Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

UPDATED 6/11/25 TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: Question: The SOW shows performance dates of August 11-13 and August 18-20. Is there any flexibility in the August schedule for sessions 1 and 2? Ans... UPDATED 6/11/25 TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: Question: The SOW shows performance dates of August 11-13 and August 18-20. Is there any flexibility in the August schedule for sessions 1 and 2? Answer: The Government’s dates are firm. Offerors must be able to meet dates for both sessions. Question: Could you please confirm if this virtual training format works for you? Answer: Our training course instruction will be required to be held on-site at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, CT. Question: Can adjustments be made to what lessons are taught on which days or does the government want to maintain adherence to the syllabus provided in the statement of work? Answer: Adjustments may be made. Question: Will the government provide all necessary equipment (e.g., laptops, Power BI licenses) for participants? Answer: Attendees will bring government-issued laptops to training each day. Laptops come equipped with Power-BI capabilities through Microsoft 365/ SharePoint Teams environment. Question: Are there specific certifications or qualifications required for instructors beyond "significant experience in Microsoft Power BI training"? Answer: Instructor should be well-versed and knowledgeable in the content and be a certified instructor from an accredited body. They should have a positive history of providing quality training and receive positive feedback from previous classes. Question: Are there specific standards or accrediting bodies for the Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to be awarded? Answer: The CEU is a nationally recognized unit of measure that indicates successful participation in a qualified program of continuing education. Question: Is there an expectation for post-training support or follow-up sessions? Answer: The instructor sometimes offers their contact information to attendees for course-related problem solving, but there is no expectation of this. Question: For instructor certification, the customer stated, "...certified instructor from an accredited body". Please elaboriate on required qualifications: Answer: We are looking for highly skilled Power BI experts who are experienced and effective educators, and possesses the leadership acumen to integrate effectively within the government environment. Examples of what we are looking for: • Formal higher education- a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in a field such as Business analytics, Data Science, Computer Science, Information systems, or related discipline; Microsoft Certified- Power BI Data Analyst Associate; • Microsoft Certified - Data Analyst Associate or Azure Data Engineer Associate may be considered if they involve significant Power BI components and strong data analysis skills; Evidence of extensive practical experience using Power BI in real-world scenarios, within a data analysis, reporting, or business intelligence developer role within an enterprise environment; Experience as a Certified Power BI instructor with relevant work experience. Question: Would the customer provide data sets, KPIs, along with any other products that are currently used to the awardee? This will help tailor the course towards the customer needs and allow our instructor to become familiar with any unique requirements requested Answer: We are prepared to provide data sets in order to tailor the course for our specific needs after bid acceptance. Question: We only need to include the syllabus and class schedule in the proposal, and that the training materials will be provided during the training itself. Please clarify if this is not the case Answer: A detailed description or samples of the materials, syllabus, etc. should be provided with your proposal. Training materials (such as full manuals, handouts, and digital resources) should be provided after proposal has been accepted. Question: The onsite training workshop will require expenses incurred before the course delivery, such as T&E, course material preparation, lab setup and such. The ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS form doesn’t include a deposit amount field. What is the required format to indicate a deposit amount within the proposal? Answer: This is a firm fixed price order. A deposit will not be made to the successful offeror for any incurred expenses prior to completion. Question: Will SSGR provide M365 environment for all users and instructors or the Vendor is to setup training and lab environment for the Course? If latter, will SSGR ensure internet connectivity to Vendor’s virtual platform for all users and instructors? Answer: All students currently have access to Power BI through Microsoft Teams. Wi-Fi access is available to all. Question: Does SSGR require additional technical resource(s) to supervise hands-on / lab exercises and assist SSGR personnel or a single certified Trainer (limited oversight capacity) is sufficient? Answer: One instructor is sufficient Question: Should the curriculum be exact as in the SOW or we can offer alternative Course to SSGR that better covers Power BI foundational concepts and practical application? Answer: Curriculum indicated in the SOW was a guideline, alternative curriculum is acceptable if it better meets our needs. Question: Does SSGR require users pass a knowledge check test after the Course completion to receive a certificate or this is participation-only? Answer: We do not require this. Question: Can you please explain the citizenship requirements for the Power BI Instructor? Does he/she need to be a U.S. Citizen? Answer: US Citizenship is not required but is preferred due to the access requirements for the location of the course instruction. Additional instructions regarding facility access will be provided to the successful offeror. ____________________ UPDATED 6/9/25 TO ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: Question: Will the Navy or the Vendor be responsible for providing the training equipment? Answer: The Navy will provide training equipment to include the following: classroom, whiteboard, projector, and laptops for students only. The Vendor shall provide training materials/curriculum, and laptop for instructor. Question: The daily agenda you requested is not official curriculum (it’s a third party / gray market PowerBI course agenda). Is PL300T00-A Microsoft PowerBI Data Analyst considered? Answer: PL300T00-A Microsoft PowerBI Data Analyst is acceptable. ____________________ This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. Solicitation Number N62789-25-Q-0017 is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ) with the intent to issue one firm-fixed price contract. The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular, FAC-2025-03, effective January 17, 2025. This is a 100% small business set aside. NAICS CODE: 611420 Size Standard: $16,000,000. CLIN 0001: Vendor shall provide three day in-person instructor led SESSION ONE on Microsoft Power Business Intelligence (BI) Course to be provided for up to 20 Quality Assurance Personnel. The intended period of performance of session one is 11 August 2025 to 13 August 2025. CLIN 0002: Vendor shall provide three day in-person instructor led SESSION TWO on Microsoft Power Business Intelligence (BI) Course to be provided for up to 20 Quality Assurance Personnel. The intended period of performance of session two is 18 August 2025 to 20 August 2025. TAKE NOTE OF REQUIREMENT FOR ENTRY TO THE FACILITY PER PARAGRAPH 6.0 “ACCESS REQUIREMENTS” IN SECTON C OF THE SOLICITATION. The Government intends to evaluate quotations and award a contract without discussions with offerors. However, the Government reserves the right to conduct discussions if later determined by the Contracting Officer to be necessary. Award Evaluation Criteria: Prospective Contractors shall: include course syllabus, training materials and class schedule with their quote. Quote shall include the following (at a minimum): itemized cost of course, Itemized travel expenses, Itemized list/cost of Courseware/Materials if applicable. Quotes are due prior to 0500 EST, 20 June 2025. Late submissions will not be accepted. Offers should be submitted via electronic commerce. The electronic address for receipt of offers is: kyle.r.berg3.civ@us.navy.mil and stephanie.l.neale.civ@us.navy.mil . Offerors should identify the RFQ number in the Subject Line of the email. Offerors are advised to submit electronic documents early and confirm successful transmission/receipt. The System for Award Management (SAM) is a Government-maintained database of companies wanting to do business with the Government. A firm must register and be active in SAM to receive a Federal award. Register at: https://sam.gov/SAM/pages/public/index.jsf. The Government reserves the right to award one line, all line items or any combination thereof. If multiple line items are awarded, costs/prices for each line item will be totaled and award amount will be based on that total. Award will be made to the responsible offeror whose offer, conforming to the solicitation, is determined to be the best overall value, price and other factors considered. In determining the best overall response, the combined non-cost/price factors are more important than the cost/price factor; however, cost/price is a significant factor. The Government may select for award the offeror whose price is not necessarily the lowest, but whose technical proposal is more advantageous to the Government and warrants the additional cost. Offerors must satisfy the requirements described in the performance criteria, as well as other RFQ requirements. Offers that take exception to any performance criteria are unacceptable.