Questions and Answers_W56ZLW26Q0020 P00001.docx

Question 1: Additive Manufacturing Cohort Capacity PWS, Page 28, Technical Exhibit C: Identifies the standard cohort size for the Additive Manufacturing program as 10–12 students. For the Data Analytics, Edge Coding, and UAS programs, the exhibit specifies up to 100 students across up to four cohorts per calendar year.

Should the Additive Manufacturing requirement also be structured to allow up to four cohorts annually, and if so, what is the anticipated maximum number of students to be served annually?

Answer: Yes. The Additive Manufacturing program is structured to allow up to four (4) cohorts taught annually. Each cohort will consist of 10–12 students, resulting in an anticipated maximum capacity not to exceed (NGT) 50 students served within a single one-year contract period.

Question 2: Data Rights and Pre-Existing Intellectual Property PWS, Page 10, Section 1.14 Data Rights: States that the Government will have ownership rights to curriculum, syllabi, course materials, instructional aids, and other materials produced under the contract and that these materials may not be used outside the contract without prior written permission from the Contracting Officer.

For an accredited academic institution that develops the required customized curriculum using or adapting existing institutional credit and non-credit curriculum, please clarify how these data-rights provisions apply to the institution's pre-existing curriculum and intellectual property. Specifically, would Government ownership apply only to new materials and modifications developed specifically under this contract, or would it also extend to pre-existing institutional curriculum and course materials incorporated into the customized program?

Answer: Please refer to the PWS section 1.14. Under the terms of the contract, the Government holds "unlimited rights" and "exclusive" ownership and copyright over all documents, materials, and deliverables first produced, created, or generated under this contract, including all curriculum, syllabi, course materials, instructional aids, training plans, reports, and student-produced work. The contractor retains ownership but is giving the government a royalty-free, world-wide, nonexclusive, irrevocable license to reproduce, prepare derivative material from, distribute, perform, or display, and to have or authorize others to do so, the Contractor’s copyrighted materials not first produced, created, or generated under this contract that have been incorporated into the materials deliverable under this contract. The Contractor is strictly prohibited from using, sharing, or selling any of these newly generated materials for any purpose outside of direct contract performance unless they obtain prior express written permission from the Contracting Officer. The contractor will maintain ownership of all intellectual property, curriculum or any program developed prior to this contract.

Question 3: Student Work and Academic Records PWS, Page 10, Section 1.14, Data Rights: Includes student-produced work among the materials subject to Government ownership, including software, source code, applications, data visualizations, 3D models, print files, and other functional products created as part of students' academic requirements and graded deliverables.

Please clarify whether contractors may retain copies of student-created academic work and related instructional records as necessary to meet institutional assessment, accreditation, academic-record retention, and quality-assurance requirements, subject to applicable Government information-security, privacy, and nondisclosure requirements.

Answer: The contractor may not retain, use, or share copies of student-created academic work or related instructional records for external institutional assessment, accreditation, or quality-assurance requirements without prior written authorization from the Contracting Officer.

Question 4: Proposal Curriculum and Curriculum-Development CLINs Reference Combined Synopsis/Solicitation, Page 5, Para 2 & PWS, Page 27, Deliverables A.030: The solicitation requires offerors to submit a full, detailed academic curriculum with the proposal while also establishing separate curriculum-development CLINs 0001–0004.

Please clarify the distinction between the curriculum required at proposal submission and the curriculum-development services contemplated after award. Specifically, to what extent may Government-specific content requiring Government-furnished systems, training, data, or access be finalized after award?

Answer: The curriculum that is to be submitted at the time of proposal submission shall be the completed, fully developed curriculum that is to be taught after a contract award.

Question 5: Initial Task-Order Schedule The PWS requires certain personnel credentialing, Government-furnished training, and system access before Data Analytics instruction can begin.

Please provide the anticipated schedule for issuance and commencement of the first instructional task order(s), including the anticipated time between award and the start of instruction for completion of curriculum acceptance, personnel credentialing, Government-furnished training, and required system access.

Answer: The transition timeline and schedule for the first instructional task order(s)—including curriculum acceptance, personnel credentialing, Government-furnished training, and system access—will be finalized at the time of contract award. IAW PWS 1.10 for the data analytics pathway the instructor(s) must have at minimum a Master of Science (MS) or Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree from an accredited university in Data Science, Data Analytics, Statistics, or a closely related field. Minimum of one (1) year of experience teaching at the collegiate level. For the Additive Manufacturing pathway, personnel credentialing must meet the minimum standards defined in PWS Section 1.10. Instructors must possess a Bachelor of Science degree in an applicable engineering field, at least one (1) year of collegiate-level teaching experience, and documented experience with polymer/metal AM systems and software comparable to those specified in the PWS.