HomeMy WebLinkAboutCORRESPONDENCE - RFP - ELEARNING CURRICULUM DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT (4)Addendum 1 – 7448 eLearning Curriculum Design & Development Page 1 of 8
ADDENDUM No. 1
SPECIFICATIONS AND CONTRACT DOCUMENTS
Description of BID 7448: eLearning Curriculum Design & Development
OPENING DATE: 3:00 PM (Our Clock) December 3, 2012
To all prospective bidders under the specifications and contract documents described
above, the following changes/additions are hereby made and detailed in the following
sections of this addendum:
Exhibit 1 – Questions & Answer
Exhibit 2 – Sample Agenda Item Summary (AIS)
Please contact David Carey, CPPB, Buyer at (970) 416-2191 with any questions
regarding this addendum.
RECEIPT OF THIS ADDENDUM MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED BY A WRITTEN
STATEMENT ENCLOSED WITH THE BID/QUOTE STATING THAT THIS
ADDENDUM HAS BEEN RECEIVED.
Financial Services
Purchasing Division
215 N. Mason St. 2nd Floor
PO Box 580
Fort Collins, CO 80522
970.221.6775
970.221.6707
fcgov.com/purchasing
Addendum 1 – 7448 eLearning Curriculum Design & Development Page 2 of 8
EXHIBIT 1 – QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
1. Based on my understanding of the rfp, I believe you are you looking for an hourly
rate ("Provide hourly rates and stand standard reimbursement policy") which would
then be used to complete specific work orders (which are not outlined/defined in
the RFP) after the award. However, in the Review and Assessment it states:
“Do the proposed cost and work hours compare favorably with the project
Manager's estimate? Are the work hours presented reasonable for the effort
required in each project task or phase? “
I just wanted to see how you plan to evaluate this and if there is a specific work
order on which we should be estimating time and cost.
We don’t believe you are limited to an “hourly rate” –you can outline your fee
structure, because we am sure you have a fee structure of some type. If your
organization proposes costs by project and you have project sub-topics that
breaks out costs such as:
Interactivity
Programming
Graphics
Project Management
Instructional Design
Electronic Design
Professional Voiceover Talent
LMS preparation and testing
Development of support materials such as: coaching guide, training
aids, templates, etc.
Or another way that we have seen vendors bid eLearning courses is by
anticipating the approximate percentage of the project budget for a course in
each of the project sub-topics such as:
Project Management – 5%
Instructional Design and Development – 25%
Creative Direction/Graphics – 5%
Programming Production – 50%
Professional Voiceover Talent – 5%
Lastly, we have seen where vendors have a tiered fee structure for e-
Learning course development. For example, Tier 1 buys approximately
$8,000; Tier 2 buys approximately $15,000; and Tier 3 buys approximately
anything above $15,000. The Tiers then break out an estimate for the final
product viewing time such as 10, 30 or 50 minutes of learning.
So, the question is phrased to provide flexibility of the vendors to articulate to
us how you project costs and deliver the final product and then we can
compare that to all the vendors who submit proposals.
Addendum 1 – 7448 eLearning Curriculum Design & Development Page 3 of 8
2. With reference to the RFP for elearning curriculum design & development put forth
by the City of Fort Collins, Could you kindly advice if there is a formal RFP
document that has more technical information related to the requirement. We are
looking for information on:
a) Type of lessons to be developed
b) Authoring tool specifications if any
c) Template for elesson development details if any
d) Device the elessons will be accessed with (eg. PC, Mobile etc)
e) LMS / LCMS details if any
f) No of users to acccess
a) We attempted to list the types of courses to be developed on page 3 of
15. We did not identify specific lessons as that level of detail was
determined to be too inflexible for vendors who have instructional design
expertise. Additionally, each course will have its own business need and
outcome which is still unknown. We have attached the course outline of
one of the courses listed, City Council Agenda Item Summary (see Exhibit
2 – Sample Agenda Item Summary (AIS). This course has been
instructor-led in the past and there is a business need to re-design the
course to be delivered as an eLearning course with supportive materials
such as training aids, guides, etc.
b) There are no specifications concerning authoring tools. The proposals will
be compared regarding what authoring tools vendors have and how they
use those tools to design courses and materials.
c) We do not have an eLesson template that you need to use.
d) The eLearning courses need to be accessed by multiple devices
including: computers, laptops, iPads and iPhones. Currently, the City
uses Microsoft Office applications and many managers have iPads and
iPhones.
e) The City contracts with Towers/Watson for an integrated talent
management system (Talent/Rewards). Talent/Rewards is SCORM
compliant.
f) Depending upon the course, the number of users could range from 20 to
2000.
3. Is the city currently using a learning management system (LMS)? If so, which
system? Would the new courses the vendor will develop be hosted on it? Is
implementing the courses on the LMS part of the project scope, or will
implementation be handled by the city’s IT staff?
Yes. The City uses Towers/Watson and their Total/Rewards (T/R)
system. Yes, T/R would host the online courses. Yes, beta testing the
course to ensure it functions as designed should be a part of the project
Addendum 1 – 7448 eLearning Curriculum Design & Development Page 4 of 8
scope. In addition to Human Resources, the other two departments that will
partner in the success of these online courses will be IT and CPIO
(Communications & Public Involvement Office – Cable 14 division.
4. If the city is not currently using an LMS, is providing one within the scope of this
RFP? If so, would you be looking for a hosted solution or would you want to host
the LMS yourselves on the city’s servers?
Not Applicable.
5. What’s the total number of courses you’re seeking to have developed?
Unknown. This proposal allows the City to choose a vendor to start with one
course. If successful, the City will continue using the selected vendor for
additional course development as there is interest to develop many more
courses.
6. What’s the approximate length (or seat time) the city is seeking for each course or
training?
TBD. The attached AIS (Agenda Item Summary) course (see Exhibit 2) is
targeted to be 30 minutes (seat time). Each course will have its own
designed seat time and will be determined by business need, subject matter
expert and vendor expertise.
7. What level of interactivity are you seeking for the courses? Are you seeking
assessments, multimedia components, interactive exercises (i.e. drag-and-drop
activities, etc.), learning games, or other types of interactivity?
Any level that sufficiently addresses our learning needs. This question should
be addressed in your proposal as you are the eLearning instructional design
expert; coupled with the capabilities you have to develop various levels of
interactivity based on your model of how adults learn and apply what they
learn on the job. The City expects the vendor to use adult learning
methodology to design an eLearning course that will engage the learner
through effective processing, retention and application of new knowledge and
skills.
8. Will you want to include any video in the courses? If so, does the city have existing
videos that can be leveraged or would you like the vendor to produce them?
If a course would benefit from video, then yes. Yes, the City has a variety of
videos that could be leveraged and our CPIO – Cable 14 division has the
capabilities to produce and edit videos.
9. Would you like the courses to include audio components, particularly voiceover
narration?
If a course would benefit from voice-over narration, then yes. If you have the
capability of providing voice-over narration, please include that in your
proposal.
Addendum 1 – 7448 eLearning Curriculum Design & Development Page 5 of 8
10. Would we have access to city subject matter experts to help our instructional
designers develop course content? Is there already existing course content from
in-person trainings, etc., that could be leveraged? If so, what format does that
content currently exist in (for example, Word docs, PDFs, etc.)?
Yes, the City has numerous subject matter experts that can help with course
content. Yes, course topics that have been identified to be transferred to an
eLearning format exist in an instructor-led format. Applications that the City
has used include: PowerPoint, Word, Excel , Camtasia, and Accordant and
reference material resides in PDF documents and on our intranet.
11. Are there any standards that the courses and trainings need to comply with, such
as ADA 508 compliance or LMS standards such as SCORM?
Standards related to SCORM.
12. Do the courses require any gating (for example, requirements that the course be
completed in a certain order or that users not be allowed to go back and look at
material they’ve already completed later in a course)?
At this time, we don’t have a course topic that would require “gating”;
however, that does not imply that the City would not need to use this feature
in the future.
13. Are there any certification tracking requirements? Will you want learners issued a
certificate of completion at the end of a course?
Yes, we would like to have the option of issuing certificates.
14. Will you need any integration between course data and non-LMS third-party
systems? If so, could you please provide further details on data migration or
integration requirements?
The City has no 3rd party integration systems at this time.
15. How many total users and concurrent users would you expect to take these
courses?
We would expect the user population to range from 1 to 1000.
16. Are there any requirements for the courses to play on non-Flash compliant mobile
devices, such as iPads or iPhones?
Yes, numerous employees in our organization use Apple mobile devices so
the ability to have functionality for both Microsoft and Apple for some course
will be a requirement.
17. Are there requirements for social learning components (wikis, discussion boards,
etc.) for the courses?
Addendum 1 – 7448 eLearning Curriculum Design & Development Page 6 of 8
Perhaps. Currently, the City manages a blog on our intranet and several of
our departments use Share Point. There is no immediate need for this
requirement.
18. Will the vendor be responsible for developing any reports or data analysis (in an
LMS) for the courses?
No, the City will work with Towers/Watson to develop any course reporting
that is needed.
19. Does the city have an approved budget for developing these courses, and are you
able to share it?
Yes, we have an approved Learning & Development budget for all learning
activities for the City of Fort Collins that will be deployed January 1, 2013 and
run through December 31, 2014. The budget is approximately $46,000 for
2013 and $50,000 for 2014. We recommend using a tiered approach to
costing your services.
20. What is the city’s ideal timeline for developing these courses?
The first course to be developed is the AIS course – see attachment. The
time line for this course is February 1, 2013. Other course topic time lines will
be negotiated.
21. Is there a need for the vendor to provide ongoing support to edit, manage, and/or
upgrade courses?
Yes.
22. Is there a need for the vendor to provide any technical or user support?
Perhaps, depends upon the beta-test and integration issues with
Towers/Watson.
23. Does the city have any branding, graphical interface, or design guidelines that
would need to be followed?
Yes. The City has a branding kit that specifies the color scheme, graphical
interface, etc. for all products. This kit can be provided to you.
Addendum 1 – 7448 eLearning Curriculum Design & Development Page 7 of 8
EXHIBIT 2 – SAMPLE AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY (AIS)
EFFECTIVE COUNCIL PRESENTATIONS – VIDEO TRAINING SERIES
VERY PRELIMINARY STORYBOARD V.1
1. Overview (5-10 minutes)
a. (Intro) Clips of Council tearing Staff a new one (City Clerk), staff freezing
up (MJ), etc.
b. Welcome & Purpose: three areas of emphasis
c. Resources Available (Clerk, CPIO, PDT, CH. 14, others?)
2. Effective AIS (10 minutes)
a. Council’s Perspective (mountains of info each week) (show a council
packet)
b. How to ensure it gets read and discussed (write for your audience; not for
you)
c. Brief Exec. Summary (So What? Bottom line)
d. Give Council Realistic Alternatives
e. No War & Peace
i. Salient info only
ii. Only relevant background to the issue
iii. Use of attachments for detail
f. Clear numbers & accurate (do the math) (examples)
g. Spelling & Grammar
i. do not rely on spell check (examples) (perception mgmt)
ii. Value of a clean set of eyes
h. Napoleon’s Idiot (could your neighbor understand it & explain it?)
3. Effective Maps & Graphics (10 minutes)
a. Open with video of Wade criticizing maps
b. Appropriate level of detail (GIS-based v “Primary Color” maps) (examples)
c. Colors: choose your palette carefully
i. Gradations
ii. Video v. real life
iii. Don’t forget B& W
d. Legends
i. Don’t cover up the map
ii. Is it clear & useful?
e. Napoleon’s Idiot (could your neighbor understand it & explain it?)
f. Resources Available (GIS, CPIO, PDT)
g. Fun with Powerpoint
i. PPT slides might be the only thing they look at: Is it effective?
ii. Standards (reference resources; City Clerk/Ch. 14)
1. Prepare for multi-media (paper, video, presentation)
iii. Brevity & Clarity (Good, Bad & Ugly)
Addendum 1 – 7448 eLearning Curriculum Design & Development Page 8 of 8
iv. Colors
v. Not a script!
vi. Resources Available
4. Effective Council Presentations (10 minutes)
a. So there you are…
i. You have five minutes in front of Council; make it count
ii. Don’t waste their time or yours
iii. Develop a relationship
b. Brevity & Clarity (know when to shut up)
c. Don’t BS: “I don’t know” is acceptable
d. Professional at all times
i. Argumentative
ii. Defensive
e. Impression Management
i. Dress
ii. Body Language (Posture, eye contact)
iii. Poker Face (eye rolling, smirks, astonishment, fear)
iv. Bring the Right Tools
1. Laser Pointer
2. Backup flash drive of ALL materials incl. AIS, Attachments,
PPT
3. Load all materials (JUST IN CASE)
f. Don’t Underestimate the Dry Run
i. You always find something you missed
ii. Clean sets of eyes help tailor and smooth
iii. Helps your confidence and comfort level
5. Straight From The Horse’s Mouth (5-10 Minutes)
a. Interview Councilmembers about pet peeves, frustrations, requests, things
that would help them better prepare and make good decisions
Note: If more effective, these interview clips could also be woven into the
main chapters