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FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JUNE 28, 2012 FBO #3869
DOCUMENT

U -- PCC EDUCATION SERVICES Questions and Answers Response time is extened to 7/13/12 4 pm EST - Attachment

Notice Date

6/26/2012
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

611710 — Educational Support Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veteran Affairs;SAO East;PCAE STL Contracting Officer;11152 South Towne Square;Saint Louis MO 63123
 

ZIP Code

63123
 

Solicitation Number

VA77712R0189
 

Response Due

7/13/2012
 

Archive Date

7/28/2012
 

Point of Contact

Dana Diamond
 

E-Mail Address

Contract Specialist
(dana.diamond@va.gov)
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

Questions for VA777-12-R-0189 Section C - Description/Specifications/Statement of Work Task 5.2.1 Which "key VHA program offices" will be supporting this program and are they aware that the solicitation has been released? Some of the key program offices include Patient Care Services, Mental Health, the National Center for Health Prormotion and Diesase Management, and the Educational Service. Yes, they know and we have been meeting in preparation. Deliverable 5.2.1 Have the "program office representatives" mentioned in this section been identified and how much time will they make available for upcoming interviews? The program offices have submitted names of people for interviews. There are many and we will have to prioritize the lists down to about 5 or 6 program office in order to keep to the timeline. Task 5.3.1 - Patient Centered Clinical Care Foundations Course Task 5.3.1 states, "The Patient Centered Clinical Care Foundations Course shall include Train-the-Trainer concepts to support a future in-house VHA-wide deployment strategy." Is it known what this strategy might look like and how extensive it might be? As stated in the RFP, itwil l include programs that can be delivered face-to-face in short segments (like Town Halls and inservice), or added together to create longer programs (like staff retreats). The compoenets can be thought of as modular or like menu options that can be selected by the facility for the target audience and timframe desired. Deliverable 5.3.2 Is the purpose of training the 45 VHA staff members so that these staff members can: a.Receive the training as a pilot/demonstration group? Somewhat as this is a test group for the content. b.Receive the training so they can later train others in the educational content? Yes, definitely. c.Receive the training so they can later lead Train-the-Trainer sessions? The 45 participants are the initial train-the-trainers and will be responsible for carrying the program to the facilities and the broader audience. Are these intended to be onsite, instructor led training sessions or to use distance learning delivery methods? The train-the-trainer will most likely be at a site, but the attendees will be from many sites. The y will in turn be delivering the program in a variety of venues, depending the educational needs (new Employee orientation, inservice, staff retreat, on-line module, etc. For all onsite, instructor led training(s), is it assumed that the VA will provide appropriate venues according to contractor specifications. Yes, within reason, according to the facilities and resources the VA has at its disposal. For onsite, instructor led training delivery, it is assumed that the 45 VHA staff would be divided into 2 cohorts and trained at 2 separate locations; thus requiring 2 separate trainings. Is this correct? Yes, two sessions, two different groups, 20-25 invited each time. Is there a specified, intended length of each of the two training sessions? There isn't. We would like the vendor to help us determine the best approach, length of time, etc. Task 5.4.1 The proposal asks us to build onto what currently exists, which we interpret to also mean using established VA metrics for educational programs (e.g. EES). Is this the case? And if so, what might these be? This means that when we have a program (like Motivational Interviewing) that already exists, then vendor will be aware of this and build on this rather than bring it in like it is something new. Task 5.5.1 - Patient Centered Clinical Care Program Task 5.5.1 states "The Patient Centered Clinical Staff education program will teach core competencies for clinical staff focused on the personalized health planning process with comprehensive content on health, wellbeing and whole person care." What is the VA's list of core competencies for clinical staff? We would like the vendor to design a program for health and well-being that is based on the core competencies that they vendor knows from their expertise and experience are essential for clinical staff to incorporate into their daily work (for example healing communication, mindfulness,team relationships, healthy partnerships, etc). Deliverable 5.5.2 The Deliverables Table suggests there will be one session for 150 people - is that correct? If not, is there a recommended or maximum number of sessions, sites, and recommended duration for the training for 150 VHA staff? The same course will be offered 4 times, to about 40 - 50 people at a time. For all on-site, instructor led training(s), will VA provide appropriate venues according to contractor specifications? Yes, see above response. Task 5.7.1 - Patient Centered Clinical Care Health Coaching Course Does the statement "contractor shall incorporate clinical staff qualifying criteria for each level" mean that there would be that staff would have to apply to enter the program? Please explain what you mean by qualifying criteria for each level. Yes, there will be an application process that the vendor will recommend. AND there will be a progression from beginner to master with criteria to move from one level to another that the vendor will also make recommendations for. "Document management" is listed in the Patient Centered Clinical Care Health Coaching education core competencies. Does "document management" refer to clinical record keeping practices or something else? Document management means the process the vendor will use to create, revise, and maintain, and establish a repository for the documents created by the vendor, for use by the VHA. Deliverable 5.7.2 Is the intention to include all 75 VHA staff in a single session of the education program? No, there would be 2 groups of about half this number. Is the expectation that all participants would complete the entire course from beginner through master level? No, it would take over a year or two to become a master, which is beyond the contract. The criteria will be established though. Is there a recommended or maximum number of training days or recommended time allotment for the training? We would like the vendor to recommend the length of training based on their experience and expertise. E. Evaluated Optional Tasks and Associated Deliverables Optional Task 5.9.1 (Patient Centered Clinical Care Program) Is there a recommended or maximum number of sessions, sites, and recommended duration for the training for 1000 VHA clinicians? No Is it expected that the evaluation results from Year 1 be incorporated into the program delivered to the 1,000 VHA clinicians in Year 2? Yes Optional Task 5.9.2 (Patient Centered Clinical Care Health Coaching Course) Is there a recommended or maximum number of sessions, sites, and recommended duration for the training for 1000 VHA clinicians? No Is it expected that the evaluation results from Year 1 be incorporated into the program delivered to the 500 VHA staff in Year 2? Yes 7. Place of Performance I. Travel The item states that "the Government anticipates travel under this PWS to include program-related meetings or conferences during the period of performance." Does this include travel for delivery of trainings as stated in Deliverables 5.3.2, 5.5.2, and 5.7.2? Yes Attachment 1 Section M. Evaluation Factors for Award Submission c. Content Requirements On the final page of the Solicitation Notice, the General Instructions state that "the offeror shall provide a 20 page (maximum) proposal that addresses how the Performance Work Statement requirements will be accomplished." However, in Section M of the Solicitation Offer and Award it provides the following page limits: Volume I - Technical (30 pages), Volume II - Key Personnel (5 pages plus 2 page maximum for each resume), Volume III - Past Performance (2 page maximum for each reference), Volume IV - Price (no limit). Please clarify page limit expectations for each volume as it appears that there are discrepancies. Main body of the document (Volume 1) should not be more than 20 pages. Other sections would be outside of that limit. e. Volume I - Technical What are the technical needs of the Employee Education System? Are there particular technical specifications that vendors must adhere to in order to make trainings compatible with the EES system? Review these documents for specifications. See attached. D. QUALITY CONTROL (page 12) The item states "As a minimum requirement, the contractor shall develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified in Attachment 3, Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)". The attachment was not included in the original RFP, can this attachment be provided? The QASP is created after the vendor is selected and the VA has the vendor's quality control process. General Questions: Is there interest in co-branded material? 2) Please clarify what is meant by the term "evidenced-based" related to the evaluation plan. According to the body of evidence of learning principles - using good scientific measurement approach such as Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation. 3) Are there any preferred methodologies for evaluating the educational programs and/or existing VA models/tools employed to assess other training programs within the agency? Kirkpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation is the preferred methodology, and the VA would be interested in evaluating at Levels 3 & 4. Below are some questions we would like to submit for your consideration concerning RFP # VA777-12-R-0189. Thank you very much for your assistance. 1.What is the exact makeup of your Patient Centered Clinical Care (PCCC) team? The Patient Centered Care Clinical Program will teach the core competencies that staff need who work in all clinical areas that provide direct patient care. This include sall clinical disciplines and settings (inpatient, outpatient, long term care, etc). We are not talking about individual teams, but all people who provide clinical care to patients in VHA facilities. 2.Is the physician or case manager the head of the team? In primary care, we have 4 person teams and a provider is one of the team members. And we have extended team members that include social workers, pharmacists, dietitians, mental health providers, case managers, However, the education will be for other clinical areas beyond primary care and those areas aren't organized the same way. 3.Is there a core group of professionals who meet and how often do they meet? In primary care, teams huddle daily and extended teams meet once a week. 4.How much is the patient currently involved with the PCCC team? Some teams engage Veterans in helping with improvement activities and design. Some medical centers have patient advisory councils. 5.Does the PCCC team vary with different VA Medical Centers (VAMC)? Yes, each medical center may be organized differently and they are of different sizes and complexities from tertiarycare centers and polytrauma centers down to very small 2 provider clinics in highly rural areas. 6.What is the relationship between the OPCCCT and the VA Employee Education System (EES)? We are partners. 7.Will VA resources such as the VA Nationwide Teleconferencing System (VANTS) be available to the contractor for this project? Yes 8.Can you be more specific on what key VHA program offices means? They are somewhat like departments in the private sector and are organized around major initiatives. The Office of Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation is the name of the program office from which this RFP is issued. 9.Will the contractor be providing the training facilities where the classes are taught or broadcast? No Technical and Cost Questions VA777-12-R-0189-Education Services for Patient Centered Clinical Care 1.Does the VA have its own or a preferred LMS for e-Learning? Yes - the VA Talent Management System (TMS) 2.If yes to #1, can the contractor still use an external VA e-learning solution and direct personnel to it in the initial start-up phase and then transition over? The VA TMS is an Internet-based server that employees may access from VA computers. No, another external source would not be good as not all staff have easy access to the internet during work hours and may not have home access. 3.Under this RFP, will the VA pay for integrating contractor developed educational tools onto its system or does the contractor? VA will pay. 4.Does the VA have its own or a preferred content creation tool for e-Learning? No, be we will provide contractors with course development templates that are both SCORM and 508 compliant. 5.If yes to #4, will the VA provide contractor access to it or require working with it? We strongly advise the contractor to use the course development templates with their preferred e-learning development tool. 6.Does the contractor have to pay for the granting of continuing education credits for this proposal or can it use the VA's continuing education system? VA uses its own accreditation process 7.Is there a standard technical specification for the learner's computers or can we build content to a specific version of a small set of browsers? Contractors may access website below for specifications. 8.http://www.va.gov/TRM/TRMHomePage.asp Can we assume that all users will have computer access with high-speed internet for at least part of their day (home or work)? Users will have access to the VA Intranet and VA TMS during work hours, but may not have access to internet at work or home. 9.Is there a standardized or preferred mobile device (iPhone, iPad ¦) for learners? No 10.In the deliverables table shown on pages 10 and 11 of the RFP, did the VA intend for the Health Coaching Course to be developed within the first 90 days after contract award and then training delivered within 330 days after contract award? Part of the 330 days includes the 90 days. Training should be completed within 330 days. 11.For the two optional tasks (Optional Tasks 5.9.1 and 5.9.2), there is no evaluation specified. Did the VA intend to track, assess, and evaluate these two optional tasks? If so, is an evaluation report about those trainings required and when would that need to be delivered to VA? The same evaluation plans would be used as developed for the earlier trainings. The vendor would not be responsible for the reporting during the optional tasks. 12.For the two optional tasks, is the contractor responsible for recruiting participants for the courses or will they be identified, recruited, and assigned by the VA? No, the contractor is not responsible for recruiting the participants. 13.In the pre-solicitation synopsis, the VA stated (see specifically the underlined content): Subcontracting Plan. Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation shall include a subcontracting plan that separately addresses subcontracting with small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns. If the offeror is submitting an individual contract plan, the plan must separately address subcontracting with small business, veteran-owned small business, service-disabled veteran-owned small business, HUBZone small business, small disadvantaged business, and women-owned small business concerns, with a separate part for the basic contract and separate parts for each option, if any. The plan shall be included in and made a part of the resultant contract. Failure to submit and negotiate a subcontracting plan shall make the offeror ineligible for award of a contract. 14.In the RFP, the VA does not make such a specific requirement. Please clarify whether or not offerors are required to subcontract with one or more small businesses, veteran-owned small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses, and/or women-owned small business concerns. 15.There are limited words on pricing, can more guidance be provided. Don't understand what this means. It's the standard guidance. We have the following questions for the opportunity: 1.Optional Task 5.9.1 - In conducting the Patient Centered Clinical Care education program for 1,000 VHA clinicians within the option year period, is the training in one setting or multiple settings? If the trainings are for multiple settings, how many individual training session should contractors budget? If the training sessions are in a single setting, does the contractor have to budget for the hotel space will the funds for the training be taken care of by VHA? The training would be in multiple VA settings. Sessions would be dependent upon training methodology used. For example, face-to-face vs. online. 2.Optional Task 5.9.2- In conducting the Patient Centered Clinical Care Health Coaching education program to 500 VHA staff, will the trainings occur in a single or multiple training session? The training would be in multiple VA settings. Sessions would be dependent upon training methodology used. For example, face-to-face vs. online. 3.What is the projected start and end date of the period of performance? Starts once the contract is awarded and ends one year later. 4.Task 5.1.1 - Will the kick-off meeting take place in person or via teleconference? Would likely be in DC and be a mixture. Those who could not travel would attend via teleconference. 5.Task 5.1.2 - Are monthly written status reports desired in hardcopy or soft copy versions or both? soft 6.Task 5.2.1 - In conducting interviews with key VHA program offices, is it desired for those to occur in person or via electronic means? Telephonically or in person if the person is local If in person assessments are desired, how many trips are anticipated and for how many days? 7.Deliverable 5.3.3 - Is the contractor responsible for printing all training materials for the Pt Centered Clinical Care Foundations course for VHA staff? Yes 8.Deliverable 5.5.2 - Is the contractor responsible for printing all training materials for 150 VHA staff for deliverable 5.5.2? Yes 9.Deliverable 5.7.2 - Is the contractor responsible for printing all training materials for all 75 staff for deliverable 5.7.2?Yes 10. Since it is desired on occasion to have the contractor attend meetings at various Government sites, please indicate the anticipated number of meetings, the number of days and the desired location. This information is in the grid under I.Travel (pg 12) 11. What is the anticipated range of funding for the contract award? No 12. Is this a follow on contract? No If so, who is the incumbent and what was the awarded contract value? 13.What is the anticipated level of effort for staff? Question unclear Within the General Instructions, in bold type, the technical proposal limit is noted as 20 pages. Within Attachment #1 table at the top of RFQ Page 49, the technical page limit is listed as 30 pages. Can you please clarify which is the correct page length? Main body of the document (Volume 1) should not be more than 20 pages. Other sections would be outside of that limit. Content/Design Questions Task 5.2.1: The contractor shall review and assess VHA's existing patient centered clinical care education materials and tools to assess current state. The contractor shall conduct interviews with key VHA program offices and review education materials and other related VHA documentation. Question 1: Can contractor receive more specifics on existing 'Patient Centered Clinical Care' education materials? For example: number of available courses, lessons, current format of the materials (videos, power points, word documents, etc.) That's the purpose of the scan, and we will provide guidance and input. Question 2: What personnel will serve as 'subject matter experts' (SME's)? We have convened an Integration Panel of SME's that include leaders of several key program offices. For example, doctors, nurses, administrators, etc. How many SMEs will be available to assist the contractor? 10 - 15. Will assist with other SMEs as needed. Task 5.3.1: Education content shall be designed for use in multiple venues to include face-to-face presentations, videos, web-based modules, printed self-learning modules, distance learning, etc. Question 3: Does the VHA have a preference for the modality? Are there budget restrictions that will impact curriculum implementation recommendations? There are concerns with pulling people away from their work as well as travel concerns, so we want to look at other training modalities that don't involve face-to-face. We recognize that face-to-face learning is essential for certain types of education, but we hope to minimize travel when possible. Task 5.4.1: The contractor shall develop an evidenced-based education evaluation plan that tracks, assesses and evaluates the effectiveness of the Patient Centered Clinical Care Foundations course. Question 4: Does the VHA have a preference on how effectiveness of the training will be evaluated? E.g. user survey, pilot test, quantitative student scores, etc. Based upon Fitzpatrick's Four Levels of Evaluation. Will the VHA require a field test of the courses? No Task 5.5.1: ¦. with an emphasis on innovative experiential training strategies that extend beyond traditional teaching/learning methods (e.g., presentations, case scenario, role-play). Question 5: Can VHA provide an example of 'innovative experiential training' utilized in previous training? Accelerated Learning Methodology and other learning venues that are not traditional lecture. Task 5.7.1 The contractor shall develop an educational program for the Patient Centered Clinical Care Health Coaching course. Question 6: Do core competencies already exist for the course(s)? No If so, how many competencies (learning objectives) are there? These will be determined by the vendor and VHA Thank you for the opportunity to submit these questions in preparation of our proposal. Section C: (Page 7) Task. 5.2.1: The contractor shall review and assess VHA's existing patient centered clinical care education materials and tools to assess current state. Q. Are there any current assessment documents, summaries or reports regarding the currently available educational content and materials related to this initiative? These will be discovered during the current state analysis If so, will they be made available to offerors? No Q: Is there a website or central repository that currently houses these materials to review? No Q: Is there an incumbent that created the initial content referenced in this section?No If so, who was the contractor and what is the contract number?N/A Q. To prepare an appropriate budget: is there a "not to exceed" number of labor hours expected in this contract? No Is there an expected number of hours of new content that will be created? No Is there a budget cap that has been predetermined? No Page 13: Contractor Personnel Requirements: Senior Instructional Designer and Subject Matter Expert Q: The criteria suggest that each of these requirements is skills and experience of a single individual in each role. We employ a team of professionals who individually contribute to meet these requirements, including PhD's, Masters prepared clinicians, nurses, project management experts, Information Technology (IT) and multimedia experts. (These are full time employees, not contractors) Is this requirement flexible to allow us to profile the key personnel that together meet the experience requirements? Yes Task 5.5.1 Page 9 Clinical disciplines named include nursing, pharmacy, social work, dietician, medicine. Q. It is expected that the contractor will provide continuing medical education/continuing education credits for each of these disciplines? No Q. Is it expected that any programs and/or materials created by this contract will need to be SCORM or 508 compliant? YES Q. Will the government be hosting all programs and/or materials on government-run servers, or is content hosting expected to be included in the budget and proposal? Government will be hosting Q/ The RFP mentions the collection and analysis of evaluations in several places. Are these evaluations expected to be performed before and after the programs are conducted? The evaluation plan should reflect the best approach depending upon the level of the evaluation being performed. Is there a specific method of collection to be used (online, paper, fax, phone surveys) ? No Q/ Can a website or link be provided with adequate samples of similar programs & materials created under VA contracts of a similar scope? No
 

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(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/VAAAC/VAAAC/VA77712R0189/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA777-12-R-0189 VA777-12-R-0189_5.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=381908&FileName=VA777-12-R-0189-024.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=381908&FileName=VA777-12-R-0189-024.docx

 

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Record

SN02786983-W 20120628/120626235747-65e251a7108992c5231bb85d29c98401 (fbodaily.com)
 

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