R -- HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

Notice Date

November 8, 2000

Contracting Office

Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), Office of Procurement, Box 6, Washington, DC, 20231

ZIP Code

20231

Solicitation Number

199P132390

Response Due

November 20, 2000

Point of Contact

Kelli Stillwagon, Procurement Analyst, Phone (703) 305-8015, Fax (703) 305-8294, Email kelli.stillwagon@uspto.gov

E-Mail Address

Kelli Stillwagon (kelli.stillwagon@uspto.gov)

Description

Questions and Answers that have been addressed are below as follows. No questions will be excepted as of November 13, 2000 at 5:00 pm EST. 1)What consulting firms helped to develop the strategic plan? No consulting firm was used -- it was prepared within USPTO. 2)When were Agency performance goals first announced? USPTO has had effective measures in place for many years such as productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, quantity and quality of output. The USPTO focuses more on rewarding individual performance than team performance. 3) When were individual performance goals first adopted? The USPTO focuses more on rewarding individual performance than team performance. USPTO has had effective measures in place for many years such as productivity, efficiency, customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction, quantity and quality of output. 4) Was training provided in the goal setting process? There is not ongoing training for this process. 5) Have the performance contracts with the Commissioners been developed and agreed to? If not, is that part of this contract? Yes, the contracts with the Commissioners have been developed -- but not finalized -- they are part of this requirement. 6)What is the approximate number of SES executives? 40, Administrative Patent Judges? 67, Administrative Trademark Judges? 15, Senior Level staff? 7. 7) Is this initial performance management system limited to the above individuals? Yes 8) Are all of the individuals in the Washington, DC area? If not, where are they based? Yes, they are all based in the Washington, DC area. 9) When was the current performance management system for executives adopted? The current peformance cycle is October 1st, 2000 to September 30th, 2001- the requirements can change from cycle to cycle. 10) When was the current Performance Review Board formed? What is the work affiliation of each member? [Federal Register: August 25, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 166)] [Notices][Page 51812] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov][DOCID:fr25au00-39] 11) Are we correct in assuming by the statement related to Title 5 that the basic salary program is unchanged and that there is no plan to change the salary program? USPTO employees continue to be subject to the provisions of Title 5 of the United States Code relating to Federal employees. 12) The background information states that the patent and trademark operations are treated as separate operating units. How will this effect the scope of the project? The Corporate Plan 2001 is an integrated performance plan and budget request for both the patent and trademark operations. This executive summary links our mission and strategic goals to the Department's mission and strategic themes. 13) A comparison to public and private sector organizations and their practices is part of the assignment. How does the USPTO view themselves in relation to public and private organizations? Experience in the private sector and other performance-oriented public sector organizations shows that incentive compensation should be implemented widely and include, where possible, incentives for team and organizational performance as well as individual performance. 14) Can you provide us with a copy of the statutory provisions that authorize PTO to establish a pay for performance system, and which define any limitations on such a system? USPTO employees continue to be subject to the provisions of Title 5 of the United States Code relating to Federal employees. 15) Is the USPTO currently working with a contractor in the area of performance management? No 16) Are there any known funding or contracting limitations for this work? Did you have a budget in mind? The objective is to develop a performance management system consistent with the goals expressed in the statement of work. Except for the stated completion date, there are no other restrictions within reasonable limits. We have not specified an exact budgetary amount for this effort; rather we seek the best value solution consistent with the objectives, the defined evaluation criteria, and the ability to deliver products within the required time frames. 17) What are tne basic requirements under FAR Subpart 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures? Rather than issuing a contract we are anticipating this requirement will not exceed the Simplified Acqusition thresehold and intend to issue a Purchase order which means an offer by the Government to buy supplies or services, including construction and research and development, upon specified terms and conditions, using simplified acquisition procedures. See farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/html/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/13.htm#P153_11048 for further details of procedures. 18) Submission of Offer" section -- "Responses are limited to five (10) pages . . ." For our drafting, is it correct to assume 5 pages is the maximum length? No, the maximum length is not to exceed ten (10) pages. 19)What consulting firms have worked with PTO to plan the transition to PBO status? The USPTO contracted with KPMG to produce a business plan. The plan addressed three components -- optimal organization, how internal component organizations obtain services from support units, and extrenal alignment on policy and procedural matters. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- The US Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) is in need of developing a well-designed, highly-effective executive and managerial performance management system that will link individual performance to the overall performance of the organization. Our newly formed Performance Review Board is chartering this effort. The contractor will work with small groups comprised of Senior Executive Service (SES) members, Administrative Patent Judges and Administrative Trademark Judges (AD), Senior Level (SL) staff and managers. The design of the executive and managerial performance management system is the first step to becoming a performance-based organization. USPTO will create an enhanced performance system that is based on organization-specific and shared objectives. USPTO wants a system that links executive and managerial performance plans to the USPTO corporate goals and the balanced scorecards. The executive and managerial staff includes the Commissioners for Patents and Trademarks, Senior Executive Service (SES) members, Administrative Patent Judges and Administrative Trademark Judges (AD), and Senior Level (SL) staff. The development of new executive performance plans will extend executive level managerial accountability for meeting the performance goals throughout USPTO. The performance plans of the two Commissioners will be linked to those of the SES personnel under their supervision. In the future, changes will also be made to all remaining USPTO performance plans. The contractor will provide "best practice" approaches and workable solutions for improving performance used by leading public and private firms that link executive compensation to significant improvements in employee and organizational performance. Also, this plan should include ideas on gain-sharing concepts that have worked in other organizations. USPTO is looking for an Offeror who can provide senior level consultants with strong backgrounds and experience in designing executive compensation programs for the public and private sector. This acquisition is being conducted under FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures. After extensive Market research the USPTO has concluded that there are few qualified HR Management Resources Companies able to perform this task at the level indicated. There are a limited amount of solicitations obtainable and will be made available on a first come first serve basis until the supply has been exhausted. To obtain a copy of this solicitation and instruction to offerors please contact Kelli Stillwagon @ kelli.stillwagon@uspto.gov.

Web Link

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Record

Loren Data Corp. 20001113/RSOL009.HTM (D-313 SN5062R5)