SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Academy for Women Entrepreneurs
- Notice Date
- 9/4/2019
- Notice Type
- Presolicitation
- NAICS
- 541618
— Other Management Consulting Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of State, Office of Acquisitions, Acquisition Management, 1735 N. Lynn St., Arlington, Virginia, 22209, United States
- ZIP Code
- 22209
- Solicitation Number
- ECA-FY19-002
- Archive Date
- 9/21/2019
- Point of Contact
- Courtney Holbrook, Phone: 2026323263
- E-Mail Address
-
holbrookc@state.gov
(holbrookc@state.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Request for Information – Market Research Survey Academy for Women Entrepreneurs – Options A. Introduction The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), EX Procurement Branch, is conducting market research for requirements formulation of an upcoming need to support the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), with the desire to better understand industry best practices and gain input on recommended competitive environments. The goal of the requirement is to leverage the full range of niche market expertise in the realms of gender, entrepreneurship, fundraising, and public private partnerships (P3s), and to gain input on recommended competitive environments. Additional objectives include: Obtain high quality professionals, with SECRET level clearances, able to start immediately Develop and maintain performance based metrics and services for the work being procured Contribute to the ECA mission, as well as support the larger White House-led Global Development and Prosperity Initiative To accomplish this need, ECA is contemplating a five year (base plus four option years), fixed price award for two mid-level FTEs from either the GSA Schedules or open market. High level day-to-day objectives on the award would include: 1. Assist the Government in the management of AWE, coordinating, developing, and overseeing the implementation of AWE programs worldwide and evaluating effectiveness. 2. Represent ECA and Department of State interests in the interagency, with respect to women’s economic empowerment, AWE operations, and P3s. 3. Research, identify, and develop private section partnerships in support of AWE. 4. Recommend engagement efforts and develop and lead AWE training for Posts and implementing partners, including overseas training. 5. Assess AWE activities to determine funding requirements, evaluate programs effectiveness in relation to the funding expended, and make recommendations to Senior Leaders on program elements and funding levels. - This RFI will be posted to Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) and GSA E-Buy B. Background To augment the existing slate of projects focused on women and economic empowerment, the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) launched the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE), a new program supporting the growth of women entrepreneurs around the world. AWE was developed to support the White House-led Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative, which is designed to empower women worldwide to fulfill their economic potential, creating conditions for increased stability, security, and prosperity for all. The target is to reach 50 million women by 2025 by promoting an enabling environment that reduces barriers and facilitates women’s participation in the economy. AWE’s sustainability is built on ECA’s wide-ranging and diverse exchange programs. Localized partnerships around the world will amplify the course experience and provide opportunities for women to continue advancing as leading entrepreneurs. AWE’s reach extends across Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and other regions where promoting women’s economic empowerment is a principal U.S policy priority. AWE is committed to providing women the knowledge, networks, and access they need to turn their ideas into reality. More information can be found at AWEs website: https://eca.state.gov/awe C. Business Information Please provide the following business information for your company/institution and for any existing teaming or joint venture partners: 1. Company/Institution Name: 2. Address: 3. CAGE Code: 4. Point of Contact: 5. Phone Number/Email Address: 6. Which North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Codes do you believe would be most appropriate for this requirement? 7. Based on the NAICS codes provided to item 7, please state whether your company is: a. Small Business (Yes/No) b. Woman Owned Small Business (Yes/No) c. Small Disadvantaged Business (Yes/No) d. 8(a) Certified (Yes/No) e. HUBZone Certified (Yes/No) f. Veteran Owned Small Business (Yes/No) g. Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (Yes/No) h. SAM Registered (Yes/No) D. Market Research Questions Please review the information on the requirement outlined above, and provide responses to the following questions (Limit of 1 page per question): 1. Reviewing AWEs mission, is there any major areas of contractor support not being contemplated? 2. Is the intended target of two mid-level FTEs reasonable for the outlined need? Is there a recommendation for more or less contractor support? 3. Is the market robust enough to facilitate the immediate start of two qualified FTEs? If not, what recruitment efforts would need to be undertaken and what is a reasonable timeline between contract award and the beginning on on-site performance? 4. Are there any specific issues with the requirement, as stated, that would preclude your company from participating in a possible future competition? 5. What recommendations do you have for venues of solicitation and vehicles/schedules to solicit on? What recommendations are there to maximize small business participation? E. Responses Requested Your response must be provided by 12:00 pm EDT on Friday, September 6 th, 2019. Please send your response to Courtney Holbrook, ECA EX Procurement Branch Chief, at holbrookc@state.gov. F. Use of Results and Confidentiality This announcement is not a Request for Proposal or a Request for Quote. The results of this RFI will be used to inform ECA decisions on requirements definition and avenues for competition. This RFI is for information purposes only, and does not constitute a solicitation for bids, proposals, or quotes, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the government to issue a request for bid/proposal/quote or award a contract as a result of this request. Please be advised that your participation in this RFI is not required to ensure participation in future solicitations and contract awards. Participation in this survey is voluntary and the Government will not reimburse participants for any expenses associated with their participation in this survey. There is no commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation as a result of this RFI. Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Respondents will not be notified of the result of the review. Any document submitted in response to this RFI that contains confidential information must be marked on the outside as containing confidential information. Each page upon which confidential information appears must be marked as containing confidential information. The confidential information must be clearly identifiable to the reader wherever it appears. All other information will not be treated as confidential. All information marked confidential in RFI responses is only for the government’s planning use. Confidential information may be reviewed by contractors providing advisory services within scope of contract, subject to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) including but not limited to commercial or financial data obtained from or contained in contractor/vendor submitted documents and proposals. Otherwise, no information marked confidential included in this document or in discussions connected to it may be disclosed to any other party outside of the government.
- Web Link
-
FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/State/A-LM-AQM/A-LM-AQM/ECA-FY19-002/listing.html)
- Place of Performance
- Address: 2200 C St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20037, United States
- Zip Code: 20037
- Zip Code: 20037
- Record
- SN05431129-W 20190906/190904231420-7ceeaa13a2077e4c4f8c5950fa2bcb03 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
| FSG Index | This Issue's Index | Today's FBO Daily Index Page |