Transition and Economic Development

Industry Day is hereby CANCELLED. Any update on a future date and time will occur through a separate FBO notice. Thank you for your interest in supporting the VA Transition Program. REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: The Government is seeking responses to the questions in the document entitled RFI Questions for Industry. Please see the Performance Work Statement and associated attachments to create answers to the RFI Questions for Industry and provide answers in the excel spreadsheet, along with PDFs of any associated attachments. Vendor responses to this RFI are due no later than 2:00 PM. EST September 09, 2019, to Tara Flores at contact@example.gov, Caitlin Savina at contact@example.gov, and Chontelle Borden at contact@example.gov. See attached Industry Day Information for October 17, 2019. Introduction The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), Transition and Economic Development (TED) office is seeking Contractor services to support delivering Servicemembers, Veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors with opportunities to achieve economic success and total well-being from military service through civilian life by educating them on VA benefits and services; providing economic information; and integrating with partners, tools, and community resources. TED requires support with advancing the ongoing implementation; sustainment and enhancement of the VA's portion of the Military's Transition Assistance Program (TAP), economic initiatives development and a community integration model to ensure Servicemembers and their families have the necessary tools and information to seamlessly transition into civilian life. Background Every year, approximately 200,000 men and women leave U.S. military service and return to life as civilians, a process known as the Military to Civilian Transition (MCT) (ATTACHMENT A - MCT Framework). The TED office was newly established in late 2018 to support a seamless transition from military-to-civilian life and accelerate the economic empowerment and development of transitioning Servicemembers, Veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors. VA established this office to ensure the entire period of military transition readiness, prior to separation through the first year of civilian life is efficient and thorough, ensure through a coordinated effort that Servicemembers leaving the military have an understanding of, and easy access to, all benefits and resources they are entitled to once they have separated from military service. TED accomplishes this by supporting military to civilian transition through administering VA's Transition Assistance Program (TAP); enhancing the use of VA education and career counseling; and coordinating and strengthening partnerships between federal, Military Service Organizations (MSOs), Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), Veterans peer groups, community organizations and private sector. To support the development of VA TAP career readiness programs, VBA/TED requires the assistance of subject matter experts (SMEs) with extensive experience in the development and implementation of education, skills and career training for transitioning employees. TED requires a team that is capable of supporting and improving an existing model for transitioning Servicemembers, Veterans, family members, caregivers, and survivors from the military to a productive civilian life. In order to reduce redundancy and improve coordination of TAP, cross-agency collaboration occurs between VA, Department of Defense (DoD), Department of Labor (DOL), Department of Education (ED), and United States Coast Guard (USCG) representing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). This includes maintaining a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between these organizations. Purpose The purpose of this contract is to provide TED with support services to address VOW Act requirements, National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2019, Executive Order 13822, issued January 2018, support continuous implementation of the interagency Veterans Employment Initiative (VEI), the TAP curriculum (ATTACHMENTS B), Capstone events and the Military Life Cycle (MLC) model, economic initiatives (ATTACHMENT C) and any future Executive Orders, NDAA requirements or other Legislation and Policies changes that effect the transitioning Servicemember. The redesigned TAP includes the outcome-based curriculum which transforms the way the military prepares its Servicemembers transitioning to civilian life. TAP is a rigorous pre-separation training curriculum for separating Servicemembers that is based on standard outcomes and learning objectives. TAP curriculum is designed to provide Servicemembers with skills-building training, resources and tools to ensure completion of essential tasks and competencies are met as required for a Servicemember to demonstrate career-readiness as they transition into Veteran status. The curriculum is composed of required core modules provided by the Military Services and partnering agencies, as well as one of three training tracks identified by military services; Education Track, Vocational Track, and the Entrepreneurship track. The VA contribution to the Transition Assistance Program curriculum includes the mandatory VA Benefits and Services. VA Benefits and Services is designed to introduce the Servicemember to the benefits which they may be eligible for and introduce and familiarize the Servicemember with the VA Health Care Portal, eBenefits, and assist in developing a plan for a successful transition using VA benefits. VA will also continue to support Capstone and the Military Lifecycle (MLC) model. The Capstone ensures that the objectives of all transition activities have been met and that the Servicemember has a viable plan for transition to civilian life. The MLC transition model provides transition training throughout the military career. Scope of Work TED requires support services to assist in continuation of TAP Administration and Program Management; Governance and Strategic Integration; Operations; Curriculum Development and Revision; Training; Plans, Analysis, and Evaluation; Priority Programs; MCT Projects; and New Module Development and Training. This support includes world-wide program sustainment in support of approximately 200,000 transitioning Servicemembers across more than 325 installations within the Continental United States (CONUS) and outside the Contiguous United States (OCONUS) annually (ATTACHMENT D - Locations). The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, Mi-fi, Internet Service, supervision and other items and non-personal services necessary to support TAP operations as defined in this PWS except for those items specified as Government furnished property and services. Type of Contract This contract is anticipated to be a Firm-Fixed Price contract. NAICS The potential North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes for this requirement are: 541611, Administrative Management & General Management Consulting Services, size standard $15M; 541612, Human Resources Consulting Services, size standard $15M; 611710, Educational Support Services, size standard $15M; or 611430, Professional and Management Development Training, size standard $11M.