eLearning online platform/tool

 SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT Defense Information Systems Agency / Workforce Development Division is seeking information from industry to assist with the development and planning of a potential new requirement.CONTRACTING OFFICE ADDRESS:DISA/CONTRACTS-NCR PL62PO BOX 549FORT MEADE, MD 20755-0549INTRODUCTION:This is a SOURCES SOUGHT TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION to determine the availability and technical capability of small businesses (including the following subsets, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Certified 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, HUBZone and Woman Owned Small Business) to provide the required products and/or services.The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Workforce Development Division, Fort Meade, Maryland is seeking information for potential sources for information and availability of a comprehensive online training solution for all DISA Civilian and Military worldwide, approximately 9000 +/- personnel. The content shall be online and accessible via

courseware, books, videos, and practical labs; and available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, from Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) or privately owned equipment.DISA is a combat support agency of the Department of Defense (DOD). DISA's vision to be the trusted provider to connect and protect the warfighter in cyberspace requires a workforce that is current, relevant, and trained on the cutting edge of technological advancement, leadership, management, business, and desktop skills. The use of a self-paced and always-accessible training solution is a cost effective and valuable asset.In support of its Civilian and Military workforce worldwide, including personnel temporarily assigned to DISA, the agency's mission it to provide technology-based training and instruction opportunities for skill enhancement, required training, and career development that is accessible 24 hours per day and 365 days per year from Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and personally owned equipment from home or work locations.This requirement, if we should decide to move forward, will be based on a one year base period and 4 option years.Scope of EffortRespondees shall provide a full on-line catalog with download capability of courses they offer, student guides and the capability to add additional courses. The scope of the training topics should include (but are not limited to) business skills, leadership development, soft skills, compliance, productivity and collaboration tools, professional certification preparation, Information Technology skills, Government processes, well-being, engineering, database management, network security, cloud computing, human resources, emerging technology skills, and future skills/topics as they become necessary to prepare and complete the mission of connecting and protecting the warfighter.Provide a help desk for assistance with system issues that are outside the capability of the DISA program manager. Learning and performance support resources shall be made available via the Contractor hosted, Internet accessible, learning management and delivery platform.Technical CharacteristicsThe online platform/tool must have the ability to integrate with DISA programs including the Corporate Information Management System (CMIS) and DISA Talent Management System (DTMS).Provide enough licenses to allow the DISA civilian and military workforce, approximately 9000 personnel, access to the entirety of the eLearning suite. Additional bulk license purchases shall be available, with tiered pricing corresponding to the number of licenses.The online access and licensing shall include the opportunity to conduct practical skill application exercises and exploration in a laboratory or virtual environment for Information Technology (IT) and technical abilities on a non-DISA network that allows for practicing skills such as ethical hacking and penetration testing.Provide Help Desk Support for the DISA eLearning platform to troubleshoot problems with the eLearning platform and determine if the issue is due to eLearning or if it is a Government problem. The Help Desk will be available via phone or email, permitting training to move forward without undue delays. All trouble tickets should be reported in a monthly report, and shall be resolved no later than 15 days from discovery to maintain exceptional service ratings.Quarterly meetings with the DISA Global Service Desk quarterly to ensure technical standards such as JAVA are compliant with DOD regulations and the workforce is able to access material 24 hour a day/7 day a week with minimal interruption. Trouble tickets and resolution tracking will be provided in a monthly report.Content will be cataloged by grouping learning materials into sub-sets. Courses qualifying for continuous education units (CEU) or program development units (PDU), etc. shall identified. Printable completion certificates will be available for all successfully completed content, courses, or learning tracks. Content catalogs shall be shareable with other DISA Workforce Development programs.Certification preparation. Content related to industry Information Assurance / Cybersecurity and other professional certifications such as the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA) offerings, the International Information Security System Certification Consortium (ISC)2 offerings, Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) offerings, Cisco Systems, EC-Council, Microsoft, Oracle, Project Management Institute, and Human Resources Certification Institute offerings to prepare employees for taking and passing certification exams. Practice exams and other study materials should be for the latest and most current version of the certification.Technical Skills (IT) topics required, but not limited to Software Development, Operating Systems, Server Technologies, Mainframe Technologies, Enterprise Database Systems, Web Design, Cloud Technologies, Cloud Security, Network Security, Intrusion Detection, Hacking and Penetration Testing.Provide a comprehensive suite of assets that support leadership development, leadership topics, supervisory development, management topics, and communications skills.Provide training content covering desktop and end user skills including, but not limited to: Microsoft Office training, Microsoft SharePoint, internet skills, email, computing fundamentals, Adobe tools, and other common desktop and end user products.The online training catalog shall include content on skills commonly referred to as soft skills. Topics should include, but are not limited to: writing, time management, budgeting, Federal/DOD budgeting processes, program management, project management, human resources, human resources management, professionalism, finance, strategic operations and planning, etc.Provide a courseware collection designed to address mandatory compliance training needs of the Federal Government, Department of Defense, and DISA Mandatory Training. These requirements change frequently. The catalog should include, but is not limited to: Human Resources, Harassment, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and Federal specific topics, such as:The No Fear ActThe U.S. ConstitutionAccessibility and Section 508 AwarenessIT Security AwarenessSexual Harassment Prevention for Federal EmployeesWorkplace SafetyFederal Budgeting ProcessGovernment EthicsProper Use of Government Charge CardsHR FlexibilitiesProvide content on safety at home and in the workplace. Topics should include office hazards, accident investigation, ladder safety, warehouse safety, safe forklift operation, fire safety, electrical safety, safe lifting techniques, hazardous materials, hazardous noise, etc.When applicable and possible, content will be supplemented with access to Subject Matter Experts (SME) and/or mentors via chat, email, or phone. These SMEs or mentors shall be certified professionals in the topics they cover and should be able to answer questions, give clarification, and provide guidance and understanding to learners.Provide access to extended standalone simulations, hands-on exercises, testing and evaluation opportunities, and focused role playing exercises that provide the learner with realistic experiences and opportunity to test knowledge and ideas.Provide a simple sandbox that is accessible through the web and contain all the components required to learn about the topic. Additionally, the environment shall include specific hands-on exercises with clear objectives that learners are expected to complete as part of a curriculum, such as lab steps that guide the learners through an activity. The environment shall be fully configured with all the resources required to complete the exercises.Provide access to full-text versions of relevant online books and other textual resources for the entire platform content. The online book solution must provide for personal and DISA-wide bookshelves for purposes of providing consistent messaging and access to common materials (i.e. vetted reading lists, approved study guides, etc.). Technology must include user functionality including, but not limited to:Options for accessing locating content including a basic and intuitive topic tree as well as basic and advanced search capabilities (including the ability to search to quickly narrow scope of hits returned).Book-marking and book-marking with optional notes field.Ability to email book-marking to other DISA personnel.If available, books shall also be accessible via audiobook for use on GFE and personal devices, for download or streaming listening. The full catalog listing of audiobooks shall be easily searchable.Courseware must allow for the toggling on/off of audio. Courseware should provide equivalent text to the audio components. User interface must be consistent between business skills, compliance, and information technology skills courseware. Courseware must be Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC) and Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) conformant (minimum of level 1.2). Courseware should be compliant with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and support the use of JAWS screen reader technology.Provide courseware aligned to the certification knowledge requirements for offered certification exams. Provide courseware accepted by certification governing bodies for recertification credit.Currently own or obtain a recent American Council on Education recommendation. Be a Project Manager Institute (PMI)® Charter-Global Registered Education Provider (R.E.P.) and be authorized to provide courses that are eligible for PMI PDU credit.Provide a consistently updated list of content providing continuing education credits or professional development units in an easily searchable and accessible format, and without charging a processing fee for provision of recertification credit.The eLearning tool shall provide the ability to create customized learning tracks for individuals and larger user groups. These customized tracks will be created by end users or the Program Manager from content already available in the catalogs, but will be organized to create a focused learning experience. Completion status will be available for tracking purposes.Provide a course authoring capability to create content rich text activities, audio, videos, and visuals within the eLearning tool. Also the ability to host authored instructional content that is not already available in the course catalogs. Customized content could be created using an off-the-shelf software package (i.e. Adobe Captivate).The Government will be allowed to request ad-hoc content updates at least once per quarter to ensure that training is current and relevant to the dynamic needs of the Agency. These updates can include sun setting content or introducing new content on specific topics.All content will be routinely updated no less than twice per fiscal year.The online platform shall allow the ability to track the following data for all content:unique users (overall logins)returning users (overall logins)25 most used content25 least used contentcompletion reportsenrollment and completion for specific tracks/courses/contentpass-fail resultsEnd of course student survey to evaluate the following shall be available:satisfactionlearning leveloverall experiencequality of contenttopic relevanceProvide an eLearning performance report to the Government every three (3) months (no more than 10 business days after the completion of the third month). At a minimum, the report shall include the title of each online course taken during the previous three month period and the number of students who completed the course.RESPONSE GUIDELINES SOURCES SOUGHT:The anticipated North American Industry Classification System Code (NAICS) for this requirement is 611430 Professional development training, with the corresponding size standard of $12 million. This Sources Sought Synopsis is requesting responses to the following criteria ONLY from small businesses that can provide the required services under the NAICS Code.To assist DISA in making a determination regarding the level of participation by small business in any subsequent procurement that may result from this Sources Sought, you are also encouraged to provide information regarding your plans to use joint venturing (JV) or partnering to meet each of the requirements areas contained herein. This includes responses from qualified and capable Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Certified 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, HUBZone and Woman Owned Small Businesses. You should provide information on how you would envision your company's areas of expertise and those of any proposed JV/partner would be combined to meet the specific requirements contained in this announcement.In order to make a determination for a small business set-aside, two or more qualified and capable small businesses must submit responses that demonstrate their qualifications. Responses must demonstrate the company's ability to perform in accordance with the Limitations on Subcontracting clause (FAR 52.219-14).REQUIRED CAPABILITIES:a) Describe your corporate experience regarding the establishment, support, and execution of an eLearning online platform/tool.b) Describe your company's experiences with developing and implementing a help desk for assistance with system issues.c) Describe methodologies your company used in providing comprehensive online training solution and support across a large portfolio (greater than 5000 users), not just limited to, business skills, leadership development, soft skills, compliance, productivity / collaboration tools, professional certification preparation (to include IT) and human resource classes.d) Describe the experience your company has in course authoring capability, which allows you to create content rich text activities, audio, videos, and visuals within the eLearning tool.e) Describe the experience your company has incorporating customer created content into the course catalog.f) Provide a copy of your catalog of on-line classes. SUBMISSION DETAILS:Responses should include:1) Business name and address;2) Name of company representative and their business title;3) Type of Small Business;4) Cage Code;5) Contract vehicles that would be available to the Government for the procurement of the product and service, to include ENCORE III, General Service Administration (GSA), GSA MOBIS, NIH, NASA SEWP, Federal Supply Schedules (FSS), or any other Government Agency contract vehicle. (This information is for market research only and does not preclude your company from responding to this notice.)Vendors who wish to respond to this should send responses via email NLT 11:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time (EDT), November 15, 2019; to: chelsea.t.dean.civ@mail.milInterested businesses should submit a brief capabilities statement package, covering the items in REQUIRED CAPABILITIES section (no more than six pages plus a catalog of on-line classes not included in total pages; and attach separately) demonstrating ability to perform the services listed in this Technical Description.Proprietary information and trade secrets, if any, must be clearly marked on all materials. All information received that is marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. All government and contractor personal reviewing responses will have signed non-disclosure agreements and understand their responsibility for proper use and protection from unauthorized disclosure of proprietary information as described 41 USC 423. The Government shall not be held liable for any damages incurred if proprietary information is not properly identified. CONTRACT/PROGRAM BACKGROUND:Contract Number: GS-02F-0040L HC1028-15-F-0435Contract Type: FFPIncumbent and their size: Skillsoft Corp. Large BusinessMethod of previous acquisition: Fair opportunity under a competitively awarded GSA Schedule DISCLAIMER:THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY.