or PN-

106 course, with outline and instruction sheet to be presented to

FSI at intervals specified in 3.3.2

3.3.1 Student assignments for PG-101 and PN-

FSI will coordinate with contractor to determine lengths, review, and critique dates for the assignments

Delivery of writing modules in PG-140 FSI will coordinate with contractor to determine dates

3.3.5: Pre-course responsibility to present to

FSI for review PowerPoint presentation for

“FS Drafting, Part I”

Two weeks prior to the PG 140 course

3.3.5: Edited student cables and presentation of slides for “Foreign Service Drafting, Part II” module

Third week of course, prior to delivery of Foreign Service Drafting Part II module

5. Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government Furnished Information (GFI)

The government shall provide the following materials and supplies:

“Introduction to Foreign Service Writing” handbook

Routine classroom supplies including whiteboards, flipcharts, and markers;

PG 101 and PN 106

Audio/visual equipment; and

Laptop computers for students.

6. Contractor Travel

Not Applicable.

7. Other Pertinent Information or Special Consideration

7.1 Session Time Requirements

The following is the stated session time requirements per course.

PG-101:

Session 1: Overview of Foreign Service Writing – one and one half hour (1.5) session in the second week of the course.

Session 2: Notetaking – two (2) hour session in the second week of the course.

Session 3: Cable Analysis – two (2.5) hour session in the third week of the course.

Session 4: Cable Writing – one (2) hour session in the fourth week of the course.

PN-106:

Session 1: Overview of Foreign Service Writing – two hour session in the second week of the course.

Session 2: Writing Analysis – one hour session in the third week of the course.

PG-140:

Session 1: Foreign Service Drafting for Political/Economic Officers (Part One) - one and a half hour session the first week of the course.

Session 2: Foreign Service Drafting for Political/Economic Officers (Part Two) - one and a half hour session the third week of the course.

7.2 Roles and Responsibilities

Listed in Table 2 are the primary roles and responsibilities for the personnel who will be supporting contractual requirements, both from the government and the contractor’s perspective.

Note: The contractor will be prepared to conduct the class without the laptop computers if necessary.

Table 2: Roles and Responsibilities Chart

Role Responsibility Contracting Officer (CO) A Contracting Officer 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) This individual is assigned as 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.

Contractor Project Manager (CPM) This individual interfaces with the government COR.

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

Contract Manager The contractor will provide the name and contact information of the Contract Manager and any alternates who have the authority to act on behalf of the company in all matters relating to the performance of this agreement.

7.3 Licenses and Permits

The contractor is responsible for obtaining all necessary licenses and permits for any copyright material relative to teaching materials selected for distribution to students in the course.

7.4 Glossary of Terms and Acronyms

To be determined.