On June 29, 2020, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code § 2371b, the Army Contracting Command – Orlando awarded an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) via the Training and Readiness Accelerator (TReX) for the Defense Acquisition University’s (DAU) Artificial Intelligence (AI)/ Adaptive Learning (AL) Prototype Project.
A Request for Solutions (RFS) for this effort was issued through TReX on January 9, 2020, which resulted in the submittal of 20 total responses. Following evaluation, two vendors were selected for Statement of Work (SOW) collaboration. The first to receive award of a prototype project is Problem Solutions located in Johnstown, PA. The total value of this prototype project is $99,885 for all phases of this effort. The second to receive award of a prototype project is Allen Interactions located in St. Paul, MN. The total value of this prototype project is $370,840 for all phases of this effort.
DAU seeks to transform its traditional learning processes and capabilities to an adaptive environment that responds, in real time, to learner needs and content mastery. The goal of the AI-Powered/AL prototype project effort is to leverage a variety of commercial out-of-the box (OOB), non-developmental, or open source software solution products to deliver a prototype solution that incorporates AI Adaptive Learning technologies that improve learning effectiveness/efficiency and increase learner perceptions of mastery and self-efficacy. To reduce future risk to the government, DAU seeks a solution that would enable export of modified courseware in an industry standard format. This prototype project is unclassified. This OTA will determine if industry can provide AI-Powered/AL Prototype solution(s) that demonstrates proof of concept for AI technologies that affect training efficiency and effectiveness for human centered design practices. The enhanced learning mastery will directly improve the efficiency and effectiveness of defense acquisition efforts and increase Warfighter readiness.
Upon successful completion of this prototype effort, the Government anticipates that a follow-on production effort may be awarded via either contract or transaction, without the use of competitive procedures if the participants in this transaction successfully complete the prototype project as awarded. At a minimum the following RFS requirements will be validated:
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- Milestone 1 exit criteria: Approved Project Plan and completion of the Kick-off meeting with the stakeholders
- Milestone 2 exit criteria: Approved prototype that demonstrates the following characteristics validated during testing:
- Deep learning algorithms
- Customized content to meet an individual learner’s needs in real-time
- Alignment of learning objectives, assessments, and presentation of content
- Final exam assessment in the same format as the GFI
- Vendor’s Dashboard showing learner insights and engagement data
- Remediated content to reinforce learning at the time-of-need based upon learner behavioral sequences
- Personalized learning interactions with students, and feedback for instructors and designers
- Instructor access to the pilot for DAU stakeholders
- Support for students on multiple browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox, IE)
- Support for instructors to access content analytics on Chrome.
- Free of functional, technical, and grammatical errors
- Support protocol tested to address student access/technical questions related to the pilot to include resolution of Logon issues/authentication to the vendors application capability and functionality issues
- Verified FAQ or job aids (orientation) to support students during execution of the Prototype Pilot
- Milestone 3 Exit Criteria: Completed Pilot of the prototype with DAU students on the learning platform within 14 days. Student logon issues or functionality issues were minimal and fully supported/resolved with timely assistance from the vendor.
- Milestone 4 Exit Criteria: Delivery of the Pilot Data and Analysis Report consisting of the following:
- Prototype Pilot Data Analysis Report (three (3) to five (5) pages provided in electronic format), of individual student performance and data aggregates of learning.
- The Prototype Pilot Data Analysis Report will contain the following major sections: Background, Scope, Stakeholder Summary and User/System Activity Analysis and Insights
- The Contractor shall deliver any modified or reconfigured DAU courseware content and materials in a standard format agreed to by both parties.
- Raw student performance and activity data shall be delivered as a separate file or an attachment to the Data Analysis Report.
Note: Should the selected vendors fail to demonstrate progress or be unsuccessful in the accomplishment of the goals of this prototyping effort, the Government reserves the right to return to the results of this competition and award additional Other Transaction Agreements to one or more of the vendors that responded to the initial Request for Solutions, as appropriate within the scope and evaluated results of the competition.
This notice is also posted on beta.sam.gov:
