36C77619Q0072-000.docx

Attachment 2: Combined Synopsis/Solicitation for Commercial Items FedBizOpps Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice

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* = Required Field FedBizOpps Combined Synopsis/Solicitation Notice Rev. March 2010 R 'Rural Health Simulation HES Coordinator 63123 36C77619Q0072 03-19-2019 N 561210 Department of Veteran Affairs

PCAC-ST. LOUIS

11152 South Towne Square Saint Louis MO 63123

COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

General Information

Contracting Office Address Department of Veterans Affairs Program Contracting Activity Central (PCAC) 11152 SouthTowne Square St. Louis, MO 63123 Description This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 12.6, “Streamlined Procedures for Evaluation and Solicitation for Commercial Items,” and 13.5, Simplified procedures for Certain Commercial Items, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotations are being requested, and a written solicitation document will not be issued.

This solicitation is a request for quotations (RFQ). The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-101.

The associated North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) code for this procurement is 561210, with a small business size standard of $27.5 Million.

The [insert procuring activity and address] is seeking to purchase Rural Health Simulation HES Coordinator Services.

All interested companies shall provide quotation for the following:

Services

EMPLOYEE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Performance Work Statement Rural Health Simulation HES Coordinator

1. Title of Project: EES Simulation Division / SimLEARN Training and Operations Support

2. Background: The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Employee Education System (EES) is an administration-wide, comprehensive, virtual, education-focused organization supporting VHA continuing learning objectives through all-employee training, education, performance support, development, and consultation. The EES Simulation Division consists of the departments for the Resuscitation Education Initiative (REdI) Program, Mobile Systems Training Team, as well as the organizational infrastructure for the VHA Simulation Learning Education and Research Network (SimLEARN) National Program Office. SimLEARN is a national simulation training, education and research program which is responsible for developing and executing the strategic vision and system-wide plan for simulation process modeling, training, education and research for VHA. The program includes the establishment and sustainment of the VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Center (NSC) located in Orlando, Florida.

SimLEARN supports over 150 VA Medical Centers (VAMCs) geographically distributed across the United States including Puerto Rico and the Philippines. Synergies and economies of scale are accomplished through acquisitions of simulation based training equipment for specific curricula that in procured and must be subsequently delivered to field based simulation centers for use. SimLEARN responsibilities for this include development and execution of Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) life cycle sustainment strategies and plans and for receiving, handling, packaging, storage, transportation, and inventory of simulation-based training and associated clinical/technical equipment facilitating support for training at all VHA field activities.

3. Objectives: Provide clinical operations support to the EES Simulation Division and SimLEARN National Program Office located in Orlando, FL. This support will provide the Simulation Division and SimLEARN National Program Office with the products for efficient and effective conduct of highly organized, clinical training and execution of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation phases of educational projects.

4. Scope of Work:

4.1 Rural Health Simulation Health Education Specialist. The Contractor shall provide a Rural Health Simulation Health Education Specialist (RuHSES) to perform all labor, supervision, and other resources required to support planning, execution, evaluation, and process improvement for the operational overview for Rural Health Supported Simulation Training Facilities.

Performance includes: Supporting the implementation of the Rural National Simulation Learning, Education, and Research Network (SimLEARN) Project at the Rural National SimLEARN Project sites, providing expertise in simulation-based training, educational methodologies, assessment, manikin operation, instructional methodology, and simulation-center operation. The RuHSHES will provide input for Rural National SimLEARN project budget planning and monitoring, perform close audits of the program and collaborate with each of the Simulation Coordinators at each site, to deploy simulation-based clinical training that will improve workforce development for enhancing the rural Veterans clinical outcomes and Veteran patient access to services. The RuHSHES will make use of the Nursing Process to review performance measures for simulation-based activities; works collaboratively with each of the Simulation Coordinators at the rural health supported simulation facilities, to support successful achievement of the Rural National SimLEARN Project. The RuHSES will interact with the Veterans Health Administration clinical staff (providers and associated health professionals), and is responsible for quarterly reporting of the status of achieving or surpassing criteria contained within the audits, milestones, and performance measures documents for the Rural National SimLEARN Project. This includes developing and assisting in executing action plans with the Nurse Instructors/Simulation Coordinators as needed to meet target criteria not met.

The RuHSHES is an expert in clinical nursing practice; has experience with using approved curricula and the latest in clinical simulation equipment; has experience collaborating with an interprofessional team of clinical professionals, conducting needs assessments (front end analysis). Evaluation for each of the Rural National SimLEARN Facilities utilizes results, learner evaluations, post course debriefing, after action reports, and evidence based practice reported in the literature to develop action plans from program evaluation results as requested by the local Simulation Coordinators. The RuHSHES will support simulation activities to provide input for implementation plans, draft project proposals / project execution summaries, identify latent hazards as well as risk identification, classification, and reporting; will support the coordination and evaluation of applications for VHA medical facility simulation center certification. The RuHSES systematically evaluates current practice, and assists with formulating plans for the evaluation of course outcomes within the scope of the SimLEARN program.

In addition, the RuHSHES will help support in the development of projects and instruction at the National Simulation Center, to include planning, execution, evaluation, and process improvement for delivery of on-site simulation-based clinical instruction. The RuHSHES will assist as needed in planning, implementing, evaluating, and revising phases of clinical curricula for simulation-based activities; conduct classes with/for inter-professional instructors, and learners of the Veterans Health Administration clinical staff (providers and associated health professionals).

This position will be located at the VHA National Simulation Center in Orlando, FL.

The RuHSES is required to be an actively practicing Registered Nurse. The individual must possess a Master's degree in nursing, a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree, and approximately 3-5 years of clinical experience; must possess previous recent experience (within the last 3 years) as an educator/instructor (with responsibility and accountability for clinical simulation instructing for at least two (2) or more years including train-the-trainer, low to high fidelity simulation, task trainers; use of audio/video/mobile/virtual technologies and/or other education delivery methods for nurses or other health care personnel), and quality improvement/management experience including reporting statistical interpretation represented in graphical format, must be familiar with process testing, Joint Commission standards, and mitigating risks and hazards in clinical environments. In addition, must have current ACLS and BLS certifications.

The Contractor shall provide this support with integrity and confidentiality. The work is fast paced and subject to frequent reprioritization. The work requires sitting, standing, walking, bending and lifting of materials. The work load is expected to require up to one full time Registered Nurse Educator, 80 hours per two (2) week period, Monday through Friday, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and any legal holidays, throughout the period of performance. This RuHSES position will require travel through the year that may include site visits to each of the Rural National SimLEARN Facilities. Travel expenses are authorized will be according to the VHA travel rules and regulations.

The Contractor is required to provide documentation that nominated personnel for this position meet the above listed requirements.

5. Applicable Documents: N/A.

6. Mandatory Tasks and Deliverables: The Contractor shall perform the mandatory tasks and provide the specific deliverables described below within the performance period stated in this Performance Work Statement (PWS). If, for any reason, any deliverable cannot be delivered on time according to the below schedule, the Contractor shall provide a written explanation to the Simulation Division Director (DD) / SimLEARN Program Manager (PM) and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) three days prior to deliverable due date. This written transmittal shall include a firm commitment of when the work shall be completed. This transmittal to the DD/PM and COR shall cite the reasons for the delay and the impact on the overall project.

The Contractor shall not commit or permit any act that interferes with the performance of work awarded to another Contractor or with the performance of Government employees. In any case where, in the course of fulfilling the contract requirements, the Contractor disturbs any work guaranteed under another separate contract, the Contractor must restore such disturbed work.

Task 6.0-Reports: The contractor shall provide monthly written reports. Contract status reports will outline the progress of each task, identify contractor’s accomplishments, contractor’s issues, concerns, proposed resolutions and contractor’s proposed activities for the next report period. These reports shall include all recorded meeting minutes as attachments.

Deliverable 6.0:

a. Monthly written status reports. This shall include updates to contractor’s quality control procedures

b. Facility monthly report

c. Weekly compliance reports

Task 6.1- Rural Health Nurse Instructor.

Task 6.3.1: The contractor shall provide on-site support as detailed in paragraph 4.2.

7. Quality Control:

7.1. Contractor’s Quality Control Program: The Contractor shall develop and maintain an effective internal quality control program to ensure that support performed is in accordance with the PWS. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective support. As a minimum requirement, the Contractor shall internally develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified below in the Government’s Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

7.2. Performance Standards: The Government will perform surveillance to determine if the Contractor exceeds, meets or does not meet these standards. The Contractor Products will follow the Performance Metrics for Deliverables and Performance Standards as outlined in Table 1 below. The schedule of deliverables is outlined in Section B of the contract. The Government will use the Performance Based Service Assessment Survey as outlined in Table 3 below to compare Contractor performance to the Acceptable Levels of Performance (ALPs).

7.3. Performance Monitoring: Contractor’s performance will be monitored through the use of a formal QASP. This plan will provide specific performance standards used for monitoring and measuring the Contractor’s performance. The PM/COR will perform 95-100-percent, random, or periodic, or observations inspections of the support covered under the contract.

The PM/COR will certify receipt of support and/or goods and recommends acceptance of the support/deliverables. This process will be used for approval of payment for the Contractor’s invoices and will serve as the mechanism to document that the overall performance of the Contractor has been acceptable for the period of time covered by the invoice.

7.3.1. Documenting Performance: The designated PM/COR will document Acceptable and Unacceptable Performance

7.3.1.1. Acceptable Performance: The Government shall document acceptable performance accordingly. Any report will become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action.

7.3.1.2. Unacceptable Performance: When unacceptable performance occurs, the COR will document the occurrence and inform the Contractor and the appropriate government officials. When circumstances necessitate immediate verbal communication, that communication will be followed in writing. The COR will document the discussion and place it in the COR file. When the CO determines formal written communication is required, the COR shall prepare a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR), and present it to the Contractor's program manager.

7.3.1.3. Receipt Documentation. The Contractor shall acknowledge receipt of the CDR in writing to the CO. The CDR will state how long after receipt the Contractor has to take corrective action. The CDR will also specify if the Contractor is required to prepare a corrective action plan to document how the Contractor shall correct the unacceptable performance and avoid a recurrence. The CO shall review the Contractor's corrective action plan to determine acceptability. Any CDRs will become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action deemed necessary by the CO.

Table 1 Performance Requirements Summary

Each month, the COR shall review all of the Contractor’s performance / generated documents Monthly reports

Each month, the COR shall obtain customer feedback on Monthly report submittal Monthly reports

For each deliverable, the COR with input from the cognizant SimLEARN staff personnel will inspect each deliverable Conduct monthly based upon deliverables received

7.4. Acceptable Levels of Performance (ALP): Contractor shall ensure that internal metrics and/or methods are designed to determine if performance exceeds, meets, or does not meet a given standard and ALP. The below ALPs (Table 2) are included for Contractor performance and are structured to allow the Contractor to manage how the work is performed.

Table 2 Performance Ratings and Criteria

Table 3 Performance Based Service Assessment Contractor:

Government Requiring Activity: VHA, EES, SimLEARN

Contract Number:

Contract Title: EES Simulation Division / SimLEARN Clinical Training Support

A. MEETING SERVICE NEEDS

1. What level of understanding does the contractor have of organization services needs and mission requirements?

2. What level of efficiency and effectiveness does the contractor demonstrate in meeting requirements?

3. Overall, how well does the contractor meet technical needs and mission requirements?

4. Overall, the quality of the products / services provided are

B. PROJECT MILESTONES AND SCHEDULES

1. How well does the contractor meet established milestones and project dates?

2. How timely are products, reports, and invoices completed, reviewed, and delivered?

3. How reasonable are cost of services being provided and accuracy of submitted invoices?

4. How well does the contractor notify in advance about potential milestone and scheduling issues so that sufficient time is provided for implementation of corrective action?

C. PROJECT STAFFING

1. How current is the expertise of those contractors performing tasks?

2. Do contractor personnel possess the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to accomplish assigned tasks?

3. Are the staffing levels assigned by contractor appropriate for accomplishing the mission?

D. VALUE OF THE CONTRACTOR

1. How would you assess the value of the services provided by the contractor?

2. How would you rate the quality of the products delivered by the contractor?

3. What is overall assessment of contractor’s performance?

*** Poor and Below Satisfactory ratings must be explained in below narrative clarification and support classification

NARRATIVE CLARIFICATION (Use additional space as required)

Name / Title of Government Project Lead / Date

7.5. Quality of Submissions: The Contractor Performance Indicator submissions shall include the following:

· Accuracy - Work Products shall be accurate in presentation, content, and adhere to accepted elements of style.

· Clarity - Work Products shall be clear and concise. If work Products require diagrams the artifacts shall be easy to understand and be relevant to the supporting narrative.

· Consistency to Requirements - All work products must satisfy the requirements of this PWS.

· File Editing All text and diagrammatic files shall be editable by the VA in Windows-based or Adobe environments/platforms.

Reports - There shall be no omissions in the reports, documents or functional requirements

· Documents - Deliverables shall be in formats appropriate to target audiences; user friendly, clear, thorough and comprehensive.

· Meeting support - Pre-meeting preparations and logistics; smooth meeting operations; comprehensive post-meeting summaries to include but not limited to: minutes, action Items, attendees, program objectives and milestones and major decision points.

· Analyses and Assessments - Analyses and assessments are performed with accuracy, completeness and adherence to industry best practices.

· Stakeholder input. Deliverables shall consist of the timely implementation of input mechanisms, and shall consist of an accurate and comprehensive combination of results and recommendations. Integration of relevant stakeholder input documented for deliverable.

8. Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government Furnished Information (GFI): The Government will furnish office space, telephone, computer equipment as well as, other automation equipment and supplies required to perform support.

9. Performance Details:

9.1. Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be one year from date of award.

9.2. Place of Performance: VHA SimLEARN National Simulation Centers located at 6490 Hazeltine National Drive Suite 120, Orlando, FL and the Orlando VA Medical Center at Lake Nona, 13800 Veterans Way, Orlando, FL. Contractor shall provide support during normal business hours from 8:00 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. local time, Monday through Friday, or as otherwise specified. Normal work days/hours will be primarily Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM. During the work day there may be times flexibility is required as educational and/or aspects of administrative demands require.

9.3. Observance of Government Holidays. There are 10 Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103). Under current definitions, four are set by date:

If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday. The other six holidays are set by a day of the week and month:

9.4. Type of Contract: The Government anticipates award of a Firm Fixed-Price contract.

9.5. Travel: Travel will be required – no more than one five day trip monthly to locations within the continental US.

9.6. Contractor Reporting Requirements

a. The Contractor shall submit a monthly progress report, addressing the status of all active efforts. These monthly reports shall also serve as the official reporting for order compliance, and each one will cover progress made for the prior monthly. At the conclusion of each deliverable, the Contractor shall provide a written memorandum documenting deliverable completion.

b. The monthly progress report shall also identify any problems that may have arisen and provide an explanation of how each problem was resolved or, where one was not resolved, a plan for how the problem will be resolved.

c. The Contractor shall take minutes of all contract status conference calls and/or meetings held with the Program Manager. Copies of these minutes shall be attached to the next monthly progress report.

d. Monthly progress reports shall contain the following:

e. The Contractor shall notify the PM/COR, in writing, if problems arise that could have an adverse effect upon the performance of the contract.

9.7. Contract Post-Award Meeting: The Contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the CO has conducted a post-award meeting or has advised the Contractor that the post-award meeting has been waived.

10. Formal Acceptance or Rejection of Deliverables: The Government will review each deliverable within five business days and provide comments. The Contractor shall have two business days to incorporate the Government’s comments and make appropriate revisions.

11. Changes to the PWS: Any changes to this PWS shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the CO. A copy of each change will be kept in a contract folder, along with all other products of the contract. Costs incurred by the Contractor through the actions of parties other than the CO shall be borne by the Contractor.

12. Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure: It is agreed that:

12.1. The preliminary and final deliverables, as well as all associated working papers and other material deemed relevant by VA that have been generated by the Contractor in the performance of this contract, are the exclusive property of the U.S. Government and shall be submitted upon request to the CO at the conclusion of the contract.

12.2. The COR will be the sole authorized official to release, verbally or in writing, any data draft deliverables, final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this contract. No information shall be released by the Contractor. Any request for information relating to this contract presented to the Contractor shall be submitted to the CO for response.

12.3. Press releases, marketing material, or any other printed or electronic documentation related to this contract shall not be publicized without the written approval of the CO.

12.4. Non-Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: The Contractor and Contractor’s staff may have access to Government-sensitive information and shall be required to sign non-disclosure and conflict of interest statements.

13. Security Requirements:

VA Information and Information System Security/Privacy Language for Contracted Personnel from VA Handbook 6500.6, Contract Security, Appendix C:

1. General

a. 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

a. A contractor/subcontractor 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.

b. 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.

c. 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.

d. 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.

e. 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

a. 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).

b. 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 onsite 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.

c. 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.

d. 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.

e. 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.

f. 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.

g. 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.

h. 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.

i. 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.

j. 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.

k. 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.

l. 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 COR.

4. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION

a. 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 COR 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.

b. 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.

c. 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.

d. 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

a. 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. However, it is the policy of VA to forgo collection of liquidated damages in the event the contractor provides payment of actual damages in an amount determined to be adequate by the agency.

b. 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.

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

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

Individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.

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; individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.

4. Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

Individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.

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.

d. 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

a. 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 relating to access to VA information and information systems;

2. Successfully complete the VA Privacy and Information Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security/privacy training; and

3. 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

4. Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;

5. Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;

b. The contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COR a copy of the training certificate 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.

c. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Contractor 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.

7. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY

a. Background Investigations and Special Agreement Checks (SAC)

(1) All contractor employees are subject to the same level of investigation as VA employees who have access to VA Sensitive Information and VA information systems. The position sensitivity for this effort has been designated as LOW and the level of background investigation is NACI. This requirement is applicable to all subcontractor personnel requiring the same access.

(2) The contractor employee is required to submit all requested paperwork to appropriate VA staff for the background investigation within requested timeframe.

b. Contractor Responsibilities

(1) Background investigations from investigating agencies other than OPM are permitted if the agencies possess an OPM and Defense Security Service certification. Security and Investigations Center staff will verify the information and advise the contracting officer whether access to the computer systems can be authorized.

(2) 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 without the use of an interpreter.

(3) The contractor, when notified of an unfavorable determination by the Government, shall withdraw the employee from consideration from working under the contract.

(4) Failure to comply with the contractor personnel security requirements may result in termination of the contract for default.

(5) The contractor will 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 will be responsible for all resources necessary to remedy the incident.

c. Government Responsibilities

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

(2) Upon receipt, the VA Security and Investigations Center (07C) will review the completed forms for accuracy and forward the forms to OPM to conduct the background investigation.

(3) The VA facility will pay for investigations conducted by the OPM.

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

8. INTERNET/INTRANET

a. The contractor shall comply with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Directive 6102 and VA Handbook 6102 (Internet/Intranet Services).

b. VA Directive 6102 sets forth policies and responsibilities for the planning, design, maintenance support, and any other functions related to the administration of a VA Internet/Intranet Service Site or related service (hereinafter referred to as Internet). This directive applies to all organizational elements in the Department. This policy applies to all individuals designing and/or maintaining VA Internet Service Sites; including but not limited to full time and part time employees, contractors, interns, and volunteers. This policy applies to all VA Internet/Intranet domains and servers that utilize VA resources. This includes but is not limited to va.gov and other extensions such as, “.com, .edu, .mil, .net, .org,” and personal Internet service pages managed from individual workstations.

c. VA Handbook 6102 establishes Department-wide procedures for managing, maintaining, establishing, and presenting VA Internet/Intranet Service Sites or related services (hereafter referred to as “Internet”). The handbook implements the policies contained in VA Directive 6102, Internet/Intranet Services. This includes, but is not limited to, File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Web pages, Active Server Pages (ASP), e-mail forums, and list servers.

d. VA Directive 6102 and VA Handbook 6102 are available at:

Internet/Intranet Services Directive 6102 http://www1.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=409&FType=2 Internet/Intranet Services Handbook 6102 http://www1.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=410&FType=2

e. In addition, any technologies that enable a Network Delivered Application (NDA) to access or modify resources of the local machine that are outside of the browser's ”sand box" are strictly prohibited. Specifically, this prohibition includes signed-applets or any ActiveX controls delivered through a browser's session. ActiveX is expressly forbidden within the VA while .NET is allowed only when granted a waiver by the VA CIO *PRIOR* to use.

f. JavaScript is the preferred language standard for developing relatively simple interactions (i.e., forms validation, interactive menus, etc.) and Applets (J2SE APIs and Java Language) for complex network delivered applications.

52.224-1 Privacy Act Notification.

As prescribed in 24.104, insert the following clause in solicitations and contracts, when the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals is required to accomplish an agency function:

Privacy Act Notification (Apr 1984)

The Contractor will be required to design, develop, or operate a system of records on individuals, to accomplish an agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Act may involve the imposition of criminal penalties.

52.224-2 Privacy Act.

As prescribed in 24.104, insert the following clause in solicitations and contracts, when the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals is required to accomplish an agency function:

Privacy Act (Apr 1984)

(a) The Contractor agrees to—

(1) Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies—

(i) The systems of records; and

(ii) The design, development, or operation work that the contractor is to perform;

(2) Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the redesign,…