Questions about the FAST AI RFQ will be accepted in writing through October 2, 2026. Questions must be submitted by email to fastai@commcorp.org with "FAST AI" in the subject line. CommCorp will post a single consolidated set of all questions and responses on the CommCorp website no later than October 13, 2026. Answers to questions received will be added to this page on a rolling basis, so check back frequently!
Responses will address all questions received by the deadline and will be published without identifying the submitting organization. CommCorp will not provide individual written or verbal responses to questions outside of the posted responses below.
Any information conveyed outside of the posted responses is not binding on CommCorp, excluding technical support with application tools. CommCorp reserves the right to modify, consolidate, or decline to answer any question. All potential Applicants are advised to check the CommCorp website periodically for additional information and updates until submissions are due. CommCorp may publish additional guidance, corrections, or amendments to this RFQ at any time prior to the submission deadline. It is the Applicant's responsibility to review any such postings before submitting.
Q: Are private, nonprofit Institutes of Higher Education eligible to submit a FAST AI RFQ? |
| A: Yes, private, nonprofit Institutes of Higher Education are eligible to be considered for a FAST AI grant, as long as all other training provider and course requirements are met. |
| Q: Are single-member LLCs eligible to apply? |
| Sole proprietorships and single-member limited liability companies (LLCs) are not eligible to apply. FAST AI requires training providers with demonstrated organizational capacity to continuously engage employers and deliver quality training over a multi-year contract. This includes continued delivery of training regardless of personnel changes or unexpected disruptions, and meeting the program's documentation, reporting, and monitoring requirements. |
| Q: Experience. Is there a minimum number of years in business, a minimum number of prior AI or workforce trainings delivered, or a references requirement for providers? |
| Per Section 2.1 of the RFQ, applicants should have been in operation for at least 2 years as a training provider delivering training services, either in AI or in other related topics. Applicants will be asked to upload instructor resumes for all courses included in your RFQ application, as well as three employer references. Please review Section 5.4 of the RFQ for additional document requirements of this application. |
Q: Are Community Colleges required to submit a Certificate of Good Standing (COGS) from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) when submitting an application? |
| A: No, per Section 2.1, public higher education institutions, including community colleges, state universities, and university systems, are not required to provide a COGS from the DOR. For the COGS upload section of the application, public higher education institutions may upload a blank placeholder pdf file to meet the upload requirement on the page. All other applicants are required to upload a valid COGS. Compliance guidance can be found here. |
| Q: Does an out-of-state applicant with no Massachusetts tax filing obligations to date still have to provide a Certificate of Good Standing from the MA Department of Revenue? If DOR processing is pending at deadline, may the certificate follow? |
| A: Yes, all applicants are required to provide a valid Certificate of Good Standing from the MA, Department of Revenue, except for Massachusetts-based community colleges / higher education institutions. We recommend applicants start the process of obtaining the document as soon as they can to ensure they can upload a valid copy prior to our November 6th application deadline. |
Q: May an applicant to the FAST AI RFQ be headquartered outside of Massachusetts, and if so, are there any compliance documents that must be satisfied before application or contracting? |
| A: Per Section 2.1 of the RFQ, eligible applicants must be based within the United States, and easily able to offer ongoing training courses to Massachusetts-based employers either in-person or virtually. Applicants outside the state of Massachusetts will still need to provide compliance documents as outlined in Section 2.1 of the RFQ. Additional guidance to obtain a Certificate of Good Standing (COGS) from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) can be found here. Applicants should be able to obtain a COGS from the DOR even if they are not based in Massachusetts or currently doing business in the state. |
Q: Are independent/out-of-state providers eligible if delivery is remote or hybrid for Massachusetts employers? |
| A: Yes, out-of-state applicants are eligible to for FAST AI funds if delivery is remote or hybrid for Massachusetts employers/employees, as long as all other training provider and course requirements are met. |
Q: Do courses have to be delivered in person in Massachusetts? |
A: Per Section 3.1 of the RFQ, the following course delivery requirements must be met:
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Q: May prospective respondents meet individually with CommCorp staff before the question deadline to discuss fit? |
| A: No. To keep the process fair to all respondents, CommCorp staff cannot hold individual meetings or give individual guidance during the RFQ period. Please submit questions in writing to fastai@commcorp.org by October 2, 2026. All questions and answers will be published. CommCorp reserves the right to modify, consolidate, or decline to answer any question. |
Q: May a respondent propose a customized program or series designed for a specific employer or cohort, built on participants' live workflows? What does "employer customization capability" mean in Section 3.2 of the RFQ? |
| A: Courses in the FAST AI Training Directory must be standard offerings that any Approved Employer can select. Each course must have a fixed curriculum, learning objectives, total hours, delivery format, and price per participant. Within those parameters, instructors are allowed reasonable variance to apply context, examples, and exercises based on participants' actual use-cases, industries, occupations, or roles so that trainees gain realistic experience and practical skills. FAST AI does not fund consulting or bespoke services. This includes assessing an employer's operations, designing a program for a single employer, building AI tools, workflows, or other deliverables for an employer, implementation support and/or related services. FAST AI seeks to serve as many employers as possible across the program. Competitive proposals will include training expected to appeal to multiple employers. "Employer customization capability" in section 3.2 refers to the ability to apply context, examples, and exercises based on participants' actual use-cases, industries, occupations, or roles so that trainees gain realistic experience and practical skills. |
| Q: May a provider tailor exercises to an enrolled employer's own tools and sample (non-confidential) work tasks, as long as the deliverable is skills training and not a custom work product? |
| A: Please see answer above! |
Q: The FAST AI RFQ eligibility requirement in Section 2.1(6) states that an applicant must “have been in operation for at least 2 years as a training provider offering training services, either in AI or in other related topics.”Must the applicant's legal entity itself have been operating as a training provider for at least two years, or can this requirement be satisfied through the prior training experience of the applicant’s principals and/or proposed instructors? |
| A: The Applicant must meet all Provider Minimum Qualifications on its own, including being in operation for at least two years. The requirement cannot be satisfied through prior training experience of the applicant's principals and/or proposed instructors. |
| Q: What does “training slot” mean in the context of the landing page saying costs “may not exceed $300 per instructional hour per training slot, or $3000 per person per course, whichever is less”? Can a course be charged as a flat group rate? |
| “Training slot” refers to one trainee seat, and the subsidy caps are defined at the training slot level (for example, if you propose an 8-hour course, the max we can reimburse is $2400 per training slot. However, proposals that are not competitively priced will not be selected, even if they are below limits. We will reimburse providers (the grantee) based on the number of eligible training slots completed. All FAST AI courses should be priced on a per-person basis, not as a group rate. |
| Q: Must trainees work in Massachusetts? Are employees of a Massachusetts employer who work remotely from another state eligible? |
| A: Trainees must be Massachusetts W-2 payroll employees of the eligible employer. Remote employees may be eligible if payroll taxes for the trainee are filed in Massachusetts. During the employer enrollment process, employers will be guided on which of their employees are eligible for FAST AI. Grantees will be required to verify eligibility with employers before enrolling trainees in their course. |
| Q: Insurance. What insurance types and limits are required, and at what stage (application or contracting)? |
| A: Providers are responsible for maintaining any insurance coverage required by applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. |
| Q: How and when are providers paid (per completed trainee, per cohort, monthly invoice), and are payments tied to attendance or completion thresholds? |
| A: Selected providers will be paid for training slots following the completion of a cohort. Payment will only be made for eligible participants who have completed a course. Reimbursement is tied to verified participation and completion, evidenced by attendance records. Providers may not bill employers or trainees for training that was not completed or no-show slots. Providers will submit reimbursement requests to CommCorp using a Financial Status Report (FSR) form, and payments are made by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). CommCorp will not pay for training delivered to any participants or employers without a valid Eligibility Confirmation Memo. CommCorp will not pay for training that exceeds the 100-slot per-employer cap. Reimbursement frequency will be detailed in the grant contract if selected. The grant award is a maximum amount, not a guaranteed payment. Providers are reimbursed per eligible completed training slot, up to the award amount. |
| Q: After award, may providers market their approved FAST AI courses directly to Massachusetts employers, and are there branding rules for doing so? |
| Yes, per Section 4.10 of the RFQ, selected applicants are expected to market their FAST AI courses to Massachusetts employers and to support CommCorp outreach efforts. We expect some eligible employers to find courses through the CommCorp website via a FAST AI Course Directory. But most engagement will result from direct marketing efforts of the training providers selected by CommCorp. CommCorp may request review of selected applicants’ materials that reference FAST AI before use. Additional branding guidelines and support will be provided to selected applicants during contracting and onboarding. |
| Q: May an Applicant use subcontractors or teaming partners to develop or deliver FAST AI courses, and include their qualifications in its response? May two organizations apply jointly, and which requirements apply to each? |
A: Each application must be submitted by a single Applicant, which will be the sole contracting party if selected. Joint or co-applicant submissions will not be accepted. An Applicant may use subcontractors or training partners to provide instructors, curriculum, or other training delivery services, subject to the following: a) The Applicant is the sole contracting party and remains fully responsible for all courses, reporting, employer eligibility verification, slot-cap tracking, billing, and contract compliance, including work performed by subcontractors; and b) The Applicant must meet all eligibility requirements on its own. Subcontractor experience may not be used to satisfy them. |
| Q: Can you provide examples of how the course cost caps are applied? Some providers price training per day or per cohort rather than per trainee. |
A: Course cost caps apply per training slot, meaning per trainee enrolled in a course. The maximum cost per slot is $300 multiplied by the number of course hours, or $3,000, whichever is lower. The per-slot price a provider proposes is the full price of the training. Providers may not charge employers or trainees for any portion of the cost of a FAST AI course. Providers who price training per day or per cohort must convert that price to a per-slot price at or below the applicable cap. Examples: 1. An 8-hour course may be priced at up to $2,400 per slot ($300 x 8 hours). Delivered to a cohort of 12 trainees, the maximum reimbursement for that delivery is $28,800. 2. A 16-hour course is capped at $3,000 per slot, since $300 x 16 hours ($4,800) exceeds the $3,000 limit. Please note: a. Proposals that are not competitively priced will not be selected, even if they are below the limits. b. Reimbursement is based on actual completed enrollments. Slots that are not filled or not completed are not reimbursed, including within cohort-priced deliveries. c. All reimbursements to a provider across all approved courses are subject to the maximum award amount per provider. |
| Q: How much is a provider reimbursed if a course is not fully enrolled, or if an enrolled trainee does not complete the course, including for reasons outside the provider's control. |
A: Reimbursement equals the per-slot price in the executed contract multiplied by the number of eligible trainees who attend and complete the course. Unfilled slots are not reimbursed. Slots for trainees who do not complete the course are not reimbursed, regardless of the reason for non-completion. Providers may not bill employers or trainees for incomplete or no-show slots. As noted in the response on training slots above, FAST AI courses are priced per person, not as a group rate divided across a cohort. The Section 3.2 limit applies to each slot. For a 10-hour course, the per-slot price may not exceed $3,000 ($300 x 10 hours). For example, if a 10-hour course is priced at $300 per slot and 5 eligible trainees complete it, maximum reimbursement is $1,500 (5 x $300). |
| Q: Are there minimum or maximum class sizes? |
| A: CommCorp does not set a minimum or maximum class size. Applicants state the maximum number of training slots for each course offering in their application. |
| Q: May a provider with approved courses in the WTFP Express Directory apply to FAST AI? May employers use both programs? |
| A: Yes. Current WTFP Express providers may apply to FAST AI and must meet all FAST AI provider and course requirements. FAST AI and WTFP are separate programs, and employers may participate in both. The same training for the same trainee(s) cannot be funded by both programs. |
| Q: What documentation of instructor expertise is required, and may instructors be added after award? |
| A: Applicants must upload a resume for each instructor of each course, per Section 5.4. Resumes should show the instructor's relevant AI expertise and training delivery experience. CommCorp does not require specific certifications. Instructors may be added or changed after award with CommCorp's prior written approval. |
| Q: What types of employers are eligible to enroll employees in FAST AI courses? |
| A: See section 2.2 of the FAST AI RFQ for info on eligible employers. |
| Q: What are the reporting requirements for selected providers, and on what timeline? |
| A: Reporting requirements are described in Section 4 of the RFQ. The reporting schedule, reimbursement frequency, and the system providers will use to submit data will be detailed in the grant contract and provided during contracting and onboarding. Grant contracts are expected to run from February 1, 2027 through January 30, 2029. |
| Q: Can a course with a fixed group price be proposed under FAST AI? How should price and planned training slots be entered in the Budget Form, and how does reimbursement work if attendance differs from the planned group size? |
| A: No. All FAST AI courses must be priced on a per-person basis, not as a group rate. Applicants whose pricing schemes normally use fixed group rates should set a per-person price that meets requirements in Section 3.2 including: no more than $300 per hour per training slot, or $3,000 per person per course, whichever is less. In the Budget Form, enter the per-person price for each course and the maximum number of training slots for each offering. CommCorp reimburses the per-person price for each eligible trainee who attends and completes the course. There is no minimum payment per session. Grant funds may not be used to pay for unfilled slots or slots for trainees who do not complete a course. Providers may not bill employers or trainees for the any costs related to training funded via FAST AI. Applicants should set pricing competitively with this in mind. |
| Q: Course structure: Are there minimum or maximum instructional hours per course, and minimum or maximum class sizes? May one course be offered as an open-enrollment cohort mixing employees from several employers? |
| A: There are no minimum or maximum instructional hours or class sizes per course. Courses must meet the guidelines in Section 3 of the RFQ. Additional consideration will be given to applicants offering competitive per-slot pricing. FAST AI is designed as a marketplace of courses available to as many employers and employees as possible, with particular emphasis on making training accessible to small and medium-sized businesses. Training will be offered through open-enrollment cohorts, typically bringing together employees from multiple employers. A cohort may consist of employees from a single employer, but the course must remain listed and accessible to other eligible employers. Approved training providers should not reserve future slots for a specific employer when other employers are ready to enroll. Proposals that demonstrate a realistic plan to serve a range of employers, especially small and medium-sized businesses, will be most competitive. Such plans may include outreach, scheduling, and delivery formats that work for smaller businesses. Training providers working with eligible employers that have large-scale or customized training needs are encouraged to support them in developing training plans and applying to the Workforce Training Fund General Program (https://commcorp.org/subprogram/wtfp-general-program/), which offers grants of up to $200,000 for customized, strategic incumbent worker training. |
| Q: May an employer reference be from a nonprofit organization, and must references be clients of the Applicant itself |
| A: Employer references must be from past or current employer clients of the Applicant itself. Nonprofit organizations may serve as references. |
| Q: Does instructor-guided practice in a simulated or sample environment count toward instructional hours, and does it meet the requirement that training be applied to a trainee's own tools and role? |
| A: Instructor-led guided practice counts toward instructional hours, including practice in a simulated or sample environment. Courses must still meet the Section 3.2 minimum that training be applied to the trainee's own tools, role, and operations. Simulated practice alone does not meet that requirement. Whether a specific course meets the minimum qualifications will be determined in review. |
| Q: Does a certificate of completion issued by the provider count as an "industry-recognized credential"? |
| A: A certificate issued by the training provider will not be considered an industry-recognized credential unless a training provider is accredited to award specific certifications by an established credentialing or licensing body that is broadly recognized in the relevant industry. Industry-recognized credentials are typically issued or recognized by a third party, such as an industry association, credentialling body, licensing authority or licensed vendor. |
| Q: Must subcontractors or training partners be named in the application, or may they be added after award? |
| A: Strong applications will include ample information about qualified instructors and curriculum based on best practices in adult learning and workforce training. Trainers can be internally-sourced, or you can engage subcontractors to augment your capacity and expertise. Applicants should identify any subcontractor or training partner that will provide instruction, curriculum, or other training delivery services, and describe the subcontractor(s) role. Resumes are required for instructors you intend to engage in training, including those provided by a subcontractor or training partner. If approved, there will be an opportunity to add qualified instructors, subcontractors, or training partners, which will require CommCorp's written approval. |
| Q: May one organization serve as a subcontractor or training partner to more than one Applicant? |
| A: Yes. The RFQ does not prohibit an organization from serving as a subcontractor or training partner to more than one Applicant. Each application is reviewed on its own merits, and each Applicant remains solely responsible for its courses and contract compliance. The same training for the same trainee may not be funded more than once. |
| Q: Must a corporation with no Massachusetts office register with the Secretary of the Commonwealth before applying, in addition to providing a Department of Revenue Certificate of Good Standing? |
| A: Applicants are responsible for complying with all laws that apply to their organization, including any registration requirements for doing business in Massachusetts. CommCorp cannot advise on whether a specific organization must register; Applicants should consult their own counsel. |
| Q: Will there be provider intake periods after this RFQ, and will the two-year operating requirement apply to them? |
| A: CommCorp hopes to request qualifications for additional FAST AI training as soon as next year if additional funding is available. Eligibility requirements for any future opportunity will be included in a public procurement when released. |
| Q: What evidence of prior training performance is expected from Applicants? Are client references, participant counts, completion rates, learner feedback, sample curricula, or outcome data preferred or required? |
| A: Per Section 2.1, Applicants should provide performance metrics for courses offered within the past year, such as the number of participants trained and completion rates, and at least three letters of reference from past or current employer clients (see Attachment 6 in Section 5.4). Applicants may also include learner feedback or outcome data to support their track record, which is scored under Section 6.2. Sample curricula are not required; course content is described in the Course Details component of the Program Narrative and Course Details Form. |
| Q: May Applicants use subcontracted training firms or independent instructors? If so, what must the application include, such as names, resumes, or letters of commitment? |
A: Applicants may use subcontractors or training partners, including independent instructors, subject to the posted response on subcontractors and training partners. Applicants should identify in the Program Narrative any subcontractor or training partner that will provide instructors, curriculum, or other training delivery services, and describe its role. A resume is required for each instructor, including instructors provided by a subcontractor or training partner. |
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