S02 36C26024Q0884 0002.pdf

5. PROJECT NUMBER (if applicable)

CODE 7. ADMINISTERED BY

2. AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION NUMBER

CODE

6. ISSUED BY

8. NAME AND ADDRESS OF CONTRACTOR

4. REQUISITION/PURCHASE REQ. NUMBER 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

9A. AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION NUMBER

9B. DATED

PAGE OF PAGES

10A. MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT/ORDER NUMBER

10B. DATED

BPA NO. 1. CONTRACT ID CODE

FACILITY CODE CODE

Offers must acknowledge receipt of this amendment prior to the hour and date specified in the solicitation or as amended, by one of the following methods:

The above numbered solicitation is amended as set forth in Item 14. The hour and date specified for receipt of Offers

E. IMPORTANT:

is extended,

(a) By completing Items 8 and 15, and returning __________ copies of the amendment; (b) By acknowledging receipt of this amendment on each copy of the offer submitted; or (c) By separate letter or electronic communication which includes a reference to the solicitation and amendment numbers. FAILURE OF YOUR ACKNOWLEDGMENT TO BE RECEIVED AT THE PLACE DESIGNATED FOR THE RECEIPT OF OFFERS PRIOR TO THE HOUR AND DATE SPECIFIED MAY is not extended.

12. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

(REV. 11/2016)

is required to sign this document and return ___________ copies to the issuing office. is not, A. THIS CHANGE ORDER IS ISSUED PURSUANT TO: (Specify authority) THE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14 ARE MADE IN THE CONTRACT ORDER NO. IN ITEM 10A.

15C. DATE SIGNED

B. THE ABOVE NUMBERED CONTRACT/ORDER IS MODIFIED TO REFLECT THE ADMINISTRATIVE CHANGES SET FORTH IN ITEM 14, PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORITY OF FAR 43.103(b).

RESULT IN REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER. If by virtue of this amendment you desire to change an offer already submitted, such change may be made by letter or electronic communication, provided each letter or electronic communication makes reference to the solicitation and this amendment, and is received prior to the opening hour and date specified.

C. THIS SUPPLEMENTAL AGREEMENT IS ENTERED INTO PURSUANT TO AUTHORITY OF:

D. OTHER

Contractor

16C. DATE SIGNED

14. DESCRIPTION OF AMENDMENT/MODIFICATION

16B. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Except as provided herein, all terms and conditions of the document referenced in Item 9A or 10A, as heretofore changed, remains unchanged and in full force and effect.

15A. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER 16A. NAME AND TITLE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER

15B. CONTRACTOR/OFFEROR

STANDARD FORM 30 PREVIOUS EDITION NOT USABLE

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.243

(Type or print) (Type or print)

(Organized by UCF section headings, including solicitation/contract subject matter where feasible.)

(Number, street, county, State and ZIP Code)

(If other than Item 6)

(Specify type of modification and authority)

(such as changes in paying office, appropriation date, etc.)

(If required)

(SEE ITEM 11)

(SEE ITEM 13)

(X)

CHECK

ONE

13. THIS ITEM APPLIES ONLY TO MODIFICATIONS OF CONTRACTS/ORDERS,

IT MODIFIES THE CONTRACT/ORDER NO. AS DESCRIBED IN ITEM 14.

11. THIS ITEM ONLY APPLIES TO AMENDMENTS OF SOLICITATIONS

AMENDMENT OF SOLICITATION/MODIFICATION OF CONTRACT

(Signature of person authorized to sign) (Signature of Contracting Officer)

1 12

09-12-2024

663-24-4-2624-0002

36C260

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 20 (V4CONT) 1601 E. Fourth Plain Boulevard Building 17, Suite B428 Vancouver WA 98661

36C260

Department of Veterans Affairs Network Contracting Office 20 (V4CONT) 1601 E. Fourth Plain Boulevard Building 17, Suite B428 Vancouver WA 98661

To all Offerors/Bidders

36C26024Q0884

08-26-2024

X

X X

** HOUR & DATE for Receipt of Offers is EXTENDED to: ** 5PM EST, 09/17/2024 **

See CONTINUATION Page

663-3640160-2624-821500-2580 SP80KPQA2

X 1

The purpose of this amendment is to reopen solicitation number 36C26024Q0884 and to provide an updated Statement of Work.

The Statement of Work has been revised to update the period of performance, scope and the FTE percentages have been removed from the Task table.

See continuation pages for the Statement of Work.

Jennifer Robles Contracting Officer

VA-VHA-RPOW-2023-0015

CONTINUATION PAGE

A.1 STATEMENT OF WORK

STATEMENT OF WORK FOR

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA)

VA PUGET SOUND HEALTHCARE SYSTEM

R&D – HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT SEATTLE-DENVER CENTER

OF INNOVATION FOR VETERAN-CENTERED AND VALUE-DRIVEN CARE

1. Contract Title.

VA Health Systems Research (HSR) Center of Innovation (COIN) for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care

2. Station Point of Contact (POC).

Barbara Majerczyk - Barbara.Majerczyk@va.gov

3. Period of Performance.

This agreement will be effective for one year with the option to extend services for up to two one-year option periods. Award of an option year is at the sole discretion of VA and award is subject to the availability of VA funds for each fiscal year. Option years on the contract are at the need/discretion of the VA and will be exercised as needed. No services will be performed in any option year until authorized in writing by the VA Contracting Officer (CO).

The Period of Performance is:

Base Year runs one year from the date of award (prior to September 30, 2024)

Option Year 1 runs one year from the end of the base year, if exercised

Option Year 2 runs one year from the end of option year 1, if exercised

4. Background.

VA Puget Sound Health Care System R&D – Health Systems Research, Seattle-Denver Center of Innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care (COIN) is in need of temporary support services to COIN investigators on an as needed basis for ongoing quality improvement projects.

5. Scope.

Contractor will provide temporary support services to COIN investigators on as needed basis for ongoing quality improvement projects.

This contract provides for master’s level and PhD level coordinators and specialized research assistants (master’s, and/or PhD level in public health or closely related field) who must have demonstrated experience with academic writing, literature review, and/or qualitative or quantitative analysis.

Administrative project support and project management will be provided as needed.

Estimated need is as outlined below. Actual effort will be determined and requested based on the project need.

Base Year:

1 individual at 25% FTE at Masters level

Option Year 1:

1 individual at 25% at Masters level

1 individual at 50% at Masters level

1 individual at 25% Experienced Masters-level/Pre-Doctoral

1 individual at 50% Experienced Masters-level/Pre-Doctoral

Option Year 2:

1 individual at 25% at Masters level

1 individual at 50% at Masters level

1 individual at 25% Experienced Masters-level/Pre-Doctoral

1 individual at 50% Experienced Masters-level/Pre-Doctoral

Funds may also be used for local project supplies (e.g., printing, software purchase for data analysis), as identified by the Investigator throughout the project period. Travel and conference registration funds will be added if travel is required.

6. Tasks.

Contractor will be responsible for the ongoing support of the deliverables listed below. Tasks and deliverables will range and depend on specific projects but may include the following:

Tasks

Description

Minimum Experience

1 Conducting literature reviews as required by projects. Master’s degree in relevant field and/or demonstrated 1 year of specialized research experience

2 Participating in designing and developing data collection tools as required by projects. Data collection tools may include surveys and interview guides.

Minimum 1 year of prior experience working on federally funded research studies

3 Conducting project surveys and interviews. Mail out surveys, enter survey data, and conduct interviews as required by projects.

4 Conducting outreach to project participants as required by projects.

5 Following project protocols for enrolling study participants as required by projects.

6 Code and analyze qualitative and quantitative data. Master’s degree in relevant field and/or demonstrated 1 year of specialized research experience

7 Manage database maintenance.

8 Track study outcomes.

9 Assist with administrative approval processes.

10 Participating in dissemination of study findings, including writing reports, manuscripts and/or summaries of findings for varying stakeholders. Staff can be listed as co-authors on manuscripts but must be notated with their non-VA affiliation.

11 Providing general project and clerical support to the Core Investigators at the HSR Center of Innovation.

Minimum 1 year of prior experience working on federally funded research studies

12 Participate in proposal development. Master’s degree in relevant field and/or demonstrated 1 year of specialized research experience

7. Deliverables.

Deliverables will vary by project.

Item

Deliverable description

Delivery Date

1 Conduct literature reviews. As needed.

2 Participating in designing and developing data collection tools. As needed.

3 Conducting project surveys or interviews. As needed.

4 Conduct outreach to project participants. As needed.

5 Follow project protocols for enrolling project participants. As needed.

6 Code and analyze qualitative and quantitative data. As needed.

7 Manage database maintenance. As needed.

8 Track study outcomes. As needed.

9 Assist with administrative approval processes. As needed.

10 Participate in dissemination of study findings. As needed.

11 Provide general project support. As needed.

12 Participate in proposal development. As needed.

8. Performance Monitoring/Supervision/Oversight of Work

The Project Principal Investigators and the Station POC will be responsible for certifying that work done under the contract is performed to time and standards. The Station POC will work with the Principal Investigators to complete and submit the yearly performance evaluation.

The preliminary and final deliverables and all associated working papers and other materials deemed relevant by the VA which have been generated by the contractor in the performance of these tasks are the exclusive property of the U.S. government and shall remain the property of the U.S. government upon completion of the contract.

9. Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government-Furnished Information (GFI).

If appropriate, equipment and software may be provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

10. Other Considerations

a) Changes to Statement of Work: Any changes to this Statement of Work must be authorized and approved only through written correspondence with the Contracting Officer. A copy of each change will be kept in a project folder along with all other products of the project.

Costs incurred by the contractor through the actions of parties other than the Contracting Officer must be borne by the contractor.

b) Identification of Potential Conflicts of Interest (COI): No conflicts of interest to report.

c) VA Form 10-0593 Assignment of Functional Categories.

VA Form 10-0593, Assignment of Functional Categories, must be used to document the assignment of functional categories to VHA personnel on an annual basis. VHA personnel includes contractors. All contractor staff working on this project with access to Individually Identifiable Health Information (IIHI) and/or Protected Health Information (PHI) are required to review and sign VA Form 10-0593.

11. Place of Performance

The tasks specified in this statement of work will be performed at the Seattle VA Medical Center; HSR Center of Innovation located at 1660 S Columbian Way, Seattle, WA 98108.

12. Government Holidays:

The following ten (11) Government Holidays are observed:

New Year’s Day; Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday; Presidents Day; Memorial Day; Juneteenth;

Independence Day; Labor Day; Columbus Day; Veteran’s Day; Thanksgiving Day; Christmas Day.

Any of the above Holidays falling on a Saturday will be observed on the preceding Friday; Holidays falling on a Sunday will be observed on the following Monday.

13. Security/Privacy

The C&A requirements do not apply, and Security Accreditation Package is not required.

All contractor employees who require access to the Department of Veterans Affairs' computer systems will be subject to a background investigation and have received a favorable adjudication from the VA Security and Investigations Center (07C). If the security clearance investigation is not completed prior to the start date of the contract, the employee may work on the contract while the security clearance is being processed, but the contractor will be responsible for the actions of those individuals they provide to perform work for the VA.

Project data will include data from national VA databases and/or repositories, including patient sensitive data. Review and/or access to the data will require prior approval of a written protocol via the typical methods used for a quality improvement project (e.g., Memorandum of Understanding or Agreement, Non-Research Determination, VA National Data Systems approval).

VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY LANGUAGE

1. GENERAL

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.

2. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS

1. A contractor/subcontrator shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA information and VA information systems for their employees, subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

2. All contractors, subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

3. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness.

4. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the contractor/subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

5. The contractor or subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the contractor or subcontractor’s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the contractor or subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

3. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE

1. Information made available to the contractor or subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the contractor/subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the contractor/subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

2. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the contractors/subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct on site inspections of contractor and subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

3. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, contractor/subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a contractor/subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

4. The contractor/subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

5. The contractor/subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on contractor/subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the contractor/subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

6. If VA determines that the contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

7. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship.

8. The contractor/subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

9. The contractor/subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

10. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the contractor/subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA’s prior written approval. The contractor/subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

11. Notwithstanding the provision above, the contractor/subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the contractor/subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that contractor/subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

12. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an MOU-ISA for system interconnection, the contractor/subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COTR.

4. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

1. The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The contractor/subcontractor shall immediately notify the COTR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the contractor/subcontractor has access.

2. To the extent known by the contractor/subcontractor, the contractor/subcontractor’s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the contractor/subcontractor considers relevant.

3. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

4. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the contractor/subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The contractor/subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

5. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACH

1. Consistent with the requirements of 38 U.S.C. §5725, a contract may require access to sensitive personal information. If so, the contractor is liable to VA for liquidated damages in the event of a data breach or privacy incident involving any SPI the contractor/subcontractor processes or maintains under this contract.

2. The contractor/subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a “security incident” as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

3. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

(1) Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);

(2) Description of the event, including:

(a) date of occurrence;

(b) data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code;

(3) Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

(4) Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

(5) Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;

(6) Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;

(7) The likelihood that the sensitive personal information will or has been compromised (made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);

(8) Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;

(9) Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;

(10) Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy Incidents, as appropriate; and

(11) Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

4. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

(1) Notification;

(2) One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least 3 relevant credit bureau reports;

(3) Data breach analysis;

(4) Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;

(5) One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; and

(6) Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit records, histories, or financial affairs.

6. TRAINING

1. All contractor employees and subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:

1. Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

2. Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

3. Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and

4. Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access [to be defined by the VA program official and provided to the contracting officer for inclusion in the solicitation document – e.g., any role-based information security training required in accordance with NIST Special Publication 800-16, Information Technology Security Training Requirements.]

2. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

3. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.

Records Management Language for Contracts Required.

The following standard items relate to records generated in executing the contract and should be included in a typical Electronic Information Systems (EIS) procurement contract:

1. Citations to pertinent laws, codes and regulations such as 44 U.S.C chapters 21, 29, 31 and 33;

Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a); 36 CFR Part 1222 and Part 1228.

2. Contractor shall treat all deliverables under the contract as the property of the U.S. Government for which the Government Agency shall have unlimited rights to use, dispose of, or disclose such data contained therein as it determines to be in the public interest.

3. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract using Government IT equipment and/or Government records.

4. Contractor shall not retain, use, sell, or disseminate copies of any deliverable that contains information covered by the Privacy Act of 1974 or that which is generally protected by the Freedom of Information Act.

5. Contractor shall not create or maintain any records containing any Government Agency records that are not specifically tied to or authorized by the contract.

6. The Government Agency owns the rights to all data/records produced as part of this contract.

7. The Government Agency owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation created as part of this contract. Contractor must deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit the agency to use the data.

8. Contractor agrees to comply with Federal and Agency records management policies, including those policies associated with the safeguarding of records covered by the Privacy Act of 1974. These policies include the preservation of all records created or received regardless of format [paper, electronic, etc.] or mode of transmission [e-mail, fax, etc.] or state of completion [draft, final, etc.].

9. No disposition of documents will be allowed without the prior written consent of the Contracting Officer. The Agency and its contractors are responsible for preventing the alienation or unauthorized destruction of records, including all forms of mutilation. Willful and unlawful destruction, damage or alienation of Federal records is subject to the fines and penalties imposed by 18 U.S.C. 2701.

Records may not be removed from the legal custody of the Agency or destroyed without regard to the provisions of the agency records schedules.

10. Contractor is required to obtain the Contracting Officer's approval prior to engaging in any contractual relationship (sub-contractor) in support of this contract requiring the disclosure of information, documentary material and/or records generated under, or relating to, this contract.

The Contractor (and any sub-contractor) is required to abide by Government and Agency guidance for protecting sensitive and proprietary information.

A.1 STATEMENT OF WORK