Description
I. BACKGROUND The Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy (VAAA), which opened in 2008 in Frederick, Maryland, is the first acquisition academy in a civilian government agency created in response to growing acquisition workforce challenges. The five professional schools Acquisition Internship School, Federal Contracting Professional School, Federal Program/Project Management, Supply Chain Management, and Facilities Management offer a fully integrated competency-based training curriculum to certify acquisition professionals, as well as continuing education to maintain their credentials. Annually, VAAA trains 9,900 employees and independent contractors/franchisees through classroom and online training course offerings. The purpose of this Request-for-Information (RFI) is a function of our marketing effort to seek a solution to provide institutional academic advice to the five schools that comprise VAAA. II. OBJECTIVE OR SCOPE OF EFFORT VAAA engages in ongoing, integrated, and institution-wide, research-based planning and evaluation processes that: (1) incorporate a systematic review of institutional mission, goals, and outcomes; (2) result in continuing improvement in institutional quality of course offerings; and (3) demonstrate the institution is effectively accomplishing its mission in a cost-effective manner. Academic Advisors provide institutional support in the form of providing professional advice and assistance in course and curriculum development as well as evaluation and assessment of course offerings of the academy. Academic Advisor support will also include project and programmatic support routinely required in an educational institution or environment. III. Required Services Instructional design: multi modal instructional and flip the classroom delivery Provide program and Project Management support services in an educational environment Academic Services: consultation services for curriculum course development (CDD) and conduct review of CDD Performance Measurement and statistical analysis of course evaluation surveys Provide consultation services for continuous improvement of course offerings and institutional effectiveness initiatives Administrative support in an enterprise Shared Services model in an academic environment Educational support services: instructor training: course audits and support accreditation efforts at the academy Educational research within the training mission of the academy Helps to establish and implement a systematic evaluation process that assure that the academy and each school effective measures are outcome-based and properly documented. Provide evaluation expertise to oversee and participate in the design, development, and implementation of systematic training and program evaluation practices. Identifies and applies best practices in data management and use; designs plans and implements processes for most effectively collecting, cleaning, and analyzing data, including strategies for encouraging adequate response rates and ensuring complete data evaluation initiatives. Provide expertise in developing and strengthening partnership with our internal and external stakeholders, other US Government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academia, and private businesses to ensure alignment of training, assessment, and evaluation practices with industry best practices. Provide knowledgeable, sound advice for training and program evaluation in specific subject matter areas and engages with internal and external stakeholders in the planning, implementation and reporting of training and program evaluation. Actively engaged in the planning and implementation of training evaluation at all levels of an evaluation model such as Kirkpatrick, ensuring policy evaluation issues and staff development are effectively implemented. Work with a diverse group of staff to plan, implement, and report on training evaluation projects, to include designing valid survey and other data collection instruments. Provide expertise in using training evaluation findings from both quantitative and qualitative approaches to inform and refine an existing curriculum. Experience in evaluating the effectiveness of instructional/educational programs, including developing written and performance tests and survey instruments, and determining reliability and validity of evaluation instruments DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes only and does not constitute a solicitation. All information received in response to this RFI that is marked as proprietary will be handled accordingly. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Responders are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI.