Attachment_1_-_IDIQ_Performance_Work_Statement.pdf

MISSION SUPPORT

SERVICES

VERSION 1.0

1.0 General Information

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this requirement is to assist the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) in positioning itself for continued, long term success in various mission support activities.

1.2 Objective

The objective of this IDIQ is to obtain mission support services for various needs within DOI.

1.3 Scope

The scope of this requirement is focused on providing:

- Acquisition and financial assistance support services, to include contract funds management, pre-award, administration, and post-award, invoicing and closeout activites;

- Program, Project and Business analyst support;

- Program or project analysis and assessments of key mission requirements within

DOI.

- Other mission support as needed

2.0 General Requirements

2.1 Task Requirements

General requirements are identified below, further defined requirements may be provided at the task order level.

2.1.1. Contract Pre-Award & Award Support

The Contractor shall provide proactive assistance, recommendations, and document preparation support in all areas of the acquisition, from pre-award to award phase within established acquisition timelines and in accordance with AQD policy.

The acquisition pre-award contract development support shall include assistance in the preparation of Statements of Work (SOW), Performance Work Statements (PWS), Statement of Objectives (SOO), Independent Government Estimates (IGE), Requests for Information (RFI), Small Business Administration (SBA) offer letters, awards against GSA scheduled contracts and all other awards, as well as other acquisition pre-award and award related documents.

The Contractor shall provide acquisition support to include different contracting methods and acquisition approaches for any and/or all pre-award contract actions. Specifically, the Contractor shall research documentation of relevant historical procurement information and current/market/industry information. The Contractor shall provide assistance in preparation of required justifications, inter-agency agreements (IAA), determination and findings (D&F), Memorandums of Understanding (MOU), comprehensive acquisition plans, and any other pre-award required contract documents.

The Contractor shall provide acquisition subject matter expertise on appropriate acquisition strategies and other elements of acquisition planning, including assessments of alternatives and risks and consideration of sourcing priorities.

The Contractor shall assist the Government in preparation of Quality Assurance Surveillance Plans (QASPs), Requests for Proposals/Requests for Quotes (RFP/RFQ) with recommendations on the appropriate solicitation terms and conditions to be used in contract award.

The Contractor shall assist in the preparation of source selection evaluation criteria and Source Selection Plans (SSPs). The Contractor shall provide assistance with all required information for the SSP to include at a minimum: roles and responsibilities of all source selection evaluation team members, detailed selection procedures, outline vendor screening process, supporting proposal evaluations, obtaining appropriate Source Selection Evaluation Board (SSEB) panel members’ Organizational Conflict of Interest (COI), and Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs), as required.

The Contractor shall perform price/cost analysis on contractor submitted cost proposals to include, at a minimum, detailing direct/indirect cost elements, development of price negotiation memoranda, cost reasonableness, allowability, and allocability.

The Contractor shall forecast price trends, economic factors, and efficiencies in production for future accounting periods using analytical techniques such as random sampling, cost models, learning curves, and parametric cost models.

The Contractor shall be experienced with federal acquisition and business-related systems, to include at a minimum: PRISM, FPDS-NG, FAPIIS, SAM/SAM.gov; GSA e-Library, and e- File. The Contractor shall utilize these systems to perform contract data input, validation, and research.

2.1.2 Contract Administration Support

The Contractor shall assist in the development and preparation of contract/task order modifications. The Contractor shall provide support to exercise option years, increase/decrease level of effort as necessary, adjust terms and conditions as required, obligate funds, conduct de-obligations of unused contract funding, and/or any other contract modifications that are warranted to keep the contract/task order running smoothly throughout its contract life cycle.

The Contractor shall provide contract/task order administration support services involving the review and evaluation of various periodic and routine contractual actions submitted by the contractor, ensuring actions are in accordance with contractual agreements and existing regulatory directives. The Contractor shall assist with the coordination of requests for deviations from contract terms and conditions.

The contractor shall monitor contractor performance ensuring adherence to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and contract provisions in areas such as progress payments and technical and progress reports.

The Contractor shall ensure actions taken under contracts/task orders comply with contract terms and contractual agreements and assist in processing documents in support of deviations from contract terms and conditions.

The Contractor shall assist with the organization and maintenance of contract records.

Contract record organization and maintenance activities include recording and filing correspondence, filing awarded contract documents, and preparing and filing documentation on any issues that may arise during the course of contract performance. Issues may include changes, disputes, work stoppages, changes with Government furnished property or materials, changes in scope or direction, replacement of key personnel, failure to make acceptable progress, default, payment problems, or unacceptable performance/deliverables.

The Contractor shall assist the Contracting Officer (CO) with managing the contractor invoicing process. Specifically, the Contractor shall identify and log invoices and analyze invoice costs to verify accuracy and compliance with contract terms and conditions. The Contractor shall prepare invoices for action by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and/or provide recommendations regarding invoice acceptance, prepare invoices for action by the CO and/or providing recommendations regarding invoice approval, and assist with filing and distribution of invoices and supporting documentation in compliance with governing policies and procedures.

2.1.5 Program Analyst Support

The Contractor shall provide program analyst to support IBC project initiatives, to include acquisition and/or financial assistance related activities. This includes drafting implementation plans, assisting with process development and implementation and other duties to support various initiatives with IBC AQD.

The Contractor shall support IBC AQD in providing long-term planning, administration, and execution of highly complex and technical acquisition and/or financial assistance projects that are in support of the delivery of acquisition and financial assistance programs.

The Contractor shall support in the development and execution of project plans, provide sound recommendations to address operational efficiency and/or compliance issues, and support in developing policies or guidance for implementation in response to operational and/or compliance issues.

The Contractor shall leverage expert level acquisition and/or financial assistance knowledge to determine potential impacts to programs and related operations based on changes to governing policies and regulations and make recommendations for adjustment to project plans and/or advisement to IBC AQD accordingly.

The Contractor shall use strong interpersonal skills and acquisition expertise to serve as an subject matter expert and effectively support acquisition and/or financial assistance programs, to include advising leadership on program matters and related projects, providing thorough consultation in response to agency challenges, communicating the status of project initiatives, and conducting project-related workshops.

2.1.6 Aviation Funds Management Support

The Contractor shall provide funds management support. The contractor will have an integral role in the planning and execution of administrative, financial, or business program functions that are essential to the accomplishment or support of funds management.

The contractor shall provide assistance with the development of G-Invoicing orders and all agreements including 7600B agreements for AQD customers. The contractor shall develop AQD reimbursable agreements in the Customer Agreement System, enter Fleet aircraft agreements into the Customer Agreement System, maintain complete, accurate, up-to-date files for all agreements, track requests to ensure timely completion, track billings and collections to ensure agreements are not overspent, provide assistance with the financial coding of costs associated with the Fleet agreements to the Fleet Activities Specialist, and respond to Bureau customer inquiries on status and funding. The contractor shall report program and project codes to the Financial & Business Management System (FBMS), provide a variety of reports from FBMS, track undelivered order balances and request de-obligations when required, and provide a monthly unit spreadsheet report for the IBC Cost Model by the established deadline (generally the 10th of each month). The contractor shall receive and log flight request order forms from Bureau customers, review orders to determine appropriateness of request type and eliminate duplication of requests, reject orders when mandatory information is missing, and call customers to verify questionable information. The contractor shall coordinate closely with Contracting Officers for required purchase requisitions including project or fire description, funding issues, or other requisition detail. The contractor shall prepare accurate and detailed purchase requisitions according to prescribed format, based on flight request orders as well as submission or aviation use reports. The contractor shall maintain, track, and share a listing purchase requisitions by requisition number assigned and communicate assignments for immediate approval and expediting. The contractor shall communicate with Vendors and Bureau customers seeking status of flight request orders.

The contractor must maintain a high level of financial accuracy and attention to detail. Work will involve communicating with finance personnel, both contractor and Government employees, in other locations. The contractor must have the ability to handle simultaneous urgent demands from multiple requestors and determine priority for work completion. The contractor should be adept in spreadsheet applications and report development.

2.1.7 Invoicing Support

The Contractor shall provide support processing vendor invoices. Invoices are received in two formats: electronic and paper.

The Contractor shall receive invoices and detailed aviation use reports from aviation vendors in a Government-mandated manner or database. Upon receipt, the contractor shall review records or documents such as Aviation Use Report (AURs) and receipts for accuracy and completeness, according to Standard Operating Procedure guidelines provided by the Government. If a variance is identified, the contractor shall coordinate with the proper point of contact to determine and facilitate the appropriate remedy. If a use report or invoice is rejected or found to be needing correction, the contractor shall provide clear communication to the vendor regarding what information is needed. The contractor may be required to create Service Entry Sheets to record the Government’s official acceptance of services provided as part of use report and invoice review. The contractor may be asked to assist the Contracting Officer (or designees), accounting personnel, Help Desk or aviation vendors with invoice processing, or perform file management as necessary.

2.1.7.1 Deliverables

The contractor shall process aviation use reports to the point of acceptance or return to the Vendor for correction within 5 days of receipt.

The contractor shall track all rejected use reports and make such tracking available to the Government. The contractor shall follow up with Vendors that have outstanding corrections and resubmittals weekly and record the result of each action.

Seasonal aviation-related workload can be heavy and fast-paced; therefore, the contractor must be able to handle pressure with a positive attitude and work diligently. Processes and systems may change often and quickly, so the contractor must be able to adapt and learn quickly, often with little instruction. The success of the Aviation program will rely heavily on teamwork, communication, and the ability to identify and proceed with appropriate routing options. Successful contractors with be adept at interpreting information and clearly documenting.

Contractor must work numerical and financial data with a high degree of accuracy. The contractor must be knowledgeable and skilled in standard office computer programs using basic skills for word processing and email, and advanced skills with spreadsheets and their work must be easily interpreted by others. In order to provide continuous process improvement within the fast-paced seasonal Aviation environment, the contractor shall examine existing processes that support invoice processing, identify efficiencies, and offer suggested improvements.

2.1.8 Aviation Financial Analysis and Reporting Support

The contractor shall provide assistance with the analysis and reporting of financial data in systems including but not limited to FBMS Aviation Information Reporting Support (AIRS).

The contractor shall:

- Run reports as requested in FBMS

- Prepare periodic and schedules Undelivered Order (UDO) reports to the Contracting Officer for use in the consideration of the de-obligation of funds

- Prepare periodic and scheduled Goods/Receipt/Service Entry Sheet (GR/SES)

Reports to identify service entry sheet invoice imbalances, resolve if there are issues

Contractors performing this task must be highly organized, analytical, and able to proactively find problems and take ownership of the solution. The contractor will work closely with Contracting Officers, and other business management. Competency with MS Word and MS Excel is beneficial, but more importantly the contractor must quickly master the purchasing and reporting functions of FBMS. The ability to work within designated processes is essential and the ability to analyze and recommend improvements to those processes is beneficial.

2.1.9 Aviation Database Maintenance Support

The contractor shall provide assistance with ongoing data entry and database maintenance.

The contractor shall:

- Receive submittal forms for new customer user access and set them up

- Receive contract details for new Purchase Orders or Task Orders, modifications, and aircraft information, enter that information as master data in FBMS to interface with AIRS or subsequent interface

- Research invoicing or payment errors, and work with parties to resolve

- Process addendums and adjustments

- Proactively identify problems with stagnant or rejected use reports and contact the party waiting on the stagnant/rejected workflow to ensure timely flow or report submission and approval

- Communicate with Bureau customers and vendors regarding use report submission issues.

Assist in the review of incoming fleet contract and rental aircraft documents for accuracy and validity of data from both Bureaus and vendors, record, and track issues with invoices or AURs, provide reporting of common issues, vendor training and written materials, draft and send periodic instructional communications to vendors to improve processing or data accuracy The contractor must be skilled in data review and interpretation, as purchase orders may come in a variety of formats and key information must be properly identified. The contractor must be able to adapt to changing requirements. The contractor will be required to enter data on an ongoing basis to maintain existing assets and customers, as well as potentially to pre-populate an entirely new system of use. The contractor shall serve in a “Help Desk” role engaging in significant contact with vendors and Bureau customers via telephone and email.

2.1.10 Financial Assistance and Grants Management Support

The Contractor shall provide financial and grants management support per instructions and established guidelines. Contractor personnel shall have comprehensive knowledge of:

- Laws, regulations, rules, polices, procedures

The contractor shall:

- Assist in solving complex financial assistance accounting and financial problems;

- Provide thorough analysis from extensive research and compilation of statistics to authorized government personnel, as required;

- Research, compile statistics, and present data to authorized government personnel;

- Prepare concise, unambiguous documents using Microsoft Office, Sharepoint, and

Adobe for MFRs, MOUs, and various documents to support the entire lifecycle for financial assistance awards;

- Support price analysis, negotiation, and the appropriate use of funds;

- Participate in negotiations concerning complex financial assistance awards;

- Provide financial assistance and guidance on grants and cooperative agreements;

- Review grant applications for compliance with appropriate regulations;

- Documents, records, and administers related performance per the regulations and requirements;

- Rely on experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals, execute first-line responsibilities for projects or functions, and perform various complex tasks with substantial creativity and latitude under general supervision;

- Possess strong oral and written communication and customer service skills to build relationships with a wide range of internal and external clients and stakeholders;

- Execute final review of completed awards and process close-out documents.

2.1.11 Policy and Compliance Support

The Contractor shall provide policy and compliance support to:

- Develop acquisition templates that align with Revolutionary FAR Overhaul initiative and other acquisition templates to streamline and standardize acquisition documents;

- Participate in compliance file reviews and audit activities;

- Support operational reviews of Contracting Officer documentation based on Review and Approval thresholds;

- Contribute to regulatory compliance, policy updates, and guidance for acquisition operations;

- Support internal and external audits, prepare documentation; and help implement corrective actions, as needed.

2.1.12 Business and Project Analyst Support

The Contractor shall provide full lifecycle support for modernization and efficiency improvement initiatives. This effort aligns with DOI’s mission to improve organizational performance, reduce operational redundancies, and increase transparency. Work primarily involves analysis, requirements development, requirements documenters, assessments, recommendations, testing of solutions implementations and integrations and other related activities.

2.1.12.1 Business Process Analysis and Gathering

To lay the foundation for modernization, the Contractor shall perform a comprehensive review of existing business processes, systems, and workflows. The ultimate purpose of this is to uncover inefficiencies, redundancies, and risks while identifying opportunities for measurable improvements. Contractor personnel support may include, but is not limited to:

- Gather and validate functional, technical and operational requirements;

- Map existing workflows and identify inefficiencies, redundancies, and risks;

- Provide actionable recommendations for modernization and efficiency improvement.

2.1.12.2 Dashboard Development and Data Visualization

Modern mission support relies on transparent, data-driven decision making. To meet this need, the Contractor will design and implement intuitive dashboards that present real-time insights into key performance indicators and overall system health. These dashboards will not only enhance transparency and accountability but will also empower decision-makers at all levels to monitor trends, allocate resources more effectively, and act quickly in response to operational changes. The use of advanced visualization tools, such as Microsoft Power BI, ensures user friendly interfaces that support both technical and non-technical audiences.

Contractor personnel support may include, but is not limited to:

- Develop Power BI dashboard to monitor key performance indicators and system performance.

- Ensure dashboards support real-time analytics, secure role based access, and customizable reporting.

- Apply UI/UX design principles to create visually engaging and easy-to-navigate dashboards.

- Collaborate with data analysts, internal developers and other stakeholders to implement visions on new dashboards, enhance existing dashboards and create new data visualizations.

- Advise on opportunities for new dashboard development and operational integration.

The ultimate goal is to utilize existing data to build dashboards that are intuitive, clearly convey data and information they are intended to convey and are easy to maintain with a focus on advanced dashboards that are visually appealing.

- When requested, the Contractor shall create, design, and produce high-impact, professional, graphical representations of various information and data analysis. The Contractor shall use abstract data, aggregate data, or any blend of data to develop interactive dashboards or stories, into attractive visualizations and infographics, as directed by the Government.

2.1.12.3 Testing and Quality Assurance

Ensuring the integrity, reliability, and usability of new solutions is critical to mission success.

The Contractor will establish a rigorous testing strategy across the full development life cycle, applying industry best practices and federal standards such as those from NIST. Testing activities will validate functionality, security, and performance; reducing risk of system failures and ensuring solutions meet stakeholder expectations. The inclusion of automated testing, where appropriate, will further streamline validation processes, improving both accuracy and speed. Contractor personnel support may include, but is not limited to:

- Conduct unit, integration, UAT, and performance testing aligned with NIST and DOI standards.

- Implement automated testing where feasible to improve speed and reduce errors.

2.1.12.4 Efficiency Improvement Initiatives

The Contractor shall ensure modernization efforts translate directly into measurable operational efficiencies. This involves re-engineering processes, eliminating redundancies, and enabling automation to reduce manual workloads. By breaking down data silos and fostering interoperability across systems, the Contractor will help DOI achieve streamlined operations and long-term performance gains. Continuous improvement mechanisms will ensure solutions remain relevant and responsive, driving ongoing value and adaptability to changing mission needs. Contractor personnel support may include, but is not limited to:

- Automate repetitive tasks through workflow optimization;

- Reduce data silos by enabling interoperability across DOI systems;

- Introduce continuous improvement mechanisms to monitor and refine processes over time.

2.1.13 Analysis and Assessment Support

The Contractor shall provide analysis and assessment support for projects identified within DOI to further enhance the DOI mission to the American people. Support could include collection of information from a various of sources and stakeholders, reviews, analysis, evaluation, and documentation targeted at various goals of streamlining efficiencies, optimizing resources, mitigating risks, strategies for improvements, followed by potential implementation of recommended improvements.

Support may include strategic planning, development of communication materials, participation and contribution in meetings, and other assessment and strategic support for projects identified within DOI to further enhance the DOI mission to the American people.

2.1.14 Futures Program

Contractor personnel are expected to possess the described and required knowledge, skills, and expertise to fulfill the requirements of this contract. To ensure a pipeline of skilled and trained Contractor Acquisition Support resources are available to deliver services under this contract, a task order may include a requirement for the contractor to take all necessary steps to establish, train, and manage a cohort of acquisition resources. Specifically, the Contractor shall implement an approach that certifies their Acquisition resources are exposed to progressively more advanced acquisition and acquisition related fundamentals, which will serve as a foundation for the Acquisition support resources to successfully transition into full-support acquisition resources. This task may include, but will not be limited to training, space rental and development of training material.

2.1.15 Other Mission Support

Provide other mission support projects identified within DOI to further enhance the DOI mission to the American people.

2.1.16 Security Clearances

The Contractor may be required to provide resources with security clearances, or previously held security clearances such as Secret or Top Secret.

2.2 Labor Categories

2.2.1 Contractor personnel are expected to possess the described and required knowledge, skills, and expertise to fulfill the requirements of this contract. The Contractor shall ensure mission support resources provide successful performance in accordance with the requirements under this contract. The table in this section provides minimum education and experience requirements, along with expected duties and responsibilities.

2.2.2 To aid in retention of contractor personnel, the Government will allow pricing for incremental increases for Entry Level and Junior labor categories in the pricing schedule until they reach the years of experience requirement for Mid-Level. As most work is commensurate with Mid Level Labor Categories, the incremental increases will not be applicable for Mid-Level or higher Labor Categories.

2.2.2.1 Entry Level and Junior Level labor categories will start with Entry Level (1) and Junior Level (1). After working under the contract for a consecutive year, contractor personnel may be moved to Entry Level (2) and Junior Level (2), respectively. So on and so forth until contractor personnel reach the minimum experience and education requirements associated with a Mid-level Acquisition Specialist. The transition from one increment to the next will be annual, is subject to CO approval and is contingent upon the contractor personnel receiving no customer complaints or concerns from the COR and CO regarding their ability to meet contract requirements.

Labor Category

Minimum Education Requirement

Minimum Years’ Experience Requirement

Duties

Acquisition Specialist, Entry Level

Bachelor’s or pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree

No minimum experience requirements

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.1, 2.1.2

Acquisition Specialist, Junior

Bachelor’s 3 years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.1, 2.1.2

Acquisition Specialist, Mid-Level

Bachelor’s 6 years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.1, 2.1.2, and/or 2.1.9

Acquisition Specialist, Senior

Bachelor’s 10 years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.1, 2.1.2, and/or 2.1.9

Acquisition Subject Matter

Bachelor’s 20 years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs

Expert

(SME)

2.1.1, 2.1.2, and/or 2.1.9

Program Analyst - Junior

Bachelor’s Degree

3 Years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.3, 2.1.10

Program Analyst – Mid Level

Bachelor’s Degree

6 years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.3, 2.1.10

Program Analyst - Senior

Bachelor’s Degree

10 Years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.3, 2.1.10

Junior Financial Analyst

High School Diploma or

GED;

Bachelor’s Degree preferred

3 Years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6

Mid-Level Financial Analyst

High School Diploma or

GED;

Bachelor’s Degree preferred

6 Years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7

Senior Financial Analyst

Bachelor’s Degree;

Master’s Degree preferred

10 Years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraphs 2.1.4, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7

Power BI Dashboard Specialist

Bachelor’s 3 years of relevant experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraph 2.1.10.2

Power BI Dashboard Specialist

Bachelor’s 6 years of relevant experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraph 2.1.10.2

FA/Grants Management Specialist, Mid-Level

Bachelor’s 6 years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraph 2.1.8

FA/Grants Management Specialist, Senior

Bachelor’s 10 years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraph 2.1.8

Project Lead Bachelor’s Degree preferred.

Minimum of 10 years of experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraph 2.1.10

Senior Business Analyst

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Organizational Development, Management Information Systems, or similar relevant degree preferred.

Relevant business

10 Years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraph 2.1.10 analyst certifications are preferred.

Mid Level Business Analyst

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Organizational Development, Management Information Systems, or similar relevant degree preferred.

Relevant business analyst certifications are preferred.

6 Years of Relevant Experience

Include work described in this PWS, primarily focused on paragraph 2.1.10

Junior Business Analyst

Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Organizational Development, Management Information Systems, or similar relevant degree preferred.

Relevant business analyst

3 Years of Relevant Experience

Include work described inthis PWS, primarily certifications are preferred.

Entry Level Business Analyst

Bachelor’s Degree or pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Organizational Development, Management Information Systems, or similar relevant degree preferred.

Relevant business analyst certifications are preferred.

No experience requirements

Include work described in this PWS, primarily

3.0 Contractor Management

Requirements The Contractor shall meet the following requirements for all services provided in support of resulting task orders.

3.1 Management

The Contractor shall manage day-to-day task order operations to ensure the completion of project tasks within the estimated time frames and budget constraints. The Contractor shall allocate and adjust resources and set schedules to accomplish program objectives and meet changing and/or emerging program requirements, with minimal impact to work quality or quantity. The Contractor shall manage all task orders and task areas without degradation to performance in any one task order or task area, as well as manage its resources in a federal work environment and virtual work environment as applicable. The Contractor shall participate in Government directed program reviews and Government directed project meetings, ensure the timely submission of complete and accurate deliverables, oversee quality control and risk management activities to prevent and/or resolve issues as they arise, and provide coordination and timely responses to requests, including independently prioritizing tasks, as needed.

3.2 Communication & Reporting

The Contractor is responsible for communicating contract performance and progress across all task orders to the Government via meetings, briefings, deliverables, and status reports.

The Contractor shall provide the Government with reports that are formatted in a structure which clearly presents accurate contract performance and progress across all task areas.

The Contractor shall respond to Government inquiries on contract performance and progress.

3.3 Qualified Resources

The Contractor shall ensure qualified resources are available for continued support throughout the life of the contract. The Contractor shall maintain sufficient staffing capacity and bench strength to ensure that any staffing shortfalls or requests for additional resources can be resolved within seven calendar days.

4.0 Contractor Personnel Requirements

4.1 Key Personnel

The requirements shall be performed entirely by key personnel. No substitutions shall be made of accepted Key Personnel except for sudden illness, death, or termination of employment. Substitutions shall only be accepted if in compliance with the substitution of Key Personnel provision identified below. Before replacing any individual designated as Key by the Government, the contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) no less than ten (10) business days in advance, submit written justification for replacement, and provide the name and qualifications of any proposed substitute(s). All proposed substitutes shall possess qualifications equal to or superior to those of the key person being replaced, unless otherwise approved by the COR. The Contractor shall not replace Key personnel without approval from the COR.

4.2 Management of Contractor Personnel

The Contractor shall be responsible for managing and overseeing the activities of all Contractor personnel, as well as subcontractors used in performance of this effort. The Contractor's management responsibilities shall include all activities necessary to ensure the accomplishment of timely and effective support, performed in accordance with the requirements contained in the PWS and individual orders.

Contractor personnel shall be professional in demeanor, responsiveness, appearance, and deportment. The Contractor personnel may be required to interface with senior Government and Industry officials. Contractor personnel shall have excellent written and oral communications skills sufficient to provide clear and concise communication and documentation.

An integral part of successful performance under this contract is not only the production of quality work products, but also the responsiveness of Contractor personnel to the day-to-day performance and administration of assigned workload. While an end product or deliverable is vital to successful performance, day-to-day activities also include interaction and responsiveness. Accordingly, the Contractor shall be proactive in accomplishing assigned tasks and be responsive to all entities with business dealings related to the assigned tasks.

For any work that was determined by the Government to be late, incomplete, or unsatisfactory, the Contractor shall take necessary action to ensure that future performance conforms to contract requirements.

Prior to placement, replacement, or addition of any new personnel providing services under this contract, the Contractor shall submit to the COR a current resume, identify the proposed labor category, and coordinate a meet and greet with the Government. Resumes submitted for proposed personnel will be reviewed to ensure the experience and qualification requirements identified herein, are met.

A meet and greet with the proposed resources serves two purposes: 1) allows the Government to verify that the skill sets and experience of the resource match the proposed labor category; and 2) assists the Government in placing personnel within an assigned organizational unit based on the resource’s experience and expertise.

Proposed personnel that receive Government concurrence from the Meet-and-Greet can begin coordination for on-boarding and security processing and the Contractor shall submit to the COR the security application for processing. When the personal identification process results in a favorable determination of the security application, the COR will notify the

Contractor. Contractor personnel shall not begin any work on the contract until they have received a favorable determination of the individual’s security application.

Proposed personnel that do not receive Government concurrence from the Meet-and-Greet will not move forward with on-boarding and security processing.

All Contractor personnel shall be subject to AQD Contractor onboarding process detailed in Appendix 3. This process is subject to change as policies and procedures are updated.

4.3 Removal of Contractor Personnel

Where a contractor employee demonstrates performance or behavior issues, the Contracting Officer (CO) may request/require that individual be removed from supporting the Government under this contract.

4.4 Program Manager

The Contractor shall provide a Program Manager, as required, to facilitate Government- Contractor communications. The Program Manager shall be the primary technical and managerial interface between the Contractor, CO, and COR. The name of this person and an alternate or alternates who shall act for the Contractor when the Program Manager is absent, shall be designated in writing to the CO. The Program Manager or alternate will have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operations. The Program Manager or alternate must be available during normal duty hours, as specified herein and to meet with Government personnel within two (2) business days after being notified to discuss problems.

The Contractor's Program Manager shall meet with the CO/COR as necessary to maintain satisfactory performance and to resolve other issues pertaining to Government/Contractor procedures. At these meetings, a mutual effort will be made to resolve all problems identified. Written minutes of these meetings shall be prepared by the Contractor, signed by the Contractor's designated representative, and furnished to the Government within two (2) business days of the subject meeting.

The Program Manager and alternate or alternates must be able to read, write, speak, and understand English.

4.4 Contractor Knowledge Transfer

In the event a Contractor resource leaves the contract, the Contractor shall ensure knowledge transfer to the new Contractor resource to ensure proficiency to successfully perform the required duties, where applicable.

4.5 Contractor Training Requirements

Contractor personnel are expected to possess the described and required knowledge, skills, and expertise to fulfill the requirements of this contract. Training of contractor staff to maintain current knowledge, skills and expertise is the responsibility of the Contractor and at their expense.

4.6 Identification of Contractor Resources and

Access to Government Facilities

When Contractor personnel attend meetings, answer phones, and work in other situations where their status is not obvious to third parties, they must identify themselves as such to avoid creating the impression that they are Government employees.

5.0 Special Performance Work

Statement (PWS) Requirements

5.1 Productive Direct Labor Hours (Applicable to

Time and Materials Line Items)

The Contractor shall only charge the Government for “Productive Direct Labor Hours”.

Productive direct labor hours are defined as those hours expended by contractor personnel in performing work under this effort. This does not include sick leave, vacation, Government or other Contractor holidays, jury duty, military leave, or any other types of administrative leave such as acts of God (i.e. hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, etc.). Presidential funerals, or any other unexpected Government closures.

Hours spent by any individual, Contractor employee or otherwise, to complete the forms and any other paperwork required by the Government to process background clearances, or for the purpose of obtaining required fingerprints, are not billable to the Government. Time spent by any individual to participate in interviews conducted by OPM, or its designees, for the purpose of completing background investigations is not billable to the Government. The Government considers these costs to be overhead and estimates that between three and ten hours may be required on the part of an individual to complete background clearance processing.

No billable hours will be allowed until Contractor staff have completed all security requirements and such requirements are approved by the Government.

5.2 Government Holidays

The following Government holidays are normally observed by Government personnel:

1. New Year’s Day

2. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday

3. Presidential Inauguration Day

(metropolitan DC area only)

4. President’s Day (Washington’s

Birthday per 5 U.S.C. 6103(a))

5. Memorial Day

6. Juneteenth

7. Independence Day

8. Labor Day

9. Columbus Day

10. Veterans Day

11. Thanksgiving Day

12. Christmas Day

13. Any other day designated by

Federal Statute, Executive Order, and/or Presidential Proclamation, or any other kind of administrative leave such as acts of God (i.e., hurricanes, snowstorms, tornadoes, etc.)

Presidential funerals or any other unexpected government closures.

A full list of Federal Holidays by specific year and date is available at:

https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/.

For Federal Holidays not observed by the Contractor, the unobserved Federal Holiday is not billable under this contract.

It is not anticipated during the performance, that contractor resources will be required to work on Federal holidays. If an exception arises, and work is required on a Federal Holiday in https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/federal-holidays/ support of the contract, the support requirement will be mutually agreed to in advance by the Government and Contractor.

5.3 Overtime

Overtime is not authorized under this contract.

5.4 Payment for Unauthorized Work

No payments will be made for any unauthorized supplies or services or for any unauthorized changes to the work specified in this document. This includes any services performed by the Contractor of their own volition or at the request of an individual other than a duly appointed CO. Only a duly appointed CO is authorized to change the specifications, terms, and conditions under this contract.

5.5 Place of Performance

The primary place of performance is the Contractor’s facility, or an alternate Contractor designated location within the fifty (50) United States and official U.S. territories.

The vast majority of meetings will be conducted virtually through Microsoft Teams or similar platform. In order to ensure effective communications, the Contractor shall ensure all personnel have functional, accessible web cameras, which are required to be used in all meetings, where applicable. Exceptions for web camera usage includes if the meeting host has specifically stated that cameras should not be used or if attending a large-scale meeting (e.g. 50+ attendees), unless presenting, answering, or asking a question.

All Contractor personnel must use Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) while working.

All connections to DOI networks and remote systems require two-factor authentication. When connecting to the DOI network to access certain DOI applications via the contractor personnel’s Information Service Provider's portal or internet gateway, contractor personnel must connect to the DOI network via the Virtual Private Network

(VPN).

At the end of each day, Contractor personnel must ensure all records are saved to the official designated secured network shared drive. Contractor personnel shall disconnect from the VPN during extended periods of inactivity. Any security incidents or violations must be reported immediately to the IBC Customer Support Center and the CO.

5.6 Travel

1. Travel is not immediately anticipated; however, travel may be required during the period of performance.

2. Where needed, travel will be issued as a not to exceed (NTE) line item.

3. Local travel, within 50 mile radius, to the scheduled premise is not reimbursable.

Travel reimbursement between the Contractor site or residence and the DOI work site will NOT be authorized.

4. All travel requirements, including plans, agenda, itinerary and dates shall be approved in writing by the COR PRIOR TO commencement of travel. The contractor shall be reimbursed for actual allowable, allocable, and reasonable travel costs incurred during performance of this effort in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) currently in effect on the date of travel and FAR 31.205-46, however, receipts are required for all travel reimbursement under this PWS where travel is requested and approved. Travel other than economy class will not be reimbursed.

5. All travel shall be scheduled and approved sufficiently in advance to take advantage of offered discount rates, unless authorized by the COR.

6. Invoices submitted for reimbursement of travel SHALL include documentation of COR approval prior to travel.

7. Government Per Diem shall be used for daily expenditures. Reference:

https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates.

8. Rental cars are limited to economy – unless more than 2 travelers. If more than 2 travelers, a mid-size care is authorized – rental of larger cars for more than 4 travelers will be authorized on a case-by-case basis and ONLY by the CO in advance of travel.

9. Global Positioning System (GPS) will not be reimbursed.

10. Short term parking will not be reimbursed for travel that is more than one (1) business day in length.

11. The Contractor shall submit travel expenditures in a timely manner. Therefore, travel expenses invoiced later than sixty (60) calendar days after the actual travel end date will not be reimbursed and are considered untimely.

Government Travel References Include:

• 41 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Chapters 300 through 304

• FAR 31.205-46 Travel Costs

• Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) & Per Diem Information Travel Resources:

www.gsa.gov https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates

6.0 Performance Measures

6.1 Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

The following performance measures have been established to guide the expected levels of service for the required services to be delivered and/or performed.

The COR will maintain the method of surveillance. The COR will inform the CO in writing of Contractor performance issues as detailed in the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). The CO will ensure adequate documentation and corrective action is taken to ensure acceptable performance standards are maintained by the Contractor.

The Government will not apply penalties for events outside of the Contractor’s control and not directly attributed to the Contractor’s performance.

Table 1: QASP Table

PWS

Ref.

Required Service

Performance Standards

Acceptable Quality Level

Method of Surveillance

7.4 Monthly

Status Reports (MSPRs)

Delivered MSPRs are accurate, timely, and comply with reporting requirements and the COR shall not have to rework or normalize data within the reports

100% of the time

MSPR;

Observation &

COR

assessment

2.0

3.0

Assigned Functions

Contractor personnel complete assigned functions completely, accurately, and timely within agreed upon timelines.

95% of the time

Random Sampling;

Feedback;

Review of

MSPR

3.3 Qualified

Resources

Provide resources upon notification

100% Positions filled at the start of each PoP and within 7 days of notice of need

Observation

& COR

assessment

7.0 Deliverable Requirements

7.1 Deliverables

The Contractor shall provide the Deliverables outlined in the Schedule of Deliverables Table below. All deliverables shall be provided to the Government in Microsoft Office 365 compliant format via secure digital delivery or as directed by the COR. Deliverables developed at the order level shall be provided to the COR and CO. An additional distribution to other Government personnel may be directed at the order level.

Table 2: All Deliverables shall be submitted to the CO and COR Electronically.

Deliverable Item #

Milestone / Deliverable Due Dates

Schedule Kick-Off Meeting – resulting in a Kick-off meeting date/time as mutually agreed to by the parties

Within five business days after award

2 Kick Off Meeting Summary

Within five business days after the Kick Off meeting is held

3 Onboarding Packages Within 3 business days after initial base contract award and task order award

4 Management Plan Within 30 business days of the Kick Off Meeting

5 Monthly Status Reports Monthly by the fifth business day of the Month

6 GFE Inventory Reports

- 30 calendar days after performance start date;

- At the end of the fifth (5th) month for each PoP;

- 30 calendar days before the end of each PoP

Non-Disclosure Agreement &

Certificate for no Organizational

3 business days after onboarding adjudication

Conflict of Interest

(OCI)

7.2 Post Award Kick Off Meeting

The Contractor shall hold a Post-Award Kick Off Meeting with AQD as soon as possible following the contract award, but no later than within five (5) business days after the award.

The purpose of the post-award meeting is to assure both Government and Contractor personnel have a clear and mutual understanding of all PWS tasks requirements and to identify and resolve potential problems. It is not a substitute for the Contractor’s full understanding of the work requirements at the time offers are submitted, nor is it to be used to alter the resulting contract award.