REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) BEING RELEASED PURSUANT TO FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION (FAR) PART 10: MARKET RESEARCH. This RFI is issued solely for informational, market research, and planning purposes only. It does not constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP in the future. This RFI does not commit the Government to contract for any supply or service whatsoever. Further, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) is not at this time seeking proposals, and will not accept unsolicited proposals. Respondents are advised that the United States (U.S) Government will not pay for any information or administrative cost incurred in response to this RFI. All costs associated with responding to this RFI will be solely at the responding party’s expense. At this time, proprietary information is not being requested, and respondents shall refrain from providing proprietary information in response to this RFI. Responses to the RFI will not be returned. Please be advised that all submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP, if any is issued. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S Government to form a binding contract. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this RFI. SCOPE: In accordance with VTS Program policy (National Vessel Transportation Services (VTS) Standard Operating Procedures, COMDTINST M16630.3A, ref (a)), the Coast Guard is required to provide National Certification Course training to civilian personnel and military personnel recently-transferred to a VTS. The International Convention on Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers of 1978, (amended 1995) is a regulation that addresses the minimum standards of competence which include, but are not limited to Coast Guard watchkeepers. With respect to this regulation, the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigational and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) established IALA recommendation R0103 (V-103), Standards for Training and Certification of VTS Personnel, (Ref c). Specifically, Recommendation V-103 is a directive to national members and other appropriate authorities, providing or intending to provide vessel traffic services, to use the IALA standard of training and the related model courses as the basis for training and certification of personnel. Background: Title 14 U.S.C. requires the Coast Guard to safeguard the nation’s ports, waterways, port facilities, vessels, persons and property in the vicinity of the port, from accidental or intentional destruction, damage, loss or injury. In the course of conducting Port Safety and security, Marine Environmental Response and Waterways Management missions, the Coast Guard is responsible for vessel traffic management and navigation safety regulations. Purpose: The Coast Guard is issuing this request for information (RFI) for market research purposes to identify maritime training facilities with the ability to provide the Coast Guard National VTS Certification Course, IALA V-103, training to civilian personnel newly hired and military personnel recently transferred to a VTS. The vendor shall develop curriculum along with periodic updates to that curriculum. The vendor shall also provide course materials to include, but not be limited to, course handbooks, syllabus, presentation handouts, training completion surveys, and certificates. The applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code assigned to this procurement may be 926120. After reviewing RFI responses to this RFI, and if the USCG still plans to proceed with the acquisition, a solicitation announcement may be published on the Contract Opportunities (formerly FedBizOpps) website or distributed to contract holders if a strategically-sourced vehicle is deemed appropriate. It is the responsibility of the interested parties to monitor the Contract Opportunities website. Failure to respond or submit sufficiently detailed information may result in a company not being considered a likely offeror when making a decision on whether or how to set aside a solicitation for restricted competition. Regardless of the information submitted, the Government reserves the right to consider any arrangement as determined appropriate for this requirement. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response to this RFI. The Government reserves the right to use any information provided by respondents for any purpose determined necessary and legally appropriate, including using technical information provided by respondents in any resultant solicitation. Request: If your organization has been certified to provide IALA recommendation R0103 (V-103), Standards for Training and Certification of VTS Personnel, please provide the following information: Organization name Address Website Point of contact name Point of contact email address Point of contact telephone number Socioeconomic status Unique Entity Identifier What information and/or resources would you typically need from the government to perform this effort? Does your company currently have existing government-wide acquisition contracts (GWAC) (e.g. GSA) or other strategically sourced contracts for these types of requirements that the USCG can order off? If yes, please provide contract number, what agency it is with, and agency point of contact information. What type of contract (e.g. firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, etc.) have you been issued before for this type of work? Do you recommend one type or a perhaps a hybrid (i.e. a contract that allows several types)? Provide any general comments, thoughts, and feedback your company would like to share regarding this RFI. Submission Instructions: Interested parties are invited to submit a response to the above questions by July 27, 2022 at 11:00 am. All responses and questions regarding this RFI must be emailed to
[email protected] and Wendy L. Paulo
[email protected]. You may also submit supplemental materials such as brochures and product literature to the above email address