Draft_PWS_83rd_Civil_Affairs_Battalion.docx

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

Pre-Mission Training & Reach Back Support for the 83rd Civil Affairs Battalion

Table of Contents

PART 1 – GENERAL INFORMATION

This is a non-personnel services contract for delivery of specialized training courses and Subject Matter Expert (SME) reach back support services. The Government shall not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the Contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government.

Description of Services/Introduction:

Contractor shall provide training and reach back support in accordance with the following:

Quantity: Contractor shall provide TWO (2) iterations of the Governance/Counter Governance course to be delivered at Ft. Bragg, NC; TWO (2) iterations of the Transforming Crisis Systems course to be delivered at Ft. Bragg, NC; TWO (2) iterations of the Advanced Negotiations & Mediations Training course to be delivered in a major metropolitan area; and TWO (2) iterations of the Strategic Communications Training course to be delivered at Ft. Bragg, NC. Each iteration shall accommodate up to 20 Government personnel. Each course shall be taught TWICE for a total of EIGHT (8) training events. Additional iterations or special topics courses may be requested by the government in accordance with evolving requirements on a cost-negotiated basis.

Additionally, Contractor shall provide reach back/SME mentor support services to trained personnel, especially forward deployed personnel, in the form of access to mentors and SMEs who can counsel trained personnel in the application of course concepts and instructional content through coaching and reinforcement of course content and concepts. Reach back support shall be delivered on an as-needed basis via remote communications and/or at government-provided facilities before, during or after course delivery, and shall continue for the life of this contract. Reach back/SME mentor activities shall take pace exclusively at Government-provided facilities if such mentor services involve classified discussions, material or information.

Schedule: Work shall begin as soon as practical with all courses completed within one year of contract date. At a minimum ONE (1) iteration of the training courses listed above will be executed in the first quarter of FY20 and ONE (1) course in the third quarter of FY20. No courses shall be run concurrently in order to ensure that unit personnel are able to attend all courses as part of a comprehensive Pre-Mission Training Cycle. Any refinement of the proposed course delivery schedule after award will be made with 30-day notice to the Contractor and/or in mutual agreement between the Contractor and the Government.

Price: Pricing shall be handled on a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) basis for the quantity specified in the PWS, whereby Contractor pricing shall include all costs for labor, training materials, Contractor-furnished facilities, and equipment used, to include Contractor travel and other direct costs (ODC).

Background

The 83RD Civil Affairs Battalion is a subordinate unit of the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) and deploys personnel worldwide to conduct operations in foreign environments. The 83RD Civil Affairs Battalion continually deploys its forces to developing, fragile and conflict-affected nations in support of Geographic Combatant Commands and United States Embassies’ objectives. The Battalion’s contributions to these objectives involve addressing civil vulnerabilities, including activities that prevent illicit organizations from gaining influence or control over vulnerable populations and/or activities that create resilience within fragile societies to prevent and respond to natural or manmade disasters that could lead to wider instability that threatens U.S. national interests. Routinely, civil vulnerabilities involve a wide range of social, political, and economic issues, conflict dynamics, stakeholders, and opportunities for engagement. Understanding and being able to affect and interact with actors and dynamics in the human domain at a nuanced level is therefore a critical capability of the Battalion.

The basic training that 83rd Civil Affairs Battalion personnel receive during the Civil Affairs Qualification Course (CAQC) does not include frameworks for assessing complex crisis systems, methodologies for identifying and evaluating social contracts or governance relationships, baseline negotiation instruction, or strategic communication training. Therefore, the 83rd Civil Affairs Battalion has a requirement for non-government training and professional services to supplement Government-provided training on an agile and tailorable, mission and regionally specific basis. Highly specialized, collective training is critical to the professional development, advancement, and effectiveness of the force. In order to gain skills, knowledge, tools, techniques and frameworks needed develop analytic products, plan and execute tasks that influence key stakeholders, and convey recommendations to senior leaders and partners at a strategic level, access to highly specialized and operationally-proven training and SME mentorship services on a tailored, agile and responsive basis are required to build 83rd Civil Affairs Battalion personnel capabilities, ensure readiness of the force, and contribute to mission fulfillment.

Objectives:

The Contractor shall deliver tailorable, specialized and operationally proven training courses and responsive reach back support/SME mentorship services that meet the 83rd Civil Affairs Battalion’s requirements described above. Services must be tailorable to specific regions and thematic priorities identified by the Government and be delivered by highly qualified personnel on a schedule that is adaptable to the unit’s training and deployment cycles. Curricula and Programs of Instruction (POI) for the aforementioned courses shall be culturally specific, based on the regional orientation and mission-sets of the Battalion personnel participating in each course iteration, and shall be delivered by personnel with requisite security clearances as required to successfully tailor POI content and mentor Government personnel in application to specific missions. Based on extensive research, the Government has determined that the courses listed above offer the best, if not exclusive option, to meet this requirement. Specifically, course POIs include the following mission-critical modules/content/standards respectively that fully meet objectives and training requirements:

Transforming Crisis Systems (TCS)

· Operationally proven, doctrinally aligned tools and methods for analysis, planning, operating, and assessing based on systems and design thinking.

· Methods for analyzing system patterns and human dimensions perpetuating conflict in complex Operating Environments.

· Methods for supporting the targeting process.

· Methods for assessing mission effectiveness using qualitative and quantitative measures.

· Practical exercises that fortify learning and test understanding in the context of realistic operational applications.

· 1:10 instructor to student ratio.

· Lead instructors with SECRET clearance able to conduct cleared consultations and adapt the standard UNCLASSIFIED POI to higher clearance levels.

Governance/Counter Governance (Gov/C-Gov)

· Operationally relevant knowledge and skills to analyze, depict, and affect contests of authority (i.e. competing governance systems) in complex Operating Environments

· Methods to understand how social contracts can be leveraged, subverted, or strengthened to support US Government objectives or undermine the objectives of adversarial actors.

· The Social Contract Assessment Tool (SCAT).

· Instruction on key governance and policy theory and frameworks as it pertains to Civil Affairs and Special Warfare missions, to include the State-Rebel Relations model for predicting and shaping responses to armed movements.

· Practical exercises that fortify learning and test understanding in the context of realistic operational applications.

· 1:10 instructor to student ratio.

· Lead instructors with SECRET clearance able to conduct cleared consultations and adapt the standard UNCLASSIFIED POI to higher clearance levels.

Advanced Negotiation and Mediation Training (ANMT)

· Methods to establish a negotiation strategy before entering negotiations.

· Methods to establish all necessary protocols for negotiation.

· Methods to establish the crucial elements of every negotiation.

· Use of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) in the conduct and preparation of meetings and negotiations to determine the opponent’s strategy and windows for agreement.

· Methods to establish rapport and trust.

· Instruction on the three primary negotiating styles: hard or winning at all costs; soft or easy with concessions: and principled or negotiating for mutual satisfaction.

· Use of external power in negotiations.

· Elicitation and counter elicitation techniques.

· Methods to recognize and manipulate non-verbal communications especially those unique to the region or country of deployment.

· Preparation and use of interpreters.

· Termination of meetings and defining points of agreement.

· Methods to prepare meeting reports to include results, biographic, and other information.

· Fundamentals of behavior and communication.

· Overviews of cultures and society.

· Cross-cultural concepts of status, leadership, and organization.

· Conflict management and constructive confrontation.

· Culture-specific scenarios, education and training that relate to the Area of Responsibility of the unit in training.

· Regional authenticity.

· Linguistic proficiency enhancement.

· Social mediation and conflict resolution.

Strategic Communications Training (SCT)

· Methods to distill complex ideas into precise and concise statements.

· Methods to analyze and extract the critical ideas and arguments from a paper or written statement.

· Methods to “tailor” information based upon intended audience.

· Instruction and practice on the six step “Academic Writing Process” to construct summaries and analyses.

· Skills training to write confidently, quickly, and accurately for senior leaders.

To ensure instruction is delivered at a standard that meets the Government’s objectives, the contractor shall:

· Demonstrate an ability to employ and mobilize a sufficient cadre of instructors who possess subject matter expertise in specified course topics, priority regions of interest, and of Civil Affairs requirements and duties, and who are able to deliver the training in accordance with the PWS schedule. Subject matter expertise shall be demonstrated through instructor publications, public speaking, academic and/or operational experience or other distinguished qualifications that reflect mastery of a subject matter area that go beyond the level of familiarity or basic competence.

· Demonstrate an ability to make instructors, mentors and/or SMEs available to deliver reach back and SME mentorship support to the 83RD Civil Affairs Battalion who have completed trainings, especially to forward deployed elements, in a manner that reinforces instruction and successful application of training concepts. This means that as long as the contract is in place, any former student can contact the Cadre of Instructors by phone or e mail during normal business hours (Monday-Friday 0900-1700 EST) with questions or seeking assistance applying course concepts, and can expect a timely and adequate expert support from Contractor personnel. Any mentorship services requiring classified discussions or materials must only take place at Government-provided facilities suitable for the relevant clearance level.

· Demonstrated ability to provide all direct labor, instructor travel arrangements, training material and training aids to include print and digital course handbooks, reading lists, handouts, etc. This includes all items and services not specifically identified herein as government-furnished equipment that are necessary to conduct the 5-day resident ANMT course at a facility provided by the Contractor.

· Demonstrated ability to meet all Government-specified training, security, reporting, program management and personnel qualifications requirements, including the maintenance of a SECRET facility clearance program.

Scope:

The Contractor shall provide all training materials, instructors, facilities and all other items and services (not specifically identified herein to be Government-furnished) necessary to conduct, at a minimum:

· 2 x TCS courses (4-day course length per iteration)

· 2 x Gov/C-Gov courses (4-day course length per iteration)

· 2 x ANMT courses (5-day resident course length per iteration delivered at Contractor-provided facility)

· 2 x SCT courses (2-day course length per iteration)

· SECRET level consultations with Government personnel to inform tailoring of course content and/or mentoring/SME services as required.

· Continual reach back support delivered by qualified, accessible instructors and/or SME mentors.

The Contractor shall accomplish all training and support objectives of the 83RD Civil Affairs Battalion as described in the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

Period of Performance:

Training will begin as soon as practical with all courses completed within one (1) year of contract base. Refinement of training dates will be made after award with no less than 30-day notice to the Contractor to begin training.

Proposed Course Delivery Schedule:

Quality Control:

The policy of the Government for Contractor Quality Control and Government quality assurance and applicable definitions is provided in Part 46 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation. The Contractor is required to control quality of service delivery and provide only services which conform to contract requirements. Perfect performances are not required for the control of quality to be satisfactory; however, specific service delivery must be in substantial compliance with contract requirements and be suitable for the intended purpose of the contract. The overall control of quality must meet or exceed industry standards for the required service. The Contractor shall immediately respond in writing to any Contract Discrepancy Report issued by the Contracting Officer, explaining why the discrepancy occurred and how it will be prevented in the future.

Quality Control Program:

The Government is committed to a highly interactive relationship between quality control by the Contractor and quality assurance by the government recipient of services. This relationship shall be achieved through an effective Prevention Based Quality Control Program dedicated to ensuring the best possible products and services to end users. The Contractor shall provide their final written Quality Control Plan (QCP) no later than (NLT) 10 days after contract award and within five (5) days of any proposed changes. The QCP shall be submitted by the contractor to the Contracting Officer (KO) and/or Contracting Officer Representative (COR) if it was not already furnished as part of the initial proposal/award package.

The Contractor’s quality program shall demonstrate its prevention-based outlook by meeting the objectives stated in the PWS throughout all areas of performance. The QCP shall be developed to specify the Contractor’s responsibility for management and quality control actions to meet the terms of the contract. The QCP at a minimum shall address continuous process improvement; procedures for scheduling, conducting and documentation of inspection; discrepancy identification and correction; corrective action procedures to include procedures for addressing Government discovered non-conformances; procedures for root cause analysis to identify the root cause and root cause corrective action to prevent re-occurrence of discrepancies; procedures for trend analysis; procedures for collecting and addressing customer feedback/complaints.

The Contractor shall provide electronically, all reports generated as a result of the Contractor’s quality control efforts NLT 1 week after completion of each course. This shall include any summary information used to track quality control, including any charts/graphs. This may take the form of a post-course After Actin Report (AAR) highlighting course statistics (i.e. personnel participation numbers, pass/fail rates, average scores, student ratings of course, etc.), as well as output and outcome indicators and areas to sustain/improve.

The Contractor’s QCP shall be incorporated into and become part of this contract after the plan has been accepted by the KO/COR. Proposed changes made after KO/COR acceptance shall be submitted in writing through the COR to the KO for review and acceptance prior to implementing any revision. The Contractor’s QCP shall be maintained throughout the life of the contract and shall include the Contractor’s procedures to routinely evaluate the effectiveness of the plan to ensure the Contractor is meeting the performance standards and requirements of the contract.

Contractor Discrepancy Report (CDR):

When the Contractor's performance is unsatisfactory, a CDR will be issued. The Contractor shall reply in writing within five (5) workdays from the date of receipt of the CDR, giving the reasons for the unsatisfactory performance, corrective action taken, and procedures to preclude recurrence.

Quality Assurance:

The Government will periodically evaluate the Contractor’s performance using a Government Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. The Government will measure the Contractor’s control of quality against the performance thresholds specified in the Requirements Summary. If re-performance of a service delivery is required, the original inspection will be recorded as unsatisfactory. When overall monthly performance for a required service meets or exceeds the performances threshold, quality control is satisfactory. Only the original inspection results by the Governments will be used to make this evaluation. Failure to meet the performance threshold for a required service means that the quality control for that service for the observation period is unsatisfactory. Each service will be evaluated each observation period, which is generally one month.

Property Management System:

The Contractor shall establish a system to manage Government Furnished Equipment (GFE); Material in its possession to control, use, preserve, protect, repair and maintain. The Property Management System (PMS) must be adequate to satisfy the requirements of Property Management in accordance with (IAW) FAR clause 52.245-1 Government Property.

Recognized Federal Holidays:

The Contractor will not be required to work on the following holidays:

When a holiday occurs on a Saturday, Federal employees are normally granted the previous Friday as the holiday observance. When a holiday occurs on a Sunday, Federal employees are normally granted the following Monday as the holiday. The contractor shall work on the days the Government is scheduled to work. If necessary, the Contractor shall schedule trainings so that work is performed the following day after a holiday unless the following day falls on a weekend, or in general shall schedule work on any day that is mutually satisfactory with the government and Contractor personnel.

Hours of Operation:

The Contractor is responsible for conducting business between the hours of 0900-1700 Monday thru Friday except Federal Holidays. The Contractor must at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within the PWS. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce are essential.

Place of Performance:

The work to be performed under this contract will be performed at suitable locations mutually agreed to by the Contractor and Government. This is expected to include a combination of government and non-government work sites. Work locations shall be selected that facilitate efficient access by Contractor and Government personnel and which are appropriate to meet the training objectives. For the TCS, Gov/C-Gov, and SCT courses, the place of performance is expected to be a government-provided classroom at Fort Bragg, NC. For the ANMT the place of performance is expected to be a Contractor-provided facility in the vicinity of McLean, VA. TDY travel arrangements and costs for Government personnel to travel to training locations away from their assigned duty stations is the government’s responsibility and is outside the scope of this PWS.

Reach back services and SME mentorship are expected to be performed on a remote (phone and/or e mail) basis and/or at Government-provided facilities.

All classified work under this contract will be performed exclusively at suitable government facilities. Contractor shall not process, handle, store, or otherwise discuss classified material at their premises, or at government locations that are not suitable for relevant clearance level.

Security:

The Contractor performing work under this contract must be able to comply with the security requirements described in this section.

Security Program:

The contractor must possess a current and fully compliant SECRET facility clearance (FCL) security program.

Personnel Security Clearance Requirements:

The contractor must be able to mobilize fully qualified personnel with requisite security clearance eligibility to conduct the tasks described in the PWS.

Installation Access:

The contractor shall comply with all installation access requirements. All personnel entering a US military installation shall furnish a government-issued identification, compete all necessary badging or base access protocols, and comply with installation security policies, such as ensuring that security or access badges are not displayed when outside government buildings.

Physical Security & Safeguarding:

The contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all government equipment, information and property provided for contractor use. At the close of each work period, government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured IAW AR 190-13, “The Army Physical Security Program.” This portion of the Contractor’s security program shall address physical security aspects associated with contract performance and describe how the Contractor shall prevent unauthorized access, vandalism, pilferage, larceny, sabotage, and arson directed toward Contractor-controlled facilities and Government Furnished Property (GFP). The following regulations shall apply when developing the physical security plan: ARs 190-11, 190-13, and 190-51; Department of Defense (DOD) 4500.9-R, and Department of Defense Instruction (DODI) 5100.76 and DODI 5220.22, and applicable Fort Bragg regulation or policies. The Contractor shall develop and implement a physical security plan in accordance with AR 190-13.

During normal duty hours, the Contractor shall place information determined to be FOUO in an out-of-sight location, if visitors, casual traffic, and other non- Government/Non-Contractor personnel have access to the work area. During non-duty hours and at the close of business, the Contractor shall store FOUO records, so as to preclude unauthorized access. The transmission, termination of, and disposal of, FOUO documents will be consistent with Army Regulations (AR) 380-5, Protection of FOUO, Information and Installation Policy.

Operations Security (OPSEC):

The contractor personnel shall adhere to facility security policies and restrictions. If applicable, government issued access badges shall not be worn outside designated facilities where visible to the general public. The Contractor shall immediately report suspicious activities to security personnel. Per AR530-1, Operations Security, new contract personnel must complete OPSEC Level I training within 30 calendar days of reporting for duty. All contract employees must complete annual OPSEC Awareness Training.

iWATCH Training

The Contractor and all associated sub-contracts shall brief their personnel on the local iWATCH program (training standards provided by the requiring activity ATO). This locally developed training will be used to inform employees of the types of behavior to watch for and instruct employees to report suspicious activity to the COR or the designated security office. Training shall be completed within [60] calendar days of contract award and within [30] calendar days of new personnel commencing performance with the results reported to the COR no later than [90] days after contract award and new personnel commencing performance.

Key Control.

N/A

Information Security Plan.

The Contractor shall develop and implement an Information Security Plan IAW AR 380-5 AR 380-67, Fort Bragg (FB) 380-5, FB 380-67, and FORSCOM Supplement 1 to AR 380-5, for the control of classified information. The Contractor’s information security program shall include applicable provisions of AR 380-series regulations.

National Industrial Security Program (NISP).

The Contractor shall implement and maintain a security program for control of personnel, property, and information, including, unclassified and classified materials, documents, and records. Contractor shall comply with FAR 52.204-2, Security Requirements. This clause involves access to information classified “Confidential,” “Secret,” or “Top Secret” and requires Contractors to comply with - (1) The Security Agreement (DD Form 441), including the National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual (DoD 5220.22-M); any revisions to DOD 5220.22-M, notice of which has been furnished to the Contractor. In addition, the Contractor’s security program shall include provisions for, but not limited to:

· Initial and Annual Operations Security (OPSEC) awareness training IAW AR 530-1.

· Receiving, storing, disseminating, transmitting, transporting, and protecting items classified as

· CONFIDENTIAL or SECRET by the Government, including the use of courier cards.

· In-processing and out-processing Contractor personnel for security matters.

· Obtaining Contractor personnel security clearances.

· Documenting and reporting actual and potential security problems.

· Initiating proper procedures to correct documented problems and implementing corrective procedures in the Contractor's security program.

· Filing Classified Documents. All Government-furnished classified and unclassified files in existence at the contract performance start date and those generated under this contract shall be maintained in accordance with AR 25-400-2 or other applicable regulations. Files shall be transferred to the KO or designated representative upon completion of the contract period or last day of contract performance, whichever comes first. Such files are the property of the U.S. Government. The Contractor shall provide security of classified documents in accordance with AR 380-5 and DOD 5200.1-R, NISP Operating Manual.

Contractor Personnel Required Training & Qualifications.

The Contractor shall effectively educate its employees, through formal training, company policy, information directives and procedures, in an awareness of the legal provisions of FAR Subpart 9.5 and its underlying policy and principles, so that each employee will know and understand the provisions of that Subpart and the absolute necessity of safeguarding information from anyone other than the Contractor's employees who have a need to know, and the U.S. Government.

Additionally, the Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring all personnel performing work under this contract possess and maintain current qualifications and certifications as indicated below.

Anti-Terrorism (AT) Level I Training

Contractor personnel performing work under this contract that require access to Army installations, facilities and controlled access areas shall complete AT Level I awareness training within 30 calendar days after commencing performance under this contract. The Contractor shall submit employee certificates of completion within 30 calendar days after completion of the training. AT Level I awareness training is available at the following website: https://atlevel1.dtic.mil/at iWATCH Training

The Contractor shall brief all personnel performing work under this contract on the local iWATCH program [training standards provided by the requiring activity Anti-Terrorism Office (ATO)]. This locally-developed training will be used to inform employees of the types of behavior to watch for and instruct employees to report suspicious activity to the COR. This training shall be completed within 30 calendar days of contract award with the results reported to the COR NLT 45 calendar days after contract award. New employees shall complete the training within 10 calendar days of commencing performance of work under this contract.

OPSEC Training

Per AR 530-1, Operations Security, new contract employees shall complete Level I OPSEC training within 30 calendar days of their reporting for duty and annually thereafter.

English Language Proficiency

Contractor personnel performing work under this contract shall be able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language to effectively carry out all contract requirements. They shall have a command of both the written and spoken English language to properly clearly, and effectively communicate in person or via electronic devices (telephone or Email) with co-workers, customers, and the general public.

U.S. citizens

Contractor personnel performing work under this contract shall be U.S. citizens unless the provisions of Army Regulation 25-2, Information Assurance have been fully completed and approval has been granted by the Government for the non-U.S. citizen to perform the required support.

Information Assurance (IA) level I

Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring all personnel performing work under this contract possess and maintain current Information Assurance Technician (IAT) Level I professional certification during the execution of this contract.

Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12

Contractor shall be responsible for ensuring all personnel performing work under this contract comply with PARC Policy Alert 14-33, Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) issued 31 Dec 13 during the execution of this contract.

Background Checks

Contractor and all associated sub-contractor employees shall provide all information required for background checks to meet installation access requirements to be accomplished by installation Provost Marshal Office, Director of Emergency Services or Security Office. Contractor workforce must comply with all personal identity verification requirements (FAR clause 52.204-9, Personal Identity Verification of Contractor Personnel) as directed by DOD, HQDA and/or local policy. In addition to the changes otherwise authorized by the changes clause of this contract, should the Force Protection Condition (FPCON) at any individual facility or installation change, the Government may require changes in contractor security matters or processes.

Meetings & Reporting:

The Contractor agrees to attend any post award conference or meeting convened by the KO/COR in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer (KO), Contracting Officers Representative (COR), and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the Contractor to review the Contractor’s performance. At these meetings the KO/COR will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the Contractor’s performance and the Contractor will apprise the Government of the problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government.

Contracting Officer Representative (COR):

The (COR) will be identified by separate letter. The COR monitors all technical aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration. The COR is authorized to perform the following functions: assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract: perform inspections necessary in connection with contract performance: maintain written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract: issue written interpretations of technical requirements, including Government drawings, designs, specifications: monitor Contractor’s performance and notifies both the contracting officer and Contractor of any deficiencies; coordinate availability of Government furnished property, and provide site entry of Contractor personnel. A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which is sent to the Contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to changes in cost or price, estimates or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting order.

Key Personnel

The follow are considered key personnel by the Government: Program Manager (PM) and Alternative Program Manager (APM). The Contractor shall provide a PM who shall be responsible for the performance of the work under this contract. The name of this person, and an Alternate PM (APM), who shall act for the Contractor when the PM is absent, shall be designated in writing to the KO/COR at the post award conference. The PM or APM shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract. The PM or APM shall be available between the hours of 0900 – 1700 EST, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays or when the government facility is closed for administrative reasons

Key personnel must possess the following qualifications:

Program Manager (PM)

· At least ten (10) years of relevant professional experience.

· At least five (5) years’ experience successfully managing U.S. federal contracts, programs or Task Orders (TOs) as a Contractor or federal employee.

· At least three (3) years of recent and relevant teaching experience in at least two (2) of the courses described in the PWS at the level of SME instructor.

· Cultural expertise and expansive knowledge of priority regions of interest to the training audience as demonstrated by a minimum of five (5) years of operationally relevant OCONUS experience.

· Master’s degree in a relevant discipline.

· U.S. citizen.

· SECRET clearance eligibility

Alternate Program Manager (APM)

· At least five (5) years of relevant professional experience.

· At least two (2) years’ experience successfully managing U.S. federal contracts, programs or Task Orders (TOs) as a Contractor or federal employee.

· Subject matter familiarity with the courses described in the PWS.

· Bachelor’s degree in a relevant discipline.

· U.S. citizen.

· SECRET clearance eligibility Identification & Standards of Contractor Personnel:

All contract personnel attending Government hosted meetings, answering Government telephones, and working in other situations where their Contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to have an Identification Badge to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of members of the public that they are Government officials. Contractor must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by Contractor personnel are suitably marked as Contractor products or that Contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.

It is essential that all Contractor personnel meet the highest standards of professionalism and personal integrity. The Contractor shall ensure their personnel do not perform work under the influence of alcohol, illegal prescribed drugs or any other incapacitating agents. Contractor personnel shall be neatly groomed and dressed in business casual attire to present a professional appearance at all times.

Contractor Travel:

All travel conducted by Contractor personnel will be at the Contractor’s expense.

Other Direct Costs (ODC):

All ODC costs required to complete the activities described in this PWS, with eth exception of government-furnished equipment, facilities or materials described herein, shall be included in the FFP quote and shall be at the Contractor’s expense.

Data Rights:

The Government has unlimited rights to all documents/material produced under this contract. All documents and materials produced under this contract shall be Government owned and are the property of the Government with all rights and privileges of ownership/copyright belonging exclusively to the Government. These documents and materials may not be used or sold by the Contractor without written permission from the contracting officer. All materials supplied to the Government shall be the sole property of the Government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other Government rights.

The above notwithstanding, the Contractor is entitled to assert data rights in accordance with DFARS 227.7102-2 Rights in Technical Data - Noncommercial Items clause, which states that the Government's rights to use, modify, reproduce, release, perform, display, or disclose any Contractor-created technical data shall be restricted. Specifically, the Government shall not release any materials or information marked as “technical,” “proprietary,” “not for distribution,” etc. by Contractor, which may include course materials developed prior to award of this contract such as proprietary course curricula or training aides.

Organizational Conflict of Interest:

Contractor and Sub Contractor personnel performing work under this contract may receive, have access to, or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (e.g., cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, specifications or work statements, etc.) or perform evaluation services which may create a current or subsequent organizational conflict of interests (OCI) as defined in FAR subpar 9.5. The Contractor shall notify the KO/COR immediately whenever it becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and shall promptly submit a plan to the contracting officer to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. The Contractor’s mitigation plan will be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the KO/COR. In the event the KO/COR unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the KO/COR may affect other remedies as he or she deems necessary, including prohibiting Contractor personnel from participation in subsequent contracted requirements which may be affected by the OCI. The purpose of this is to ensure that:

· The Contractor does not obtain an unfair competitive advantage by establishing the ground rules for a future competitions; and

· The Contractor’s objectivity and judgement are not biased because of its present or future interests (i.e. financial, contractual, organizational or otherwise) relating to work performed under this contract; and

· The Contractor does not obtain unfair competitive advantage by virtue of its access to non-public or proprietary information belonging to others.

Definitions:

The term “Contractor” means: (a) the organization (hereinafter referred to as "it" or "its") entering into this agreement with the Government; (b) all business organizations with which it may merge, join or affiliate now or in the future and in any manner whatsoever, or which hold or may obtain, by purchase or otherwise, direct or indirect control of it; (c) it’s parent organization, if any and any of its present or future subsidiaries, associates, affiliates, or holding companies, and; (d) any organization or enterprise over which it has direct or indirect control now or in the future.

The term "proprietary information" means any information considered so valuable by its owners that it is held secret by them and their licensees. Information furnished voluntarily by the owner without limitations on its use, or which is available without restrictions from other sources, is not considered proprietary.

Organizational Conflicts of Interest Examples. The following examples illustrate situations in which organizational conflicts of interest may arise. These examples are not all inclusive.

Biased Ground Rules. This type of conflict may arise in situations where a company sets the ground rules for a future competition. For example, when a Contractor develops requirements then competes to provide products or services to satisfy those requirements, thus obtaining a competitive advantage.

Impaired Objectivity. This type of conflict may exist where a Contractor’s obligations under a contract require objectivity, but another role of the Contractor casts doubt on its ability to be truly objective. An example of this type of conflict is where a Contractor’s work under one contract entails evaluating itself, its affiliates, or its competitors under a separate contract.

Unequal Access to Information. This type of conflict may arise when a Contractor has access to nonpublic or proprietary information as part of its performance under a contract that gives it an unfair advantage in a competition for a later contract.

General Constraints:

The provisions of FAR Subpart 9.5, Organizational and Consultant Conflicts of Interest, concerning organizational conflicts of interest govern this contract. Potential conflicts may exist in accordance with FAR 9.505-1, Providing Systems Engineering and Technical Direction, through 9.505-4, Obtaining Access to Proprietary Information. In this regard, the Contractor is responsible for identifying any actual or potential organizational conflicts of interest to the KO that arise as the result of performance under this contract. To avoid or mitigate a potential conflict related to performance under this contract, the KO will impose appropriate constraints such as the constraints discussed below. Since it is impossible to foresee all of the circumstances that might give rise to organizational conflicts of interest, the constraints discussed below are not all inclusive and the KO may impose constraints other than, or in addition to, the constraints listed below.

The Contractor agrees that if it provides, under a contract or task order or delivery order, systems engineering and technical guidance for systems and programs, but does not have overall contractual responsibility, it will not be allowed to be awarded a contract or task or delivery order to supply the system or any of its major components or be a subcontractor or consultant to a supplier of the system or any of its major components (FAR 9.505-1).

The Contractor agrees that if it prepares complete specifications for non-developmental items or assists in the preparation of work statements for a system or services under a contract or task order or delivery order, it will not be allowed to furnish these items, either as a prime Contractor, a subcontractor or as a consultant (FAR 9.505-2).

The Contractor agrees that it will neither evaluate nor advise the Government with regard to its own products or activities. The Contractor will objectively evaluate or advise the Government concerning products or activities of any prospective competitors (FAR 9.505-3).

The Contractor agrees that if it gains access to proprietary information of other companies, it will exercise diligent effort to protect such proprietary information from unauthorized use or disclosure (FAR 9.505-4). In addition, the Contractor agrees to protect the proprietary information of other organizations disclosed to the Contractor during performance of this contract with the same caution that a reasonably prudent Contractor would use to safeguard highly valuable property. The Contractor also agrees that if it gains access to the proprietary information of other companies it will enter into written agreements with the other companies to protect their information from unauthorized use or disclosure for as long as it remains proprietary and to refrain from using the information for any purpose other than that for which it was furnished. The Contractor shall provide copies of such agreements to the KO.

If the Contractor, in the performance of this contract, obtains access to plans, policies, reports, studies, financial plans, data or other information of any nature which has not been released or otherwise made available to the public, the Contractor agrees that without prior written approval of the KO, it shall not: (a) use such information for any private purpose unless the information has been released or otherwise made available to the public, or (b) release such information unless release is otherwise authorized under the contract or such information has previously been released or otherwise made available to the public by the Government.

Additional Constraints:

If this contract provides for the issuance of task or delivery orders, such orders may impose additional requirements and/or restrictions relating to the requirement for the Contractor and its subcontractors and employees to furnish the Government with written non-disclosure agreements or statements of no conflict of interest. With regard to any proposal submitted by the Contractor, in response to a Request for Task or Delivery Order Proposal, by submitting its proposal the Contractor represents that it has disclosed to the KO, prior to the issuance of the task or delivery order, all facts relevant to the existence or potential existence of organizational conflict of interest as that term is used in FAR Subpart 9.5.

Conflicts Involving Future Procurements. The award of this contract government taskings or acquiescence in the Contractor’s performance of services hereunder shall not constitute or be interpreted as a determination that the Contractor is eligible to participate in future procurements, developmental efforts, implementation efforts, or related activities. Only the KOs for such efforts, applying the rules, principles, and procedures of FAR Subpart 9.5, have the authority to determine whether a conflict exists, in connection with such procurements.

Non-Disclosure Agreements:

The Contractor shall obtain from each Contractor personnel who has access to proprietary information under this contract, a written agreement which shall in substance provide that such employee shall not, during his/her employment by the Contractor or thereafter, disclose to others or use for their benefit, proprietary information received in connection with the work under this contract. The Contractor will educate its employees regarding the restrictions imposed by FAR 9.505-4, so that they will not use or disclose proprietary information or data generated or acquired in the performance of this contract, except as provided herein.

Remedies and Waiver:

For breach of any of the above restrictions or for non-disclosure or misrepresentation of any relevant facts required to be disclosed concerning this contract, the Government may terminate this contract for default, disqualify the contractor for subsequent related contractual efforts, and pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract. If, however, in compliance with the terms of this PWS the Contractor discovers and promptly reports an organizational conflict of interest (or the potential thereof) subsequent to contract award, the KO may terminate this contract [or any task or delivery order issued under this Contract] for convenience, if such termination is deemed to be in the best interest of the Government.

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