Attachment A - DRAFT PWS FPDS Data Quality Improvement.pdf

DRAFT

DRAFT Performance Work Statement (PWS) FPDS Data Quality Improvement

B.2 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Federal Procurement Data Systems – Next Generation (FPDS-NG) Data Validation Improvement Services

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE:

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Acquisition and Logistics (OAL) requires improvement to FPDS-NG data quality primarily through:

Automate monitoring of FPDS-NG for potential errors for all possible data fields;

Automated feedback to the FPDS-NG submitter within two business days of

FPDS-NG entry;

Proper data error notification support (supervisor, contracting officer, contract specialist, etc.) in a time sensitive manner through automated notifications and dashboards;

Streamline reporting through automated report preparation of FPDS- NG accuracy certification for the Office of Procurement Policy (OFPP) required data fields; and

Analysis of data generated by approximately 3000 VA buyers.

2. BACKGROUND:

The FPDS-NG (https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/) is a mandatory data collection system for reporting government contracts. This system provides vital information related to government purchasing to managers, Contractors, and oversight communities meaning the validity of data is critical. The VA recognizes there are government wide, systemic issues with data quality. While the FPDS-NG does provide data validation for limited data sets, the data validation process is not robust.

Further, all government agencies are required to report certain data elements for each contract action and to certify as to the validity of the data contained in FPDS- NG. This is a labor- intensive process.

3. PLACE AND PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

The anticipated Place of Performance shall be, primarily, at the Contractor’s facility.

The period of performance is one (1) 12-month base period. and four (4) 12-month option periods.

4. TASKS:

Task 1: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS:

1.1 Kickoff Meeting: Within ten (10) business days of award, the Contractor shall meet with designated personnel to review and discuss tasks, timelines and identify potential challenges that may arise.

1.2 Training Materials: Within ten (10) business day after award, the contractor shall

FPDS Data Quality Improvement provide user training/materials. Contractor will also support continual, as needed user training, for the life of the contract.

1.3 Set-Up Time: Setup time should be within a maximum of thirty (30) business days after contract award and/or the Contractor is provided access to VA FPDS data access, the e-mails of VA employees largest FPDS users, and the list of VA employees who would receive management level notifications when a problem is not corrected. Anticipated setup shall include:

a. Adding VA identifiers and passcodes as appropriate under the system design;

b. Enabling the system to e-mail notifications to VA FPDS Contract Action Reports submitters and others identified of potential problems in the FPDS entry;

c. Enabling the system to e-mail notifications to employees receiving notification in the event an action is not corrected.

1.4 System Modifications: – It is anticipated that the system will be COTS and system modifications will be the responsibility of the contractor.

a. The system shall be independently maintained by the contractor who shall be responsible for modifications and updates.

b. Routine maintenance updates shall occur within three (3) business days of detected system changes for FPDS-NG.

c. The contractor will provide a system modification capability to add additional data checks in the event VA determines ways to improve data validation.

These updates shall be provided within three (3) business days upon request for customized data validations.

d. The contractor shall provide a system which allows for customization. This customization shall have the ability to provide inclusion of the name “VA” on the VA interface page and e-mail sent to VA staff notifying them of potential problems.

Task 2: ACCESS

2.1 The contractor shall provide a system that supports the VA’s diverse geographical locations by differentiating between office designations utilized by FPDS-NG. A copy of the VA Agency Activity Codes (AACs) as recorded in FPDS-NG will be provided upon award. The system shall provide:

a. Dashboards/systems access point

i. Web-based accessible from multiple locations.

ii. Not hosted on government computers.

b. Notifications of potential issues

iii. Preferred access methodology to notify staff by e-mail sent to the VA

FPDS Data Quality Improvement staff member.

2.2 The contractor shall provide a data source which utilizes FPDS-NG government access information.

2.3 The contractor shall provide Access Control Password Protection. The system shall be appropriately password-protected on a Department and Administration/Staff Office organizational level; whereby:

a. At least one level of password protection.

b. Any additional passwords able to be aligned separately if required. I.e. to allow for separation between VA departments.

Task 3: USAGE

3.1 The contractor shall provide a user-friendly system that is intuitive to a trained contracting professional familiar with FPDS-NG. The system should allow hyper-linkage to the FPDS-NG.

3.2 The contractor shall provide a system with dashboard functionality and robust reporting functionality. Users shall have the ability to filter data by contracting offices in VA and total to show data issues in a graphical presentation.

Task 4: MONITORING CAPABILITY

4.1 The contractor shall provide a system with automated monitoring. The system shall provide automated approaches to monitoring potential errors and providing prompt feedback to improve VA FPDS-NG data quality.

The system shall also provide automated monitoring on a real-time basis.

Providing feedback of potential errors to the contracting officer submitting and FPDS-NG action within no more than 2 business days of submission of the Contract Action Report (CAR) through direct e-mail to the person submitting the report.

4.2 The contractor shall provide automated feedback of potential errors to include the rationale for determining potential errors, sufficiently detailed to educate the contracting staff person as to the nature of the problem. Emails shall be sent to submitter of the FDPS-NG CAR providing the rationale and appropriate regulations references as part of information.

4.3 The contractor shall provide automated waiver of errors. Providing a mechanism for the contracting staff who determined that the coding is appropriate despite being flagged as a potential problem to document their rationale. This documentation should be linked into data error notifications discussed at task 5.

4.4 The contractor shall identify FPDS-NG data improperly coded as actions. The system shall provide data verification which checks the buying office code against data points in the system which would identify if the offices are properly coded by the buying office personnel, such as the contracting office location or other identifying factors. Notification of errors shall be sent to a central VA office point of contact to be provided by VA within two (2) business days of award.

4.5 FPDS-NG Auto Correction Process Requirements

a. The system identifies a correctable reporting error.

i. A correctable reporting error is one that has a common correcting action 85% of the time.

b. An email alert is sent out to the prepared by / last modified by user of the contract action report that contains a correctable error informing them:

i. What contract action has been flagged and what type of error it has been flagged for.

ii. What specific correction action will be done to correct this action.

iii. A correction action will be automatically executed in five (5) business days, date provided in the email.

iv. The user of the contract action report should reply to the email if they want to cancel the automatic correcting action.

c. Five (5) business days after the email is sent a correcting action is executed automatically using a custom process using a system account accessible to the development team.

4.6 Documenting Corrections

a. All correcting actions will be tracked two ways:

i. Internal log of changes made through the automation process. All correcting actions will be documented to store information on the original code before the correction and new field code after the automatic correction process.

ii. The existing process of tracking corrections in FPDS-NG using the Application Programming Interface (API) provided by FPDS-NG will allow changes to be tracked separately from the corrections process.

4.7 The Auto Correction Report

a. Contractor will provide a monthly Auto Correction report detailing what actions were corrected by the auto correction process during the previous month.

b. FPDS-NG Users will also be sent a monthly Auto Correction report that identifies their corrected actions executed during the previous month.

Task 5: DATA ERROR NOTIFCATIONS

5.1 The Contractor shall support data error notifications and:

a. When a data entry remains flagged as a potential error, the Contractor will notify the designated representative within the appropriate office within one (1) week of when the initial potential data entry error notification was made to the contracting staff.

b. Automated notification shall include the contracting officer's rationale for not changing the question data entry as part of the notification.

c. Provide a monthly report of all data entries flagged as potential errors within the last thirty (30) calendar days to VA, OAL, Enterprise Acquisition Systems (EAS) and VA Heads of Contracting Activity (HCA) points of contact.

Notification should include the Contracting Officer’s provided rationale for not changing the potential data error as part of the report.

Task 6: REPORTING FUNCTION

6.1 The contractor shall provide a system capable of producing a variety of reports including but not limited to:

a. Upon request - standard dashboard reports by Department and

Administration/Staff Office totals.

b. Annually - report required under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) "Improving Federal Procurement Data Quality-Guidance for Annual Verification and Validation" memorandum focused on the required data elements.

c. Quarterly - report with totals by Head of Contracting Authority (HCA) in VA.

d. Quarterly and Annually - Department reports with totals.

e. Custom Contractor responsibility assessment (CRA) report and memo accessible to contracting staff through email via robotic process automation

(RPA).

i.The CRA will include data from FPDS-NG, System for Award Management (SAM), and Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) and cover FAR Part 9 requirements.

ii.The CRA will integrate Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) and Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) registration data from https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/.

iii.CRA report and memo shall be provided via email to the requesting contracting staff member within 24 hours of original request. Exceptions may be made to the 24 hour requirement during situations of peak usage and/or backlog (ex.

fiscal year end) provided the Contractor gives the Government timely notice when these situations arise.

Task 7: DATA ACCESSIBILITY

7.1 The Contractor shall ensure the availability of the collected FPDS-NG data to be accessed and analyzed by VA officials and staff. The VA may share system access with other VA officials as they assess the validity of the requirement to fulfill VA responsibilities in relation to FPDS-NG data collection and reporting requirements.

Task 8: CATEGORY MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS

8.1 The contractor shall provide analysis to increase the usage of Category Management vehicles and identify awards that are made outside of the vehicles.

The contactor shall provide a solution that detects and reports the use of category management vehicles verses awards that are made outside of these vehicles. To include:

a. Integrating FPDS-NG transactional data with General Services Administration

(GSA) Acquisition Gateway data;

b. Breaking out spending by tier levels and by other attributes in the FPDS-NG transactional data, such as use of small business set asides;

c. Via a web-based interface, comparing the Category Management utilization rate across agencies, and against the department as a whole;

d. Providing Excel-based, ad-hoc reporting capability to analyzing Category Management metrics.

Task 9: COMPETITION ANALYSIS

9.1 The contactor shall provide analysis to help the VA decrease the number of competitively awarded contracts that received only one bid. The Contractor shall provide a solution that detects and reports competitive awards that received only one bid and meet the following criteria: 1) are above the simplified acquisition threshold, 2) are for base awards only, and 3) are not orders/calls against Indefinite Delivery Vehicles (IDVs) within FPDS-NG.

Within two business days of a FPDS-NG contract action report (CAR) being approved matching the above metrics, the Contractor shall provide automated data alerts notifying the Contract Specialist (CS) or Contacting Officer (CO) of the action being coded as a one-bid within FPDS-NG and provide the CS/CO with options for correction or confirmation of the CAR. The automated feedback alerts shall be intuitive and clearly identify the award number of the one-bid CAR and include:

a. Via a web-based interface, compare the rate of competitive one bids across the

VA administrations and the VA as a whole;

b. Distinguish between awards where more than one bid was expected versus not expected (the latter involving task orders and BPA calls against single award indefinite delivery vehicles);

c. Provide an alerting mechanism to contracting officials and supervisory personnel when a competed award receives one bid;

d. Provide a list of potential errors in FPDS-NG reporting whereby a competitive one bid is incorrectly reported either due to an incorrect number of offers being reported, or an error in the competition coding.

Task 10: CONTRACTOR RISK ANALYSIS

10.1 The Contactor shall provide analysis and solution(s) that detect, report and provide close oversight of high-risk contractors and/or awards. High risk is defined as having exclusions and/or two (2) or more FAPIIS records for of any of the following:

termination for cause, termination for default, determination of non-responsibility.

Within (2) two business days of a FPDS-NG contract action report (CAR) being approved that meets the definition of high risk, the Contractor shall provide automated data alerts notifying the CS/CO and provide options for correction or confirmation of the CAR. The automated alerts shall be intuitive and clearly identify the award number of the high-risk CAR and include:

a. Report and automated alert for any active award involving a contractors who is debarred or becomes debarred.

b. Automated alert when a new award is made to a contractor with a current federal tax delinquency or has had a federal tax delinquency within the last three (3) years.

c. Automated alert when a new award is made to a contractor with an aggregate of two (2) or more high risk FAPIIS records within the last three (3) years.

d. Web-based dashboards to allow for ongoing monitoring of high-risk contractors.

Task 11: AD HOC AND CUSTOM REPORTS

The Contractor shall provide, upon request, customized procurement metrics reports and data analysis.

Task 12: AUTOMATED ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT SOLUTION (AAMS)

INTEGRATION FOR VERIFICATION AND VALID (V&V) DATA RETRIEVAL AND

VALIDATION IN FPDS

12.1 Establish a connection between the system and a Veterans Affairs (VA) developed API, facilitating the extraction of Verification and Validation (V&V) data values from the VA’s Electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) software component, Automated Acquisition Management Solution (AAMS) and the retrieval of relevant pages of the SF-1449 or the SF-30 document (depending on the modification number of the transaction in question).

12.2 API Integration: Develop a secure and efficient interface to connect the system with the VA API ensuring accurate and seamless extraction of V&V data values from eCMS.

12.3 Document Retrieval: Systematically pull relevant documents, specifically SF-30 and SF-1449, from the VA API. The primary emphasis will be on page 1 of these documents, as they adhere to a consistent template with specific fields and values crucial for the V&V review.

12.4 Data Cross-Referencing:

a. Compare eCMS data fields against corresponding FPDS data fields.

b. Cross-reference SF-1449/SF-30 document fields with FPDS data to ensure compliance with the stipulated guidelines.

12.5 V&V Dashboard: Design a user-friendly dashboard to exhibit results of the cross-referencing, enabling users to have a comprehensive understanding of the validation process and to readily identify inconsistencies. Provide quarterly reports on V&V results.

12.6 Inconsistency Detection & Notification:

a. Automatically detect any deviations or inconsistencies during the cross-referencing process.

b. Log detected inconsistencies for rigorous review.

c. Send real-time notifications to designated reviewers when discrepancies are detected, thus ensuring timely interventions and compliance.

12.7 Review & Autocorrection:

a. Empower reviewers with the capability to auto correct any identified FPDS field inconsistency or to opt for manual intervention.

b. Send email alerts to FPDS users, updating them about identified discrepancies and advising on corrective actions or notifying them of a scheduled autocorrection.

12.8 Document Types and Consistency: Ensure the system's adaptability to both PDF and scanned image formats of the SF-1449 and SF-30 documents while maintaining the integrity of the data for V&V review.

5. DELIVERABLES:

PWS

Section

Deliverables Frequency Medium/Format/ #copies

Submit To

1.1 Kick-Off Meeting Within ten (10)

business days of award. VA will schedule the meeting.

Pdf PowerPoint copy via email and in-person meeting

Program Manager and COR

1.2 Training Initially within ten

(10) business days of award, followed by additional training on an as needed basis.

Virtual/web-based Instructor Led Training and/or electronic copy (PDF/PPT/Word)

Program Manager and COR

1.3 Set Up Operating/

Staff Division, User Accounts, Points of Contact, Roles and Responsibilities

Within thirty (30) days of award

Pdf copy via email Program Manager and COR

1.4 System Modifications By the 3rd

business day of FPDS-NG data change.

As needed Program Manager and COR

4.7 (a) Auto Correction Report

Monthly; Within five business (5) days of end of month

Pdf copy via email Program Manager and COR

5.1 (c) Data Error Report Monthly; Within five business (5) days of end of month

Pdf copy via email Program Manager and COR

6.1 (a) Standard dashboard reports by Department and Administration/Staff Office totals.

As requested Pdf copy via email Program Manager and COR

6.1 (b) Report required under the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) "Improving Federal Procurement Data Quality-Guidance for Annual Verification and Validation"

Annually Pdf copy via email Program Manager and COR

6. PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE

PLAN (QASP)

The Government will use the methods outlined in the QASP below to perform surveillance of the contractor performance:

Standard Acceptable

Quality Level Methods of

Surveillance Incentive

Contractor shall perform timely completion of tasks in accordance with the PWS and Schedule.

No more than 2 documented instances of Contractor failing to meet standard.

Independently verified through

COR observation or verified reports.

The Government will consider the Contractor’s performance when:

1) Determining CPARS rating.

2) Making a determination to exercise options.

Documents and work products shall be error-free/accurate and have appropriate quality control.

No more than 1 documented instance of contractor failing to meet standard

Independently verified through

COR observation or verified reports.

The Government will consider the Contractor’s performance when:

1) Determining CPARS rating.

memorandum

6.1 (c) Report on totals by

HCA.

Quarterly Pdf copy via email Program Manager and

COR

6.1 (d) Report on totals by Department.

Quarterly and Annually

Pdf copy via email Program Manager and COR

6.1 (e) Contractor Responsibility Report (CRA) and Memo

Unlimited; Provided via email within 24 hours of originating request

Report: Pdf Memo: Fillable Pdf

Requesting contracting staff member

11 AD HOC and Custom Reports

As requested Excel/Pdf copy via email

Program Manager and COR

12.5 V&V Results Report Quarterly Pdf copy via email

Program Manager, COR, EASS

POC

Contractor shall maintain a high level of customer service and professionalism

No more than 1 documented instance of contractor failing to meet standard.

Independently verified through

COR observation or verified reports.

The Government will consider the Contractor’s performance when:

1) Determining CPARS rating.

Poor performance may result in issuance of a Contractor Discrepancy Report (CDR). The contractor’s performance on this TO will be reported to the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) on an annual basis. The CO and COR will make use of information from CDRs, as well as any additional knowledge and information available to them with respect to the contractor’s performance, to complete the CPARS.

The Government will not pay for services that do not conform or do not meet performance standards or have not been properly rendered.

The contractor will be given an opportunity to correct non-conforming services at no cost to the Government if the services are non-conforming or the contract requirement is unacceptable.

DOCUMENTING PERFORMANCE

Acceptable Performance: The government will document acceptable performance in accordance with the chart above. Any report may become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action.

Unacceptable Performance: When unacceptable performance occurs, the COR will inform the CO. This will always be in writing although when circumstances necessitate immediate oral communication, that communication will be followed in writing. The COR will document the discussion and place it in the COR’s file. When the CO determines formal written communication is required, the COR will prepare a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR) and present it to the contractor's program manager. The contractor shall acknowledge receipt of the CDR in writing to the CO.

The CDR will state how long after receipt the contractor must take corrective action.

The CDR will also specify if the contractor is required to prepare a corrective action plan to document how the contractor shall correct the unacceptable performance and avoid a recurrence. The CO will review the contractor's corrective action plan to determine acceptability. Any CDRs may become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action deemed necessary by the CO.

7. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS

Section 508 is a Federal law, part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which Established guidelines for technology accessibility. Section 508 requires that any Information and Communication Technology (ICT) developed, procured, maintained, or used by Federal departments and agencies must allow Federal employees and members of the public with disabilities access to and use of information and data that is comparable to those individuals without disabilities.

Any work performed under this contract/order resulting in content to be displayed, published, or broadcast for public or internal use, are subject to the requirements of Section 508 Compliance (i.e., publication of training videos, etc.).

The VA Office of 508 Compliance and applicable policy documentation can be found at Accessibility and Section 508 - Section 508.

8. SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

(Applicable sections of VA Handbook 6500.6, Appendix C to be added)