2B - PWS_Federal Retirement and Financial Training.pdf

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Performance Work Statement

February 2026

Contents Project Title General Information

1.0 Background and Purpose

2.0 Definitions

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

4.0 Deliverable / Schedule

5.0 Government Furnished

6.0 Travel

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

8.0 Security Requirements

9.0 Data Rights

10.0 Section 508 - Electronic and Information Technology Standards

11.0 Performance Requirement Measures

12.0 Service Level Agreements

Attachment

Project Title Financial Literacy, Retirement and Thrift Savings Plan eLearning Course Content

General Information

1.0 Background and Purpose

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is made up of 29 agencies, serving the American people at more than 4,500 locations around the country and abroad. USDA has a diverse mission, supporting the American agricultural economy to strengthen rural communities; protecting and conserving our natural resources; and providing a safe, sufficient, and nutritious food supply for the American people.

USDA employs approximately 70,000 employees to work in a wide variety of locations, from remote rural offices, metropolitan areas, secluded forests, university campuses and foreign countries. Because USDA employees are at different stages in their employee lifecycle, their training needs vary from introduction to Federal employee benefits to basic financial planning training to save for emergencies. USDA is committed to employee’s retirement and financial literacy training and developing new, innovative ways to meet and exceed the retirement and financial literacy requirements.

USDA demonstrates its commitment to educating its employees on retirement, employee benefits, wellness and financial issues in all locations including remote or rural locations, with a desire to excel beyond the mandatory financial literacy educational requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management’s Benefits Administration Letter 11-104.

We know that almost 60,000 of our employees are covered by the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS), which requires the employees to be engaged in saving for retirement from the beginning of their career so that they have adequate Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) savings for retirement. In addition, we know employees need basic financial training on issues such as saving for an emergency, debt management, and situations during a government shutdown.

USDA employees’ access most of their training through our enterprise learning management system (LMS). The Department’s LMS, along with shared e-learning service providers, contributes to USDA’s employee development needs. USDA’s Agriculture Learning (AgLearn) provides a common learning management system (LMS) and e-learning services that enable USDA to maximize the return on taxpayer investment. AgLearn has a robust and secure environment to accommodate approximately 140,000 end users, 2,000 administrators and 30 unique agencies.

AgLearn is the Department-wide system for managing training records and activities at USDA.

The AgLearn Program resides within USDA’s Office of the Chief Information Officer, Digital Infrastructure Services Center, Digital Services Center Division, AgLearn Branch organizational structure.

This requirement meets the OPM guidance outlined in their Benefits Administration Letter (BAL) Number 11 – 104.

2.0 Definitions

ACR - Accessibility Conformance Report CDR - Contract Discrepancy Report COR - Contracting Officer’s Representative CSRS - Civil Service Retirement System FERS - Federal Employees Retirement System IaaS – Infrastructure as a Service ICT - Information and Communications Technology IRA - Individual Retirement Account ITI - Information Technology Industry Council LMS - Learning Management System PWS - Performance Work Statement

SaaS - Software as a Service SAML - Security Assertion Markup Language TSP - Thrift Savings Plan VPAT - Voluntary Product Accessibility Template

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

The vendor must supply the following eLearning course content for the following topics:

• Financial Planning, Retirement and TSP Courses for early, mid, and late career Federal employees

- Minimum 3 civilian courses for FERS and CSRS (1 course per career stage)

- Minimum 3 civilian courses for FERS Special and CSRS Special (1 course per career stage)

• Savings Strategy for TSP and TSP Roth

- Minimum 1 course

• New Employee Benefits Orientation

- Minimum 2 courses - 1 for FERS and 1 for FERS Special

The vendor’s eLearning course content must include:

• Learning objectives for all courses

• Resources to assist employees develop a personal financial plan

• Additional resources for course topics

• Knowledge checks in each or every two modules to test employees’ understanding of the course material

Courses must be continuously updated to include the most current information on topics such as Federal benefits, TSP and 401(k) rules, tax laws, and investment rates of return.

Provide employees with educational requirements described in the Office of Personnel Management’s Benefits Administration Letter 11-104 on retirement, employee benefits, wellness and financial topics covering the mandatory financial literacy and beyond. The training and learning content will provide details on FERS, CSRS, TSP and New Employee Benefits Orientation for early, mid and late career federal employees as well as resources to assist employees develop a personal financial plan.

The vendor must provide up to 90,000 licenses to USDA Federal employees. All course content must include interactive exercises to increase knowledge retention. Courses must be created by a Certified Financial Planning Professional as designated by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board).

All courses must be Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) or Aviation Industry Computer-based Training Committee (AICC) conformant and Section 508 compliant. For detailed Section 508 language, please refer to Section 10 in this PWS.

The vendor’s eLearning content must integrate with USDA LMS, AgLearn. AgLearn’s platform is TotaraGov. TotaraGov is a FedRAMP solution. Users must be able to log into AgLearn and access the courses via SAML.

In addition, the vendor:

• Must not include fees related to live seminars, hosting, or other learning sessions.

• May provide introductory webinars to introduce courses to employees as well as benefits personnel.

• Must provide licenses to its already developed online financial literacy, TSP, and Retirement training materials to be hosted on AgLearn.

• Will allow for AgLearn to purchase additional licenses for external Federal departments/agencies outside of

USDA for whom they provide hosting services.

• Must incorporate different learning styles to include courses, pre-recorded videos, virtual sessions for both the visual and auditory learners.

https://www.cfp.net/

Detailed Course Learning Objective Requirements The vendor must include the following course learning objectives for Early-Career Federal Employees:

• Learn how to make the most out of their TSP and other savings.

• Develop savings and investing strategies to meet personal financial goals.

• Learn about Federal benefits and determine how they fit into a financial plan.

The vendor must include the following course learning objectives for Mid-Career Federal Employees:

• Evaluate TSP along with other investments to determine if they are on the right track to meet personal and financial goals.

• Learn how they can save more and procrastinate less.

• Understand how additional years of work increase retirement income.

The vendor must include the following course learning objectives for Late-Career Federal Employees:

• Evaluate savings to determine if assets will produce lifetime income or work past retirement age.

• Analyze and select the most beneficial TSP withdrawal option.

• Learn how to invest during retirement to stay ahead of inflation.

• Learn how to develop a tax-efficient retirement cash flow strategy.

The vendor must include the following course learning objectives for Savings Strategy for TSP and TSP Roth:

• Distinguish between TSP funds and other investments.

• Understand “tax smart” savings (e.g. TSP, TSP Roth, Roth IRAs)

• Use calculators within the course to compare tax savings on contributions and withdrawals for original TSP and Roth TSP to help users select between TSP, Roth, or both.

The vendor must include the following course learning objectives for New Employee Benefits Orientation:

• Understand the differences between FERS, FERS Special, TSP, Social Security, Flexible Spending Account, Annual and Sick Leave and insurance.

• Learn strategies to achieve financial goals and prepare employees’ families for financial well-being.

• Create a personal, financial, and retirement plan using a step‐by‐step guide provided by a Certified Financial

Planner professional.

• Record their benefit election decisions in the timeframe allowed.

• Benefit from "tax smart" savings (e.g., TSP, TSP Roth, Roth Individual Retirement Accounts, or IRAs)

• Use calculators within the course to compare tax savings on contributions and withdrawals for original TSP and Roth TSP to help users select between TSP, Roth, or both.

Program Status Report The vendor must provide a Program Status Report to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and AgLearn Program Staff on a quarterly basis. The report must contain the following information:

• Updates to course content

• User utilization as well as highlight increase and/or decrease in user utilization

• Course completion metrics

• Learning needs requests if any

• Other information that would be beneficial for USDA

Place of Performance Work will be performed at the Contractor location. It is anticipated most of the work will be performed virtually. The Contractor must comply with the USDA IT Security policy.

Core Hours of Operation Work performed on the Contractor’s premise shall be provided on a similar schedule of hours of operations unless otherwise specified in the Contractor’s Project Plan (approved by the COR).

4.0 Deliverable / Schedule

Key Deliverables

Item No.

Deliverable / Item Title

Description Frequency Reference Delivery Format

Due By

1 Financial Literacy, Retirement, and TSP eLearning course content and licenses for

90,000 USDA

Federal Employees

90,000 licenses to USDA Federal Employees to access asynchronous eLearning course content in Financial Literacy, Retirement and TSP

Initial and then when there are updates to eLearning course content

Ref. PWS, Page 5, Section 3.0, Technical Requirements/Tasks

Electronic – eLearning course content in SCORM or AICC format

30 days after award

2 Quarterly Status Report

Quarterly report documenting tasks and issues identified during the month

Once per quarter

Ref. PWS, Page 5, Section 3.0, Technical Requirements/Tasks, Program Status Report

Via email to

COR

One week before the end of the quarter

5.0 Government Furnished

There will be no Government Furnished Items for this contract.

6.0 Travel

The Government anticipates little to no travel on the part of the Contractor during the performance of this contract. If travel is required, the travel will be paid for by the Federal Government.

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

The contractor shall provide qualified personnel to perform all requirements specified in this PWS. Prior to assignment to the contract, the contractor shall submit a current résumé for all management and other key personnel if different from those personnel identified in the proposal. Contractor employees shall possess the education, experience, and skills necessary to complete the requirements. Any replacement of key personnel shall be subject to the Contracting Officer’s approval.

8.0 Security Requirements

The vendor’s solution must:

1. Meet hosting, architectural, planning, and other security requirements necessary to achieve Federal

Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) Assessment &Authorization (A&A). As needed, the contractor must provide current Authority to Operate (ATO) documentation, issued at the minimum of FISMA-Moderate level, by a U.S. Federal agency and/or the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) program.

2. Comply IaaS and SaaS requirements including regulations pertaining to the United States Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB) or formerly known as Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC), and Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP).

3. Comply with Section 508 accessibility requirements (see 7.1.1 for Section 508 accessibility requirements).

9.0 Data Rights

Return of Data

Data and information developed, entered, and processed through this solution, under this contract shall be considered Government property. Electronic files of all active, inactive and archived cases and all data entered into the system throughout the performance period of the contract shall be returned to the US Department of Agriculture in a designated importable file format at the end of the contract (or upon contract termination, whichever occurs first).

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Any USDA proprietary information, data, and/or equipment that the Contractor has been granted access by USDA to perform work under this contract, shall be returned to the USDA when no longer required to perform work under this contract. The public release of the above USDA proprietary information must be authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer.

The component parts of this effort and reports are expected to contain sensitive information that may act as a guide for hostile entities to cause harm to the Department’s critical infrastructure. Any such information made available in any format shall be used only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this agreement. Such information shall not be divulged or made known in any manner to any person. The Contractor shall immediately notify the COR and the Contracting Officer upon discovery of any inadvertent disclosures of information. The Contractor shall not retain any information regarding vulnerabilities, to include summaries, the actual vulnerability report, etc., at the end of the contract. All information arising from this contract, both hard copy and electronic, shall be returned to the Contracting Officer at the contract’s completion.

The Contractor must agree that:

The draft and final deliverables and additional materials deemed relevant by the COR that have been generated by the Contractor in the performance of this contract are the property of the U.S. Government and must be submitted to the COR at the conclusion of the contract.

All documents produced for this project are the property of the U.S. Government and cannot be reproduced or retained by the Contractor. All appropriate project documentation will be given to the COR during and at the end of the contract. The Contractor will release no information. Any request for information relating to the contract presented to the Contractor must be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer, who in turn will provide a written response. The Contractor employees must sign Non-Disclosure Statements, under assignment of the contract.

Sensitive Information Storage and Disclosure Sensitive information, data, and/or equipment will be disclosed only to authorize personnel on a Need-To-Know basis. The holder shall ensure that appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established to ensure the security and confidentiality of this information, data, and/or equipment will be returned to Government control; destroyed; or held until otherwise directed. Destruction of items shall be accomplished by tearing into small parts; burning; shredding or other method that precludes the reconstruction of the material, consistent with GSA guidelines.

Work on this contract may require that personnel have access to Privacy Information. Personnel shall adhere to the Privacy Act, Title 5 of the U. S. Code, Section 552a and applicable agency rules and regulations.

The COR shall ensure that all Contractor personnel take the required USDA Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior Training.

No USDA data shall be divulged to any unauthorized person, for any purpose. Therefore, the Contractor shall clear with the Contracting Officer in writing any public release of any information. Information includes news stories, articles, sales and marketing information, advertisements, etc. All requests for public release of information shall be submitted via email to the Contracting Officer and addressed to:

United States Department of Agriculture Office of Communications 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250

The Contracting Officer shall submit the Contractor’s Request for Press Release to the Office of Communications (OC) for approval. The Contractor shall not release any information to the public without written approval received from the Contracting Officer.

10.0 Section 508 - Electronic and Information Technology Standards

(a) This PWS is subject to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 794d) as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220). Specifically, subsection 508(a)(1) requires that when the Federal Government procures Information and Communications Technology (ICT) , the ICT must allow Federal employees and members of the public with disabilities comparable access to, and use of information and data provided to Federal employees and members of the public without disabilities.

(b) The ICT accessibility standards as 36 CFR Part 1194 were developed by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (also known as the Access Board) and apply to contracts, task orders, and indefinite quantity contracts on or after June 25, 2001.

(c) Each ICT product or service furnished under this contract shall comply with the Information and Communications Technology Accessibility Standards (36 CFR 1194), as specified in the contract, at a minimum. If the Contracting Officer determines any furnished product or service is not in compliance with the contract, the Contracting Officer will promptly inform the Contractor in writing. The Contractor shall, without charge to the Government, repair or replace the non-compliant products or services within a period specified by the Government in writing. If such repair or replacement is not completed within the time specified, the Government shall have the following resources:

1) Cancellation of the contract, delivery, or task order, purchase or line item without termination liabilities; or

2) In the case of custom ICT being developed by a contractor for the Government, the Government shall have the right to have any necessary changes made or repairs performed by itself or by another firm for the non-compliant ICT, with the contractor liable for reimbursement to the Government for any expenses incurred thereby.

(d) The contractor must ensure that all ICT products and services that are less than fully compliant with the accessibility standards are provided pursuant to extensive market research and are the most current compliant products or services available to satisfy the contract requirements.

(e) For every ICT product or service accepted under this contract by the Government that does not comply with 36 CFR 1194, the contractor shall, at the discretion of the Government, make every effort to replace or upgrade it with a compliant equivalent product or service, if commercially available and cost neutral, on either a contract specified refresh cycle for the product or service, or on a contract effective option/renewal date, whichever shall occur first.

*Please note that the term Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is synonymous with Electronic and Information Technology (EIT), the previously used term. The term ICT will be used to meet international standards after the release of Section 508 Refresh.

Section 508 Compliance The Vendor shall comply with the standards, policies, and procedures below. In the event of conflicts between the referenced documents and this PWS, the PWS shall take precedence.

Section 508 Accessibility Standards

1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

2) 36 CFR 1194 (Section 508 standards)

3) http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/508standards.htm (Section 508 standards)

4) FAR 39.2 (Section 508)

5) http://www.ocio.usda.gov/document/departmental-regulation-4030-001 (USDA standards, policies, and procedures for Section 508)

In addition, all contract deliverables are subject to these standards.

All web content or communications materials produced, regardless of format (text, audio, video, etc.), must conform to the applicable Section 508 standards to allow Federal employees and members of the public with disabilities comparable access to and use of information and data provided to Federal employees and members of the public without disabilities. All contractors (including sub-contractors) and consultants responsible for preparing or posting content must comply with the applicable Section 508 accessibility standards and, where applicable, those set forth in the referenced policy or standards document above. Remediation of any materials that do not comply with the applicable provisions of 36 CFR Part 1194 as set forth in the PWS shall be the responsibility of the contractor or consultant.

The following Section 508 provisions apply to the products and/or services identified in this PWS:

• 36 CFR Part 1194.21 provisions a-l

• 36 CFR Part 1194.22 provisions a-p

• 36 CFR Part 1194.23 provisions a-k[4]

• 36 CFR Part 1194.24 provisions a-e

• 36 CFR Part 1194.25 provisions a-j[4]

• 36 CFR Part 1194.26 provisions a-d

• 36 CFR Part 1194.31 provisions a-f

• 36 CFR Part 1194.41 provisions a-c

The following Section 508 provisions apply for software development material identified in this PWS:

For software development, software applications, and operating systems the Vendor shall comply with the following standards, policies, and procedures:

Section 508 Accessibility Standards

1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

2) 36 CFR 1194 (Section 508 standards)

a. 36 CFR Part 1194.21 provisions a-l

b. 36 CFR Part 1194.31 provisions a-f

c. 36 CFR Part 1194.41 provisions a-c

For web-based applications (intranet, internet information and applications, 16 rules), the Vendor shall comply with the following standards, policies, and procedures:

Section 508 Accessibility Standards

1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

2) 36 CFR 1194 (Section 508 standards)

a. 36 CFR Part 1194.21 provisions a-l

b. 36 CFR Part 1194.22 provisions a-p

c. 36 CFR Part 1194.31 provisions a-f

d. 36 CFR Part 1194.41 provisions a-c

For video and multimedia applications (including training materials), the Vendor shall comply with the following standards, policies, and procedures:

Section 508 Accessibility Standards

1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

2) 36 CFR 1194 (Section 508 standards)

a. 36 CFR Part 1194.24 provisions a-e

b. 36 CFR Part 1194.31 provisions a-f

c. 36 CFR Part 1194.41 provisions a-c

For self-contained and closed products, the Vendor shall comply with the following standards, policies, and procedures:

Section 508 Accessibility Standards

1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

2) 36 CFR 1194 (Section 508 standards)

a. 36 CFR Part 1194.21 provisions a-l

b. 36 CFR Part 1194.25 provisions a-j

c. 36 CFR Part 1194.31 provisions a-f

d. 36 CFR Part 1194.41 provisions a-c

For desktop and portable computers, the Vendor shall comply with the following standards, policies, and procedures:

Section 508 Accessibility Standards

1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

2) 36 CFR 1194 (Section 508 standards)

a. 36 CFR Part 1194.21 provisions a-l

b. 36 CFR Part 1194.26 provisions a-d

c. 36 CFR Part 1194.31 provisions a-f

d. 36 CFR Part 1194.41 provisions a-c

For help desk and other support services, the Vendor shall comply with the following standards, policies, and procedures:

Section 508 Accessibility Standards

1) 29 U.S.C. 794d (Rehabilitation Act as amended)

2) 36 CFR 1194 (Section 508 standards)

a. 36 CFR Part 1194.31 provisions a-f

b. 36 CFR Part 1194.41 provisions a-c

If the help desk or other support services include training, Vendor must also comply with the following standards, policies, and procedures in addition to 36 CFR Part 1194.31 provisions a-f and 36 CFR Part 1194.41 provisions a-c:

a. 36 CFR Part 1194.21 provisions a-l (installable and web-based training)

b. 36 CFR Part 1194.22 provisions a-p (web-based software)

All Information and Communications Technology (ICT) subject to the 36 CFR 1194 standards will have a Section 508 usability and acceptance test where Section 508 compliance will be validated. This test must be administered by a Federal Section 508 Testing Center.

All maintenance for Information and Communications Technology that requires upgrades, modifications, installations, and purchases will adhere to the Section 508 standards and 36 CFR 1194.

WCAG 2.0 Compliance The Vendor shall comply with the standards, policies, and procedures below. In the event of conflicts between the referenced documents and this PWS, the PWS shall take precedence.

Custom ICT Development Services When Vendor provides custom ICT development services pursuant to this contract, Vendor shall ensure the ICT fully conforms to the applicable Revised 508 Standards prior to delivery and before final acceptance.

Installation, Configuration, and Integration Services When Vendor provides installation, configuration, or integration services for equipment and software pursuant to this contract, the offeror shall not install, configure, or integrate the equipment and software in a way that reduces the level of conformance with the applicable Revised 508 standards.

Maintenance, Upgrades, and Replacements Vendor shall ensure maintenance upgrades, substitutions, and replacements to equipment and software pursuant to this contract do not reduce the original level of conformance with the applicable Revised 508 standards at the time of the contract award.

Service Personnel Vendor shall ensure the personnel providing the labor hours possess the knowledge, skills, and ability necessary to address the applicable Revised 508 standards defined in this contract and shall provide supporting documentation upon request.

Hosting Services When providing hosting services for electronic content provided by the agency, Vendor shall not implement the hosting services in a manner that reduces the existing level of conformance of the electronic content with applicable Revised 508 standards. Throughout the life of the contract, the agency reserves the right to perform testing on a vendor or contractor’s hosted solution to verify conformance with this requirement.

Validation for ICT Items When purchasing ICT where 1) 508 validation is not possible prior to award, 2) when ICT will be changed after the award, or 3) ICT will be hosted in a third-party environment, Vendor shall test and validate the ICT solution for conformance to the Revised 508 standards, in accordance with the requirement testing methods, as defined by the agency. Throughout the life of the contract, the agency reserves the right to perform testing to verify conformance with this requirement.

Documentation Vendor shall maintain and retain full documentation of the measures taken to ensure compliance with the applicable requirements, including records of any testing or demonstrations conducted.

Conformance Reporting Prior to acceptance, Vendor shall provide an Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR) for each ICT item that is developed, updated, configured for the agency, and when product substitutions are offered. The ACR should be based on the latest version of the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) provided by the Information Technology

Industry Council (ITI). To be considered for award, an ACR must be submitted for each ICT item, and must be completed according to the instructions provided by ITI.

When the contractor is required to perform testing to validate conformance to the agency’s accessibility requirements, Vendor shall provide a Supplemental Accessibility Conformance Report (SAR) that contains the following information:

• Accessibility test results based on the required test methods.

• Documentation of features provided to help achieve accessibility and usability for people with disabilities.

• Documentation of core functions that cannot be accessed by persons with disabilities.

• Documentation on how to configure and install the ICT item to support accessibility.

• When an ICT item is an authoring tool that generates content (including documents, reports, videos, multimedia productions, web content, etc.)., provide information on how the ICT item enables the creation of accessible electronic content that conforms to the Revised 508 Standards, including the range of accessible user interface elements the tool can create.

• Before final acceptance, the contractor shall provide a fully working demonstration of the completed ICT Item to demonstrate conformance to the agency's accessibility requirements. The demonstration shall expose where such conformance is and is not achieved.

Before acceptance, the agency reserves the right to perform independent testing to validate that the ICT solution provided by the contractor conforms to the applicable Revised 508 standards.

Non-Compliance Before final acceptance of any ICT item, including updates and replacements, if Vendor claims its products or services satisfy the applicable Revised 508 standards specified in the contract vehicle, and the contracting officer determines that any furnished ICT item is not in compliance with such requirements, the contracting officer will promptly inform Vendor in writing of the non-compliance. Vendor shall, at no cost to the agency, repair or replace the non-compliant products or services within the period specified by the contracting officer.

11.0 Performance Requirement Measures

Performance of the contractor will be monitored through the surveillance methods described in the Performance Requirement Summaries table below.

Performance Requirement Summaries Table

Performance Objective Required Task or Deliverable

Performance Standard Method of Surveillance

Positive/Negative Incentive % for NOT meeting the Task

PWS, Section 3.0, Technical Requirements/Tasks

Financial Literacy, Retirement and TSP eLearning content topics stated in PWS are delivered to USDA AgLearn

100% availability, as described herein.

We will compare eLearning content topics delivered with the topics stated in the PWS to ensure the correct topics were delivered.

+/- 1% of total monthly price for each variance of +/- 1% variance from standard.

PWS, Section 3.0, Technical Requirements/Tasks

Vendor keeps eLearning content up-to-date with the latest information

USDA Benefit Officer and user feedback; USDA Benefit Officer reviews courses to ensure

+/- 1% of total monthly price for each variance of +/- 1% variance from standard.

information is up-to-date

PWS, Section 3.0, Technical Requirements/Tasks

Users can access the eLearning content and will automatically mark complete once users complete the course in AgLearn

Team AgLearn will test all courses on an ongoing basis to ensure courses are working and can be marked complete in AgLearn. Team AgLearn will monitor user feedback from surveys and Ask AgLearn Now tickets to determine if users continuously have problems accessing courses and courses are not marked complete.

+/- 1% of total monthly price for each variance of +/- 1% variance from standard.

PWS, Section 3.0, Technical Requirements/Tasks, Program Status Report

Program Status reports submitted quarterly

Report Reviews by COR and AgLearn Federal Program Staff

+/- 1% of total monthly price for each variance of +/- 1% variance from standard.

Government Quality Assurance

(a) Contractor Performance

Contractor’s performance will be monitored to determine if it meets the contract requirements through periodic inspection of the output and customer complaints.

(b) Performance Evaluation

Performance of a service will be evaluated to determine whether it meets the performance requirements of the contract. When the performance requirement is not met, as defined herein, the contracting officer will issue a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR) to the contractor. Upon evaluation of the contractor’s response to a CDR for tasks monitored by random sampling or verification of customer complaints, the contractor’s payment for the month in which the performance in question occurred will be calculated with an appropriate deduction. The contractor shall respond to the CDR and return it to the contracting officer within seven calendar days of receipt. The contractor will be required to reperform all deficient work if reasonably practicable. If the contractor fails to reperform the required work, deductions from amounts due under the contract may be made.

A sample quality assurance document is attached.

12.0 Service Level Agreements

The following items will be agreed upon as service level agreements:

• Be kept current with the most recent vendor product version. The contractor must submit a project plan for all new versions.

• Have proven, Industry-leading functionality.

• Have no failed implementations.

Attachment If applicable, include an Attachment stating Evaluation Factors and significant Subfactors representing the key areas of importance and emphasis to be considered in the source selection decision.