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REQUEST FOR INFORMATION SOURCES SOUGHT INTRODUCTION THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is issuing this Request for Information (... REQUEST FOR INFORMATION SOURCES SOUGHT INTRODUCTION THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) for identifying and proposing tools for Outcome Measures related to Student Academic Progress of GI Bill beneficiaries and market research. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only. There is no obligation for the Government to acquire any products or services described in this RFI. In accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. No funds have been authorized, appropriated, or received for this effort. The information provided may be used by VBA in developing its acquisition strategy and informing, refining and finalizing the Performance Work Statement (PWS). Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted or competition sensitive information contained in their response. Only electronic responses to this RFI will be accepted. The Government will not pay for any time expended or information submitted in response to this RFI. Eligibility in participating in a future acquisition does not depend upon a response to this RFI. BACKGROUND VA, VBA, Education Service is interested in receiving input regarding a potential requirement for support services in capturing, analyzing, and publishing academic progress and outcome measures on the usage of the GI Bill. Public Law 114-315, Section 404, requires educational institutions that receive payments under the Post-9/11 GI Bill to report academic progress to VA. VA uses outcome measures to capture academic progress and uses the two terms interchangeably. In 2012, Executive Order 13607 required VA to, develop a comprehensive strategy for developing Servicemember and Veteran student outcome measures that are comparable, to the maximum extent practicable, across Federal military and Veterans educational benefit programs. As a result, VA created a data crosswalk, with agencies such as the Department of Education (ED) and Department of Defense (DoD), to develop and publish outcome measures that were designed to capture Veteran-specific information on approved programs of education. Measure types include retention rate, persistence rate, transfer-out rate, graduation rate and certificate of completion. VA is seeking contract support to advise on methods to determine the return on investment (ROI) of the GI Bill and to identify, obtain, and analyze, data on the GI Bill populations. This information will enable VA to provide Veterans, Service members, and eligible dependents information to help with making more informed decisions on which educational paths may yield the best return on investment as measured by civilian workforce success, income, disability and homelessness status, non-reliance on public assistance, educational attainment, and student debt and default rates. VA will also utilize this information with stakeholders to provide a more comprehensive data representation on how GI Bill benefits are being utilized and determine baselines that will be used to measure the applicable outcome measures, provide insight into academic progress, and allows VA to inform policies or actions that promote improved outcome measures. INFORMATION SOUGHT VA seeks industry feedback and information regarding outcome measures. VA is using this RFI to help guide the identification, collection and analysis of data regarding academic progress and outcome measures. VA seeks industry feedback and information regarding potential paths forward and recommendations as to where it should focus its efforts in order to shape potential solicitation for proposals. Specifically, the information included in this RFI looks to address the following: VA reports student academic progress and outcome measures based on certificate of completion and retention, persistence, graduation, and transfer-out rates. What is/are the recommended measure(s) for GI Bill outcomes , to provide beneficiaries with information needed to make more informed educational path decisions and yield the best return on investment as measured by civilian workforce success, income, disability and homelessness status, non-reliance on public assistance, educational attainment, and student debt and default rates? What data collection and analysis measures are necessary for VA to support the recommended outcome measures and industry standards? How will VA assess the proposed measures, to ensure that the data which is collected to create outcome measures, is consistent and accurately measures the ROI of the GI Bill? VA submits an annual report to Congress, regarding student academic progress, and is required to post data on outcome measures on the GI Bill Comparison Tool. What is the recommended method that VA should follow to accurately report outcome measures with high-quality data? What is the recommended method for VA, to facilitate the automation of outcome measures in the GI Bill Comparison Tool, and what tools are necessary to realize this method? What reporting capabilities currently exist that should be obtained or leveraged to develop and maintain internal VA reporting functionality for outcome measures? If none exist, how should these be created? VA currently has established data sharing agreements with DoD, ED, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the U.S. Census Bureau, and the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC). What additional data sharing agreements or partnerships does VA need to enhance collection, analysis, and reporting of outcome measures? VA currently utilizes internal systems, data sharing agreements, and reported data from educational institutions to obtain data on the GI Bill population. What additional systems or data should VA obtain, to enhance its ability to collection, interpret and report on outcome measures? The Government is seeking the following information to be provided by the vendors when responding to the RFI: Company Information Capability Statement 3.1 Company Information RFI respondents shall provide the following information: Company Name Company Address Company Point of Contact (name, address, telephone number, email address) DUNS Number NAICS Codes and business size for NAICS code 541611 - Identify if your company has any of the following business concern statuses (include all that apply): Small Business (SB); Certified Small Business Administration (SBA) 8(a) firm; Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB); Service-Disabled, Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB); Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB); Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB); Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB); Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HubZone) Small Business; Large Business NOTE: If you feel that another NAICS code would better suit this requirement please provide any feedback in this section. Existing Multiple Award Contract (MAC) vehicles currently held by your company (examples may include General Service Administrations (GSA) schedules, Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWACs), Indefinite Delivery Contracts (IDCs), Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs)) available for the Government s use for this requirement. For each MAC vehicle provide: vehicle name vehicle number date of award expiration date 3.2 Capability Statement RFI respondents shall provide a capability statement with an overview of the entity s ability to work with VA to define outcome measures and identify, collect and analyze data on the ROI of the GI Bill. Overview should include but not be limited to: Describe what specific additional information regarding the requirements is needed to provide an informed and competitive solution. Do you understand what the VA requires? If not, what information needs to be added, changed and/or reworded? List any questions and concerns you have regarding this notice. Does your organization employ or contract with Certified Statisticians or data scientists to collect, analyze, and report data? If yes to question #3, how long has your organization been conducting data analysis for large organizations? Provide experience/examples in the ability to effectively conduct different types of data analysis/business analytics as appropriate for educational or training programs. Provide experience/examples in the ability to effectively manage large data collection and analysis efforts, while upholding scientific principles (i.e. integrity, rigor, independence, etc.). Provide experience/examples in the ability to verify, document, and communicate data analytics results in a clear and easy-to-understand way and develop an analytical report and user-friendly data visualizations. Provide experience/examples on the ability to possess interpersonal skills necessary to conduct interviews, entrance and exit briefings, and resolve conflict while completing data analyses and reporting, in a professional, ethical and objective manner. Provide experience/examples on completing statistical analysis to show Return on Investment (ROI) of educational or training programs or other large benefit programs. Provide experience/examples using innovative, state-of-the-art, and effective tools to collect and analyze data from various sources, as applicable. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS Please submit responses via email to the Contracting Officer, Ross Byrne at ross.byrne@va.gov. Submissions are due no later than June 24, 2020, 12:00 p.m. (ET). The email subject line must contain the following: Response to RFI 36C10E20Q0189, Education Service Outcome Measures. VBA reserves the right to not reply to any emails, responses, questions and materials submitted in response to the RFI. Mark your response as Proprietary Information if the information included is business sensitive and /or includes trade secrets. RFI responses shall not exceed 10 pages total, to include the capability statement. Responses shall be prepared on standard 8.5 x 11-inch paper (charts may be landscaped but must be on 8.5 x 11-inch paper) and shall be in Times New Roman, font size (12), with 1 margins. All pages of the response shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the RFI number.