Request for Proposal (RFP) No. RFP-JTAP-023- Establishing Test Item Bank System – USAID/TAP

To: Offeror
From: Creative Associates International, Inc.
Subject: Request for Proposal (RFP) No. RFP-JTAP-023- Establishing Test Item Bank System
Type of Award: Blanket Purchase Agreement
Basis of Award: Best Value
RFP Issue Date: 2/23/2023
RFP Closing Date: 3/16/2023
RFP Closing Time: 4:00 PM – Local Time, Amman, Jordan
Reference: USAID Contract No. 72027821C00005

Enclosed is a Request for Proposal (RFP). Creative invites qualified firms and organizations to submit a proposal for the Jordan- Technical Assistance Project (TAP) under the referenced USAID 72027821C00005. After the evaluation, as described herein, resulting in selecting a winning proposal, the issuance of an award is subject to successful negotiation of the terms and conditions and receiving USAID’s Contracting Officer consent, if required.

The requirements for this activity are described in the “Statement of Work” in Attachment I. Creative encourages your organization to indicate its interest in this procurement by submitting a proposal according to the instructions in Attachment II “Instructions to Offerors”. Proposals will be evaluated based on the “Evaluation Criteria” in Attachment III. Creative will make an award to the responsible Offeror(s) submitting an offer which provides best value to the project: technical merit and price will be both considered.

To be considered, Offerors should submit a complete proposal no later than the closing date and time indicated above. Offerors should ensure that the proposals are well-written in English, easy to read, follow the instructions provided and contain only requested information.

Any questions should be submitted via email to [email protected] no later than March 6, 2023. No questions will be entertained if they are received by means other than the specified email address, and any communications to alternate e-mail addresses will result in the disqualification of the bidder. The solicitation number (listed above) should be stated in the subject line. Answers will be compiled and distributed on March 9, 2023

Proposals must be comprised of one electronic copy of the Technical Proposal and one electronic copy of the Cost/Business proposal, sent in separate e-mails, and labeled with the above-stated RFP number and title. Submissions shall be delivered to:

Creative Procurement Department
[email protected]

Sincerely,
Creative Procurement Department

Attachments:
Attachment I : Statement of Work Attachment IV : Proposal Cover Letter
Attachment II : Instructions to Offerors Attachment V : Compliance Certification
Attachment III : Evaluation Criteria Attachment VI : Creative Terms and Conditions

ATTACHMENT I: STATEMENT OF WORK
Establishing Test Item Bank System

Introduction
Creative Associates International is a dynamic and fast-growing professional service firm that specializes in international development in the areas of education, democratic transitions, and stabilization in post-conflict environments. Based in Washington, DC, the firm has a field presence in 30 plus countries worldwide with a strong and diverse portfolio that includes global contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other clients including the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Defense. The firm has earned a solid reputation among its clients and missions worldwide and is well-regarded by competitors and partners alike.

Program Summary
The Technical Assistance Program (TAP), funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is a five-year education and youth program that seeks to transform the organizational culture and improve the abilities within the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth to ensure officials can implement desired reforms. Creative and its partners will provide technical assistance in the development, roll-out, and tracking of policies and procedures to incorporate international best practices for public education and youth programming. Among the many activities in the Jordan Technical Assistance Program, it will support curriculum development, promote inclusive learning techniques, improve the skills of teachers and school managers, and other tangible activities that ultimately support changing the organizational culture within the two ministries and relevant agencies. The program will further support Jordan’s outreach and behavioral change communications initiatives that are aimed at creating a culture of reading, the inclusion of vulnerable children, and increased youth engagement.

PURPOSE
Solicit a consultancy firm to source and implement a modular item bank system/software and build the capacity of the Examination Department staff to utilize it for further diagnostic studies, formative assessments to support regular and remedial learning, national assessments, and for High School exit Exam (Tawjihi). This activity will support improving the efficiency and quality of MoE assessment processes from multiple perspectives including, but not limited to, test development, administration, scoring, data management, and reporting. It is envisioned to be implemented in multiple phases that will be interactively designed in collaboration with the Examination Department.

BACKGROUND
USAID’s TAP seeks to strengthen the capacity of the Jordanian Ministries of Education and Youth in a range of areas including learning recovery, in-service professional development, youth programming, financial and human resources management, monitoring & evaluation, and public communication & outreach. TAP will focus on strengthening GOJ systems and management practices and behaviors and equipping staff with the resources and skills needed to effect the desired major changes and administrative reforms.
Enhancing the institutional performance and the quality of the educational system are not new strategic directions at MoE, it was clear in its Education Strategic Plan (2018-2022) with more focus on quality and system support as one of its main priority domains that are aligned with the national Human Resources Development plan. The Ministry has implemented a set of standards, procedures, changes and decisions with the aim of improving the learning environment. Quality, in the MoE, is integral to all aspects of the educational system including the quality of students’ performance on both national and international assessments, curricula, information and communication technology in education, school leadership, and community participation, accountability, safe and stimulating school environment, and school feeding program. In order to achieve quality and excellence in institutional performance as well as ensure high-performance levels that meet the needs and expectations of all relevant stakeholders, the Ministry has applied the principles of the international quality systems and excellence in its main operations, services, and basic practices.

1. STATEMENT OF WORK

The activity will start with situational analysis and discussions, focusing on institutional needs and capacity, to ensure customization and integration into current systems towards building an effective educational assessment infrastructure that meets contemporary industry standards.
During the first phase of the assignment, a consultancy firm is expected to implement and provide corresponding training for the item banking system that will serve the purpose of development of paper-based educational assessments.
The consultancy firm will collaborate with TAP at the early stage of the activity for designing, organizing and conducting a study Tour for an MoE item bank team of various user types (item writer, item reviewer, test development manager, item bank manager), and MoE leadership to one of the countries in the region where an item bank system is established and fully operational.
The item banking system is expected to be designed as a web-based modular system that will support improved efficiency and quality in the test development processes including:

1. Item development: acquisition of assessment frameworks, item writing and item content acquisition, item statistics acquisition, item evaluation.
2. Test construction: search engine for items, assembly of test forms, evaluation of test forms, and production of test forms.

The scope of the next phases of the assignment will be determined and designed during the first phase in collaboration between TAP, the consultancy firm, and the MoE Examinations Department, and will tentatively include the following possible expansions of the Item Bank functionality:
• Development of computer-based and online administered assessments
• Online testing and proctoring with scheduling and logistics of data collection.
• Management of scoring process for machine-scored and human-scored items (including processing of OMR and image scanned data and related hardware infrastructure)
• Data management and production of online reports, such as Directorate Report Cards, School Report Cards, student portals, etc.
• Using Item Bank for development of assessments based on advanced psychometrics (Item Response Theory), such as equated tests and computer-adaptive tests.
• Creation of teacher-used item banks and ready-made test forms for formative assessments.
• Any other purpose as determined by needs assessment.

Required Functionality of the Item Banking System
The item banking system should enable various user types (such as item writer, item reviewer, test development manager, item bank manager) that will collaborate in the process of test development covering the following required functionality:

Assessment Frameworks and Test Specifications
• The IB system will provide a flexible platform for specification of assessment frameworks that include hierarchically structured levels such as: Subject, Content Domain, Content Strand, Student Learning Outcomes.
• The IB system will allow users to create and customize the structure of assessment frameworks, i.e., define number of levels, and define labels and descriptions of levels.
• The IB system will enable users to specify test blueprints for test forms to be developed.

Item Writing Training
• Since the item writers should be trained and certified by test development institution, the IB system will include a module for Item Writing Training that will contain outline of training topics, training materials, and maintain a database of item writers.

Item Writing and Acquisition
• The IB system will enable submission of items to the assessment institution through the item acquisition module that will include the following components: Instructions and brief reminders about principles of item quality; Templates for items of various types with space for information about items (metadata); Quality Control – checking completeness and basic quality of items.
• Item writers can login to a system for Item Writing or for Item Review. In the item writing module, an item writer can see specifications of items that are assigned as his/her task and is notified by email when there is new work assigned.
• The IB systems will enable writing and editing items using an intuitive interface similar to MS Office tools through either: Online application that immediately sends written items to the Item Bank server; Standalone application that produces a file to be uploaded (which enables offline item writing); Creating items in MS Word and uploading the file(s).
• The IB system will support the kind of complex authoring tasks required for developing national exam papers, including ability to:
o Create a wide range of question types including varied MCQ, short response, extended response, gap fill, and associate.
o Create composite multi-part or sub-part questions.
o Create optional questions whereby candidates are given choices of which item to answer so that the paper’s total marks are correctly calculated.
o Create mark schemes alongside questions including complex Levels of Response
o View questions alongside their associated mark scheme and booklet section as they travel through the review process.
o Create booklet/insert sections alongside questions and mark schemes to store files and content related to the item (for example, associated text passages for reading papers or sound recording scripts for listening papers)
o Load or request artwork in items, allowing users to add artwork metadata, log copyright information for actioning in later cycles, supply asset briefs that can be edited as they pass through the review process, and action asset briefs by adding assets to an item.
o Create questions and mark schemes with data tables, layout tables, diagrams, graphs, illustrations and photos, allowing formatting of tables and images.
o Add stimuli or sources within a question, between question parts and sub-parts, or between questions.
o Control layout of questions, such as width and alignment of answer line and ability to add additional text to answer lines.
o Create or load additional item content that will be collated into a separate document such as a formula sheets, case studies, text or stimulus inserts, or audio transcript.
o Collaborate by sharing draft items or papers between the author team before submitting for review.
o Create item templates for authors as part of the briefing process.

Item Content Reviews
• The IB system will facilitate Item Content Reviews that can be carried out using two strategies:

1. Group reviews for which the IB system produces Item Cards that contain content and statistics of items;
2. Individual online reviews for which the IB system provides user interface for evaluation of item content, which will contain: Instructions, content of an item, and evaluation scales.
   • The IB system should support rigorous quality review of items during development, including the ability to:
   o Allow reviewers and approvers to preview how items will appear to candidates during the review process.
   o Allow reviewers to add comments to items, target comments to particular users, and make overall recommendations for the item (e.g., approve, change, reject)
   o Allow approvers to make changes to items, send back to the original authors for further work, or create a new review step in case additional review is required.
   o Allow project managers to create quality assurance checklists for items and assign them to reviewers as a guide for evaluating items.
   o Allow project managers to create customized workflows so that items automatically push through a desired set of review and approval steps before they go into the item bank.

Assembly of Pilot Forms
• The IB system will enable assembly of pilot test papers with the following functions enabled: User specification of test blueprints for pilot forms; User defined search for items that fit the blueprint specifications; Selection of items to be included in pilot forms; Preparation of test forms for printing, bulk upload of performance data from trials.

Item Analysis and Creation of Item Cards
• The IB system will enable analysis of items statistics in the IB database, including item category (e.g., MCQ / short answer, etc.), metadata (e.g., Bloom, intended use formative or summative, etc.), alignment to curriculum, recorded performance data (e.g., difficulty, discrimination values).
• The IB system will be enabled for production of item cards that are used for both Item Data Reviews and Test Construction.

Item Data Reviews
• Like for Item Content Reviews, the IB system will also facilitate Item Data Reviews (final evaluation of item content and statistics) using either of two strategies: 1) Group reviews – the IB system allows for the export of data that contain content of items and item statistics; 2) Individual online reviews – the IB system provides user interface for evaluation of item content and statistics.
• User interface for online reviews will contain: Quality Assurance checklists for item reviewers including Content Guidelines and Psychometric Guidelines; Electronic version of Item Card – content of an item, table of item statistics, Evaluation scales, mapping to subject specification, asset information (if the item includes an image), mark scheme / answer key, additional document content, user information.

Assembly of Operational Forms
• The IB will enable selection of items to assemble multiple forms: Searching for items according to granular search criteria (e.g., curriculum statements and objectives, item type, command word, Bloom’s taxonomy, item status, author, item ID, review cycle name, past paper); Adding/removing items into/from each test form; Ordering items within each test form.
• The IB will enable the automatic publication of associated Mark schemes and additional booklets, with items synchronized to the same order as the question form.
• The IB will enable project managers to push individual test forms through a paper review workflow to ensure the assembled test form and accompanying answer key/mark scheme is quality-checked before publication.
• The IB will enable teams to create multiple test forms automatically in which items are randomly selected from the item bank according to defined rules.
• The IB will enable evaluation of assembled test forms by producing exportable reports in Excel summarizing test form coverage, including mapping of items to curriculum, distribution of item types, and where MCQ used distribution of correct answer options, coverage of associated item metadata (e.g., Bloom level of questions), and asset copyright status.
• The IB system will enable production of test forms for paper-pencil administration, ideally with the Examination Center’s print styling rules automatically applied and output as print-ready PDF files. The IB should also enable output of tests for onscreen testing so that the IB can be used as a single source of authoring for print and online testing in future.

Project Management Approach
• The IB should allow project managers to create different workflows for each subject or qualification, in which users with narrowly defined roles are allocated to each step with and given a deadline to complete the task.
• The IB should allow project managers to track users in the system, including the ability to:
o See the status and progress of all items, test forms and items within a test form, by subject, qualification, or workflow.
o See the status and progress of tasks assigned to specific users.
o See the progress of tasks in a workflow by status level (eg, late, due, incomplete, completed)
o View corresponding items and test forms in development when tracking progress, and export specific data as a spreadsheet report.
o Track items in development by ID number, title, author, etc

Required Firm Qualifications:

1. The company must have experience in educational technology services in general, building tests of various types including diagnostic tests, summative tests, formative tests, paper-based and computer-based.
2. The company must have experience in the implementation services of electronic question bank technology, process execution services, Arabic language support.
3. The company’s employees must have sufficient experience and knowledge in test development and assessment data management and using item banking system for the purpose of test development in education.
4. The company must have sound expertise in psychometrics including both classical and modern measurement theories (CTT, IRT).
5. The company should possess capabilities in strategic planning, knowledge management, innovation, risk management, and operations management.
6. It is preferred that the company has sufficient experience in working within the education sector in Jordan and/or other countries in the MENA Region.
7. The company must have a high adaptability and understanding of the assessment needs of ministries of education related to the national and other large-scale assessments to propose tailor-made and realistic solutions/recommendations.

System Architecture
• The Architecture of Solution should follow universal data transferal standards (IMS QTI) so that it can be easily integrated with third party assessment modules.
• The components must be well defined so that modules can be reused where and when required, with adoption of the Modular approach of design. The vendor must identify some of these modules and describe in his technical proposal document how this would be achieved. It is expected that vendors would add more value to the Solution by incorporating suggestions and recommendations, which will add to the Performance, High Availability, Security, Scalability, and Manageability.
• Audit Trails and Time Series Data: The audit trail feature would be available in the proposed Solution, which will inform when and who has created or modified the data from which IP address. The solution should also be able to capture and preserve time series data so that certain information is not lost with passage of time and repeated updating.
• Solution and Technology: The Solution must be a web-based system and should have features of any popular front-end UI frameworks. The proposed Solution must have a flexible design so it can run on various devices: computers, tablets, and smart phones, with support for different operating systems, and the size of different screens.
• Security Features: The Solution will preferably be ISO27001-accredited, or ISO27001-aligned, with advanced security features inbuilt so that it has all the checks and balances to ensure integrity of data (including multi-factor authentication upon login, ability to whitelist/blacklist IP addresses and countries from accessing the software, regular data backups, regular penetration testing); and the solution must not have any flaws or bugs which inadvertently or by design, permit the users to tamper, alter or modify any data without the appropriate permissions.
• Training of Solution Administrator: The company/applicant will provide adequate training to the System Administrators, Data Administrators or any responsible Managers of the Solution deployment & operation, server and system configuration and installation, backup services, Directory Management, security requirements, and other necessary technical services, which will enable them to use the Solution for timely and accurate production of required information within their area of authority and responsibility. On completion of the training, the administrators will be performing a test on the Solution and submit their observations.
• Warranty, Support, Maintenance & Change Management: The vendor must provide support for a period of 3 year from the time of acceptance of the Solution (Warranty support). During the above-mentioned warranty period, the vendor will be responsible for making minor changes as well as to fix the bugs, if any.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE and LOE
Estimated Period of Performance for the first Phase: 10 months from April 16, 2023, to January 16, 2024, with possibility for extension for further phases.
Estimated Level of Effort for the first Phase is a total of 100 days for three expert types: assessment development/ psychometrics expert (60 days), IT expert (20 days), and technical support/item bank management expert (20 days).

2. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: Amman – Jordan

3. RESULTS AND/OR DELIVERABLE/MILESTONE SCHEDULE
Milestone/Deliverable Number 1 :
Description: The system is installed and functional for all aspects of paper-based testing as specified by TOR within the first two months of the performance period.
Due Date: TBD

Milestone/Deliverable Number 2 :
Description:Training delivered to MoE staff on the following topics (2 to 3 days per topic):
• assessment frameworks and blueprints
• creating item writing sessions and item acquisition
• item review sessions
• assembly of pilot forms
• importing item statistics from piloting
• construction of final forms
Due Date: TBD

How to apply

Attachment II
INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS
A. General Instructions
These Instructions to Offerors will not form part of the offer or of the Agreement. They are intended solely to aid Offerors in the preparation of their proposals. Read and follow these instructions carefully.

1. The proposal and all corresponding documents related to the proposal must be written in the English language, unless otherwise explicitly allowed. Additionally, all proposals should be single-spaced with clear section headings, and be presented in the order specified in Attachment III – Evaluation Criteria.
2. Proposals must include only the Offeror’s own work. No text should be copied from sources outside of your organization, unless those sources are adequately cited and credited. If Creative determines that any part of the proposal is plagiarized from outside sources, the Offeror will be automatically disqualified.
3. Proposals and all cost and price figures must be presented in local currency or USD. All prices should be gross of tax, but net of any customs duties.
4. The Offeror must state in their Proposal the validity period of their offer. The minimum offer acceptance period for this RFP is 90 days after closing date of the RFP. If an Offeror has provided a validity period of less than 90 days, they will be asked to revise this. If the Offeror does not extend the validity period, their proposal will be rejected. Creative reserves the right not to make an award.
5. The Technical Proposal and Cost/Business Proposal must be kept separate from each other. Technical Proposals must not make reference to cost or pricing information at any point. This will enable in order the technical evaluation to be made strictly on the basis of technical merit.
6. Offerors must be licensed and authorized to conduct business in Jordan, as evidenced by submission of a copy of a valid Business License (if registered as a for-profit company), a valid Host Government license (if registered as a non-profit organization) or a municipal license (if registered as a local vendor of goods or import-export dealer). The copy of the license must clearly show a license number, official government stamp and a date of issue and date of expiry.
7. No costs incurred by the Offerors in preparing and submitting the proposal are reimbursable by Creative. All such costs will be at the Offeror’s expense.
8. Responsibility Determination: Award shall only be made to “responsive” vendors. To enable Creative to make this determination, the Offeror must provide a cover letter, as provided in Attachment IV.
9. Late Offers: Offerors are wholly responsible for ensuring that their Offers are received in accordance with the instructions stated herein. A late Offer will be recommended for rejection, even if it was late as a result of circumstances beyond the Offeror’s control. Late offers will only be considered at Creative’s Procurement Department’s discretion.
10. Modification/Withdrawal of Offers: Offerors have the right to withdraw, modify or correct their offer after it has been delivered to Creative at the address stated above, and provided that the request is made before the RFP closing date.
11. Disposition of Proposals: Proposals submitted in response to this RFP will not be returned. Reasonable effort will be made to ensure confidentiality of proposals received from all Offerors. This RFP does not seek information of a highly proprietary nature, but if such information is included in the Offeror’s proposal, the Offeror must alert Creative and must annotate the material by marking it “Confidential and Proprietary” so that these sections can be treated appropriately.
12. Clarifications and Amendments to the RFP: Any questions regarding this solicitation must be emailed to [email protected]. No questions/clarifications will be entertained if they are received by another means. The solicitation number should be stated in the subject. Responses will be complied and emailed to the requesting potential Offeror and will be sent to all organizations that requested this RFP or re-posted publicly if offered as a full and open competition.
13. Creative anticipates that discussions with Offerors will be conducted; however, Creative reserves the right to make an award without discussions. It is strongly recommended that Offerors present their best offer.
14. Eligibility of Firms – Source/Origin/Nationality: The authorized geographic code for the source and origin of the goods and services and for the nationality of our suppliers under this contract is 935. A full discussion of the source/origin/nationality requirements maybe found at 22 CFR 228 (see http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_02/22cfr228_02.html). Offerors whose proposals fail to meet the nationality requirements will be considered non-responsive.
    Failure to agree and comply with any of the above specifications will result in the Offeror being considered unresponsive and the proposal may be rejected.
    B. Submission of Proposal:
    Proposals must be submitted in two separate e-mails:
    • E-mail 1 – Technical Proposal
    • E-mail 2 – Cost/Business proposal
    • Each e-mail should be clearly labeled with the RFP number and project title.
    • Proposals must be delivered no later than the specified date/time.
    Offerors who do not submit their technical and cost proposals separately may be automatically disqualified.
    C. Content of Proposal:
    The proposal shall be comprised of four sections:
    i. The Cover Letter (Attachment IV)
    ii. Copy of the Offeror’s Valid Business license/Copy of commercial registration
    iii. The Technical Proposal
    iv. The Cost/Business Proposal – Excluding of sales tax as USAID-TAP is sales tax exempted.

1. The Cover Letter: should be on the Offeror’s letterhead and MUST contain the information requested in Attachment IV.
2. Business License
3. Technical Proposal:
   a. Should clearly & precisely address theoretical and practical aspects that the Offeror has considered and will employ to carry out the statement of work.
   b. The Technical Proposal is the opportunity for the Offeror to demonstrate that the firm is “technically capable” of implementing the activity and should demonstrate the Offeror’s understanding of and capabilities to carry out the work, and address the key issues described in the Evaluation Criteria in Attachment III.
   c. The Technical Proposal should be divided into clearly separate sections following the same order of the Evaluation Criteria in Attachment III. A mis-ordered proposal that makes information hard to find will result in lower scores.
   d. If an Offeror submits a proposal that fails to respond to the majority of the information requested in this RFP, as outlined specifically in the statement of work and the evaluation criteria, the Offeror’s proposal will be automatically disqualified.
4. The Cost Proposal: must be submitted separately from the technical proposal and will primarily indicate the cost for performing the work specified in this RFP. At a minimum, the Cost proposal should include a lump sum total cost for the assignment.
   Failure to comply with any of the above points will result in the Offeror being considered “unresponsive” and the proposal may be rejected.

If an Offeror provides insufficient information in their technical and/or cost proposal, Creative reserves the right to request additional information, or to request a revised proposal from the Offeror, if necessary.
Creative reserves the right to make no award, or multiple awards, under this RFP.

2. Professional References
Using the exact table format provided below, please list(at Least three) only the projects implemented within the past 3 years , a brief description of how each is relevant to this RFP and the contact details for each previous client or donor. Please include recommendation/appreciation letters and certificates as attachments.

Table 2:
(a) Activity Title
(b) Location(s) of activity
(c) Synopsis of the activity and its relevance to this RFP
(d) Performance period (date, duration and if completed on schedule)
(e) Prime or Subcontractor?
(f) Amount for the activity
(g) Name & Contact Info (E-mail and phone) of client

Failure to comply with any of the above will result in the Offeror being considered “unresponsive” and the proposal may be rejected. Creative reserves the right to make no award, or multiple awards, under this RFP.

Attachment III
EVALUATION CRITERIA
A. BASIS OF AWARD:

1. A Creative will evaluate proposals on a best value basis, in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 15.1 – Source Selection Processes and Techniques. In all solicitations, Creative will consider and conduct an evaluation on the basis of both technical capacity and cost. The relative importance of these two factors will vary depending on the nature of the activity. In rare cases, Creative may also award to a firm other than the highest technically rated Offeror or the lowest price Offeror, in accordance with FAR 15.101-1.

2. The award will be made to the Offeror whose offer presents the Best Value which is the optimal combination of technical merits and reasonable cost. Proposals will be scored on technical factors first. Only the Cost/Business proposals of those offers that surpass the minimum qualifying score of 70 points in the technical evaluation will have their Cost/Business Proposal reviewed. Those that do not reach this qualifying score in the Technical Evaluation will be considered non-competitive and their Cost/Business proposals will not be considered.

B. EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. Technical Approach – presented in the Technical Proposal – Total Available Points: 100 points.
   Provide a clear, specific, and succinct technical proposal that covers both the conceptual and practical approaches of how to achieve the objectives of this project. Specifically, please address the following, in the order specified below:
   Item 1) Technical Approach: – Points Available (40 Points)
   Requirement:
   The firm will propose a clear technical methodology and workplan with expected schedule particularly the following points:
   • Assessment Frameworks and Test Specifications
   • Item Writing Training
   • Item Writing and Acquisition into the bank
   • Item Content Reviews
   • Assembly of Pilot Forms
   • Item Analysis or importing item statistics and Creation of Item Cards
   • Item Data Reviews
   • Assembly of Operational Forms
   • Test Development Management Approach
   • Solutions for computer-based and online testing
   • Solutions for computer-assisted scoring of open-ended questions.
   • Solutions for online presentation and visualization of the results
   • Solutions for protecting data security.
   • Ability and readiness of providing technical support to users.

Item 2) Management Approach (Firm and Experts Qualifications): – Points Available (30 Points)
Requirement:
Qualifications:

1. The company must have experience in educational technology services in general, building tests of various types including diagnostic tests, summative tests, formative tests, paper-based and computer-based.
2. The company must have experience in the implementation services of electronic question bank technology, process execution services, Arabic language support.
3. The company’s employees must have sufficient experience and knowledge in test development and assessment data management and using item banking system for the purpose of test development in education.
4. The company must have sound expertise in psychometrics including both classical and modern measurement theories (CTT, IRT).
5. The company should possess capabilities in strategic planning, knowledge management, innovation, risk management, and operations management.
6. It is preferred that the company has sufficient experience in working within the education sector in Jordan and/or other countries in the MENA Region.
7. The company must have a high adaptability and understanding of the assessment needs of ministries of education related to the national and other large-scale assessments to propose tailor-made and realistic solutions/recommendations.

Key Staff:
three expert types: assessment development/ psychometrics expert (30 days), IT expert (10 days), and technical support/item bank management expert (10 days).
Please provide the following, in order:

a) A staffing plan that includes the following information for each proposed staff member:
-Name and Proposed position on the team:
-Summary of relevant expertise and experience
CVs for each proposed key staff member. CVs should be no longer than one page in length.
Staffing plans that propose staff with qualifications and experience related to the tasks stated in this RFP will be evaluated more favorably than staffing plans that do not take these factors into consideration.

Item 3) Past Performance: – Points Available (30 Points)
Requirement:
Document and summarize your proven track record of successfully implementing similar activities to include a description of similar services provided in the past and any lessons learned that will be incorporated into the activity described in this RFP. Experience in Arabic speaking country is preferred.

Offerors with past performance with similar projects, in the same geographic area and/or of similar scale to the activity described in this RFP will be scored more favorably than offerors that do not meet these criteria.

2. Cost Reasonableness & Financial Capability – presented in Cost/Business Proposal. Not Scored.
Creative’s review of the Cost Proposal shall determine if the overall costs proposed are realistic for the work to be performed, reflect a correct understanding of the project requirements, and are consistent with the Offeror’s Technical Proposal. Creative will also review individual line items and determine if they are allowable, allocable and reasonable.
a) Offerors that do not provide the above-required items as part of their Cost/Business proposal, that provides a proposal that represents a poor understanding of the work to be performed, or that presents unrealistic, unallowable, un-allocable or unreasonable items and costs, in the reviewer’s evaluation, will be considered unresponsive and may be disqualified from further consideration.
b) References provided will be contacted for verification of information provided and assessment of Offeror performance.

If an Offeror submits a proposal that fails to respond to the majority of the information requested in this RFP, as outlined specifically in the statement of work and the evaluation criteria, the Offeror’s proposal will be automatically disqualified.

Creative reserves the right to request additional supporting documentation or a revised proposal from an Offeror if insufficient information has been provided in the Offeror’s technical and/or cost proposal. If the requested information is not provided, Creative has the right to disqualify the firm from further consideration.

ATTACHMENT IV
FORMAT FOR PROPOSAL COVER LETTER – TO BE PRINTED ON ORGANIZATIONAL LETTERHEAD

City, Country
<Date>
To: Creative Procurement Team

Dear Sir / Madam:

We, the undersigned, offer to undertake the [Insert RFP No], [Insert project title], in accordance with your Request for Proposal dated [Insert MM/DD/YYYY] and our Technical and Cost/Business Proposal submitted herein.

Our organization’s details are as follows:
i. Company’s Name
ii. Company’s Address
iii. Name of Company’s authorized representative:
iv. Telephone #/Cellular Phone #, Email address:
v. Validity Period of Proposal
vi. A valid Business License

Our proposal shall be binding upon us, subject to any modifications resulting from negotiation, up to expiration of the validity period of the proposal. We understand you are not bound to accept this or any Proposal you receive.
We also certify that our organization:
(a) has adequate financial resources including appropriate insurance coverage to perform the work stated herein, or the ability to obtain them without delay;
(b) is able to comply with the described delivery or performance schedule, taking into consideration all existing commitments and constraints;
(c) has a satisfactory performance record;
(d) has a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics;
(e) has the necessary technical capacity, equipment and facilities, or the ability to obtain them; and
(f) is otherwise qualified and eligible to receive an award under applicable laws and regulations.

Sincerely,

Authorized Signature:
Name and Title of Signatory:
Date: