PTAG RFI: USPTO seeks Contractor to Review and Revise the Patent Examiner Training program.

***Amendment 2***: The answers to Questions received by the deadline are in an attachment titled "ACQ-26-9999_Question-Answer Attach._1" ***Amendment 1***: The Responses are now due no later than Wednesday, September 30, 2026, at 1:00 PM ET THIS IS A PTAG SOURCES SOUGHT REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This PTAG 6.1.1 Sources Sought (request for information) Notice (RFI) is strictly for market research ONLY.? It is for informational and planning purposes and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation or commitment by the Government at this time. PTAG The Government contemplates utilizing the Alternative Competition Method in accordance with the Patent and Trademark Office Acquisition Guidelines (PTAG) and the Patent and Trademark Office Efficiency Act 35 U.S.C. 2(b)(4)(A). This Sources sought notice is intended as preliminary market information gathering which the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) will use to determine which contractor(s) is/are the most likely to successfully meet the agency s needs and are thereby eligible to participate in an alternative competition. As a result of this market research, the?solicitation will only be issued to the/ those qualified contractor(s) that is/are deemed most likely to successfully meet the agency s requirements as stated below. This RFI is being made available under PSC U008 - EDUCATION/TRAINING- TRAINING/CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT and NAICS: 611430 - Professional and Management Development Training REQUEST FOR INFORMATION PTA TRAINING CONSULTATION, ELEARNING & DELIVERY BACKGROUND The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) intends to make a firm-fixed price award to a single firm that can fulfill this requirement which includes three (3) major elements. Training Consultation for Program Revision; Development of eLearning Content; Training Delivery Support Services. USPTO s Patent Training Academy is the training program responsible for preparing new hires to be patent examiners. It is designed to give new examiners the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to begin their careers. In FY 2026, USPTO hired 963 new examiners. Currently, the training program is delivered over 10-weeks and is comprised of a 125-course curriculum. The program follows a university-style model that uses a mix of large-lectures and small group lab sessions to give examiners opportunity to apply what they have learned. Through a combination of the use of a practice training application, active learning exercises, lecture and dedicated examination time, the goal of the program is to provide patent examiner new-hires the needed competencies to successfully examine in a Technology Center (TC) with guidance from experienced examiners. OBJECTIVE The objective of this RFI is to seek capable contractors who could provide the USPTO with Training Consultation for Program Revision, Development of eLearning Content, and Training Delivery Support Services. REQUIREMENTS: Training Consultation for Program Revision: The USPTO seeks firms with experience in instructional design consultation services, to include: Expertise in instructional design and adult learning theories and principles. Experience providing solutions to enhance engagement and learning in large training programs with extensive curriculums, specifically more than 40 courses in a single curriculum. Experience with providing innovative solutions including AI to enhance learning and taking complex, detailed curriculum and transforming the curriculum to provide faster acquisition of job skills and application of content. Ability to work with subject matter experts to refine learning objectives and ensure content alignment with learning objectives for highly complex legal and examination procedure topics. Ability to work with subject matter experts to review and revise course activities for highly complex legal and examination procedure topics. Ability to work with subject matter experts to review and revise course pedagogy for highly complex legal and examination procedure topics. Ability to work with subject matter experts to guide the assessment of learning objectives and outcomes. Experience in providing consultation services for legal content. As directed, develop training content and related deliverables. Development of eLearning Content: The USPTO seeks firms with experience in the development and implementation of eLearning content, to include: Expertise in the design of eLearning content, using standard eLearning authoring tools such as Articulate Storyline 360, Adobe Captivate, etc. Expertise in incorporating instructional design and adult learning theories and principles to eLearning content. Experience in building in adaptive gamification into eLearning content. Experience in designing microlearning content. Ability to work with subject matter experts to ensure the design correctly represents legally accurate materials. Experience in incorporating clean visuals, graphics, and ensuring 508-compliance of all materials. Experience in graphic design, visual clarity, and technical writing to ensure clear instructions and flow of all eLearning content. Experience in intuitive, learner-centered design. Experience in clearly defining design processes, to include steps in design processes, timelines, and checkpoints for subject-matter expert review. Ability to convert 25 courses into eLearning modules in 3 months. Courses range from 1 hour to 2.5 hours worth of content. Training Delivery Support Services: The USPTO seeks firms with experience in the implementation of Training Delivery Support Services, to include: Experience providing training in person and online, using agency collaboration tools such as MS Teams. Experience in ensuring best practices in engagement and adult learning theory are incorporated into training delivery. Ability to deliver training on all agency examination processes, procedures and tools accessing patent applications, in-house tools for searching US and Foreign Patents that allow examiners to generate correspondence to applicants, case management tools. Ability to deliver professional training that is consistent with USPTO standards to support professional development to USPTO patent examiner employees. The training must be conducted by a variety of means including in person, in a classroom or lecture setting, and/or using agency collaboration tools such as MS Teams. Please state if you have specific experience with intellectual property (IP), patent examination, and patent prosecution processes. Experience in ensuring continuity in training to avoid re-scheduling of training classes. The ability to ensure training coverage for a schedule such as the one listed below: Phase 1 Week 1 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (8-hour days) Week 2 8:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (8-hour days) Week 3 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (9-hour days) Friday Off Week 4 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (9-hour days) FRIDAY 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. ET (8-hour days) Week 5 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (9-hour days) Friday Off Week 6 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (9-hour days) FRIDAY 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. ET (8-hour days Week 7 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (9-hour days) Friday Off Week 8 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (9-hour days) FRIDAY 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. ET (8-hour days Week 9 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (9-hour days) Friday Off Week 10 7:30 a.m. 5:00 p.m. ET (9-hour days) FRIDAY 7:30 a.m. 4:30 p.m. ET (8-hour days PROGRAM TIMELINE Contractors would be expected to begin delivering consultation services in October 2026, with an expectation of revised training program initiatives to begin implementation in January 2027. REQUESTED INFORMATION As part of the RFI response, vendors are asked to discuss their ability and provide their solutions and business offerings for this requirement, and to specifically address the questions listed below. General responses with generic capability statements that do not address the specific content of this RFI may not be considered. Training Consultation for Program Revision Describe the largest training program for which your company has been a training consultant. Please include the number of employees impacted and the number of courses impacted. If for a government contract, please provide the contract number and the Contracting Officer. Describe the process you follow in identifying and providing revisions on training content. Provide examples of innovative solutions you have suggested for curriculum revisions. Describe your experience with providing instructional design consultation services for technical, legal, regulatory or IP audiences. If you do not have prior experience providing instructional design consultation services for technical, legal, regulatory, or IP audiences, what risks or challenges would you foresee in delivering this scope of work and how would you propose to mitigate them? Given the anticipated scope of this project, revising approximately 125 courses for implementation by January 2027 (approximately 3 months), please…