Psp Promotion Exams Corporal And Sergeant

TECHNICAL SUBMITTAL
I-1. Statement of the Project. This request for proposals ("RFP") provides to those interested
in submitting proposals for the subject procurement ("Offerors") sufficient information to
enable them to prepare and submit proposals for the Pennsylvania State Police's ("PSP")
consideration on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ("Commonwealth") to
satisfy a need for the development and administration of promotion examinations to the
ranks of PSP Corporal and Sergeant. This RFP contains instructions governing the
requested proposals, including the requirements for the information and material to be
included; a description of the service to be provided; requirements which Offerors must
meet to be eligible for consideration; general evaluation criteria; and other requirements
specific to this RFP.
State in succinct terms your understanding of the project presented, or the service required
by this RFP.
Offeror Response
I-2. Qualifications.
A. Company Overview.
Offeror Response
a. Prior Experience. Include experience in the development of personnel
selection systems. Give specific references to any prior work done with law
enforcement supervisory positions. Describe any related prior experience
in developing selection systems for law enforcement positions. Emphasis
should be placed on projects of comparable size to this project and must
include projects that involve testing a minimum of 500 candidates located
in multiple locations simultaneously. Experience shown should be work
done by individuals who will be assigned to this project as well as that of
your company. Studies or projects referred to must be identified and the
name of the customer shown, including the name, address, and telephone
number of the responsible official of the customer, company, or agency who
may be contacted.
Offeror Response
B. Personnel. Include the number of executive and professional personnel, analysts,
auditors, researchers, programmers, consultants, etc., who will be engaged in the
work. Show where these personnel will be physically located during the time they
are engaged in the Project. For key personnel, include the employee's name and,
through a resume or similar document, the Project personnel's education and
experience in test development, administration, and validation. Include
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information describing prior experience in developing selection systems for law
enforcement agencies. Indicate the responsibilities each individual will have in this
Project and how long each has been with your company.
Offeror Response
C. Subcontractors. Provide a subcontracting plan for all subcontractors, including
small diverse business and small business subcontractors, who will be assigned to
the Project. The selected Offeror is prohibited from subcontracting or outsourcing
any part of this Project without the express written approval from the
Commonwealth. Upon awarding the contract resulting from this RFP,
subcontractors included in the proposal submission are deemed approved. For each
position included in your subcontracting plan provide:
a. Name of subcontractor;
b. Primary contact name and email;
c. Address of subcontractor;
d. Description of services to be performed;
e. Number of employees by job category assigned to this project;
f. What percentage of time the staff will be dedicated to this project;
g. Geographical location of staff; and
h. Resumes (if appropriate and available).
i. The Offeror's subcontractor information shall include (through a
resume or a similar document) the employees' names, education and
experience in the services outlined in this RFP. Information
provided shall also indicate the responsibilities each individual will
have in this Project and how long each has been with subcontractor's
company.
Offeror Response
I-3. Training. If appropriate, indicate recommended training of agency personnel. Include
agency personnel to be trained, the number to be trained, duration of the program, place of
training, curricula, training materials to be used, number and frequency of sessions, and
number and level of instructors.
Offeror Response
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I-4. Financial Capability. Describe your company's financial stability and economic
capability to perform the contract requirements. The Commonwealth reserves the right to
request additional information to evaluate an Offeror's financial capability.
Offeror Response
I-5. Requirements.
A. Conditions.
a. Legal Defensibility of Assessment Tools. Proposals shall address legal
defensibility and compliance with professional standards, applicable federal
laws, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC")
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection. Offerors must be committed
to providing consultation and testimony in response to litigation arising
from the promotion process if needed.
b. Validity of Assessment Tools. Validity of recommended assessment tools
must be addressed in this proposal. Offeror must specify how validity is to
be defined and measured.
c. Mandatory Examination Instruments. A written examination and an oral
examination that together identify the extent to which promotion candidates
demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and abilities determined necessary to
succeed at the higher rank.
d. Time Constraints and Candidate Pools. Tentative administration dates
of assessment examinations will be September 2027 through
October/November 2027 and again in September 2029 through
October/November 2029.
i. Number of candidates to be tested. Offeror shall plan that all
2,800 eligible Troopers will compete for the promotion to Corporal
and 875 Corporals will compete for the promotion to Sergeant. Prior
to each examination, PSP will poll eligible candidates to determine
the actual number of candidates to be assessed.
ii. The actual administration dates may be rescheduled or eliminated
by PSP with 150 calendar days' notice.
iii. Other related activities such as Job Analysis, Examination
Development, Scoring and Analysis shall be scheduled as necessary
before or after the administration of the examinations.
iv. Time necessary for each candidate to complete each assessment
tool.
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1. Proposals should address the number of days and the hours
per day that candidates will be required to participate in
assessment tools.
2. Proposals shall address the maximum number of candidates
that will be scheduled per day for each assessment tool, and
the duration (in days) of each assessment tool from the first
candidate to the last.
e. Makeup Examinations. Proposed makeup examination schedules shall be
based on administering an estimated three (3) makeup examinations, spaced
at six (6) month intervals, after each regularly scheduled examination.
Actual makeup examinations shall be administered as often as deemed
necessary by PSP, with sixty (60) calendar days' notice. Candidates that
complete a makeup examination shall be merged with candidates on the
existing eligibility list. Makeup examinations shall continue through the
term of the contract. Proposals shall be based on between one and fifteen
(1-15) Troopers and one and ten (1-10) Corporals competing for promotion
to the higher rank at each makeup examination.
f. Limited Disruption of PSP Day-to-Day Operations. Due to operational
and administration considerations, the Offeror shall schedule the
examinations for dates and times determined by PSP.
i. Written examinations shall be administered simultaneously to all
candidates of the same rank.
1. Corporal and Sergeant written examinations shall be
conducted on separate, not necessarily consecutive, days of
PSP's selection.
2. PSP requires a minimum of eight (8) written examination
sites statewide, chosen with the objective of limiting
candidate travel time to one and a half (1.5) hours or less.
ii. Oral examinations shall be administered on multiple consecutive
days, not to exceed fourteen (14) calendar days.
1. Oral examinations for Corporal and Sergeant shall be
administered concurrently. PSP requires a minimum of four
(4) oral examination sites statewide, chosen with the
objective of limiting candidate travel time to two (2) hours
or less.
g. Security. Proposals shall identify the Offeror's strategy for ensuring
security of assessment tools.
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Offeror Response
B. Emergency Preparedness. To support continuity of operations during an
emergency, including a pandemic, the Commonwealth needs a strategy for
maintaining operations for an extended period of time. One part of this strategy is
to ensure that essential contracts that provide critical business services to the
Commonwealth have planned for such an emergency and put contingencies in place
to provide needed goods and services.
a. Describe how you anticipate such a crisis will impact your operations.
i. Describe your emergency response continuity of operations plan.
Please attach a copy of your plan, or at a minimum, summarize how
your plan addresses the following aspects of pandemic
preparedness:
1. Employee training (describe your organization's training
plan, and how frequently your plan will be shared with
employees).
2. Identified essential business functions and key employees
(within your organization) necessary to carry them out.
3. Contingency plans for:
a. How your organization will handle staffing issues
when a portion of key employees are incapacitated
due to illness; and
b. How employees in your organization will carry out
the essential functions if contagion control measures
prevent them from coming to the primary workplace.
4. How your organization will communicate with staff and
suppliers when primary communications systems are
overloaded or otherwise fail, including key contacts, chain
of communications (including suppliers), etc.; and
5. How and when your emergency plan will be tested, and if
the plan will be tested by a third party.
Offeror Response
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I-6. Tasks. Describe in narrative form your technical plan for accomplishing the work using
the task descriptions set forth below as your reference point. Modifications of the task
descriptions are permitted; however, reasons for changes should be fully explained.
Indicate the number of person hours allocated to each task. Include a Program Evaluation
and Review Technique ("PERT") or similar type display, time related, showing each event.
If more than one approach is apparent, comment on why you chose this approach.
A. Job Analyses.
a. Offeror is responsible for conducting job analyses to identify the
knowledge, skills, and abilities ("KSAs") most essential for successful
performance of the positions of PSP Corporal and Sergeant. Complete and
comprehensive job analyses shall be conducted prior to the initial Corporal
and Sergeant promotion cycle in 2027, with updates performed prior to the
subsequent renewals.
b. Methodology for completing the job analyses must be described in the
proposal.
B. Assessment Tool Development.
a. Offeror is responsible for designing a promotion process that identifies the
extent to which promotion candidates possess the KSAs necessary to
succeed at the higher rank. PSP relies on the expertise of the Offeror to
recommend the type, number, and relative weighting of assessment tools.
The PSP promotion process design historically consists of a written and oral
examination for each rank.
b. The written examinations for all positions should be designed for duration
of approximately two (2) hours, and the oral examination should be
designed for a duration of approximately one (1) hour. Durations include
check-in, reading of instructions, and examination performance.
i. The written examination for Corporal and Sergeant should consist
of at least two (2) parts. Part 1 should consist of questions requiring
rote memorization from Department regulations. Part 2 should
consist of single-best answer situational-response questions.
1. No reference materials will be available to candidates during
the written examination.
ii. PSP desires that the written examination be used to narrow the field
of Corporal and Sergeant candidates, so that not all advance to the
oral examination. PSP has not established a particular percentage
of candidates to advance but is committed to complying with the
EEOC Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection.
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1. For the purposes of cost proposal, Offerors should plan that
70 percent of Corporal and Sergeant candidates shall
advance to the oral examinations.
iii. The relative weight of assessment tools shall be determined early in
each promotion cycle, based on the outcome of the comprehensive
job analysis and subsequent updates.
iv. Offeror is responsible for developing examination instruments for
each promotion cycle. PSP intends that while the same promotion
process components will be used throughout the contract,
assessment tools will not be reused from one cycle to the next.
1. PSP will communicate testing dates to the successful Offeror
no later than 150 calendar days prior to the administration of
the examinations.
2. PSP will make subject matter experts and meeting space
available to the successful Offeror.
3. PSP will provide candidate data in advance of the
examinations. Typical data fields include full name, rank,
employee number, race, gender, assigned location, and
preferred testing site.
4. PSP will review and approve the content of assessment tools
during development and before administration.
5. PSP will not release examination content from prior
Corporal and Sergeant contracts, to include the selected
Offeror.
v. Offeror is responsible for producing a candidate preparation guide
for each promotion cycle.
1. As a minimum, the preparation guide shall address all
promotion process components, the relative weight of each,
sources of assessment tool material, and tips for success.
2. Offeror shall submit their preparation guide in Portable
Document Format (PDF) to the PSP Project Officer no later
than ninety (90) days before administration of the
assessment tool. PSP's Project Officer will ensure
availability to candidates.
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3. Promotion Candidates shall not be obliged to incur out-of-
pocket expenses for examination materials.
vi. PSP retains final approval authority over all examinations and
procedures.
C. Assessment Tool Administration.
a. Offeror is responsible for locating, reserving, and paying for suitable
examination facilities as well as lodging for administrative staff and oral
examination assessors.
i. In planning to administer assessment tools, Offeror may investigate
options such as: high schools, community colleges, armories,
hotels, and community fire companies. PSP expects that adequate
workspace, lighting, sound control, temperature, etc. will be
maintained so that all candidates share a similar testing experience.
ii. PSP does not intend specific examination sites be named in the
proposal. Suitable examination sites shall be recommended by the
Offeror prior to each examination cycle, subject to PSP approval.
1. Offeror is responsible for locating, reserving, and paying for
a suitable oral examination assessor training location as well
as lodging for oral examination assessors.
2. PSP will make PSP Sergeants and Lieutenants available to
serve as oral examination assessors for the Corporal and
Sergeant examinations.
3. Assessor workdays shall not exceed eight (8) hours,
inclusive of meals, breaks, and administrative demands.
4. PSP will provide up to three (3) administrative support staff
per examination site for assessment tools. Training
administrative staff is the responsibility of the Offeror.1
5. PSP will fund travel and subsistence for PSP assessors and
administrative staff only related to the Corporal and Sergeant
examinations. PSP will not fund or reimburse any travel or
subsistence expenses related to Offeror's staff, assessors,
employees, etc.
1 The Commonwealth's Travel Policy (Management Directive 230.10 can be found here. The associated
Commonwealth Travel Procedures Manual (Manual 230.1) can be found here.
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6. Offeror shall train oral examination assessors prior to each
oral examination administration.
7. Offeror shall provide one responsible manager per
assessment tool site and additional staff as appropriate to
manage the assessment tooling process. Manager must have
sufficient expertise to provide consultation, observation, and
problem resolution.
8. Offeror shall provide at the assessment tool site all clerical
materials necessary to administer assessment tools, to
include but not limited to pencils, pens, highlighters, forms,
and folders.
9. Offeror shall provide at the assessment tool site all test-
taking materials necessary to conduct assessment tools.
10. During oral examination assessor training and oral
examination administration, Offeror shall provide
refreshments such as coffee, tea, juice, water, and pastries
for oral examination assessors each morning; and provide
coffee, water, and soda each afternoon.
D. Assessment Tool Scoring, Analysis and Feedback.
a. Offeror is responsible for scoring and analysis of individual assessment
tools and applying weight values to each component.
b. Upon analyzing written examination results, the Offeror shall recommend
a minimum passing score required to advance to the oral examination for
the ranks of Corporal and Sergeant, subject to PSP's approval.
c. The final output of the promotion process shall be a rank-ordered list of
eligible candidates. This does not preclude a pass/fail component in the
promotion process.
d. Corporal and Sergeant candidates with the same overall examination score
shall be ranked based on secondary input provided by PSP.
e. Offeror is responsible for producing individual feedback for each candidate.
The report shall provide each candidate with a narrative description of
strengths, weaknesses, and comparative performance levels for both the
written and oral examinations. Offeror shall submit feedback to the PSP
Project Officer in paper format, sealed with individually addressed envelope
for distribution to candidates. A description of the feedback report must be
included with the proposal.
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E. Scoring, Analysis and Feedback of Makeup Examinations.
a. Makeup examinations will be scheduled and administered according to the
needs and availability of PSP. Makeup examinations will only be
administered for candidates who miss the regularly scheduled
administration due to military obligations or Department-approved reasons.
b. PSP is responsible for providing facilities, administrators and assessors for
Corporal and Sergeant makeup examinations.
c. Offeror shall provide all test-taking materials and guidance to PSP
personnel to conduct makeup examinations.
d. Offeror is responsible for the scoring and analysis of individual makeup
examinations.
e. Offeror shall determine proper placement on the eligibility list of
individuals completing a makeup examination and notify PSP.
f. Offeror shall produce individual feedback reports to individuals completing
a makeup examination.
Offeror Response
I-7. Reports and Project Control.
A. Task Plan. A work plan for each task that identifies the work elements of each
task, the resources assigned to the task, and the time allotted to each element and
the deliverable items to be produced shall be submitted to the PSP Project Officer
for review and approval prior to initiation of any project development work. Where
appropriate, a flow chart and timetable should be used to show project, task, and
timeline relationships. This report in most cases is the original proposal (modified
as necessary after negotiations) and attached to the contract.
B. Status Report. At the discretion of the PSP Project Officer throughout the project,
a periodic progress report covering activities, problems and recommendations may
be requested. This report should be keyed to the work plan the Offeror developed
in its proposal, as amended or approved by the Issuing Office. Other telephonic
status reports may be requested at the discretion of the PSP Project Officer. Project
deliverables should be submitted for draft review as developed throughout the
project.
C. Problem Identification Report. An "as required" report, identifying problem
areas. The report should describe the problem and its impact on the project overall
and on each affected task. It should list possible courses of action with advantages
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