AU AIS IT PME PCE 2 Transformation

THIS NOTICE IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP). The 42nd Contracting Squadron is soliciting Sources Sought request for planning purposes only and does not constitute an Invitation for Bids or a Request for Proposals. The Government does not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with submission of the information requested or reimburse expenses incurred to interested parties for responding to this Sources Sought. Sources are discouraged from submitting any information deemed competition-sensitive or proprietary. All feedback and information received may be used to determine the appropriate strategy for a possible acquisition. If the government decides to pursue RFP actions, portions of your RFI response may be incorporated into the applicable contractual document (i.e. PWS, SOW, etc). In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this Sources Sought are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No award will be made from this RFI and the Government will not pay for any effort expended in responding to this notice. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Correspondences to this RFI should be submitted electronically, via e-mail, to contact@example.gov by 4:00 PM Central Standard Time (CST) 23 June 2014. The purpose of this request is to gather information from industry to capture the Information Technology (IT) capabilities available to improve the management and educational experience associated with Air University's (AU) Air Force Professional Military Education (PME) and Professional Continuing Education (PCE) missions. The university is organized into 5 distinct centers: Spaatz Center (Officer PME), Barnes Center (Enlisted PME), Eaker Center (multidiscipline technical training and professional continuing education), LeMay Center (doctrine-based resident and online courses) and Holm Center (AF officer recruiting, training, and commissioning programs). Note: The scope of this RFI applies to all centers except for the Holm Center. The transformation of PME and PCE is driving significant and continual changes to how AU will offer, manage, and deliver distant learning, resident and blended courses. Though the transformation will impact all enabling functions, this RFI focuses on the Management Systems (both Registration & Student Management). Currently the AU environment consists of seven (7) management systems hosted on the Maxwell-Gunter Campus (see Attachment 1: Air University AIS Description). The basic functionality for each of the systems is provided in Attachment 2: AIS System Comparison. The system software for each has evolved over the past years largely in silos multiple databases that do not lend themselves to an enterprise-wide utilization. When courses are created and deleted, the curriculum changes require a significant hard-coding (in term of cost & schedule) of source code to accomplish. At present, the AU systems are not flexible enough to keep pace with the educational transformation in a cost-conscious, mission effective manner. For additional insight into the still evolving requirement see Attachment 3: Draft OPME Transformation Requirements. Though the document is based on OPME, similar capabilities will be required by the Enlisted PME. In order to form an effective and actionable strategy, the Government requests the following information concerning the commercial market related to the higher education ecosystem: - 1. Identify any comprehensive solution (service or software) to provide all the primary functions provided by the AU AISs listed in the attached System Description. - a. Highlight existing contracts available to 42nd Contracting to access the envisioned support. - b. Provide a ROM estimate for cost and time-to-implement. Information will better enable the respective government functional to develop a decision making landscape for senior leadership. - 2. Identify partial solution (service or software) to accomplish either the student management or the registration functions provided by the AU AISs listed in the attached System Description. - a. Highlight existing Government contracts available to 42nd Contracting to assess the envisioned support. - b. Provide a ROM estimate for cost and time-to-implement. Information will better enable the respective government function to develop a decision making landscape for senior leadership. - 3. Identify the Learning Management System functionality and capabilities if an LMS is contained in the comprehensive or partial solution. - 4. If the suggested solution does not contain a LMS capability, identify what current LMSs the solution can connect with. - 5. Though the AU mission does not currently utilize cloud-based technology, the government is very interested in the potential of this technology in the educational arena. Dependent on the response to this RFI, the government may hold an Industry Day and/or one-on-one discussions to better capture the requirement in commercial meaning terms. The Government will assess the value of continuing the dialog via an Industry Day format or one-on-one discussions by 27 June 2014. The Government considers information on market capabilities, common industry standards, latest technological advances, commercial terms and conditions, timelines for adaptation and integration, estimated pricing and possible suppliers and sources as essential to developing future acquisitions. Respondents should submit soft-copy via e-mail to contact@example.gov by the date and time specified. Though the Government prefers soft-copy any hardcopy submission can be mailed to 42nd Contracting Squadron, Attn: Kimberly Knott, 50 LeMay Plaza South Bldg 804, Maxwell AFB, AL 36112. Please limit responses to no more than thirty (30) pages. Also, include information such as: Company name, address, email, telephone number, points of contact, size of business pursuant to the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS).