Attachment A - Performance Work Statement_Convener.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Health Administration Digital Health Office

Office of Clinical Informatics (OCI) Integration & Operations (I&O)

Interoperability Pledge Program Support

Date: August 20, 2025

PWS Version Number: 1.0

Table of Contents

1 INTRODUCTION

2 SCOPE OR PURPOSE

3 TASKS

3.1 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

3.1.1 Post-Award Conference/Kick-Off Meeting

3.1.2 Project Management Plan and Monthly Progress Reports

3.1.3 Staffing Roster

3.2 ESTABLISH AN INTEROPERABILITY PLEDGE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (IPCOP)

3.2.1 Administrating the IPCOP

3.2.2 IPCOP Strategic Documents

3.3 NATIONAL STANDARDS ALIGNMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

3.4 DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF A NEW IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE OR STANDARD

(Optional)

4 CONTRACT DELIVERABLES

5 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

6 TYPE OF CONTRACT

7 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

8 TRAVEL

9 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED INFORMATION, EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

10 CHANGES TO THE PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

11 KEY PERSONNEL

12 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

Interoperability Pledge Program Support

1 INTRODUCTION

At the “2023 HealthDataPalooza”, the Undersecretary of Health from the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Dr. Shereef Elnahal, announced the creation of a Veteran Interoperability Pledge initiative to facilitate the seamless care experience and immediate access to Veteran patients’ medical history as part of making timely and accurate treatment decisions. With aspirations to help advance treatment and reduce negative outcomes for patients in suicidal crisis, recognizing new and enhanced benefits available to Veterans based upon legislation related to toxic exposures, this pledge will help enhance access to key data between VA and community providers.

This initiative is driven in part by recent legislative actions in the form of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act and the Veterans Comprehensive Prevention, Access to Care, and Treatment (COMPACT) Act addressing Veterans in suicidal crisis. This initiative aims to advance awareness and use of those benefits to the advantage of the Veteran population we serve.

A group of thirteen (13) health systems were initial signatories to the Pledge, committing to developing and providing capabilities that support the objectives of the Pledge: (1) accurately identifying Veterans when seeking care from providers in the community; (2) connecting Veterans with VA and community resources that promote health and healthcare, especially those services that lower out-of-pocket expenses for Veterans; and (3) responsively and reliably coordinating care of shared patients including exchange of information about care requested and provided. All signatories to the Pledge will assist VA in identifying and addressing issues adversely affecting Veteran care, with initial focus on improving the identification of patients who are Veterans, in clarifying and improving eligibility determination for programs under which they may qualify, and to advance health data sharing across institutions in support of their care. Signatories recognize who the work focuses on Veterans but will also have collateral benefit to other vulnerable communities and the public at large. Details about the pledge and the program can be found at the VA website at https://www.va.gov/health/veteran-interoperability-pledge.asp. It is intended for the number of Pledge signatories to increase significantly over time.

A neutral convener is necessary to allow various industry and community stakeholders to participate in the advancing legislative priorities set forth by Congress and the Undersecretary of Health. By engaging this convener, VA can ensure that progress on interoperability standards continues to advance among the industry, writ large, and within Veterans Health Administration.

Subsequently, a neutral convener is defined as an entity that brings industry participants to assemble and define health information technology and interoperability standard with no proprietary interest in the outcome.

This convener will establish an open Interoperability Pledge Community of Practice (IPCOP) composed of participants in the information landscape with voluntary participation resulting in better Veteran care. The convener will provide professional facilitation and management to the IPCOP that will advance technical solutions, business practices, community standards, and https://www.va.gov/health/veteran-interoperability-pledge.asp regulatory frameworks that advance shared priorities by allowing individual IPCOP members to provide information and viewpoints gathered during their operations. Neutrality is essential to the convening function to ensure all voices are heard and to provide the IPCOP confidence that segments will not be disadvantaged. It will allow VA to better understand challenges and approaches that were productive or unsuccessful in the health care community and outside of the Veteran Health networks. To ensure neutrality, the vendor shall sign a non-disclosure agreement, a non-compete agreement, and a Conflict-of-Interest Statement for any findings that arise out of identified deliverables produced. The Contractor must be neutral and must be aware this work may cause an organizational conflict of interest, which will be governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and clauses set forth in the solicitation and contract.

2 SCOPE OR PURPOSE

The contractor shall establish and facilitate an IPCOP that will pull together healthcare organizations across the industry with a primary focus of improving care and access to our Nation's Veterans. The contractor shall serve as the IPCOP "Convener" providing longevity and sustainability components to the IPCOP. The IPCOP shall reside outside of VA/VHA firewall and be managed by the contractor. The IPCOP shall be accessible by all stakeholders, managed by professional facilitators under an organization supporting a growing membership dedicated to supporting the Pledge. This approach will allow the broader ecosystem involved in supporting both Veteran care and providing for similar communities to come together to provide information regarding solution approaches to take on the biggest challenges they face. A forum to provide comments and insight on existing laws, regulations, and constraints affect the IPCOP.

As a result of the IPCOP, the Contractor shall address the interoperability gaps identified by the Pledge signatories. The main purpose of the Convener is to help the signatories identify the interoperability requirements and associated infrastructure. The requirements will be met by creating standards guidance and implementation guides centered on the needs of Veterans receiving care in the community consistent with the Pledge objectives. The Contractor shall focus priority for the Community of Practice (CoP) on identifying the high priority interoperability use cases which result in requirements to support plans that will focus any interoperability standards gaps.

Creating an IPCOP facilitated by a Convener provides sustainability for future Veterans’ interoperability use cases and may expand the effort beyond the initial set of use cases to consider the holistic set of Veteran needs and how they align to other disadvantaged groups, providing long-term benefit to participating organizations and the beneficiaries they serve. The contractor shall help the signatories manage requirements, identify gaps in standards/guidance/conformance, and formulate interoperability use cases to address these needs. The Convener shall use the experience of similar CoP (e.g., the Argonaut project) to analyze and resolve the interoperability needs of the Veterans consistent with the Pledge.

3 TASKS

3.1 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

3.1.1 Post-Award Conference/Kick-Off Meeting

The Contractor shall coordinate and administer a post-award conference/kick-off meeting with key stakeholders and subject matter experts (SMEs), all of whom shall be identified by the Contractor’s Program Manager (PM) and VA’s Program Manager (PM) / Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). The Contractor shall schedule the meeting within 10 calendar days after contract award or as agreed upon between the COR, the CO, and the Contractor.

The Contractor shall present the details of the intended approach for managing the contract. The Contractor shall electronically deliver Post-Award Conference/Kick-Off Meeting Minutes to all meeting participants no later than three (3) business days after conclusion of the Post-Award Conference/Kick-Off Meeting.

At the Government’s discretion, a virtual meeting will be held via a virtual conference meeting platform (Microsoft Teams).

Deliverable:

A. Post-Award Conference/Kick-off Meeting B. Post-Award Conference/Kick-Off Meeting Minutes

3.1.2 Project Management Plan and Monthly Progress Reports

The Project Manager (PM) shall provide Project Management Plan within the first ten

(10) business days of Kickoff Meeting. Monthly progress reports shall be provided thirty (30) days after award and recurring every thirty (30) days thereafter to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) via electronic mail. This report shall include: (1) a summary of all project milestones and their anticipated completion dates, (2) data on cumulative funding and expenditure rates and status, (3) invoicing data, (4) an assessment of current month and future month activities, (5) a discussion of any issues related to contract performance or administration, and (6) data on participants and potential advisory activity to support government oversight activities that ensure compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The Contractor shall provide a draft Program Management Plan (PMP) three (3) business days prior for review and discussion at the kick-off meeting.

The Contractor shall meet with VA Executive personnel monthly to address vendor strategy in working effectively with IPCOP to achieve the objectives and to ensure continuity for future VA implementation of the approved practice standards. The Executive meeting shall assist Executive Leadership by ensuring engagement, providing a forum for discussions, definitions of expectations, forecasting, milestones, and meeting minutes of outcomes.

Deliverables:

A. Project Management Plan B. Monthly Progress Report C. Monthly Executive Status Meeting

3.1.3 Staffing Roster

The Contractor shall provide a roster of all staff supporting the contract with relevant demographic information to include location, phone number, and time zone within ten

(10) calendar days after award. Monthly Staffing Roster updates shall be provided on the fifth business day of the month. The Contractor shall provide notification of a change in personnel within five (5) business days of any change.

Deliverables:

A. Staffing Roster B. Monthly Staffing Roster Update C. Notice of change in personnel (ad hoc)

3.2 ESTABLISH AN INTEROPERABILITY PLEDGE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE (IPCOP)

The Contractor shall establish an IPCOP leveraging existing industry participants, relationships, and bodies within the Digital Health communities, who engage in standards-based exchange. A CoP is a group of people who share a common concern, a set of problems, or an interest in a topic and who come together to fulfill both individual and group goals. Industry community refers to participants within the following areas and illustrative examples (which list is not intended to be exhaustive): Providers; Payers; Digital Health Vendors (e.g., Digital Health Industry and Standards Development Organizations); Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) entities, including Recognized Coordinating Entity (RCE) and Qualified Health Information Networks (QHINs), and established health information exchanges, such as eHealth Exchange; Federal entities (e.g., HHS Assistant Secretary for Technology/Office of National Coordinator, Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, Defense Health Agency)

The IPCOP shall provide the initial signatories, and subsequent signatories, an opportunity to share their experiences as members of an open CoP (the “Community”), managed by the convener, and for the convener to conduct outreach to attract and grow this Community to involve other participants contributing to or impacted by this objective. The starting-point of this Community shall be focused on sharing information related to current VA priorities as supported in the Pledge (PACT ACT of 2022; COMPACT ACT of 2020 ), with the intent to grow the IPCOP and scope of information shared by IPCOP members to include full-spectrum community and cross-community care issues and concerns (e.g., scheduling, registration, eligibility, payment, record sharing, problem list sharing, etc.). A key goal of the IPCOP is to improve Veteran care and outcomes through Community sharing of pertinent information intended to promote discussion of possible improvements to care for much broader cohorts, including, but not limited to Veterans. Upon review and concurrence by VA, the Contractor shall invite and transition existing signatories to the IPCOP; identify new and potential IPCOP members and encourage their participation; determine initial goals and objectives appropriate to gathering a broad spectrum of insights from a broad and changing spectrum of organizations; manage the interoperability requirements developed by the IPCOP membership and document use cases to address them using interoperability standards and infrastructure.

https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.congress.gov%2F117%2Fplaws%2Fpubl168%2FPLAW-117publ168.pdf&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cc8f5e963526c462c077b08dd3fc7beaf%7Ce95f1b23abaf45ee821db7ab251ab3bf%7C0%7C0%7C638736849301649501%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=5y7eOttR8JC84dlkpSdgBBZLUza7%2FwOQVL4ewRR1R3o%3D&reserved=0 https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.congress.gov%2Fbill%2F116th-congress%2Fhouse-bill%2F8247&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cc8f5e963526c462c077b08dd3fc7beaf%7Ce95f1b23abaf45ee821db7ab251ab3bf%7C0%7C0%7C638736849301674092%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=XBDRZ5Ayg6dFaEs7CP8xlFzCsEwVUt7qBJ8ksIDC6AE%3D&reserved=0

Deliverables:

A. IPCOP charter with identified representative members from Pledge signatory organizations.

B. Work Plan with key objectives to support industry stakeholder engagement and participation.

C. Written, verbal, and other forms of relevant documents from the members for consideration in the CoP deliberations to include ad hoc deliberations to provide details and in-depth discussions as relevant to VA’s interests.

D. Prospective list of future signatories with points of contact and timelines of engagement.

E. Progress report on list of future signatories list, additional members, and status of new participants.

3.2.1 Administrating the IPCOP

The Contractor shall provide administrative support through an approach that fosters and encourages problem solving and leverages the collective intelligence of the group, organized within a collaboration and knowledge management repository, made available to all members of the IPCOP. This includes, but is not limited to, establishing a regular cadence of meetings, developing agendas, determining shared priorities, tracking actions, and advancing the group toward a collective knowledge base on items of importance. Meetings shall be conducted in VA approved interfaces.

The Contractor shall demonstrate neutrality, assuring open, active participation and egalitarian opportunity to contribute and benefit from the work, which is critical to this component. Dissenting voices should be heard, and concerns noted, with a goal toward fostering a culture of collaboration.

The Contractor’s IPCOP administrative support shall include:

• Management of the IPCOP through strategic engagement and management by providing the enabling capabilities and management oversight to optimize the efficacy and utility of the IPCOP.

• Collaboration and knowledge management repository (e.g. SharePoint, web portal) to maintain and make available to all members any artifacts developed by the IPCOP or its workgroups or developed by the Contractor to facilitate knowledge management and collaboration.

• Collaboration (e.g., providing tools to enable virtual collaboration [both synchronous and asynchronous], document sharing, decision-making, etc.)

that is accessible to all IPCOP members. Finalized artifacts, once reviewed, approved, and accepted by VA, shall be electronically accessible to the public (e.g. web portal)

• IPCOP member and participant management supported by virtual and in-person meeting facilitation, agendas, note taking, and timely minutes distribution.

• Project management (e.g., calendar management, meeting management, etc.).

• Facilitation of effective communication channels and requirement gathering.

• Emphasis shall be placed on managing interoperability requirements and developing testing criteria to ensure that the products created by the IPCOP are relevant to needs of Veterans. The requirements are needed to develop conformance criteria.

The Contractor shall enhance the overall functioning and effectiveness of the IPCOP by facilitation of workgroups. Workgroups must be approved by VA prior to their implementation. Workgroups serve several important purposes, such as: focused collaboration on specific topics or issues; execution of specific tasks or projects;

enhanced engagement by members with specific expertise; and the availability of a smaller setting to experiment with new ideas and approaches.

The Contractor’s workgroup support shall include:

• Coordination of up to four (4) simultaneously-run, independent workgroups.

• Each workgroup shall represent a topic, project, or issue, as prioritized by the Community.

• Workgroups shall be established with a defined beginning and ending date, set by the Community, and intended to allow a reasonable amount of time to achieve the goals of the workgroup. Workgroup end dates may be extended if desired by the Community. Once a workgroup has achieved its goals and ended successfully, the Community and convener shall establish another workgroup.

• Workgroup members shall be recruited from the IPCOP.

• The Contractor shall help identify and support members in the IPCOP to act as leaders who can guide the workgroups.

Deliverables:

A. IPCOP Collaboration and knowledge management repository.

B. Monthly progress reports of members, areas of focus and development, and timelines of market development.

C. Progress reports of members, areas of focus and development, and timelines of market development.

E. Facilitation of at least one (1), two (2)-hour virtual meeting per month gathering the entire IPCOP.

F. Development and timely distribution of agendas and meeting minutes for all IPCOP meetings.

G. Facilitation of at least one (1), two (2)-hour meeting every other week for each workgroup.

H. Development and timely distribution of agendas and meeting minutes for all workgroup meetings.

I. Development and distribution of presentations/briefings, papers, etc. on behalf of the IPCOP.

3.2.2 IPCOP Strategic Documents

The Contractor shall create and update a Strategic Analysis and Action Plan that provides high-level guidance for the IPCOP. This plan has several components to include:

• The vision of success from the perspectives of Veterans and members.

• One (1)-year and three (3)-year objectives and key results.

• Analysis of the current state and trends of external factors to include federal and state policy, and community standards, and government or industry initiatives that are constraints, opportunities, barriers, or facilitators for Community objectives.

• Factors promoting or impeding effective operations of the Community.

• Analysis of how the Action Plan will address the preceding factors.

• Major accomplishments of the Community, (e.g., Semi-annual updated

IPCOP strategic analysis and action plan; Semi-annual executive briefings).

The Contractor shall create and publish a paper on one topic discussed in the IPCOP that indicates success and failures identified by the IPCOP after review and concurrence by VA Executive Leadership.

Deliverables:

A. Semi-annual Updated IPCOP Strategic Analysis and Action Plan.

B. Semi-annual one (1)-hour executive briefing PowerPoint presentation for members to report on progress of the IPCOP and its workgroups.

C. Development and dissemination of one (1) “talking points” document and one (1) position paper for the work of the IPCOP broadly and for each workgroup, intended to facilitate communication by Community members with external audiences.

3.3 NATIONAL STANDARDS ALIGNMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

The Contractor shall leverage existing expertise and infrastructure to provide robust management of health IT interoperability standards in support of IPCOP priorities, and in alignment with the national priorities and guidance of federal agencies, e.g. Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

The Contractor shall provide the IPCOP situational awareness of and recommendations to engage in National Standards Development work that could impede or facilitate the work of the IPCOP in the form of a quarterly Standards Update and Recommendations Report. At a minimum, the Contractor shall analyze the work of widely accepted standards that have been adopted and facilitated through a Community of Practice (E.g., HL7 FHIR (most recent published and emerging releases), Clinical Document Architecture (CDA), HL7 Gravity and HL7 DaVinci, Committee X12 Messaging Standard).

https://www.hl7.org/fhir/ https://www.techtarget.com/searchhealthit/definition/Clinical-Document-Architecture-CDA https://www.hl7.org/gravity/ https://www.hl7.org/about/davinci/ https://x12.org/about/committees https://x12.org/about/committees https://x12.org/about/committees

The Contractor shall develop and maintain on behalf of the IPCOP a strategic roadmap for global standards development and implementation work that analyzes and reflects IPCOP priorities after review and concurrence by VA Executive Leadership. At a minimum, the roadmap shall:

• Identify priority areas in need of additional standards development and implementation to support the interoperable use of health IT.

• Provide recommendations for updating standards and implementation guidance.

• Measure or collate measurements from other activities the adoption, implementation, and use of health IT standards and implementation specifications.

Deliverables:

A. Standards Coordination Plan B. Quarterly Standards Update and Recommendations Report C. Quarterly Roadmap for Standards Development and Implementation

3.4 DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLICATION OF A NEW IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE OR

STANDARD (Optional) The Community is likely to identify, through the course of its work, the need for an implementation guide or standard where existing versions of standards have not been developed. Therefore, the Contractor shall facilitate the development of new versions of a standard or implementation guide for review and clearance by the Government prior to the presentation to the community of practice. The Contractor shall recommend and/or make updates to the content of the standards and/or implementation guidance, including written guidance, resources, profiles, extensions, and terminologies as appropriate. The government will review, have right to make changes and will make the final approval. The Contractor shall execute and facilitate the “Hackathon/Connectathons” for the IPCOP. The Contractor shall base recommendations on the appropriate processes relevant in SDO working groups, including requirements gathering and use case documentation.

The Contractor shall facilitate testing of the standards and implementation guidance by identifying pilot implementations, organizing “Hackathons/Connectathons”, and soliciting feedback from the health IT standards and implementation community. The Contractor shall update the standards and implementation guidance as appropriate based on testing upon approval by the Government.

Upon final review and approval by the Government, the Contractor shall conduct the balloting and publish the standards by the SDO affiliated publication and implementation guidance according to organizational policies and procedures of the governing SDO.

Deliverables:

A. Written recommendations and/or proposed language for updates to relevant standards and/or implementation guide(s), including documentation of gap analysis, requirements gathered, and use cases identified.

B. Written proposal for conducting pilot tests of updated versions of the standard or implementation guide.

C. Written plan for “Hackathon/Connectathon” tracks to test updated versions of the standard or implementation guide.

D. Development and execution of Hackathon/Connectathon events.

E. Development of Implementation guides and/or Companion Guides.

4 CONTRACT DELIVERABLES

TASKS TASK DELIVERABLES Delivery Method /

Frequency

DELIVERY DATE

3.1.1 Project Management Plan

Electronic submission

Within the first ten (10) business days of Kick- Off Meeting

3.1.1 Monthly Progress Report Electronic

submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Thirty (30) days after award and monthly thereafter.

3.1.1 Monthly Executive Status

Meeting submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Every thirty (30) days after initial unit

3.1.2 Post-Award Conference /

Kickoff Meeting submission

Within the first ten (10) calendar days of contract award

3.1.2 Post-Award Conference /

Kick-Off Meeting Minutes

Electronic submission

Within three (3) calendar days of conclusion of meeting

3.1.3 Staffing Roster

Recurring throughout period of performance

Within the first ten (10) calendar days of contract award

3.1.3 Monthly Staffing Roster Electronic

submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Every thirty (30) days after initial submission

3.1.3 Notice of change in

personnel (ad hoc)

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within five (5) calendar days of any changes

Frequency

DELIVERY DATE

3.2 IPCOP charter with

identified representative members from Pledge signatory organizations.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within twenty (20) business days of contract award

3.2 Work Plan with key

objectives to support industry stakeholder engagement and participation.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within ten (10) business days of contract award

3.2 Written, verbal, and other

forms of relevant documents from the members for consideration in the IPCOP deliberations to include ad hoc deliberations to provide details and in-depth discussions as relevant to VA’s interests.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within thirty (30) business days of contract award

3.2 Prospective list of future

signatories with points of contact and timelines of engagement.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within thirty (30) business days of contract award

3.2 Progress report on list of

future signatories list, additional members, and status of new participants.

Recurring throughout period of performance

Monthly every first Monday starting on the 61st day from contract award

3.2.1 IPCOP Collaboration and

Knowledge Management Repository

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within thirty (30) calendar days of Contract award

3.2.1 Monthly progress reports of

members, areas of focus and development, and timelines of market development.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Monthly every first Monday starting on the 61st day from contract award

3.2.1 Progress reports of

members, areas of focus and development, and timelines of market

Electronic submission / Recurring

5th business day of the month

DELIVERY DATE

development. throughout period of performance

3.2.1 Facilitation of at least one

(1), two (2)-hour virtual meeting per month gathering the entire Community

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within the first five (5) business days of the month

3.2.1 Development and timely

distribution of agendas and meeting minutes for all IPCOP meetings

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within three (3) business days of each Community meeting

3.2.1 Facilitation of at least one

(1), two (2)-hour meeting every other week for each workgroup

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Biweekly

3.2.1 Development and timely

distribution of agendas and meeting minutes for all workgroup meetings

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Within three (3) business days of each workgroup meeting

3.2.1 Development and

distribution of presentations/briefings, papers, etc. on behalf of the IPCOP

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

As requested, approximately bimonthly, within ten

(10) calendar days of request

3.2.2 Semi-annual Updated

Community of Practice Strategic Analysis and Action Plan.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

Six (6) months from Kick-Off Meeting

3.2.2 Semi-annual one (1)-hour

executive briefing PowerPoint presentation for members to report on progress of the Community and its workgroups.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

As requested, semi-annually six (6) months of contract award, within ten (10) calendar days of request

3.2.2 Development and

dissemination of one (1) “talking points” document and one (1) position paper for the work of the Community broadly and for each workgroup, intended

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

As requested, within ten

(10) calendar days of request

DELIVERY DATE

to facilitate communication by Community members with external audiences.

3.3 Standards Coordination

Plan

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

As requested, within ten

(10) calendar days of request

3.3 Quarterly Standards

Update and Recommendations Report

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

As requested, within ten

(10) calendar days of request

3.3 Quarterly Roadmap for

Standards Development and Implementation

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance

As requested, within ten

(10) calendar days of request

3.4 (OPTIONAL) Written recommendations and/or proposed language for updates to relevant standards and/or implementation guide(s), including documentation of gap analysis, requirements gathered, and use cases identified.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of performance (4 NTE 20)

As requested, within ten request

3.4 (OPTIONAL) Written proposal for conducting pilot tests of updated versions of the standard or implementation guide

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of request

3.4 (OPTIONAL) Written plan for “Hackathon/Connectathon” tracks to test updated versions of the standard or implementation guide.

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of request

3.4 (OPTIONAL) Development and execution of Hackathon/Connectathon

Electronic submission / Recurring

As requested, within thirty (30) calendar days of request

DELIVERY DATE

events throughout period of performance

(4 NTE 20)

3.4 (OPTIONAL) Development of Implementation Guides and/or Companion Guides

Electronic submission / Recurring throughout period of request

5 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this contract is a base period of twelve (12) months with four (4), twelve (12) month option periods.

6 TYPE OF CONTRACT

The contract type will be Firm-Fixed Price. Travel will be at a Not to Exceed (NTE) cost amount per Period of Performance (POP).

7 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Efforts under this contract shall be performed at Contractor facilities or teleworking. The Contractor shall work to be scheduled in all time zones from Eastern to Pacific.

8 TRAVEL

VA will make every reasonable attempt to notify the Contractor of upcoming travel requests to include trip expectations, date(s) of travel, duration of trip, and the number of travelers necessary.

Travel costs will be included in the requirement award as a separate, cost-reimbursable, “not to exceed” line item. Travel shall be in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) and requires advanced concurrence by the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Contractor travel within the local commuting area will not be reimbursed. Local travel within a 50-mile radius from the Contractor’s facility is considered the cost of doing business and will not be reimbursed unless prior approval is obtained from the COR.

The Contractor must obtain written approval from the VA Program Manager via the COR BEFORE any travel is scheduled, to include any registration fees, utilizing the Travel Authorization Request form. Travel and per diem expenses will be reimbursed on an actual expenditure’s basis in accordance with Federal Travel Regulations and FAR 31.205-46. Travel that occurs without written pre-approval will NOT be reimbursed.

9 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED INFORMATION, EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES

The VA Digital Health Office (DHO) office shall provide full administrator access to the tools listed below to assist with IT needs to fulfill the contract. If the mandated toolset changes throughout the POP, then the Government shall provide access to the new toolset.

VPN access to the VA network (RESCUE) Citrix Access Gateway (CAG)

Microsoft Office 365

10 CHANGES TO THE PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Any changes to this Performance Work Statement (PWS) shall be authorized and approved only through a signed modification to the contract from the Contracting Officer (CO). A copy of each modification shall be kept in a project folder along with all other products of the project.

11 KEY PERSONNEL

Contractor personnel shall be fully qualified and have the level of experience necessary to accomplish the requirements of this PWS. In addition, Contractor personnel shall be acceptable to the Government in terms of personal and professional conduct, and in technical knowledge.

Furthermore, Contractor personnel shall be proficient using office automation equipment and software, and have sufficient written and verbal communication skills to support VA. The work accomplished in this Contract shall not use offshore labor unless specifically agreed to by the contracting office. Should any Contractor personnel be determined to be unacceptable in terms of technical competency or unacceptable personal conduct while on-site or while working on contract activities, the Contractor shall immediately remove and replace the unacceptable on-site personnel at no additional cost to the Government. Contractor personnel are to serve in a support role; final decisions regarding VA business will always be made by Government personnel.

Certain skilled experience professional and/or technical personnel are essential for accomplishing the work to be performed. These individuals are defined as “Key Personnel” whose experience biographies shall be submitted and marked by the Contractor as “Key Personnel”. Substitutions shall only be accepted if in compliance with the “Substitution of Key Personnel” provision identified below.

The following are defined as Key Personnel and, except in cases where individuals commit criminal conduct or violations of company policy, shall not be removed, diverted, or replaced from work without notifying the CO and COR:

1. Program Manager III

2. Informatics Specialist/Bioinformatician

3. Health System Specialist II

Any personnel that the Contractor offers as substitutes shall have the ability and qualifications equal to or better than the key personnel who are being replaced. All Contractor requests for approval of substitutions hereunder shall be submitted in writing to the COR and the Contracting Officer at least 30 days in advance of the effective date and shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution, a complete resume for the proposed substitute, and any other information requested by the Contracting Officer necessary to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. New personnel shall not commence work until all necessary security requirements have been fulfilled, and resumes provided and accepted. The COR and the Contracting Officer will evaluate such requests and promptly notify the Contractor of approval or disapproval in writing.

Key Personnel #1 Labor Category: Program Manager III

Skillset Definition:

An Informatics Specialist/Bioinformatician provides high level expertise in the application of A Program Manager must have experience with diverse IT projects both large and small. Must be able to manage a portfolio of projects. Must be well versed in full systems development life cycle, enterprise-wide network engineering, strategic information planning, business process reengineering, structure and management practices. Must be able to identify and mitigate risks to the program. Must be able to manage cost, schedule and performance. Have experience with and demonstrate understanding of SAFe’s Lean Agile principles and practices to drive value and sustain organizational change and operational excellence through the empowering of high-performing Agile teams.

Minimum Education Level:

Master's Degree

Minimum Experience:

Ten (10) years

Key Personnel #2 Labor Category: Informatics Specialist/Bioinformatician

An Informatic Specialist/Bioinformatician provides high level expertise in the application of technology to areas of interest to government health organizations including Medical Informatics or Public Health Informatics; statistics, biostatistics, mathematics; applying sound quantitative data and methods to support deployment of resources for massive public health surveillance, prevention and intervention campaigns and related health activities. Provide expertise across a wide variety of IT areas as applied to public health, including information retrieval technology, decision science, web technology, data mining, expert systems, networking, public health science, and education. Provide expertise in the integration of a variety of heterogeneous public health information systems and databases the sharing and dissemination of public health information; in the interaction of information security technology and the requirements for privacy and confidentiality of public health data; in the application of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations to the use of information technology in public health; in new areas of interest to public health including the information available from managed care organizations; with national and/or international standards development activities such as HL7, X12, W3C; and in the application of advanced scientific visualization technology to public health science and practice.

Key Personnel #3 Labor Category: Health System Specialist II

A Mid-Level Program Analyst must have knowledge in how to plan, analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of operating programs. Must be able to use source data to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and business processes. Must be able to use qualitative and quantitative analytical skills to assess the effectiveness of the operations. Mus be able to effectively manipulate data to present program status and make recommendations on improving business processes. Requires relevant clinical informatics experience in a Veterans Administration healthcare setting. Conducts requirements gathering and use case analysis, information modeling, process documentation, and liaison tasks required to support the development of clinical informatics software or other clinical informatics project activities. Works independently or under only general direction. Must have experience and expertise in requirements development.

12 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

The Contractor shall provide qualified personnel to accomplish all work and services required within specified time frames. Staffing shall be adequate to execute work in a timely manner from receipt of award to completion of the effort. Contractor employees shall be trained, qualified, certified, and licensed as required prior to starting work. The Government will provide VA specific training to Contractor employees. The Contractor shall maintain records of training qualifications, certifications, and licenses. The Contractor shall maintain the workforce in such a manner as to ensure that the employees remain fully qualified to perform the work assigned.