Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

This synopsis is issued pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 5.203 which prescribes a mandatory requirement for a 15-day pre?solicitation notification. The purpose of this synopsis... This synopsis is issued pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 5.203 which prescribes a mandatory requirement for a 15-day pre?solicitation notification. The purpose of this synopsis is to announce the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) intent to issue a solicitation for a small business set-aside IDIQ. The National Highway Institute (NHI), which is part of the FHWA Office of Technical Services (OTS), has a requirement for non-personal services for the development, update, and delivery of instructor-led training (ILT), Web-Based training (WBT), Web-Conference training (WCT), video conference training (VCT), or flipped classroom training, and training using new technologies such as ePubs, mobile apps, virtual world delivery, and gamification as well as the development or update of supplemental materials and services to effectively develop, update, and deliver a timely program of high-quality training in the subject areas of Highway Safety, Civil Rights, Business and Public Administration and Quality, and Communications. These services are crucial to NHI’s mission, as the training and educational arm of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), to develop and provide transportation training for State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), Local Public Agencies (LPAs), FHWA employees, FHWA’s Office of Infrastructure, other Federal agencies, consultants, universities, and industry/trade groups. Additionally, this proposed acquisition is consistent with the legislative intent of NHI: to provide quality technical training to the surface transportation community. The NHI’s goal is to provide learner-centric instruction optimized for maximum effectiveness, and ensuring that the greatest amount of learning takes place within defined constraints. Part of this process involves developing and updating course materials responsive to the training needs of the target audience, with clearly articulated learning outcomes. The principles of adult learning and Instructional System Designers must be incorporated into the curriculum materials. Classroom training includes a combination of instructional strategies, such as lectures, facilitated discussions, group exercises, case studies, workshops, interactive knowledge checks/responses, field trips, and/or participant presentations. To be truly effective, instructor-led training requires skilled, competent, and credible instructors with relevant, nationwide project level experience in the subject areas of Highway Safety, Civil Rights, Business and Public Administration and Quality, and Communications. Established by Congress in 1970, the National Highway Institute (NHI) is the training and education arm of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). NHI’s mission is to provide technical transportation training and associated materials to the surface transportation community. Since 2004, NHI has been authorized by the International Association of Continuing Education and Training (IACET) to award Continuing Education Units (CEU) to participants who successfully complete selected NHI training courses. Traditionally, the NHI offered instructor-led training (ILT) within a classroom setting. Sensitive to the time and travel constraints of customers and aware of advances in a wide array of instructional technologies, NHI has dramatically expanded their distance learning offerings. These include WBT, WCT, VCT, flipped classroom training, blended learning, new technologies such as mobile apps and virtual world delivery, and new evolving training delivery platforms. NHI delivers its training courses based primarily on demand from customers, thus the number of training sessions delivered is variable and unknown in advance. The NHI website (http://www.nhi.fhwa.dot.gov/) provides a listing of current training courses, as well as information on training philosophy, instructor standards, and the NHI Style Guide. The solicitation and all related documents will be released electronically via the Government Point of Entry (GPE) otherwise known as sam.gov. As such, no written, telephonic or other type of request for an advance copy of the solicitation will be entertained. Potential offerors are encouraged to register on www.fbo.gov to receive any further information in reference to the subject action inclusive of any announcements, and/or amendments to the solicitation after its release. The FHWA intends to award multiple IDIQ contracts as a result of the solicitation. The period of performance shall not exceed 60 months from the effective date of the contract. The NAICS Code for this effort is 611430 with a size standard of $12 Million. This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. A Request for Proposals (RFP) is anticipated to be published in the near future. Once the RFP is posted, all interested, responsible sources may submit a proposal which will be considered by the FHWA.