W912EK18T0047_-_Questions_and_Answers.pdf

LDP II Questions:

Q1: How many students would be attending the training sessions?

A1: Class size is typically 8-15 participants.

Q2: Will there be several training sessions of different students, if so, how many students per training session, or are the training sessions listed for the same group of students?

A2: The training sessions for the Base Year will be for the same group of students.

Q3: What is the number of participants anticipated for this leadership program, per year? The size of the class will be the determining factor for many important program costs (e.g., coaching hours, assessments).

A3: Please see question one.

Q4: It states in the Performance Work Statement: “The facilitator will use government owned or educational facilities, such as Rock Island Arsenal, city owned properties, local college/universities/learning campuses including use of meeting rooms and audiovisual equipment with advanced coordination with COR and approval of the Contracting Officer. Facilitator will pay any applicable rental fees.” Of the nine training sessions, how many would be held on a non-government owned facility? Has there been any historical data on rental fees of similar program in the area?

A4: See Amendment 0002. The Government will pay any approved applicable rental fees.

Q5: Is this the first time this leadership program being offered? If not, is there an incumbent (or past) Contractor who has facilitated the program?

A5: The incumbent is Priority Executive Development, LLC.

Q6: Does the Presolicitation posted as solicitation number W912EK18T0047 on FBO contain requirements similar to an existing contract or will this be a new requirement?

A6: Please see question five.

Q7: Has there been a Level 1 (LDP1) and is that content/topics available?

A7: LDP1 is a program we offer open to all permanent employees. It occurs over a 12 month period and is 88 hours in length. The program is self-guided with the following mandatory topics: self-awareness (identifying strengths and weaknesses, develop individual development plan, read about goal setting or Strengthsfinder 2.0), public service (volunteering, reading about servant leadership, sharing volunteer experience with others), and continual learning (development plan, goals, resume building etc). Optional (pick and choose) topics include: Customer service, interpersonal skills, and problem solving and conflict management. The program also includes the Civilian Education System (CES) Foundation Course. The goals of the CES are to prepare agile and innovative Army Civilians who can lead during times of change and uncertainties; who are prepared for the rigors of service as multi-skilled leaders; and who are armed with the values, skills, and a mindset to serve as competent, resilient supervisors and managers. The CES Foundation Course is required training for all federal employees hired after 30 SEP 2006.

Q8: If you have done this type of Leadership development in the past, is there a current incumbent?

A8: Please see question five.

Q9: Is there an incumbent available to bid on this program?

A9: Please see question five.

Q10: Do you have a budget number not to exceed?

A10: The resulting contract will be firm fixed price.

Q11: Have the prospective students been assessed in the past and are those results available?

A11: No.

Q12: Are there particular challenges this solicitation is expected to resolve?

A12: No.

Q13: How many students per class will there be?

A13: Please see question one.

Q14: With deep experience providing Leadership Development Programs for over a decade, we find and agree that coaching is a valuable component. Is the plan to have coaching beyond the graduation?

A14: Coaching beyond graduation is not required.

Q15: Will coaching be provided in-person or can we provide remote, highly experienced, subject-matter, master coaches?

A15: Coaching must meet the requirements listed in the PWS.

Q16: Can you provide insight about how the class participants are selected?

A16: There is a competitive application process in which applicants are reviewed by the training committee and recommendations are developed for Corporate Board approval.

Q17: Will there be a need to help support an internal Mentor/Protégé program?

A17: See PWS.

Q18: Do your teams have retreats?

A18: See PWS.

Q19: Is there any need for additional topics beyond those defined in this solicitation? If so, could we include recommendations within our proposal?

A19: Yes.

Q20: Can you provide an estimate number of students who will be in the program?

A20: Please see question one.

Q21: Since the facilitator is limited to using government owned facilities, what is the price range for the rental of these facilities?

A21: Please see question four.

Q22: Is the graduation ceremony restricted to one of these government owned facilities?

A22: Graduation shall take place in the Rock Island, IL area at a government owned or educational facility in order to comply with policy requirements for training.

Q23: Are the coaching sessions meant for mentoring advice/tracking or to re-emphasize the class training modules?

A23: The purpose of coaching is to improve the individual's performance on the job. This involves either enhancing current skills or acquiring new skills. The way the coaching is woven into this program would be up to the contractor to determine based on proposed curriculum.

Q24: Do you have an incumbent whose contract is about to end? If yes, kindly provide the name and the current contract amount?

A24: Please see question five. Dollar amount including options: $221,500.00.

Q25: Do you have a sample curriculum for the leadership training program? If yes kindly provide a sample curriculum.

A25: No.

Q26: How many participants is expected to participate in this training?

A26: Please see question one.

Q27: Is the contractor responsible for the supply of suggested books?

A27: Yes.

Q28: Is the contractor expected to pay for the 2 certified leadership assessment tools for all participants (MBTI & Gallup Strengthsfinder, etc) A28: Yes.

Q29: Should we include all travel expenses in the bid price?

A29: Yes.

Q30: We are working on responding the subject effort. In order to price it accurately (materials, such as 360 degree assessment, handouts, etc.) we need to know who many participants per cohort (class) will be attending. Would you please let us know the estimated maximum number of participants you expect will attend the LDP2 program?

A30: Please see question one.

Q31: Is there an incumbent or is it a new requirement? If there is an incumbent, please provide the vendor name and contractor number.

A31: See question five.

Q32: How many participants are expected in the LDP program per year?

A32: See question one.

Q33: Solicitation Page 7 of 16: Base Year Program Schedule: As per the schedule the program runs for

13.5 days. Is the length of program firm at 13.5 days?

A33: Yes.

Q34: Solicitation Page 7 of 16: Base Year Program Schedule: What should be the content for Initial workshop & 3 Mid-point workshops. i.e. lectures, team building exercises or part field trip etc. ?

A34: Anything that meets the requirements of the PWS.

Q35: Per LDP Amendment Page 5 of 5 – Is it safe to assume the 3 day Initial workshop & 3 Mid-point workshops will be conducted on consecutive days in November and February respectively?

A35: Yes.

Q36: Per LDP Amendment Page 2 of 5 – Shall the contractor be responsible to provide transportation to & from the workshops?

A36: Contractor will be responsible for providing travel for themselves to and from all training and workshops.

Q37: Per LDP Amendment Page 2 of 5 – Shall the contractor be responsible to provide accommodations & meals for the duration of the workshops?

A37: Contractor will be responsible for providing their own meals and accommodations for the duration of the workshops.

Q38: Solicitation Page 8 of 16: Price Schedule: Is there a preferred template or format available for price breakdown?

A38: Please use the bid schedule provided on pages 9-10 of the solicitation.

Q39: What is the expected number of participants for this program?

A39: Please see question one.

Q40: Do the workshops need to be 3 consecutive days or may 2 days be together with one day separated?

A40: Three consecutive days in order to minimize travel expenses.

Q41: Who pays for the workshop location and lodging?

A41: See questions four and thirty-seven.

Q42: Does location need to be included in proposal?

A42: Location of the training will be coordinated with the COR after award.

Q43: Regarding the graduation ceremony who is responsible for the fees associated with the event location and other logistics?

A43: The Contractor is only responsible for providing hard frames per the PWS.

Q44: Are you able to provide the answers to question you have been asked by other interested parties?

A44: Yes.

Q45: Is there a set curriculum we must utilize under ER 690-1-1214?

A45: No.

Q46: Section 2 states that the facilitator will utilize certain types of facilities approved by the Contracting Officer. Will the facilitator negotiate the contracts for the facilities or will the COR coordinate the facilities and the facilitator simply pay the fees? If it is the latter, will the fees for the proposed sites be provided prior to the submission date?

A46: The COR will coordinate rental of facilities.

Q47: Section 2 states that "participants will be assigned mentors by the COR before the first workshop".

Is the facilitator to provide a list of potential mentors or will they be mentors the COR is providing?

A47: No. Mentors will be the responsibility of the COR.

Q48: If the organization is certified to provide the training, but has no past performance yet, will the organization be considered or will it be deemed unqualified?

A48: See Clause 52.212-2 Evaluation Factors.

Q49: What is the total number of participants in the program each year?

A49: Please see question one.

Q50: Please identify any incumbents currently performing LDP 2 training for USACE Rock Island District and if so, please indicate whether they are eligible to bid on the current solicitation.

A50: Please see question five. Incumbent is eligible.

Q51: Please identify any incumbents currently performing LDP 1 or LDP 3 training for USACE Rock Island District and, if so, please indicate whether they are eligible to bid on the current solicitation.

A51: There are no contracts in place for LDP1 or LDP3.

Q52: Can the COR assist the contractor schedule ALL of the monthly training sessions at the Rock Island Arsenal or other government facilities controlled by the USACE Rock Island District? If so, are there any rental fees applicable for the use of such facilities, including meeting rooms and AV equipment?

A52: See question four.

Q53: Please identify specific non-Rock Island Arsenal/Rock Island District facilities that have been used by contractors previously to provide leadership training. For those city-owned properties, and local college/universities/learning campuses identified, what have been the applicable rental fees for meeting rooms and AV equipment?

A53: See question four.

Q54: Please identify specific facilities in the past that in which off-site workshops have been conducted that are at least 45 miles away from Rock Island? What were the applicable rental fees for conducting workshops at such facilities?

A54: See Amendment 0001. There are no rental fees for the sample locations.

Q55: If the specific locations of the monthly training sessions and the workshops cannot be identified at the proposal stage, along with their applicable rental rates, is the government willing to:

• Defray contractor costs for these facilities on a cost-reimbursable basis, and not as part of a firm fixed price?

• Is the government willing to provide a “Not To Exceed” value for rental costs associated with facilities for the monthly training sessions and workshops?

A55: See question four.

Q56: RFP page 4: Does USCE Rock Island District have any preference for the 360° Assessment Instrument that is administered at the beginning of the training? If so, what is it?

A56: No.

Q57: How will offerors proposals be evaluated – e.g. Lowest Price Technically Acceptable, or some form of Best Value Trade Off? Please describe the evaluation process to be applied to this solicitation.

A57: Please see FAR clause 52.212-2.

Q58: Can you provide a minimum and maximum number of participants for the program. This impact a number of pricing considerations including the size of the facilities that need to be rented.

A58: Please see question one.

Q59: As it relates to the speakers are there any preferences that you have?

A59: No.

Q60: What kind of hands-on activities would you like to see in the program?

A60: Any activity that meets the requirements of the PWS.

Q61: How many meeting spaces will the Vendor have to pay for?

A61: Please question four.

Q62: We did not find Attachment A mentioned in paragraph 2 on page 3 of the RFP. Can that be made available?

A62: The mention of Attachment A has been removed.

Q63: How many trainees are anticipated for this LDP2?

A63: Please see question one.

Q64: Will all trainees be available simultaneously for training sessions and workshops, or will multiple sessions need to be held to assure all developing leaders are included?

A64: Please see question two.

Q65: Guest speakers: Since actual speaker availability will depend on precise dates, can a recommended set of speakers be provided rather than two individual speaker names?

A65: Yes.

Q66: Is the “360” to be conducted at the start of the training anticipated to be an electronic survey, or to include one-on-one interviews? (Our experience is that direct interviews provide much deeper understanding of the 360 feedback.)

A66: Anything that meets the requirements in the PWS.

Q67: Consistency with Prior Classes: Is there a desire to maintain consistent content and format with prior LDP2 sessions with a refresh, or is there a desire to re-design the program? If the desire is to maintain consistency, can last year’s program be provided?

A67: No.

Q68: Metrics: Will development of metrics to assess program quality and impact be included in scope?

A68: No.

Q69: Option Periods: What is the assumed scope of the Option Periods? Is it delivery of the LDP2 course to additional classes?

A69: The option periods will be for new classes of LDP 2 students.

Q70: Will there be a Steering Team guiding this work, in addition to the COR?

A70: Yes.

Q71: Has the USACE LDP Organization Champion been selected for the Rock Island District?

A71: Our Deputy Commander serves as the Program Champion and works closely with COR regarding

LDP2.

Q72: How will the LDP Organization Champion be involved throughout program design, development, and delivery?

A72: The COR coordinates with the Champion.

Q73: 2. Decision process:

• Who will have program design decision authority?

• Will input be required from stakeholders not a part of the steering group?

A73: Please see question seventy.

Q74: Meeting facilities: Does the USACE have preferred rates for local meeting facilities (college/university/learning campuses, government-owned properties, hotel meeting facilities)?

If so, can USACE provide a list of these rates?

A74: Please see question four.

Q75: Hotels: Does the USACE have preferred rates at local hotels? If so, can USACE provide a list of these rates?

A75: No.

Q76: 3. Location:

• Where will trainees be based?

• Will Mentors and Mentees be based in the same locations?

A76: Locations vary for both trainees and mentors.

Q77: Consultant requirements:

• Will security clearances be required? Will background checks be required?

A77: See Amendment 0002.

Q78: Will electronic quote submission be sufficient, or should paper copies be delivered as well?

A78: Electronic quote submission is required per FAR Clause 52.212-2.

Q79: How many participants will participate in the first year? Approximately how many participants will participate in the subsequent years?

A79: Please see question one.

Q80: For the monthly sessions, what approximate “rent” might we have to pay for the use of government facilities?

A80: Please see question four.

Q81: For the off-site workshops, what expenses does the vendor provide (I.e. is it just facility? Food and/or Lodging for participants)?

A81: Please see questions four and thirty-seven.