QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS GMU

Transcription

1 Purchasing Department 4400 University Drive, Mailstop 3C5 Fairfax, VA Phone: Fax: QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS GMU Responses are in RED. 1. What is the estimated budget that will be allocated to this opportunity? This opportunity is an IDIQ (indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity). There is no set budget. 2. Approximately how many leadership facilitators does George Mason University intend to hire? 3. Approximately how many leadership coaches does George Mason University intend to hire? 4. Is the objective only to staff the MILE program with facilitators, or should our proposal include a cost estimate to revise/enhance the MILE program? A. This procurement does not include revising the MILE program. 5. Is the intent to only hire only local facilitators in Virginia, or is George Mason University open to any US based facilitators? A. GMU will consider contractors outside of Virginia. 6. Do oral presentations have to be in person? Or can conference calls suffice? A. The evaluation committee will determine after reviewing proposals. 7. How many instructors will be needed for the Leadership Program Support: Instruction? 8. How long are the courses? A. The courses vary in length. 9. How often do the courses occur per year? A. The frequency varies, based upon client volume. 10. Regarding the MILE course, could you please tell me how many MILE courses are run each year; that is, how many days of instruction are being requested? A. The frequency varies, based upon client volume. The courses vary in length. 11. Section VI: This section states vendors need to self-register in eva and pay the Vendor Transaction Fees prior to being awarded the contract. Do we need to do the eva vendor registration before

2 submitting on Oct. 10? Or will we be notified of award and have the opportunity to self-register at that point? A. You can register after notification of award. 12. Section X.C. Can Mason please clarify the role of Mentor Coaches and Coaching Evaluators? Do Mentor Coaches work with small teams within a cohort, providing feedback and reviewing tapes (e.g., Learning Lab Advisors)? And Coaching Evaluators provide feedback in session? A. Mentor Coaches work with small groups within a cohort and throughout the program provide one-on-one support to individuals in that group. Mentor coaches also provide written feedback to real time and recording coaching. Coaching Evaluators provide written feedback to real-time, in-class observed coaching. 13. Section XII.A.1: Will Mason permit an ed copy of the proposal as one other electronic device? If so, is there a size constraint?, copies will not be accepted. 14. Section XII.B.5: Based on Section V, it seems that Mason s intent is to use this contract to provide services to other organizations. Would it allow two tiers of rates, those for teaching public, open enrollment courses at the University, and those for external clients? 15. Section XII.B.5.c: Some courses can be co-facilitated or facilitated by one. Since vendors are submitting separately, can we provide two rates, one for co-facilitation and one for solo-facilitation? 16. Section XIII.A.5: Section VII requires that eligible vendors submit SWaM certification documents within 90 days of contract execution. However, Section XIII.A.5 indicates that certification is an evaluation criterion. According to SWaM s website, the process takes 60 days to certify. Therefore, vendors who are not already certified yet are eligible are not able to meet this criteria. Would Mason be willing to amend this criterion to include those who are SWaM eligible? 17. Attachment A: Vendor Data Sheet states "Must be certified with VIRGINIA SBSD to qualify." If a company is not certified by the VA SBSD, does it preclude them from responding to the RFP? 18. Section X.C. Can Mason please clarify the role of Mentor Coaches and Coaching Evaluators? Do you envision them playing separate roles? Can you explain individual roles and/or overlap? A. Mentor Coaches work with small groups within a cohort and throughout the program provide one-on-one support to individuals in that group. Mentor coaches also provide written feedback to real time and recording coaching. Coaching Evaluators provide written feedback to real-time, in-class observed coaching. 19. Should we provide rates for each category? Or, will only one rate be accepted? A. Please provide rates for each category. 20. If a rate is in question, will GMU circle back for a best and final offer? A. Rates will be clarified during negotiations. GMU may ask for a best and final offer per section XVI. B. 1.

3 21. Specific to the leadership program support: We have coaches that currently hold 2 Masters degrees and have over 10 years experience, as senior executives in a fortune 100 company. Would their education and experience exempt them from needing the PCC or ICF accreditation? A. All coaches must hold an ICF PCC or MCC accreditation. Instructors are not required to hold a coaching accreditation. 22. Reference Paragraph XII.B.4. (References): Will incumbent offerors, whose most relevant references (higher education) and most directly relevant past performance is with George Mason University (not necessarily MILE), be permitted to offer references from Mason employees without violating the spirit or intent of paragraph III. (Communication) or other provisions of the request for proposal (RFP)? A. Yes, you can use a Mason employee as a reference. 23. Section XII.B.5: Section V seems to evidence an intention to use this contract to provide services to other organizations. My organization has different tiers depending on public, private, non-profit, etc. Is it possible to provide multiple rate tiers to account for teaching in public open enrollment courses at the University vs those for external clients? 24. Section XII.B.5: Section V seems to evidence an intention to use this contract to provide services to other organizations. Would it allow two tiers of rates, those for teaching public, open enrollment courses at the University, and those for external clients? 25. Section XIII.A.3: Past Performance/References account for 20 points in the evaluation criteria. While approaching those whom I have worked with for references related to this proposal, they agreed to fairly strict policies for legal reasons. In other words, they agreed to confirm dates of services and whether the services I have and currently offer conform to those requested as part of the RFP. As much as they wanted to provide some glowing reports and testimonials they are precluded from doing so. I m curious how will the Mason weigh and assesses references where they have policies restricting written content provided. A. Respondents may describe past performances and include the contact information of references. 26. The RFP mentions established curriculums and also includes considerations for proprietary information/content. To what degree are instructors expected to adhere to preexisting curriculums or develop their own? A. This will vary. We will require that some curricula be adhered to and other may be co-created with MILE staff. 27. What are you criteria for applied or experiential learning objectives? A. We look for you to state your own understanding of applied experiential learning. 28. What is the frequency of engagement for this opportunity (i.e. weekly, monthly)? A. The Leadership Coaching For Organizational Well-Being certificate program is currently offered twice per year. The remaining programs vary, depending upon MILE client requirements. 29. Does the EPE have sole responsibility for contracting and administering this engagement? 30. Does MILE have a preference for behaviorally-based approaches? 31. Of the following, please indicate which are your highest priorities:

4 Leading edge, insightful content Personal and professional engagement Strong facilitation experiences A. We look for respondents to provide their own viewpoint and philosophy as to what is most important in leadership development. 32. Have you used contracted instructors in the past, and how has it functioned? A. Yes, through fixed price purchase orders. 33. The RFP noted leadership development programs across all levels of seniority. Are you looking to contract instructors across the whole spectrum?. We are building a pool of contractors with specific capabilities to choose from for specific types of work. 34. Are there incumbents for the services mentioned in this RFP? 35. Is all coaching on-site or will some be delivered online?, coach training is delivered online. One-on-one coaching will vary. 36. Section XII.A.1: Can I a copy of my proposal instead of turning in a thumb drive or CD?, copies will not be accepted. 37. Section XII.B.1.a: I m an independent contractor. Should I use my social security number since I don t have a FEI/FIN No.? A. You may leave your SS# out. If selected as a contractor, relevant information will be collected via the Commonwealth of Virginia Substitute W-9 Form. 38. Section XII.B.1.b: I m a female who works alone as an independent contractor. Am I eligible for SWaM certification if I don t have an incorporated business? If I am eligible, can I check the boxes if I plan to apply for SWaM certification? A. Questions about being certified as a SWaM vendor are best asked directly to the certifying agency, the Virginia Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity (SBSD), Offerors may be awarded points in initial scoring, as specified in the RFP, based on their status according to the SBSD website at the proposal due date and time. 39. Section XII.B.4: Can I use someone who I worked for at Mason as a reference? He no longer works at Mason. 40. Section IX. Background: Please describe the relationship between the vendor and Executive Professional Education A. EPE provides administrative functions for MILE, including providing contracting support. We do not expect vendors will interface with EPE. 41. Section X.A. Leadership Program Support: Instruction: The RFP indicates that instructors should have appropriate expertise and experience in leadership curriculum design. To what extent does MILE anticipate instructors to participate in leadership curriculum design of any of the programs?

5 42. Section X.A, X.D. Leadership Program Support and Advanced Coaching Program: We will be proposing multiple instructors (5+) to provide Leadership program support and the advanced coaching program. The RFP suggests that an example 1-day outline and exercise would be required for each instructor and topic that we would be offering. In lieu of providing outlines for each instructor and potential topic, will MILE accept a single example outline and exercise that is representative of the content and learning approach all instructors in our cadre will provide? A. You may choose to submit one or multiple outlines. 43. Section XVI.B.10: Subcontracts: To support requirements to provide coaching to approximately 100 clients, we would typically use a cadre of 10 or more coaches. Will we be required to receive MILE preapproval for every subcontracted coach that would perform under this effort?, however, we are interested to know your selection process. 44. Please list the location(s) at which in-person instruction and one-on-one coaching services will be delivered? A. The coaching program is delivered on the Fairfax campus. Other locations will vary, depending upon MILE client requirements.