Needs Assessment for Commercial Advocacy Training (FSI/SPAS/ECON)

This Request for Information (RFI) is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and is not a Request for Proposals or Quotes (RFP or RFQ) or an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any services. Responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. The Government reserves the right to determine how it should proceed as a result of this notice. Furthermore, entities that respond to this RFI should not anticipate feedback with regard to submissions. The 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 responding party's expense. The information provided in this RFI posting is subject to change and is not binding on the Government. The Department of State, Foreign Service Institute is seeking information regarding the attached Draft Statement of Work (SOW). Please carefully review the Draft SOW document and respond according to the directions stated below. The government intends to use this market research to identify potential vendors to support this project. RFI Responses/capability statements should include the following: Contact information: Name of company Applicable small business socioeconomic programs Institutional or organization affiliation, if applicable Email address Phone number DUNS number Description of corporate experience similar in nature to this requirement; Description of qualifications (corporate or SME) that would meet those listed in the draft statement of work (SOW). A brief description of the approach your firm would take to provide the requested solution. Please state the estimated firm-fixed price. This price is notional and nonbinding and for market research purposes only. What requirements of the SOW could be eliminated to reduce the overall and cost, and how much do you estimate that the cost could be reduced for if those changes are made? What requirements of the SOW are difficult for your entity to meet and why? Recommendations to improve or clarify the Draft SOW; Recommendations for next steps to procure this requirement including contract vehicles/SINS and socioeconomic set-asides Recommendations for the most appropriate NAICS code for this requirement Any additional information that may benefit the Government to refine the requirements document. Do not include the following in the response: Do not submit formal proposals or offers; Do not submit requests to be considered for award or to be notified of a future solicitation Do not submit requests to be added to a mailing or distribution list; Do not submit questions or comments not related to this RFI; Do not respond via telephone. How to Submit Responses: Please submit responses via email to ModrakER@state.gov. Please submit capability statement responses as a single attachment to the email: either Adobe pdf file or MS Word file. If you have any questions regarding this RFI, please submit them via e-mail to both ModrakER@state.gov and NowakJR@state.gov. Please include - 19FS1A20N4000: ECON Needs Assessment in the e-mail subject line. The RFI submission closing date is Wednesday December 23, 2020 at 2:00 PM EST. The Department of State, Foreign Service Institute's School of Professional and Area Studies Economic and Commercial Studies Division (FSI/SPAS/ECON) requires a contractor to design and conduct a needs assessment to: 1. Assess the state of existing senior-level commercial advocacy training(current state), 2.Identify the desired state, 3. If a gap exists, indicate how these courses should be modified to be more effective, including suggesting new training modules if appropriate in addition to non-training solutions and 4. Recommend the optimal formats for learning.