A04_Draft SOW Training and Exercise Plan (TEP) Contract.pdf

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Statement of Work

Project: Training and Exercise Plan at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

(NBAF)

Statement of Work (SOW)

Project: Training and Exercise Plan at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

(NBAF)

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.0 Scope of Work:

The Contractor shall provide just‑in‑time support to the National Bio and Agro‑Defense Facility (NBAF) in planning, designing, and developing training and exercise activities.

Support will focus on:

• Development of a comprehensive facility‑wide Training and Exercise Plan (TEP)

• Creation of standardized training and exercise templates

• Provision of staff for exercise design, facilitation, evaluation, and continuous improvement tracking

• Additional preparedness support identified through the needs assessment and TEP development process All work shall follow nationally recognized methodologies, including but not limited to the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).

2.0 Background:

The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), located in Manhattan, Kansas, is a state-of-the-art biocontainment research facility dedicated to transboundary animal disease research, vaccine development, diagnostics, and training. NBAF includes BSL-2 through BSL-4 laboratories, a GLP biologics development module, and BSL-3Ag, ABSL-4, and BSL-4Ag animal spaces.

As a unique high containment research facility, NBAF must maintain strong biosafety, biosecurity, and operational readiness standards. Longterm frameworks for training and exercises are essential to ensure preparedness, continuous improvement, and regulatory compliance.

CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS

3.0 Technical Requirements/Tasks:

Task 1: Gap and Needs Assessment

The Contractor shall gather outstanding emergency training requirements from operational and scientific units. The Contractor shall also compile Improvement Plan corrective actions and observations from previous exercises into a tracking database of NBAF’s choosing. USDA personnel will provide requested staff and information within timelines necessary to meet project deadlines.

• Deliverable 1: A facility-wide gap and needs assessment identifying planning, preparedness, mitigation, response, recovery, and compliance priorities.

Task 2: Training Schedule Development

Due to the complexity of Facility and its interconnected systems, Contractor shall review the temporal requirements for required facility-wide trainings and exercises and create a Training and Exercise Program Plan (TEP).

• Deliverable 2: A three-year adaptable TEP and multiyear calendar that accommodates regulatory timelines and operational constraints, including inspections, shutdowns, and verification activities.

Task 3: Exercise and Training Coordination

In support of the TEP, Contractor shall work with Facility’s Emergency Manager to coordinate the TEP with applicable internal and external stakeholders.

• Deliverable 3.1: Contractor shall provide virtual and onsite support prior to TEP events to ensure the success of program deliverables. This may be in the form of coordinating schedules, identification of stakeholders, and support in identification of exercise objectives.

• Deliverable 3.2: Contractor shall serve as an external evaluator for Facility’s prepared exercises.

• Optional Deliverable 3.3: Contractor shall support the drafting of TEP related documents (e.g., Exercise Plans, Situation Manuals, After-Action Reports) based on operational needs identified by stakeholders.

Optional Task 4: Template Development

Given the facility has strict reporting and recording and documenting requirements to adhere to Federal Select Agent Program regulations and ISO certifications, the contractor shall assist with template and tracking tool development.

• Optional Deliverable 4: Contractor shall work with TDCU and appropriate stakeholders to create and/or review Facility generated reusable exercise-related templates and improvement plan tracking system.

Option Year Deliverables

Following the base year, Option Year deliverables could include continued TEP coordination and reassessment of facility requirements. Additional deliverables can be negotiated between the USDA and Contractor.

All deliverables listed in section 3 are scheduled in Section 5: Deliverables/Schedule

4.0 Government Furnished:

The USDA shall provide Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) necessary for completion of the work outlined within the SOW for the duration of the contract. This may include access to physical space for exercises to be performed or coordinated on site at NBAF and equipment such as hardware and software to access necessary materials to provide deliverables.

5.0 Deliverables / Schedule:

Because the Training and Exercise Plan (TEP) and associated tools and processes are developed dynamically and continuously evolve as operational needs and changing risk profiles occur, deliverable timelines should reflect progress and continuous updating throughout the timeline. Draft submissions are to be done once enough content is available to be reviewed and final versions will follow a mutually agreed upon time dependent on feedback and discovered needs. This allows for continuous improvement through expected variations and updates with a higher priority in framework building.

Key Deliverables

Item No.

Deliverable

Objective

Due

Training Requirements Gap and Needs Assessment Matrix

Provide a comprehensive matrix documenting outstanding emergency training requirements, crossreferenced with applicable regulatory requirements and current/missing documents.

Supports Task 1 Gap and Needs Assessment.

Within 3 months of the execution of the contract.

2 Three-Year Training & Exercise Calendar

Develop an adaptable three-year TEP and multiyear calendar that aligns temporal training/exercise requirements with facility operational constraints (inspections, shutdowns, verifications). Supports Task 2 Training Schedule Development.

Within 2 months following the delivery to and acceptance by the USDA of the Final Gap and Needs Assessment.

3.1

Pre-Event Coordination Support (Virtual & Onsite)

Provide coordination support for scheduling, stakeholder engagement, and refinement of exercise objectives in preparation for TEP linked activities. Supports Task 3 Coordination.

Shall be ongoing throughout the course of the contract following acceptance by the USDA of the TEP schedule.

3.2 Exercise Evaluation

Support

Serve as an external evaluator for NBAF led exercises, providing impartial evaluation aligned with exercise objectives. Supports Task 3 Coordination

Shall be ongoing throughout the course of the contract following acceptance by the USDA of the TEP schedule.

Per exercise schedule, final evaluator notes due within 5 business days post event to follow established reporting processes.

3.3

Exercise Documentation (SitMan, ExPlans, AARs)

Support development of exercise documents—including Situation Manuals, Exercise Plans, and AfterAction Reports—in accordance with stakeholder identified needs.

Shall be ongoing throughout the course of the contract in coordination with the schedule of each affiliated exercise.

Template & Tracking Tool Development

Develop or refine reusable exercise related templates and improvement tracking tools in coordination with TDCU and other stakeholders.

Supports Optional Task 4.

Shall be completed within 6 months of the execution of the contract.

(Option Year)

Annual TEP Updates and Coordination

Conduct annual reassessments of training/exercise needs, update TEP materials, and continue coordination support. Supports Option Year continuation.

Annual update: No later than 30 business days before end of each Option Year.

6.0 Travel:

Any travel expenses incurred during this project and in support of this contract will be the responsibility of the vendor.

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel:

The Contractor shall assign Key Personnel with demonstrated experience in developing and implementing Training and Exercise Programs that align with the facility’s scope of work, including multi‑year TEP development, exercise design and evaluation, and template creation based on HSEEP methodology and nationally recognized emergency management best practices. Personnel should be able to translate regulatory requirements, facility needs, and operational realities into practical training products, exercise materials, and improvement‑planning tools that support continuous preparedness and inform calendar scheduling priorities.

Individuals must possess the subject‑matter expertise necessary to collaborate effectively with scientific, operational, and emergency management units and to ensure training and exercise activities remain consistent with the standards and templates regularly applied at the facility and can align with NBAF’s fluctuating needs and priorities while maintaining a scalable component if needed .

8.0 Security Requirements:

NBAF is a secure biocontainment facility. The USDA shall support access to the facility for all in person events and meetings either through the provision of an escort or unrestricted access to the administrative areas of the facility, given the party has provided all required information required for facility access and has met additional requirements of specific spaces which will follow established guidance and requirements.

9.0 Data Rights:

Data Rights

Data collected, generated or managed

The Contractor shall be responsible for properly protecting all information used, gathered, or developed as a result of work under this task. The Contractor shall also protect all unclassified Government data, equipment, etc., by treating information as sensitive business, confidential information, controlling and limiting access to the information, and ensuring the data and equipment are secured within their facility.

To the extent required to carry out a program of inspection to safeguard against threats and hazards to the security, integrity, and confidentiality of Government data, the Contractor will afford the Government access to the Contractor's or other external organization’s facilities, installations, technical capabilities, operations, documentation, records, and databases. The Contractor will cooperate with Federal agencies and their officially credentialed representatives during official inspections or investigations concerning the protection of USDA information.

Cooperation may include providing relevant documentation showing proof of compliance with federal and agency requirements and rendering other assistance as deemed necessary.

Privacy Act

The Contractor Agrees To –

• Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies— o The systems of records; and o The design, development, or operation work that the contractor is to perform;

• Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the redesign, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals that is subject to the Act; and

• Include this clause, including this paragraph, in all subcontracts awarded under this contract, which requires the design, development, or operation of such a system of records.

• In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the Contractor is considered to be an employee of the agency.

• Definitions of the clause:

o “Operation of a system of records,” as used in this clause, means performance of any of the activities associated with maintaining the system of records, including the collection, use, and dissemination of records.

o “Record,” as used in this clause, means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and that contains the person’s name, or the identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint or a photograph.

Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure

Any USDA proprietary information, data, and/or equipment that the Contractor has been granted access by USDA to perform work under this order, will be returned to the USDA when no longer required to perform work under this order. The public release of USDA proprietary information must be authorized in writing by the Contracting Officer.

The component parts of this effort and reports are expected to contain highly sensitive information that may act as a guide for hostile entities to cause harm to the Department’s critical infrastructure. Any such information made available in any format shall be used only for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this agreement. Such information shall not be divulged or made known in any manner to any person.

The Contractor shall immediately notify the Contractor Program Manager, the Contractor on-site Manager, the COR, the Government TPM and the Contracting Officer upon discovery of any inadvertent disclosures of information. The Contractor shall not retain any information regarding vulnerabilities, to include summaries, the actual vulnerability report, etc., at the end of the task order. All information arising from this task, both hard copy and electronic, shall be returned to the COR and Government TPM at task completion.

The Contractor must agree that:

• The draft and final deliverables and all associated working papers and other materials deemed relevant by the USDA TPMs that have been generated by the Contractor in the performance of this task order are the property of the U.S.

Government and must be submitted to the USDA TPMs at the conclusion of the tasks.

• All documents produced for this project are the property of the U.S. Government and cannot be reproduced or retained by the Contractor. All appropriate project documentation will be given to the Government TPM during and at the end of this contract. The Contractor will release no information. Any request for information relating to this Statement of Work presented to the Contractor must be submitted in writing to the USDA TPMs and the CO, who in turn will 12.3 under assignment of this contract.

Sensitive Information Storage and Disclosure

Sensitive information, data, and/or equipment will be disclosed only to authorize personnel on a Need-To-Know basis. The holder shall ensure that appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards are established to ensure the security and confidentiality of this information, data, and/or equipment will be returned to Government control; destroyed; or held until otherwise directed.

Destruction of items shall be accomplished by tearing into small parts; burning;

shredding or other method that precludes the reconstruction of the material.

Work on this contract may require that personnel have access to Privacy Information.

Personnel shall adhere to the Privacy Act, Title 5 of the U. S. Code, Section 552a and applicable agency rules and regulations.

The Contractor Program Manager shall ensure that all contract personnel take the required USDA Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior Training.

Release of Information

No USDA data shall be divulged to any unauthorized person, for any purpose. Therefore, the Contractor shall clear with the Contracting Officer any public release of any information. Information includes news stories, articles, sales and marketing information, advertisements, etc. All requests for public release of information shall be submitted via email to the COR and Government Technical Program Manager (TPM) and the Contracting Officer and addressed to:

United States Department of Agriculture Office of Communications (OC) 1400 Independence Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20250 The Contracting Officer shall submit the Contractor’s Request for Press Release to the

Office of Communications for approval. The Contractor shall not release any information to the public without official OC approval from the Contracting Officer.

Return of Data

Data and information developed, entered, and processed under this contract shall be considered Government property. All data and/or materials provided to the contractor to accomplish individual deliverables, or data generated as a result of accomplishing individual deliverables, shall be returned to the Government or destroyed at the end of each applicable deliverable, unless the contractor specifically requests and receives approval from the COR to maintain copies of this data. The Contractor is responsible for distributing data and/or materials given to members of the contractor’s team. None of this data will be released to any other Government organization or other organizations of individuals without the express written approval of USDA unless otherwise specified.

10.0 Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology Standards:

When information technology deliverables are required, the Contractor shall ensure compliance with Section 508 accessibility requirements, consistent with applicable federal standards.

Attachment: {If applicable, include an Attachment stating Evaluation Factors and significant Subfactors representing the key areas of importance and emphasis to be considered in the source selection decision}