36C24522Q0856_1-Solicitation.docx

36C24522Q0856

PAGE 1 OF

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.

UEI:

EFT:

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. NOV 2021)

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

7. FOR SOLICITATION

INFORMATION CALL:

STANDARD FORM 1449

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES

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

08-15-2022 Cassie White 304-263-0811 ext 7622 09-05-2022 2pm

EDT

36C245 Department of Veterans Affairs

VAMC (613)

VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office 510 Butler Avenue, Building 306A Martinsburg WV 25405

X

541910 $16.5 Million

N/A

36C245 Department of Veterans Affairs

VAMC (613)

VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office 510 Butler Avenue, Building 308B Martinsburg WV 25405 36C245 Department of Veterans Affairs

VAMC (613)

VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office 510 Butler Avenue, Building 308B Martinsburg WV 25405

36C245

PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

FSC e-Invoice Payment Invoice must be submitted electronically http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp

See CONTINUATION Page This Solicitation is for the fourth Gulf War Study in accordance with the Statement of Work provided below.

This solicitation is a TIERED EVALUATION to include Small Business to Large Business, See Continuation page below for evaluation verbiage.

All questions are due no later than August 29th, 2022 at 2pm and must be sent in email to Cassie White @ cassie.white@va.gov and Amy Ritchey @ amy.ritchey@va.gov.

Award will be made based upon Comparative Analysis, refer to Supplemental Instructions.

See CONTINUATION Page

Amy Ritchey Contracting Officer

Table of Contents

SECTION B - CONTINUATION OF SF 1449 BLOCKS

SOLICITATION DESCRIPTION

This solicitation is for the Follow-On Study of National Cohort of Gulf War and Gulf Era Veterans. This opportunity is a Tiered Evaluation Approach; Tier 1: Small Business concerns, Tier 2: Large Business concerns. A Firm Fixed price contract award is anticipated as a non-severable service. Vendor must identify duration of study within quote.

Additional Information:

Vendor must have BAA (Business Associate Agreement) at time of award, if offeror has existing National BAA in place, please state that in the quote. The included BAA verbiage would not be completed.

Additionally, all offerors shall be registered in System for Award Management (SAM) database at http://www.sam.gov

B.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

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

a. CONTRACTOR:

b. GOVERNMENT: Contracting Officer 36C245 Department of Veterans Affairs

VAMC (613)

VISN 5 Contract Satellite Office 510 Butler Avenue, Building 306A Martinsburg WV 25405

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

3. INVOICES: Invoices shall be submitted in arrears:

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.

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

Page 1 of Page 1 of

STATEMENT OF WORK

Department of Veterans Affairs Health Outcomes Military Exposures Epidemiology Program

1. Title: Follow up Study of National Cohort of Gulf War and Gulf Era Veterans

2. Purpose : Health Outcomes Military Exposures (HOME) is conducting a follow up health study on a national cohort of 1990-1991 Gulf War and Gulf Era (military contemporaries who served during the same time but did not deploy) Veterans . With results from this study, VA will be able to improve our understanding of the long-term health consequences of military deployment and the health services that recent Veterans need. The findings will also help influence policy for these Veterans

3. Background: Veterans in this population-based cohort were first contacted to participate in this longitudinal cohort study in 1995. They were recontacted again in 2005 and 2012. This closed cohort consists of 15,000 Gulf War deployed Veterans and 15,000 Gulf Era non-deployed Veterans. This will be the fourth contact of living members of this original panel of Veterans.

4. Scope: This study will consist of 1) a request to complete a questionnaire on a variety of health topics via mail, web, and telephone (the sample size will not exceed 30,000); and 2) simple and complex data analysis of information collected on the questionnaire.

5. Period of Performance: One job beginning September 15, 2022, refer to Supplemental Instructions.

6. Place of Performance: The contract services and activities will take place at the contractor’s place of business. Weekly meetings between the contractor and HOME will take place virtually

7. Tasks

7.1 Task 1: Project Management and Progress Reporting

7.1.1 The Contractor shall provide project management support. A Project Management Plan (PMP) that lays out the contractor’s approach, timeline and tools shall be provided in the execution of each task order. The PMP shall incorporate a Risk Management Plan/Register and a Quality Control Plan (QCP) incorporating quantifiable/ measurable elements. Additionally, PMP shall include a narrative and graphic format displaying schedule, specifically defined milestones, risks, communication, and resource support. The PMP shall explain how contractor will coordinate and execute planned, routine, ad hoc data collection and preparation as identified in SOW. Upon acceptance, initial PMP will be considered baseline and shall be updated monthly. Any changes to the schedule/project plan shall be subject to COR written approval. The contractor shall update and maintain the VA Program Manager (PM) approved PMP throughout contract duration.

The contractor shall prepare a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) that delineates a comprehensive overview of the task order level of effort. WBS elements used in the Project Schedule should indicate developmental work, tasks, start/finish dates, allocated resources and at a minimum, include the following:

a. Meetings/teleconferences

b. Project documentation submissions/revisions

c. Developmental efforts structured to reflect development of a deliverable product

d. Project milestones

e. Deliverables

NOTE: Upon COR acceptance, the following PMP items will be considered “Baseline”

· Project Schedule

· WBS

· Tasks Start/Finish Dates, Allocated Resources (Equipment of Personnel)

7.1.2 The contractor shall provide a detailed Project Plan describing the procedures to be used. The project plan will include all of the following elements:

· Procedures to be employed in the training of supervisors, data entry staff, questionnaire mailing staff, and other staff necessary for the project;

· Quality control measures to ensure that all aspects of contract work are accurate;

· The databases to be used for the project.

7.1.3 The contractor shall provide a Confidentiality Plan and Data Security Procedures. Questionnaires, consent forms and all other documents containing Personal Health Information (PHI)/Personally Identifiable Information (PII) will be scanned into a document scanner as they arrive to create a PDF of each document. Participant responses from the completed mail and online questionnaires will be entered into separate, dated electronic databases. The VA shall have electronic access to all databases. A cumulative file of all respondent records should be created and maintained by the contractor.

The contractor will ensure the highest degree of security to protect personal and confidential data of Veterans from intentional or unintentional release, loss, or destruction. Contractors, contractor personnel, subcontractors, and subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

7.1.4 The contractor shall provide toll free number and email technical support during normal business hours. Highly trained and professional staff will be trained to promptly answer questions and complete telephone questionnaires if requested by Veterans. A call log should be provided to COR. The toll-free number(s) must be posted prominently on the Web site and on the first page of the mail questionnaire and personalized letters included in the questionnaire mail package. The technical support staffing level must be adjusted to adequately meet the call and e-mail demands throughout the data collection by closely monitoring the contact volume and times. The contractor shall coordinate with the VA Crisis Hotline to facilitate call transfers in the case of distressed Veterans who require immediate referral to VA services. The contractor shall also set up a project e-mail account to answer respondent questions as well for use for communicating with Veterans who prefer email contact. All e-mail inquiries shall receive a response no later than the next business day. E-mail inquiries shall be recorded and provided to the COR.

7.1.5 The contractor shall prepare agendas and minutes for weekly meetings. The contractor shall take minutes of all conference calls and/or meetings held with the Project Manager, VA COR, and Stakeholders. Copies of these minutes shall be attached to the weekly progress report.

7.1.6 The contractor shall provide weekly progress reports during data collection. The contractor shall brief the COR and/or designees and survey research staff as to the status of the project, quality control findings, description of any problems anticipated or encountered and their resolution or non-resolution, and milestones obtained or missed. The contractor shall report the number and percent of responses and compare the progress in the current survey cycle with that of the previous cycle. The contractor shall keep a log of decisions made during the course of the study and provide the VA COR with an updated log of any new decisions made following the weekly meeting within 7 business days following each meeting. After review of the decision log, the VA COR will provide any necessary corrections to the decision log, which then will be revised. The “survey cycle” refers to the pilot, web, paper and CATI waves of data collection efforts.

7.1.7 The contractor shall provide monthly reports. The monthly reports shall include the status of the project, quality control findings, description of any problems anticipated or encountered and their resolution or non-resolution, and milestones obtained or missed.

7.2 Task 2: Data Collection and Reporting

The contractor shall conduct data collection via survey (web, paper, or CATI).Data collection studies may require that contractors identify and apply the appropriate data collection methods (survey – web, phone, mail, medical records, focus groups, qualitative studies, biological specimens, etc). Contractors shall construct and field test/validate each survey, using standardized and validated questions, scales, and survey instruments, as indicated above. The contractor shall compile written survey protocols, train interviewers, perform extensive survey related tasks and appropriate survey follow-up. Additional data collection includes:

a. The contractor shall identify problems and improve the quality of VA evaluations and evaluation processes. It is expected that the contractor will suggest ways to improve the survey and data collection processes, using their combined expertise and industry best practices. The government anticipates added value of contractor involvement in this data collection.

b. The contractor shall research and develop new methods of data collection such as electronic methods of information collection and transmission, to improve timeliness, reliability and response rates. It is expected that the contractor will suggest ways to improve the survey and data collection processes, using their combined expertise and industry best practices. The government anticipates added value of contractor involvement in this data collection.

c. The contractor shall improve the quality and utility of program data collections. It is expected that the contractor will suggest ways to improve the survey and data collection processes, using their combined expertise and industry best practices. The government anticipates added value of contractor involvement in this data collection.

d. The contractor shall conduct literature reviews, based on the needs of the survey requested.

e. The contractor shall provide guidance and recommendations for related Information Technology such as encoding survey into electronic format or use of computers to conduct survey.

f. The contractor shall submit an outline for the methodology report, which articulates the steps taken to complete the study, for VA COR approval.

7.2.1 The contractor shall prepare required documents for Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Institutional Review Board (IRB) approvals. The contractor will be responsible for writing the research proposal for IRB approval. Government subject matter experts will provide input.

7.2.2 The contractor shall perform a vital status update on members of the cohort and identify members of the cohort who are deceased, update the master VA panel file with vital status. Deceased Veterans will be removed from mailing roster.

7.2.3 The contractor shall develop contact information and locate addresses, i.e. Location Algorithm (n=30,000). The contractor shall be expected to update the address files supplied by the VA COR in order to reach Veterans for pilot and main studies. The contractor shall look at other proprietary databases (e.g., National Change of Address, Credit Bureau, etc.), and use other techniques to update the address information. The contractor shall report to the VA COR all Veterans with incorrect address information and the extent to which they have succeeded in locating the correct address. The contractor shall compute error rates for addresses by source of address information (Department of Defense, Internal Revenue Service, and VA). The contractor shall create an electronic database consisting of the name, each address, and any other available contact information for each member of the target survey population. Each address provided to the contractor shall be included, together with a variable denoting whether the individual address was “good” or “not delivered.”

7.2.4 The contractor shall design paper and electronic questionnaires/surveys as directed by VA. The contractor shall prepare and obtain COR approval for all survey contact materials used for data collection. Questionnaires shall follow standard industry principles of good design for imaging. The mail questionnaires shall be formatted for scanning into a data collection scanner (such as Scantron or INSIGHT™ optical mark reader Scanner) after completion. The contractor should assume a 16-page questionnaire.

7.2.5 The contractor shall secure a domain name; host site; and program & manage an electronic questionnaire/survey. The secure Web site shall be built within a password-protected firewall to ensure participant confidentiality. Maintenance of the online questionnaire shall include procedures to identify duplicate responses, aggregate data collected online with data collected from mailed responses and allow VA to identify respondents who completed the online questionnaire. At the completion of the study, the contractor will own the domain.

7.2.6 The contractor shall print, and mail study/survey materials (n=30,000) as directed. Based on the contractor-created Project Plan and Project Management Plan, there will be multiple mailing waves.

7.2.7 The contractor shall create a telephone script for Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI).

7.2.8 The contractor shall conduct a pilot study (n=100). The contractor shall conduct the pilot study of the mail and online survey according to the approved protocol in order to identify necessary changes to the questionnaire/survey. The contractor shall submit findings from the pilot study to the VA COR for review along with any recommendations for changes. The recommended changes shall be incorporated into the main study only with the written approval of the COR. The pilot study may include web, mail and CATI modes of data collection.

7.2.9 The contractor shall conduct data collection using the appropriate mode: paper, web-based, CATI, medical records retrieval and/or biospecimen collection as directed by VA (n=30,000).

7.2.10 The contractor shall create a searchable pdf of questionnaire responses, one record per participant. A PDF image of each questionnaire will be created using a document scanner. Questionnaires, consent forms, and all other documents containing Personal Health Information (PHI)/Personally Identifiable Information (PII) will be scanned into a document scanner as they arrive to create a PDF of each document. These PDFs will be provided to the VA COR.

7.2.11 The contractor shall develop and implement a data management system. The data management system shall include, but is not limited to:

· An automated method for data entry and data editing, including computer programs for range edits, logic edits, and checks for skip patterns inherent in the questionnaire.

· A method for systematic documentation of all edit specifications and all corrections made during the editing process;

· A system of computer programs that provide quality control checks to ensure the accuracy of data after the editing process is complete

7.2.12 The contractor shall conduct data entry, to include scanning and editing questionnaires, coding open-ended questions, formatting data, etc. The contractor shall combine data from all questionnaire modes into a database. Data will be provided both as text files and analytical datasets.

7.2.13 The contractor shall create and manage an incentive plan. The incentive plan will be for all modes of the survey.

7.2.14 The contractor shall conduct a complete literature review for study design.

7.2.15 The contractor shall create a coding manual. Monitoring and feedback mechanisms shall be implemented for coders to ensure that coding practices are consistent. The coding procedures and manual shall be included in the methodology report. Disposition coding will be required. Open ended comments are considered any written text. The number of open-ended comments will be discovered at the time of survey development.

7.2.16 The contractor shall submit interim data sets.

7.2.17 The contractor shall submit pre-final databases.

7.2.18 The contractor shall submit final databases.

7.2.19 The contractor shall prepare a draft methodology report for the COR review that describes the entire study process. The outline for the methodology report shall be submitted to the COR for approval. The contractor shall then use the approved outline and submit a draft report for the COR review.

The methodology report shall describe possible biases or errors arising from each stage and mode of the survey. The stages to be examined shall include questionnaire design and implementation; interviewer training; participant location; data collection; and data preparation and implementation (data keying, coding, cleaning, editing, imputation). All the sources resulting in successful location of Veterans shall be documented in the methodology report.

7.2.20 The contractor shall prepare a final methodology report. The final report shall be submitted after the VA COR approval of the draft report.

7.2.21 The contractor shall develop a destruction plan and allocate resources for destruction of paper copies of returned questionnaires or other paper materials, depending on instructions from the VA COR.

7.3 Task 3: Simple and Complex Data Analyses

The contractor shall complete both simple and complex analyses of collected data, and develop reports based on the findings (i.e. White Papers, Technical Reports). The contractor shall use statistical analysis software packages (compatible with SAS, SPSS, and/or SQL) to conduct tasks which vary from the straightforward to the complex. Raw data (responses provided in a survey, interview, or other mode of study, i.e. medical record), shall be submitted with the completion of reports, as deemed appropriate by the COR. Raw data includes all responses received from the various modes of data collection mail surveys, web surveys,

7.3.1 The contractor shall provide focused methods and technique information papers. (n=3)

7.3.2 The contractor shall develop programming language for coding procedures. Coding shall be completed using SAS.

7.3.3 The contractor shall develop an analysis plan for calculation of sampling weights and correction factors.

7.3.4 The contractor shall conduct non-response analysis.

7.4 Task 4: Educational and Informational Materials

The contractor shall prepare educational and informational materials (newsletters, fact sheets, informational sheets, websites, Smartphone applications, brochures, etc) for diverse audiences to reflect key findings and limitations of studies and analyses. Stakeholders include Veterans, other VHA and VA offices, VAMCs, Providers, Congress, Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs), etc. All educational and informational materials shall be completed through distribution. All educational and informational materials must be 508 compliant, be available in English and Spanish, use the government defined “plain language,” and at an 8th grade reading level.

7.4.1 The contractor shall create a one-page information sheet. (n=1)

7.4.2 The contractor shall create and format brochures for marketing purposes. (n=1)

7.4.3 The contractor shall create and format fact sheets. (n=1)

7.4.4 The contractor shall create promotional materials to include print and social media content. (n=6 social media posts)

8. Deliverable Table

8-24 months after award of contract

9. Scope of Inspection

The Contractor shall notify the CO/COR as soon as it becomes apparent to the contractor that a scheduled delivery shall be late. The contractor shall include in the notification the rationale for late delivery, the expected date for the delivery and the project impact of the late delivery. The CO/COR shall review the proposed schedule and provide guidance to the contractor; all contract changes shall be via written modification signed by the Contracting Officer. Prompt notification of delay does not limit the Government's right to any and all rights and remedies up to and including termination.

All deliverables shall be inspected for content, completeness, accuracy and conformance to task order requirements by the CO/COR.

Inspection may include validation of information as specified in the task order.

All deliverables shall be checked for comprehensive to ensure the completeness, quality, and adequacy of all deliverables.

The Government requires a period not to exceed thirty (30) days after receipt of deliverable items for inspection and acceptance or rejection.

Inspection and acceptance of all work performance, reports and other deliverables under this task order shall be performed by the COR.

The government’s written approval of the draft and final documents shall constitute acceptance by the VA.

The contractor shall notify the Government in writing, if problems arise that could adversely impact the performance of the Task Order.

TASKS

TASK #1

Program and Project Management Services

TASK #2

Data Collection Surveys/Studies and Reporting

(n=30 ,000),

TASK #3

Simple & Complex Data Analyses

7.3.3

TASK #4

Educational and Informational Materials

10. Place(s) of Performance: Contractor’s facilities, The contract services and activities will take place at the contractor’s place of business. Weekly meetings between the contractor and HOME will take place virtually.

11. Key Personnel: Specific skilled and experienced professional and/or technical personnel are essential for accomplishing the work to be performed. Key personnel for purposes of this contract will be defined as those individuals preparing the deliverables. These individuals are defined as “Key personnel” and are those persons whose resumes were submitted and marked by the vendor as “Key Personnel.” Substitutions shall only be accepted if in compliance with “Substitution of Key Personnel” provision identified below.

Key personnel shall include both a statistician and an epidemiologist with a PhD in Statistics, Epidemiology and/or Survey Methods and at least 10 years of post-dissertation experience using advanced statistical methods with relevant publications in peer-reviewed journals. Personnel working on this contract shall have experience in areas including research involving survey sampling design; data collection and management; techniques for maximizing response rates; programming; statistical analysis; and report writing. Key personnel shall also include staff with an advanced degree in public health, such as Master’s in Public Health or PhD. Key personnel should include, but are not limited to:

Subject-Matter Expert I Qualifications: PhD in Epidemiology, Statistics or equivalent and at least 10 years of post-dissertation experience Description: Possesses knowledge in designated field or discipline. Individual conducts multiple organizational assessments of challenges using specialized skills and knowledge. Contributes to the execution of project or task plan and helps assess the impact of industry trends, policy, or standard methodologies.

Subject-Matter Expert II Qualifications: PhD in Epidemiology, Statistics or equivalent and at least 8 years of post-dissertation experience Description: Possesses demonstrated knowledge in designated field or discipline. Have significant experience providing solutions to an organization’s challenges through the application of knowledge gained from prior experience. Contributes to the implementation of strategy and helps assess the impact of industry trends, policy, or standard methodologies. They direct the activities of other staff as necessary on activities related to the specified field or discipline.

Subject-Matter Expert III

Qualifications: MPH, MS, MA or equivalent and at least 5 years of relevant work experience Description: Provides insight and advice concerning task or project strategic direction and outcomes. Individual may contribute to the evaluation, analysis, and development of recommended solutions. Resolves complex problems, which require an in-depth knowledge of subject matter related to the designated field or discipline. Possesses demonstrated ability and experience in management consulting and cross-team facilitation at the senior management level. Other areas of expertise may include, but are not limited to, business process reengineering, statistical process control, individual and organizational assessment and evaluation, process modeling and simulation, strategic and business planning, change management, organizational development, and the development of leadership/ management skills. They direct the activities of other staff as necessary.

Program/Project Manager Qualifications: BS, BA or equivalent and at least 5 years of relevant work experience Description: Coordinates and monitors the scheduling, pricing, and technical performance of organizational programs. Responsibilities also include aiding in the negotiation of contracts and contractual changes and coordinating preparations of proposals, plans, specifications, and financial conditions of contracts. Develops new business and expands product line.

Location Manager Qualifications: MPH, BS, BA or equivalent and at least 5 years of relevant work experience Description: Coordinates and monitors the location of respondents. Responsibilities also include locating hard-to-find respondents, alternative research methodologies, realizing new techniques for tracing US Veterans, designing research, conducting interviews, writing reports, managing data files, familiar with the use of SPSS, SQL and SAS.

The Contracting Officer may notify the Contractor and request immediate removal of any personnel assigned to the task order by the Contractor that are deemed to have a conflict of interest with the government or if their performance is deemed to be unsatisfactory. The reason for removal will be documented and replacement personnel shall be identified within three business days of the notification. Employment and staffing difficulties shall not be justification for failure to meet established schedules.

12. Substitution of Key Personnel. All Contractor requests for approval of substitutions hereunder shall be submitted in writing to the COR and the Contracting Officer at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the effective date, whenever possible, and shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution, a complete resume for the proposed substitute, and any other information requested by the Contracting Officer necessary to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. New personnel shall not commence work until all necessary security requirements, as defined in Section 15, have been fulfilled and resumes provided and accepted. The COR and the Contracting Officer will evaluate such requests and promptly notify the Contractor of approval or disapproval in writing.

The Contractor shall be responsible for managing and overseeing the activities of all Contractor personnel, as well as subcontractor efforts used in performance of this effort. The Contractor’s management responsibilities shall include all activities necessary to ensure the accomplishment of timely and effective support, performed in accordance with the requirements contained herein.

13. Information Security: All contractors and contractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards and VA policies as VA, and VA personnel, regarding information and information system security. Contractors must follow policies and procedures outlined in the latest version of VA Directive 6500, Information Security Program and its handbooks to ensure appropriate security controls are in place.

Data will be transferred, retained, utilized, and destroyed in accordance with VA and VHA policy including the following: VA Handbook 5011/5, Chapter 4 (Alternative Workplace Arrangements); VA Directive and Handbook 6500, Information Security Program; VA Directive and Handbook 6502, Privacy Program; and VHA Directive 1605, VHA Handbook 1605.1 and 1605.2.

Every effort shall be made to avoid inadvertent breaches of confidentiality. For example, Veterans names or other personal identifiers shall only appear on page one of mailed letters.

A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) will be required.

All contractors with access to PHI or PII will be required to complete the process to receive a Moderate-level Background Investigation (MBI). For the MBI, the contractor is expected to complete required annual VA training (on-line), Standard Form-306, VA Form 0710, and VA Fingerprint Memo. Each contractor is required to be fingerprinted. After the fingerprints and forms are submitted to the VA Security Investigation Center, each contractor will be required to complete the OPM Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) system.

14. Security-

1. Background Investigation

The position sensitivity impact for this effort has been designated as Moderate Risk.

2. Contractor Responsibilities

2.1.1 The Contractor shall bear the expense of obtaining background investigations. If the investigation is conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) through the VA, the Contractor shall reimburse the VA within 30 days.

2.1.2 Background investigations from investigating agencies other than OPM are permitted if the agencies possess an OPM and Defense Security Service certification. The Vendor Cage Code number must be provided to the Security and Investigations Center (07C), which shall verify the information and advise the contracting officer whether access to the computer systems can be authorized.

2.1.3 The Contractor shall prescreen all personnel requiring access to the computer systems to ensure they maintain a U.S. citizenship and are able to read, write, speak and understand the English language.

2.1.4 After contract award and prior to contract performance, the Contractor shall provide the following information, to the CO or designated COR:

1. List of names of Contractor personnel.

1. Social Security Number of Contractor personnel.

1. Home address of Contractor personnel or the Contractor's address.

2.1.5 The Contractor, when notified of an unfavorable determination by the Government, shall withdraw the employee from consideration from working under the contract.

2.1.6 Failure to comply with the Contractor personnel security requirements may result in termination of the contract for default.

2.1.7 Further, the Contractor shall be responsible for the actions of all individuals provided to work for the VA under this contract. In the event that damages arise from work performed by Contractor provided personnel, under the auspices of this contract, the Contractor shall be responsible for all resources necessary to remedy the incident.”

3 Government Responsibilities

3.1 The VA Security and Investigations Center (07C) shall provide the necessary forms to the Contractor or to the Contractor's employees after receiving a list of names and addresses.

3.2 Upon receipt, the VA Security and Investigations Center (07C) shall review the completed forms for accuracy and forward the forms to OPM to conduct the background investigation. The VA facility shall pay for investigations conducted by the OPM in advance. In these instances, the Contractor shall reimburse the VA facility within 30 days.

3.3 The VA Security and Investigations Center (07C) shall notify the contracting officer and Contractor after adjudicating the results of the background investigations received from OPM.

3.4 The COR will ensure that the Contractor provides evidence that investigations have been completed or are in the process of being requested.

15. ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND NON-DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS

If the Contractor is currently providing support or anticipates providing support to the VHA that creates or represents an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest (OCI), the Contractor shall immediately disclose this actual or potential OCI in accordance with FAR Part 9.5. The Contractor is also required to complete and sign an Organizational Conflict of Interest Statement in which the Contractor (and any Subcontractors, consultants or teaming partners) agree to disclose information concerning the actual or potential conflict with any proposal for any solicitation relating to any work in the TO. All actual or potential OCI situations shall be handled in accordance with FAR Subpart 9.5.

B.2 PRICE/COST SCHEDULE

ITEM INFORMATION

Prepare agenda and minutes for weekly meetings PRINCIPAL NAICS CODE: 541910 - Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling PRODUCT/SERVICE CODE: R612 - Support - Administrative: Information Retrieval

Monthly progress reports

Toll free number and email technical support

Print and mail study/survey materials as directed

Conduct a Pilot Study

Conduct data collection

Create a searchable pdf of returned questionnaires/surveys, consent forms, and all other documents with a labeling scheme

Data Entry

Create and manage an incentive plan

Weekly progress reports during data collection

Develop six social media posts

Submit interim data sets

SECTION C - CONTRACT CLAUSES

C.1 52.212-4 CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS—COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS AND COMMERCIAL SERVICES (NOV 2021)

(a) Inspection/Acceptance. The Contractor shall only tender for acceptance those items that conform to the requirements of this contract. The Government reserves the right to inspect or test any supplies or services that have been tendered for acceptance. The Government may require repair or replacement of nonconforming supplies or reperformance of nonconforming services at no increase in contract price. If repair/replacement or reperformance will not correct the defects or is not possible, the Government may seek an equitable price reduction or adequate consideration for acceptance of nonconforming supplies or services. The Government must exercise its post-acceptance rights—

(1) Within a reasonable time after the defect was discovered or should have been discovered; and

(2) Before any…