SOURCES SOUGHT
99 -- Opportunity Identification & Concept Development (OICD) workshops
- Notice Date
- 7/10/2020 4:28:40 AM
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541611
— Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- NASA GLENN RESEARCH CENTER CLEVELAND OH 44135 USA
- ZIP Code
- 44135
- Solicitation Number
- OCID2020JRMM
- Response Due
- 7/24/2020 2:00:00 PM
- Archive Date
- 08/15/2020
- Point of Contact
- Melissa Merrill, Phone: 2164336359
- E-Mail Address
-
Melissa.a.merrill@nasa.gov
(Melissa.a.merrill@nasa.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- SBA Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)
- Description
- NASA/John Glenn Research Center (GRC) is hereby soliciting information from potential sources for Workshop Design, Execution, and Implementation, Pre-Workshop Instruction, and Virtual Environment Support. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) GRC is seeking capability statements from all interested parties, including all socioeconomic categories of Small Businesses and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/Minority Institutions (MI), for the purposes of determining the appropriate level of competition and/or small business subcontracting goals for creation of an execution and implementation plan for new early-stage innovation initiatives within Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project including: ? workshop design; ? pre-workshop instruction; ? coaching during workshop execution; ? support workshop execution; ? virtual environment support for the workshop. In this case, execution refers to execution of Opportunity Identification and Concept Design workshops. Implementation refers to how all efforts in preparation for workshop execution, including workshop execution, and related efforts after workshop execution are planned and performed. GENERAL INFORMATION: This RFI is used solely for information planning purposes and does not constitute a solicitation. In accordance with FAR 15.201(e), responses to this RFI are not offers and cannot be accepted by NASA to form a binding contract. NASA is under no obligation to issue a solicitation or to award any contract based on this RFI. The information provided in response to this RFI will not be made public so as to protect any propriety company information. Nonetheless, Respondents should clearly and properly mark any propriety or restricted data contained within its submission so it can be identified and protected. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. Responses to this RFI will not be returned, and Respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. All requirements identified herein are tentative and will be finalized prior to the release of any solicitation for proposals. The government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information solicited. The information provided is entirely voluntary and will not affect the ability to bid on future requirements. This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be considered as an obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of a solicitation. If a solicitation is released it will be synopsized in SAM.Gov/FedBizOpps and on the NASA Acquisition Internet Service. It is the potential Respondent's responsibility to monitor these sites for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. NASA may utilize the information provided in developing its acquisition strategy. The information resulting from this RFI may be included in one or more solicitations. Respondents are encouraged to provide information that is not constrained by limited/restricted data rights. However, if proprietary data is included in a reply, it is to be marked appropriately. NASA intends to evaluate all data received for potential go-forward options and plans. Please note, NASA, other interested Government agencies, federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), as well as support contractors and/or their subcontractors working on behalf of the Government will be reviewing the information. Potential Respondents should only submit information that can be made available to those parties and should note that by submitting information to this request, the above parties will be able to review each Respondent's information. NASA reserves the right to consider a Small, 8(a), Women-owned (WOSB), Service Disabled Veteran (SD-VOSB), Economically Disadvantaged Women-owned Small Business (EDWOSB) or HUBZone business set-aside based on responses received. This opportunity shall not be available to Non-US entities. Interested Respondents should submit all questions in writing no later than July 15, 2020 so that answers may (at the Governments discretion) be posted as an amendment to the RFI. BACKGROUND: In NASA�s continued efforts to advance aeronautics, NASA�s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate�s (ARMD) Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) Project is seeking to better identify needs of both traditional and changing aeronautics and related marketplaces, and to respond to them with system-level concepts with potentially transformative impacts for aviation, interdependent industries, and society. CAS is investigating new approaches to accomplish these objectives. This request for sources is focused on one approach: the planning and execution of problem-focused, early-stage innovation workshops, along with preparation for them and limited post-workshop processing of the results. Most of the steps described below will be done in collaboration with NASA, some post-workshop steps NASA may perform with limited to no input from the selected contractor. These workshops and supporting effort will be tentatively called Opportunity Identification & Concept Development (OICD) workshops. The strategy for these OICD workshops and supporting effort is to follow industry best practice as done in, for example, design sprints, by: ? leveraging agile, early stage interdisciplinary work by a small team, and ? rapid iteration, learning, and reorientation, including learning from the unexpected, from missteps, or �failure.� Prior to the workshops, NASA will provide relevant information for preparation and input including: � Initially explored problem areas within established strategic focus areas; � Available qualitative and quantitative research on market needs and relevant technologies; � Preliminary identification of needs and prompts for the workshops. During the workshops the objectives are to have: � Small teams of NASA technical experts from diverse disciplines, guided by a NASA facilitator, rapidly iterate as they ideate to discover, identify, and flesh out potential opportunities and concepts, updating and clarifying as necessary the initially identified needs and problems; � Preliminary identification of opportunities, which are possible ways to address these needs and problems through technical and other means; � Problem-focused and use-driven ideation, to develop interdisciplinary, system-level solution concepts or conceptual designs, that are transformative in nature; � Workshop results are to include fleshed out opportunities for further refinement via ideation, and more focused early concepts for follow-on engineering research, development, testing, and/or evaluation. After the workshop, work to be done includes: � Documentation of workshop-developed high-value opportunities and conceptual designs; � Early assessments of potential impacts of the suggested opportunities and concepts � to include examination of user desirability, business and government viability, and technical feasibility; � Synthesized analysis defining next steps for each opportunity and concept. (NASA internal task) CAS is requesting assistance with innovation-promoting processes to constitute this workshop preparation, execution, and some post-processing, and in training and coaching NASA personnel in these processes. Requested are sources to: ? join NASA collaboratively in the design of the workshops; ? give pre-workshop instruction for new NASA facilitators in how to lead them, and for related CAS personnel to participate; ? coach NASA facilitators while they lead these workshops; ? documenting the post-workshop workshop results; ? advise and assist in conducting these activities in a virtual environment, due to a nationally distributed technical workforce. 1. WORKSHOP DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, & EXECUTION: a. Co-design and support execution of no more than four multi-day workshops for cross-disciplinary teams, in which participants are guided in the identification of promising opportunities for innovation relevant to aeronautics, and in the generation of transformative, systems-level concepts to address these opportunities. Documentation of initial workshop co-design is required as an intermediate deliverable (see deliverables table). We desire to complete the OICD workshop co-design within 2-3 weeks of contract award, followed by pre-workshop training (see #2 below). Just before the first workshop, we desire to run a thorough trial workshop to work out logistics and finalize design elements. We desire to hold the first workshop within 7 weeks of contract award. b. Data on aeronautics-relevant needs and capabilities will be available to introduce participants to the workshop area (see aforementioned information regarding what takes place prior to the workshops). This data will enable learning from research that has been done in an aeronautics-relevant problem area. This includes research about stakeholders, nascent market structure, technical capabilities, and needs/problems that have been identified. Workshop prompt selection will also be informed by this information. c. The OICD workshop design will be a collaborative effort with the CAS Project leaders. The problem-centered OICD workshops will result in the identification/creation, and modification of concepts through research or ideation which, if developed, can help address the needs/problems identified for stakeholders. d. Provide coaching for NASA facilitators and participants during the OICD workshops. (See item 2 below.) This is to prepare the NASA team to conduct these OICD workshops subsequently and to increase the quality of the OICD workshops enabling tangible OICD workshop results that can be used to demonstrate the value of the event and potentially progress forward to idea maturation (research, design, technology development, etc).The OICD workshop goal is to inform subsequent, more detailed work to facilitate implementation of solutions. The collaborative OICD workshop implementation steps must be documented in a way that allows for future implementation by subsequent NASA personnel who were not a participant of the initial OICD workshops in partnership with past participants. In this context, implementation refers to how all efforts in preparation for workshop execution, including workshop execution, and related efforts after workshop execution are performed and documented for repeatable execution. e. NASA will perform a post event assessment, upon completion of each workshop cycle. This may require input from the contractor. 2. PRE-WORKSHOP INSTRUCTION: a. Design and provide pre-workshop instruction to a small group (less than 25 total individuals) of technical experts and related CAS personnel dedicated to the workshops and associated activities. Prior to the OICD workshops, a subset of this group will receive instruction to facilitate the OICD workshops. Another subset will receive pre-workshop instruction for participation in an OICD workshop. This latter subset will contribute technical expertise, opportunity discovery, and concept development to the OICD workshop outcomes. This instruction should include (or may be primarily) experiential activities-including for example trial workshop elements. b. Completed instruction for facilitation and OICD workshop participation are required as another intermediate deliverable. We desire to complete this pre-workshop instruction within 4 weeks of contract award. 3. VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT: a. Tailor workshop design, instruction, and plan to operate in a 100% virtual setting. Some items for consideration include how to foster free-flowing ideation, comfort with failing and rapid iteration, and overall methods needed to ensure NASA required security of virtual workshops (such as how to track attendance, and how to limit attendance). b. Collaborate with NASA to determine which currently approved tools can be used and if supplementation is recommended. Please recommend tools that would work best, with the knowledge that specific tools utilized must be coordinated with NASA. 4. COORDINATION: a. NASA may elect to include an external group of ""observers,� with expertise in studying how teams work. This group may be separately brought in to assess workshops as they are conducted, and advise on future design and implementation. The design of the workshops and expected outputs shall be worked in collaboration with both NASA and any observers NASA provides. 5. CONSULTATION: a. During the base period of 12 months, the source will be available to be consulted on Items 1-4. The period of performance will start immediately following contract award, as early as August 2020. We estimate no more than four workshops during this period of performance. DELIVERABLE DESCRIPTION DEADLINE DRAFT OICD WORKSHOP DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EXECUTION DOCUMENTATION (WORD DOC) 1 Week after first workshop UPDATED OICD WORKSHOP DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, AND EXECUTION DOCUMENTATION (WORD DOC) 1 Week after each successive workshop DRAFT HANDBOOK FOR WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS (PDF) 1 Week before first workshop DRAFT HANDBOOK FOR WORKSHOP FACILITATORS (PDF) 1 Week before first workshop FINAL HANDBOOK FOR WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS (PDF) 3 Weeks after last workshop completes FINAL HANDBOOK FOR WORKSHOP FACILITATORS (PDF) 3 Weeks after last workshop completes BRIEFING SUMMARY OF WORKSHOP RESULTS (INCLUDING LESSONS LEARNED, SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND TOOLS REQUIRED FOR VIRTUAL WORKSHOP EXECUTION) (PPT SLIDES) 2 Weeks after last workshop completes briefed via TEAMS or Adobe Connect DETAILED REPORT OF WORKSHOP RESULTS (INCLUDING LESSONS LEARNED, SUGGESTIONS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND TOOLS REQUIRED FOR VIRTUAL WORKSHOP EXECUTION) (WORD DOC) 2 Weeks after last workshop completes Deliverable deadlines are subject to change and somewhat negotiable. Note: Depending on the capabilities presented by responders, one or more vendors may be selected to fulfill different aspects of the forthcoming RFP. Estimated award amount is between $250,000 and $450,000 for no more than one year. We plan to use a Cooperative Agreement for a base period of one year, inclusive of previously described pre-workshop instruction and workshop execution milestones; with options to renew in following Fiscal years. SCHEDULE: From award, the workshop design and execution schedule for the first technical needs areas shall be determined jointly, but on the order of two-three months, and a repeating cycle shall be considered through the base period. The first cycle will include the following milestones in addition to the above described deliverables. Milestone Weeks after contract award Complete workshop co-design 2-3 weeks Pre-workshop instruction 4 weeks Trial run workshop 6 weeks First full workshop 7 weeks NASA will perform a post event assessment, upon completion of each workshop cycle, this may require input from the contractor. Deliverables will be required as described above during each cycle. No solicitation exists; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized on beta.SAM.gov. Interested firms may request to be notified at the time of release of any solicitation or synopsis, if one is released. This notification is not guaranteed and all respondents are still responsible for ensuring they monitor for the release of any solicitation or synopsis. Information describing CAS' previously activities can be found at https://www.nasa.gov/aeroresearch/programs/tacp/cas and https://cas.nasa.gov/. It should be noted that these websites do not reflect the desired changes to the CAS process and should be used as reference information only. Interested offerors/vendors/firms having the required capabilities necessary to meet the above requirements described herein should submit a capability statement of no more than 15 pages indicating the ability to perform all aspects of the effort. The Statement of Capabilities (SOC) shall contain pertinent and specific information addressing these areas: For WORKSHOP DESIGN, IMPLEMENTATION, & EXECUTION: ? Demonstrate your capability to collaboratively co-design, co-implement, and co-execute OICD like workshops with technically-oriented participants. ? Recordings of previous OICD like workshop design and facilitation experience are preferred in addition to other records (written descriptions/reports/papers/etc). ? Provide evidence of contribution to the state-of-the-art innovation approaches or updated practice based on past experience. It is acceptable to provide a list of peer-reviewed papers as auxiliary material. ? Demonstrate your ability to coach facilitators during OICD like workshop execution. ? Provide evidence of experience working collaboratively with NASA or a similar research organization. Showing the ability to develop concepts that are not necessarily monetizable, but have potential transformative impact. For PRE-WORKSHOP INSTRUCTION: ? Demonstrate your ability to define the skill set of effective OICD like workshop participants ? Provide examples of how you have prepared inexperienced participants for meaningful participation in OICD like workshops. ? Demonstrate your ability to train facilitators in preparation for OICD like workshops For VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT: ? Provide examples of previous efforts involving virtual events and/or virtual teams. ? Describe specific IT infrastructure that might be used to conduct virtual OICD like workshops. This requirement is not considered to be a commercial or commercial-type product as defined in FAR 2.101. All responses shall be submitted electronically via email to Melissa Merrill (melissa.a.merrill@nasa,gov) no later than July 24, 2020 at 5 pm EDT. Please reference �Opportunity Identification & Concept Development (OICD)� workshops in any response. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes only and is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government nor will the Government pay for information solicited. Respondents will not be notified of the results of the evaluation.
- Web Link
-
SAM.gov Permalink
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- Record
- SN05718271-F 20200712/200710230202 (samdaily.us)
- Source
-
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