80_FR_34574 80 FR 34459 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the Digital Service Contracting Professional Training and Development Program Challenge

80 FR 34459 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the Digital Service Contracting Professional Training and Development Program Challenge

OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 115 (June 16, 2015)

Page Range34459-34464
FR Document2015-14683

The U.S. Digital Service and Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), as part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), give notice of the availability of the ``Digital Service Contracting Professional Training and Development Program'' prize competition and rules. Through a multi-phased challenge, participants are eligible for prize money up to $360,000.00 under this competition. In August 2014, the U.S. Digital Service was launched to bring in the country's brightest digital talent to transform how government works for American citizens and businesses by dramatically improving the way government builds and buys digital services. On December 4, 2014, Anne Rung, Administrator for Federal Procurement Policy, issued a memorandum titled Transforming the Marketplace: Simplifying Federal Procurement to Improve Performance, Drive Innovation, and Increase Savings.\1\ In this memorandum, Administrator Rung lays out several initiatives for driving greater innovation and strengthening Federal acquisition practices, one of which is building digital information technology (IT) acquisition expertise. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 115 (Tuesday, June 16, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 115 (Tuesday, June 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34459-34464]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-14683]


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OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET


Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the Digital 
Service Contracting Professional Training and Development Program 
Challenge

AGENCY: Office of Management and Budget.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Digital Service and Office of Federal Procurement 
Policy (OFPP), as part of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), 
give notice of the availability of the ``Digital Service Contracting 
Professional Training and Development Program'' prize competition and 
rules. Through a multi-phased challenge, participants are eligible for 
prize money up to $360,000.00 under this competition.
    In August 2014, the U.S. Digital Service was launched to bring in 
the country's brightest digital talent to

[[Page 34460]]

transform how government works for American citizens and businesses by 
dramatically improving the way government builds and buys digital 
services.
    On December 4, 2014, Anne Rung, Administrator for Federal 
Procurement Policy, issued a memorandum titled Transforming the 
Marketplace: Simplifying Federal Procurement to Improve Performance, 
Drive Innovation, and Increase Savings.\1\ In this memorandum, 
Administrator Rung lays out several initiatives for driving greater 
innovation and strengthening Federal acquisition practices, one of 
which is building digital information technology (IT) acquisition 
expertise.
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    \1\ Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/procurement/memo/simplifying-federal-procurement-to-improve-performance-drive-innovation-increase-savings.pdf.
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    As part of this initiative, OFPP and the U.S. Digital Service are 
working together to focus on improving the process of IT acquisition, 
and specifically the acquisition of digital services. OFPP and the U.S. 
Digital Service recognize the need for improving and simplifying the 
digital experiences that citizens and businesses have with the 
Government. Strengthening digital services expertise in the Government 
is a key component of being able to reduce the risk of failed 
acquisitions and systems, and save taxpayer dollars. The Digital 
Service Contracting Professional Training and Development Program prize 
competition seeks to spur innovation in the training and development of 
Federal Contracting Professionals who are fundamental to the success of 
digital service acquisitions. Through program concept white papers, up 
to three design presentations, and a pilot program, the effectiveness 
and feasibility of innovative training and development program 
approaches will be explored.

ADDRESSES: Questions about this prize competition may be emailed to 
[email protected].
    Prize Competition Managers:
Traci Walker--US Digital Service, OMB
Joanie Newhart--OFPP, OMB

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Objective

    The goal of this prize competition is to develop a Digital Service 
Contracting Professional Training and Development Program for the 
Federal Government, which will be used to add a digital service core-
plus specialization for contracting professionals under the Federal 
Acquisition Certification in Contracting (FAC-C) Program issued by 
OFPP.\2\ The final results of the challenge will be provided to Federal 
training institutions, such as the Federal Acquisition Institute (FAI) 
and Defense Acquisition University (DAU), for those institutions to 
implement and maintain the program. This program will be one of many 
initiatives to foster transformative change in the Federal Digital 
Service acquisition culture.
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    \2\ http://www.fai.gov/drupal/sites/default/files/2006-1-20-OMB-Memo-FAC-C-Certification.pdf.
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    No formal contract to any challenge participant will be awarded as 
a direct result of this prize competition.
    The optimal comprehensive training and development program, 
intended for Federal Contracting Professionals, specifically 
Contracting Officers and Contract Specialists, will enable them to 
understand and apply strategic thinking, industry best practices, 
market place conditions, and appropriate acquisition strategies to the 
procurement of digital supplies and services. An ideal training and 
development program will be no longer than 6 months in total, and may 
include strategies such as rotational assignments, mentoring, in-
classroom training, and detail assignments woven into an innovative 
approach to accomplish the stated objectives. A definition of a 
successful digital service buyer, novel ideas, leading-edge approaches, 
and iterative methodologies are highly encouraged in response to this 
Challenge.
    Digital services, as defined by OMB, refers to ``the delivery of 
digital information (data or content) and transactional services (e.g., 
online forms, benefits applications) across a variety of platforms, 
devices, and delivery mechanisms (e.g., Web sites, mobile applications, 
and social media).'' Digital services may be delivered to customers 
either internal or external to the Government, or both.\3\
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    \3\ http://www.whitehouse.gov/digitalgov/digital-services-governance-recommendations.
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    The primary outcomes of this Digital Service Contracting 
Professional Training and Development Program are that participating 
Federal contracting professionals:
     Become digital service procurement experts;
     Are equipped with the knowledge necessary to be imbedded 
within agency Digital Service teams to serve as a business advisor to 
the team, its customers, and its stakeholders; and
     Have the knowledge to lead agency training, workshops, and 
consultations in order to expand digital service procurement expertise 
within their agency and the government.
    Specifically, the program must teach Federal Contracting 
Professionals how to:
    (1) Understand and procure digital services and supplies utilizing 
concepts such as those described in the Digital Services Playbook \4\ 
and the TechFAR \5\ (e.g, DevOps, UX, Design Services, Agile Software 
Development, Open Source, Cloud, Iaas, SaaS, and PaaS);
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    \4\ https://playbook.cio.gov/.
    \5\ https://github.com/WhiteHouse/playbook/blob/gh-pages/_includes/techfar-online.md.
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    (2) Appropriately measure the success of these contracts based on 
industry standards;
    (3) Accurately describe and define the value received; and
    (4) Encourage the use of commercial practices and innovative 
approaches (e.g. modular contracting, broad agency announcements, 
challenges and prizes) to ensure procurements can capture flexible and 
rapidly changing technology advancements.
    The prize challenge will include three phases. Phase I asks for 
participants to submit a white paper that describes their concept for a 
training and development program that will meet the stated objectives. 
Up to three Phase I submissions will be selected as finalists and move 
to Phase II. These finalists are awarded $20,000 each in prize money to 
design in more detail their proposed concept program. At the end of 
Phase II, these finalists will present their in-depth program designs 
at an oral presentation and a one hour mock classroom training to a 
panel of Federal senior leaders. One winner will be selected and moves 
to Phase III, which requires that participant to develop and pilot its 
program for approximately 30 students. In Phase III, up to $250,000 in 
milestone payments will be provided to assist the participant in 
developing their proposed pilot for a training and development program 
that can be easily adopted and implemented by the Government. Upon 
completion of Phase III, the finalist can win up to $50,000 in 
additional prize money for developing a program that fully met the 
stated objectives.
    The pilot will be held in the Washington, DC area with local 
students. However, approaches for the proposed program that include 
virtual components to allow participation of students outside of the 
Washington, DC area (with some in-person sessions required) and/or 
self-pacing are highly encouraged, but must also demonstrate cost 
effectiveness.

[[Page 34461]]

Eligibility and Rules for Participating in the Challenge

     To be eligible to win a prize under this Challenge, an 
individual or entity:
    [cir] Shall have registered to participate in the Challenge under 
the rules promulgated by OMB and published in this Notice;
    [cir] Shall have complied with all the requirements in this Notice;
    [cir] In the case of a private entity, shall be incorporated in and 
maintain a primary place of business in the United States, and in the 
case of an individual, whether participating singly or in a group, 
shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States. Non-U.S. 
citizens and non-permanent residents are not eligible to win a monetary 
prize (in whole or in part);
    [cir] In the case of an individual, whether participating singly or 
in a group, must be at least 18 years old at the time of entry;
    [cir] May not be a Federal entity;
    [cir] OMB reserves the right to disqualify and remove any 
submission that is deemed, in the judging panel's discretion, 
inappropriate, offensive, defamatory, and/or demeaning;
    [cir] May not be a Federal employee acting within the scope of his/
her employment, and further, and may not work on his or her 
submission(s) during assigned duty hours;
    [cir] May not be an employee of the US Digital Service, OFPP, a 
judge of the Challenge, or any other party involved with the design, 
production, execution, or distribution of the Challenge or the 
immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, step-parent, 
child, or step-child).
     Federal grantees may not use Federal funds to develop 
their Challenge submissions unless use of such funds is consistent with 
the purpose of their grant award and specifically requested to do so 
due to the Challenge design.
     Federal contractors may not use Federal funds from a 
contract to develop their Challenge submissions or to fund efforts in 
support of their Challenge submission.
     Submissions must not infringe upon any copyright or any 
other rights of any third party. Each participant warrants that he or 
she is the sole author and owner of the work and that the work is 
wholly original. It is the responsibility of the participant to obtain 
any rights necessary to use, disclose, or reproduce any intellectual 
property owned by third parties and incorporated in the entry for all 
anticipated uses of the submission. Submissions must not violate or 
infringe upon the rights of other parties, including, but not limited 
to, privacy, publicity or intellectual property rights, or material 
that constitutes copyright or license infringement.
     By participating in this Challenge, each individual 
(whether competing singly or in a group) and entity agree to assume any 
and all risks and waive claims against the Federal Government and its 
related entities (as defined in the COMPETES Act \6\), except in the 
case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of 
property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or 
consequential, arising from their participation in the Challenge, 
whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or 
otherwise.
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    \6\ https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ69/PLAW-110publ69.pdf.
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     Based on the subject matter of the Challenge, the type of 
work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the 
likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, or property damage, 
or loss potentially resulting from Challenge participation, no 
individual (whether competing singly or in a group) or entity 
participating in the Challenge is required to obtain liability 
insurance or demonstrate financial responsibility in order to 
participate in this Challenge.
     By participating in this Challenge, each individual 
(whether competing singly or in a group) or entity agrees to indemnify 
the Federal Government against third party claims for damages arising 
from or related to Challenge activities.
     An individual or entity shall not be deemed ineligible 
because the individual or entity used Federal facilities or consulted 
with Federal employees during the Challenge if the facilities and 
employees are made available to all individuals and entities 
participating in the Challenge on an equitable basis.
     Each individual (whether competing singly or in a group) 
or entity retains title and full ownership in and to their submission 
and each participant expressly reserves all intellectual property 
rights (e.g., copyright) in their submission. However, each participant 
grants to the Federal Government, and others acting on behalf of the 
Federal Government, a royalty-free non-exclusive worldwide license to 
use, copy for use, and display publicly all parts of the submission for 
the purposes of the Challenge and future training and development 
programs. This license may include posting or linking to the submission 
on the official OMB Web site and making it available for use by the 
public.
     OMB reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (a) 
cancel, suspend, or modify the Challenge, and/or (b) not award any 
prizes if no entries are deemed worthy.
     Each individual (whether competing singly or in a group) 
or entity agrees to follow applicable local, State, and Federal laws 
and regulations.
     Each individual (whether participating singly or in a 
group) and entity participating in this Challenge must comply with all 
terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this 
Challenge constitutes each participant's full and unconditional 
agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon 
fulfilling all requirements herein.
     The Federal government will not provide any travel 
expenses for participants in the pilot projects.
     Prizes awarded under this Challenge will be paid by 
electronic funds transfer and may be subject to Federal income taxes. 
Payment will comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and 
reporting requirements, where applicable. Any entrant on the Excluded 
Parties List will not be selected as a finalist or prize winner.

Registration and Submission Process

    All submissions must include information addressing all of the 
mandatory elements. Any submission not including all information will 
not be eligible for award.
    All submissions must be in English. Each submission must consist of 
a PDF file. The PDF documents must be formatted to be no larger than 
8.5'' by 11.0'', with at least 1 inch margins. The participant must not 
use OFPP's or OMB's logo or official seal, or the logo of the U.S. 
Digital Service in the submission, and must not claim Federal 
Government endorsement.
    Certification: Each submission must include a cover letter that the 
individual or every member of the team responding has read and consents 
to be governed by the Challenge Rules and meets the eligibility 
requirements. This cover letter must be signed and dated by all 
participants. The following statement must be included:

    ``I have read and understand the OMB Challenge Rules (``Rules'') 
for the Digital Service Contracting Professional Training and 
Development Program prize competition. I hereby agree to abide by 
such Terms and Rules.
    I hereby agree to assume any and all risks and waive claims 
against the Federal Government and its related entities, except in

[[Page 34462]]

the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or 
loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or 
consequential, arising from participation in this prize challenge, 
whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence 
or otherwise.
    I hereby agree to indemnify the Federal Government against third 
party claims for damages arising from or related to challenge 
activities.
    I certify that I am over the age of 18 and a United States 
Citizen or a permanent resident.
    I hereby grant to the Federal Government, and others acting on 
behalf of the Federal Government, a royalty-free non-exclusive 
worldwide license to use, copy for use, and display publicly all 
parts of the submission for the purposes of the Challenge. This 
license may include posting or linking to the submission on the 
official OMB Web site and making it available for use by the 
public.''

Submission Requirements and Pilot Implementation

    This Challenge will be conducted in three phases.

Phase I: Program Concept

    Challenge participants will have one month from the date of this 
Notice to submit a program concept. Those submissions must comply with 
the requirements provided below. Up to three Phase I submissions may be 
selected as finalists. The names of the finalists will be posted on the 
Challenge.gov Web site as will the names of any participants receiving 
an honorary mention. Honorary mentions may be given to highly ranked 
submissions that were not identified as one of the final three 
finalists.

Phase II: Detailed Program Design

    The Phase I finalists will receive $20,000 each and will have one 
month from the date of this award, to transform their program concepts 
into a detailed program designs, which meet the requirements provided 
below. One finalist will be selected as the winner of the challenge. 
The winner's name will be posted on Challenge.gov.

Phase III: Pilot

    The challenge winner receives up to $250,000 in milestone payments 
and will have five months to develop and implement their design with up 
to 30 government contracting students. Milestone payments will be made 
based on mutually agreed upon deliverables throughout the pilot based 
on the accepted design. An initial milestone payment will be determined 
to assist with the startup costs of the pilot.
    OMB will select and provide students for the pilot project. The 
students in the pilot project will be selected from contracting 
professionals who are certified at the Federal Acquisition 
Certification--Contracting (FAC-C) or Defense Acquisition Workforce 
Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level II or above.\7\ These pilot students are 
the target demographic for the program, are influential early adopters 
of new and innovative acquisition strategies, and will have some 
experience in IT acquisition. These students will have managerial 
commitment and approval to fully participate and meet the requirements 
of the pilot; however it is anticipated that pilot participants will be 
not required to be 100% assigned to the pilots for the entire length of 
the program, and will remain in their current jobs during the pilot.
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    \7\ Additional information on the FAC-C program is available at 
www.fai.gov and the DAWIA program at https://dap.dau.mil/career/cont/Pages/Certification.aspx.
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    Assignment: In order to help judge the effectiveness of the 
training and development program, as part of the pilot, the Federal 
contracting students will be expected to complete a ``live'' digital 
service assignment, which could be an actual project, procurement, or 
agency engagement. OMB will work with the Phase II winner to determine 
which assignment is best-suited for its specific pilot based on its 
proposed design.

Phase I Program Concept

    Each submission for this Challenge shall consist of a white paper 
describing the concept for a training and development program that will 
meet the stated objectives. It must include a concept overview that 
describes how the proposed program will improve the ability of 
Contracting Specialists/Officers to purchase digital services. The 
white paper must detail how the solution will create a competent 
digital buying contracting workforce and how this workforce will help 
agencies buy digital services better. The white paper must also 
include:
    [cir] Outline of major content focus areas with their performance 
objectives;
    [cir] Suggested instructional strategies for each content area;
    [cir] Overall expected program outcomes and how the concept will 
meet them.
    [cir] A clear description of what innovative training and 
development approaches are proposed along with the benefits of those 
approaches to this program.
    [cir] The type of Government stakeholder input required if the 
design is selected for the pilot in Phase III.
    [cir] The anticipated cost of the pilot and proposed program and 
any expected intangible benefits related to the program, or ways to 
utilize virtual components and/or quantities of scale strategies to 
leverage the program across the government for Federal Contracting 
Professionals.
    [cir] A concept for defining and evaluating how well the students 
have achieved the objectives of the program, including a comprehensive 
survey for the students and a description of how the digital assignment 
outcome will be assessed.

Phase II: Program Design

    The finalists chosen in Phase I shall prepare a detailed program 
design, including the following three sections:
 Program Description
    [cir] More details on the major content focus areas with their 
performance objectives,
    [cir] Comprehensive Syllabus
    [cir] Defined instructional strategies and educational method for 
each content area,
    [cir] Mock-ups or prototypes,
    [cir] Proposed speaker lists,
    [cir] How a digital assignment will be incorporated into the 
program,
    [cir] An understanding of how the program components will achieve 
the desired program outcomes,
 Assessment Plan
    [cir] More details on the planned assessment of how well the 
students have achieved the objectives of the program;
    [cir] A remediation plan for trainees who do not achieve the goals; 
and
    [cir] A concept for a Capstone or Practical Skills Test that might 
be required for certification.
 Anticipated Cost To Implement Program
    [cir] The estimated investment required to implement both the pilot 
and the resulting program. The pilot would be estimated on a basis of 
30 students as will the resulting program. If the pilot is a scaled-
down version of the fully-implemented program, the differentiation must 
be explained.
    [cir] Any expected intangible benefits related to the program, or 
ways to leverage quantities of scale strategies to facilitate a 
widespread adoption of the program in the government.

Phase II Oral Proposal

    This program design will be presented to the judges through oral 
proposals. Additionally, a one hour mock classroom training shall be 
provided to the judges in order for the challengers to demonstrate one 
aspect of their

[[Page 34463]]

proposed design. It will be up to the challenger to determine which 
aspect and method of delivery will best encompass the concept of their 
proposed design.

Phase III: Program Development and Pilot

    In this phase, the training and development program is developed 
and major components are piloted by the Phase II winner with up to 30 
students to validate the content, feasibility, instructional 
strategies, and expected outcomes of the training program. There shall 
be complete lesson plans, participant materials, mock-ups and 
prototypes, and training aids to test during the pilot delivery. The 
pilot program delivery is the ``test drive'' of the proposed challenge 
solution to determine whether it meets expected outcomes. In addition 
to the students assigned to the pilot, OMB will provide key 
stakeholders and government subject matter experts who can provide 
other limited assistance required to develop and pilot the program as 
requested by the challenger in Phases I and II. OMB will assist the 
Phase II winner with the identification of current Procurements/
Projects/Digital Service teams that students will be assigned to work 
on during the course of the pilot. The nature of the assignment chosen 
will be based on a discussion between the Phase II winner and OMB 
during pilot program preparation. Sample assignments might include:
     Conducting a solicitation from Request For Proposal to 
Award to establish a Federal-wide Blanket Purchase Agreement.
     Working with a Digital Service Agency team on drafting a 
Request for Proposal.
     Assisting GSA's 18F with a consulting effort and resulting 
acquisition.
     Drafting a Digital Service Agency team's acquisition 
strategy for multiple projects/acquisitions.
    Submission shall include an end user survey to be delivered to the 
students based on the proposed program concept which will be used to 
determine how confident the participants are in their ability to apply 
the knowledge and skills learned.

Final Submission: Results of Pilot and Update of Proposed Program

    Upon completion of the pilot, the following information shall be 
provided to OMB by January 31, 2016 to help OMB judge the outcome of 
the proposed training and development program:
    [cir] Results of the assessment of how well the students achieved 
the objectives of the proposed program, and update of the proposed 
remediation plan and concept for a Capstone or Practical Skills Test 
that might be required for certification;
    [cir] Any logistical problems that surfaced in the execution of the 
pilot (this could relate to scheduling challenges, absenteeism on 
behalf of the participants, physical or logical roadblocks 
encountered), including what was done to resolve the problems, or what 
should be done if a scaled program were to be implemented to ensure 
success;
    [cir] The pilot's actual cost breakdown including contract 
services, equipment, facilities, hardware, software, training 
materials, as it relates to the proposed submission (this could include 
return on investment evaluations and alternative analyses);
    [cir] An accountability report that captures how well the pilot was 
executed (pilot's projected cost breakdown compared to the actual cost 
breakdown) and how quality was measured to get the expected results of 
the pilot.
    [cir] The documented program design incorporating lessons learned 
and any changes made to the design initially proposed;
    [cir] The final estimated investment required to implement the 
proposed program; and
    [cir] A description of how Return on Investment (ROI) should be 
monitored (e.g., linkage to performance metrics, etc.).

Evaluation Process

    The evaluation process will begin by removing those that are not 
responsive to this Challenge or not in compliance with all rules of 
eligibility. Judges will examine all responsive and compliant 
submissions, and rate the entries. Judges will determine the most 
meritorious submissions based on these ratings and select up to three 
finalists to include in Phase II--Program Design.
    Honorable Mentions may be included as non-monetary prizes and 
announced along with the winners on Challenge.gov.

Phase I: Program Concept Submission

    The judging panel will rate each submission based upon the 
effectiveness of the overall concept to help foster transformative 
change in the Federal Digital Service acquisition culture, the 
viability of the proposed program, the anticipated cost and its 
reasonableness, the effectiveness of the proposed assessment of the 
pilot, the innovativeness of the approach, and its potential for 
achieving the objectives of the program.

Phase II: Program Design

    Evaluation will be based on the following criteria:
Overall Effectiveness of the Proposed Program Design
    [cir] This factor examines the quality of the design and the mock 
classroom experience and how it demonstrates how the proposed training 
solution will help participants learn the skills and concepts that are 
desired outcomes for this program. It also examines the creativity and 
innovativeness of the program.
Overall Assessment Capability
    [cir] This factor examines the effectiveness of the proposed 
assessment capability, including whether the data collection, tracking, 
and analysis methods proposed demonstrate the participants' ability to 
meet the program objectives.
Feasibility of Implementation
    [cir] This factor examines whether the relative cost of 
implementation is reasonable and commensurate with the caliber of the 
proposed solution and whether the concept can be scaled and modified to 
suit local resources and constraints in terms of number of 
participants.
    Scores from each criterion will be weighted equally.

Phase III: Pilot Development and Implementation

    Evaluation of the effectiveness of the proposed program will be 
based on the final submission and on the following criteria:
Results of Assessment of Pilot and Proposed Program
    [cir] This criteria examines whether the skills students learned 
through the pilot met the objectives of the program and whether or not 
students demonstrated confidence in their ability to apply the 
knowledge and skills learned. This includes whether the students 
indicated an understanding of how to procure Digital Services utilizing 
concepts such as those described in the Digital Service Playbook and 
the TechFAR, how to appropriately measure the success of contracts, how 
to accurately describe and define the value received, and how to 
encourage the use of commercial practices and innovative approaches to 
ensure procurements can capture flexible and rapidly changing 
technology advancements.

[[Page 34464]]

    [cir] This criteria also examines the likelihood of the proposed 
program to meet the program objectives.
Expected Return on Investment
    [cir] This criteria examines the benefits of the pilot and the 
proposed program as compared to the cost. Judges may examine the cost 
effectiveness of the proposed program compared to alternatives. Judges 
may examine expected intangible benefits related to the pilot.
    [cir] This criteria also examines the accountability report.
    The winner of the challenge will be eligible for an additional 
prize of $50,000.00 based upon the results of the evaluation of the 
final submission.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719.Dated:

    Dated: June 9, 2015.
Joanie F. Newhart,
Office of Federal Procurement Policy, OMB.
[FR Doc. 2015-14683 Filed 6-15-15; 8:45 am]
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                                                                                                            and contractor bill processing staff to
                                                    Programs                                                                                                          Total Burden Cost (capital/startup):
                                                                                                            process bills for medical services
                                                                                                                                                                   $0.
                                                                                                            provided by medical professionals other
                                                    Proposed Extension of Existing                                                                                    Total Burden Cost (operating/
                                                                                                            than medical services provided by
                                                    Collection; Comment Request                                                                                    maintenance): $0.
                                                                                                            hospitals, pharmacies and certain other
                                                                                                                                                                      Comments submitted in response to
                                                    ACTION:   Notice.                                       medical providers. To consider the
                                                                                                                                                                   this notice will be summarized and/or
                                                                                                            appropriateness of the requested
                                                    SUMMARY:    The Department of Labor, as                                                                        included in the request for Office of
                                                                                                            payment in a timely fashion, it is
                                                    part of its continuing effort to reduce                                                                        Management and Budget approval of the
                                                                                                            essential that provider bills be
                                                    paperwork and respondent burden,                                                                               information collection request; they will
                                                                                                            submitted on a standard form that will
                                                    conducts a preclearance consultation                                                                           also become a matter of public record.
                                                                                                            capture the critical data elements
                                                    program to provide the general public                   needed to evaluate the bill, such as                     Dated: June 8, 2015.
                                                    and Federal agencies with an                            procedure and diagnosis codes. This                    Yoon Ferguson,
                                                    opportunity to comment on proposed                      information collection is currently                    Agency Clearance Officer, Office of Workers’
                                                    and/or continuing collections of                        approved for use through December 31,                  Compensation Programs, US Department of
                                                    information in accordance with the                      2015.                                                  Labor.
                                                    Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995                                                                                [FR Doc. 2015–14678 Filed 6–15–15; 8:45 am]
                                                    (PRA95) [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This                 II. Review Focus
                                                                                                                                                                   BILLING CODE 4510–CR–P
                                                    program helps to ensure that requested                    The Department of Labor is
                                                    data can be provided in the desired                     particularly interested in comments
                                                    format, reporting burden (time and                      which:                                                 OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND
                                                    financial resources) is minimized,                                                                             BUDGET
                                                    collection instruments are clearly                        * Evaluate whether the proposed
                                                    understood, and the impact of collection                collection of information is necessary                 Announcement of Requirements and
                                                    requirements on respondents can be                      for the proper performance of the                      Registration for the Digital Service
                                                    properly assessed. Currently, the Office                functions of the agency, including                     Contracting Professional Training and
                                                    of Workers’ Compensation Programs is                    whether the information will have                      Development Program Challenge
                                                    soliciting comments concerning the                      practical utility;
                                                    proposed extension of the existing                        * evaluate the accuracy of the                       AGENCY: Office of Management and
                                                    collection: Health Insurance Claim Form                 agency’s estimate of the burden of the                 Budget.
                                                    (OWCP–1500). A copy of the proposed                     proposed collection of information,                    ACTION: Notice.
                                                    information collection request can be                   including the validity of the
                                                                                                            methodology and assumptions used;                      SUMMARY:   The U.S. Digital Service and
                                                    obtained by contacting the office listed
                                                                                                                                                                   Office of Federal Procurement Policy
                                                    below in the addresses section of this                    * enhance the quality, utility and                   (OFPP), as part of the Office of
                                                    Notice.                                                 clarity of the information to be                       Management and Budget (OMB), give
                                                    DATES: Written comments must be                         collected; and                                         notice of the availability of the ‘‘Digital
                                                    submitted to the office listed in the                     * minimize the burden of the                         Service Contracting Professional
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                                                    ADDRESSES section below on or before                    collection of information on those who                 Training and Development Program’’
                                                    August 17, 2015.                                        are to respond, including through the                  prize competition and rules. Through a
                                                    ADDRESSES: Ms. Yoon Ferguson, U.S.                      use of appropriate automated,                          multi-phased challenge, participants are
                                                    Department of Labor, 200 Constitution                   electronic, mechanical, or other                       eligible for prize money up to
                                                    Ave. NW., Room S–3201, Washington,                      technological collection techniques or                 $360,000.00 under this competition.
                                                    DC 20210, telephone/fax (202) 354–                      other forms of information technology,                    In August 2014, the U.S. Digital
                                                    9647, Email ferguson.yoon@dol.gov.                      e.g., permitting electronic submissions                Service was launched to bring in the
                                                    Please use only one method of                           of responses.                                          country’s brightest digital talent to


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                                                    34460                          Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 115 / Tuesday, June 16, 2015 / Notices

                                                    transform how government works for                      OFPP.2 The final results of the challenge                 Specifically, the program must teach
                                                    American citizens and businesses by                     will be provided to Federal training                   Federal Contracting Professionals how
                                                    dramatically improving the way                          institutions, such as the Federal                      to:
                                                    government builds and buys digital                      Acquisition Institute (FAI) and Defense                   (1) Understand and procure digital
                                                    services.                                               Acquisition University (DAU), for those                services and supplies utilizing concepts
                                                       On December 4, 2014, Anne Rung,                      institutions to implement and maintain                 such as those described in the Digital
                                                    Administrator for Federal Procurement                   the program. This program will be one                  Services Playbook 4 and the TechFAR 5
                                                    Policy, issued a memorandum titled                      of many initiatives to foster                          (e.g, DevOps, UX, Design Services, Agile
                                                    Transforming the Marketplace:                           transformative change in the Federal                   Software Development, Open Source,
                                                    Simplifying Federal Procurement to                      Digital Service acquisition culture.                   Cloud, Iaas, SaaS, and PaaS);
                                                    Improve Performance, Drive Innovation,                     No formal contract to any challenge
                                                    and Increase Savings.1 In this                          participant will be awarded as a direct                   (2) Appropriately measure the success
                                                    memorandum, Administrator Rung lays                     result of this prize competition.                      of these contracts based on industry
                                                    out several initiatives for driving greater                The optimal comprehensive training                  standards;
                                                    innovation and strengthening Federal                    and development program, intended for                     (3) Accurately describe and define the
                                                    acquisition practices, one of which is                  Federal Contracting Professionals,                     value received; and
                                                    building digital information technology                 specifically Contracting Officers and                     (4) Encourage the use of commercial
                                                    (IT) acquisition expertise.                             Contract Specialists, will enable them to              practices and innovative approaches
                                                       As part of this initiative, OFPP and                 understand and apply strategic thinking,               (e.g. modular contracting, broad agency
                                                    the U.S. Digital Service are working                    industry best practices, market place                  announcements, challenges and prizes)
                                                    together to focus on improving the                      conditions, and appropriate acquisition                to ensure procurements can capture
                                                    process of IT acquisition, and                          strategies to the procurement of digital               flexible and rapidly changing
                                                    specifically the acquisition of digital                 supplies and services. An ideal training               technology advancements.
                                                    services. OFPP and the U.S. Digital                     and development program will be no
                                                    Service recognize the need for                          longer than 6 months in total, and may                    The prize challenge will include three
                                                    improving and simplifying the digital                   include strategies such as rotational                  phases. Phase I asks for participants to
                                                    experiences that citizens and businesses                assignments, mentoring, in-classroom                   submit a white paper that describes
                                                    have with the Government.                               training, and detail assignments woven                 their concept for a training and
                                                    Strengthening digital services expertise                into an innovative approach to                         development program that will meet the
                                                    in the Government is a key component                    accomplish the stated objectives. A                    stated objectives. Up to three Phase I
                                                    of being able to reduce the risk of failed              definition of a successful digital service             submissions will be selected as finalists
                                                    acquisitions and systems, and save                      buyer, novel ideas, leading-edge                       and move to Phase II. These finalists are
                                                    taxpayer dollars. The Digital Service                   approaches, and iterative methodologies                awarded $20,000 each in prize money to
                                                    Contracting Professional Training and                   are highly encouraged in response to                   design in more detail their proposed
                                                    Development Program prize competition                   this Challenge.                                        concept program. At the end of Phase II,
                                                    seeks to spur innovation in the training                   Digital services, as defined by OMB,                these finalists will present their in-
                                                    and development of Federal Contracting                  refers to ‘‘the delivery of digital                    depth program designs at an oral
                                                    Professionals who are fundamental to                    information (data or content) and                      presentation and a one hour mock
                                                    the success of digital service                          transactional services (e.g., online                   classroom training to a panel of Federal
                                                    acquisitions. Through program concept                   forms, benefits applications) across a                 senior leaders. One winner will be
                                                    white papers, up to three design                        variety of platforms, devices, and                     selected and moves to Phase III, which
                                                    presentations, and a pilot program, the                 delivery mechanisms (e.g., Web sites,                  requires that participant to develop and
                                                    effectiveness and feasibility of                        mobile applications, and social media).’’              pilot its program for approximately 30
                                                    innovative training and development                     Digital services may be delivered to                   students. In Phase III, up to $250,000 in
                                                    program approaches will be explored.                    customers either internal or external to               milestone payments will be provided to
                                                    ADDRESSES: Questions about this prize                   the Government, or both.3                              assist the participant in developing their
                                                    competition may be emailed to                              The primary outcomes of this Digital                proposed pilot for a training and
                                                    Challenge@omb.eop.gov.                                  Service Contracting Professional                       development program that can be easily
                                                       Prize Competition Managers:                          Training and Development Program are                   adopted and implemented by the
                                                    Traci Walker—US Digital Service, OMB                    that participating Federal contracting                 Government. Upon completion of Phase
                                                                                                            professionals:                                         III, the finalist can win up to $50,000 in
                                                    Joanie Newhart—OFPP, OMB
                                                                                                               • Become digital service procurement                additional prize money for developing a
                                                    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:                                                                                     program that fully met the stated
                                                                                                            experts;
                                                    Objective                                                                                                      objectives.
                                                                                                               • Are equipped with the knowledge
                                                      The goal of this prize competition is                 necessary to be imbedded within agency                    The pilot will be held in the
                                                    to develop a Digital Service Contracting                Digital Service teams to serve as a                    Washington, DC area with local
                                                    Professional Training and Development                   business advisor to the team, its                      students. However, approaches for the
                                                    Program for the Federal Government,                     customers, and its stakeholders; and                   proposed program that include virtual
                                                    which will be used to add a digital                        • Have the knowledge to lead agency                 components to allow participation of
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                    service core-plus specialization for                    training, workshops, and consultations                 students outside of the Washington, DC
                                                    contracting professionals under the                     in order to expand digital service                     area (with some in-person sessions
                                                    Federal Acquisition Certification in                    procurement expertise within their                     required) and/or self-pacing are highly
                                                    Contracting (FAC–C) Program issued by                   agency and the government.                             encouraged, but must also demonstrate
                                                                                                                                                                   cost effectiveness.
                                                      1 Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/         2 http://www.fai.gov/drupal/sites/default/files/

                                                    default/files/omb/procurement/memo/simplifying-         2006-1-20-OMB-Memo-FAC-C-Certification.pdf.              4 https://playbook.cio.gov/.

                                                    federal-procurement-to-improve-performance-drive-         3 http://www.whitehouse.gov/digitalgov/digital-        5 https://github.com/WhiteHouse/playbook/blob/

                                                    innovation-increase-savings.pdf.                        services-governance-recommendations.                   gh-pages/_includes/techfar-online.md.



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                                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 115 / Tuesday, June 16, 2015 / Notices                                               34461

                                                    Eligibility and Rules for Participating in              upon the rights of other parties,                      site and making it available for use by
                                                    the Challenge                                           including, but not limited to, privacy,                the public.
                                                       • To be eligible to win a prize under                publicity or intellectual property rights,                • OMB reserves the right, in its sole
                                                    this Challenge, an individual or entity:                or material that constitutes copyright or              discretion, to (a) cancel, suspend, or
                                                       Æ Shall have registered to participate               license infringement.                                  modify the Challenge, and/or (b) not
                                                    in the Challenge under the rules                           • By participating in this Challenge,               award any prizes if no entries are
                                                    promulgated by OMB and published in                     each individual (whether competing                     deemed worthy.
                                                    this Notice;                                            singly or in a group) and entity agree to                 • Each individual (whether
                                                       Æ Shall have complied with all the                   assume any and all risks and waive                     competing singly or in a group) or entity
                                                    requirements in this Notice;                            claims against the Federal Government                  agrees to follow applicable local, State,
                                                       Æ In the case of a private entity, shall             and its related entities (as defined in the            and Federal laws and regulations.
                                                    be incorporated in and maintain a                       COMPETES Act 6), except in the case of                    • Each individual (whether
                                                    primary place of business in the United                 willful misconduct, for any injury,                    participating singly or in a group) and
                                                    States, and in the case of an individual,               death, damage, or loss of property,                    entity participating in this Challenge
                                                    whether participating singly or in a                    revenue, or profits, whether direct,                   must comply with all terms and
                                                    group, shall be a citizen or permanent                  indirect, or consequential, arising from               conditions of these rules, and
                                                    resident of the United States. Non-U.S.                 their participation in the Challenge,                  participation in this Challenge
                                                    citizens and non-permanent residents                    whether the injury, death, damage, or                  constitutes each participant’s full and
                                                    are not eligible to win a monetary prize                loss arises through negligence or                      unconditional agreement to abide by
                                                    (in whole or in part);                                  otherwise.                                             these rules. Winning is contingent upon
                                                       Æ In the case of an individual,                         • Based on the subject matter of the                fulfilling all requirements herein.
                                                    whether participating singly or in a                    Challenge, the type of work that it will                  • The Federal government will not
                                                    group, must be at least 18 years old at                 possibly require, as well as an analysis               provide any travel expenses for
                                                    the time of entry;                                      of the likelihood of any claims for death,             participants in the pilot projects.
                                                       Æ May not be a Federal entity;                       bodily injury, or property damage, or                     • Prizes awarded under this
                                                       Æ OMB reserves the right to                          loss potentially resulting from Challenge              Challenge will be paid by electronic
                                                    disqualify and remove any submission                    participation, no individual (whether                  funds transfer and may be subject to
                                                    that is deemed, in the judging panel’s                  competing singly or in a group) or entity              Federal income taxes. Payment will
                                                    discretion, inappropriate, offensive,                   participating in the Challenge is                      comply with the Internal Revenue
                                                    defamatory, and/or demeaning;                           required to obtain liability insurance or              Service withholding and reporting
                                                       Æ May not be a Federal employee                      demonstrate financial responsibility in                requirements, where applicable. Any
                                                    acting within the scope of his/her                      order to participate in this Challenge.                entrant on the Excluded Parties List will
                                                    employment, and further, and may not                       • By participating in this Challenge,               not be selected as a finalist or prize
                                                    work on his or her submission(s) during                 each individual (whether competing                     winner.
                                                    assigned duty hours;                                    singly or in a group) or entity agrees to              Registration and Submission Process
                                                       Æ May not be an employee of the US                   indemnify the Federal Government
                                                                                                            against third party claims for damages                    All submissions must include
                                                    Digital Service, OFPP, a judge of the
                                                                                                            arising from or related to Challenge                   information addressing all of the
                                                    Challenge, or any other party involved
                                                                                                            activities.                                            mandatory elements. Any submission
                                                    with the design, production, execution,
                                                                                                                                                                   not including all information will not be
                                                    or distribution of the Challenge or the                    • An individual or entity shall not be
                                                                                                                                                                   eligible for award.
                                                    immediate family of such a party (i.e.,                 deemed ineligible because the
                                                                                                                                                                      All submissions must be in English.
                                                    spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or                  individual or entity used Federal
                                                                                                                                                                   Each submission must consist of a PDF
                                                    step-child).                                            facilities or consulted with Federal
                                                                                                                                                                   file. The PDF documents must be
                                                       • Federal grantees may not use                       employees during the Challenge if the
                                                                                                                                                                   formatted to be no larger than 8.5″ by
                                                    Federal funds to develop their                          facilities and employees are made
                                                                                                                                                                   11.0″, with at least 1 inch margins. The
                                                    Challenge submissions unless use of                     available to all individuals and entities
                                                                                                                                                                   participant must not use OFPP’s or
                                                    such funds is consistent with the                       participating in the Challenge on an
                                                                                                                                                                   OMB’s logo or official seal, or the logo
                                                    purpose of their grant award and                        equitable basis.
                                                                                                                                                                   of the U.S. Digital Service in the
                                                    specifically requested to do so due to                     • Each individual (whether                          submission, and must not claim Federal
                                                    the Challenge design.                                   competing singly or in a group) or entity              Government endorsement.
                                                       • Federal contractors may not use                    retains title and full ownership in and                   Certification: Each submission must
                                                    Federal funds from a contract to develop                to their submission and each participant               include a cover letter that the individual
                                                    their Challenge submissions or to fund                  expressly reserves all intellectual                    or every member of the team responding
                                                    efforts in support of their Challenge                   property rights (e.g., copyright) in their             has read and consents to be governed by
                                                    submission.                                             submission. However, each participant                  the Challenge Rules and meets the
                                                       • Submissions must not infringe                      grants to the Federal Government, and                  eligibility requirements. This cover
                                                    upon any copyright or any other rights                  others acting on behalf of the Federal                 letter must be signed and dated by all
                                                    of any third party. Each participant                    Government, a royalty-free non-                        participants. The following statement
                                                    warrants that he or she is the sole author              exclusive worldwide license to use,                    must be included:
                                                    and owner of the work and that the
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                            copy for use, and display publicly all
                                                    work is wholly original. It is the                      parts of the submission for the purposes                  ‘‘I have read and understand the OMB
                                                    responsibility of the participant to                    of the Challenge and future training and               Challenge Rules (‘‘Rules’’) for the Digital
                                                    obtain any rights necessary to use,                                                                            Service Contracting Professional Training
                                                                                                            development programs. This license                     and Development Program prize competition.
                                                    disclose, or reproduce any intellectual                 may include posting or linking to the                  I hereby agree to abide by such Terms and
                                                    property owned by third parties and                     submission on the official OMB Web                     Rules.
                                                    incorporated in the entry for all                                                                                 I hereby agree to assume any and all risks
                                                    anticipated uses of the submission.                       6 https://www.congress.gov/110/plaws/publ69/         and waive claims against the Federal
                                                    Submissions must not violate or infringe                PLAW–110publ69.pdf.                                    Government and its related entities, except in



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                                                    34462                          Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 115 / Tuesday, June 16, 2015 / Notices

                                                    the case of willful misconduct, for any injury,         contracting professionals who are                      expected intangible benefits related to
                                                    death, damage, or loss of property, revenue,            certified at the Federal Acquisition                   the program, or ways to utilize virtual
                                                    or profits, whether direct, indirect, or                Certification—Contracting (FAC–C) or                   components and/or quantities of scale
                                                    consequential, arising from participation in            Defense Acquisition Workforce                          strategies to leverage the program across
                                                    this prize challenge, whether the injury,
                                                    death, damage, or loss arises through
                                                                                                            Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level II or                    the government for Federal Contracting
                                                    negligence or otherwise.                                above.7 These pilot students are the                   Professionals.
                                                       I hereby agree to indemnify the Federal              target demographic for the program, are                   Æ A concept for defining and
                                                    Government against third party claims for               influential early adopters of new and                  evaluating how well the students have
                                                    damages arising from or related to challenge            innovative acquisition strategies, and                 achieved the objectives of the program,
                                                    activities.                                             will have some experience in IT                        including a comprehensive survey for
                                                       I certify that I am over the age of 18 and           acquisition. These students will have                  the students and a description of how
                                                    a United States Citizen or a permanent                  managerial commitment and approval to                  the digital assignment outcome will be
                                                    resident.                                               fully participate and meet the                         assessed.
                                                       I hereby grant to the Federal Government,
                                                    and others acting on behalf of the Federal
                                                                                                            requirements of the pilot; however it is
                                                                                                                                                                   Phase II: Program Design
                                                    Government, a royalty-free non-exclusive                anticipated that pilot participants will
                                                    worldwide license to use, copy for use, and             be not required to be 100% assigned to                   The finalists chosen in Phase I shall
                                                    display publicly all parts of the submission            the pilots for the entire length of the                prepare a detailed program design,
                                                    for the purposes of the Challenge. This                 program, and will remain in their                      including the following three sections:
                                                    license may include posting or linking to the           current jobs during the pilot.
                                                    submission on the official OMB Web site and
                                                                                                                                                                   • Program Description
                                                                                                               Assignment: In order to help judge the
                                                    making it available for use by the public.’’            effectiveness of the training and                        Æ More details on the major content
                                                                                                            development program, as part of the                    focus areas with their performance
                                                    Submission Requirements and Pilot
                                                                                                            pilot, the Federal contracting students                objectives,
                                                    Implementation
                                                                                                            will be expected to complete a ‘‘live’’                  Æ Comprehensive Syllabus
                                                      This Challenge will be conducted in                   digital service assignment, which could                  Æ Defined instructional strategies and
                                                    three phases.                                           be an actual project, procurement, or                  educational method for each content
                                                    Phase I: Program Concept                                agency engagement. OMB will work                       area,
                                                                                                            with the Phase II winner to determine                    Æ Mock-ups or prototypes,
                                                       Challenge participants will have one                                                                          Æ Proposed speaker lists,
                                                                                                            which assignment is best-suited for its
                                                    month from the date of this Notice to                                                                            Æ How a digital assignment will be
                                                                                                            specific pilot based on its proposed
                                                    submit a program concept. Those                                                                                incorporated into the program,
                                                                                                            design.
                                                    submissions must comply with the                                                                                 Æ An understanding of how the
                                                    requirements provided below. Up to                      Phase I Program Concept                                program components will achieve the
                                                    three Phase I submissions may be                           Each submission for this Challenge                  desired program outcomes,
                                                    selected as finalists. The names of the
                                                    finalists will be posted on the
                                                                                                            shall consist of a white paper describing              • Assessment Plan
                                                                                                            the concept for a training and
                                                    Challenge.gov Web site as will the                      development program that will meet the                   Æ More details on the planned
                                                    names of any participants receiving an                  stated objectives. It must include a                   assessment of how well the students
                                                    honorary mention. Honorary mentions                     concept overview that describes how                    have achieved the objectives of the
                                                    may be given to highly ranked                           the proposed program will improve the                  program;
                                                    submissions that were not identified as                 ability of Contracting Specialists/                      Æ A remediation plan for trainees
                                                    one of the final three finalists.                       Officers to purchase digital services.                 who do not achieve the goals; and
                                                                                                            The white paper must detail how the                      Æ A concept for a Capstone or
                                                    Phase II: Detailed Program Design
                                                                                                            solution will create a competent digital               Practical Skills Test that might be
                                                       The Phase I finalists will receive                                                                          required for certification.
                                                    $20,000 each and will have one month                    buying contracting workforce and how
                                                    from the date of this award, to transform               this workforce will help agencies buy                  • Anticipated Cost To Implement
                                                    their program concepts into a detailed                  digital services better. The white paper               Program
                                                    program designs, which meet the                         must also include:                                        Æ The estimated investment required
                                                    requirements provided below. One                           Æ Outline of major content focus                    to implement both the pilot and the
                                                    finalist will be selected as the winner of              areas with their performance objectives;               resulting program. The pilot would be
                                                    the challenge. The winner’s name will                      Æ Suggested instructional strategies                estimated on a basis of 30 students as
                                                    be posted on Challenge.gov.                             for each content area;                                 will the resulting program. If the pilot
                                                                                                               Æ Overall expected program outcomes                 is a scaled-down version of the fully-
                                                    Phase III: Pilot                                        and how the concept will meet them.                    implemented program, the
                                                      The challenge winner receives up to                      Æ A clear description of what                       differentiation must be explained.
                                                    $250,000 in milestone payments and                      innovative training and development                       Æ Any expected intangible benefits
                                                    will have five months to develop and                    approaches are proposed along with the                 related to the program, or ways to
                                                    implement their design with up to 30                    benefits of those approaches to this                   leverage quantities of scale strategies to
                                                    government contracting students.                        program.                                               facilitate a widespread adoption of the
                                                    Milestone payments will be made based                      Æ The type of Government
asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                                                                   program in the government.
                                                    on mutually agreed upon deliverables                    stakeholder input required if the design
                                                    throughout the pilot based on the                       is selected for the pilot in Phase III.                Phase II Oral Proposal
                                                    accepted design. An initial milestone                      Æ The anticipated cost of the pilot                   This program design will be presented
                                                    payment will be determined to assist                    and proposed program and any                           to the judges through oral proposals.
                                                    with the startup costs of the pilot.                       7 Additional information on the FAC–C program
                                                                                                                                                                   Additionally, a one hour mock
                                                      OMB will select and provide students                  is available at www.fai.gov and the DAWIA
                                                                                                                                                                   classroom training shall be provided to
                                                    for the pilot project. The students in the              program at https://dap.dau.mil/career/cont/Pages/      the judges in order for the challengers
                                                    pilot project will be selected from                     Certification.aspx.                                    to demonstrate one aspect of their


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                                                                                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 115 / Tuesday, June 16, 2015 / Notices                                             34463

                                                    proposed design. It will be up to the                   objectives of the proposed program, and                potential for achieving the objectives of
                                                    challenger to determine which aspect                    update of the proposed remediation                     the program.
                                                    and method of delivery will best                        plan and concept for a Capstone or
                                                                                                                                                                   Phase II: Program Design
                                                    encompass the concept of their                          Practical Skills Test that might be
                                                    proposed design.                                        required for certification;                              Evaluation will be based on the
                                                                                                               Æ Any logistical problems that                      following criteria:
                                                    Phase III: Program Development and
                                                                                                            surfaced in the execution of the pilot
                                                    Pilot                                                                                                          Overall Effectiveness of the Proposed
                                                                                                            (this could relate to scheduling
                                                      In this phase, the training and                                                                              Program Design
                                                                                                            challenges, absenteeism on behalf of the
                                                    development program is developed and                    participants, physical or logical                        Æ This factor examines the quality of
                                                    major components are piloted by the                     roadblocks encountered), including                     the design and the mock classroom
                                                    Phase II winner with up to 30 students                  what was done to resolve the problems,                 experience and how it demonstrates
                                                    to validate the content, feasibility,                   or what should be done if a scaled                     how the proposed training solution will
                                                    instructional strategies, and expected                  program were to be implemented to                      help participants learn the skills and
                                                    outcomes of the training program. There                 ensure success;                                        concepts that are desired outcomes for
                                                    shall be complete lesson plans,                            Æ The pilot’s actual cost breakdown                 this program. It also examines the
                                                    participant materials, mock-ups and                     including contract services, equipment,                creativity and innovativeness of the
                                                    prototypes, and training aids to test                   facilities, hardware, software, training               program.
                                                    during the pilot delivery. The pilot                    materials, as it relates to the proposed
                                                    program delivery is the ‘‘test drive’’ of                                                                      Overall Assessment Capability
                                                                                                            submission (this could include return
                                                    the proposed challenge solution to                      on investment evaluations and                             Æ This factor examines the
                                                    determine whether it meets expected                     alternative analyses);                                 effectiveness of the proposed
                                                    outcomes. In addition to the students                      Æ An accountability report that                     assessment capability, including
                                                    assigned to the pilot, OMB will provide                 captures how well the pilot was                        whether the data collection, tracking,
                                                    key stakeholders and government                         executed (pilot’s projected cost                       and analysis methods proposed
                                                    subject matter experts who can provide                  breakdown compared to the actual cost                  demonstrate the participants’ ability to
                                                    other limited assistance required to                    breakdown) and how quality was                         meet the program objectives.
                                                    develop and pilot the program as                        measured to get the expected results of
                                                    requested by the challenger in Phases I                                                                        Feasibility of Implementation
                                                                                                            the pilot.
                                                    and II. OMB will assist the Phase II                       Æ The documented program design                       Æ This factor examines whether the
                                                    winner with the identification of current               incorporating lessons learned and any                  relative cost of implementation is
                                                    Procurements/Projects/Digital Service                   changes made to the design initially                   reasonable and commensurate with the
                                                    teams that students will be assigned to                 proposed;                                              caliber of the proposed solution and
                                                    work on during the course of the pilot.                    Æ The final estimated investment                    whether the concept can be scaled and
                                                    The nature of the assignment chosen                     required to implement the proposed                     modified to suit local resources and
                                                    will be based on a discussion between                   program; and                                           constraints in terms of number of
                                                    the Phase II winner and OMB during                                                                             participants.
                                                                                                               Æ A description of how Return on
                                                    pilot program preparation. Sample                                                                                Scores from each criterion will be
                                                                                                            Investment (ROI) should be monitored
                                                    assignments might include:                                                                                     weighted equally.
                                                                                                            (e.g., linkage to performance metrics,
                                                      • Conducting a solicitation from
                                                                                                            etc.).                                                 Phase III: Pilot Development and
                                                    Request For Proposal to Award to
                                                    establish a Federal-wide Blanket                        Evaluation Process                                     Implementation
                                                    Purchase Agreement.                                                                                               Evaluation of the effectiveness of the
                                                      • Working with a Digital Service                        The evaluation process will begin by
                                                                                                            removing those that are not responsive                 proposed program will be based on the
                                                    Agency team on drafting a Request for
                                                                                                            to this Challenge or not in compliance                 final submission and on the following
                                                    Proposal.
                                                      • Assisting GSA’s 18F with a                          with all rules of eligibility. Judges will             criteria:
                                                    consulting effort and resulting                         examine all responsive and compliant
                                                                                                                                                                   Results of Assessment of Pilot and
                                                    acquisition.                                            submissions, and rate the entries. Judges
                                                                                                                                                                   Proposed Program
                                                      • Drafting a Digital Service Agency                   will determine the most meritorious
                                                    team’s acquisition strategy for multiple                submissions based on these ratings and                    Æ This criteria examines whether the
                                                    projects/acquisitions.                                  select up to three finalists to include in             skills students learned through the pilot
                                                      Submission shall include an end user                  Phase II—Program Design.                               met the objectives of the program and
                                                    survey to be delivered to the students                    Honorable Mentions may be included                   whether or not students demonstrated
                                                    based on the proposed program concept                   as non-monetary prizes and announced                   confidence in their ability to apply the
                                                    which will be used to determine how                     along with the winners on                              knowledge and skills learned. This
                                                    confident the participants are in their                 Challenge.gov.                                         includes whether the students indicated
                                                    ability to apply the knowledge and                                                                             an understanding of how to procure
                                                                                                            Phase I: Program Concept Submission                    Digital Services utilizing concepts such
                                                    skills learned.
                                                                                                               The judging panel will rate each                    as those described in the Digital Service
                                                    Final Submission: Results of Pilot and                  submission based upon the effectiveness                Playbook and the TechFAR, how to
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                                                    Update of Proposed Program                              of the overall concept to help foster                  appropriately measure the success of
                                                       Upon completion of the pilot, the                    transformative change in the Federal                   contracts, how to accurately describe
                                                    following information shall be provided                 Digital Service acquisition culture, the               and define the value received, and how
                                                    to OMB by January 31, 2016 to help                      viability of the proposed program, the                 to encourage the use of commercial
                                                    OMB judge the outcome of the proposed                   anticipated cost and its reasonableness,               practices and innovative approaches to
                                                    training and development program:                       the effectiveness of the proposed                      ensure procurements can capture
                                                       Æ Results of the assessment of how                   assessment of the pilot, the                           flexible and rapidly changing
                                                    well the students achieved the                          innovativeness of the approach, and its                technology advancements.


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                                                    34464                          Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 115 / Tuesday, June 16, 2015 / Notices

                                                       Æ This criteria also examines the                    organized by function to show how                      ADDRESSES:   You may submit comments
                                                    likelihood of the proposed program to                   contracted resources are distributed                   by any of the following methods:
                                                    meet the program objectives.                            throughout the agency. The inventory                     • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
                                                                                                            has been developed in accordance with                  http://www.regulations.gov and search
                                                    Expected Return on Investment                                                                                  for Docket ID NRC–2015–0119. Address
                                                                                                            guidance issued on November 5, 2010
                                                       Æ This criteria examines the benefits                by the Office of Management and                        questions about NRC dockets to Carol
                                                    of the pilot and the proposed program                   Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement                 Gallagher; telephone: 301–415–3463;
                                                    as compared to the cost. Judges may                     Policy (OFPP). OFPP’s guidance is                      email: Carol.Gallagher@nrc.gov. For
                                                    examine the cost effectiveness of the                   available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/                technical questions, contact the
                                                    proposed program compared to                            sites/default/files/omb/procurement/                   individual listed in the FOR FURTHER
                                                    alternatives. Judges may examine                        memo/service-contract-inventories-                     INFORMATION CONTACT section of this
                                                    expected intangible benefits related to                 guidance-11052010.pdf. The FY 2014                     document.
                                                    the pilot.                                              inventory supplement provides                            • Mail comments to: Tremaine
                                                       Æ This criteria also examines the                    information collected from contractors                 Donnell, Office of Information Services,
                                                    accountability report.                                  on the amount invoiced and the direct                  Mail Stop: T–5 F53, U.S. Nuclear
                                                       The winner of the challenge will be                  labor hours expended on covered                        Regulatory Commission, Washington,
                                                    eligible for an additional prize of                     service contracts. The FY 2014                         DC 20555–0001.
                                                    $50,000.00 based upon the results of the                inventory planned analysis provides                      For additional direction on obtaining
                                                    evaluation of the final submission.                     information on which functional areas                  information and submitting comments,
                                                       Authority: 15 U.S.C. 3719.Dated:                     will be reviewed by the agency. The                    see ‘‘Obtaining Information and
                                                                                                            National Transportation Safety Board                   Submitting Comments’’ in the
                                                      Dated: June 9, 2015.                                  has posted its FY 2014 inventory, FY                   SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of
                                                    Joanie F. Newhart,                                      2014 inventory supplement; FY 2014                     this document.
                                                    Office of Federal Procurement Policy, OMB.              planned analysis, and FY 2013                          FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                    [FR Doc. 2015–14683 Filed 6–15–15; 8:45 am]             inventory analysis at the following link:              Tremaine Donnell, Office of Information
                                                    BILLING CODE 3110–05–P                                  http://www.ntsb.gov/about/                             Services, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory
                                                                                                            employment/Pages/open.aspx.                            Commission, Washington, DC 20555–
                                                                                                            FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:                       0001; telephone: 301–415–6258; email:
                                                    NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION                                 Questions regarding the service contract               INFOCOLLECTS.Resource@NRC.GOV.
                                                    SAFETY BOARD                                            inventory should be directed to Peter M.               SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
                                                                                                            Hazlinsky, Chief, Acquisition and Lease
                                                    Public Availability of FY 2013 Service                  Management Division, NTSB at 202–                      l. Obtaining Information and
                                                    Contract Inventory Analysis, FY 2014                    314–6205 or matt.hazlinsky@nts.gov.                    Submitting Comments
                                                    Service Contract Inventory, FY 2014                       Dated: June 11, 2015.                                A. Obtaining Information
                                                    Service Contract Inventory                              Candi R. Bing,
                                                    Supplement, and FY 2014 Service                                                                                   Please refer to Docket ID NRC–2015–
                                                                                                            Federal Register Liaison Officer.                      0119 when contacting the NRC about
                                                    Contract Inventory Planned Analysis
                                                    for the National Transportation Safety                  [FR Doc. 2015–14719 Filed 6–15–15; 8:45 am]            the availability of information for this
                                                    Board                                                   BILLING CODE 7533–01–P                                 action. You may obtain publicly-
                                                                                                                                                                   available information related to this
                                                    AGENCY:    National Transportation Safety                                                                      action by any of the following methods:
                                                    Board.                                                  NUCLEAR REGULATORY                                        • Federal Rulemaking Web site: Go to
                                                    ACTION: Notice of Public Availability of                COMMISSION                                             http://www.regulations.gov and search
                                                    FY 2013 Service Contract Inventory                                                                             for Docket ID NRC–2015–0119.
                                                                                                            [NRC–2015–0119]                                           • NRC’s Agencywide Documents
                                                    Analysis, FY 2014 Service Contract
                                                    Inventory, FY 2014 Service Contract                     Information Collection: Financial                      Access and Management System
                                                    Inventory Supplement, and FY 2014                       Protection Requirements and                            (ADAMS): You may obtain publicly-
                                                    Service Contract Inventory Planned                      Indemnity Agreements                                   available documents online in the
                                                    Analysis.                                                                                                      ADAMS Public Documents collection at
                                                                                                            AGENCY:  Nuclear Regulatory                            http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/
                                                    SUMMARY:   In accordance with Section                   Commission.                                            adams.html. To begin the search, select
                                                    743 of Division C of the Consolidated                   ACTION: Renewal of existing information                ‘‘ADAMS Public Documents’’ and then
                                                    Appropriations Act of 2010 (Pub. L.                     collection; request for comment.                       select ‘‘ Begin Web-based ADAMS
                                                    111–117), the National Transportation                                                                          Search.’’ For problems with ADAMS,
                                                    Safety Board is publishing this notice to               SUMMARY:   The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory                 please contact the NRC’s Public
                                                    advise the public of the availability of                Commission (NRC) invites public                        Document Room (PDR) reference staff at
                                                    the FY 2013 Service Contract Inventory                  comment on the renewal of the Office of                1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737, or by
                                                    Analysis, the FY 2014 Service Contract                  Management and Budget’s (OMB’s)                        email to pdr.resource@nrc.gov. The
                                                    Inventory, the FY 2014 Service Contract                 approval for an existing collection of                 supporting statement is available in
                                                    Inventory Supplement, and the FY 2014                   information. The information collection                ADAMS under Accession No.
                                                    Service Contract Inventory Planned                      is entitled, ‘‘Financial Protection
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                                                                                                                                                                   ML15104A625.
                                                    Analysis. The FY 2013 inventory                         Requirements and Indemnity                                • NRC’s PDR: You may examine and
                                                    analysis provides information on                        Agreements.’’                                          purchase copies of public documents at
                                                    specific service contract actions that                  DATES: Submit comments by August 17,                   the NRC’s PDR, Room O1–F21, One
                                                    were analyzed as part of the FY 2013                    2015. Comments received after this date                White Flint North, 11555 Rockville
                                                    inventory. The FY 2014 inventory                        will be considered if it is practical to do            Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
                                                    provides information on service contract                so, however, the Commission will only                     • NRC’s Clearance Officer: A copy of
                                                    actions over $25,000 that was made in                   ensure consideration for comments                      the collection of information and related
                                                    FY 2014. The inventory information is                   received on, or before, this date.                     instructions may be obtained without


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Document Created: 2018-02-22 10:22:41
Document Modified: 2018-02-22 10:22:41
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice.
FR Citation80 FR 34459 

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