2012 SAMHSA IDIQ SOW and Domains.doc

2012 SAMHSA IDIQ Domains Domain I Feasibility, Pilot and Evaluation Projects

Domain II Statistical Projects

Domain III Health Systems Analysis, Economics, Financing and Informatics

Domain IV Technical Assistance and Training

Domain V Information Technology, Web and Extranet Projects

Domain VI Event Planning and Logistics

Domain I: FEASIBILITY, PILOT AND EVALUATION PROJECTS

Feasibility and Pilot Studies

The Contractor shall design, conduct, and report results from feasibility and pilot studies, as well as develop tools that increase fidelity to the implementation of successful models of intervention and/or program design. A feasibility study is usually done to determine whether or not an organizational activity, a service, a therapeutic procedure, a financial intervention, a treatment service, strategy, intervention, data collection equipment or a statistical operation or model will work as intended. Feasibility studies are usually small scale and completed over a relatively brief period of time. A pilot study is used to determine whether or not the results of a feasibility study can be successfully replicated under a broader set of circumstances that are reflective of the intended range of applicability. The Contractor shall identify the key components of the feasibility or pilot study; identify the units that will participate in the study and a procedure by which units will be sampled and invite units to participate in the study; arrange all logistics for the study; provide support to the units as the study is conducted; convene the sampled units as needed throughout the study; collect qualitative and quantitative information on unit performance in the study; and prepare a report on the outcome of the study.

Evaluations SAMHSA conducts evaluation studies of projects or programs in order to understand factors that may impede or contribute to its success; to explain linkages between project or program activities and outcomes; to assess effects beyond intended objectives; to estimate what would have occurred in the absence of a project or program, in order to assess net impact; or to compare the effectiveness of alternative interventions, projects or programs aimed at the same objectives. Evaluation studies can be experimental or non-experimental in design; and can include a range of qualitative and/or quantitative information for a number of subject areas. Evaluations may focus on: process or implementation to understand if the intervention, project, or program is operating as intended; outcomes to determine if projects or programs achieve intended objectives; impact by comparing what would have happened in the absence of the project or program; cost benefit and/or cost effectiveness to assess the costs to produce positive benefits or identify the least costly method of achieving objectives. SAMHSA evaluations may make use of multiple sources of data, such as: grantee progress reports, grantee local evaluation reports, performance data reported to SAMHSA, customer/client surveys, clinical instruments, field observation, and other sources. The Contractor shall have the capacity to design and/or execute such evaluation studies. In some instances, evaluation studies will have short deadlines and limited resources so careful attention must be devoted to selecting the most appropriate design and employ appropriate standards for health care research and statistical methodology.

The Contractor shall develop one or more preliminary evaluation design, which will measure relevant aspects of program performance. The products of this sub task will include instruments, a data collection plan, and a data analysis plan. The Contractor shall elucidate the questions to be addressed by the evaluation study; design an evaluation study capable of successfully answering the questions posed; invite participation in the study; arrange all logistics for the study; convene and conduct a technical support group; collect qualitative and/or quantitative information; analyze collected data and prepare a report that summarizes the essential questions, design, results, and discussion. In preparing summary reports, the contractor will work with the TOO to identify the target audience (there may be more than one for each program evaluation) and develop an information design approach that is focused on conveying abstract information in intuitive ways allowing the target audience to see, explore, and understand large amounts of information at once.

The Contractor shall meet with the TOO and program staff to obtain background information on the program to be evaluated, review these materials, conduct interviews with program staff, review data on program operations, assess current research on the program to be evaluated, which may require development of literature reviews; choose the appropriate/needed evaluation type (e.g., impact or outcome) of programs; develop or revise data collection instruments, prepare and submit Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance packages, if required, collect quantitative and/or qualitative data, ensure data quality and conduct ongoing analyses of data and apprise TOO of interesting findings, prepare short reports, topical reports, preliminary findings or other analytical reports for the TOO, and incorporate the TOO’s and other program staff’s comments in a final report; and provide briefings at request of TOO.

Domain II: STATISTICAL PROJECTS

Sampling Designs and Statistical Methods

The Contractor shall demonstrate expertise in complex sampling and survey design, in weighting, variance estimation, imputation and analyses of complex survey data, and in a wide range of additional statistical methods suitable for the analyses of survey data through direct staff and/or through consultant experts. The Contractor must make available staff and/or consultants, through appropriate logistical arrangements, who can provide advice to the Government in these specialized design and statistical areas—including the reporting requirements under the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010. The contractor shall demonstrate expertise in the establishment, implementation and evaluation of statistical disclosure limitation methods (SDL) for both tabular and micro data for household and establishment surveys. Advice may take the form of a consultation that includes design of a complex survey, design of a complex sampling procedure for a survey, design of compound weights and variance estimation for a survey, design of one or more complex statistical analyses, or some combination of these activities.

Acquiring, Developing, and Managing a Collection of National Data Bases

The Contractor shall identify Federal and/or non-Federal data bases pertinent to the scope of work (e.g., household surveys, facility surveys, employer surveys, census data, health claims databases, etc) that can provide answers to questions posed by the Government (inclusive of aspects of health care reform, parity or GPRA reporting). When such data bases are not available, the Contractor shall have the knowledge and capacity to provide advice on ways such data bases can be developed. This may include building such data bases from other preexisting data bases or recommending new data collections.

The Contractor shall search Federal, State, Local and private sources, as appropriate, for data bases that contain information that can answer the questions posed by the Government. When such data bases are identified, the Contractor shall determine the quality of the data, completeness, accessibility of the data, their costs, use agreements and fees, required security training, etc. Imputations and other methods to correct sampling error should be used as needed. Once the Government has concluded that the data bases are appropriate, the Contractor shall acquire and process them through appropriate logistical arrangements to answer the questions posed by the Government. In some instances, the Contractor shall process information for use by others (e.g., processing Federal information for use by the States).

When a new data collection is required, the Contractor shall perform all tasks associated with preparation of an instrument or questionnaire including the qualitative assessment of instruments, e.g., through focus groups and cognitive testing, including but not limited to preparation of necessary Office of Management and Budget (OMB) clearance packages, sampling design and execution, field data collection and cleanup, and electronic data files and tabular/graphical analyses. The work plan shall specify methods that will be used to collect data, whether on site, (e.g., face-to-face interview, or telephone) or, for large-scale data collections, via the Internet, diskette, or paper forms. The work plan shall define site selection criteria, and potential study sites, and indicate options and relative advantages of different sampling plans. The Contractor shall have the capacity to conduct large scale data collections (e.g., 30,000 – 40,000 behavioral health organizations or 35,000 clients); to collect data through the Internet, via computer-assisted telephone interviews or audio computer-assisted interviews or other electronic means, or on paper forms; to perform complex sampling and weighting procedures for probability samples and adjustment of missing data to account for non-response.

Analyses of National Datasets

The Contractor shall process and analyze Federal and/or non-Federal data sets, through appropriate logistical arrangements, that address the questions posed by the Government; undertake research to determine the quality and characteristics of these data sets; and plan appropriate analyses of the data sets to address specific questions.

The Contractor shall prepare analyses of the data sets in the most economical manner and prepare appropriate frequency, percentage, and rate distributions, or other statistical measures, e.g. variances. Special attention shall be devoted to economical procedures of data analysis, and contractor shall identify shortcuts and best practices that will reduce costs to the Government when large data sets are analyzed. In some instances, the Contractor may be required to work with weighted data collected through complex sampling designs or to prepare complex analyses (e.g., logistical regression) using these data bases. The Contractor will comply with all applicable Federal security, confidentiality, and privacy laws. In preparing summary reports, the contractor will work with the TOO to identify the target audience (there may be more than one for each program evaluation) and develop an information design approach that is focused on conveying abstract information in intuitive ways allowing the target audience to see, explore, and understand large amounts of information at once.

Analyses of Complex Quantitative Data

If involved in a survey, the Contractor shall prepare analyses of complex data sets, whether for survey data derived from complex sampling designs or for analysis of cost, service utilization and population distinctions. This will entail the preparation of statistics and their associated variances using the SUDAAN, Westvar, STATA, or other appropriate software. Software shall be provided by the contractor. Such results will also be used to prepare variance curves or design effect tables for inclusion in reports to be provided to users who want to interpret the statistics from a survey. To perform this work successfully, the contractor must have staff and/or consultants with advanced expertise in statistics, econometrics, sampling, weighting, imputations, and variance statistics. The Contractor shall prepare a summary report that integrates findings from the data analysis and literature review, and as required, identify current gaps in knowledge. In preparing summary reports, the contractor will work with the TOO to identify the target audience (there may be more than one for each program evaluation) and develop an information design approach that is focused on conveying abstract information in intuitive ways allowing the target audience to see, explore, and understand large amounts of information at once.

Development, Implementation, and Testing of Quality Tools

The Contractor shall conduct a range of activities and make logistical arrangements with respect to topics identified by the Government from the following areas: clinical and system practice guidelines, outcome measures, population and service report cards, and performance indicator systems. This work may include analyses that address the compilation and reporting of GPRA measures employed by the Centers’ programs. These activities shall include a review of current literature and practice; development of structures, processes, measures, criteria, and benchmarks; consultation with key persons and groups (e.g., a panel of experts to discuss, review, and a critique of indicators of substance abuse and other behavioral health related problems); preparation of synoptic reports for target audiences; review of developments in parallel fields; examination of new technology and its potential application to the field; and other tasks that promote the development, testing, implementation, and assessment of quality tools.

The Contractor shall make available direct contract staff and/or consultants who can carry out each of these tasks. The Contractor shall demonstrate both substantive and methodological expertise.

Domain III: Health System Analysis, Economics, Financing and Informatics Population, System, Organizational, and Financial Analyses

Recent efforts at National, State, Tribal and Local health reform associated with the organization, financing, design and delivery of mental health services and supports; substance abuse prevention activities and services; and, substance abuse treatment and supports that have important implications for policymakers and bear examination. This includes trends in both the public and private sectors which have implications for approaches taken to enrolled populations and access services (e.g., prevention and early intervention activities; bi-directional integration of primary and behavioral health; information and informatics on health status, behavioral health screening, quality measurement and outcomes); for new system and organization designs that are emerging (e.g., performance based organizations, Accountable Care Organizations; health homes; the shift of care such as from inpatient to outpatient models, consumer operated services and peer provided services, increased MH/SA care in primary care); and for financial reforms (e.g., pay for performance, global payments, episode payments, cost offsets and cost effectiveness, return on investment, actuarial implications of benefit packages, State and National spending estimates and projections) that are currently underway.

The Contractor must have the capacity to conduct quantitative, qualitative, and actuarial analyses with respect to topics identified by SAMHSA including but not limited to health care reform, financing, organization, and accessing care. The Contractor shall be knowledgeable of the issues in each area of this domain and the state of development of each area. The Contractor shall identify both private sector and public sector information currently available on each topic, and the deficits of such information; and shall propose and execute analyses to address key issues in each area identified by the Government, including necessary logistics. To perform this work successfully, the contractor must have substantive knowledge in health reform and managed care of behavioral healthcare systems; methodological knowledge of how to conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses; and policy knowledge with respect to how knowledge can be translated into policy options.

The Contractor shall identify, obtain and analyze large Federal and/or non-Federal data sets that address topics identified by SAMHSA; undertake health econometric, statistical, and actuarial analysis to plan and implement methodologically strong analyses of the data sets to address specific questions. In some instances, the Contractor may be required to work with weighted data collected through complex sampling designs or to prepare complex analyses (e.g., logistical regression) using these data bases.

The Contractor should also be familiar with health econometric techniques, projections and forecasting methods, ability to impute missing information, understanding of surveys and sampling methodologies, experience with a wide array of health data sources, detailed knowledge of national health accounts, techniques for quality assurance, trend analysis, and sound judgment about data quality and usefulness. The Contractor should be familiar with a large number of different national health data sets, understanding their content, strengths and weaknesses so they may select the best data set or sets for addressing the indentified financing questions. Technical capabilities also include a wide array of research techniques for special studies to improve the spending estimates and the ability to present technical materials in written and graphical form to non-technical audiences. In addition to these technical capabilities, policy expertise is necessary. Such knowledge must encompass a detailed understanding of mental health and substance abuse treatment services, spending, and financing; knowledge of Federal and State policies related to mental health and substance abuse; and a broad understanding of the U.S. health care system and its trends in practice patterns, spending, and financing. The contractor should have the capacity to apply their understanding of the behavioral healthcare system and how SAMHSA’s strategic initiatives and program resources can further support health reform in America. The Contractor should be able to perform meta analyses of the literature and write at a level acceptable for publication in peer reviewed journals.

The Contractor should be able to prepare a variety of special reports integrating financing concerns of the current mental health and substance abuse treatment literature and trends, highlighting policy relevant findings. These special reports will explore cost, service utilization, special populations or other trends to further refine the spending estimates and to explore the factors that affect the trends in spending.

Prior to implementation of studies, there will be a full explication of the planned study, including discussion of relevant literature, a detailed methods review that includes data sources as well as statistical, actuarial or econometric techniques, and explication of the policy question to be addressed by such analysis. It will also propose the manner in which findings will be reported. Identification and use of large data sets both internal and external to SAMHSA is expected, covering various data sets, such as household surveys, facility surveys or claims based/encounter databases.

During the course of the historical projections and estimation work, technical, expert advice may be required on highly specialized health topics relating to these estimates. Such estimates should be performed in a manner consistent with other Federal data, such as the CMS Health Accounts, and utilize a range of health databases. Spending estimates should address National and State behavioral health spending from both public and private payers, in a range of provider groups, and in specialty and primary care settings. Although it is not possible to specify all of the types of specialized consultation that may be necessary during the course of the contract, it is likely that specialized consultation and assistance will be required. The Contractor should have knowledge of and relationships with leading behavioral health experts in a range of financing issues who may assist. These consultants will be engaged for a specific review of proposed description of the methods and/or other specialized technical consultation related to contract deliverables.

Domain IV: TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING PROJECTS

SAMHSA frequently provides access to technical assistance and training to its program grantees to support successful program implementation and enhance program outcomes. Technical assistance is most effective when it targets a specific need, is delivered by a content expert who has developed a collaborative relationship with the TA recipient, is delivered when the expertise is needed and in a manner that is culturally appropriate and accessible.

Technical assistance needs are identified in a variety of ways—SAMHSA-driven based on strategic priorities and objectives and/or programmatic goals, needs assessments, grantee request, State, Tribal Organization, community, school/college/university, individual request, etc. The Contractor will work with the TOO to identify technical assistance needs, identify appropriate resources and respond to requests in a timely manner. Technical assistance and training delivery should take into account the requestor’s organizational capacity, stage of program planning or implementation, Federal program requirements, cultural or linguistic factors, and program objectives.

SAMHSA through its many programs and partnerships works to improve understanding of mental and substance use disorders and effective treatments, promote emotional health and prevent substance abuse and mental illness. SAMHSA’s strategic initiatives address trauma, support military families, improve access to culturally competent, high-quality care; develop community, peer, and family support; build information systems; and promote important messages about behavioral health. SAMHSA serves as a key resource to the behavioral health field and to allied partners in behavioral health and may provide technical assistance and training related to a specific program, in support of SAMHSA’s eight strategic initiatives (for more information go to http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA11-4629?from=carousel&position=4&date=04192011); or on other topics that may be identified by SAMHSA. SAMHSA’s eight strategic initiatives are:

· Prevention of Substance Abuse and Mental Illness

· Trauma and Justice

· Military Families

· Recovery Support

· Health Reform

· Health Information Technology

· Data, Outcomes, and Quality

· Public Awareness and Support For more information on SAMHSA’s Strategic Initiatives go to http://store.samhsa.gov/product/SMA11-4629?from=carousel&position=4&date=04192011.

Establish and Maintain a Technical Assistance and Training Program

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a technical assistance (TA) and training program to provide TA and training in one or more of the programmatic areas targeted by SAMHSA. These areas include, but are not limited to: strategic prevention framework, data-driven prevention planning, building community capacity and coalitions, program development and implementation in a variety of service settings, implementation of evidence-based practices, health reform, parity, recovery supports, and other changes in financing or organization of care at national, State, sub-State, and local service delivery systems.

The Contractor shall have the capacity to provide staff or consultants with the expertise to deliver technical assistance or training on a wide variety of topics to a variety of audiences. This will include providing technical assistance and/or training in a culturally appropriate manner and include bilingual trainers and technical assistance specialists. This will also include providing such services to facilitate consumer/peer-operated approaches and include consumer/peer trainers and technical assistance specialists.

Technical assistance and training may be provided by experts to representatives from public and private purchasers and consumers of services, including families, public health agencies, national organizations, providers, employer organizations, accreditation associations, the managed care industry, researchers, evaluators, business, and labor organizations, advocates and other substance abuse and mental health constituency groups, State, Territory, jurisdiction, sub State (e.g., county), and local government officials, Tribal government representatives, representatives from Federal agencies, schools and colleges and universities, and others. For recipients of Medicaid and Medicare and other Federal and State funded services this may include community organizations, churches and the faith community, and Head Start Centers.

Develop Technical Assistance and Training Materials and Mechanisms

The Contractor shall ascertain gaps in existing training initiatives that address mental health, substance abuse and other behavioral and physical health problems and linkages between them and identify potential audiences for training. The Contractor shall identify and review curricula and its suitability for use as a web-based training course and develop a plan for modifying existing curricula for suitability as a web-based course. The Contractor shall develop or adapt training materials and mechanisms using advanced methodology and technology. In addition, the TOO/COTR may direct the contractor to provide topic specific training. This may include on-site training and/or developing rapidly produced on-line and web-based tutorials and training courses for a wide range of prevention and treatment—including recovery supports—problems and activities, implementation of new health care reform or parity laws or regulations, needs assessment, program planning, selection of evidence-based practices, adaptation or translation of evidence-based practices, sustaining program activities, principles and outcomes, consumer/peer-peer operated services, managed care, health homes and other bi-directional integration efforts of primary and behavioral health care, cultural sensitivity, assistance to military families, Accountable Care Organizations, and other approaches to addressing health disparities, culturally based interventions, and trauma induced health problems; performance and other quality measurement, program and services evaluation, new models in financing care such as pay for performance, etc.

Provide Technical Assistance and Training

The Contractor shall provide technical assistance through a variety of mechanisms that may include: training at geographically distant consumer sites; at regional or national meetings; providing expert consultants or staff to deliver workshops, training at leadership institutes and policy academies; or through webinars, podcasts, teleconferences and other social media vehicles in order to deliver technical assistance and training while minimizing costs. The Contractor shall utilize multi disciplinary teams to provide technical assistance and training, Training of Trainers (TOT), State-to-State, provider-to-provider, peer-to-peer, etc. Technical assistance and training may be provided simultaneously to multiple programs or sites or may be individualized to a particular organization, grantee or program.

Technical Assistance Support

The Contractor shall have the capacity to receive telephonic, written and/or e-mail requests for technical assistance and have the capacity to secure or develop appropriate resources including training protocols developed by others, expert staff or consultants, deliver TA and training through a variety of medium mentioned above; and arrange logistics for staff, consultant or participant travel.

The Contractor should work with the TOO to develop a process to track TA and training requests, triage them, assign appropriate resources, seek and receive approval from GPO and analyze by types of request and other possible factors. The process should have the ability to measure time at each process step and estimate cost of episode of TA by type, delivery method, content area, etc.

Domain V: IT INFRASTRUCTURE AND WEB AND EXTRANET SITE PROJECTS

Information Technology (IT) Projects

The Contractor will provide comprehensive information security and privacy support services to the SAMHSA Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and the SAMHSA Division of Technology Management (DTM) and other divisions within SAMHSA as necessary. The result will be the full implementation of a comprehensive security program capable of responding to Federal and Departmental mandates and the continuation of a risk-based security posture flexible enough to respond to the changing nature of information security and privacy threats. The contractor will provide program management, governance, compliance, privacy and technical support to ensure the program’s continued development into a mature program characterized by formal, repeatable processes, and quality customer service.

IT Security Program Support

The contractor will assist the SAMHSA CISO in shaping and developing a strategic plan which defines the purpose and direction of the Division of Technology Management (DTM) and guides the information security and privacy activities of the Agency.

The contractor will facilitate and structure communications to ensure consistent and high quality program deliverables and communications. The contractor will also develop materials for speaking engagements or workshops, as necessary, host events designed to promote awareness of information security and privacy, and create and distribute communications that will inform SAMHSA stakeholders of programmatic activities, initiatives, federal requirements, policies, guidelines, training and education tools and other pertinent news.

The contractor will assist the CISO in meeting SAMHSA’s programmatic needs by ensuring the allocated contractor budget, communications, and personnel management processes are coordinated and streamlined. The contractor’s program management activities will also provide for change management, risk management, and performance management support.

The contractor will assist SAMHSA in ensuring that all systems are properly inventoried consistent with Federal and Departmental requirements. The contractor’s efforts will involve oversight of each key FISMA requirement and focus area, placing special emphasis on the topics areas below:

The contractor will support SAMHSA’s ongoing effort to identify a complete, robust inventory of SAMHSA’s systems to include major and minor applications. The contractor will assist the SAMHSA CISO in identifying responsible system owners and educate each on their responsibilities under FISMA as well as SAMHSA and HHS policy. The contractor will provide continuous monitoring of the system inventory and ensure SAMHSA systems are accurately reported to the Department via the Department’s FISMA reporting tool for the purposes of FISMA and PMA reporting.

The contractor will accomplish security authorization activities in compliance with NIST guidance and HHS and SAMHSA policies. The complete certification and accreditation package will include a System Security Plan (SSP); Security Categorization; Contingency Plan (CP); Self Assessment; System Security Test and Evaluation Plan (ST&E Plan); Risk Assessment Report; Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M); Certification Letter; Accreditation Letter.

In addition to security authorization development, the contractor will review validity, completeness, and compliance of the certification and accreditation packages submitted to SAMHSA by external contractors for contractor-hosted systems. This package, at minimum, should include the System Security Plan (SSP), the Contingency Plan (CP), the Self-Assessment (SA), the Risk Assessment (RA), and the Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M). The contractor will generate a summary of the security authorization package reviewed, providing detailed comments from the review of the security authorization package. The contractor will also draft the Certification Letter and the Accreditation Letter in support of the SAMHSA CIO and the system’s designated approving authority (DAA). The contractor will also maintain the copies of the security authorization packages.

The contractor will maintain, manage and develop annual information security and privacy awareness courses, regular refresher training, training for individuals with significant security responsibilities and supplemental IT security materials (e.g., articles, newsletters, posters)

The contractor will provide subject matter expertise to the Agency in order to develop and support organization-wide approaches to meeting privacy challenges. This effort will include developing an agency-level privacy program that allows privacy to align with and protect sensitive information and client privacy, implementing a well constructed privacy program strategy, and managing the privacy program programming and budgeting. The contractor will provide a model privacy program that identifies privacy risks, implements appropriate solutions and best practices, and establishes performance measures and metrics to determine success. The contractor program will address privacy reporting, compliance and training and awareness activities.

The contractor will ensure that support is in place to address ad hoc request in areas such as social security number reduction as referenced in OMB Memoranda (M) 07-16 and breach response activities. The contractor will provide Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) development and oversight for all items produced on behalf of SAMHSA. The contractor will work collaboratively with SAMHSA’s information security and privacy staff to ensure PIAs are developed in compliance with Federal legislation and maintained on an ongoing basis. In addition to PIA development, the contractor will ensure that System of Record Notices (SORNs) are crafted and maintained. The program will work to ensure that stakeholders, including system owners and external contractors, are held accountable for ensuring that citizen and employee data is not exploited.

SAMHSA requires additional technical support to address ongoing security activities that take place in within SAMHSA. Such efforts include, but are not limited to, information security policy and procedure management and development, incident management support, system vulnerability management, configuration management and enterprise integration. Technical support is largely directed by current security issues facing SAMHSA’s information security environment.

The contractor will maintain SAMHSA’s information security policy to ensure it is updated on at least an annual basis; ensure existing policy documentation remains compliant with FIPS 200, and NIST requirements; and develop new or supplemental policies, procedures or guidance to ensure continued Federal and Departmental compliance that respond to emerging security issues and threats.

The contractor will leverage the use of various vulnerabilities detection tools to scan and locate vulnerabilities within the SAMHSA’s various computing environments. The contractor will also utilize tools to track these vulnerabilities and develop a repeatable and consistent methodology to manage their mitigation.

508 Compliance Technical Assistance To provide technical assistance and support for Section 508 compliance by the establishment of a Section 508 Technical Assistance and Support Help Desk at SAMHSA.

The Contractor will provide individualized subject-matter technical assistance on applicability of certain standards to existing and emerging technologies. This will also include the conversion of current and legacy products to 508 standards. In addition, the Contractor will provide advice and support in the selection of Section 508 compliant products (fax machines, printers, copiers, etc).

The contractor will be expected to participate in official meetings, project oversight management, project tracking and evaluations; perform all activities required for the Section 508 Official’s coordination efforts within SAMHSA, including education and outreach, specialized consulting, compliance and accessibility testing; and prepare documents to meet compliance requirements.

Information Technology Capital Planning Support In FY1997, the SAMHSA Chief Information Officer (CIO) implemented an Information Technology (IT) Capital Planning Process as required under the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996, also known as the Clinger-Cohen Act (CCA). The contractor will support the process, to include the following specific tasks:

· Develop portfolio management processes to support strategic decision-making;

· Ensure IT investments directly support mission critical SAMHSA business needs;

· Capture project information for IT investments for responding to internal and external data calls;

· Provide mechanisms to establish priorities among IT investments;

· Assess investments from a technical soundness perspective; and

· Provide mechanisms for the review of performance utilizing metrics.

The scope of the effort includes coordination of data calls and fulfilling requests from the SAMHSA CIO. Specifically, this support includes in-depth analysis and action in the following areas: development and maintenance of the SAMHSA enterprise architecture; assessing the impact of proposed actions on SAMHSA IT projects, practices and policies; analyses of alternatives to carry out IT projects based requirements; support of the internal Investment Review Board; aligning IT investments with the enterprise architecture; developing data collection and reporting tools; training staff in the area of IT planning principles; and any other activity related to portfolio management and capital planning.

The scope of this task under this domain also includes the ability to leverage existing capital planning knowledge beyond the office of the SAMHSA CIO to the other Offices and Centers within SAMHSA.

The Contractor shall provide overall project management support and qualified staff to perform activities such as preparing and overseeing work plans, schedules, and expenditures; interacting with the various points of contact for specific tasks regarding progress, issues and concerns; reviewing reports and related documents; periodic progress reports; supporting meetings; participation in special briefings as requested; preparing meeting agendas, minutes or notes, issues and action items; distribution of meeting documentation; and participation in the dissemination of information regarding status of various projects and special projects as directed.

The contractor shall provide support to the SAMHSA DTM, and/or other staff within SAMHSA or DHHS, with managing the implementation of capital planning and portfolio management processes and tools by providing analysis of existing portfolio components, developing training materials and providing related training, and assisting with the development of business cases for SAMHSA IT projects.

The contractor shall develop and maintain enterprise architecture according to and meeting all of the latest OMB and DHHS guidance and mandates. In addition, the contractor shall review SAMHSA’s OMB Exhibits 53 and 300 to assure they are in full compliance with OMB, DHHS, and other government initiatives and requirements.

The contractor shall provide support to the CIO by providing special analyses, developing various reports and presentations as needed by the CIO, and coordinating any special logistical considerations. This task also includes, but is not limited to, the planning and preparation for SAMHSA Information Technology Investment Review Board meetings, the taking of minutes at those meetings, checking the accuracy of those minutes with attendees, and the distribution of the approved minutes to attendees.

The contractor shall provide assistance in the editing and writing of documents produced by the IT Division and other appropriate groups within SAMHSA. This support includes, but is not limited to, OMB reports, Capital Planning & Investment Control (CPIC) procedures, Information Technology Investment Review Board business cases, and any other documents needed by the CIO and/or the Government.

The contactor shall provide training to SAMHSA staff, including, but not limited to, development of an OMB Exhibit 300 for a major IT project.

Information Technology Desktop Support The scope of this effort is for SAMHSA to obtain the highly technical information technology support services necessary to provide the full range of information technology support to help meet the Agency’s mission.

In order to accomplish this objective, the contractor shall provide the following support services:

1. Provide management of personnel performing the variety of tasks to be carried out under this contract;

2. Provide direct, personal assistance to SAMHSA employees in the use of desktop printers, laptop computers, facsimile machines, scanning equipment, handheld devices, specifically the Blackberry, and any other IT equipment not supported by the OITO/ITSC that is part of the SAMHSA technical infrastructure. This assistance will be conducted on a one-to-one basis, as the result of specific requests from staff for help, and through the initiation of various outreach efforts by the contractor;

3. Assist Government staff with the development and updating of documents describing internal Division and IT Team standard operating procedures and work processes to assure that the procedures and processes being used are up to date and best industry practices in the field of information technology;

4. Provide periodic evaluations of the current state of the information technology being used by the agency. Provide periodic reports on new developments in the state-of-the-art, future trends and developments in the information technology field, and how the deployment of new technology might be cost effective and beneficial for SAMHSA;

5. Provide advice and counsel in response to specific questions regarding the very technical aspects of information technology infrastructure support and maintenance, such as the adequacy of a particular personal desktop computer configuration;

6. Provide training, in a variety of ways, to potential users of the available information technology so that they are better able to fully utilize all of the resources available to them; and

7. Provide data entry support when it is required by SAMHSA.

Internet, Intranet and Extranet Support The Contractor shall have the staff and the capacity to design and implement web sites that have a range of functions, including simple information transfer, query capacity, and the capacity for video and textual streaming. In order to meet Federal procedures, policies and regulations regarding the implementation of web sites, the Contractor shall have documented knowledge and experience in this area.

Coordinate linkage with SAMHSA DTM, SAMHSA Office of Communications and other SAMHSA sponsored Web Sites . The Contractor shall collaborate and coordinate with SAMHSA’s Division of Technology Management (DTM) to design and maintain the content of SAMHSA’s Web and Extranet sites for dissemination of data related to SAMHSA programs.

Adherence to HHS and SAMHSA Web Policies The Contractor shall follow all HHS and SAMHSA Web Policies. Any development and production of Internet/Web applications, including Intranets and Extranets shall comply with HHS and SAMHSA Web Policies and Procedures. These policies and procedures cover web sites, web page linkages, web content development, and agency programmatic, concept, and technical clearances. All new Task Orders or modifications to existing Task Orders involving Internet/Web sites will require programmatic and concept clearances from the Office of Communications and IT clearances from SAMHSA’s DTM. The SAMHSA Web Site is the only authorized web site. Any web sites created by the Contractor will become part of the SAMHSA Web Site. Applications development may be accomplished on the Contractor’s server however production versions must reside on the SAMHSA/DTM server.

Site, Content, and Functionality Design, Development, Implementation, and Maintenance The Contractor shall develop Web content, within a content management system, to provide interactive access to Federal and other public and private sector information, guidance, and other resources that address the promotion of emotional wellness, the identification, early intervention and treatment of mental and substance use disorders in various settings; the prevention of mental illness and substance use disorders, and other related topics. The Web content may include, but not be limited to research findings, managed care, treatment and intervention issues, including needs assessment, policy issues development, education, training, EAP, workplace, drug testing, certification and practice guidelines, chat capabilities with which to exchange ideas and discuss related issues involving public and private substance abuse issues, strategies, initiatives, and programs. Appropriate Federal, State, and private sector agencies shall be consulted for advice and input.

The Contractor shall plan for, facilitate, and expedite the migration of all production (as opposed to development) web content from the Contractor’s web site to the SAMHSA web site. The Contractor shall prepare an IT Plan to migrate the web content from the vendor site to the SAMHSA server. The IT Plan should include functional requirements (e.g., data, workloads, user interface, reliability, security, and maintenance), technical requirements (e.g., hardware, software, and telecommunications) and operational and other requirements. It should also include major IT Plan milestones and implementation dates of the migration project. The draft and final IT Plan will be submitted as a deliverable to the TOO. The Contractor shall continue maintenance and updating the web content and shall insure that the server system is designed to meet the electronic communication needs of the external and internal agency users, as the need arises. At a minimum, the Contractor shall provide: (1) the system for creating, sending, receiving, and downloading messages and attachments electronically; (2) a system for posting and downloading information files; and (3) employ a graphics utility interface to access the web site’s services.

All web content developed under this requirement shall be created in HTML/XML electronic formats to facilitate the comprehensive and efficient paper-less retrieval of information. The Contractor shall address critical design, operation, management, and maintenance issues, such as access to, and organization of, information and ease of use, proposed core subject areas, the schedule for maintaining and updating the site data set, posting of print and downloaded electronic resources, consistency of site design with existing SAMHSA and DHHS sites, the use of graphics, color, animation, voice, the loading speed of web pages, and balancing design versus load time. All document developed must be 508 compliant. The Contractor shall assure appropriate security, including encryption and firewalls.

Site Management and Evaluation

The Contractor shall identify and monitor measures of subject matter relevance, ongoing assessment through inquiry and user feedback of user activity. The Contractor shall perform an ongoing assessment through inquiry responses and user feedback to ascertain the value of the data collected to the site(s) users.

Medical Informatics Support

At present, a major focus of IT development in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the implementation of the electronic transfer, privacy, security, and electronic patient record provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. The Contractor shall have a documented understanding of HIPAA requirements and be able to apply this to both content and IT issues that arise in its implementation.

SAMHSA is interested in promoting the effective organization, analysis, management, and use of behavioral health care information in support of patient care, public health, teaching, research, administration, and related policy issues. The Contractor should have demonstrated expertise in health informatics to aide SAMHSA in developing meaningful use standards in partnership with other behavioral healthcare providers, work with standards organizations to develop IT system requirements to support interoperability, maintain information security and protect patient privacy.

The contractor shall assist SAMHSA subject matter experts in the development of medical informatics standards, participation in medical informatics standards development organizations (SDO) such as HL7, and related tasks such as the development of ontologies, domain analyses models, and XML schema. Experience with HL7 Version 3, the Reference Information Model, and HL7 methodologies are essential. At the discretion of the Project Officer, onsite participation at SDO meetings will be required as will participation in weekly conference calls held by the SDO. The contractor should be familiar with the concepts and issues involved in the implementation of a common terminology service, privacy consent management service, federal privacy regulations, and related issues.

Domain VI: Event Planning and Logistics (Small, Disadvantaged Business SET-ASIDE)

The Contractor shall perform a range of activities in support of planning and implementing the programmatic events of SAMHSA. These activities shall include: consultation with the TOO regarding attendees, sites, dates, agendas, preparation of meeting/event materials. The Contractor shall arrange travel, hotel accommodations, and reimbursement of per diem for travelers attending each event. The Contractor should have the ability to reimburse participants for travel costs or, for some events, pay for room blocks.