SOW_Draft.pdf

Pre-Solicitation #19-233-SOL-00019_SOW-DRAFT

SECTION C - STATEMENT OF WORK-DRAFT

C.1 Purpose

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Head Start (OHS) is the national agency responsible for awarding funding, developing and enforcing policies, and providing technical assistance and oversight to ensure that Head Start programs deliver high quality services that prepare low income and vulnerable children and families for success in school and in life. As a federal-to-local program, OHS delivers a high volume of communications that cover a wide range of regulations, policies and technical assistance to oversee and support the success of grantee agencies.

The purpose of this acquisition is to provide and mature specialized services in information communications for OHS and to conduct, if necessary, transition activities.

OHS requires the Head Start Information and Communication Center (HSICC) to manage communications with the Head Start and early childhood community through the provision of an expert contact center, the ongoing development and enhancement of the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) website, enhancement and management of the ACF/OHS website, and the provision of mass communications services including social media and mass emailing.

Background

Head Start programs enhance the multi-faceted development of enrolled children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social, and other services. Since its beginning in 1965, Head Start has served more than 33 million children and their families. In FY 2017, Head Start provided over a million children with services to support their early learning, health, and family well-being. Head Start programs engage parents in their children's learning and help them in making progress toward their educational, literacy, and employment goals. The Head Start Program also emphasizes the significant involvement of parents in the administration of local Head Start programs.

The legislative authority for this acquisition, and the Head Start program generally, is the Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act of 2007 (U.S. Code Citation: 42 USC 9801 et seq.).

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), through OHS, provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide Head Start and Early Head Start services to economically disadvantaged children and families. There are over 1,600 Head Start grantees, ranging from small agencies with modest organizational capacity serving less than 100 children, to large agencies with complex staffing systems serving tens of thousands of children. A number of grantees also have delegate agencies, which provide all or part of the required comprehensive services.

Through HSICC, OHS provides critical policy, guidance, and technical assistance to Head Start programs, prospective parents, the early childhood community, and the general public. Since the early 1990’s, OHS has contracted with small businesses who understand the workings of Head Start and federal communication requirements to continuously inform the field of the latest advances in early childhood policy and practice through the lens of Head Start, as well as maintain close linkages to the programs and to the federal staff that support them.

OHS operates HSICC through the services of a contractor. Currently, HSICC operates a customer service center that receives and responds to inquiries via phone, email, and web; two primary websites – the ECLKC (http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov) and the OHS/ACF website (http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs); mass emailing service for Head Start program staff and other interested parties; several @headstartgov social media accounts; and a NewsWatch service, all of which is supported by a team of experts in various Head Start topics.

Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) Website

The ECLKC website presents information about Head Start, its policies, and technical assistance on early childhood development to agencies that provide Head Start services, child care providers, members of congress, the press, and other members of the public.

The ECLKC currently receives over 2 million visits per year, approximately 1/4 on mobile devices, providing a means to find and connect knowledge across programs, regions and states, and offers different methods of accessing on-line learning and training.

Numerous federal and contract staff are the primary developers of content for the ECLKC, including six large national Training and Technical Assistance Centers, each with specific areas of expertise. Content producing partners are generally responsible for the creation of individual resources, including meeting the federal requirements of accessibility and plain language. Occasionally OHS works directly with HSICC staff to develop individual resources. The HSICC contractors coordinate with the contributing partners to ensure all posted content is created and maintained according to OHS and HHS quality requirements, and provide coaching to assist them in meeting the requirements. Currently the Policies and Standards that guide the presentation of content are located at https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/web-standards/.

The ECLKC hosts over 8,600 pages with many file formats including .pdf documents, .MP4 videos, interactive online lessons, and complex web products. Some of these complex products are developed by vendors contracted by content contributing partners, http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/ http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/web-standards/ for example the Digital Markers of Progress, Coaching Companion, and Child Care Health Consultant Modules. Other specialized features, such as the Head Start Locator, Job Center, and Grant Application Toolkit, are developed by HSICC in collaboration with OHS staff. HSICC manages a Central Authentication Service (CAS) to facilitate secure individual access to personalized features for various complex web products.

The ECLKC uses Drupal 8 for the front-end and the content management platform, with numerous linked databases and directories. The ECLKC’s robust search engine is developed through Solr and is supported by the editorial team responsible for content labeling and metadata. Using Agile project development methodologies, the HSICC contractor and OHS work together to rapidly develop features and determine, refine, and prioritize the backlog. The site meets all HHS technical requirements, including accessibility for persons with disabilities.

The full contents of the website are available in high quality Spanish, currently supported by Lingotek software, and translated according to a Head Start glossary of terms maintained through the services of this contract.

The ECLKC’s information architecture is created and maintained to deliver content to the broadest audience in intuitive and practical ways. HSICC develops and assigns metadata to support linkages between relevant resources, automatic curation of certain pages, better search results, and the flexibility of OHS content to be syndicated and used in unforeseen ways.

HSICC uses marketing principles and web analytics to improve the design and positioning of ECLKC content. HSICC supports the content creators in using web analytics to improve the content offerings on the ECLKC.

The HSICC staff and project manager conduct a regular meeting of representatives from the major content producing organizations – the National Training and Technical Assistance Centers – to collaborate on the content strategy, architecture, and presentation of the ECLKC.

HSICC also manages the lifecycle of published content, archiving and deleting resources as appropriate, in consultation with the contributing partners and according to OHS, ACF, and HHS guidelines and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) General Records Schedule.

The ECLKC contains a publicly accessible archive of out of date web materials that are required to be kept according to federal records management guidelines or are still of interest to the Head Start and early childhood communities. Currently the content archive is located at https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/archive.

https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/archive

An image library hosted by Razuna allows OHS staff to access thousands of Head Start photos.

HSICC has an application programming interface (API) and an embeddable widget to support the dissemination of Head Start center locations and contact information.

A separate contract is responsible for the hosting, production support and maintenance, security, and failover services for the ECLKC website. The ECLKC Hosting Team creates, maintains, and updates the baseline configuration for the system infrastructure, and tracks all changes to that baseline. HSICC creates, maintains, and updates various software products used by the HSICC, hosted by the ECLKC hosting contract. Both teams work together ensuring code changes in the content management system are reflected in the configuration management documentation. GitHub manages application code history. Subversion manages source code history.

OHS Domains of the ACF Website

ACF’s Office of Communications maintains the ACF website (acf.hhs.gov). This website is the top ranking result for public searches about Head Start. HSICC manages the content of the ACF/OHS site (acf.hhs.gov/ohs) and collaborates with ACF Office of Communication on development of that website. OHS targets the information on this site primarily to the general public, the media, and prospective grantees. Information on this site is tightly coordinated and linked to information on the ECLKC website. OHS also manages the site Early Educator Central on the ACF website (earlyeducatorcentral.acf.hhs.gov), which describes pathways for credentials and degrees for Infant-toddler educators.

Mass Communications

A high volume email service reaches tens of thousands of recipients on a daily basis, through targeted use of over 20 large email lists. The in-house staff with Head Start expert knowledge works with the content creators, using marketing principles and web analytics to develop high value emails that produce desired responses from recipients.

The official social media platforms for Head Start, including Twitter and Facebook, nurture engaged communities of Head Start staff, parents and supporters, providing them with useful information from Head Start resources, research, and other trustworthy sources.

A closed social media platform, MyPeers, is also supported by OHS on the MangoApps platform. This is a vibrant community of over 12,000 Head Start and early education professionals sharing best practices, lessons learned, and core knowledge, as well as accessing direct support from peer to peer collaboration. MyPeers has open communities as well as closed workgroups to collaborate by sharing messages, files, calendars, questions and wikis.

HSICC also provides a secure space for OHS file sharing and knowledge sharing.

A mobile application (app) delivers policies and regulations, as well as popular technical assistance resources, and Head Start location information to mobile devices through feeds from the website infrastructure.

Webinars and Webcasts from the OHS reach audiences of up to 2,500 participants at a time. About 30 webinars and webcasts annually support major policy or resource releases, and trainings for various audiences.

Customer Service Center

The customer service center receives and responds to 1,500 to 3,000 inquiries per month from the public, early childhood professionals, the Head Start community, and OHS/Federal staff. The customer service center staffs a call center that receives about 25,000 calls per year using the Five9 Cloud Contact Center and also responds to about 5,000 inquiries a year via email, web, and mobile application. The most frequently requested services are from families and parents seeking programs that will meet their unique needs. Other inquiries relate to resources on the ECLKC website, events promoted through HSICC, policy clarifications, complaints about Head Start programs, and how to open a Head Start program, among others. Approximately one third of these inquiries are from Spanish speaking users.

Customer service representatives respond with information from a knowledge database, the ECLKC website, or submit the inquiry to OHS staff. Tier two support is provided by HSICC’s expert knowledge team or technical team. Tracking software is used to manage the volume, nature and languages of inquiries, which subsequently informs OHS leadership, the development of training and technical assistance resources, and other ECLKC content.

NewsWatch

A daily compilation of internet news across the nation based on multiple search criteria including the names of all grantee agencies and Head Start related terms informs OHS of local best practices, activities and potential areas of concern. This easy-to-navigate compilation is emailed by OHS to all OHS staff every work day.

HSICC monitors professional literature, reports, and journals for new resources, assesses whether new regulations and federal register postings affect the Head Start community, and assesses emerging issues and trends in early childhood service provision.

C.2 STATEMENT OF WORK- Severable Services

The Contractor shall furnish all of the necessary personnel, materials, services, facilities, (except as otherwise specified herein), and otherwise do all the things necessary for or incident to the performance of the work as set forth below:

Task 1 Head Start Websites

The Contractor shall be responsible for the management, maintenance, and ongoing enhancement of the OHS websites: the ECLKC, http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov and ACF/OHS site, http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs/. The Contractor shall:

a. Manage the content, architecture and design of the ECLKC Website, centered on the needs of the end users including

• Head Start grantee administrators, managers, and staff

• Regional Training and Technical Assistance staff

• Citizens looking for Head Start services and other information about Head

Start programs

b. Manage the content of the OHS section of the ACF website. Coordinate with ACF staff and contractors to maintain and enhance the architecture and design of the OHS section of the ACF website.

c. Ensure projects follow a development life cycle release schedule methodology designed in partnership with and approved by the Contracting Officer Representative

(COR).

Sub-task 1.1 Content Publishing on ECLKC and ACF/OHS Websites

The Contractor shall collaborate with content creating organizations and individuals to present comprehensive, accurate, and up-to-date information about Head Start and early childhood development on-line in user-friendly ways. The Contractor shall:

a. Receive content from content creators and prepare for publication on the web. This includes creating HTML pages from source files, video processing, and development of interactive modules. Work with and coach content producers to ensure web content is high quality, such as being written in plain language with accurate spelling, and accessible to people with disabilities. Coordinate with content producers to consistently apply metadata and search engine optimization techniques to content.

b. Develop a user centered content strategy that maximizes all content created for and by OHS, including email, web and social content. Capture and store content in a way that supports Create Once, Publish Everywhere (COPE). Support content creators in creating and submitting content in a way that supports COPE. Advise OHS on content placement for ECLKC and ACF websites to maximize usage of OHS resources and comply with ACF, HHS, and federal content guidelines.

c. Maintain and enforce editorial standards, and policies that guide the presentation of the content, to ensure that all content produced on behalf of OHS is consistent and http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/ http://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs/ professional, in accordance with ACF and HHS website style and guidelines, and relevant federal regulations, including the Plain Language Act and Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Maintain and enhance content and design of written communications standards for content producers, including an ECLKC style guide, and relevant technical standards, to facilitate the creation of content that meets federal regulations and ECLKC standards for well-produced content materials. Educate and support content creators in creating content that complies with ECLKC standards.

d. Support OHS in producing content generated by federal staff, including appropriate formatting and design. Assist in writing and editing content related to OHS or Head Start generally, such as the Head Start research page, Reports to Congress page, and OHS monitoring pages. Work directly with OHS staff to develop individual resources on an as needed basis.

e. Manage and populate ECLKC features such as the events calendar and job center.

Leverage general awareness of early childhood field and National Training and Technical Assistance Center events to maintain user centered calendar of events on the ECLKC. Manage job center mechanisms and postings, as needed by Head Start grantees and other organizations. Manage new features as they are developed.

f. Support the lifecycle of content products including the initial launch of a product, flagging content that needs updating, and archiving or deleting content that is no longer needed. Facilitate the required annual review of content on the ECLKC and ACF websites. Manage and maintain official records in accordance with HHS/Office of Chief Information Officer’s (OCIO) policy on records management, the schedules developed by ACF, and the interest of the Head Start community. Maintain a copy of all the source files for resources on the ECLKC website. Maintain and enhance a searchable library of photo resources for the use of OHS staff and content contributors, in accordance with federal laws and policies regarding photographs.

Sub-task 1.2 ECLKC Website Maintenance and Enhancement

The Contractor shall provide technical and administrative support to manage and maintain the ECLKC website, including the ECLKC content management system, large files, and complex web products. The Contractor shall:

a. Enhance the user-centered design of website, including both graphic design and structure of site and pages at every level. Ensure responsive web design accommodates screens of all sizes. Update the site with both automated and manually curated pages, using robust metadata and constant communication with OHS and other organizations that create content for OHS. Maintain error free site, including free of broken links, and a minimum of error pages.

b. Maintain and enhance the ECLKC content management system. Develop and maintain the ECLKC content management system to capture content at a granular level and assign robust metadata. Maintain and extend the ability of content contributors to author, edit and review content in the content management system.

This ability should not undermine HSICC editorial authority. Capture content, to the extent practicable, to enable a Create Once, Publish Everywhere (COPE) model.

c. Maintain and develop complex web products and specialized features according to http://www.hhs.gov/ocio/policy/2015-0004.002.html http://www.hhs.gov/ocio/policy/2015-0004.002.html the needs of OHS, its content producing partners, and their vendors. Manage Central Authentication System (CAS) and CAS integration for OHS products that require secure individualized access in accordance with federal requirements. Connect resources developed by vendors contracted by content contributing partners to the ECLKC website, ensuring that such resources meet the style, security, and professional standards required of other ECLKC resources, collaborating with the ECLKC hosting team as necessary.

d. Manage and enhance linkages of the website with other OHS databases and directories. Allow for the online submission of complaints, comments, and inquires, and disseminate these submissions to the correct response team. Maintain, enhance, and create APIs and other content sharing arrangements, as necessary, to allow other web developers to use OHS-produced content. As feasible, create APIs that allow the public to consume and distribute OHS content developed under the COPE model.

Facilitate syndication of ECLKC content to other websites. Syndicate content from authorized sources to ECLKC as appropriate.

e. Maintain and enhance ECLKC Search solution to meet the needs of ECLKC users, accounting for the unique and changing vocabulary of Head Start, inter-relation of terms, and depth of resources. The search solution may allow for the exploration of related websites such as the Office of Child Care’s Technical Assistance website and the ACF website.

f. Provide translation of full contents of the website in high quality Spanish, translated according to a Head Start glossary of terms. Maintain and enhance Head Start glossary of terms. Provide translation services of written resources for OHS on an ad hoc basis.

g. Support the lifecycle of content. Manage, maintain, and enhance a publicly accessible archive of out of date web materials that are required to be kept according to NARA’s General Records Schedule, other federal records management guidelines, or are still of interest to the Head Start and early childhood communities. Facilitate archive decisions, both automatic and manual.

h. Manage, maintain and enhance software supporting development and implementation of the ECLKC, Archive, and other features that may be developed. Define and perform software deployment and configuration management, test, and acceptance procedures that are controlled and demonstrably repeatable between test and production environments. When applicable, perform software/firmware updates as needed to provide a current, supported, secure application platform, and install necessary license keys and certificates to avoid interruptions in service. Coordinate code releases, necessary patching, and security tasks with ECLKC Hosting contractors. Cooperate, collaborate, and participate as part of team to implement enhancements from vendors hired by other content creators. Update or develop user documentation, system documentation, release notes, and ACF Enterprise Performance Life Cycle (EPLC) documentation as necessary to ensure that documentation is current. ECLKC documentation shall be maintained in an online repository. Coordinate with the ECLKC Hosting contractor to ensure that IT Security Requirements are incorporated into all phases of the ECLKC and associated components. Maintain, together with ECLKC Hosting contractor, a complete inventory of software, licenses, certificates, accounts, and other configuration items necessary for the operation of OHS web services. The inventory and the necessary information to access related accounts shall be maintained in a location accessible to the COR. The software shall conform in all respects to all ACF, HHS, and federal information technology software and security standards.

i. Make recommendations to the COR regarding how the web site might be enhanced to improve usability and performance, and conform better to the federal guidelines. New methods of supporting the user community, including individualized learning or certificates of completion, shall be suggested and implemented as they become available, as approved by the COR.

Sub-task 1.3 Information Architecture

The Contractor shall serve as managing editor of ECLKC, leveraging a strong knowledge of Head Start policies, regulations, and program operations, and the needs of Head Start stakeholders to manage the content, taxonomy, and usability of the ECLKC to provide maximum benefit to the community for which it is designed. The contractor shall ensure content is well labeled, properly grouped, and easy to find across OHS websites. The Contractor shall:

a. Work with the content creators to structure and display content in ways that work best for OHS audiences, including optimal formats, well designed pages, and proper titling.

b. Maintain and enhance structure and logic of navigation, including menus. Ensure resources are located in logical places, responsive to the needs of content users.

Create and maintain logical connections between resources. Facilitate users’ ability to continue exploring content relevant to their interest. Maintain logical links to other relevant websites.

c. Develop, maintain, and enhance ECLKC metadata to facilitate automated content creation, internal search, search engine optimization, COPE, and future technology needs. Maintain ECLKC controlled vocabulary (keyword) lists, including equivalent terms, to remain current with needs of the user base and the content creators. Ensure metadata is correctly assigned to all content posted on the ECLKC and ACF websites.

g. Develop a user centered content strategy that maximizes all content created for and by OHS, including email, web and social content. Advise OHS on content placement for ECLKC and ACF websites to maximize usage of OHS resources and comply with ACF, HHS, and federal content guidelines.

d. Use web analytics to continuously improve all aspects of the ECLKC and ACF websites. OHS and other contributing partners shall have access to analytics data at both detail and overview levels. Support the use of web analytics by content creating partners in a way that enables decision making. Provide OHS with recommendations for improvements based on analysis of this data. Augment web analytics with other methods of analysis to ensure the ECLKC website is meeting the needs of OHS target audiences.

Task 2 Resource Promotion and Sharing

The Contractor shall promote resources and events appropriate for OHS audiences, particularly those developed by OHS and its partners, through email, social media, mobile apps, and other channels. The Contractor shall:

a. Leverage broad understanding of Head Start program needs to develop promotions for all new content posted to the ECLKC, as well as previously posted content that is timely to the management of Head Start programs.

b. Manage, maintain, and enhance software supporting development and implementation of resource promotion and sharing solutions. The software shall conform in all respects to all ACF, HHS, and federal information technology software and security standards.

c. New methods of reaching and engaging the user community shall be suggested and implemented as they become available, as approved by the COR in collaboration with OHS stakeholders.

Sub-task 2.1 Email and Social Media

In collaboration with the content creators, the Contractor shall use marketing principles and analytics to create well-targeted, timely messages that produce desired responses from recipients. The Contractor shall:

a. Educate and support content creators in developing effective promotional strategies.

Provide editorial suggestions for email and social media. Maintain and enforce editorial standards for resource promotions through email and social media, including plain language and accessibility. Maintain and enhance written communications standards for content producers, describing best processes and best practices in resource promotion. Ensure promotions align with federal requirements, such as avoiding the appearance of endorsement of non-federal products.

b. Manage and enhance high-volume email services on a daily basis. Send up to 60 mass email communications a month on behalf of OHS. Ensure user centered design of emails, including calendaring support and mobile first design. Manage and extend numerous large email lists reaching tens of thousands of recipients, including opt-in subscriptions. The system used shall provide analytics related to message delivery and measures of message effectiveness and success.

c. Assess whether new regulations and federal register postings affect the Head Start community, and if so, generate emails to interested parties. Schedule emails according to the needs and best marketing practice. All mass emails shall be approved prior to dissemination by OHS.

d. Manage the OHS social media platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, and other potential outlets as they become available. Develop daily posting, which follows best practice for social media while promoting Head Start resources, research, and policy, as well as related material from other trustworthy sources. Collaborate with the COR to develop a social media strategy that increases the public awareness and understanding of the Head Start program, and that encourages participation, conversation, and community. Adhere to all federal, departmental, and ACF web site style, content, technical and other requirements for social media. All content shall be approved in advance by OHS.

Sub-task 2.2 Early Childhood Community Building

The Contractor shall support virtual communities for Head Start stakeholders to share news, ideas, and documents. The Contractor shall:

a. Support, maintain, and enhance MyPeers. Perform system administrator roles such as adding new users and creating new communities and workgroups. In consultation with OHS, encourage a positive collaborative culture on the platform and train community administrators.

b. Administer and enhance secure private work spaces to allow federal staff and contractors, and others in the Head Start community to share documents, discussions, and otherwise manage shared knowledge.

c. Support webinars and webcasts from OHS to reach audiences of up to 5,000 participants at a time.

Sub-task 2.3 Head Start Mobile Applications

The Contractor shall support App development for OHS and its content producing partners. The Contractor shall:

a. Enhance a user-centered Head Start Resources app, and others as appropriate, to deliver information developed for the ECLKC website to various Head Start audiences, including parents, staff, and directors. Manage, maintain, and enhance software supporting development and implementation of the apps. Ensure software conforms in all respects to all ACF, HHS, and federal information technology software and security standards.

b. Manage and maintain the Head Start presence in Apple and Google app stores and other similar platforms as they become available. Support multiple content creators to post high quality apps in the App stores as needed.

Task 3 Head Start Customer Service Center

The Contractor shall staff and support a contact center on behalf of OHS to receive and respond to contacts and direct resulting information appropriately. The Contractor shall:

a. Receive and respond to approximately 30,000 contacts per year in English and Spanish. These inquiries and complaints are communicated through various methods including phone, email, ECLKC “Contact Us” inquiries, social media, and mobile app. Other methods may be developed by the Contractor in collaboration with OHS.

The Contractor shall provide services responsive to the needs of the inquirers and enhance customer service channels as technology becomes available.

b. Leverage broad knowledge of Head Start programs, resources, and policies to respond to inquiries in a timely manner. Responses shall exhibit a high level of accuracy, intelligibility, plain language, and comply with federal requirements.

Complex inquiries and certain complaints shall be routed to OHS through the Head Start Enterprise System (HSES), which may or may not require further follow up by the customer service staff. Other inquiries may require routing to OHS partners, such as the National Training and Technical Assistance Centers. Complaints shall be entered into the HSES system within 8 hours of submission.

c. Staff and support call center operations for OHS. A no-charge telephone line for the public shall be provided in all areas where Head Start services are provided, including outlying territories such as Puerto Rico and Guam. The public phone line shall be available from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, except for Federal Holidays, with minimal down time for weather or technical disruptions.

The call center shall be able to receive messages any time the call center is not open.

d. Provide a monthly analysis of the inquiries received, informing the development of policy, technical assistance, and ECLKC content. Tracking software shall be used to assess the nature, volume, and languages of inquiries.

e. Use and maintain an up-to-date knowledge base of responses used by the customer service staff. The knowledge base shall be made available to OHS for comments and periodic review. Inquiries and responses shall be available in web-based library format to the OHS and to the National Training and Technical Assistance Centers to ensure consistency and continuity of message across all OHS assets.

Task 4 NewsWatch Service

The Contractor shall provide a daily compilation of all news across the web related to Head Start and its grantees on the day the news was published. The Contractor shall:

a. Compile news stories through a thorough search of news articles, including as many local outlets as possible using program names and other key words. The news shall inform OHS of local best practices, activities, and potential areas of concern relevant to the Head Start and the early childhood community. The Contractor shall also monitor professional literature, reports and journals for new resources, and assess emerging issues and trends in early childhood service provision for inclusion in the

NewsWatch.

b. Present the NewsWatch compilation of news stories to OHS in an easy to read email format and identify the specific source of each story. All news stories shall include clickable links that allow the readers to view the original stories as they exist on the source’s own website, unless prohibited by law.

c. Enter into HSES any news stories that identify eminent threats to the health and safety of Head Start children or to the integrity of federal funds.

Task 5 Collaboration, Coordination and Workflow

The Contractor shall lead collaboration with content creating organizations and individuals and provide transparent processes for content creation and removal. The Contractor shall:

a. Provide a clear workflow and a mechanism to track progress on every product, such that any stakeholder in the content creation process can verify the status of items in process. Ensure review of final products by appropriate stakeholders and obtain approval for posting from relevant federal project officers and OHS communications staff.

b. Lead collaboration with the contributing partners to facilitate the effective and timely design and posting of content. Work with partners to ensure all posted content is created and maintained according to OHS and HHS quality requirements, as well as to manage the archiving and deletion of content as described in Subtask 2.1.1.f.

Provide primary points of contact for the largest content contributors, namely the National Training and Technical Assistance Centers, and certain OHS divisions.

c. Meet in person with content contributors, federal staff, and key stakeholders for collaborative efficiency in creating products and developing processes. This includes at least quarterly TTA National Center meetings in the DC area, and up to weekly meetings when designing and producing new initiatives.

d. Provide a Coordinator who shall work onsite at the OHS central office to assist with HSICC tasks including the creation, posting, and dissemination of content. The Coordinator will ensure smooth execution of various campaigns and virtual events.

The Coordinator will also serve as a point of contact for federal staff regarding projects executed by HSICC.

e. Ensure all products are clearly marked with the Head Start logo, and include other appropriate identification and disclaimers as directed by the COR. All products developed by the Contractor shall be the property of the Government.

f. Ensure activities corresponding to tasks and their subtasks are coordinated effectively and conducted according to the established ACF/OCIO processes. Representative activities include:

o Ensuring the participation of staff with relevant, complete, and current information at governance meetings, including the system workgroup meetings and customer status meetings o Ensuring coordination between all the tasks and subtasks of this SOW o Ensuring staff is familiar with and adhere to ACF/OCIO processes o As requested, ensuring participation of technical staff in working sessions with ACF/OCIO and program support contractor (s), continuous enhancement planning, support for program risk management, and compliance with Program Quality Assurance (QA) and Change and Release Management (CRM) procedures o Coordinating cross systems or cross teams for escalations and resolutions of complex security and privacy issues o Any additional activities required by the ACF/OCIO at a later date.

g. Participate in meetings as directed by the COR. Prepare and/or track meeting agendas, minutes, notes, issues, and action items as instructed by the COR. Provide the COR with the meeting minutes of all status meetings. Minutes shall be of sufficient detail to accurately document meeting data and location, meeting purpose, items discussed, decisions made, attendees, and action items. Meeting minutes shall be delivered within three business days following the meeting to parties as directed by the COR.

Task 6 User Feedback and Analysis

The Contractor shall develop and implement a system for user feedback for all services provided by the HSICC. In addition, the Contractor shall:

a. Use feedback from a variety of sources to validate practices where appropriate, conceptualize new practices, develop new ways of putting products and services to work, and modify existing services and product lines as the need becomes apparent.

All changes shall be discussed with, reviewed and approved by the COR.

b. Collect data about product satisfaction and impact through instruments that are reliable and valid. Survey instruments shall be reviewed and approved by the COR prior to their use. At the end of each quarter, the Contractor shall present a summary report of user feedback to be delivered to the COR, with reports for each service presented at least annually.

c. Analyze the user generated data received by HSICC to inform OHS policy and technical assistance, as well as improve the delivery of communications services.

This includes qualitative analysis of inquiries from the customer service desk, MyPeers discussions, and social media interactions. This also includes quantitative analysis of web and email interactions. The Contractor shall deliver monthly reports identifying content trends of interest to the OHS leadership.

d. Work with the COR to have any necessary information collection activities approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Task 7 Project Management, Work Plan, and Project Reports

The Contractor shall review and improve current practices and where appropriate, develop new practices and ways to improve products and services, monitor tasks and timelines, and modify ongoing services and products as needed. The Contractor shall:

a. Maintain a quality control system that includes the following:

• Formation and implementation of a Project Management Team;

• Specific activities and timelines for implementing quality assurance processes, including the process for reporting to the COR;

• Process and specific strategies to be used for the ongoing supervision and support of staff, including oversight of the quality and content of their work;

b. Maintain the personnel, organization, and administrative control necessary to ensure the work delivered meets the contract specifications and requirements.

Employ technically qualified personnel to perform the work specified in the SOW. Personnel assigned to or utilized by the Contractor in performance of work shall be fully capable of performing the functions of the respective labor categories in an efficient, reliable and professional manner.

Sub-task 7.1 Work Plan

The Contractor shall prepare a Work Plan for the period of the contract within 21 days of contract award. The Work Plan shall describe the Contractor’s allocation of personnel and other resources and discuss methods for staffing activities across each of the task areas. The plan shall describe how the Contractor shall employ organizational resources and management controls to meet the cost, performance, and schedule requirements of the contract.

The Contractor shall provide ongoing management and quality control for the Work Plan to include:

• Formation and implementation of a Management Team;

• Specific activities and timeline for on-boarding and orientation of staff;

• Specific activities and timelines necessary for the implementation of each task contained in this statement of work, including reporting to the COR; and

• Process and specific strategies used for the ongoing supervision and support of staff, including oversight of the quality and content of work produced.

In the option periods, the Contractor shall review activity over the prior year and make recommendations to the COR for modifying projects to reflect user needs, the Contractor’s experience with the project, and OHS requirements.

Sub-task 7.2 Project Management Plan and Quality Control Plan

Project Management Plan

The Contractor shall develop, maintain, and update a Project Management Plan (PMP).

The PMP shall provide the basis for performing and controlling the project’s activities in accordance with the SOW. This document shall describe the technical approach, organizational resources, deliverables, documentation, and management controls to be employed to meet the cost, performance, and schedule requirements throughout the period of performance.

These management activities shall establish control, management, monitoring, and notification mechanisms and shall include working with and reporting to the COR to ensure that tasks and their subtasks stay on track and important milestones are met.

Representative activities include:

• Plan, organize, secure, and manage resources with appropriate knowledge and skills to perform ongoing activities

• Create, manage, and control work plans, project schedules, and/or Work Breakdown Structure

• Maintain quality control through repeatable, managed processes

• Change control management

• Documentation Management, including ensuring that information is stored in the appropriate document repositories and configuration management tools

• Communications Management

• Risk Management including working with COR on timely escalation and resolution of risks

• Issues Management including working with COR on timely escalation and resolution of issues

• Quality Assurance

• Responding to general inquiries from ACF/OCIO staff overseeing program activities

• Coordinating with Government staff to ensure that tasks and their sub-tasks are executed in line with program direction, priorities, and processes

• Create all required status reports and participate in progress reviews

• Track and manage cost expenditures

• Respond to ad hoc data calls

• Track monthly and cumulative performance metrics as applicable

Quality Control Plan

The Contractor's Quality Control Plan (QCP) shall set forth the staffing and procedures for self-inspecting the quality, timeliness, responsiveness, customer satisfaction, and other performance requirements in the SOW.

Sub-task 7.3 Reporting

a. Status Reports. The Contractor shall submit weekly and monthly status reports, including the following types of information for each task and subtask defined in the

SOW :

• Activities and Accomplishments

• Deliverables

• Milestones

• Issues, Risks, and Mitigation Plans

• Planned Activities for the following reporting week

• Routine Monitoring Activities

b. Performance Metrics Report (PMR). The Contractor shall ensure that status and performance data is documented and tracked in a Performance Metrics Report (PMR). The Contractor shall establish their initial set of metrics and measures (the baseline) that will be used to monitor and control the Contractor’s task execution. The Contractor’s metrics should include the Government’s minimum metrics, identified below, plus any additional ones it feels are needed to properly gauge the performance of the Contractor’s activities. In the event performance is not meeting thresholds, the contractor must provide a Problem Notification Report (PNR), and execute an approved correction plan.

Table 1

Activity Supported Metric

Management Plans (Objective: 95%, Threshold: 90%)

Compare issue resolution dates versus estimated date Compare risk resolution dates versus estimated date Compare progress versus schedule for activities scheduled

Progress Reports (Objective: 97%, Threshold: 90%)

Compare actual spending versus plan/limit, show variance Track monthly ratings

Deliverables (Objective: 97%, Threshold: 95%)

Compare completion dates versus scheduled dates Track number of revisions after scheduled submission Track rejected deliverables

Staffing (Objective: 100%, Threshold: 97%)

Compare staff versus key personnel Compare staff versus “required” personnel Track status of staff badging

Security (Objective: 100%, Threshold: 97%)

Compare clearances against security requirements Track security incidents

GFE

(Objective: 100%, Threshold: 99%)

Check Asset Inventory versus Delivered GFE

Travel (Objective: 97%, Threshold: 90%)

Track authorizations Compare actual spending versus plan/limit

ODC

(Objective: 97%, Threshold: 90%)

Track actual ODC versus plan/limit Track authorizations

Operations (Objective: 99%, Threshold: 90%)

Track System uptime Track planned change duration versus actual duration

c. Problem Notification Report. The Contractor shall notify the CO and the COR via a Problem Notification Report (PNR) as soon as a problem impacting staffing, task performance or delivery schedule becomes apparent to the Contractor (no later than 3 working days after problem identification). The Contractor shall include the nature and extent of the problem, whether it will impact delivery schedule, whether Government action is required, and what corrective action is needed. The CO will review the PNR and provide guidance to the Contractor. Such notification in no way limits any Government contractual rights or remedies including termination.

d. Monthly Task Order Financial Reports. The Contractor shall create and provide a Monthly Task Order Financial Report that contains line items for each task, sub-task, and project and display labor category, rate, planned and actual hours worked, and other charges incurred for each resource. The Contractor shall abide by a template or format agreed to or supplied by the COR. The Contractor shall abide by the due date agreed to or supplied by the COR. The details and format required for this report may be adjusted at any time by COR.

e. Support for Capital Planning and Investment Control. The ACF/OCIO is required to manage and produce reports to HHS and other federal agencies. The Contractor shall respond to ACF/OCIO’s data calls, requests for input and ad hoc support necessary for ACF/OCIO to comply with Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC), OMB Circular A-11 requirements for ACF systems, enterprise architecture and strategic planning which occur in differing reporting cycles. The Contractor shall support and provide data required by ACF/OCIO to manage the ACF Investment Portfolio and develop operating procedures for presentation to the governance boards in accordance with the standards required by the Clinger-Cohen Act.

f. Annual Operational Analysis. The contractor shall provide an operational analysis within the first two weeks of each option period which examines the current performance of the HSICC tasks involving Head Start websites, resource promotion, the customer service center, newswatch service, and collaboration with contributing partners. The analysis should consider customer results, strategic and business results, how the HSICC’s objectives could be better met, and how costs could be saved.

g. Project Completion Report. Within the last month of the contract, the contractor shall provide a project completion report. This report shall contain documentation of the current status of the project, a description of project successes, an assessment of overall project performance against planned project performance, including lessons learned that could apply to future projects. The report shall also advise on future actions to be taken for the continued success of the project.

In reference to the reporting activities, the COR will monitor performance and review reports, furnished by the Contractor to determine how the Contractor is performing. The Contractor shall be responsible for making required changes in processes and practices to ensure performance is managed effectively.

Task 8 Transition-In and Transition-Out

Sub-task 8.1: Transition-In

The transition-in shall ensure minimum disruption to vital Government business and shall be completed within 30 calendar days after contract award. Upon completion of the transition-in period, the Contractor shall be fully staffed and prepared to begin full performance under the requirements of the contract. The Contractor shall:

a. Propose a Transition-In Plan in their Management Approach which ensures there shall be no service degradation during transition, to be discussed at the Project Kick- Off Meeting. A final Transition-In Plan shall be presented no later than seven days after Project Kick-off meeting.

b. Attend a Project Kick-Off Meeting within five (5) days of contract award in Washington, D.C. to review and discuss tasks, timelines and potential challenges.

c. Prepare and deliver a Project Kick-Off Meeting Report that contains a written summary of issues discussed, resolution, and action items.