I. PURPOSE The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) as a means of conducting market research to increase industry's understanding of TSA's Human Capital (HC) hiring and assessment delivery requirements. In addition, the purpose is to identify potential vendors and to seek industry feedback and recommendations that may assist in clarifying the requirements and in developing the acquisition strategy. Through this RFI, TSA seeks to improve its understanding of market capabilities and identify qualified vendors that are capable of providing assessment services for a workforce that is geographically dispersed, remote, and mobile. The current performance objectives in this RFI describe TSA’s current assessment requirements based on the current state and historical solutions that TSA has employed. TSA is seeking feedback from vendors on current assessment requirements as well as recommended innovative solutions based on market capabilities of assessment delivery. II. ANTICIPATED SCOPE On November 19, 2001, the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) established the existence of Transportation Security Administration (TSA), as well as performance criteria for Transportation Security Officers (TSO) and other field staff. In accordance with ATSA requirements, TSA employees are held accountable for their technical knowledge, as well as their ability to use that knowledge to perform the essential functions of the Security Officer Job. TSA ensures that candidates possess the skillsets and knowledge necessary to perform their essential functions through assessments which are comprised of questions drawn from TSA’s Standard Operating Procedures guidance, training curriculum, and other relevant materials. These tests vary depending on the specific function performed by the candidate and are typically scored as pass/fail. The contractor shall provide a solution to create, provide, deliver, validate, administer, and manage assessments for the full spectrum of TSA’s assessments for selection and promotional hiring, but could include assessments for incumbent employees and/or the data collection of new assessments for research purposes. TSA’s workforce is geographically dispersed across the U.S. and therefore the contractor must propose a solution that shall demonstrate nationwide capability to provide hiring assessments through a nationwide network of assessment facilities, mobile test sites and/or other remote capability. III. BACKGROUND The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was established with the enactment of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA) of 2001 Public Law 107-71. The mission of TSA is to protect the nation’s transportation systems, while ensuring the free movement of people and goods. The TSA workforce of approximately 67,000 employees located at TSA Headquarters (HQ), Regional Field Offices, 460+ railways and federal airports in 50 states, Washington D.C., and U.S. Territories, is directly responsible for implementing TSA's mission of protecting the national transportation system, conducting counterterrorism operations, and promoting the free and safe flow of commerce and people. TSA currently requires hiring assessments for Transportation Security Officers (TSOs); Federal Air Marshals (FAMs) entry and senior level; and Management, Administrative, and Professional (MAP) positions to include but not limited to: Transportation Security Specialist Explosive Detection Canine Handlers (TSS-EDCH), Transportation Security Inspector (TSI), Lead Transportation Security Officer (LTSO), and Supervisory Transportation Security Officer (STSO). In the future, TSA may reduce or expand the number of positions that require hiring assessments. Historically, TSA has paid per assessment as assessment volumes vary each month dependent on TSA’s hiring needs, however, TSA is open to recommendations on other pricing structures. TSA currently receives HC assessment services from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management USA Hire Federal Staffing Center Human Resources Solutions Program. OPM administers TSA pre-employment, competency-based assessments, and other assessment-related services at geographically dispersed static and mobile test sites for TSA’s mission critical positions through a nationwide network of assessment facilities and mobile test sites. TSA currently utilizes a combination of TSA-developed and third-party selection and promotion assessments. IV. PERIOD AND PLACE OF PERFORMANCE The Government anticipates awarding a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Contract with one (1) 12-month Base Period and four (4) 12-month option periods. The place for performance will be either at or within 50 miles of all federal and non-federal airports listed in Attachment 2. If the solution allows for 100% remote assessments, then the solution must be accessible to all candidates applying to airports listed in Attachment 2. V. PERFORMANCE OUTCOMES AND OBJECTIVES General Outcomes TSA requires a solution that supports the creation, delivery, administration, validation, and management of assessments for TSA’s workforce positions, as required. The solution will primarily be used by TSA to evaluate candidates for positions in a variety of business, technical, and security operations-related disciplines at the entry-level, team lead, first-line supervisor, manager, and executive levels. Additionally, the solution could be used for evaluating incumbents or collecting data on new assessments for research purposes. To ensure our workforce is mission ready, TSA needs a robust and flexible solution for the hiring, promotion and assessment of TSA employees. This solution may include but not be limited to: an assessments system, preferably Commercial-off-the-Shelf (COTS) technology; support services; assessment offerings; physical and mobile testing sites; proctored test administration (i.e., at TSA facilities or third-party facilities), as well as remote and unproctored test administration capabilities. The capability must support the selection and promotion of TSA employees, as well as the development and validation of new selection and promotion assessments. The historical hiring assessment volumes are listed in Attachment 1. In recent years, the ratio of hiring assessments to yield one hire has drastically increased and TSA is looking for a solution that will help drive down the volume of total assessments required to yield one hire without negatively affecting hiring volumes, timelines, or quality of new hires. Performance Objectives The contractor’s proposed solution shall meet the following objectives. Support the proper safeguarding and handling of Sensitive Security Information (SSI), Sensitive Personally Identifiable Information (SPII) and all other sensitive information as needed, per TSA guidelines. Develop, administer and grade assessments utilizing test content from TSA-developed assessments, the provider’s library of assessments, and off-the-shelf and custom developed assessments from third-party sources that may not be in the provider’s library. Provide testing sites whether static, remote, or mobile to meet a geographically dispersed candidate population. Candidates are situated at various regional locations and major metropolitan areas across the fifty (50) U.S., the District of Columbia (DC), and all U.S. territories and possessions. Test administration sites whether static or remote should be within fifty (50) miles of each federal and non-federal airports as listed in Attachment 2, FAMs Field Offices, and other TSA facilities. Testing sites must allow for TSA candidates and employees to access and test at the sites (i.e., not be limited to the general public). Testing sites must have sufficient seating/testing capacity commensurate with TSA requirements for a specific airport/field office. Testing sites whether static, remote, or mobile need to meet TSA/DHS security requirements and should demonstrate sufficient controls to promote test integrity and validity such as training and utilizing trained test proctors, securing test material, preventing cheating, allowing all potential users to have access to tests, standardized grading, and providing materials to candidates when needed. Allow self-proctor and/or mobile options for sites who may need or choose to administer their own assessments at TSA hiring events and airports. Currently, some TSA sites choose to self-proctor hiring tests for specified positions at hiring events or airport interviews due to the lack of availability in testing sites in certain markets. Allow assessments to be delivered via remote proctored or unproctored test administration methods for sites as requested by the Government. Allow TSA to administer assessments to existing employees, for employee evaluations and/or research purposes. Provide proctor training and materials to all needed proctors (e.g., at test sites, TSA self-proctors, remote proctors, etc.). Provide self-service scheduling that will allow TSA approved test-takers to self-schedule, cancel, and reschedule testing sessions. Provide customer service support to assist candidates throughout the entire assessment process from scheduling to reporting results to include troubleshooting of any testing issues, technical issues, and general questions. Provide data analytics to TSA when requested. Reporting shall include various test statistics, to include but not be limited to individual and overall test results (e.g., scores, pass/fail rate), item level data, response distractor data, individual and overall test time, etc. Solutions which utilize a IT system shall meet TSA/DHS IT security requirements (current requirements - Attachment 3) and at a minimum 1) Meet the requirements of Certification and Accreditation (C&A); 2) Have web-based automated registration, scheduling, and score reporting service, interface and transfer data bi-directionally with all TSA Government furnished and third-party Systems; 3) Have the ability to automatically transfer test results data to OPM’s USA Staffing System and 4) Update list and assign test batteries to test-takers as updates are made. VI. TRANSITION The contractor shall be responsible for all activities and early and continuous coordination with the transition-out contractor or TSA designated entity to ensure seamless and timely transition. These activities include but are not limited to the development and seamless coordinated execution of a detailed transition-in Master Schedule. VII. PERFORMANCE CONSTRAINTS Performance of this requirement shall be in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations and policies to include but not limited to: The Aviation and Transportation Security Act (ATSA), Public Law 107-71 (Nov 19, 2001) The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Guide to Processing Personnel Actions (GPPA) Title 5 of the United States Code – As applicable to TSA 5 CFR – as applicable to TSA Cybersecurity Policy for TSA Government Acquisitions (July 2023) VIII. RESPONSES TO THIS RFI The following sections provide a recommended outline for a response to this RFI. This outline is intended to minimize the effort of the respondent and structure the responses for ease of analysis by the Government. All qualified vendors are encouraged to respond to this notice in accordance with the instructions addressed herein. Section I – Cover Letter (1 page limit) List the company name and company point(s) of contact along with the following: Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Briefly describe the company history, ownership, products and services; Business size and status (i.e. small, veteran-owned, woman-owned, etc.); Recommended Product Service Code (PSC) applicable to the planned acquisition; Recommended NAICS Code and rational for any NAICS Code applicable to the planned acquisition. Section II – Capabilities Statement (3 page limit) In order for the TSA to improve its understanding of market capabilities and identify qualified vendors that are capable of providing full or partial solutions to TSA/HC, please provide a narrative description of your firm's capability to meet the recruitment and hiring needs of TSA as described in the Background section. Describe experience providing similar services or solutions to other Federal Agencies. Indicate any General Schedule Administration (GSA), Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC), and DHS Strategic Sourcing Vehicles (DHS SSV) that your company is part of that may be relevant to this requirement. Section III – Response to Government’s Questions (15 page limit) TSA is seeking industry input on the following questions: Technical Approach What TSA performance requirements does your solution to TSA’s nationwide objectives and high-volume demands meet? Not meet? If your solution includes a remote proctored or unproctored test administration, how would you ensure test integrity? How would your solution control/drive down the assessment volumes without negatively impacting the number of hires, the time to hire, or the quality of a hire? What assessments do you have in your current library? What additional partnering assessments or libraries can you access? Systems Approach (non- applicable for solutions without IT systems solution) If offering an Information Technology (IT)-system as part of the solution, does your system have an approved existing Authority to Operate (ATO)? If so, with whom do you have the ATO and when does the ATO expire? If offering a cloud based solution, does your system have an approved and current FedRAMP certification? Does your system solution currently connect to USA Staffing (USAS)? If not, how do you intend to reduce manual inputs to USAS? How does your solution automate/streamline the test administration process (e.g., scheduling of assessments, re-use of test results such as scores, pass/fail results)? Pricing What is the estimated price of your solution to meet TSA five-year requirements? Please provide as much detail as possible and pricing assumptions. If possible, TSA would like to receive a Rough Order Magnitude (ROM) pricing model to include administrative fees, estimated price per assessment, volume discounts, etc. Schedule What is your estimated timeline to deliver an effective solution after contract award? Corporate Experience Have you within the last 7 years performed federal hiring assessment services as a Prime Contractor in all 50 states and US territories? If yes, please detail out the past performance to include the Contract Number and Government POC. Have you within the last 7 years executed proctored computer based testing in all 50 states and territories for multiple positions? IX. INFORMATION EXCHANGE MEETINGS TSA may, at the agency’s sole discretion, hold technical information exchange meetings with respondent(s) with demonstrated capabilities and experience after reviewing vendor responses. The intent of these meetings will be to focus on industry experiences related to a solution development/design including processes and methodologies, technical solutions, best practices and lessons learned, associated cost, risks, and programmatic benefits. As part of the technical information exchange meetings, TSA may, at the agency’s sole discretion, request a demonstration, or additional information related to, a vendor’s submission. X. VENDOR SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES AND CONTRACT INFORMATION Submissions should be organized in accordance with the instructions in this document in order to permit a thorough and accurate review by TSA. Responses to this RFI must be submitted to the Contracting Officer at
[email protected] with copy to the Contract Specialist at
[email protected] on 10/17/2024 not later than 09:00 a.m. local time (Springfield, VA). Responses not received by the closing date and time may not be reviewed by TSA. XI. ADMINISTRATIVE THERE IS NOT A SOLICITATION AT THIS TIME. This request for information does not constitute a request for proposals or a promise to contract; submission of any information in response to this market survey is purely voluntary; the Government assumes no financial responsibility for any costs incurred. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluation will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue a RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, TSA is not seeking proposals at this time, and will not accept unsolicited proposals. All information received in response to this RFI marked Proprietary will be handled accordingly. Responders are advised the U.S. Government will not pay for any information or administrative costs incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the interested party’s expense. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any, is issued. XII. ATTACHMENTS Attachment 1 – Historical Volumes Data Table Attachment 2 – TSA List of Airport Locations Attachment 3 – TSA IT Acquisition Requirements