PM Academy and Application Course

PM ACADEMY AND APPLICATION COURSE REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) DISCLAIMER: THIS IS MARKET RESEARCH ONLY AND NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. THIS RFI IS NOT A COMMITMENT BY THE AIR FORCE TO ISSUE A SOLICITATION OR ULTIMATELY AWARD A CONTRACT. AN UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL OR ANY OTHER KINDS OF OFFERS WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED IN RESPONSE TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT/RFI. NO CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED PURSUANT TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THE SOURCES SOUGHT/RFI IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO MODIFICATION AND THEREFORE IS NOT BINDING TO THE GOVERNMENT. THE GOVERNMENT WILL NOT PAY FOR ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE TO THIS REQUEST. THE AIR FORCE WILL USE ANY INFORMATION SUPPLIED TO FACILITATE DECISION MAKING AND WILL NOT BE DISCLOSED OUTSIDE THE DEPARTMENT OF THE AIR FORCE. THE DETERMINATION OF A PROCUREMENT STRATEGY, BASED UPON THE COMMENTS SUBMITTED IN RESPONSE BY INTERESTED PARTIES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT/RFI, IS SOLEY WITHIN THE DISCRETION OF THE GOVERNMENT. BACKGROUND: As a result of proposed changes to the Department of Defense's (DoD) Project Management (PM) certification standard, the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) is developing complimentary certification requirements. The scope of this RFI covers two courses required for certification: (1) PM Academy and (2) Application Course. PM Academy The PM Academy is fully developed and offerings have continued since the first course in September 2018. The course is full-time for 5-weeks per session. There are up to 5 sessions per year with 24-36 students in each session. AFLCMC/AQ established the PM Academy Course to provide standardized, high-quality training to newly-hired AFLCMC program managers on a variety of defense acquisition topics to foster their growth. Using a mix of classroom instruction and exercises not typically taught in Defense Acquisition University classes, this tailored, hands-on course allows students to prepare and deliver mock presentations to senior leaders, build schedules, conduct technical evaluations, and learn other - day to day PM core duties. Current Government employees teach the majority of the course. However, former senior Government employees recognized as experts in their field lead the last 6.5 days of the course. These 6.5 days consist of the following topics: - Leadership Workshop Overview - Intro to Program Management - Requirements to Products Flow-Down Process - Requirements Products Flow Down Exercise - Acquisition Life Cycle Planning - Program Schedule Management - Managing Program Risk - Market Research - External Stakeholder Management - Partnering with Industry - Managing Successful Source Selections - Contractor Assessment Reports (CPARS) - Inspection, Acceptance and Delivery - Life Cycle Sustainment Planning - Emerging Acquisition Initiatives - Problem Solving and Communication Management - Program Leadership - Senior Leader Panel Discussion The scope of this effort is to deliver / instruct the last 6.5 days of the course. Application Course Unlike the PM Academy Course, the Application Course is not developed. The intent of this course is to provide an opportunity for GS-13/NH-03/O-4 PMs to apply project management skills to case studies and a war game in order to demonstrate a comprehensive understanding and integration of acquisition concepts. This course should be accessible and understood by a project manager at that experience level, while also preparing them for future challenges they will encounter at the NH-04/O-5 level. Upon completion of contractor course development and instructor training, AFIT will provide classroom instruction. As a result, contractor development of the Application Course falls under the purview of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT). The scope of this effort is to develop the course and train AFIT instructors. REQUIREMENTS See draft Performance Work Statement (Attachment #1) RFI RESPONSE CONTENT AREAS RFI responses should address the following: Company/Institute Name: Address: CAGE Code/DUNS: Point of Contact: Phone Number: E-mail Address: Web Page URL: Size of business pursuant to North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code: 611430 Based on the above NAICS Code, state whether your company is: Small Business (Yes / No) Woman-Owned Small Business (Yes / No) Small Disadvantaged Business (Yes / No) Economically Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business (Yes / No) 8(a) Certified (Yes / No) HUBZone Certified (Yes / No) Veteran-Owned Small Business (Yes / No) Service-Disabled Veteran Small Business (Yes / No) A statement as to whether your company is domestically owned or foreign owned or foreign controlled (if foreign, please indicate the country of ownership). Also, identify if you plan to propose the use of any foreign owned or foreign controlled subcontractors/vendor; and, if so, identify the country of ownership. Provide a synopsis of your company's capability in meeting the requirements. In this synopsis include the seniority (prior military or civilian rank/grade), experience, and quantity of team members on staff. Identify any areas where you lack sufficient experience/capability in a particular area to meet the full requirement and what your plan would be to overcome that shortfall. Provide relevant past performance information from on-going or recently completed (within the past 2 years) course development and instructor work. Provide a synopsis of any on-going support you provide to any Air Force Life Cycle Management program offices PM Academy Rough Order of Magnitude (ROM) cost estimate Application Course ROM cost estimate RFI Response Instructions RFI responses are due to Emmeline Spaulding (emmeline.spaulding@us.af.mil) and Michael Solo (michael.solo.1@us.af.mil) 15 June 2021 at Noon, ET. Encrypt or password-protect appropriately all documents with Proprietary information and/or Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) special marking requirements prior to sending. Please direct questions to the POC listed above by email or calling (937) 522-4594 (Emmeline Spaulding).