FINAL_RFP_Quality_Control__-_CIREN.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

Quality Control of the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN)

SOLICITATION #693JJ918R000050

PART I - THE SCHEDULE

B.1 CONTRACT SUMMARY

B.1.1 SUPPLIES/SERVICES

The Contractor shall furnish all the facilities, materials, information, and personnel necessary to provide the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) with services for quality control (QC) of crashes investigated by the participants in the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) as described in Section C, Description/Specifications/Statement of Work. Unless otherwise noted, all equipment and software required for work under this contract will be furnished by the Government and will remain government-owned property.

B.1.2 CONTRACT TYPE

The Government anticipates award of one Cost Plus Fixed Fee (CPFF) or Cost (no fee) type contract as a result of this solicitation.

B.2 DEFINITIONS

B.2.1 ESTIMATED LABOR COSTS

As used in this contract, the term “Estimated Labor Costs” means the direct cost of labor, consisting of the hourly rate to be paid to contractor employees assigned to the labor categories in Section B.4 (excluding any indirect costs and fee, if applicable), and the estimated number of hours anticipated to successfully accomplish this contract.

B.2.2 OTHER DIRECT COSTS

As used in this contract, “ODC” means “Other Direct Costs.” ODCs are costs other than the Contractor’s labor costs and may include such items as subcontractor costs, travel, and material. Travel costs shall be reimbursed in accordance with FAR 31.205-46.

B.2.2.1 ODC Indirect Cost Category, Base, and Rates

As used in this contract, “ODC Indirect Cost Category and Base” means the type of indirect cost (e.g., G&A, F&A, O/H, etc.) and the base on which the indirect cost is applied (e.g., travel costs, subcontracting costs, all other direct costs).

SECTION B - SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

B.2.2.2 ODC Indirect Costs

ODC Indirect Costs shall be applied to the contractor’s Other Direct Costs in accordance with the Contractor’s established and approved accounting system.

Indirect Costs are presented in Section G.3 of this contract.

B.2.3 FEE

Applicable fixed fee shall apply to the total cost of labor, other direct costs, and applicable indirect costs. This fee shall be fixed at time of contract award. The Government will not pay the Contractor a fee when reimbursing a contract effort awarded on a “Cost, no fee” basis.

B.3 LABOR CATEGORIES AND DESCRIPTIONS – KEY PERSONNEL

The following paragraphs define the duties each labor category is responsible for performing.

Subject to prior written approval of the Contracting Officer, the Contractor may revise the list and/or labor category descriptions provided.

B.3.1 PRINCIPAL SCIENTIST

The full-time Principal Scientist shall have undergone NHTSA field crash training as a crash investigator and reconstructionist and shall have extensive experience with NHTSA field crash and CIREN coding and quality control protocols. Responsibilities of the principal scientist shall include, but not be limited to, overall leadership of the team, identifying human and material resources required to accomplish project goals, tabulating and analyzing data, writing reports and making presentations to sponsors and at professional meetings.

The Principal Scientist shall demonstrate experience with field crash research and work related to CIREN quality control processes. The Principal Scientist shall demonstrate knowledge and technical expertise to review all crash and medical aspects of a case and shall demonstrate expertise in Bio-Tab coding protocols.

B.3.2 ASSOCIATE SCIENTIST

The full-time Associate Scientist shall have undergone NHTSA field crash training as a crash investigator and reconstructionist and shall be able to demonstrate experience with NHTSA field crash and CIREN coding protocols. Responsibilities of the Associate Scientist shall include experience with field crash research, tabulating and analyzing data, writing reports and making presentations to sponsors and at professional meetings. The Associate Scientist shall demonstrate experience with field crash research and prior work related to CIREN quality control processes. The Associate Scientist shall demonstrate knowledge and technical expertise to review all crash and medical aspects of a case and shall demonstrate expertise in Bio-Tab coding protocols.

B.4 COST SCHEDULE

NOTE: No overtime shall be used in the performance of the work without prior written approval of the Contracting Officer.

The estimated total value of the contract (inclusive of all Costs and Fixed Fee) is $TBD at award. This amount may be increased upon execution of a bilateral modification.

B.4.1 BASE YEAR (CONTRACT YEAR 1)

(Date of Contract Award through 12 Months)

Estimated Labor Cost $ Indirect Costs Applied to Labor $

Total Estimated Labor Cost $

Other Direct Costs Categories Materials and Supplies $ Travel $ Equipment $ Indirect Costs Applied to ODCs $

Total Estimated ODCs $

Fixed Fee $

Base Year Total Estimated Costs $

B.4.2 OPTION YEAR 1 (CONTRACT YEAR 2)

(End of Base Year through 12 Months)

Indirect Costs Applied to Labor $

Total Estimated Labor Cost $

Other Direct Costs Categories Materials and Supplies $ Travel $ Equipment $

Option Year 1 Total Estimated Costs $

B.4.3 OPTION YEAR 2 (CONTRACT YEAR 3)

(End of Option Year 1 through 12 Months)

Indirect Costs Applied to Labor $

Total Estimated Labor Cost $

Other Direct Costs Categories Materials and Supplies $ Travel $ Equipment $

Option Year 2 Total Estimated Costs $

B.4.4 OPTION YEAR 3 (CONTRACT YEAR 4)

(End of Option Year 2 through 12 Months)

Indirect Costs Applied to Labor $

Total Estimated Labor Cost $

Other Direct Costs Categories Materials and Supplies $ Travel $ Equipment $

Option Year 3 Total Estimated Costs $

B.4.5 OPTION YEAR 4 (CONTRACT YEAR 5)

(End of Option Year 3 through 12 Months)

Indirect Costs Applied to Labor $

Total Estimated Labor Cost $

Other Direct Costs Categories Materials and Supplies $ Travel $ Equipment $

Option Year 4 Total Estimated Costs $

(End of Section B)

C.1 ACRONYMS AND DEFINITIONS

C.1.1 ACRONYMS

AIS Abbreviated Injury Scale CDAN Crash Data Acquisition Network CDS Crashworthiness Data System CIREN Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network CISS Crash Investigation Sampling System CO Contracting Officer COR Contracting Officer’s Representative CPT Current Procedural Terminology CRSS Crash Report Sampling System DOT Department of Transportation EC Engineering Center FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation FARS Fatality Analysis Reporting System GES General Estimates System GFE Government Furnished Equipment GFP Government Furnished Property ICDM International Classification of Diseases Modifications MC Medical Center NASS National Automotive Sampling System NCSA National Center for Statistics and Analysis NHTSA National Highway Traffic Safety Administration OSVR Office of Vehicle Safety Research QC Quality Control SCI Special Crash Investigations

C.1.2 DEFINITIONS

• “CDAN”: Refers to the common information technology infrastructure and architecture resources for the NHTSA crash data collection studies.

• “CDAN IT Contractor: Refers to the contractor that supports the information technology applications and infrastructure for the NHTSA crash data collection studies.

• “Engineering Center”: Refers to centers that provide the analysis of case evidence acquired by the medical centers to assign injury causation for all case subject injuries.

• “Medical Center”: Refers to centers that are responsible for prospective high-volume

SECTION C - DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/ STATEMENT OF WORK

enrollment of CIREN case subjects (injured motor vehicle occupants or vulnerable road users), conducting vehicle- and scene-based crash data collection, and providing medical and research expertise to the entire network.

• “Integrated Center”: Refers to centers that perform the roles of medical centers and engineering centers.

• “QC Incomplete”: Refers to the case status where the quality control contractor (subject of this RFP) finds the case data in an unfinished or poor state and does not conduct the quality control review.

• “QC Complete”: Refers to the case status once the quality control contractor finishes its quality control review.

• “Key Personnel”: Refers to the Principal Scientist and Associate Scientist, who are expected to perform the majority of the work requirements of this RFP (See G.10.2)

C.2 INTRODUCTION

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) mission is to save lives, prevent injuries and reduce traffic-related economic costs. The agency develops, promotes and implements effective educational, engineering and enforcement programs with the goal of ending vehicle crash tragedies and reducing economic costs associated with vehicle use and highway travel. The Office of Vehicle Safety Research (OVSR) conducts extensive research, development, testing, crash investigation, and data collection and analysis activities to provide the scientific basis needed to support the agency’s motor vehicle and traffic safety goals. In addition to supporting internal NHTSA efforts, NHTSA-sponsored research provides high-quality publicly-accessible data that serves as the basis for countless other research endeavors.

C.3 BACKGROUND

Motor vehicle traffic crashes are one of the leading causes of death for children and adults in the United States1. In 2016, there were 37,461 fatalities in traffic crashes on U.S. roads. Further examination of those fatalities indicates that 23,714 were light vehicle occupants, 5,286 were motorcyclists, and 5,987 were pedestrians2.

NHTSA strives to base its rulemaking and research priorities on findings from field crash data. In the late 1970s, NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) devised an approach to provide nationally-representative traffic crash data. NHTSA’s NCSA operates data programs consisting of records-based systems (crash records recoded for uniformity) which include the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the National Automotive Sampling System General Estimates System (NASS-GES), and the investigation-based National Automotive Sampling System Crashworthiness Data System (NASS-CDS) and Special Crash

1 CDC WISQARS data for 2016 2 Quick Facts 2016, NHTSA, DOT HS 812 451, October 2017.

Investigations (SCI) programs. The NASS-GES has since been replaced with the Crash Report Sampling System (CRSS) and the NASS-CDS has been replaced with the Crash Investigation Sampling System (CISS) in 2016. While the nationally-representative data systems provide crucial data to understand overall trends in motor vehicle safety, more detailed data on injury causation were needed to support NHTSA research efforts. A recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences3 for multidisciplinary injury studies involving medical, engineering, and other research professionals, led to the creation of injury-focused hospital-based studies of motor vehicle crash victims. Those efforts led to the creation of the trauma center-based Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) in 1997.

CIREN is a sponsor-led multi-center research and data collection program involving a collaboration of clinicians and engineers in academia, industry, and government pursuing in-depth studies of crashes, and the resultant injuries and treatments, to improve processes and outcomes. CIREN centers are based at Level One Trauma Centers and biomechanics research laboratories. CIREN’s mission is to improve the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of motor vehicle crash injuries to reduce deaths, disabilities, and human and economic costs. The CIREN process combines prospective data collection with professional multi-disciplinary analysis of medical and engineering evidence to determine injury causation in every crash investigation conducted. The injury data collected under the CIREN program includes hundreds of medical data elements such as radiological images, operative notes, and pre-existing conditions that may play a role in injury severity and long-term outcome. This data is collected and reviewed by highly-regarded professionals from the medical and engineering fields. The coded biomechanical causation of all serious injuries is a hallmark of CIREN, and serves as a starting point for further injury and vehicle safety research.

Collaboration between the medically- and engineering-oriented participants in CIREN leads to a better understanding of the issues related to injury causation and treatment for the medical side, and enables the engineers to develop better designs for automobiles, restraint systems, and test devices and criteria. Involvement in the system provides a rich learning experience, and the real-world knowledge contributed from involved parties cannot be found in a textbook. CIREN enables constructive discourse among various professionals, including vehicle designers, social workers, and first responders, that leads to a better overall understanding of the injury causation in investigated cases. CIREN brings together many facets of the motor vehicle crash and provides a more comprehensive overview of the effects of motor vehicle trauma.

The CIREN data model and collection system has been based on that used by the NASS-CDS and CISS programs, and differs primarily in the extent of injury and injury mechanism-related data collected. Injury-focused variables from the medical data are based on a variety of sources including the National Trauma Registry, the Orthopedic Trauma Association, and the Uniform Pre-Hospital EMS Data Elements. The crash-related aspects, including scene and vehicle inspections and documentation, reconstructions of crash dynamics, and review of official records, have been largely identical to those of NASS-CDS and CISS.

3 Injury in America: A Continuing Public Health Problem, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1985.

The CIREN program provides insight into developing trends in motor vehicle crash injury causation. This insight translates into emerging research topics, and CIREN research projects frequently graduate to full research programs. This contract seeks to provide the OVSR with a mechanism to ensure the quality, completeness, compliance, and consistency of data collected in the CIREN program. Utilization of a third-party quality control agent ensures NHTSA can provide the public with timely data from the investigations of seriously injured victims of traffic crashes. NHTSA’s input will be a critical element of the work, and will help guide the specific activities throughout the period of performance.

The findings of the CIREN program will broaden the knowledge of a wide range of crash victims, crash modes, and injury mechanisms, and shall ultimately provide a basis for improved vehicle and restraint design. The long-term outcome of CIREN helps lead to a reduction in serious injuries and fatalities from motor vehicle crashes

C.4 OBJECTIVE

The objectives of this contract are to support the CIREN program by performing quality control functions through a detailed and unbiased review of the case data collected and entered by the CIREN centers and to prepare the data for researcher analysis and public release. Furthermore, this Contract provides indirect support to other NHTSA field data programs (CISS and SCI) as a result of the in-depth review and identification of problems with data collection and coding. The networked nature of CIREN will continue to support cross-pollination of knowledge and encourage development of new research areas well-suited to the participants’ skills.

The general function of the entire CIREN program is shown in the figure below. Functions of the case production process performed by the CIREN center contractors, Crash Data Acquisition Network (CDAN) information technology (IT) contractors, or NHTSA are shaded with gray or white. The primary contributions from this Contract are indicated by the black-shaded cells, though the quality control role shall provide support and consultation throughout the entire case production process.

C.5 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall perform the requirements according to contract language, process documentation, and guidelines established by NHTSA – deliverables include quality control findings, edit check scripts, overall CIREN quality performance assessments, and periodic reports. The networked nature of the CIREN program requires frequent interaction with NHTSA, the CDAN IT contractor, and the CIREN medical center, engineering center, or integrated center contractors.

The CIREN process includes frequent case review web conference meetings. The Contractor shall participate in each case review web conference meeting.

The Contractor shall attend meetings and training sessions provided by NHTSA for the CIREN program and the CDAN data system as deemed necessary by the NHTSA COR or NHTSA CIREN Program Manager, in coordination with the NHTSA COR. The Contractor may be required to lead instructional or informational sessions on quality control at these training sessions.

For the duration of this contract, the Contractor shall demonstrate and maintain the background and technical expertise to independently review all aspects of an investigated crash (i.e., the vehicle crash aspects, the medical aspects in CIREN, and the CIREN-specific injury mechanism Bio-Tab) and successfully document findings back to the CIREN team and NHTSA.

C.6 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS

C.6.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

C.6.1.a Project Manager

The Contractor shall appoint a Project Manager at the time of award. The Project Manager will be the Contractor’s authorized supervisor for technical and administrative work performed under the contract. The Project Manager shall provide the single point of contact between the Contractor and the NHTSA Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The Project Manager shall receive and execute, on behalf of the Contractor, such technical assignment directives as the COR may issue within the terms and conditions of the contract.

C.6.1.b Kick-Off Meeting

Within two (2) weeks of the effective date of contract award, the Contractor shall coordinate with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and the Contracting Officer to schedule a teleconference or web meeting interface for no more than two (2) hours. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the contract objectives, contract administration, and necessary coordination to conduct CIREN

C.6.1.c Establish Key Personnel

Within two (2) weeks of the effective date of contract award, the Contractor shall ensure the key personnel are available to begin work on the Contract requirements. Key personnel positions for CIREN Quality Control include the Principal Scientist and Associate Scientist. If, during the course of the performance of this Contract, key personnel must be replaced, the Contractor Project Manager shall notify NHTSA COR and Contracting Officer. Prior to beginning work under this contract, potential key personnel must be approved by the NHTSA COR and undergo any required training or security screening as dictated by the individual’s role and outlined in Section C.6.1.d and C.6.1.e.

C.6.1.d Staff Training

NHTSA will specify training requirements for the Contractor and offer training on a periodic basis to meet CIREN program needs. The Contractor shall ensure that CIREN quality control staff attends required training courses. Basic start-up training for individuals not trained to NHTSA field crash investigation protocols, which may be condensed for experienced NHTSA-trained investigators, shall consist of self-paced, computer-based lessons and up to five (5) one-week classroom sessions at a location to be specified by NHTSA (currently Oklahoma City, OK).

C.6.1.e Periodic CIREN Network Teleconferences

As deemed necessary by the NHTSA COR, the Contractor may be required to participate in periodic network-wide teleconference or web meetings to discuss processes, performance, and program progress. Meetings will be scheduled by the NHTSA COR such that participation by Contractor personnel can be maximized. The objective of the meetings will be to solicit input from project personnel, discuss technical issues, and develop solutions to problems associated with case production. Generally, no more than one periodic network teleconference will be scheduled each month with a duration of typically one hour.

C.6.1.f Annual CIREN Team Meetings

No more than once annually, all Contractor project personnel shall attend an in-person team meeting at a time and location to be determined by the NHTSA COR. The purpose of the annual in-person meetings shall be for project personnel to participate in training sessions related to the CIREN program, discuss CIREN-related research topics, or to share CIREN program findings (with NHTSA and/or the public). The team meeting will typically last one or two days at a location to be determined by NHTSA (e.g., DOT HQ in Washington, DC).

C.6.1.g Field Crash Investigator Annual Training

The Contractor project personnel shall attend a NHTSA-sponsored field crash investigator training session once annually, as determined by the NHTSA COR. The training sessions will typically last three to four days at a location to be determined by NHTSA (e.g., Phoenix, AZ).

C.6.1.h Establish Site and Infrastructure

Within one (1) month of the effective date of contract award, the Contractor shall establish and maintain suitable office space to house the CIREN Quality Control project personnel and hardware. The office space shall be secure and include climate control for computers and other environmentally-sensitive hardware. The office site shall include high-speed internet access and telephone connectivity.

C.6.1.i Reporting

The Contractor shall provide quarterly and annual progress reports to the NHTSA COR and Contracting Officer, summarizing progress of work conducted as part of this contract. The quarterly reports shall also include details on problems encountered and remedies to overcome identified problems. The quarterly reports shall include a graphical display clearly and accurately showing the level of effort performed to date (by contract year) and funds expended against the contract year’s totals as stipulated in Section B of the contract. The quarterly report shall be due by the 15th day following the quarter being reported. The annual report shall be due by the 15th day following the year being reported. Required case production (number of cases reviewed) details (only include raw case count) and content for reports includes:

Item Quarterly Report Annual Report 1 # of cases advanced by CIREN

Engineering Centers Quarter-specific Cumulative

(all contract years) 2 # of cases returned as QC

Incomplete Quarter-specific Cumulative

(all contract years) 3 # of cases returned as QC Complete Quarter-specific Cumulative

(all contract ears) 4 # of web-based joint case review meetings attended Quarter-specific Cumulative

(all contract years)

C.6.2 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

C.6.2.a Contractor employees shall be required to sign a U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Information Technology (IT) Systems Rules of Behavior Form (or equivalent) before being granted access to the CIREN data system. This form will be provided by the COR within thirty (30) days after contract award. All users shall agree not to discuss or divulge the source of any data to third parties (i.e., anyone outside the CIREN network).

C.6.2.b CIREN deals with highly sensitive material that shall be protected against intentional or unintentional disclosure to unauthorized individuals or entities. The Contractor shall take reasonable steps to prevent the release of personal and location data identifiers to anyone outside of the CIREN network.

C.6.2.c The Contractor shall follow established sanitization procedures for personally identifiable information as outlined in Section H.10, Protection of Individual Privacy, of this contract.

Information released to the general public shall not include any “personal and/or location identifiers” or any “sensitive medical information” as defined in Section H.10 of this contract and shall not be traceable back to the Contractor that collected the data.

C.6.2.d All Contractor staff assigned to the project will be required to pass the standard Public Trust security clearance process used by DOT, and will be issued DOT email addresses.

Application packages must be submitted within two weeks of the effective date of contract award.

Some of the Contractor’s staff will also be required to establish MAX.gov Authentication as a service account, and may be required to obtain Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards from NHTSA. The Contractor shall be responsible for data center systems security, including:

• Security and access privileges to data and/or currently available reports to specified users and groups;

• Running and submitting vulnerabilities scan reports;

• Running security control testing, continuous monitoring, and Continuity of Operations

Planning (COOP);

• Coordinate and perform activities needed for Certification and Accreditation of the system every three years;

• Providing patch management service; to ensure system security protection and continuity of the data collection operations. The Contractor shall take immediate actions to mitigate any vulnerabilities, intrusions, or other security breaches and shall notify the COR on issues and/or incidents that affect the security of the systems operations center within one hour of discovery.

C.6.3 QUALITY CONTROL FUNCTIONS

C.6.3.a Web-Based Joint Case Review Sessions

The Contractor project personnel shall participate in periodic Internet-based case review meetings, during which generally three to five CIREN cases shall be presented and discussed.

Other case review participants include the CIREN Medical Center, the CIREN Engineering Center, and representatives from NHTSA. Other participants, from other CIREN centers or from outside the CIREN network may be invited at the discretion of NHTSA COR. A typical case review meeting will last two hours, and up to five meetings will occur each month depending on CIREN Medical Center case throughput and scheduling constraints. Each case review shall include a presentation of the crash-related materials and the patient’s injuries delivered by the CIREN Medical Center according to a NHTSA-specified template. The involved CIREN Engineering Center shall present the injury causation scenarios according to a NHTSA-specified template. The case review session is intended to foster a discussion of the available evidence by subject matter experts to develop comprehensive injury causation scenarios that best describe the causation of every injury sustained by each CIREN case subject. Following each case’s review session, the CIREN centers responsible for the case(s) shall make any required changes to the coding and prepare the case for submission for the quality control review process.

The CIREN Medical Center will coordinate scheduling of case review meetings in cooperation with NHTSA and the CIREN Engineering Center. The Contractor shall accommodate the case review meeting schedule such that at least one (1) project staff person participates in each case review meeting. Schedule conflicts that may prevent participation by the Contractor project personnel must be announced to the NHTSA COR in advance of the case review meeting. Case review presentations may be delivered in one of three formats – Full, Expedited, or In-system – as determined by the NHTSA COR and explained in Attachment J.1 - CIREN Phase IV Process and Coding Manual. The Contractor is not required to prepare or present material during the case review session, but shall participate in the meeting to provide guidance on coding issues and monitor case throughput.

C.6.3.b Detailed Case Content Review

Upon completion of case data entry by the CIREN Centers, the case status shall be advanced by the CIREN Engineering Center to the QC Review state which places the case in this Contractor’s queue (see Attachment J.1: CIREN Phase IV Process and Coding Manual for details on case flow and status definitions). The Contractor has four weeks to complete the quality control review prior to marking the case as QC Complete for repair by the responsible CIREN Centers.

The Contractor shall follow case review guidelines set forth in Attachment J.1: CIREN Phase IV Process and Coding Manual and the therein-referenced process documents applicable to each case reviewed. The Contractor’s review shall include element-by-element review of coded data and associated case documentation to ensure completeness, accuracy, compliance, consistency, and appropriateness. Quality review findings shall be entered into the CIREN data system in the designated fields and become a permanent element in the case. The Contractor shall not change any coded case data without explicit direction from the NHTSA COR. The Contractor shall send an email message to the responsible CIREN Centers and the NHTSA COR upon completion of the quality control review when the case status is changed to QC Complete.

The Contractor shall perform a review of all crash reconstruction and related case elements, medical coding, injury coding, and injury causation for approximately 300 CIREN cases per year.

Most of the cases will be motor vehicle occupants, though the CIREN program expects to expand case types to include pedestrians, motorcyclists, and pedal-cyclists. The time required to conduct the in-depth review of each case will vary as some cases are more complex than others, but a reasonable estimate of time required per case is eight (8) hours. The scope of the quality control review must cover the entire CIREN case, which consists of vehicle and scene inspections, crash reconstructions, injury code identification, injury causation assessments, and the photographic content as required by the referenced NHTSA process documents and manuals, as outlined in Section J, Attachments. (J.1, J.2, J.3, and J.4).

The CIREN program is expected to provide the public and the crash research community with the most comprehensive crash and injury data to support research and reconstruction, so the completeness and accuracy of CIREN case data is of critical importance. Adherence to protocols and standards must be enforced, and the CIREN quality control review supports this goal.

Complete sanitization of coded and stored information is a critical component of the quality control process. CIREN cases submitted for quality control review containing omissions or egregious errors shall be returned to the responsible CIREN Center(s) with the status of QC Incomplete without undergoing complete review. This approach minimizes the time spent by the Contractor on cases that cannot be fully reviewed. The Contractor shall notify the NHTSA COR of any cases returned to a CIREN Center with the status QC Incomplete.

C.6.3.c Interaction with CIREN Centers

The collaborative nature of the CIREN Program requires interaction between the Contractor, CIREN Centers, NHTSA, and the CDAN IT contractor, throughout the case production process.

Communication by telephone and via e-mail will be required.

C.6.3.d Identifying Problems and Training Needs

The Contractor, in the course of performing the reviews described in C.6.3.b, shall identify and document performance problems or patterns of coding irregularities that may be remedied with process improvements or specialized training for the CIREN Centers. The Contractor shall provide support to the NHTSA COR to develop appropriate training materials for delivery at CIREN training events.

C.6.4 DATA SYSTEM SUPPORT

C.6.4.a Development and Enhancement of Automated Error Checking

The Contractor shall develop and maintain automated error checking algorithms (also known as edit checks) in the CDAN data system that ensure complete, accurate, and consistent data entry.

The edit checks may be tailored to provide instant feedback to data entry personnel upon entry of potentially erroneous data, or may provide feedback to the data entry personnel as part of a report generated by the data system. The CDAN data system contains an extensive array of edit checks, and the Contractor project personnel shall support NHTSA in crafting new edit checks while ensuring continued functionality of existing checks in light of potential changes in the data system or coding requirements.

C.6.4.b Software and Data System Review

As a result of NHTSA’s development of a new electronic data system to support its field crash investigation programs, a new interface and data structure was developed for CIREN. The new system, which is now being used in a production environment, may undergo further system enhancements during the period of performance, and these enhancements may require input from the Contractor. The Contractor shall document system failures and errors observed during case production and provide related information to the NHTSA COR.

C.6.4.c Support for Public Release of Data

The Contractor shall provide technical support to ensure CIREN case data prepared for public release comply with program requirements and undergo acceptable translations upon conversion into alternate formats. The CIREN program releases case data to the public via a single case viewer and in compiled data sets.

(End of Section C)

D.1 GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Preservation, and packing of all shipments or mailing of all work delivered under this contract shall be done in accordance with good commercial practices and to ensure acceptance by common carrier (if applicable) and safe transportation at the most economical rate(s).

Any deliverables required by this contract shall be submitted to the applicable personnel identified in Section F of this contract. Due to security concerns, deliverables transmitted via regular U.S. Mail experience significant delay in reaching an intended destination and, as part of the screening process, may be damaged. For these reasons, the U.S. Mail should not be used to transmit deliverables. Rather, the Contractor is encouraged to use electronic mail to the maximum extent possible.

SECTION D - PACKAGING AND MARKING

D.2 FORMATTING TEXT AND IMAGE DELIVERABLES (JUN 2009)

For those deliverables submitted electronically as text or image files, the following specifications apply.

D.2.1 TEXT

Text files shall be delivered in a format compatible with Microsoft WORD 2016. Font type of Times New Roman with a font size of 12 shall be used throughout the document. The Contractor shall minimize additional formatting as much as possible, for example, avoid use of columns. Avoid using any design/layout elements (however, see D.2.2, D.2.3, and D.2.4 below).

D.2.2 CHARTS AND GRAPHS

The Contractor shall develop charts or graphs using a format compatible with Microsoft EXCEL 2016 and shall insert these in the appropriate places within the text document. The Contractor shall also provide the Microsoft EXCEL source file from which charts or graphs were developed.

D.2.3 ILLUSTRATIONS

NHTSA’s Office of Communication Services is responsible for developing or acquiring most illustrations found in NHTSA publications. These illustrations can take two forms:

D.2.3.1 Graphics – In the majority of cases, the Office of Communication Services will develop any needed graphics in collaboration with the COR. The Contractor shall provide text, graphs, and charts following the guidelines stipulated in D.2.1 and D.2.2 above. In some cases, the Contractor may be required to develop graphics. In these cases, the Contractor shall use only software approved by the U.S. Government Publishing Office (e.g., Adobe Illustrator.)

D.2.3.2 Photographs – When photos are used in Agency publications, the Office of Communication Services typically uses existing photos or photos purchased through royalty-free sources. In the event the Contractor must supply photos for use in a publication, the photos must be high resolution images at least 300 dpi at the size used in the publication. Photos shall be supplied on a CD or DVD in either .tif format (for scanned images) or .jpg (for images downloaded to the CD or DVD directly from the digital camera.).

NOTE: If a photograph is supplied by an outside source (Contractor, grantee, national organization, etc.), a release form must accompany the photo indicating that the human subjects in the photo authorize NHTSA to use the photo in its publications and on its Internet site. The Contractor shall not use a release form under this contract that has not been first reviewed and approved for use by the Agency. The Contractor also is responsible for ensuring that the necessary arrangements have been made with the photographer and the subjects in the photo to ensure that NHTSA has unlimited rights to use the images in print and on the web. The Contractor shall obtain, and provide to NHTSA, a written statement indicating that NHTSA has unlimited, unrestricted rights to the use of such photos.

D.2.4 WEB-BASED IMAGES

The Contractor is cautioned that copyrights may restrict use of web-based images even if it is not expressly indicated at the website. Additionally, the resolution of most web-based images is not high enough to provide a clear image when published. For these reasons, web-based images typically should not be used under this contract, and need to first be approved by the COR.

(End of Section D)

E.1 FAR 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=/browse/far/52

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Clauses:

52.246-5 Inspection of Services - Cost-Reimbursement (APR 1984)

E.2 INSPECTION AND/OR ACCEPTANCE

The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), as designated in this contract, shall be responsible for performing the inspection of all supplies or services rendered under this contract and for recommending acceptance or replacement/correction of services or materials that fail to meet the contract requirements to the Contracting Officer.

(End of Section E)

SECTION E - INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=/browse/far/52

SECTION F - DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

F.1 52.252-2 CLAUSES INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE (FEB 1998)

as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at this/these address(es): https://www.acquisition.gov/?q=/browse/far/52

Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Clauses:

52.242-15 Stop Work Order (AUG 1989) 52.247-35 F.o.b. Destination, Within Consignees Premises (APR 1984)

F.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

All work and services required hereunder shall not exceed 60 months from the effective date of the contract inclusive of one (1) base period and four (4), one-year options that may be exercised at the Government’s discretion.

Base Period (12 Months): TBD – TBD Option Period 1 (12 Months): TBD – TBD Option Period 2 (12 Months): TBD – TBD Option Period 3 (12 Months): TBD – TBD Option Period 4 (12 Months): TBD – TBD

F.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The work to be performed under this contract shall be accomplished at the Contractor’s facility.

F.4 DELIVERABLES AND MILESTONES

All deliverables shall be submitted to the COR in accordance with the schedule specified below.

All written deliverables shall be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format, via e-mail.

Paper copies shall be submitted only upon request of the Government. The following is a list of all deliverables and milestones which are considered to be significant in the performance of this contract.

Item Section Milestone (M)/Deliverable (D) Due Date 1 C.6.1.a Appoint Project Manager (M) At time of award 2 C.6.1.b Kick-off meeting (M) Within two weeks of award 3 C.6.1.c Establish key personnel (M) Within two weeks of award 4 C.6.1.d Staff training (M) As scheduled by NHTSA

5 C.6.1.e Teleconference attendance (M) As scheduled by NHTSA 6 C.6.1.f Project personnel annual CIREN meeting attendance (M) Annually, by end of each contract year

7 C.6.1.g Project personnel annual Field Crash Investigator Training attendance (M)

Annually, by end of each contract year

8 C.6.1.h Establish site and infrastructure (M) Within one month of award 9 C.6.1.i Monthly case progress report (D) 15th day following the quarter being reported 10 C.6.1.i Annual case progress report (D) 15th day following the year being reported 11 C.6.2 Security clearance application packages (D) Within two weeks of award 12 C.6.3.a Monthly case review sessions (M) Each month, as scheduled by

CIREN program 13 C.6.3.b Detailed case review and documentation of findings for each CIREN case submitted by centers (D)

Within 4 weeks of case submission

14 C.6.3.d Documentation of problems and training needs (D)

As they occur and in quarterly reports

15 C.6.4.a Development of automated error checking (D)

As they occur and in quarterly reports

16 C.6.4.b Documentation of data system failures and errors (D)

As they occur and in quarterly reports

17 C.6.4.c Support for public release of data (M) By end of each program year

F.5 PLACE OF DELIVERY

All deliverables shall be furnished to the following addresses in the number of copies specified:

Mailing Address Deliverable Item

Numbers Number of Deliverable Copies

DOT/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Human Injury Research Division (NSR-220) Attention: TBD, (COR) 1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E., Rm. TBD Washington, D.C. 20590 Telephone: (202)-366-TBD Email: tbd@dot.gov

9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16

DOT/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Acquisition Management (NFO-300) Attention: TBD, (Contracting Officer) 1200 New Jersey Ave. S.E., Rm. WXX-XXX Washington, D.C. 20590 Telephone: (202)-XXX-XXXX Email: TBD@dot.gov

9, 10 1

F.6 COMPLIANCE WITH REHABILITATION ACT

The Contractor may be required to ensure that electronic documents it prepares will meet the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. The Rehabilitation Act requires that all electronic products prepared for the Federal Government be accessible to persons with disabilities, including those with vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility impairments. When an electronic document developed under this effort has been identified by NHTSA as necessary and required to meet the requirements of Section 508, it is understood that all reasonable costs incurred by the Contractor that are associated with meeting the requirements for Section 508 compliance will be fully reimbursed by the Government.

The Contractor should review Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and Federal IT Accessibility Initiative (Home Page) website at http://www.section508.gov for further information on these requirements.

(End of Section F)

G.1 PAYMENT/COST REIMBURSEMENT

The Contractor may request interim payments for costs incurred during the performance of the contract. A statement of allowable costs incurred by the Contractor in the performance of tasks under the contract shall support each interim payment request.

The Contractor shall submit Monthly Requests for Reimbursement. Requests for reimbursement must correspond to the Contractor’s submission of Progress Reports for the period of performance being invoiced.

Any request for reimbursement that does not correspond to a progress report detailing contract activity for the period of time being invoiced is cause for rejection by the NHTSA COR. If a request for reimbursement is rejected by the NHTSA COR, the Contractor must resubmit the invoice after it has submitted the corresponding progress report to the NHTSA

COR.

SECTION G - CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

http://www.section508.gov/

G.2 SUBMISSION OF INVOICES

G.2.1 The Contractor shall submit invoices by email to:

9-AMC-AMZ-NHTSA-Invoices@faa.gov or shall submit invoices by mail to:

DOT/NHTSA

Mike Monroney Aero Center Accounts Payable Branch, AMZ-150 P.O. Box 268911 Oklahoma City, OK 73126

G.2.2 The following data shall be included in invoices to be considered proper for payment:

• Name and address of the Contractor.

• Invoice date and invoice number. The Contractor should date invoices as close as possible to the date of the mailing or transmission.

• Timeframe covered by the invoice.

• NHTSA Contract Number – TBD

• NHTSA Contracting Officer’s name – TBD

• NHTSA Contract Specialist’s name – TBD

• NHTSA Contracting Officer’s Representative – TBD

• Itemization of supplies/service costs to include:

o Cost category o Item cost o Item quantity o Extend price/cost o Total reimbursement requested for that specific invoice (e.g., direct cost, indirect cost, fee) o Cumulative total of reimbursements to date

• Applicable Fixed Fee;

• Name and address of Contractor’s official to whom questions regarding payment should be referred.

mailto:9-AMC-AMZ-NHTSA-Invoices@faa.gov

• The Contractor shall certify on a percentage effort based on an individual’s annual salary, that the individuals (Labor Categories) being charged to the Government are correct, and that the dollar amounts invoiced were incurred for the work billed.

• To be acceptable for payment, each invoice must contain the following certification:

“I hereby certify that the information submitted in this invoice, and accompanying documentation, is accurate and conforms to the billing requirements set forth in this contract.”

• If the invoice does not comply with these requirements, the invoice will be returned as an improper invoice within seven (7) calendar days after receipt.

NOTE:

The final invoice is not subject to interest payment under the Prompt Payment Act. The Contracting Officer will process the final invoice as a routine part of the closeout process.

When directed by the CO, the Contractor shall submit the final invoice to the address listed in G.2 above with a copy to the CO along with the final closeout documents.

G.3 INDIRECT COST RATES

Pending the establishment of final indirect cost rates which shall be negotiated based on audit of actual costs as provided in FAR 42.7, Indirect Cost Rates, the Contractor shall be reimbursed for allowable indirect costs hereunder at the rates established below.

Type Cost Center Rate *Rate Base Effective Period

Provisional Fringe Benefits TBD

Provisional Overhead TBD

Provisional General and Administrative (G&A)

TBD

*Rate Base: Identify the Direct Cost Pool to which the indirect cost rates are applied (e.g.

Direct Labor, Materials, Other Direct Costs, etc.).

To prevent substantial over or under payment, and to apply either retroactively or prospectively, provisional rates may, at the request of either party, be revised by mutual agreement on an annual basis.

This Indirect Cost provision does not operate to waive the LIMITATION OF COST Clause (incorporated by reference in Section I). The Contractor’s audited final indirect costs are allowable only insofar as they do not cause the Contractor to exceed the total estimated costs for performance under this contract.

G.4 BILLING RATES

The provisional indirect rates negotiated under this contract for billing purposes shall remain in effect until revised rates have been approved in writing by the Contracting Officer. The Contractor shall request new provisional billing rates in writing. Such requests shall be supported by audit findings. Acceptance of rate changes will be subject to the Limitations of Cost clause 52.232-20.

G.5 ESCALATION RATE

Annual escalation of direct labor rates shall not exceed TBD percent, beginning in the second year of this contract, unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer (CO).

G.6 TRAVEL AND PER DIEM RATES

Travel costs will be reimbursed in accordance with FAR Part 31.

The Contractor shall obtain COR approval before scheduling any travel. Travel and Per Diem authorized under this contract shall be reimbursed in accordance with the Government Travel Regulations currently in effect.

Travel requirements under this contract shall be met using the most economical form of transportation available. If economy class transportation is not available, the request for payment voucher must be submitted with justification for use of higher class travel indicating dates, times, and flight numbers. All travel shall be scheduled sufficiently in advance to take advantage of offered discount rates, unless authorized by the COR.

G.7 PURCHASE APPROVAL

The Contractor shall obtain written approval of the COR prior to purchasing items under this contract, including supplies and equipment, that had not been included and approved as part of the Contractor’s proposal. The Contractor shall submit a copy of all receipts with the monthly invoices for reimbursement.

G.8 SUBCONTRACTS ADVANCE NOTIFICATION AND CONSENT

Under this contract, the requirements of FAR 44.2, CONSENT TO SUBCONTRACTS, have been fulfilled for the following subcontracts:

TBD

Any future change or revision to the Statement of Work (SOW) or other applicable aspects of this contract shall include the subcontract(s) only to the extent that performance of the subcontract(s) is directly affected by the change or revision.

G.9 GOVERNMENT PERSONNEL

G.9.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

The performance of the work required under this contract shall be subject to the technical review of the NHTSA COR.

• The Contracting Officer will designate a technical representative to assist in monitoring the work under the contract. The Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) serves as the technical liaison between the Government and the Contractor.

The COR is not authorized to change the scope of work or specifications as stated in the contract, to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the Government, or to authorize any changes which affect the contract price, delivery schedule, period of performance or other terms or conditions.

• In the event any technical direction offered by…