2017-N-18051_Attachment_J7_Task_Order_B_4-17-2017.pdf

ATTACHMENT J.7

REQUEST FOR TASK ORDER PROPOSAL (RFTOP): B

RAPID COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND SUPPORT FOR SUDDEN AND ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH

URGENT AND EMERGING ISSUES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT

Section B - Supplies Or Services and Prices/Costs

ITEM SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY

UNIT

PRICE

NOT TO

EXCEED

Professional Services for the project entitled, “Environmental Health Thesaurus and DTHHS

Communication Strategies

Technical Assistance Support” in accordance with the Performance Work Statement as set forth in Section C.

Inspection/Acceptance: Destination

F.O.B. Destination

Performance Period: Award effective date and 18 months thereafter

1 JOB

B.2 Type of task order

The Government contemplates award of a Time-and-Material Task Order.

B.3 Line(s) of Accounting: TBD

B.4 CDC37.0001 Non-Personal Services (April 2013)

(a) Personal services shall not be performed under this task order contract. Although the Government may provide sporadic or occasional instructions within the scope of the task order contract, the Contractor is responsible for control and supervision of its employees. If the Contractor (including its employees) believes any Government action or communication has been given that would create a personal services relationship between the Government and any Contractor employee, the Contractor shall promptly notify the Contracting Officer of this communication or action.

(b) The contractor shall comply with, and ensure their employees and subcontractors comply with, CDC Policy titled “Identification of Contractors' Employees and Safeguarding Government Information.” No Contractor employee shall hold him or herself out to be a Government employee, agent, or representative. No Contractor employee shall state orally or in writing at any time that he or she is acting on behalf of the Government. In all communications with third parties in connection with this contract, Contractor employees shall identify themselves as Contractor employees and specify the name of the company for which they work. . The contractor is limited to performing the services identified in the contract statement of work and shall not interpret any communication with anyone as a permissible change in contract scope or as authorization to perform work not described in the contract. All contract changes will be incorporated by a modification signed by the Contracting Officer.

(c) The Contractor shall ensure that all of its employees and subcontractor employees working on this contract are informed of the substance of this clause. The Contractor agrees that this is a non-personal services contract; and that for all the purposes of the contract, the Contractor is not, nor shall it hold itself out to be an agent or partner of, or joint venture with, the Government. The Contractor shall notify its employees that they shall neither supervise nor accept supervision from Government employees. The substance of this clause shall be included in all subcontracts at any tier.

(d) Nothing in this clause shall limit the Government's rights in any way under any other provision of the contract, including those related to the Government's right to inspect and accept or reject the services performed under this contract.

(End of Clause)

B.5 Service Definition (Check One)

Severable Service Non-Severable Service

SECTION C. STATEMENT OF WORK

Task Order No. B

Title of Project: Environmental Health Thesaurus and DTHHS Communication Strategies Technical Assistance Support

C.1 Background and Need

The mission of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) is to promote health and quality of life by preventing or controlling those diseases or deaths that result from interactions between people and their environment. The mission of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is to serve the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and disease related to toxic substances.

Environmental health is a complex field of study with a great deal of scientific, technical, and data-driven information that can be difficult to understand. Furthermore, usability testing has shown that ATSDR audiences are unfamiliar with ATSDR as a Federal agency and have limited understanding of what role ATSDR plays in environmental health. Various reports analyzing public perception and understanding of environmental health reveal a lack of understanding of the role environmental health plays in protecting the public’s health.

These findings demonstrate a need to find ways to articulate and promote NCEH and ATSDR’s message and value as well as to find effective ways to communicate the importance and relevance of select environmental health information.

C.2 Project Objectives

The primary objectives of this task order are to

Expand the NCEH/ATSDR environmental health thesaurus, Provide technical assistance support to one of the ATSDR divisions (DTHHS) with communication planning, and

Develop a template that NCEH/ATSDR staff can use to respond to environmental health emergencies.

C.3 Scope of Work

This scope of work for this project covers the following areas:

Plain Language: Provide technical assistance support to meet NCEH/ATSDR plain language obligations under the Plain Writing Act of 2010. Expanding the thesaurus will provide NCEH and ATSDR staff with a robust resource to help them more clearly explain critical environmental health concepts.

Communication Planning: Provide technical assistance support to better strategize how NCEH/ATSDR communicate environmental health information to both scientific and non-scientific audiences. This will enable ATSDR to more effectively communicate environmental health information and messages. Also assistance NCEH/ATSDR to develop a template that staff can use to respond to environmental health emergencies, especially in communication efforts with partners and media.

C.4 Technical Requirements

The contractor shall provide all necessary personnel, labor, facilities, equipment, materials, supplies, supervision, and other incidentals to provide the required expertise to enhance the capacity of the NCEH/ATSDR OC to provide communication services and support, and to produce and distribute communication messages and materials on selected NCEH/ATSDR topics and issues. The contractor must have the expertise to deliver the requirements and tasks as detailed below in the technical requirements.

These tasks are not necessarily sequential; some may occur simultaneously.

In performance of this task order, the contractor shall:

Task 1: Planning and Reporting Meet with the COR and NCEH/ATSDR staff within 3 weeks of award to discuss details of the task order, methodology, and timeline. The contractor shall hold additional periodic meetings with NCEH/ATSDR staff as directed by the COR to keep key personnel updated on progress and a timely accounting of expenditures and milestones. The contractor shall provide meeting summary notes to the COR within 3 days after the event.

Task 2: Expand the Environmental Health Thesaurus Work in collaboration with NCEH/ATSDR to identify up to 30 terms to be added to the NCEH/ATSDR environmental health plain language thesaurus. Develop tips, plain language explanations, and plain language alternatives for the terms. Update the master file and work with the NCEH/ATSDR web team to incorporate the updates. This task is ongoing and the specific delivery schedule to be determined by the COR as needed.

Task 3: Communication Strategies Work with NCEH/ATSDR OC staff as well as ATSDR division staff to assess current and plan future communication strategies and activities (for DTHHS). This task may include inventorying and evaluating existing communication products, identifying target audiences, identifying communication redundancies and gaps, and developing recommendations on how to more effectively communicate various messages to different audiences. The initial plan should be completed within 3 months after award of the task order.

Task 4: Enhancing Communication in an Environmental Health Emergency

Help NCEH/ATSDR develop a template that our staff and spokespersons can use to respond to environmental health emergencies. The template should include sections that help the spokesperson:

Communicate with partners (e.g., EPA, NIM, NIOSH, state emergency responders)

Easily understand what is known and unknown about the emergency and related scientific information

Anticipate the top 10-20 questions from media

The contractor will also deliver approximately 10 completed templates on selected environmental emergency topics. Here are some samples of environmental emergencies the template could be used for. The list is not all inclusive. The COR will specify the exact topics and provide sources for content after the task order is awarded.

Airborne or waterborne contaminant emergency

Chemical release (such as mercury release or chlorine gas release)

Fires (such as landfill fires, pesticide fires, or tire fires)

Natural disasters (such as flooding or an earthquake)

Task 5: Final Report The contractor shall create a final report that details all of the planning and communication activities conducted. Provide recommendations how to maintain current activities, and recommendations on how to improve and build upon what has been started.

C.5 Reporting Schedule

MONTHLY PROGRESS REPORT: The contractor shall deliver a monthly report (on the first working day of each month) to the COR noting progress and activity for the prior 30 days and planned activities for the upcoming 30 days.

C.6 Special Considerations

Contractor performance and resulting deliverables must adhere to all federal, HHS, and CDC IT security and privacy policies, standards, and procedures.

Privacy Act While the Privacy Act is not applicable, the appropriate security controls and Rules of Behavior should be incorporated to protect the confidentiality of information, proprietary, sensitive, and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) the Contractor may come in contact with during the performance of this contract. In addition to the non-disclosure agreement, the Contractor shall establish and follow the security precautions considered by the CDC to be necessary to ensure proper and confidential handling of data and information.

Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Notice

(a) Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board Electronic and Information (EIT) Accessibility Standards (36 CFR part 1194), require that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency. Section 508 also requires that individuals with disabilities, who are members of the public seeking information or services from a Federal agency, have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to that provided to the public who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden would be imposed on the agency.

(b) Accordingly, any offeror responding to this solicitation must comply with established HHS EIT accessibility standards.

Information about Section 508 is available at http://www.hhs.gov/web/508. The complete text of the Section 508 Final Provisions can be accessed at http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm.

(c) The Section 508 accessibility standards applicable to this contract are: 1194.22, .31, and .41.

In order to facilitate the Government's determination whether proposed EIT supplies meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, offerors must submit an HHS Section 508 Product Assessment Template, in accordance with its completion instructions. The purpose of the template is to assist HHS acquisition and program officials in determining whether proposed EIT supplies conform to applicable Section 508 accessibility standards. The template allows offerors or developers to self-evaluate their supplies and documentation detail - whether they conform to a specific Section 508 accessibility standard, and any underway remediation efforts addressing conformance issues. Instructions for preparing the HHS Section 508 Evaluation Template are available under Section 508 policy on the HHS Web site http://hhs.gov/web/508.

http://www.hhs.gov/web/508 http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm http://hhs.gov/web/508

In order to facilitate the Government's determination whether proposed EIT services meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, offerors must provide enough information to assist the Government in determining that the EIT services conform to Section 508 accessibility standards, including any underway remediation efforts addressing conformance issues.

(d) Respondents to this solicitation must identify any exception to Section 508 requirements. If a offeror claims its supplies or services meet applicable Section 508 accessibility standards, and it is later determined by the Government, i.e., after award of a contract or order, that supplies or services delivered do not conform to the described accessibility standards, remediation of the supplies or services to the level of conformance specified in the contract will be the responsibility of the Contractor at its expense.

C.7 Government Furnished Property - None.

C.8 Period of Performance - 18 months after task order award date.

C.9 Place of Performance – Contractor’s facility

C.10 Deliverables The contractor shall deliver, within the time frames specified, items 1 through 5 6 to the COR at the address shown in Section G. The contractor shall also deliver a copy of items 2 and 3 6 to the Contracting Officer (CO) at the email address shown in Section G. Specific reporting requirements will be discussed during the initial kick-off meeting.

All deliverables may be submitted electronically unless specified elsewhere:

Item No. Task Deliverable Recipient Completion Date

1 1 Planning Meetings Summary notes for each meeting during the course of the task order.

COR

Within 3 days after the event.

2 Section

C.5

Monthly Progress Report COR and CO To be delivered on the first working day of each month and thereafter

3 2 Completed files for expansion of the environmental health thesaurus

COR Within 9 months after task order award

4 3 Communication strategies (assessment and recommendations) for DTHHS

COR Within 18 3 months after task order award

5 4 Template for responding to environmental health emergency

COR Within 18 months after task order award

6 5 Final Report COR and CO Complete 18 months after task order award

Section G: Contract/Task Order Administration Data

G.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

NAME: TBD

CDC/ONDIEH/NCEH

Chamblee Campus, Bldg.

EMAIL:

PHONE: (770) 488-

G.2 CONTRACTING OFFICER (CO)

NAME: Betty Vannoy

CDC/OCOO/OFR/OAS

University Office Park, Colgate Bldg., MS K-69 EMAIL: bbv9@cdc.gov

PHONE: 770-488-2891

mailto:bbv9@cdc.gov

INSTRUCTIONS, CONDITIONS, AND NOTICES TO OFFERORS

SECTION L: INSTRUCTIONS FOR PREPARING FOR A TIME-AND-MATERIAL TASK ORDER

The Agency is issuing this competitive RFTOP under the RAPID COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AND

SUPPORT FOR SUDDEN AND ONGOING ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH URGENT AND

EMERGING ISSUES TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT program for the purpose of entering into a

Task Order. The Agency will conduct this acquisition using Subpart 15 under the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Offerors are required to submit both a written Technical Proposal (Volume 1, Section 2.2) and a Business Proposal

(Volume 2).

QUESTIONS

REFER TO THE SOLICITATION, SECTION L, FOR MORE DETAILS.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

REFER TO THE SOLICITATION, SECTION L, FOR MORE DETAILS.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR TASK ORDER TECHNICAL PROPOSAL:

FORMATTING

Page size 8.5 by 11 inches with 1 inch margins. Paragraphs single spaced. Minimum font size/style 12 point Times New

Roman font for Text, 9 point font in the Arial family for Tables, and 8 point font in the Arial family for Graphics. Tables and graphics may be landscape; all other text must be portrait.

If the offeror uses a different format (font size, margin, etc.), the government reserves the right to adjust the proposal to fit the parameters of the format as stated in the RFTOP, and if this results in the proposal exceeding the page limitations in any one area, the government will not consider those excess pages.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL PAGE LIMITATION: 10 pages. Resumes and appendices do not count toward the 10 page limit.

The proposal shall demonstrate that the offeror’s plan to accomplish the effort is feasible, efficient and effective, including recognition of potential performance difficulties/risks and appropriateness and soundness of proposed solutions. The following evaluation criteria will be used to evaluate the technical proposals:

SubFactor No. 1: Technical Approach:

Contractors shall provide a discussion of their technical approach for providing the services required for this task order. This discussion shall be in the contractor’s own words; not simply a regurgitation of the requirements listed.

SubFactor No. 2: Similar Experience:

Provide information reflecting the contractor’s organizational capacity for projects similar in complexity and scope.

Demonstrate experience with projects in public health communication, plain language/clear writing, and environmental health.

SubFactor No. 3: Recommendations:

Contractors are to provide ideas and/or suggestions about creative and/or innovative ways to accomplish either the processes or products described in this task.

SubFactor No. 4: Management Plan:

Contractors shall provide a management plan that describes their approach for managing the work outlined in this task order by demonstrating their understanding of the labor requirements listed in this RFTOP. Contractors shall provide

(1) a detailed description of how conflicts are managed; (2) a plan to ensure client satisfaction; and (3) a measurement of fiscal responsibility and accountability paying particular attention to the deliverable timeline in this task order.

SubFactor No. 5: Staffing Plan:

Contractors shall provide a detailed statement of staffing proposed for this task order, including (1) resumes from key personnel (limited to 5 pages (total)) outlining the credentials and background of key management, professional, and technical personnel to be used for this task order, including the percent time on this and other projects; (2) a detailed plan that describes current staff available for this task order and how the team will interface with CDC, as well as descriptions of methods used to recruit professional and technical staff as workloads increase, and/or emergencies or staff turnovers occur; and (3) a clear delineation of staff authorities and line of responsibility with special emphasis on relationships with subcontractors, other Contractors, and CDC partners.

BUSIENESS PROPOSAL (VOLUME 2): NO PAGE LIMITATION

Your business proposal shall be a separate volume from your technical proposal. The cost proposal is to be submitted as a Time-and-Material proposal.

Your business proposal should be based on your Labor Rate Schedule (Attachment J4 J5), utilizing any and all discounts. The Offeror must identify the labor category(s) to be utilized for this effort, a description of the skills and experience per category, and the hourly rate(s) proposed, and any other proposed associated costs, for calculating the proposed cost for this effort. Subcontractor rate information shall also be included, if applicable. List all other direct costs necessary for the performance of this task order.

In addition to the above, the price proposals shall include the following:

(a) A completed copy of Section B (Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs)

When preparing the business proposal, the contractor shall provide a matrix that’s lists the required each individual task

(total 5) in the technical proposal, the labor required for each task (position title, # of hours, hourly rate, total labor cost), and any other non-labor costs. The combined totals for all 5 tasks shall match the overall total cost as determined by the contractor in their proposal. This is in addition to any other instructions and business proposal guidelines provided in the

Solicitation.

ESTIMATED LEVEL OF EFFORT: The following is a level of effort estimate. This is only an estimate. Offerors are advised to carefully review the requirement in deriving the level of effort they believe necessary in providing their best value proposal. You are not bound to quote these labor categories or quantities, rather you are expected to provide your best solution citing the labor mix and quantity required to accomplish the tasks.

The Government considers a standard full year of labor per individual is 2080 hours minus holidays minus leave in accordance with an offeror’s policies. The number of hours actually used for each category may exceed or be less than the estimate by category, as long as the total ceiling price is not exceeded. The Contractor will not be reimbursed for any work performed in excess of the ceiling.

EVALUATION

Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria identified below:

The first five technical factors: 1: Technical Approach, 2: Similar Experience, 3: Recommendations, 4: Management

Plan, and 5: Staffing Plan are in descending order of importance and when combined are more important than Price.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL

SubFactor 1: Technical Approach:

This criterion will be evaluated according to the extent that it reflects a clear understanding of the subject areas to be accomplished and on the soundness, practicality, and feasibility of the contractor’s technical approach for providing the services required for this task order.

SubFactor 2: Similar Experience:

Evidence that the organization has current capabilities; and for assuring performance of this requirement. Evidence of supporting subcontractors, consultants and business partners will be considered. Appropriate mix and balance of education and training of team members.

SubFactor 3: Recommendations:

This criterion will be evaluated by examining the creative ideas offered and the rationale that supports the ideas presented

SubFactor 4: Management Plan:

This criterion will be evaluated according to the soundness, practicality, and feasibility of the contractor’s management plan for this task order.

SubFactor 5: Staffing Plan:

This criterion will be evaluated according to the soundness, practicality, and feasibility of the contractor’s staffing plan for this task order.

Labor Category Or equivalent Estimated Hours

Subject Matter Expert 20

Project Manager 49

Senior Web Designer/Developer 20

Communication Researcher II 20

Web Designer/Developer 20

Senior Health Communication Specialist 20

Senior Health Writer 20

Staff Associate 14

TOTAL 183

PRICE PROPOSAL

Technical Factors are more important than cost or price. Selection of the firm to perform this task order will be based on the Government’s assessment of the best overall value.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The resulting task order award will have a Performance Period from the award effective date and 18 months thereafter.

CONTRACT AWARD

Contract award shall be made to the responsible Offeror whose offer, in conforming to this RFTOP, provides an overall best value to the Government, technical evaluation factors, and cost considered. The Government's objective is to obtain the highest technical quality considered necessary to achieve the project objectives, with a realistic and reasonable cost.

Technical evaluation factors are more important than cost. In the event quotes are evaluated as technically equal in quality, price or cost will become a major consideration in selecting the successful Offeror.

Nothing follows