Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 10000 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, OH 44141

U -- PSYCHOLOGIST CONSULTANT SERVICES FOR ONE WEEK IN HEADQUARTERS LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE 2000 SOL 777-25-00 DUE 040300 POC Karen Lebo (440)526-3030 X7444 This is a Request for Quotations, for which it and all incorporated provisions are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 97-15. The procurement is 100% Set-Aside for small business. The Standard Industrial Classification Code (SIC) is 8742. The small business size standard for this procurement is $5 million. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for a commercial service prepared in accordance with the format in FAR subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. The announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The VA Medical Center, Employee Education System, 10000 Brecksville Road, Brecksville, OH 44141 proposes to enter into a contract to provide psychological consultation during the first week of the Headquarters Leadership Institute 2000 which kicks off on June 5, 2000 at the Radisson Gateway Hotel, 651 Huron Road, Cleveland, OH. The Contractor will be required to provide a team of 5 psychologists to fully provide a professional assessment and feedback to the approximately 60 participants of the Headquarters Leadership Institute 2000. This program is a six-month leadership development opportunity for nominated individuals from Headquarters and selected Networks. The curriculum is based on VHA's High Performance Development Model, and the first week focuses heavily on Personal Mastery. The competency of Personal Mastery involves knowing one's strengths and weaknesses, managing time and multiple tasks effectively, balancing work and personal/family life, and managing stress and health factors so as to maintain peak performance. Participants take 3 assessment instruments prior to attending, including one that must be completed by peers, reports, and superiors (a 360-degree assessment). These assessments are sent to the psychologists, who score instruments and prepare reports prior to the week. They also observe participants in small group exercises designed to reveal leadership and interpersonal styles. They present information to the group on the assessment instruments, then meet one-on-one with each participant for an hour. In this session they give individual feedback on the outcomes of the instruments and the observation in small groups and discuss whatever issues the participant wishes to use the time for. They also will give feedback on the participants as a group to the program staff (individual data are confidential), which will be helpful in planning and managing the rest of the program. SKILLS AND DELIVERABLES: In terms of tangible deliverables, the team must score all LPI instruments prior to the session; be present and available throughout the first week; observe the leaderless groups and document observations; present a half-day session; meet with every participant for 50 minutes, taping the session for the participant's use; and give generalized feedback to program staff about current issues and areas of concern among participants. Certain skills and experience arerequired to deliver these products. Each psychologist must be licensed to practice, and the team must work well together, collaborating on tasks and willingly rearranging duties as becomes necessary. They must be familiar and conversant with the Leadership Practices Inventory, the Myers-Briggs Type Inventory, and EQ Maps. They must have experience and skill in observing and documenting behavior in groups, both structured and unstructured. They need experience in presenting to a professional audience and using A-V supports effectively. They must have the clinical acumen to detect potentially serious problems that may come to light in the individual assessments and take appropriate action. With this particular audience, the team must have historical knowledge of VHA's organizational structure, mission, and recent transition to a health care system rather than a hospital system. They need to know the healthcare environment and the types of pressures faced by our participants. Among them, they should have expertise in the areas of stress management, leadership development, executive coaching, and adult life transitions. Period of Performance and Level of Effort Instruments will be mailed to the lead psychologist at least 10 days prior to Week One of the Institute (by May 22nd). The psychologists must be on site at the program from Monday, June 5 through Thursday, June 8. Level of effort will be greatest on the last two days, when individual sessions are scheduled, but they will participate throughout the week and be available for consultations each day and early evening. The following provisions apply to this acquisition: 852.219-70 Veteran-Owned Small Business (DEC 1990); 852.270-4 Commercial Advertising (NOV 1984); 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (NOV 1999); 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items (JAN 1999)(see evaluation rating factors described above);52.212-3 Offer Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (OCT 1999); 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial (MAY 1999); 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions to Implement Statutes of Executive Orders-Commercial Items (MAY 1999). Other additional clauses are 52.204-6 DATA UNIVERSAL NUMBERING SYSTEM (DUNS) NUMBER (APR 1998); 52.232-33 Mandatory Information for Electronic funds Transfer Payment (AUG 1996); 52.215-1 Instructions to Offerors Competitive Acquisition(OCT 1997); and 52.215-5 Facsimile Proposals (OCT 1997). Any travel or hotel accommodations are at the expense of the contractor and must be incorporated into the Contractor's offer. Contractor proposal shall also contain the information required in provisions 52.212-1, a completed copy of 52.212-3 and the certification required in 852.219-70. As part of your proposal an agenda of how the statement shall be accomplished is required in order to make a complete offer to the solicitation. Partial proposals are not acceptable. Also, as stated in FAR Clause 52.212-2 the following evaluation factors do apply and are listed in descending order of importance: (1)Professional Expertise (2)Past Performance and (3)Price. Offeror's written presentation shall include information vital to the evaluation factors identified in this advertisement. Proposals shall be precise, factual, and complete, and contain a level of detail sufficient to allow VA to evaluate its organization, history, and services. Documents and forms cited in this solicitation may be obtained from General Services Administration's Internet web page (at http://www.arnet.gov/far/). Quotations shall be received by April 3, 2000 4:00 local time (EST). Offerors are hereby on notice that the Government may elect to award a contract without presentations or discussions. Posted 03/22/00 (W-SN437133). (0082)

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