ATT_E_1231ME18R0019_Task_Order_0001_PWS-_BPP_Technical_Assistance_Support_Services_Support_Services.pdf

1. INTRODUCTION

This task order is issued against USDA Solicitation number 1231ME18R0019 .

2. BACKGROUND

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) administers various Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Telecommunications Program loan and grant programs1. These programs provide financial assistance in the form of loans and grants for the construction, improvement and acquisition of facilities and infrastructure necessary to deliver broadband services to rural areas.

On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1625, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 20182 (“The Act”). Sec. 779 of the Act authorizes the RUS to expand upon its existing authority to provide loans and grants for the deployment and construction of broadband systems. To accomplish this, RUS is establishing a national broadband service development and expansion program to facilitate rural economic development by improving access to broadband service in rural areas without service or that lack sufficient access to broadband service.

The Act provides for $600,000,000 in budget authority to provide grants and loans for the development and construction of broadband systems. Leveraging of this budget authority will result in an initially estimated program level of $1 to $2 billion in loans and grants. The Act requires that 90% of a funded area be in a rural area that lacks “sufficient access to broadband, defined for this pilot program as 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream” to facilitate rural economic development.

RUS will provide a combination of direct loans and grants to applicants that offer to provide broadband service to areas that lack sufficient access to broadband. A portion of the funds will be awarded on a first come, first served basis and a portion will be awarded on a competitive basis with transparency and accountability.

BPP Program Scope The scope of this pilot program is to utilize funding appropriated by congress to award loans and grants for the accelerated implementation of broadband deployment in areas that currently do not have sufficient access to broadband. These funds will allow opportunities for innovation and business growth that will in turn create jobs and provide significant benefits to the populations previously with limited access to broadband.

3. TASK ORDER SCOPE OF WORK

Functional Areas3 and Deliverables under this task order: Under this task order, the contractor shall provide services and deliverables, under functional areas as described in the solicitation, as outlined below:

Functional Area 1 - Technical Assistance - The contractor shall possess the technical ability to understand, communicate and support the development of broadband loan and grant applications including, but not limited to, eligibility requirements, financial analysis, engineering designs and environmental analysis. The contractor shall also possess the ability to assist recipients on the technical aspects of the construction and deployment of broadband related infrastructure, equipment, instrumentation, network capability, hardware, software, and digital network technology. Technical assistance shall ensure the applicants fully understand statutory and programmatic requirements to assure successful implementation of the approved projects.

The contractor shall also assist RUS with identifying areas that do not have sufficient broadband service at 10 Mbps downstream and 1 Mbps upstream as defined by The Act. This will include, but not be limited to, evaluating Public Notice Responses from incumbent service providers in areas where service is proposing to be deployed as well as evaluate the proposed service territories for any service providers that may not have responded.

The contractor shall also assist RUS with performing a Management Analysis Profile of every applicant that receives an award. This review will consist of an operation review of company.

The contractor will travel to applicant and recipient locations, as well as to workshops, as necessary.

Deliverables under this task order:

• Development and maintenance of a Technical Assistance process.

Functional Area 2 - Communications and Outreach - The contractor shall support RD in the effective and efficient communications and outreach with the program’s stakeholders. The contractor shall provide support in conducting communications and outreach activities with recipients.

Deliverables under this task order:

• Convening pre-award regional workshops to educate and inform potential applicants, including meeting material preparation. These workshops will commence with the release of the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) announcing the program and will conclude with the closing of application windows under the NOFA.

It is initially estimated that four (4) pre-award regional workshops would be held for each NOFA. It is anticipated that there will be two NOFAs released.

• Creation of fact sheets and frequently asked questions documents.

Functional Area 3 - Pre and Post-Award Monitoring – Does not apply to this Task Order

Functional Area 4 - Reporting – Does Not Apply to this Task Order.

Functional Area 5 - Management and Administration – The contactor shall develop and execute an agreed upon program management plan that includes all items necessary to execute this order, including, but not limited to: a master schedule of multiple tasks and Labor Mix required to address all aspects of this SOO, a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) that monitors quality assurance throughout the life of the contract ensuring that scheduled requirements are met or exceeded to support aggressive deployment schedules, meetings as necessary to assure the successful delivery under the contract, and a detailed work plan that addresses all requirements set forth in this SOO.

Deliverables under this task order:

• Schedule, execute, document minutes, add follow up as required for the Award kick-off meeting.

Table 1 - Deliverables Summary:

The deliverables apply to this task order as documented above and as shown in Table 1 below:

Reference Deliverable Objective Delivery Format Due Functional Area 1

Technical Assistance process

Assurance of an adequate overall process that addresses all aspects of this SOO to include:

• Objectives

• Roles and responsibilities

• All processes and procedures to follow from applicant identification through post award monitoring

In a format acceptable to contractor and program staff

Initially due within 45 days of contract award with ongoing updates as necessary throughout the length of the contract.

Functional Area 2

Convening pre-award regional workshops to educate and inform potential applicants, including meeting material preparation.

Development of necessary materials & subsequent delivery of workshops

In a format and methodology acceptable to contractor and program staff

Estimated that four (4) pre-award regional workshops would be held for each funding window.

Functional Area 2

Creation of fact sheets and frequently asked questions documents.

Development of necessary materials

In a format acceptable to contractor and program staff

60 days post SOO award date (and ongoing updates throughout performance period)

Reference Deliverable Objective Delivery Format Due Functional Area 5

Kickoff meeting and minutes

Meeting Washington D.C.

Office to discuss and review:

• Objectives

• Schedule (high-level)

• Roles and responsibilities

• Technical Approach

• Assurance of an adequate program management plan that addresses all aspects of this SOO

• Next Steps

In a format acceptable to the contractor and program office

Within 14 days of award the Kickoff Meeting shall be conducted.

The meeting minutes must be submitted within 5 business days of the kickoff meeting

4. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

Project Planning Requirements The Contractor shall develop and maintain a Project Management Plan for each of the tasks awarded Under this Task Order. The Project Management Plan shall include, but not limited to the following:

specific milestones, critical path flow chart that clearly shows the start and end date of all activities, a narrative description of major tasks required by the solicitation, the responsible parties, and the individual steps required for compliance.

The contractor shall submit the Project Management Plan to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for review and approval.

Inspection and Acceptance All Government inspection and acceptance periods will be provided with the deliverables schedule. If deficiencies are discovered after this period, the Government will provide in writing a description of all discrepancies to be corrected by the Contractor. The corrected deliverables shall be resubmitted within the timeframes outlined above.

During the review period, the COR will have the right to reject or require correction of any deficiencies found in the deliverables that are contrary to the information contained in the Contractor’s accepted proposal. In the event of rejection of any deliverable, the Contractor will be notified in writing by the COR of the specific reasons why the deliverable is being rejected.

The Contractor shall have 3 Calendar Days to correct the rejected deliverable and return it to the COR.

The Contractor’s deliverable schedule shall apply for all deliverables unless changed by modification by the Contracting Officer (CO).

Further Requirements All other requirements are as set forth in the solicitation.