SS-2024020755 - FACES Faculty Program - Customized Learning Solution - Evaluation and Assessment.pdf

Sources Sought Notice No. SS-2024020755

“FACES Faculty Program – Customized Learning Solution – Evaluation and Assessment”

May 24, 2024

Background:

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a national laboratory owned by the U.S.

Department of Energy (DOE). NREL is the only federal laboratory dedicated to research, development, commercialization, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. NREL is managed and operated for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy (Alliance), the “M&O Contractor”.

The Faculty-Applied Clean Energy Sciences (FACES) program is a collaboration between NREL, the DOE Office of Economic Impact and Diversity (ED), and the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The FACES program aims to empower faculty from minority serving institutions (MSIs) to enhance their research skills and expertise in clean energy science and to promote diversity, inclusivity, and energy equity in the workforce.

NREL will host faculty participants at NREL for a ten (10) week paid summer research experience. The program offers an immersive and intensive eight (8)-week on-site experience at NREL, supplemented by a two (2)-week virtual program. The two-week virtual program will provide the faculty time to develop a Customized Learning Solution (CLS), based on NREL research, to share with their classes.

Up to twenty-two (22) faculty members will have the opportunity to enhance their proficiency in clean energy science. The program emphasizes community engagement, human behavior, energy and environmental science, and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Through the development of scalable learning modules, faculty members will contribute to the creation of comprehensive and accessible solutions in renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Objective:

The objective of this work effort is to hire a Subcontractor with experience in assessing the implementation of a faculty program and an expertise in evaluating impact and understanding of college-level science lessons. The preferred Subcontractor will be currently engaged in educational research background (PhD) in education research. The Subcontractor will develop tools to assess both the implementation of the program and the educational impact of Customized Learning Solutions.

Project Details:

In the event a solicitation is released, NREL is seeking information from sources that may be capable of providing a solution that can fulfill the below:

The Subcontractor will be responsible for developing research-based assessment tools to study the implementation of the FACES program. Assessment can include but is not limited to the following: recruitment of applicants, recruitment of principal investigators, online application to the program (accessibility, understanding, use of), ranking of applicants (rubric, etc.), placements/appointments, (e.g. implications/impact of research), and professional development.

The Subcontractor will be responsible for developing and implementing effective, research-based evaluation tools to measure the impact and understanding of the developed Customized Learning Solutions on students in the FACES faculty classes.

The Subcontractor will serve as the Subject Matter Expert regarding Post-Secondary Education Research resource for the FACES program managers and faculty participants, as needed.

The Subcontractor will be well-versed in research methodology and tools to provide a comprehensive assessment and evaluation of the program.

The Subcontractor will be expected to perform multiple tasks during the program and after it has concluded.

Request Details:

The Alliance intends to competitively solicit for FACES Faculty Program – Customized Learning Solution – Evaluation and Assessment, dependent on the volume of qualified responses received.

Step 1 - Sourcing (SSN): Parties that meet the minimum criteria outlined herein are encouraged to submit their capabilities statements. Submitted capabilities statements that meet the Alliance’s stated criteria will be considered for inclusion in the source list to receive notice of the planned RFP. The Alliance reserves the right to add additional sources to the source list at its discretion.

Step 2: Qualifying: Once the source list is compiled (the Alliance reserves the right to add additional sources to the source list at its discretion), the Alliance will send each potential source the Request for Proposal (RFP). Sources will then be asked to submit in accordance with that formal solicitation document. The Alliance will then evaluate the submitted qualification against the selection criteria.

Step 3 - Proposal & Selection (RFP): In the third and final step, offerors will be asked to demonstrate their technical approach to the project as well as a firm price to perform the work. This step may include oral presentations as a part of the final selection.

Small-Business Requirements: Sufficient, qualified responses to this SSN will determine if a total small business set aside is appropriate for a resultant RFP. The NAICS code applicable to this SSN is 611430.

The following links are being provided for convenience:

https://www.sba.gov/document/support--table-size-standards https://www.sba.gov/size-standards

Period of Performance: The agreement is intended to be five (5) years (1 Basic, 4 Option Periods), or 60 months. Each period will be 365 days long.

Anticipated Lead/Delivery Time: The Alliance program anticipates the agreement to begin August 2024.

Location of Work to be Performed: Offerors shall be able to demonstrate their capability to perform in these locations:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) South Table Mountain Campus (STM)

15013 Denver West Parkway Golden, CO 80401

Submission Requirements:

For companies interested in competing for the “FACES Faculty Program – Customized Learning Solution – Evaluation and Assessment” RFP, please submit the following to Rachel Province at ASP.Responses@NREL.gov on or before 5:00 p.m. (MST), 06/07/2024. Your submission response is limited to 2-5 pages:

1. Company Name, Address, and Company URL (include bona-fide location as stated above)

2. Point of Contact Information (Email, Direct Phone Number)

3. Company’s Capability Statement that provides a narrative of the Offeror’s expertise with projects of similar scope, size, and complexity as identified below:

Please complete the following table.

1 Capabilities Experience:

Yes/No

Years Experience (if applicable)

1.1 Experience with Federal Contracts (2+ years)

1.2 Education Research Experience (5+ years)

1.3 Curriculum Development and Assessment (5+ Years)

1.4 Minority Serving Institutions preferred (not required)

1.5 PhD in Education (3+ years)

Disclaimer: Responding to this request identifies your company as an interested candidate only.

Your submittal is not in response to a Request for Proposals (RFP). This is an SSN, not a Request for Proposal. Verbal replies will not be accepted. All inquiries must be in writing via email. Project related questions will not be entertained at this point in the procurement process. This document represents a market research effort. Any costs associated with the development of a response to this request will not be reimbursed by NREL and submission does not guarantee or otherwise promise inclusion in any forthcoming RFP. In the event a solicitation results from this SSN, NREL reserves the right to set aside in total or in part any resultant award. No award will be made to any subcontractor/vendor that is not registered or in the process of registering with the System for Award Management (SAM). Please visit the SAM website at https://sam.gov/content/entity-registration for instructions on how to register.

If a solicitation is conducted and an award is resulting, a SAM registration is required to be active at time of award.