Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Sources Sought Notice / Request for Information No. 693JK419R500011 NO TELEPHONE CALLS, please. Instead, please use the E-MAIL addresses given below. This notice is NOT a Solicitation and it is theref... Sources Sought Notice / Request for Information No. 693JK419R500011 NO TELEPHONE CALLS, please. Instead, please use the E-MAIL addresses given below. This notice is NOT a Solicitation and it is therefore NOT requesting the submission of actual PROPOSALS. Instead, this notice is merely requesting that each interested SMALL business that believes it is properly classifiable under NAICS Code 541612 or under any OTHER relevant NAICS Code please E-MAIL, to james.mowery@dot.gov and to Cora.McVey@dot.gov, not later than 11:59 PM Eastern Daylight Time May 12, 2019, a Statement of Qualifications attempting to prove that the submitting SMALL business is fully CAPABLE of performing a Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) or other type of contract containing the Statement of Work pasted below. The U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is trying to identify any SMALL businesses who CURRENTLY have available, in a fully-DEVELOPED and fully-VALIDATED condition, an ON-LINE Leadership Assessment tool that could be licensed / sold to DOT for use by the Department in assessing the leadership of up to 2,500 individual DOT employees per year, over a contract Base Year and four Option Years. Because of the urgency of DOT's need, the Department is NOT looking to hire a contractor for the DEVELOPMENT (or validation) of the needed on-line Leadership Assessment tool, from the very BEGINNING. Note that formal PROPOSALS will be SEPARATELY solicited HEREAFTER-----possibly via DOT's publication in GSA E-Buy, or possibly in FedBizOpps, of a formal Request for Quotations (RFQ) or a formal Request for Proposals (RFP). To repeat: THIS notice is NOT requesting actual PROPOSALS. The following is a complete copy / pasting of the Statement of Work TENTATIVELY envisioned by DOT for placement, hereafter, in any resulting BPA or other type of contract: •1) Introduction The U.S. Department of Transportation is (DOT) believes strong leadership is the key to an engaged and motivated workforce. In support of this belief, DOT is committed to strengthening its leadership capabilities throughout the department. 360-degree feedback is a method of systematically collecting opinions about an individual's performance from a wide range of coworkers. This could include peers, direct reports, the boss, and the boss's peers- along with people outside the organization, such as customers. The benefit of collecting data of this kind is that the person gets to see a panorama of perceptions rather than just self-perception, which affords a more complete picture. Data produced by the implementation of 360 degree assessment tools will help target areas of weakness in an effort to maximize available training resources to help drive continuous improvement. It also provides executives with feedback from others that they can use to create an Executive Development Plan as required by CFR 412 and the Executive Order on Strengthening the Senior Executive Service. From May 2013 to 2018, DOT contracted with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) to provide 360-degree leadership assessment tools and services. The Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) allowed DOT modes to place individual call orders to purchase 360-degree leadership assessments for their organization. •2) Objective The objective of this BPA is to continue to offer DOT Modes a 360-degree leadership assessment tool to provide feedback; to DOT leaders, supervisors or their equivalents, on their leadership skills and styles. Additionally, DOT will be able to analyze the data and develop aggregate competency gaps that can be used to inform training strategies and foster collaboration among the Operating Administrations. •3) Tasks - •A. TASK ONE: Title: 360 Leadership Assessment - Executive and GS-15 leaders The contractor shall, with the assistance of team members comprised of DOT managers, HR staff, and OA initiative leads, perform the following: •1) Provide an electronic (web-based) system to administer the assessment tool for up to 2500 employees annually. The system must: •a) Provide a robust dictionary of competencies sufficient to allow for customization of competencies that best match up with DOT's chosen leadership competency model. Items in the instrument should easily map to the DOT leadership competencies. Degree to which items in the instrument are able to fully assess all facets the DOT leadership competencies will be considered. •b) Incorporate any open ended questions DOT identifies. •c) Provide status updates on participation rates •d) Provide automated scoring for all assessments •e) Provide a robust norm base that includes managers from the private and public sectors. The ratings should have been in the last past five years to ensure currency. •f) Provide an option to assess importance of competencies and/or behaviors as identified. •g) The contactor's electronic (web-based) system shall be: •(a) Effective: completeness and accuracy with which system administrators/users achieve specified goals •(b) Efficient: the speed (with accuracy) in which users can complete the calls for which they use the product •(c) Error tolerant: be able to prevent errors caused by the user's interaction, and provide assistance to the users in recovering from any errors that do occur (robust error handling functionality) •(d) Easy to learn/maintain (for System Administrators and Users) •(e) Secure web site and/or database that meets DOT's standards for secure sites. •2) The contractor shall provide job aids with guidance to participants on how to access/operate the automated tool. •3) The contractor shall provide paper and electronic feedback reports that ensure confidentiality. •4) The contractor shall provide an option for pre-briefs to leaders on product and its usage. •5) The contractor shall provide an option for Group Reports with the ability to collate information from multiple users. •6) The contractor shall provide an option for the certification of DOT employees to administer the 360 tool. •7) The contractor shall provide an option for certified facilitators to interpret feedback reports for participants. •B. TASK TWO - Title: 360 Leadership Assessment - GS-14 and below supervisors The contractor shall, with the assistance of team members comprised of DOT managers, HR staff, and OA initiative leads, perform the following: •1) Provide an electronic (web-based) system to administer the assessment tool for up to 2500 employees annually. The system must: •a) Provide a robust dictionary of competencies sufficient to allow for customization of competencies that best match up with DOT's chosen leadership competency model. Items in the instrument should easily map to the DOT leadership competencies. Degree to which items in the instrument are able to fully assess all facets the DOT leadership competencies will be considered. •b) Incorporate any open ended questions DOT identifies. •c) Provide status updates on participation rates •d) Provide automated scoring for all assessments •e) Provide a robust norm base that includes managers from the private and public sectors. The ratings should have been in the last past five years to ensure currency. •f) Provide an option to assess importance of competencies and/or behaviors as identified. •g) The contactor's electronic (web-based) system shall be: •(a) Effective: completeness and accuracy with which system administrators/users achieve specified goals •(b) Efficient: the speed (with accuracy) in which users can complete the calls for which they use the product •(c) Error tolerant: be able to prevent errors caused by the user's interaction, and provide assistance to the users in recovering from any errors that do occur (robust error handling functionality) •(d) Easy to learn/maintain (for System Administrators and Users) •(e) Secure web site and/or database that meets DOT's standards for secure sites. •2) The contractor shall provide job aids with guidance to participants on how to access/operate the automated tool. •3) The contractor shall provide paper and electronic feedback reports that ensure confidentiality. •4) The contractor shall provide an option for pre-briefs to leaders on product and its usage. •5) The contractor shall provide an option for Group Reports with the ability to collate information from multiple users. •6) The contractor shall provide an option for the certification of DOT employees to administer the 360 tool. •7) The contractor shall provide an option for certified facilitators to interpret feedback reports for participants. •1) Personnel Qualifications - Personnel may be expected to deliver certification training to DOT personnel. Completion of these tasks requires the services of a senior level training specialist with at least 5000 hours of experience using vendor's 360 tool. •2) Selection Criteria - DOT will evaluate quotations and make an award decisions based on the following factors listed: •A. Robust norm base and dictionary as stated in Section 3. Tasks. •B. System requirements as stated in Section 3. Tasks. •C. Applicability to DOT competencies •D. Quality of Tool Design. The following factors will be considered in rating the quality of the tool design: Factors that add to the usefulness of the data/feedback for the recipient will be considered (i.e. presence of an importance rating that indicates how the degree to which the rater believe the item and/or scale matters, presence of indicator of importance for factor based on research.) Ability to ask open-ended questions. Ability to add items to the instrument. Breadth of items available within the instrument library. •E. Usability of Feedback reports and supporting developmental tools. Provide examples. •F. Past Performance Experience and strength of reputation with Agencies/Organizations of similar size, scope and complexity. •G. Pricing •3) Section 508 Requirements -All electronic and information technology deliverables required under this contract must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Access Board Standards available for viewing at http://www.section508.gov. Unless otherwise indicated, the contractor represents by signature on this contract that all deliverables will comply with the Access Board standards." •4) Period of Performance - The period of performance for this BPA shall be five (5) years continuously from the date of award. •5) Security - None required; the effort is unclassified. END OF NOTICE