CONSULTING SERVICES

*****THIS IS A 100% SMALL BUSINESS SET ASIDE****** REQUEST FOR INFORMATION I&A RIIA-15-00256 TITLE: Employee Engagement Improvement Program Issuance Date: July 22, 2015 THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes; it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP. Furthermore, those who respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regard to its submission; other than acknowledgment of receipt - IF a request for an acknowledgement is requested by the submitter. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service. DHS is not at this time seeking proposals. Responders are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay any cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party's expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP. The information provided in this RFI is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. All submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned. Background Since 2010, the Office of Intelligence & Analysis (I&A) has placed last on all scales in the Intelligence Community (IC) Climate Survey and in the bottom 20% of DHS on the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey. In March 2015, at the direction of the DHS Deputy Secretary and in accordance with the Office of Management and Budget memo on Strengthening Employee Engagement and Organizational Performance, existing human capital performance review requirements under the Government Performance and Results Modernization Act, and request from Congressional Intelligence Authorization Committees, the Under Secretary for I&A reviewed progress and directed the development of a formal program to identify, adopt and optimize best practices that will result in a highly productive and engaged workforce. The intent of the Employee Engagement Improvement Program (EEIP) is to support I&A's Performance Management & Evaluation Division by providing focused research studies, analysis and associated expertise to enable employee engagement program development, measurements and communication; training of supervisors and managers on the principles of employee engagement and their role in the engagement program; and by aligning and integrating I&A's employee engagement plan and program with those of DHS. I&A's primary engagement focus areas include, but are not limited to, the areas where there exists a current nexus in the Intelligence Community and/or Department of Homeland Security Component Intelligence Enterprise. Purpose Contractor support is required to assist the Government leadership of EEIP in developing and implementing initiatives, programs, policies, and procedures related to the following overarching Program objectives: 1) To improve employees', leaders' and managers' knowledge base and capability in diagnosing, measuring, monitoring and evaluating Employee Engagement drivers and indicators; 2) To ensure I&A's engagement strategy, framework and techniques adhere to best and next practices across public and private sectors; and 3) To empower I&A, in partnership with DHS HQ, the Intelligence Community and Homeland Security Intelligence Enterprise, to plan and conduct strategic, forward-leaning analysis in support of shared employee engagement goals and objectives. EEIP seeks to accomplish the first objective by providing senior-level mentorship and research assistance to instill relevant subject matter expertise as well as common IC engagement practices among Government managers and their leaders. EEIP seeks to accomplish the second objective by identifying, in a systematic way, engagement challenges relevant and specific to I&A, and by engaging employees, managers and leaders to address them. EEIP seeks to accomplish the third objective by serving as a resource within I&A to facilitate the planning, conceptualizing, codifying, communication, outcome-related assessment of engagement improvement projects. Scope of Work I&A's Performance Management & Evaluation office (PME) establishes and maintains the performance management framework for I&A and provides technical assistance and subject matter expertise to I&A program managers and CIPs. The I&A framework uses measures and targets for I&A programs that link performance outcomes to its resource allocation process. PME is responsible for the quarterly collection of performance measure data, conducting analysis of results versus targets, and providing recommendations to I&A program managers leading to improved performance. During the first six months of the base period, it is anticipated that a relatively augmented level of effort may be required by the Contractor since the Contractor shall during that time assist in the development of a design, methodology and framework (as detailed in 2.2 of this SOW) that will thereafter be used to assess and ensure the progress, outcomes and overall success of I&A's Employee Engagement Improvement Program. 2. Specific Requirements/Tasks - 2.1. Diagnostic Services The Contractor shall assist the Government in conducting a series of sessions with selected I&A staff to understand the current state of employee engagement, conversion of FEVS, IC Climate Survey into performance plan material, and identification of measurement gaps in the current human capital, leadership, management and engagement measurement set based on specific experience by the contracted vendor in measuring employee engagement in the Intelligence Community. Deliverables Kick-Off Meeting: The contractor shall schedule and conduct a joint Government and contractor kick-off meeting to review the contract PWS requirements. This meeting shall be scheduled within 15 working days after contract award. Kick-Off Summary Report: The Contractor will provide a summary of the kick-off meeting and any clarifications discussed in writing within 10 working days of the meeting. Monthly Program Review Meeting: The contractor shall schedule and conduct a joint Government and contractor meeting to review program development and delivery progress. The first meeting shall be scheduled within 45 days of the kick-off meeting and occur at least every 30, but no more than 45 days thereafter. Monthly Program Review Report: The Contractor shall provide a summary of the monthly program review meetings within 10 working days of the meeting. Initial Diagnostic Research Report: The Contractor shall document the existing state of employee engagement and assist the Government in identifying and prioritizing key employee engagement opportunities based on its observation of I&A's policies, processes, information of unique origin to I&A and understanding and experience with similar programs, processes and effective practices implemented in other Intelligence Community and Federal Agencies. Specifically, the vendor shall complete an initial diagnostic research report. The vendor shall assess and document the extent to which I&A policies, processes and leadership practices impact employee engagement. No later 120 days of completion of the first Monthly Program Review, the Contractor shall provide a report of its initial diagnostic analysis written form to the Government. The document shall contain the following: - Summary notes from sessions with selected I&A staff to understand the current state of employee engagement - Assessment of the adequacy of the current set of engagement feedback and human capital measures pertaining to the task; - Description of the methodology used to make the assessment; - Expert and well-substantiated opinion, based on specific vendor experience in measuring employee engagement, on the extent to which the current set of policies and practices impact engagement and performance; - List and full description of gaps in practices and policies, and the capability of the existing measures to convey useful, relevant, timely, and actionable information about those gaps. 2.2. Employee Engagement Improvement Program Development Based on the information gathered in Task 2.1, during the first six months of the base period of performance, the Contractor shall assist the government in formulating I&A's Employee Engagement Improvement Program based on best and proven practices. The Contractor shall assist the Government in the design of an appropriate customized engagement program, development of a communications strategy, identification of best and next practices, facilitation of meetings with leaders at DHS Office of the CHCO, development of interim measures and indices of employee engagement elements based on the FEVS and IC Climate Survey, and execution of appropriate human capital analyses. The Contractor shall assist in the development of evaluation methodology, anchored on the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS) and Intelligence Community (IC) Climate Survey for measuring and assessing I&A's employee engagement outcome-based leadership performance. The methodology will provide an approach to the development of interim and complimentary measures of employee performance engagements. Deliverables: Manager/Leadership Accountability Measures: No later than 120 days after the completion of Task 2.1 and the receipt of necessary data and information from I&A, whichever is later, the Contractor shall produce and deliver a document that provides recommendations for a set of measures to be used to monitor employee engagement progress on an on-going basis. That document shall contain the following: - Specific recommendations for interim measures, based on or integrated with the FEVS and IC Climate Surveys - Specific recommendations for complimentary measures which address any gaps identified in Task 3. - Recommendations on the periodicity and interpretation of results - Methodologies for dealing with respondent population changes in analyses. Review of Existing Leadership/Manager Performance Plans: The Contractor shall review existing senior leader, middle manager and first line supervisor performance plans and assist in the conversion of FEVS and IC Climate Survey feedback into performance plan material to the first-line supervisor level. No later than 120 days after the delivery of the Manager/Leadership Accountability Measures and the receipt of necessary data and information from I&A, whichever is later, the Contractor shall produce and deliver a document, that provides a detailed description of the following Recommendations for the conversion of FEVS, IC Climate Survey into performance plan material. That document shall contain the following: - Specific recommendations for changes to senior leaders, middle managers and first line supervisors performance plans. - Supporting analytic methods, measures and timing for assessing accountability - Suggested targets for improvement - Initial human capital analyses demonstrating the use and validity of suggested additional measures Engagement Guide: The Contractor shall design a guide for managers to understand what drives engagement at I&A. No later than 120 days after the completion of Task 2.1, the Contractor shall produce and deliver a document that serves as a guide for managers to understand what drives engagement at I&A. That document shall contain the following: - Specific observations about the values and priorities of the I&A workforce - A comparison of factors driving engagement at I&A versus elsewhere in DHS, the IC and other Federal Agencies based on the Contractor's experience and expert opinion. - Recommendations regarding the priority, order, timing, feasibility of remediation activities to specific issues cited. Communications Strategy: The Contractor shall assist the Government in the building of a communications strategy for the workforce to convey changes made as a result of analyses described in the previous sub-tasks. No later than 120 days after the Review of Existing Leadership/Manager Performance Plans, the Contractor shall deliver a document outlining a communications strategy for the workforce. That document shall contain the following: - Recommendations for the appropriate platform, timing and organizational level at which the communications should occur. - Suggested delivery methods - Draft format and language for major milestone announcements Research Reports: Based on the results of the sub-tasks of 2.2 above, the Contractor shall conduct up to ten additional short-term focused research and/or policy papers on specific issues identified by the Government related to employee engagement which are aimed at improving I&A's baseline knowledge about the organization specific engagement diagnosis, gathering additional information on emerging practices elsewhere, or delivery of the engagement program as determined by the needs of the Government. No later than 120 days after the initial tasking, the Contractor shall deliver to the Government the findings of focused research studies or policy papers in a finished narrative format. Specific content will be determined based on Government needs and selected topics. Integration with DHS Headquarters Plans: The Contractor shall facilitate at least one meeting with leaders at DHS Office of the CHCO to ensure alignment of I&A's Employee Engagement Improvement Program with the Departmental strategy and plans for cross-organizational employee engagement programs. The Contractor shall provide a summary of any meetings with leaders at DHS Office of the CHCO within 10 working days of the meeting. 2.3. Employee Engagement Remediation The Contractor shall assist the Government in implementing the employee engagement program through the delivery of customized training for I&A leaders and senior managers on policies, behaviors, measurement of engagement and their role in the engagement program. Based on the results of the analyses detailed in Tasks 2.1 and 2.2 above, the Contractor shall recommend to the Government customized and targeted remediation directed at leaders, managers and employees. The remedial approaches may take the form of clinics or workshops and/or issuance of formal guidance/policies related to employee engagement practices from the Under Secretary or the Executive Director, Workforce Development Office. - For example, the Contractor may identify a salient challenge related to understanding of supervisor behaviors that affect engagement and their role in the engagement program, and based on this observation, customize a workshop to engage first-line supervisors on ways that could be used to address or improve on those behaviors. - For example, the Contractor may identify a need for formal guidance on how a particular policy or process might be interpreted or modified so that it adheres to best practices for employee engagement. When the Government identifies a need, which shall ordinarily be derived from the monthly program review meetings, the Contractor shall customize and deliver up to twelve Engagement Workshops, include all relevant accompanying material, and/or assist the PME Director in drafting formal guidance. The Contractor shall conduct clinics or workshops within 90 days of notification of the requirement by the Government. Within 30 days of the delivery of each clinic or workshop, the Contractor shall deliver a document summarizing the series of clinics and/or workshops. That document shall contain the following: - Copies of all handouts and relevant presentation materials used during the event - Summary and analysis of any feedback received directly as a result of the event - An assessment of the perceived success of the event RFI RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS Only electronic submissions will be accepted. Electronic files larger than 5 MB shall be broken down into multiple files with no one file exceeding 5 MB. Each electronic submission shall include: ? The RFI number in the subject line ? The maximum number of pages per submission shall be limited to 10 pages. ? A Point of Contact (POC), phone number and email address of the person (in the body of the email) to be contacted regarding any correspondence between the Government and the Vendor. The POC shall be capable of addressing questions or issues associated with the submission and content of the RFI ? A brief summary of email content, vendor name and the firm's mailing address ? Include GSA Schedule No. if applicable Interested parties having the expertise and capabilities are invited to submit detailed information discussing their capabilities to Sharon Johnson, Contract Specialist, at the following email address, Sharon.D.Johnson@hq.dhs.gov by 2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) on July 29, 2015. **This will be a Small Business Set Aside. Interested parties must hold a GSA schedule. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid DHS, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become the property of the Federal Government, and will not be returned. Responses to this RFI may be evaluated by Government technical experts drawn from staff within DHS and other Federal agencies. The Government may use selected support contractor personnel to assist in the evaluation. These support contractors will be bound by appropriate non-disclosure agreements to protect proprietary and source selection information. This action will be governed under DHS law enforcement sensitive guidelines.