36C10X18Q9150-0001002.pdf

PAGE 1 OF 83 1. REQUISITION NO.

2. CONTRACT NO. 3. AWARD/EFFECTIVE DATE 4. ORDER NO. 5. SOLICITATION NUMBER 6. SOLICITATION ISSUE DATE

a. NAME b. TELEPHONE NO. (No Collect Calls) 8. OFFER DUE DATE/LOCAL

TIME

9. ISSUED BY CODE 10. THIS ACQUISITION IS UNRESTRICTED OR SET ASIDE: % FOR:

SMALL BUSINESS

HUBZONE SMALL

BUSINESS

SERVICE-DISABLED

VETERAN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS

(WOSB) ELIGIBLE UNDER THE WOMEN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM

EDWOSB

8(A)

NAICS:

SIZE STANDARD:

11. DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINA-

TION UNLESS BLOCK IS

MARKED

SEE SCHEDULE

12. DISCOUNT TERMS

13a. THIS CONTRACT IS A

RATED ORDER UNDER

DPAS (15 CFR 700)

13b. RATING

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

RFQ IFB RFP

15. DELIVER TO CODE 16. ADMINISTERED BY CODE

17a. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR CODE FACILITY CODE 18a. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY CODE

TELEPHONE NO. DUNS: DUNS+4:

PHONE: FAX:

17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN OFFER

18b. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN BLOCK 18a UNLESS BLOCK BELOW IS CHECKED

SEE ADDENDUM

19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24.

ITEM NO. SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

(Use Reverse and/or Attach Additional Sheets as Necessary)

25. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA 26. TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT (For Govt. Use Only)

27a. SOLICITATION INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3 AND 52.212-5 ARE ATTACHED. ADDENDA ARE ARE NOT ATTACHED.

27b. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 IS ATTACHED. ADDENDA ARE ARE NOT ATTACHED

28. CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT AND RETURN _______________ 29. AWARD OF CONTRACT: REF. ___________________________________ OFFER COPIES TO ISSUING OFFICE. CONTRACTOR AGREES TO FURNISH AND DATED ________________________________. YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION DELIVER ALL ITEMS SET FORTH OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED ABOVE AND ON ANY (BLOCK 5), INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE ADDITIONAL SHEETS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED SET FORTH HEREIN IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

30a. SIGNATURE OF OFFEROR/CONTRACTOR 31a. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER)

30b. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (TYPE OR PRINT) 30c. DATE SIGNED 31b. NAME OF CONTRACTING OFFICER (TYPE OR PRINT) 31c. DATE SIGNED

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION (REV. 2/2012)

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

7. FOR SOLICITATION

INFORMATION CALL:

STANDARD FORM 1449

OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24, & 30

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

101-18-2-2845-0017

36C10X18Q9150 08/21/2018

William Milline (William.Milline@va.gov) 240-215-0857 08-31-2018 3:00pm/EST

36C10X Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick Department of Veterans Affairs 321 Ballenger Center Drive, Suite 125

Frederick MD 21703

X

541910

$15 Million

N/A

Department of Veterans Affairs Product Effectiveness

810 Vermont Ave., NW Washington DC 20420

36C10X

Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick Department of Veterans Affairs 321 Ballenger Center Drive, Suite 125

Frederick MD 21703

See B.1 Contract Administration Data

See CONTINUATION Page

Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Access to Care Mystery Shopper Assessment

Contract Type: Firm Fixed-Price

DUNS:

CAGE:

TIN:

IFCAP PO:

See E.1 Instruction to Offerors for Evaluation Factors

Questions are due no later than 08/24/2018 by 12:00 pm/ET.

See CONTINUATION pages for further details

See CONTINUATION Page

X X

Christina Heller Contracting Officer

36C10X18Q9150 – Access to Care Mystery Shopper Assessment

Table of Contents

SECTION A

A.1 SF 1449 SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

B.2 PRICE/COST SCHEDULE

ITEM INFORMATION

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

2. CONTRACT SCOPE

3. SPECIFIC MANDATORY TASKS AND ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES

4. QUALITY CONTROL

5. KEY PERSONNEL

6. GENERAL EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS

7. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

8. VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY

LANGUAGE

9. SECURITY CONTROLS COMPLIANCE TESTING

10. TRAINING

11. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTIES AND FACILITIES

12. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

SECTION C - CONTRACT CLAUSES

C.1 52.212-5 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT

STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS—COMMERCIAL ITEMS (JAN 2018)

C.2 52.217-8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (NOV 1999)

C.3 52.217-9 OPTION TO EXTEND THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT (MAR 2000)

C.4 VAAR 852.203-70 COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING (MAY 2018)

C.5 VAAR 852.232-72 ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION OF PAYMENT REQUESTS (NOV

2012)

C.6 VAAR 852.237-70 CONTRACTOR RESPONSIBILITIES (APR 1984)

C.7 NOTICE LISTING CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

SECTION D - CONTRACT DOCUMENTS, EXHIBITS, OR ATTACHMENTS

SECTION E - SOLICITATION PROVISIONS

E.1 INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS

E.2 BASIS FOR AWARD

E.3 52.209-5 CERTIFICATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (OCT 2015)

E.4 52.209-7 INFORMATION REGARDING RESPONSIBILITY MATTERS (JUL 2013) 79

E.5 52.209-11 REPRESENTATION BY CORPORATIONS REGARDING DELINQUEST

TAX LIABILITY OR A FELONY CONVICTION UNDER ANY FEDERAL LAW (FEB 2016)

E.6 VAAR 852.209-70 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST (JAN 2008) ... 80

E.7 VAAR 852.215-70 SERVICE-DISABLED VETERAN-OWNED AND VETERAN-

OWNED SMALL BUSINESS EVALUATION FACTORS (JUL 2016)(DEVIATION)

E.8 52.233-2 SERVICE OF PROTEST (SEP 2006)

E.9 VAAR 852.233-70 PROTEST CONTENT/ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION

(JAN 2008)

E.10 VAAR 852.233-71 ALTERNATE PROTEST PROCEDURE (JAN 1998)

E.11 VAAR 852.273-70 LATE OFFERS (JAN 2003)

E.12 52.252-1 SOLICITATION PROVISIONS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

(FEB 1998)

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

(Continuation from Standard Form 1449, block 18A.)

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

1. Contract Administration: All contract administration matters will be handled by the following individuals:

a. CONTRACTOR: To Be Determined

POC:

Email:

Phone:

b. GOVERNMENT: Strategic Acquisition Center - Frederick Contracting Officer: Christina Heller Email: Christina.Heller@va.gov Phone: 240-215-1719

Contract Specialist: William Milline Email: William.Milline@va.gov Phone: 240-215-0857

Contracting Officer Representative (COR): Released after Award Email:

Phone:

2. CONTRACTOR REMITTANCE ADDRESS: All payments by the Government to the Contractor will be made in accordance with:

[X] 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer—System For Award

Management

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

a. Quarterly []

b. Semi-Annually []

c. Other [X] Monthly, upon delivery and acceptance by the Government

4. GOVERNMENT INVOICE ADDRESS: All Invoices from the Contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests.

5. INVOICING INSTRUCTIONS/SUBMISSION

*** The IFCAP Purchase Order number: 101-CXXXXX MUST be included on all invoices.

*** The Contract number: 36C10X18XXXX MUST be included on all invoices.

TUNGSTEN (f/k/a OB10) ELECTRONIC INVOICE SUBMISSION FSC e-INVOICE PROGRAM THRU AUSTIN PORTAL

FSC MANDATORY ELECTRONIC INVOICE SUBMISSION FOR AUSTIN PAYMENTS

Vendor Electronic Invoice Submission Methods:

Fax, email and scanned documents are not acceptable forms of submission for payment requests. Electronic form means an automated system transmitting information electronically according to the accepted data transmissions below.

mailto:Christina.Heller@va.gov mailto:William.Milline@va.gov

• VA’s Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment System – The Financial Services

Center (FSC) in Austin, TX uses a third-party contractor, Tungsten, to transition vendors from paper to electronic invoice submission. Please go to this website:

http://www.tungsten-network.com/US/en/veterans-affairs/ to begin submitting electronic invoices, free of charge.

• A system that conforms to the X12 electronic data interchange (EDI) formats established by the Accredited Standards Center (ASC) chartered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The X12 EDI Web site is http://www.x12.org.

Vendor e-invoice Set-up information:

Please contact Tungsten at the phone number or email address listed below to begin submitting your electronic invoices to the VA Financial Services Center in Austin, TX for payment processing. If you have questions about the payment status of a properly submitted invoice, the e-invoicing program, or Tungsten, please contact the FSC at the phone number or email address listed below.

• Tungsten e-Invoice setup information: 1-877-489-6135

• Tungsten e-Invoice email: VA.Registration@tungsten-network.com

• VA TUNGSTEN Number: AAA544240062

• FSC e-Invoice contact information: 1-877-353-9791

• FSC e-Invoice email: vafsccshd@va.gov

• http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp

COMMUNICATIONS:

• https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/11/27/2012-28612/va-acquisition-regulation-electronic-submission-of-payment-requests

• http://fcw.com/articles/2012/11/27/va-epayments.aspx?s=fcwdaily

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF AMENDMENTS: The offeror acknowledges receipt of amendments to the Solicitation numbered and dated as follows:

Amendment Number Date http://www.tungsten-network.com/US/en/veterans-affairs/ http://www.x12.org/ mailto:VA.Registration@tungsten-network.com mailto:vafsccshd@va.gov http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/11/27/2012-28612/va-acquisition-regulation-electronic-submission-of-payment-requests https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2012/11/27/2012-28612/va-acquisition-regulation-electronic-submission-of-payment-requests http://fcw.com/articles/2012/11/27/va-epayments.aspx?s=fcwdaily

B.2 PRICE/COST SCHEDULE

ITEM INFORMATION

ITEM

NUMBER

DESCRIPTION OF

SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT

0001 Phase 1 Field Work – Recruitment

3.00 EA

0002 Phase 1 Field Work – Training and Education

3.00 EA

0003 Phase 1 Field Work – Data Collection

3.00 EA

0004 Project Management Plan Contract Period: Base

1.00 EA __________________ __________________

Research/Interview Plan and Log

Project Business Case Report

Charter and/or Addendum

Initial Workflows

Evaluation Plan

Market Analysis Summary Document

Assessment Data Collection Database

Data Dashboard

12.00 MO __________________ __________________

Weekly Status Report (submitted monthly)

Monthly Accomplishments Report (submitted monthly)

10.00 EA __________________ __________________

Project Management Plan Update

Evaluation Plan Update

Steering Committee and Integrated Project Working Group Meetings (Presentations)

6.00 EA __________________ __________________

Quick Facts

12.00 EA __________________ __________________

Project Briefing

4.00 EA __________________ __________________

Preliminary Findings Briefing

3.00 EA __________________ __________________

Report of Findings

Executive Project Briefing

Data and Information

Assessment Data Collection Database Update

Data Dashboard Update

Meeting Agendas

Meeting Minutes

Post Engagement Business Value Report

2.00 EA __________________ __________________

Lessons Learned Report

Project Close-out Checklist

1001 Phase 2 Field Work 20.00 EA __________________

– Recruitment

1002 Phase 2 Field Work 20.00 EA __________________

– Training and Education

1003 Phase 2 Field Work 20.00 EA __________________

– Data Collection

Project Management Plan Contract Period: Option 1

2001 Phase 3 Field Work 25.00 EA __________________

– Recruitment

2002 Phase 3 Field Work 25.00 EA __________________

– Training and Education

2003 Phase 3 Field Work 25.00 EA __________________

– Data Collection

Project Management Plan Contract Period: Option 2

GRAND TOTAL __________________

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

1. GENERAL INFORMATION

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Quality, Safety, and Value Product Effectiveness (PE) program office performs measurement assessments and analyses on specially selected health care programs, products, and processes to ensure they are effective and/or meet the needs of VHA stakeholders and ultimately provide business value to VHA.

Results from PE projects support VA stakeholders at the highest executive level of VA to measure these programs’ effectiveness and make recommendations on improving their performance. PE findings are intended to be used to validate investment decisions, provide accountability, identify gaps and challenges, and support continuous improvement of VHA mission critical health information, health informatics, and internal process improvement projects. PE uses a rigorous process to conduct assessments which ultimately inform decision making by senior program leaders, top-level agency leadership, and members of Congress.

These decisions have a direct impact on the success of the mission and most importantly on the provision of health care services to Veterans.

This contract supports the administration of the Access to Care Mystery Shopper Assessment (ACMSA). The following scope of work describes services required to support the goals and objectives of the project in support of the PE organization.

2. CONTRACT SCOPE

On behalf of the VHA PE program office, ACMSA will conduct an assessment of VA medical facilities with the purpose of gaining a deeper understanding of the Veterans perspective of obtaining access to VA medical services in ways that are complimentary to existing measurement tools (e.g., patient surveys, metrics of waiting time for appointments). This will require the contractor to assemble a cadre of mystery shoppers, develop scenarios and scripts, and a standardized evaluation plan to assess the most common types of services requested by Veterans as defined by the PE organization. The assessment is also intended to develop and operationalize a repeatable model for conducting mystery shopper assessments at all applicable VA Medical Centers enterprise-wide.

Objectives:

This will be a comprehensive assessment, consisting of multiple phases, with the following primary objectives:

1. Evaluate, from a Veterans perspective, access to VA clinical services and availability of appointments for both primary and specialty care services:

• Understand Veterans’ ability to obtain access for same day medical services

• Evaluate Veterans’ ability to schedule future appointments (i.e., not same day)

• Assess the timeliness of obtaining appointments (e.g., is appointment made on the spot? Was Veteran sent to another clinic/department?)

• Determine if services were offered for the dates/times requested

• Assess wait times if services were not offered for dates/times requested (i.e. how many days/weeks after the requested date/time was the appointment scheduled)

• Understand the variation in how Veteran appointment requests placed over the phone and in-person are addressed by VA staff. This includes direct appointments (e.g., primary care, mental health, women’s health, other specialty care) as well as assessing the process for patients with referrals from primary care

• Assess the process for how VA staff refer Veterans to self-referral (i.e., direct scheduling) clinics?

• Evaluate what factors impact Veterans’ ability to schedule same-day appointments (e.g., was Veteran misdirected to the wrong location/clinic?) as well as future appointments

• Obtain sampling of Veterans’ wait times to get routine, same day and urgent appointment requests scheduled

• Evaluate the appropriateness of VA staff triaging and referring patients to specialty services based on need, e.g., a patient with an urgent need such as suspected skin cancer should obtain faster referral than a routine condition like eczema. Various scenarios will need to be evaluated, for example: referral from primary care; triaging at the VA medical facility call center. Understanding the business rules utilized at medical facilities and how they are administered across the enterprise will yield valuable information in terms of capacity issues and further pointers into internal controls.

• Define various clinical scenarios for an appropriate demographic mix of Veterans

2. Assess unique aspects of the different methods Veterans can use to obtain access

• For example, understand specific aspects of the call for service requests placed over the phone, e.g., number of rings before the phone was answered, number of times Veteran was placed on hold, number of times Veteran was disconnected, number of times Veteran received a voicemail message.

3. Assess the customer service and wait time of going to a scheduled appointment

• Assess the process for checking-in to an appointment as well as the interactions that take place at the conclusion of the appointment (e.g., scheduling of follow-up appointment)

4. Assess policy, process, and business rule variations across different VA medical facilities

• Identify best practices observed (i.e., what can we learn from specific VA medical facilities?)

• Assess variations from existing VA appointment scheduling policies

• Evaluate the consistency by which same-day appointment requests are serviced by VA staff within a single medical facility, as well as across all facilities assessed

• Understand the Veteran experience when routed to community care provider services, when applicable

5. Develop actionable recommendations to improve, optimize, and standardize access to care

• Identify impacted staff (e.g., staff groups or roles such as call center clerks or clinic scheduling staff), medical facilities, and stakeholders as well as level of effort (e.g., short-term, long-term, requires additional resources to implement, needs policy changes)

• Develop a repeatable methodology that can be utilized to identify, categorize, and communicate recommendations for improvement at individual medical facilities as well as at the enterprise level

Data Collection Considerations

Sites to be assessed will be selected by the PE program office with input from subject matter experts and the contractor. Scenarios developed for the assessment shall address a mix of Veteran demographic criteria (e.g., age, gender, race) and clinical settings that will be determined in collaboration with the PE program office.

This engagement requires the contractor to utilize Veterans, who are at a minimum, eligible for VHA medical services, but preferable are receiving health care at the VHA. These Veterans shall follow various scenarios developed by the contractor (in collaboration with the PE program office and any applicable VA subject matter experts) to either schedule appointments, or to attend appointments. Veteran participants in the assessment who attend appointments should only do so if the service is within their normal clinical care. For example, if the scenario is to include physical therapy (PT), the Veteran should need PT in their normal course of care.

The contractor shall develop a detailed evaluation plan that will include:

1. Detailed objectives

2. Assessment data collection requirements, for example:

a. Sampling size calculations

a. Facility selection process considerations i.e., VA facility characteristics to include in the assessment. For example, this may include facility complexity, type, scheduling configuration, perceived quality scores, and consults backlog

b. Defining what is in scope and out-of-scope

c. Veteran selection process

3. Detailed patient pathway scenarios, scripts, and anticipated outcomes, to include:

b. Defining typical patient contact scenarios

c. Patient eligibility type

d. Defining typical patient clinical appointment scenarios

e. Appointment type

f. Patient complexity/clinical triage scenarios

g. Appointment scenario criteria

Additional considerations include:

1. Data collection consistency

• The contract shall develop a standard approach for how data is collected from the mystery shoppers during and/or immediately following their encounter with VA staff

• The same scenarios and scripts shall be utilized at all sites included in the assessment to enable comparisons of the Veteran's ability to obtaining access to medical appointments across sites providing the same services to Veterans with similar conditions.

• Common scenarios that apply to most patients as they make their appointments shall be developed based on internal VA access to care data

• Phone calls and in-person visits will be required multiple times per scenario (utilizing different Veteran mystery shoppers) for each clinic/call center to obtain better sampling data and assess site variability

• A checklist shall be used to collect and aggregate specific data elements from assessment participants and also to show ranges and means for measures of access and other process items

2. Anonymity of VHA staff will be maintained

• This is a quality assessment of the structural variation in the processes followed within the VHA system to gain a deeper understanding of what is working well and what issues need improvement, it is not an inspection of individual staff performance

• No identifying information of VHA employees who come into contact with mystery shoppers shall be documented

3. Adherence to government policies

• Since this assessment will require participation from existing Veterans who are eligible and enrolled in VA health care services, careful considerations will need to be made to ensure that all federal government policies and procedures are followed, for example:

o HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding patient medical information o The Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, which gives the Office of Management and. Budget (OMB) authority over the collection of certain information by Federal agencies o Notification and communication of assessment to applicable federal employee unions. Although the PE program office will facilitate all communications with national and local unions, the contractor will be required to complete all necessary documentation to support the notification process o Rules, restrictions, and any applicable release forms needing to be completed regarding the hiring and/or compensation of Veterans

Please note: The above are all anticipated to impact the assessment;

there is also the potential for other unforeseen considerations and/or polices that may be required for this assessment.

Analysis of Results

Findings are to be presented iteratively at pre-defined intervals, to be identified in coordination with the PE program manager.

• Results shall identify a summary of findings, key challenges, best practices, trends, correlations, statistical analysis, and recommendations for improvement.

• The results of the data collected for this assessment shall also be compared to internal business policies, practices and business rules to identify inconsistencies in operational effectiveness, training, organizational change management and optimization of the business process, expectations, measurements, and successes.

Although many of these policies and business rules have already been collected by the PE program office, the contractor shall obtain these artifacts from VA medical facility and central office staff (with the assistance of the PE program manager) as needed and identified.

• Results shall be compared to any similar assessments conducted in the private, state, or federal health care sectors (e.g., VA Survey of Healthcare Experience of Patients (SHEP)). It is understood that this type of comparison will only be used for reference purposes since assessment objectives, methodologies, and sample sizes will most likely differ.

The contractor shall exercise critical thinking, perform deep analysis, provide comprehensive and detailed problem statements and hypothesis that will be reviewed with the PE program office and articulate the messaging of salient information at an executive level which includes bottom line up front (BLUF) information in plain language from a business value perspective.

The ACMSA engagement shall be performed for PE in accordance with the quality measures in the contract Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) [refer to the QASP section in this document for additional information]. This engagement will be supported by project stakeholders and subject matter experts who are defined as a person or group who has a vested interest in the engagement subject matter, but who are not members of the PE program office. However, stakeholders do not have the authority to determine if engagement processes and deliverables are deemed satisfactory. PE is the customer of this contract and PE determines if deliverables are of acceptable quality, not the stakeholders.

Please note: Although findings from PE assessments may be used by the government to formulate recommendations which may inform decision making, contractor services shall not be used in performing work of a policy, decision-making, managerial nature, or used under any circumstances to aid in influencing or enacting legislation.

Phased Assessment

The ACMSA contract shall consist of three phases of data collection; each phase may include sub-phases with defined deliverables.

Phase 1 - Pilot assessment at a small number of number of medical facilities (three VA health care systems, each consisting of one main facility [also referred to as a VA Medical Center, or VAMC] and at least one community based outpatient clinic) with varying facility characteristics.

This phase shall be used to conduct due diligence, create a detailed evaluation plan, establish a cadre of mystery shoppers, collect data, compile interim findings and recommendations, and lessons learned for the next phase. The scenarios and scripts to be utilized for this phase will encompass routine and Urgent/Same day (i.e., “urgent” scenario designed to be medically concerning but asymptomatic, so as not to prompt a referral to an emergency department. For example, patient received a very high blood pressure reading at a pharmacy or health fair).

Anticipated clinic types will include Primary Care, Mental Health, Women’s Health, Physical Therapy, and Oncology (these are subject to change). Data will be primarily be collected via phone calls, but may also include in-person visits. It is anticipated that appointments scheduled during this phase will be canceled, unless the assessment participant has a need to go to the appointment. The data collection methodology, timelines, and facility locations will be reviewed and coordinated with the PE program manager prior to initiation of data collection activities.

Phase 2 Will utilize lessons learned from phase 1 to revise the detailed evaluation plan;

introduce additional patient complexity and clinical triage scenarios; and expand the assessment to more specialty clinics. This phase will also expand the assessment to an estimated 20 additional medical facilities (subject to change based on the finalized data collection approach and estimated level of effort). Data may be collected via phone calls as well as in-person visits. It is anticipated that appointments scheduled during this phase will be canceled, unless the assessment participant has a need to go to the appointment. The data collection methodology, timelines, and facility locations will be reviewed and coordinated with the PE program manager prior to initiation of data collection activities.

Phase 3 Will expand the assessment to an estimated 25 additional medical facilities (subject to change based on the finalized data collection approach and estimated level of effort). Data may be collected via phone calls as well as in-person visits. It is anticipated that appointments scheduled during this phase will be canceled, unless the assessment participant has a need to go to the appointment. The data collection methodology, timelines, and facility locations will be reviewed and coordinated with the PE program manager prior to initiation of data collection activities.

a. Type of Agreement: Firm Fixed Price

b. Period of Performance (PoP): This contract will have a one-year Period of Performance from the date of award. The contract will also include two option-year extensions.

c. Place of Performance: The majority of the tasks under this PWS shall take place at VA medical facilities selected for this assessment and/or authorized locations utilized by the contractor to enable mystery shopper Veteran participants to place calls and/or visit their local medical facility. Assessment planning and preparation will take place at the contractor’s offices. Occasionally, in-person meetings within the metro Washington DC area will be required at the PE program manager’s discretion. These meetings may take place at either contractor or government facilities. No work at any government site shall take place on Federal holidays or weekends, unless directed by the Contracting Office.

d. Travel Requirements: Travel shall be reimbursed in accordance with Federal Acquisition

Regulations (FAR) 31.205-46 as well as Federal Travel Regulations. Travel must be pre-approved by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) five business days in advance.

Each Contractor invoice shall include copies of all receipts that support the travel costs claimed in the invoice. Trip Reports shall be submitted to the COR within five business days after trip completion.

Local travel is defined as travel within a 50-mile radius from the Contractor's facility or assigned government provided facility. Local travel is considered the cost of doing business and will not be reimbursed. This includes travel, subsistence, and associated labor charges for travel time. Travel performed for personal convenience and daily travel to and from work at the Contractor's facility or government assigned facility will not be reimbursed.

Travel costs are included as a separate, cost-reimbursable, “not to exceed” line item.

Locations and number of trips will be specified in coordination with the PE Program Manager.

The government estimates the following number of trips shall occur during the performance of this task order:

Estimated Locations Estimated # of trips Estimated # of contractor personnel per trip

Estimated # days per trip

TBD 80 2 5

Locations and number of trips are subject to change based on assessment needs. Since the place of performance is the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, travel funds shall not be used for travel to the DC metro area, i.e., for personnel who are not stationed within this area.

3. SPECIFIC MANDATORY TASKS AND ASSOCIATED DELIVERABLES

Quality of deliverables shall follow the contract Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

The following deliverables consist of general requirements.

Assignment of Contract Phases and Sub-Phases to ACMSA Engagements: Each Task Phase will be assigned by the PE PM individually. The contractor shall confirm engagement stakeholders; scope, business value and assessment approach strategy with the PM and receive approval prior to commencing any Task Phase under the contract.

Services and Deliverables: This contract consists of services in support of the ACMSA program with associated deliverables related to the Task Phase and for providing documented results of the phase. The services and deliverables are described below and detailed within the schedule of deliverables.

Administrative Deliverables: The Contractor shall provide Official Meeting Minutes and Agenda deliverables as defined in the engagement project schedule of the applicable phase. Action Items are updated once per week through the lifecycle of the applicable phase.

Some deliverables are considered to be “living” documents, which shall be created based on a timeline established in the project management plan, and then updated and delivered again towards the end of a phase, when applicable. For example, meeting minutes will be compiled into a single artifact that will continuously be updated throughout the course of the assessment and submitted as a formal deliverable as identified in the project management plan for such living documents, the intent is to maintain a single deliverable over the life of the project rather than having documents recreated for each sub-phase.

PMP deliverables shall include the following elements of a complete PMP based on The Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK), unless a change is initiated by the PE program office:

1. Project Integration Management

2. Project Scope Management

3. Project Time Management

4. Project Cost Management

5. Project Quality Management

6. Project Human Resource Management

7. Project Communications Management

8. Project Risk Management

9. Project Procurement Management

10. Project Stakeholder Management

The PMP shall include a project schedule in MS Project that includes milestones, a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and a task by task execution plan for the work. The project schedule is not a deliverable schedule. The project schedule serves as a management reporting tool as well as an implementation tool to assist with timely completion of the work. The project schedule shall contain all activity durations, dependencies and constraints. The project schedule shall consist of an achievable timetable for executing the work.

Each engagement always has at least one phase and sub-phase but may require multiple sub-phases. For example, one large engagement may consist of only one sub –phase 1.1 Due Diligence, while another may require sub-phases 1.1-1.7. The ACMSA PM will assign each phase and sub-phase during the course of each engagement. The Contractor shall provide the Task Phases listed below.

List of Deliverables:

Deliverable Deliverable Name Quantities Requested

1.1.1 Project Management Plan 1

1.1.2 Research/Interview Plan and Log 1

1.1.3 Project Business Case Report 1

1.1.4 Charter and or Addendum 1

1.2.1 Initial Workflows 1

1.2.2 Evaluation Plan 1

1.2.3 Market Analysis Summary Document 1

1.3.1 Assessment Data Collection Database 1

1.3.2 Data Dashboard 1

1.4.1 Phase 1 Field Work – Recruitment 3

1.4.2 Phase 1 Field Work – Training and Education 3

1.4.3 Phase 1 Field Work – Data Collection 3

1.5.1 Phase 2 Field Work – Recruitment 20

1.5.2 Phase 2 Field Work – Training and Education 20

1.5.3 Phase 2 Field Work – Data Collection 20

1.6.1 Phase 3 Field Work – Recruitment 25

1.6.2 Phase 3 Field Work – Training and Education 25

1.6.3 Phase 2 Field Work – Data Collection 25

PM.1 Weekly Status Report (submitted monthly) 12 PM.2 Monthly Accomplishments Report (submitted monthly)

PM.3 Project Management Plan Update 10 PM.4 Evaluation Plan Update 10

PM.5 Steering Committee and Integrated Project Working Group Meetings (Presentations)

PM.6 Quick Facts 6 PM.7 Project Briefing 12 PM.8 Preliminary Findings Briefing 4 PM.9 Report of Findings 3

Deliverable Deliverable Name Quantities Requested

PM.10 Executive Project Briefing 10 PM.11 Data and Information 4 PM.12 Assessment Data Collection Database Update 6 PM.13 Data Dashboard Update 6 PM.14 Meeting Agendas 10 PM.15 Meeting Minutes 10 PM.16 Post Engagement Business Value Report 1 PM.17 Lessons Learned Report 2 PM.18 Project Close-out Checklist 1

Deliverable PM.1: Weekly Status Reports: The Contractor shall provide a weekly status report of milestones, project schedule and timeline compliance, activities and accomplishments, and shall include actions, issues, and risks. The report shall contain project status organized by service area and project. It shall include an up-to-date status on each project including planned phases, schedule status, risks, issues, and mitigations. Each project shall be mapped to VA/VHA strategy. Project details shall be reported to include key ongoing and upcoming activities (+/-) 30 days, key PE Leadership decisions/approvals, key accomplishments for the week, and issues/risks. Accomplishments within the report shall be summaries. This report shall serve as the agenda for the weekly ACMSA status meeting (and is separate from other agenda deliverables). This report shall also contain a table of the awarded Task Phases and Deliverables listing their status (e.g., assigned, unassigned), as well as the customer engagement assigned. This report shall also contain a listing of potential upcoming engagements that have not yet been assigned (to be developed in collaboration with the government ACMSA PM) and shall include recommendations for provision of PE services to current or potential engagement customers. The weekly report will include all engagements in the contract (both active and completed). Any information that is proprietary to the Contractor shall be reported separately as the Weekly Status Report is used to support project collaboration among other teams.

This deliverable shall also include a separate action item log that will contain a listing of all action items related to each engagement. This deliverable shall contain all relevant information necessary to manage actions, including: action item description, owner, priority, due date, completion date, and notes related to the items. Action items will be tracked for all engagement stakeholders, including contractor, PE and non-PE personnel. This deliverable is a living document updated weekly and reviewed during project management meetings. The most current version of the log will be submitted as a deliverable on the last business day of every month along with the weekly status meeting report

Deliverable PM.2-Monthly Accomplishments Report: This deliverable shall be submitted the last business day of the month. It will provide a monthly summary of engagement accomplishments (e.g., number of VA medical facilities assessed, presentations given). Each accomplishment shall describe the accomplishment in terms of value to PE and PE’s engagement customers in support of the program and agencies strategic objectives. The monthly accomplishments may also be requested to be entered into an internal PE SharePoint list, which is the reporting tool for PE accomplishments.

This deliverable will also provide an update of all contractual Work Products and Deliverables produced during the reporting period, as well as whether they have been invoiced and/or paid by the government.

Deliverable PM.3-Project Management Plan Update: The contractor will update the baseline PMP and project schedule to accurately reflect any government approved changes or variances from the baseline PMP and project schedule. The PMP and project schedule will include any updates needed to accurately reflect WBS, deliverables, tasks, time needed to complete each task and task dependencies to include milestones to drive all phases in the engagement to successful completion. The PMP will be updated regularly to reflect and new or updated information learned and reviewed with the PE ACMSA PM and PE Director weekly.

Deliverable PM.4- Evaluation Plan Update The Contractor will update the assessment evaluation plan to reflect any added, deleted or updated benefit(s), measurement grouping(s) or metrics needed to successfully complete the assessment. The objective of this deliverable is to optimize the evaluation plan by keeping it current and relevant based on project execution experiences, lessons, and/or findings.

Deliverable PM.5-Steering Committee and Integrated Project Working Group Meetings (Presentations): This deliverable provides for additional Steering Committee, Working Group and SME meetings as identified in the and as scheduled by PE. The effort involved related to this deliverable would be for Steering Committee and Working Group Meetings during the engagement and related presentations, meeting agenda’s and minutes. Steering Committee and Working Group Presentations shall contain the information needed to initiate and guide discussions with SME’s and the Working Group. Steering Committee and Working Group Presentations shall demonstrate critical thinking to support acquiring required project information focused on the business value of healthcare. Meeting presentations shall drive to an understanding of the current and future state, existing policies, processes, business roles, business control points, potential points of failure, a description of what is working well and opportunities for improvement, project goals, and current strategies to measure success.

Meeting presentations shall also be used to discuss project status, validate information and understandings, resolve key issues, and obtain strategic direction that will help guide the engagement towards a successful conclusion.

Pre-meeting activities include obtainment of required research and knowledge (content).

Meeting logistics and content shall be completed a minimum of one business day prior and approved by the government lead. Comprehensive post-meeting summaries shall be provided to include: Minutes, Action Items, Attendees, Program Objectives and Milestones and major decision points.

Deliverable-PM.6 Quick Facts: A one-page summary of the project and/or engagement to which this deliverable is assigned that provides a complete snapshot of the project, including:

project overview, key findings and recommendations that are the equivalent of a condensed version of the executive summary.

Deliverable PM.7: Project Briefing: A presentation-style document shall be developed that provides an executive summary of the project, including stakeholder information, scope, goals, schedule, communications plan, data collection and analysis strategy and updated as knowledge is acquired to insure the content is current. The project briefing shall require critical thinking to support acquiring required information focused on the business value of healthcare and include all project critical quantitative and qualitative measure(s), measurement grouping(s), and metrics to rapidly (6-8 weeks) evaluate success of the project.

The project briefing shall also include a comprehensive and detailed problem statement and hypothesis, use case scenarios, process description(s) and workflow descriptions, a description of what is working well and opportunities for improvement, project goals, and current strategies to measure success. Workflows will be created from a business value perspective to include points of process variation (impacts), potential points of failure, applicable use cases and various applicable scenarios. Potential points of workflow failure will be identified. The contractor shall gather workflow information from existing work flows, Integrated project working group, SME’s, workflows created by other domains such as FR and other applicable sources to inform the creation of the workflow. The contractor shall utilize the final workflow to validate the messaging and context for how measures relate to one another.

The project briefing shall contain the information needed to initiate and guide discussions with SME’s and the Integrated Project Working Group. The project briefing shall drive to a complete and comprehensive plan for site visit planning and reporting of site visit execution information.

All information learned and validated at the site visit(s) shall be included in the report in a concise format. The Contractor shall map site visits to an understanding of the business case and problem statements.

Project Briefings shall include an executive summary that is no longer than five pages/slides, written in a concise format intended for presentation to senior program leaders, top level agency leadership and members of Congress and includes demonstration of the BLUF and enough of the analysis to support the facts being presented. The briefing shall be reviewed with the ACMSA PM weekly updated weekly and will serve as the deliverable for the checkpoint at the end of the phase.

Deliverable PM.8 Preliminary Findings Briefing:

A briefing that provides a brief summary of the assessment along with key findings, challenges, best practices, and recommendations. The contractor will be requested to work with the government ACMSA PM to identify a suitable format.

Checkpoint: For the data collection and analysis phase to be completed a checkpoint with the government ACMSA PM, other domains involved in the engagement and PE Director shall be successfully completed prior to proceeding to the next phase.

Deliverable PM.9 Report of Findings : The Contractor shall deliver a concise and rapid (6-8 weeks) report to demonstrate critical findings in a format ready for presentation to senior program leaders, top level agency leadership and members of Congress that demonstrates a logical flow of analysis to show achievement/non-achievement of foundational, functional and adoption benefit(s), measurement grouping(s), metric(s) which must be achieved before additional operational and strategic benefits are fully realized. The report shall also include and demonstrate any salient points that were identified in the Evaluation Plan and Data Collection and Analysis Phase. When reports are being created with multiple data sources and domain inputs, there shall be collaboration demonstrated with all contributors to ensure that salient points are captured, validated and messaging is accurately incorporated in the report.

Final Reports shall include an executive summary that is no longer than five pages/slides, written in a concise format intended for senior program leaders, top level agency leadership and members of Congress and include demonstration of the BLUF and enough of the analysis to support the facts being presented.

Following the executive summary, the Final Report shall include a condensed summary of findings table to include benefit(s), measurement grouping(s), metric(s) and their respective results.

Following the summary of findings, the report body (target 15 pages or less) should demonstrate if each benefit(s), measurement grouping(s), metric(s) goal has or has not been achieved in summary format and concluding with any findings and recommendations.

Following the body of the paper, an appendix [target five pages or less] will be included to show all detailed benefit(s), measurement grouping(s), and metric results that support the findings describe in the report.

The executive summary shall include a brief description of the business case, the reason ACMSA was engaged, the ACMSA methodology, a benefit by benefit summary of results and a summary of findings and recommendations.

A separate, one (1) page stand-alone document known as a Quick Facts shall accompany the report and include project overview, key findings and recommendations that are the equivalent of a condensed version of the executive summary.

Checkpoint: For the reporting phase to be completed a checkpoint with the government ACMSA PM, other domains involved in the engagement and PE Director shall be successfully completed.

Deliverable PM.10 Executive Project Briefing:

The contractor shall develop a concise Evaluation Final Report Project Briefing that will be utilized to brief executives such as senior program leaders, top level agency leadership and members of Congress. The purpose of the Evaluation Final Report Project Briefing is to serve as an executive summary which includes critical findings to concisely and rapidly (6-8 weeks) demonstrate the business value of the engagement investment and provide data based evidence, conclusions and to assist executive leaders in making decisions related to the investment such as “go” or “no go”.

Project Briefings shall include an executive summary that is no longer than five pages/slides, written in a concise format intended for presentation to senior program leaders, top level agency leadership and members of Congress and include demonstration of the BLUF and enough of the analysis to support the facts being presented. The Contractor shall describe the problem and what is trying to be resolved, the value of solving the problem, what benefit(s) is expected from the project goals and business case and how the business case can be enhanced to assist with resolution of the problem.

Deliverable PM.11 Data and Information:

All project raw data and information supporting the Report of Findings that have been gathered during the ACMSA project (e.g., debriefing sessions, workbooks, interview notes, checklists) that may not have been captured in the data collection database or other deliverables. This deliverable will be uploaded to the PE Share Point Site. This should also include any cleansed or normalized presentation of the data. Data should generally be provided in its native format (e.g., Excel, Word, CSV); however, in the event the Contractor uses a proprietary format, or a format inaccessible by the government, the Contractor shall work with the government ACMSA PM to identify a suitable format.

Deliverable PM.12- Assessment Data Collection Database Update: This is an update to Deliverable 1.3.1 beyond phase 1. It will entail entering new data to the existing dashboard as it is collected and updating and editing the database as needed. This deliverable will entail ongoing updates to the database for the duration of one calendar month. The database is to be uploaded to the PE SharePoint site no less than two (2) times during the course of the month.

Deliverable PM.13- Data Dashboard Update: This is an update to Deliverable 1.3.2 beyond phase 1. It will entail editing and updating the existing dashboard with new information as it is collected. This deliverable will entail ongoing updates to the dashboard for the duration of one calendar month. The dashboard is to be uploaded to the PE SharePoint site as a deliverable at the end of every week (i.e., Friday, or prior business day if Friday falls on a holiday) during the course of the month.

Deliverable PM.14-Meeting Agendas: Agendas of all meetings scheduled for each engagement. Meeting agendas shall be sent out to participants prior to all meetings that include non-PE personnel. This is a “Roll Up” deliverable, meaning that for each engagement, all individual agendas are to be compiled into a single document for the duration of the engagement. The most current version of the document is to be submitted as a deliverable on the last business day of every month. The contractor will review with the PE Program Manager the details of the exact number of documents to create (e.g., if there are six active engagements, identify whether this will entail creating six separate agenda rollup document deliverables (with one document per engagement), or just a single document that contains the contents of all six engagements).