86543B18R00003NewsClips_v2.pdf

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

Solicitation, 86543B18R00003, is being issued as a Request for Proposal (RFP). Proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.

The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through

Federal Acquisition Circular 2005-100.

This requirement is a competitive 100% small business set-aside under NAICS code of 519190

“All Other Information Services.” The period of performance is a 12 (twelve) month base year and 4 (four) 1 (one) year option periods if exercised. This type of contract will be firm-fixed price.

I. PRICING SCHEDULE

SERVICES

This firm fixed price procurement is being conducted utilizing Federal Acquisition Regulation

(FAR) Part 12 and 13. The services required are: Delivery of the news clips (index, summary and prioritized news summary). Daily news briefing of news articles from print, radio and television. These services shall be performed in accordance with the performance work statement (PWS).

PRICE SCHEDULE

As total compensation for all services performed in accordance with the terms, conditions, and specifications stated herein, the contractor will be paid according to the fixed unit prices listed below:

CLIN

Description

Quantity

Unit

Price

Total Price

0001 Base Period: 9/30/18-9/29/19

HUD Prioritized news summary, news clips & index (table of contents). Daily news briefing of news articles from print, radio and television.

12 MO

Option Year 1: 9/30/19-9/29/20

HUD Prioritized news summary, news clips & index (table of contents). Daily news briefing of news articles from print, radio and television.

Description

Quantity

Price

Total Price

0003 Option Year 2: 9/30/20-9/29/21

HUD Prioritized news summary, news clips & index (table of contents). Daily news briefing

0004 Option Year 3: 9/30/21-9/29/22

HUD Prioritized news summary, news clips & index (table of contents). Daily news briefing

0005 Option Year 4: 9/30/22-9/29/23

HUD Prioritized news summary, news clips & index (table of contents). Daily news briefing

0006 Transition Services – furnish phase-out services for up to a 3 month period.

3 MO

TOTAL

Total value of contract, if all options are exercised

A description of the requirements for the items to be acquired are in the Performance Work

Statement Section II.

The date and place of delivery and acceptance and FOB point are in the solicitation.

The provision at 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors—Commercial, applies to this acquisition and any addends.

The provision at 52.212-2, Evaluation—Commercial Items

Offerors are advised to include a completed copy of the provision of 52.212-3, Offeror

Representations and Certifications—Commercial Items, with its offer.

The clause at 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and any addends.

The clause at 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes Or

Executive Orders—Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition.

All additional contract requirements or terms and conditions necessary for this acquisition are listed in Section V of the solicitation.

The date, time and place offers are due along with the name and telephone number of the individual to contact for additional information is stated in the instructions to offers

SECTION II – PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

News Clips Support Services

Vision Statement

Provide the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, key staff members and general staff employees with coherent, accurate, comprehensive, timely and current digital news from reliable local, state and national US and world news sources.

1 General Information

1.1 Introduction

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) / Office of Public Affairs (OPA) requires contractor support to provide news clips services that will keep the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, key staff and general staff members abreast of credible daily local, state, national and world news from a variety of sources that are related to the HUD's housing market and its interests.

1.2 Background

The HUD news clipping service was established to keep the Office of Public Affairs updated on current news issues pertaining to HUD. These services support the Office of the Secretary’s research efforts by providing access to an extensive database that includes national, regional, local and international newspapers, magazines, television, news wires, social media, and legislative content.

Current Environment:

The current environment in which the Contractor shall be performing work and uploading daily clippings is the HUD@Work intranet web server. The HUD@work intranet web server serves as an information center for HUD employees. Examples of information found include HUD program office information such as points of contacts and phone numbers, employee benefits, news and various information pertaining to HUD. The Contractor shall be required to adhere to HUD intranet guidelines that shall be distributed upon contract award to the Contractor. The Contractor shall then be granted access to HUD’s intranet site upon contract award.

1.3 Constraints

The services identified in this PWS shall adhere to the rules, regulations, laws, standards, and conventions identified by HUD as well as within the Federal Government. Constraints include the following:

• Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards Section 508.

https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/section-508-standards

1.4 Description of Services

The Contractor shall provide the expertise, staff support and related resources to assist the OPA with providing daily news briefings of news articles from print, radio, and television. Tasks include:

• Program Management

• Provide News Clip Services

• Publish News Clips

• News Clip Archives

Detailed descriptions of specific tasks are provided in Section 5 Specific Tasks and

Deliverables.

1.5 Non-Personal Services

The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to manage its employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception of personal services.

If the Contractor believes that any actions constitute, or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the Contractor's responsibility to notify the Contracting Officer (CO) immediately. These services shall not be used to perform work of a policy, decision making, or management nature, i.e. inherently Government functions. All decisions relative to programs supported by the Contactor shall be the sole responsibility of the Government.

1.6 Period of Performance

The period of performance shall be for one base period of 12 months and four 12-month option periods.

https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/section-508-standards https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/section-508-standards

1.7 Place of Performance

The services to be performed under this contract shall be performed at the Contractor's facility.

1.8 Hours of Operation

The Contractor is responsible for providing services for no more than eight hours per day, Monday thru Friday except for Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closing, or similar Government directed facility closings. Weekly hours shall not exceed a forty (40) hour work week and a typical work day shall be 8 hours each day Monday through Friday. The Government reserves the right to change hours of operation or restrict contractor access. Work outside of these daily hours is prohibited without Contracting Officer approval. Government agencies will not be available during scheduled holidays, inclement weather, weekends, and after duty hours. The Contractor shall at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within the contract when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce is essential.

1.9 Special Qualifications

Non-applicable (NA)

1.10 Post Award/Kickoff Conference

The Contractor shall attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 42.5. The Government intends to convene a Post Award Conference with the Contractor within ten business days after contract award. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor of the specific date, location, and agenda within five business days after contract award.

1.11 Status Meetings

The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and other Government personnel, as appropriate may meet periodically with the Contractor to also review the Contractor performance, requirement status, etc. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the Contractor's performance or progress of the requirement. The Contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government. Post Award Conference and subsequent meetings may be held via teleconference.

1.12 Contractor Travel

Prior to travel, the Contractor shall coordinate with and receive Government authorization from the COR for all travel. Reimbursement of travel costs will be in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation and in accordance with FAR 31.205-46. The Contractor shall travel using the lower cost mode transportation commensurate with the mission requirements. When necessary to use air travel, the Contractor shall use the tourist class, economy class or similar lodging accommodations to the extent they are available and commensurate with the mission requirements. HUD will not reimburse Contractor's local travel. Local travel is defined as travel within fifty (50) miles of Washington, DC. All other travel will be reimbursed on a cost reimbursable basis; no profit or fee will be paid.

1.13 Transition In

The Contractor shall, upon the Contracting Officer's written notice, furnish Transition-In services as required. As a successor, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the first 30 calendar days after the award of the contract. Transition-In period to ensure a smooth transition with the incumbent Contractor. The Contractor shall provide an orderly transition of work acceptance and accomplishment such that any impact to the program is minimized. During the Transition-In period, the Contractor shall become familiar with the requirements in order to commence full performance of services by the end of the contract Transition-In period. Transition-In is not required if the successor Contractor is the incumbent Contractor. The Contractor shall obtain the HUD archive process and compliance procedures from HUD’s Information Management Office during the Transition-In period before commencement of initial archive services.

1.14 Transition Out

To minimize any decrease in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the last 30 days prior to contract expiration. Transition-Out period. The incumbent Contractor shall ensure a smooth transition with the successor Contractor during the Transition-Out period, prior to completion of contractual performance. The incumbent Contractor shall aid the successor in the development of plans, procedures and methods for the assumption of all on going work. The Contractor shall provide an orderly transition of work acceptance and accomplishment, such that full control by the successor contractor is achieved by the end of the new contract Transition-In period.

2 Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions

Business/Work Days - Every official work day of the week which days between are and including Monday to Friday. This does not include public holidays and weekends.

Calendar Day - Any day of the week.

Contractor - A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the Government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Contracting Officer (CO) - A person with authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the Government. Note: the only individual who can legally bind the Government.

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) - An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the Contracting Officer to perform contract administration activities in regard to technical issues. This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor as long as direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

Defective Service - A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the Performance Work Statement.

Deliverable - Anything that can be physically delivered but may include non-manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

Government Furnished Property (GFP) - Government-furnished property means property in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the Government and subsequently furnished to the Contractor for performance of a contract. Government-furnished property includes, but is not limited to, spares and property furnished for repair, maintenance, overhaul, or modification.

Government-furnished property also includes contractor-acquired property if the contractor-acquired property is a deliverable under a cost contract when accepted by the Government for continued use under the contract.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) - A listing of the performance requirements under the contract that are to be evaluated by the Government on a regular basis, performance indicators for these requirements, performance standards for these requirement and surveillance methods to be used to determine if performance standards are met.

Performance Standard - The Contractor's performance level required by the Government.

Performance Work Statement (PWS) - A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions that describe the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

Program Manager (PM) - An individual designated by the Contracting Officer to assist in providing technical direction and monitoring performance under the contract.

Quality Assurance (QA) - Policies and procedures adopted by the Government to ensure that supplies and services acquired under Government contracts conform to the contracts quality requirements.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) - A plan describing how the agency will survey, observe, test, sample, evaluate and document the Contractor's performance in meeting critical performance standards identified in the contract.

Quality Control (QC) - All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product of service shall meet contract requirements.

Subcontractor - Any person, other than the prime Contractor, who offers to furnish or furnishes any supplies, material, equipment, or services of any kind under a prime contract or a subcontract entered into in connection with such prime contract, and any person who offers to furnish or furnishes general supplies to the prime contractor or a higher tier subcontractor. The Government does not have privity of contract with a subcontractor.

Work Week - Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2 Acronyms

ABC - American Broadcasting Company

AQL - Acceptable Quality Level

CBS - Columbia Broadcasting System

CLIN - Contract Line Item Number

CO - Contracting Officer

CPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer of HUD

DC – District of Columbia

EIT - Electronic and Information Technology

EST - Eastern Standard Time (U.S.)

FAR - Federal Acquisition Regulation

GFP - Government Furnished Property

HUD - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUDAR - HUD Acquisition Regulation

NA – Non-applicable

NBC - National Broadcasting Company

OPA - Office of Public Affairs

PM - Program Manager

PMP - Program Management Plan

POC - Point of Contact

PRS - Performance Requirements Summary

PWS - Performance Work Statement

QA - Quality Assurance

QASP - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

QCP - Quality Control Plan

US – United States

USA – United States of America

3 Government-Furnished Property (GFP) and Services

The Contractor shall ensure accurate control and accountability of all Government-Furnished Property in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. The Government will furnish, at no cost to the Contractor, the GFP shown below.

3.1 Government Services

The Government will not provide.

3.2 Facilities

The Government will not provide.

3.3 Equipment

The Government will not provide.

3.4 Materials

The Government will not provide.

3.5 Quality Assurance (QA)

The Government shall evaluate the Contractor's performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the Contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable quality level.

4 Contractor-Furnished Items and Services

The Contractor shall furnish, all facilities, equipment, and supplies required to perform the work under this contract that are not listed under Government-Furnished Property and Services.

4.1 Facilities

NA

4.2 Equipment

NA

4.3 Material

NA

4.4 Contractor Responsibilities

The Contractor shall only conduct business with designated Government personnel listed as points of contact (POCs). Names of authorized personnel shall be provided to the Contractor by the Government, in writing, and updated as necessary throughout the contract period. U.S.

Government records, copies of original results and reports, verified original data, corrected data and corrected supporting final reports which are maintained by the Contractor remain the property of the U.S. Government. These files/results must be surrendered to the COR.

4.5 Contractor Personnel

The Contractor shall provide a Contract Project Manager who shall be responsible for the performance of work. An alternate shall also be designated to act in the absence of the Contract Project Manager. These Contractor personnel (main point of contact and alternate point of contact) are considered Key Personnel by the Government and shall be listed as such in accordance with HUDAR 2452.237-70, "Key Personnel. The Contract Project Manager and alternate shall have full authority to act on all contact matters relating to daily operations of this contract. Accordingly, at a minimum, the points of contact shall have the technical knowledge of the requirement and be in the position to actually receive assignment, guidance, and direction from the COR, PM and CO per HUDAR 2452.237-73, "Conduct of Work and Technical Guidance" and shall be allocated enough hours to the requirement to ensure successful performance. These points of contact shall each be an employee of the Contractor. An employee of a subcontractor is not acceptable for either of these positions. The Contractor’s Project

Manager (PM), or alternate PM, shall be available for no more than eight hours per day, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays or when the Government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

All Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall wear company picture identification badges as to distinguish themselves from Government employees. When conversing with Government personnel during business meetings, over the telephone, or via electronic mail, Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall identify themselves as such to avoid situations arising where sensitive topics might be better discussed solely between Government employees.

Contractors/subcontractors shall identify themselves on any attendance sheet or any coordination documents they may review. Electronic mail signature blocks shall identify their company affiliation. Where practicable, Contractor/subcontractors occupying collocated space with their Government program customer shall identify their work space area with their name and company affiliation, or at a minimum, "Contractor" after name.

4.7 Quality Control

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a complete quality control program that shall ensure services are performed in accordance with this contract. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-reoccurrence of defective services.

The Contractor's quality control program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirements of the contract. The Contractor shall provide the associated Quality Control Plan to the Government as directed.

4.7.1 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor shall develop, maintain, enforce, and document a Quality Control Plan (QCP).

The QCP shall ensure the Government receives the level of quality that is consistent with the requirements specified in this contract. The QCP shall be sufficiently detailed to provide the Contractor's methodology for identifying and recruiting qualified personnel. The QCP shall also provide the Contractor's methodology for resolving problems identified by the Government during reviews conducted in accordance with its Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

The QCP shall also provide the Contractor's methodology for establishing an internal feedback system for support personnel, and for resolving problems identified by that feedback system.

The QCP shall demonstrate and validate that the services or deliverables to be provided under the contract are completed with a level of quality that meets the minimum performance threshold established in the Government's QASP. The QCP shall address Quality Management Approach, Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Quality Standards.

5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Program Management

5.1.1 Program Management Plan (PMP)

No later than seven business days after the Post-award / Kick-off meeting, the Contractor shall submit a draft PMP to the COR/PM via email. Upon receipt of COR/PM comments, the Contractor shall incorporate the comments and suggestions and submit a final draft no later than five business days after receipt of comments. Subsequent updates from the COR/PM shall be submitted no later than five business days after update. The PMP shall address all the requirements contained in this PWS and define a detailed plan and schedule for the entire program throughout the periods of performance. The PMP shall display the process by which the Contractor shall operate the News Clips Program to assist HUD in meeting its goals of providing digital and printed news briefings to the Secretary of HUD and key staff. The PMP shall be updated annually.

The PMP shall be based on the PWS requirements and detail, at a minimum the following:

• Daily tasks and activities that shall be performed

• Staffing

• News clips sorting methodology

• Prioritized news

• Standard news

• News archives

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Draft Program Management Plan

AQL: Zero deviation

b) Standard: Final Program Management Plan AQL: Zero deviation

Deliverables

A01 Draft Program Management Plan

A02 Final Program Management Plan

5.2 Provide News Clip Services

The Contractor shall research, analyze, create and publish news clips briefings from the Contractor’s dedicated news clips web page accessed through a link on HUD’s intranet site located at http://hudatwork.hud.gov. Delivery of the news clips briefing shall be posted to an intranet site hosted by the Contractor. News clips services shall focus on informing the Secretary of HUD, HUDs key staff members and its general population on major national and world news headlines and HUD-related articles focused on housing programs such as the following:

• The Contractor Homelessness

• Section 8

• Affordable Housing

• Predatory lending

• Sub Prime lending

• Housing

• Homeownership

• Fair Housing

• Urban Renewal

• Housing Authority

• Public and Indian Housing

• Low Income Housing

• Affordable Housing

• Federal Housing Administration

• Mortgage Settlement

• Veterans Housing

• Sustainable Communities

The Contractor shall perform a comprehensive analysis of news articles from multiple media networks and sources which shall include printed/digital news networks, radio, television and subscription news publications. Articles to be included shall be from national newspapers such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, The Washington Post, local state daily newspapers (such as Los Angeles Times, San Jose Mercury News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Subscription publications produced by National Mortgage News, American Banker, Inman News Service, Bloomberg, Affordable Housing Finance and Reverse Mortgage Daily shall be included in the analysis for news clips service.

Additionally, the Contractor shall perform a comprehensive analysis of news which shall include news topics relating to the current Administration and Congress and shall be titled "Washington Schedule at the end of each news clips version. The Washington Schedule shall consist of the current days scheduled movements of the President, Vice President and members of Congress.

5.3 Publish News Clips

The Contractor shall publish and email two versions of news clips briefings, prioritized and standard. Prioritized news clips shall be titled, "HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing”, and standard news clips shall be titled, "HUD Daily Briefing.” Posted versions of the HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing and the HUD Daily Briefing shall be in three file formatted attachments, Microsoft Word http://hudatwork.hud.gov/

(.doc or .docx), Adobe (.pdf) and Mobipocket (.mobi or. azw) for unlimited distribution in hardcopy. The final new clips briefing shall contain an index (table of contents), summarized articles and the Washington Schedule at the end. The list of HUD email recipients will be provided by and updated by HUD's Office of Public Affairs.

The HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing shall be emailed to the Secretary of HUD and approximately 50 HUD key staff members by 6:45 a.m. EST, every business day. The HUD Daily Briefing shall be posted under the "News” column on HUD’s intranet site located at http://hudatwork.hud.gov and a copy of the briefing shall be emailed to approximately 300 HUD recipients by 7:00 a.m. EST, every business day.

The HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing shall consist of approximately 15-25 pages and the HUD Daily Briefing shall consist of approximately 80-125 pages for a typical business day.

The Monday news clips briefing shall include news clips gathered after the posting time of the Fridays news clips briefings and shall include Saturday and Sunday media topics.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Publish HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing by 6:45 a.m. EST

AQL: Zero deviation

b) Standard: Publish HUD Daily Briefing by 7:00 a.m. EST AQL: 15-minute deviation

Deliverables

A03 HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing

A04 HUD Daily Briefing

5.3.1 Provide News Clip Indexes

The Contractor shall include a news clip index at the beginning of each priority and standard news clips briefing which shall be hyperlinked to each news sources summarized article contained within the briefing. The hyperlinked index articles shall match the order of the articles contained in the briefing and shall display corresponding page numbers. The index shall be arranged as the following topics.

• Cover Section consisting of the date and time of the briefing displayed as EST,

• HUD housing programs (grouped by type of program),

• national news (US National and State media sources),

• headlines (US national media headliners),

• world news, and the

• Washington schedule.

The HUD Housing Program index shall begin with HUD-related articles focused on its housing programs. The Housing Program index section titles shall be alphabetically arranged and further arranged by the sections header. All HUD program sections may not be applicable to each daily news clips briefing. The US national news index shall follow HUD-related articles and shall include sources from US national and state media sources. The headlines index shall consist of six headliners from major national and world news sources. Major news sources are classified as cable news networks such as the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) News, National Broadcasting Company (NBC) and the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) News, and daily American newspapers such as The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The Washington schedule index shall consist of the daily schedules for the President, Vice President and Congress.

The index for each news clips briefing shall be chronologically arranged by date and time (EST), then alphabetically arranged by the title of the articles headline. Changes and recommendations to the news clips briefing format shall obtain prior approval from the COR/PM.

5.3.2 Provide News Clip Summaries

The Contractor shall provide news clip summary pages with embedded hyperlinks for access to each full-text source article to eliminate redundancy in providing master edits of articles in each news clips briefing. Summary articles shall be arranged as depicted by each its corresponding news clips index and shall contain a heading, date, time in EST, and publication or media source. Summary articles shall consist of 5-10 sentences that capture the main points of each article.

Other items which shall be included in the news summary and clips are the day's Washington schedule from the Washington Daybook and Congressional Record, including congressional hearings, special events, and the headlines from major newspapers and television networks. The Washington Schedule shall be published by the Contractor from information available from public domain sites and shall contain a chronological listing of the current agenda.

5.4 Provide News Clips Archives

The Contractor shall maintain archives of the priority and standard news clips on the Contractors dedicated news clips web page that shall be accessed through a link on HUD’s intranet site located at http://hudatwork.hud.gov. The archives shall host the preceding five business days of HUD’s priority and standard new clips briefings as they were originally distributed. A separate archive page shall contain one calendar year of archives and shall include all news clips for the duration of the contract performance period. The archives shall be posted in chronological order on the Contractor’s site. The Contractor shall obtain the HUD archive process and compliance procedures from HUD’s Information Management Office during the Transition-In period before commencement of initial archive services.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Five-Day Brief Depository

AQL: Zero deviation

b) Standard: HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing Archive AQL: Zero deviation

c) Standard: HUD Daily Briefing Archive AQL: Zero deviation

Deliverables

A05 Five-Day Brief Depository

A06 HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing Archive

A07 HUD Daily Briefing Archive

Im p a c t L e v e ls

News Assessment Matrix

HIGH I Information that is highly likely to result in severe levels of direct or indirect damage that affects HUD’s reputation, mission or its ability to accomplish its mission which requires a direct response from the Secretary of HUD or one or the Secretary’s key personnel; highly likely to threaten HUD’s functions or welfare of HUD’s employees or for an extensive period.

MODERATE II Information that results in responses aimed at avoiding high assessment results within HUD. Volatile information that is likely to result in direct or indirect damage to HUD’s reputation, mission or its ability to accomplish its mission. Requires continuous monitoring of the situation to control escalation to a higher assessment category.

MINOR III Information that requires no response from HUD;

Requires continuous monitoring of the situation to control escalation to a higher assessment category.

MINIMAL IV Information that does not require responses, actions or monitoring; Provides basic situational awareness;

Does not require continuous monitoring of the situation.

5.5 Provide News Clip Assessments

The Contractor shall follow the News Assessment Matrix located at Figure 1 below to assess the news worthiness of media information as it relates to HUD.

6 Deliverables

The Contractor shall complete all work and submit all deliverables as specified herein. The Government reserves the right to make changes to delivery dates.

Number Name F r e q u e n c y

Quantity

A01 Draft Program Management Plan

Draft PMP due no later than seven business days after the Post-award / Kick-off meeting. Submit COR/PM draft responses no later than five business days after receipt of comments.

a n n u a l l y

A02 Final Program Management Plan

Final PMP due no more than 15 days after the Post-award / Kick-off meeting.

a n n u a l l y

A03 HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing

Email to the Secretary of HUD and approximately 50 HUD key staff members by

6:45 a.m. EST, every business day.

d a i l y

A04 HUD Daily Briefing

Emailed to approximately 300 HUD recipients by 7:00 a.m. EST, every business day.

d a i l y

A05 Five-Day Brief Depository

Create a depository of HUD’s standard new clips briefings for five-days as they were originally distributed on the Contractor's site.

d a i l y

A06 HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing Archive quarterly 1

Create a yearly archive containing one calendar year of archives and include the priority news clips as published throughout the duration of the contract performance periods

A07 HUD Daily Briefing Archive quarterly 1

Create a yearly archive containing one calendar year of archives as published throughout the duration of the contract performance periods.

A08 Quality Control Plan 30 days after 1 award

Delivery within 30 calendar days after contract award and no later than 5 business days upon any changes.

6.1 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor's QCP shall be delivered within 30 calendar days after contract award and no later than 5 business days upon any changes.

6.2 Acceptance Criteria

N/A

7 Performance Requirements Summary

The summary chart below lists the contract's primary requirements, the associated performance standards, the expected target performance, and the methods of surveillance. While some contract requirements may not be listed in the chart below, requirements not appearing on the PRS chart do not negate the Contractor's obligation to perform all requirements as specified in the contract. Additionally, HUD reserves all rights and remedies under the provisions and clauses of the contract when performance of any contract requirement, whether or not listed below, is unacceptable.HUD will develop a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan to be used to provide contract oversight. In conjunction with the Contractor's Quality Control Plan and various other methods of assessing performance, the COR and PM may perform on-site reviews and/or other types of verification to determine that the specified target performance requirements have been met. Regular review of Contractor performance is critical to the overall success of the contract. On a monthly basis, the COR will evaluate the quality of the product or services.

8 Related Documents

The Contractor shall abide by all applicable regulations, publications, manuals, policies, and procedures in the performance of this contract.

Performance Requirement Summary (PRS) Statements Standards/AQLs Incentive/Remedy

5.1.1 Program

Management Plan

(PMP)

a) Draft Program Management Plan AQL: Zero deviation

b) Final Program Management Plan AQL: Zero deviation

1% deduction of invoice

CLIN

1% deduction of invoice

5.3 Publish News Clips a) Publish HUD Prioritized Daily

Briefing by 6:45 a.m. EST AQL: Zero deviation

b) Publish HUD Daily Briefing by 7:00 a.m. EST AQL: 15-minute deviation

1% deduction of invoice

CLIN

1% deduction of invoice

5.4 Provide News Clips a) Five-Day Brief Depository 1% deduction of invoice

Archives AQL: Zero deviation CLIN

b) HUD Prioritized Daily Briefing 1% deduction of invoice

Archive CLIN

AQL: Zero deviation

c) HUD Daily Briefing Archive 1% deduction of invoice

AQL: Zero deviation CLIN

SECTION III – QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

News Clips Support Services

1. Vision

Provide the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, key staff members and general staff employees with coherent, accurate, comprehensive, timely and current digital news from reliable local, state and national US and world news sources.

1. INTRODUCTION

This Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) is pursuant to the requirements listed in the

Performance Work Statement (PWS) entitled News Clip Support Services. This plan sets forth the procedures and guidelines the Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Public

Affairs (OPA) will use in ensuring the required performance standards or service levels are achieved by the Contractor.

1.1. Purpose

1.1.1. The purpose of the QASP is to describe the systematic methods used to monitor performance and to identify the required documentation and the resources to be employed. The

QASP provides a means for evaluating whether the Contractor is meeting the performance standards/quality levels identified in the PWS and the Contractor's Quality Control Plan (QCP), and to ensure that the Government pays only for the level of services received.

1.1.2. This QASP defines the roles and responsibilities of all members of the Integrated Project

Team (IPT), identifies the performance objectives, defines the methodologies used to monitor and evaluate the Contractor's performance, describes quality assurance documentation requirements, and describes the analysis of quality assurance monitoring results.

1.2. Performance Management Approach

1.2.1. The PWS structures the acquisition around "what service or quality level is required", as opposed to "how the Contractor should perform the work" (i.e., results, not compliance). This

QASP will define the performance management approach taken by the OPA to monitor and manage the Contractor's performance to ensure the expected outcomes or performance objectives communicated in the PWS are achieved. Performance management rests on developing a capability to review and analyze information generated through performance assessment. The ability to make decisions based on the analysis of performance data is the cornerstone of performance management; this analysis yields information that indicates whether expected outcomes for the project are being achieved by the Contractor.

1.2.2. Performance management represents a significant shift from the more traditional Quality

Assurance (QA) concepts in several ways. Performance management focuses on assessing whether outcomes are being achieved and to what extent. This approach migrates away from scrutiny of compliance with the processes and practices used to achieve the outcome. A performance-based approach enables the Contractor to play a large role in how the work is performed, as long as the proposed processes are within the stated constraints. The only exceptions to process reviews are those required by law (federal, state, and local) and compelling business situations, such as safety and health. A "results focus" provides the Contractor flexibility to continuously improve and innovate over the course of the contract as long as the critical outcomes expected are being achieved and/or the desired performance levels are being met.

1.3. Performance Management Strategy

1.3.1. The Contractor is responsible for the quality of all work performed. The Contractor measures that quality through the Contractor's own Quality Control (QC) program. QC is work output, not workers, and therefore includes all work performed under this contract regardless of whether the work is performed by Contractor employees or by subcontractors. The Contractor's

QCP will set forth the staffing and procedures for self-inspecting the quality, timeliness, responsiveness, customer satisfaction, and other performance requirements in the PWS. The

Contractor will develop and implement a performance management system with processes to assess and report its performance to the designated government representative. This QASP enables the Government to take advantage of the Contractor's QC program.

1.3.2. The Government representative(s) will monitor performance and review performance reports furnished by the Contractor to determine how the Contractor is performing against communicated performance objectives. The Contractor will be responsible for making required changes in processes and practices to ensure performance is managed effectively.

2. ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The following personnel shall oversee and coordinate surveillance activities.

2.1. The Contracting Officer

The Contracting Officer (CO) is responsible for monitoring contract compliance, contract administration, and cost control and for resolving any differences between the observations documented by the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and the Contractor. The CO will designate one full-time COR as the government authority for performance management. The number of additional representatives serving as technical inspectors depends on the complexity of the services measured, as well as the Contractor's performance, and must be identified and designated by the CO.

2.2. The Government Technical Representative

The COR is designated in writing by the CO to act as his or her authorized representative to assist in administering a contract. COR limitations are contained in the written appointment letter. The COR is responsible for technical administration of the project and ensures proper government surveillance of the Contractor's performance. The COR is not empowered to make any contractual commitments or to authorize any contractual changes on the Government's behalf. Any changes that the Contractor deems may affect contract price, terms, or conditions, shall be referred to the CO for action. The COR will have the responsibility for completing QA monitoring forms used to document the inspection and evaluation of the Contractor's work performance. Government surveillance may occur under the inspection of services clause for any service relating to the contract.

3. IDENTIFICATION OF REQUIRED PERFORMANCE STANDARDS/QUALITY

LEVELS

The required performance standards and/or quality levels are included in the PWS and in

Appendix 1, "Surveillance Matrix". If the Contractor meets the required service or performance level, it will be paid the monthly amount agreed on in the contract.

4. METHODOLOGIES TO MONITOR PERFORMANCE

4.1. Surveillance Techniques

In an effort to minimize the performance management burden, simplified surveillance methods shall be used by the Government to evaluate Contractor performance when appropriate. The primary methods of surveillance are:

▪ 100% Inspection - Each month, the COR, shall review the generated documentation and enter summary results into the Surveillance Activity Checklist.

▪ Periodic Inspection - The COR typically performs the periodic inspection on a monthly basis.

▪ Customer Feedback

4.2. Customer Feedback

The Contractor is expected to establish and maintain professional communication between its employees and customers. The primary objective of this communication is customer satisfaction.

Customer satisfaction is the most significant external indicator of the success and effectiveness of all services provided and can be measured through customer complaints.

Performance management drives the Contractor to be customer focused through initially and internally addressing customer complaints and investigating the issues and/or problems. The customer always has the option to communicate complaints to the CO and/or COR, as opposed to the Contractor.

Customer complaints, to be considered valid, must set forth clearly and in writing the detailed nature of the complaint, must be signed, and must be forwarded to the COR.

Customer feedback may also be obtained either from the results of formal customer satisfaction surveys or from random customer complaints.

4.3. Acceptable Quality Levels

The Acceptable Quality Levels (AQLs) included in Appendix 1, "Surveillance Matrix", for

Contractor performance are structured to allow the Contractor to manage how the work is performed. For certain critical activities such as those involving providing and publishing news clips services, the desired performance level is established at 100 percent. Other levels of performance are keyed to the relative importance of the task to the overall mission performance.

5. QUALITY ASSURANCE DOCUMENTATION

5.1. The Performance Management Feedback Loop

The performance management feedback loop begins with the communication of expected outcomes. Performance standards are expressed in the PWS and are assessed using the performance monitoring techniques shown in Appendix 1.

5.2. Monitoring Forms

The Government's QA surveillance, accomplished by the COR, may be reported using the following monitoring forms: Appendix 2 - "Corrective Action Report (CAR)", Appendix 3 -

"Customer Complaint Record", and Appendix 4 "Performance Assessment Report" (PAR). The forms, when completed, will document the Government's assessment of the Contractor's performance under the contract to ensure that the required results are being achieved. The COR will retain a copy of all completed QA surveillance forms.

6. ANALYSIS OF QUALITY ASSURANCE ASSESSEMENT

6.1. Determining Performance

The Government will use the monitoring methods cited to determine whether the performance standards/service levels/AQLs have been met. If the Contractor has not met the minimum requirements, it may be asked to develop a corrective action plan to show how and by what date it intends to bring performance up to the required levels.

6.2 Reporting

At the end of each month, the [insert title of person who will prepare the report COR / PM] will prepare a written report for the [insert title of government representative responsible for overall monitoring of performance COR] summarizing the overall results of the quality assurance surveillance of the Contractor's performance. This written report, which includes the

Contractor's submitted monthly report and the completed quality assurance monitoring forms, will become part of the QA documentation. It will enable the Government to demonstrate whether the Contractor is meeting the stated objectives and/or performance standards, including cost/technical/scheduling objectives.

6.3 Reviews and Resolution

6.3.1 The COR may require the Contractor's project manager, or a designated alternate, to meet with the CO, PM and/or other Government IPT personnel as deemed necessary to discuss performance evaluation. The COR will define a frequency of in-depth reviews with the

Contractor, including appropriate self-assessments by the Contractor; however, if the need arises, the Contractor will meet with the COR as often as required or per the Contractor's request. The agenda of the reviews may include:

• Monthly performance assessment data and trend analysis,

• Issues and concerns of both parties,

• Projected outlook for upcoming months and progress against expected trends, including a corrective action plan analysis,

• Recommendations for improved efficiency and/or effectiveness, [insert any additional items to be discussed during reviews]

6.3.2. The CO and COR must coordinate and communicate with the Contractor to resolve issues and concerns regarding marginal or unacceptable performance.

6.3.3. The COR and Contractor should jointly formulate tactical and long-term courses of action.

Decisions regarding changes to metrics, thresholds, or service levels should be clearly documented. Changes to service levels, procedures, and metrics will be incorporated as a contract modification at the discretion of the CO.

6.4 Surveillance Matrix

The Surveillance Matrix (Appendix 1) is the list of performance objectives and standards that must be performed by the Contractor. This matrix details the method of surveillance the COR will use to validate and inspect these performance elements. Inspection of each element will be documented in the COR file.

Performance objectives define the desired outcomes. Performance standards define the level of service required under the contract to successfully meet the performance objective. The inspection methodology defines how, when, and what will be assessed in measuring performance. The Government performs surveillance, using this QASP, to determine the quality of the Contractor's performance as it relates to the performance element standards. The PRS should be used to form the foundation of the COR's inspection checklist.

In evaluating the quality of contractor’s performance, the following performance ratings may be used.

Performance Rating

Criteria

Excellent /

Outstanding

Performance meets contractual requirements and exceeds many to the

Government’s benefit. The contractual performance of the element or sub-element being assessed was accomplished with few minor problems for which corrective actions…