Sources Sought Notice - DANTES Military Evaluation Program

SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Agency: Defense Human Resources Activity (DHRA) Component: Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) Subject/Requirement: Military Evaluation Program 1.0 Description THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) OR A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS (RFQ); IT IS STRICTLY A SOURCES SOUGHT TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL VENDORS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ACADEMIA, SMALL BUSINESSES, LARGE BUSINESSES AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS CAPABLE TO FULFILL THE ATTACHED REQUIREMENT. 1.1 On behalf of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Education and Training, the Defense Human Resources Activity and its component activity, Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) requires contractor services to evaluate and document the knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, and proficiencies gained by service members as a result of military training courses and on-the-job experiences. Subsequently, the outcome of the evaluated courses and occupational experiences (i.e. college credit recommendations to satisfy degree requirements, competency profiles to apply towards certifications, licensure, employment opportunities, etc.) is communicated to the military Services, academic institutions, credentialing organizations, and potential employers. 1.2 THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ONLY. This sources sought is issued solely for market research information and planning purposes - it does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This sources sought does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, DHRA is not at this time seeking proposals and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondees are advised that the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this sources sought; all costs associated with responding will be solely at the interested party's expense. 1.3 The proposed NAICS for this effort is 611710, Educational Support Services (size standard $15M). Comments on this NAICS and suggestions for alternative codes must include supporting rationale. 2.0 Background 2.1 The Department is currently receiving support under contract number N00189-15-C-Z075 for the evaluation of military training, educational, and occupational experiences. Those experiences are translated into academic credit recommendations that are currently accepted at over 2,000 academic institutions, as a form of prior learning assessment, to satisfy postsecondary certificate and degree requirements. (Institutional acceptance of these credits are at the discretion of individual colleges and universities and vary greatly based on institutional credit acceptance and award policies.) These evaluations are conducted either onsite or virtually, with Service-level training schools, located across the country by a team of multidisciplinary Subject Matter Experts from regionally accredited colleges and universities. The Contractor shall provide appropriate personnel, data management, quality control, and customer/stakeholder support necessary to support program execution. Regardless of evaluation methodology, the output of each evaluation shall align to evaluation rubrics (referenced in PWS Section 4.3), be formatted to be stored within a Digital Catalog (referenced in PWS Section 4.5) and, at a minimum, include: - Knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, and proficiencies as the building blocks for academic credit recommendations as well as alignment with and mapping to non-academic credentials - College credit recommendations and competency profiles that clearly demonstrate quality, transparency, portability, and market value. o College credit recommendations, in terms of semester hours, noting academic course equivalents o Competency profiles and proficiency statements with levels that delineate and document the degree to which knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, and proficiencies are achieved through a training or occupational experience. Competencies shall be mapped in a manner that align to the entry to practice profiles for learners to become credentialed in a discipline as determined by certifying and professional accrediting bodies, i.e. Apprenticeships, Certifications, Licensure, Strategic Career Pathways, etc. o Alphanumeric course identifiers that accompany each credit or competency award that includes information such as prefix, level code, century digit, decade digit, unit digit, lab code, skill level, etc. - Supporting documentation (i.e. course artifacts such as syllabi, textbooks, learning assessments, etc.) to justify credit and competency awards, standardized course identifiers to assist with credit and competency mapping, etc. - Standardized scorecards that provide actionable items that military training facilities can use for continuous improvement in areas such as curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Ultimately, the outputs of course and occupational evaluations shall result in: 1) college credit recommendations that are accepted and applied to satisfy certificate and degree requirements at regionally and nationally accredited colleges and universities; 2) competency profiles and proficiency statements that are accepted by credentialing agencies and applied towards completion of certification and licensure requirements; and 3) competency statements with proficiency levels that can be adapted to auto populate draft resumes tailored to service members' training and occupational experiences to validate knowledge, skills, abilities, competencies, and proficiencies to potential civilian employers. 3.0 Requested Information Information regarding the capability to perform all of the services outlined in the PWS. Provide information regarding relevant past performance or current projects that are similar in scope, magnitude, and complexity to the PWS requirements. Demonstrate your company's experience providing credit recommendations and obtaining credit acceptance from a national network of universities. Provide contact information for the sources of past performance. 4.0 Responses 4.1 Interested parties are requested to respond to this sources sought with capability statements. 4.2 Capability statements are due no later 24 May 2019, 12:00 PM Eastern Time. Responses shall be submitted via e-mail to the DHRA Enterprise Operations Center (DEOC/PK) Contract Specialist, Chuck Mayfield (Charles.e.mayfield8.civ@mail.mil). Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. 4.3. Section 1 of the capability statement shall provide administrative information, and shall include the following as a minimum: 4.3.1 Vendor name, address, website, Data Universal Numbering Systems (DUNS) Number, and Commercial and Government Entity (CAGE) Code. 4.3.2 Point of contact to include e-mail address and telephone number. 4.3.3 Type of business, including socio-economic category (Large, Small, 8(a) Participant, Small Disadvantaged Business, HUBZone, Woman-Owned Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, or Non Profit) 4.3.4 If applicable, GSA contract number and applicable schedule(s). Also include any other existing contract vehicles outside of GSA. 4.4 Section 2 of the capability statement should answer Section 3 of this sources sought and is limited to 10 pages. The number of pages in Section 1 of the capability statement is not included in the 10-page limitation. 5.0 Questions 5.1 Questions regarding this announcement shall be submitted in writing by e-mail to the Contract Specialist's email address. Verbal questions will NOT be accepted. The Government does not guarantee that questions received after 16 May 2019 will be answered. 5.2 Interested vendors may additionally contact the Small Business Point of Contact to discuss this requirement: Ms. Tammy Proffitt, Tammy.j.proffitt2.civ@mail.mil, phone #: 571-372-2591. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Attachments: 1. Military Evaluation Program PWS