ATTACHMENT A - PWS - AES - 36C776-20-AP-2232 .docx
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- Solicitation number
- 36C77620Q0159
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This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items issued by the Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center Austin. It requests quotes for supporting the administration of the VA All Employee Survey, including administering the survey via web, phone, and paper modalities; collecting data; developing a quick counts link; and providing monthly reports. Quotes are due by August 28, 2020. The base period of performance is one year with four optional one-year extensions. The solicitation is a SDVOSB set-aside and requests pricing for tasks including developing common survey elements, providing consultation, operating a help desk, conducting acceptance testing, providing real-time response rate updates, submitting data files, and performing data validation. The evaluation will consider technical/quality, past performance, and price factors.
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| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| 36C77620Q0159 0002.docx | DOCX document | |
| 36C77620Q0159 0001_1.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT C - PAST PERFORMANCE.docx | DOCX document | |
| ATTACHMENT B - QASP - 36C776-20-AP-2232 - FY21-25 AES.docx | DOCX document | |
| 36C77620Q0159_1.docx | DOCX document |
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Applied Informatics Management Clinical Informatics Support Services Performance Work Statement (PWS)
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS
National Center for Organization Development (NCOD)
Date: 04/07/2020 CONTRACT Version Number: 1
All Employee Survey Performance Work Statement (PWS)
Table of Contents
| 1.0 PURPOSE | 3 | |
| 2.0 BACKGROUND | 3 | |
| 3.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS | 5 | |
| 4.0 SCOPE | 6 | |
| 5.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS | 6 | |
| 5.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD | 6 | |
| 5.2 CONTRACT KICKOFF MEETING | 7 | |
| 5.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE | 7 | |
| 5.4 TRAVEL | 7 | |
| 6.0 | SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES | 7 |
| Task 6.1 –DEVELOPMENT OF SURVEY LINKS & ADMINISTRATION OF SURVEY | 8 | |
| Task 6.2 – MONTHLY REPORT | 15 | |
| 6.3 SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERABLES | 15 | |
| 6.4 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS | 37 | |
| 6.5 FORMAL ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF DELIVERABLES: | 38 | |
| 6.6 KEY PERSONNEL | 38 | |
| 6.7 SUBSTITUTION OF KEY PERSONNEL | 39 | |
| 6.8 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENT | 39 | |
| 6.9 METHOD AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELIVERABLES | 39 | |
| 6.10 PERFORMANCE METRICS | 39 | |
| 7.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS | 40 | |
| 7.1 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S) AND CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS | 40 | |
| 7.1.2 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS | 43 | |
| 8.0 FACILITY/RESOURCE PROVISIONS | 47 | |
| 9.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY | 52 | |
| 10.0 ADDENDUM A | 52 | |
| 11.0 ADDENDUM B | 56 | |
| 12.0 ACRONYM TABLE | 61 |
1.0 PURPOSE
The Veteran’s Health Administration’s (VHA) National Center for Organization Development (NCOD) requires assistance to support the administration of the VA All Employee Survey (AES). The AES is a critical initiative as it is a feedback tool from employees to management about employees’ satisfaction with and perceptions of the VA workplace. The AES identifies workplace experiences where VA is doing well, and where it can improve.
2.0 BACKGROUND
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the second largest of the 15 Cabinet Departments and operates nationwide veterans’ service programs for health care, financial assistance and burial benefits. VA has approximately 400,000 employees located in all 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and Manila, Philippines.
VA conducts an annual survey of its employees as part of its continuing effort to improve employee satisfaction and productivity. VA wishes to obtain the services of an experienced Vendor to assist in administering an all employee survey over the next several fiscal years. A fiscal year (FY) is October 1st through the following September 30th. VA will design and develop the survey instrument along with associated instructions and employee marketing tools. VA will subsequently analyze and use the information in its workplace improvement programs. The selected Vendor will support the VA by providing Interactive Voice Response (IVR), secure Internet web-based, and paper survey systems and services to administer the surveys and collect the responses, provide data validation (e.g., flag blank and duplicate responses), and submit the detailed survey response data to VA for its use.
The AES is an annual, voluntary, census survey of the VA workforce with data used to support a range of VA efforts from action planning to serving as a feedback tool from employees to leadership. The AES has provided this feedback function since 2001, and remains a trusted VA resource for action planning, and development. NCOD compiles and presents AES findings across VA at national, regional, office, and facility levels. Data are also available at mapped workgroup levels and by demographic indicators (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, VA tenure, supervisory status, etc.).
AES actually began in 1997 and 2001 as the One VA Survey. These initial survey periods provided pilot (1997) and baseline (2001) data on employee satisfaction and perceptions of the work environment. The One VA Survey was administered only to VHA employees and consisted of approximately 160 questions. The results of the One VA Survey highlighted two needs for future VA workforce surveys: 1) Senior leaders wanted a more thorough understanding of employees’ impressions of VA. 2) Employees wanted to know the survey outcomes in order to see change occurring based on their input.
In 2002, NCOD was asked by VHA leadership to form a survey team to review the One VA Survey instrument and recommend changes to help VHA networks and facilities more effectively translate data results into action planning and implementation. This survey team was tasked to develop a new all employee survey and consisted of several VHA offices. Team members worked together to refine the instrument and improve the process of survey administration, data analysis, report production, and disseminating results. The outcome was a shortened and more efficient instrument that also maintained maximum compatibility with the prior survey instruments from 1997 and 2001.
This new AES incorporated three indexes each addressing a different measurement level (individual, workgroup, or organization):
• Job Satisfaction Index (JSI) to assess employee perceptions of individual job satisfaction.
• Organizational Assessment Inventory (OAI) to assess employee perceptions of the workgroup and work environment.
• Culture Survey (Culture) to assess employee perceptions of the organizational culture.
In November 2003, NCOD piloted this new AES instrument with a sample of over 10,000 VHA employees. The AES Survey Team tested various methods of administration (e.g., web, paper, and telephone/Interactive Voice Response (IVR)) to compare ease of use, response rates, and psychometric data qualities. As a result, the team identified the new AES format as providing reliable, valid measures.
In Spring 2004, the new instrument was administered to the entire VHA organization resulting in 110,490 participants (51.8% response rate). Data analysis explored key workplace issues relevant for action planning, including rewards/recognition, planning/evaluation, cooperation, innovation, work-family balance, and conflict resolution, among others. NCOD presented results to leaders at national, regional, and program office levels. Results were available within 30 days of survey closure
The AES was next administered in 2006 to all VHA employees, and at this point it became an annual VHA employee survey. In 2006, two new OAI concepts were added: employee engagement and psychological safety. In 2008, VACO employees joined the annual survey with NCA employees joining in 2009. By 2010, the AES instrument was launched VA-wide (i.e., VACO, VHA, VBA, and NCA staff) with the annual number of respondents approaching 200,000 and an average response rate of 65%.
In 2012, new survey concepts were piloted on supervisory behaviors, burnout, and workplace perceptions (e.g., competency, ethics, communication, resources, etc.) to replace the Culture Survey, which had low field utility for action planning. This same year the AES also added an open text/comment option (web-based format only, reaching 96% of all respondents), which resulted in approximately 55,500 usable comments from 28% of all 2012 VA AES respondents.
In 2013, many of the piloted items from 2012 were added into a redesigned 2013 AES instrument that shifted from its original 2003 ‘indexes’ (e.g., JSI, OAI, and Culture) to new field-driven ‘themes’ (e.g., job satisfaction, high-performing workplaces, supervisory behaviors, turnover, burnout). The 2013 AES also incorporated more open text options assessing (a) workplace strengths and (b) areas for improvement. Text options were paired with self-theming selections to facilitate data interpretation.
In 2014, the VA All Employee Survey used new streamlined data analyses, graphical models, and reporting processes through software programming and automation techniques. This change allows more timely and efficient processing of AES results in order to share findings sooner with VA leadership and staff.
In 2015, the VA AES website received a much needed update to improve VA-wide access to AES results. AES reports and data transparency are now accessible through the VA Workforce Surveys Portal: http://aes.vssc.med.va.gov/
In 2018 the AES merged with the Federal Employee Viewpoints Survey (FEVS) to serve as the sole census organization health survey throughout VA.
VA plans to award one (1) twelve (12) month contract, with four (4) twelve (12) month option years to be exercised at the discretion of the Government.
3.0 Applicable Documents
In the performance of the tasks associated with this Performance Work Statement, the Contractor shall comply with the following:
1. 44 U.S.C. § 3541, “Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002”
2. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-2, “Security Requirements For Cryptographic Modules”
3. FIPS Pub 201, “Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors,” March 2006
4. 10 U.S.C. § 2224, "Defense Information Assurance Program"
5. Software Engineering Institute, Software Acquisition Capability Maturity Modeling (SA CMM) Level 2 procedures and processes
6. 5 U.S.C. § 552a, as amended, “The Privacy Act of 1974”
7. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”
8. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Directive 0710, “Personnel Suitability and Security Program,” May 18, 2007
9. VA Directive 6102, “Internet/Intranet Services,” July 15, 2008
10. 36 C.F.R. Part 1194 “Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards,” July 1, 2003
11. OMB Circular A-130, “Management of Federal Information Resources,” November 28, 2000
12. 32 C.F.R. Part 199, “Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)”
13. An Introductory Resource Guide for Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule, October 2008
14. Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), August 7, 1998
15. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (12) (HSPD-12), August 27, 2004
16. VA Directive 6500, “Managing Information Security Risk: VA Information Security Program,” September 20, , 2012
17. VA Handbook 6500, “Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems – Tier 3: VA Information Security Program,” September 20, 2012
18. VA Handbook 6500.1, “Electronic Media Sanitization,” March 22, 2010
19. VA Handbook 6500.2, “Management of Data Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information (SPI)”, January 6, 2012
20. VA Handbook 6500.3, “Certification and Accreditation of VA Information Systems,” November 24, 2008
21. VA Handbook, 6500.5, “Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle” March 22, 2010
22. VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security,” March 12, 2010
23. Project Management Accountability System (PMAS) portal (reference PWS References -Technical Library at https://www.voa.va.gov/)
24. OIT ProPath Process Methodology (reference PWS References -Technical Library and ProPath Library links at https://www.voa.va.gov/) NOTE: In the event of a conflict, OIT ProPath takes precedence over other processes or methodologies.
25. Technical Reference Model (TRM) (reference at https://www.voa.va.gov/)
26. National Institute Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publications
27. VA Directive 6508, VA Privacy Impact Assessment, October 3, 2008
28. VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management, February 26, 2009
29. VA Handbook, 6300.1, Records Management Procedures, March 24, 2010
30. OMB Memorandum, “Transition to IPv6”, September 28, 2010
4.0 Scope
The contractor shall provide all services necessary for supporting a successful AES administration:
· Administration of survey instrument via three (3) modalities (web, phone, and paper).
· Data collection for all three (3) modalities. Data should be able to be captured at various levels.
· Development of a quick counts links that can capture response rates (in real time) down to the workgroup level.
A more granular breakout of contractor requirements and scope can be found detailed in the deliverable section below.
5.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS
The Contractor shall perform the tasks and complete the associated deliverables under this contract by the scheduled due dates within the overall period of performance. If the Contractor cannot deliver those deliverables specified by this task order by the required due date, then the Contractor shall provide a written explanation to the Contracting Officer (CO). This written transmittal shall include the reasons for the delay; when the Contractor knew or should have known a delay would incur; due diligence taken to mitigate the problems, the impact on the overall project; and a firm commitment of when the work is to be completed. The Contracting Officer (CO) will then review the facts and issue a response in accordance with applicable regulations.
5.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD
The period of performance shall be twelve (12) months from date of award with four (4) twelve (12) month option periods, to be exercised at the discretion of the Government.
Any work at the Government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO).
There is ten (10) Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA follows:
Under current definitions, four are set by date:
| New Year's Day | January 1 |
| Independence Day | July 4 |
| Veterans Day | November 11 |
| Christmas Day | December 25 |
If any of the holidays mentioned above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.
The other six (6) are set by a day of the week and month:
| Martin Luther King's Birthday | Third Monday in January | |||
| Washington’s Birthday | Third Monday in February | |||
| Memorial Day | Last Monday in May | |||
| Labor Day | First Monday in September | |||
| Columbus Day | Second Monday in October | |||
| Thanksgiving | Fourth Thursday in November |
5.2 CONTRACT KICKOFF MEETING
The contractor shall hold a Project Kick-Off Meeting with a project advisory group comprised of key stakeholders and subject matter experts (SMEs) to be identified by the VA PM. The contractor shall schedule the Kick-Off Meeting to be held no later than (30) business days after contract award or as agreed upon between the VA PM and contractor. At the Kick-Off Meeting, the contractor shall review the details of their intended approach, work plan and project schedule.
5.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE
Tasks under this contract shall be performed at the contractor’s site. All work can be completed by the contractor virtually.
Contractor shall typically provide service during normal business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Local Time, Monday through Friday with the understanding that all VA employees, across various time zones, will be participating in the AES. Contractor is expected to respond to all participant questions/concerns (or direct them to appropriate VA points of contacts who can answer the questions/concerns) within 24 hours.
5.4 TRAVEL
All work on this contract will be performed by the contractor at the contractor’s respective office. There will be no instances where contractor travel to NCOD is necessary.
6.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES
The Contractor shall perform the tasks and complete the associated deliverables as follows by the scheduled dates within the overall period of performance.
Task 6.1 –DEVELOPMENT of Survey Links & administration OF SURVEY: The Contractor shall develop the VA All Employee Survey (AES) in various modes for VA employees to respond. The survey will be in the English language and on one flowing survey document. The survey will have separate sections designating each survey component. Once a respondent begins the survey, they will be asked to complete the survey in its entirety, i.e. respondents who exit the survey will not be able to resume their partially completed survey.
The survey will be administered with common organization and occupation codes and demographic questions. There will be also be free text write-in response items on the survey. The AES may be supplemented with additional survey modules targeting issues and sub-populations of employees. The number of survey modules and questions is subject to change annually.
Deliverable 6.1.1 –Development of Common Survey Administration Elements:
The contractor shall develop the various features of the VA AES.
Common Survey Design and Planning Elements: The following demographic elements will be used as a part of the survey administration:
Deliverable 6.1.1a - Work Group Organization Code: A 7 digit code that identifies each valid VA organizational entity and work unit. These identification codes will identify work units rather than specific individuals. VA will provide a table of approximately 22,000 to 30,000 valid work group organization codes prior to survey administration. Work group codes will require branching capabilities. Branching logic will be determined by VA and provided to the Vendor.
Deliverable - 6.1.1b - Occupation Code: A 1 to 3 digit code that identifies valid employee occupation groups. VA will provide a table of approximately 100 to 300 valid occupation codes prior to survey administration.
Occupation codes will require branching capabilities as there will be separate occupation code groupings for the following VA agencies/departments: VHA, VBA, NCA, VACO, and OI&T. Branching logic will be determined by VA and provided to the Vendor.
Deliverable 6.1.1.c - Demographics: Demographic questions with multiple choice responses defining additional employee characteristics will be included. Demographic questions may require branching capabilities.
Branching logic will be determined by VA and provided to the Vendor.
Deliverable 6.1.1.d - Organization Structure: A table of organizations, their physical location, mailing address and their reporting structure will be provided. This hierarchy will be used by the Vendor to create a response rate web-accessible secure site. The Vendor will provide two response rate count web sites; one site which can be utilized by all employees and another which will only be accessible by the VA administrators of the survey. The response rate sites will be updated by the Vendor for any edits requested by the VA administrators (e.g., changes in the number of employees assigned to a particular facility, work group, etc.) These response rate sites will be separate from the survey instrument website.
Deliverable 6.1.1.e - Instructions and Definitions: VA will provide additional survey documents, such as welcome letter, survey instructions, survey definitions, variable names, response values (including missing values), the structure of the final raw data file, etc. to the Vendor in various formats e.g., Microsoft Word document, an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file, Excel, etc. The survey welcome letter will serve as the opening page of the survey instrument web site.
Deliverable 6.1.1.f - Free Text Question(s): VA will provide the Vendor with the free text question(s) to be asked within the survey instrument. The free text question will be provided on the web version of the survey only. The free text question should be limited to a defined number of characters as determined by VA. The free text question should include running spell check capability which the respondent should not be able to turn off. The free text question(s) should disallow tabs (i.e. treat respondent-inserted tabs as blanks) so that the final file can be provided as tab-delimited.
Deliverable 6.1.2 –Contractor services common to AES Administrations:
VA will be responsible for all employee marketing and communications regarding the various survey administrations as well as for subsequent analysis, communication and presentation of survey results.
The Contractor will be asked to provide the following services for each survey administration:
Deliverable 6.1.2.1 - Consultation and advice on the effective use of survey systems and services offered. Daily conference calls may be required at the onset of survey administration. Prior to survey administration conference calls may be weekly. Circumstances may require more frequent calls.
Deliverable 6.1.2.2 - Help desk support with various options and prices. Vendor will be responsible for notifying VA of questions/concerns/issues received and be responsive to help desk issues to minimize confusion. Vendor will provide help desk scripting for VA approval.
Vendor will provide 3 modalities of survey data collection: secure Internet web-based, IVR, and scannable paper survey forms.
Deliverable 6.1.2.3a - Secure Internet web-based site; must be compatible with multiple types of client browsers. The web modality represents approximately 98% of responses. VA Office of Information Technology (OI&T) internet and web policies will be communicated and followed by the Vendor. The back button on the browser will be disabled; once the participant has clicked the submit button it will be disabled to prevent multiple submission of the participants’ responses during 1 survey session. Vendor will take additional steps to ensure multiple submissions to the survey are not possible while still ensuring respondent anonymity. These additional steps will be communicated to VA, (e.g. Javascript must be enabled by the respondent in order to take the survey). Responses must be captured in real time as selected. Web based instrument must allow for branching capability, ensure certain questions are required as determined by VA, allow for multiple response modalities (e.g. select one response only, select all that apply, etc.) and allow free text submissions. Vendor will collect and process all web based survey submissions. Data collected from this modality shall be merged and provided in the same format as the other 2 modalities (IVR and paper). Weblink for survey shall meet all VA 508 compliance standards.
Deliverable 6.1.2.3b - IVR modality represents approximately 1 percent of responses. Vendor is required to provide adequate IVR resources to minimize busy signals. IVR services will utilize the touch tone phone option. IVR instrument must allow for branching capability, ensure certain questions are required as determined by VA, allow for multiple response modalities (e.g. select one response only, select all that apply, etc.). Vendor will collect and process all IVR survey submissions. Data collected from this modality shall be merged and provided in the same format as the other 2 modalities (web and paper).
Deliverable 6.1.2.3c - The Vendor will print paper surveys to be used for each administration. The paper modality represents a range of approximately 1 percent of responses. VA will specify the number of surveys to be printed for each survey administration. VA will provide the survey in a Microsoft Word document format and will approve the final proof copy prior to printing. Paper surveys will be in the form of a scannable booklet of black and white plus color to highlight items such as the instructions, breaks of survey sections, etc. All surveys will be shipped to facilities by the Vendor along with business reply envelopes (BRE) for individual return. The BRE will be addressed for return of the survey to the Vendor. Vendor will scan and process all paper survey submissions. Data collected from this modality shall be merged and provided in the same format as the other 2 modalities (web and IVR).
Deliverable 6.1.2.4 - VA requires acceptance testing before each survey administration. VA will review sample test data from all modalities prior to administrations to ensure the outcome are as desired. Vendor will provide the VA with all raw data and participation/response rate data.
Deliverable 6.1.2.5 - VA requests that services include real time response rate updates for web-based submissions, that IVR be updated daily, and that paper surveys be processed at least once weekly. The survey participants, survey coordinators, and the oversight committees will each have access to response rate information via a website created and provided by the Vendor. This service will be a secure internet web-based site capturing response rates. The response rate site must be compatible with multiple types of client browsers. Navigation will begin with the response rate home page. The home page will be the introduction page for the site; the next page will represent the first level in the VA organization hierarchy, and subsequent pages will drill-down from the parent organization to its children until the lowest level work unit page. Each response rate web page will have navigation to and from the previous page.
Deliverable 6.1.2.5e - The response rate site will display the work unit at the lowest level (work group code) hierarchically rolled upward in summary totals to the next level within the organization. The hierarchy will be based on the organization structure (facility and parents) and the 7 digit work group code defined in the VA provided tables.
Deliverable 6.1.2.6 - Work group codes will not be published on the response rate site but work group names will be published.
The response rate site should update web responses in real time, IVR by at least the next day, and paper at least once weekly.
To further protect respondent anonymity, the response rate at the work group level will not be available until there are at least a certain number of responses as determined by VA. When this minimum number of responses is received the number of responses, potential respondents, and response rate percentage will be made available. For work groups that have less than the determined number of potential respondents, work group response rates will only be published after a work group attains a predetermined response rate set by VA.
Deliverable 6.1.2.7 - Automatic e-mails will be sent from the Vendor to a specified VA point of contact notifying VA every time a work group reaches a determined number of responses (set by VA) over the number of employees assigned to that particular work group. The automatic e-mail will include work group name, work group code, the number of responses received, and the number of employees assigned to the work group.
Deliverable 6.1.2.8 - Final data file(s) with all data collected during the survey administration will be provided electronically in the prescribed format within 1 to 2 business days after the conclusion of the survey. File format will be at a minimum in an ASCII tab delimited file and distribution media will be on encrypted CD/DVDs mailed directly to VA. VA will submit specific data file format instructions and a specific address to receive the CD/DVDs prior to a survey administration. VA owns all survey data collected.
Deliverable 6.1.2.7 - Live data test file with the results of the first 3 days of the survey administration will be provided to VA in the prescribed format within 5 business days after the start of the survey administration. Free text data will be provided to VA on a weekly basis throughout the course of the administration.
Deliverable 6.1.2.8 - Vendor will provide a toll free help desk service to assist participants having problems using the Vendor’s systems or services during the survey administration period.
Deliverable 6.1.3 –Full Administration of the All Employee Survey:
The FY21 All Employee Survey is expected to be conducted in June of 2021 and will involve all VA organizations nation-wide (approximately 400,000 potential participants). Vendor is expected to be flexible with the administration timeframe should VA need to alter it. Each All Employee Survey will be conducted approximately 1 year from the previous All Employee Survey. The anticipated completion rate is 60% or roughly 240,000 responses. The full administration will be composed of instructions, survey entrance controlled by validating the organization work group code entered by the participant, a selection of an occupation from an occupation listing based on branching, the survey instruments, and demographic questions.
All participants will be offered their choice of modality- web, IVR, or paper survey.
The survey will be administered over a 3 week period, though an extension of the survey administration may be requested during the course of the administration. Administration extensions are typically one additional week. In solicitation, Vendor should provide costs for a 3 week administration period as well as cost per week for survey extensions. Marketing for the survey will be announced by the VA several weeks prior to the survey administration. The Vendor will provide the survey web-based link, IVR phone number, distribute paper surveys, and provide help desk service phone number 3 weeks prior to the launch date.
VA approves the design of the web, IVR script, and paper layout provided by the Vendor.
VA approves the help desk scripts and the response rate web sites. Also, VA will design rules for dealing with raw data and a data file format for submission to VA at the conclusion of the survey.
Vendor will set up the survey and response rate web site for preview by VA. VA will review each and test to ensure that all processes are as requested. All test data will be removed prior to the live survey administration.
Deliverable 6.1.4 – IT and Support:
As part of the requirements specified above in this document, the Vendor will also provide the following specific items.
Vendor will provide VA with the following information:
Deliverable 6.1.4.1a - Survey URL and 24 hour/ 7 day toll-free IVR phone number
Deliverable 6.1.4.1b - Name, phone number, and e-mail address of a main Vendor contact, help desk line, and technical support for difficulties while completing the survey
Deliverable 6.1.4.c - Privacy statement
Deliverable 6.1.4.d - A paper version of the survey distributed to all sites 1 week prior to survey administration.
Vendor will design an administrative secure Internet web site for the VA survey participants, survey coordinators, and the oversight committees to monitor and obtain real time response rate tallies reported at the work group, organization, network, program office, and national levels. VA will provide a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with approximately 22,000 – 30,000 7 digit work group codes. Each code will have associated with it the name of the work unit and the number of employees in that work unit. VA will provide a list of special contingency 7 digit work group codes. The number of contingency codes will be based on the number of participating organizations. Contingency work group codes will be closely held and made available for respondent use by the Vendor only when VA has instructed the Vendor to make contingency work group codes available. Contingency work group codes will not be published on the response rate site unless activated by VA request.
Deliverable 6.1.4.3 - All secure Internet web-based setup (survey web site and daily response rate web site) shall be compatible with multiple types of client browsers, Chrome, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, etc. JavaScript software must be enabled to take the survey should it be determined it is necessary to prevent multiple survey submissions.
The Vendor will have reputable experience with providing services of this size including examples of past performance and references. References will demonstrate the Vendors’ capacity for handling this volume, ease and clarity of web, paper, and IVR systems particularly with federal agencies.
The Vendor warrants that each hardware, software, and firmware product licensed to or developed for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, shall be able to accurately process date data including, calculating, comparing, and sequencing from, into, and between leap year and day light savings time calculations, when used in accordance with the product documentation provided by the Vendor, provided that all listed or unlisted products (e.g., hardware, software, firmware) used in combination with such listed product properly exchange date data.
Deliverable 6.1.4.4 - The Vendor will provide VA with survey submission time stamps, i.e. the time a respondent began taking the survey as well as the time the respondent submitted the survey. The time stamp should include year, month, day, hour, minute, and second of survey timeframe.
Deliverable 6.1.5 – Contractor Service Requirements:
VA is seeking a Vendor to provide web, IVR, paper and response rate services for the full administration and subsequent scheduled limited survey administrations as described above.
Vendor shall note what is fully included in the following service contract requirements.
1. Full Administration of Survey Set Up
Deliverable 6.5.1a - Secured web setup for survey instrument
Deliverable 6.5.1.b - IVR setup for survey instrument
Deliverable 6.5.1.c - Paper survey set up for survey instrument
Deliverable 6.5.1.d - Response rate update web sites set up for all modalities
Deliverable 6.5.1.e - VA review and test run of all processes and data reports
Deliverable 6.5.1.f - Printing required for the requested number of scannable forms
2. Full Survey Data Collection/Reporting
Deliverable 6.1.5.2.a - Web data collection
Deliverable 6.1.5.2.b - IVR data collection
Deliverable 6.1.5.2.c - Paper data collection and scanning
Deliverable 6.1.5.2.d - Merge web, IVR and paper raw data into one (1) consistent data file where the response values for specific variables are consistent across web, IVR and paper, and correspond to the standard dictionary of response values provided by the VA.
Raw data output shall be submitted at a minimum in an ASCII tab delimited file on encrypted CD/DVD(s)
Data will be provided electronically in the prescribed format within 1-2 business days after the conclusion of the survey.
Deliverable 6.1.5.2.e - Secured web-based status reporting of response rates at work group, organization, network, central office, and national levels representing real time/daily tallies. The response rate at the work group level will not be available until there are at least a predetermined number of responses (set by VA). When the predetermined number of responses are received the number of responses, potential respondents, and response rate percentage will be made available. For work groups that have less than the predetermined number of potential respondents, work group response rates will be published after a work group attains a predetermined response rate.
Deliverable 6.1.5.2.f - Automatic e-mails will be sent from the Vendor to identified VA points of contact notifying VA every time a work group has exceeded a predetermined number of responses over the number of employees assigned to that particular work group. The automatic e-mail will include work group name, work group code, the number of responses received, and the number of employees assigned to the work group.
Deliverable 6.1.5.2.g - Vendor will provide data validation (e.g., flag blank and duplicate responses).
Future Administration of Surveys
Deliverable 6.1.5.3.a - Secured web and IVR setup for survey instrument
Deliverable 6.1.5.3.b - Paper survey set up for survey instrument
Deliverable 6.1.5.3.c - Response rate update web site set up for all modalities
Deliverable 6.1.5.3.d - VA review and test run of all processes and data reports
Deliverable 6.1.5.3.e - Printing required for the requested number of scannable forms
3. Itemized Optional Service
Deliverable 6.1.5.4.a - Set up cost for per additional module(s) for specific VA organizations to coincide with future survey administrations
Deliverable 6.1.5.4.b - Web set up and data collection
Deliverable 6.1.5.4 c - IVR set up and data collection
Deliverable 6.1.5.4 d - Paper set up and data collection by scanning
Deliverable 6.1.5.4 e - Merge web, IVR, and paper raw data into 1 consistent file.
Raw data output shall be submitted at a minimum in an ASCII tab delimited file.
Deliverable 6.1.5.4.f - Secured web-based status reporting of response rates at work group, organization, network, central office, and national levels representing daily real time tallies. The response rate at the work group level will not be available until there are at least a predetermined number of responses. When the predetermined number of responses is received the number of responses, potential respondents, and response rate percentage will be made available. For work groups that have less than the predetermined number of respondents, work group response rates will be published after a work group attains a predetermined response rate.
Deliverable 6.1.5.4.g - Automatic e-mails will be sent from the Vendor to identified VA points of contact notifying VA every time a work group has exceeded a predetermined number of responses over the number of employees assigned to that particular work group.
The automatic e-mail will include work group name, work group code, the number of responses received, and the number of employees assigned to the work group.
Deliverable 6.1.5.4.h - Vendor will provide data validation (e.g., flag blank and duplicate responses).
Task 6.2 - Monthly report: The contractor shall provide a Monthly Report detailing the clinical informatics services that the contractor has provided to the AIM portfolios during the preceding month.
Deliverable 6.2.1 – Monthly Report: The Monthly report shall be broken out by Task and include, at a minimum, the following elements: a description of the service/support provided and the results of that service / support
6.3 SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERABLES
Note: Days used in the table below refer to calendar days unless otherwise stated. Deliverables with due dates falling on a weekend or holiday shall be submitted the following Government work day after the weekend or holiday.
BASE PERIOD
| Task/Deliverable |
| Description |
| Qty |
| Unit |
| Due Date |
| 6.1.1.a |
| Work group Code |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.b |
| Occupation Code |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.c |
| Demographics including required branching |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.d |
| Organization structure |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.e |
| Instructions and Definitions with hyperlinks to defined terms. |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.f |
| Free Text Question |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration. Free text question results due weekly during the course of the AES administration. Final file to be provided the day after the survey closes. |
| 6.1.2.1 |
| Consultation and advice on the effective use of survey systems and services offered. |
| Work with the vendor will be for approximately a 5 month period each year. During this period there will be one scheduled call per week for 30 minutes. Impromptu call times will occur as questions and problems arise. The vendor can expect to have between 20-40 calls during the contract year. |
| EA |
A weekly call will be scheduled throughout the AES timeframe (May-October). Other calls will be scheduled on an as needed basis.
| 6.1.2.2 |
| Help Desk |
| 2 hours/day during the 3 week AES administration |
| EA |
| Help Desk support should be available at minimum through business hours but with low volume of calls this typically results in 2 hours or less of Contractor time per day. |
| 6.1.2.3a |
| Web based survey |
| 1 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.3b |
| Phone based survey |
| 1 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.3c |
| Paper Survey |
| 1 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.4 |
| Provide all survey modalities for acceptance testing |
| 3 administration modes (web, phone, paper) |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.5 |
| VA requests that services include real time response rate updates for web-based submissions, that IVR be updated daily, and that paper surveys be processed at least once weekly. |
| 2 separate links |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.5.a |
| Automatic e-mail system |
| 1 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.6 |
| Final AES data file |
| 1 |
| EA |
| 1-2 business days after surveys conclusion |
6.1.2.7
| Live AES data file |
| 52 |
| EA |
| Quantitative data file within 5 days of AES start date. Free text file sent weekly. |
| 6.1.2.8 |
| Toll free help desk |
| 2 hours/day during the 3 week AES administration |
| EA |
| Help Desk support should be available at minimum through business hours but with low volume of calls this typically results in 2 hours Contractor time per day. |
| 6.1.3 |
| Each All Employee Survey will be conducted approximately 1 year from the previous All Employee Survey. The anticipated completion rate is 60% or roughly 240,000 responses. The full administration will be composed of instructions, survey entrance controlled by validating the organization work group code entered by the participant, a selection of an occupation from an occupation listing based on branching, the survey instruments, and demographic questions. |
| 1 (with 3 modes of administration) |
| EA |
| AES administration modes should be available for review within at least 30 days prior to AES start date. |
| 6.1.4.1a |
| Survey URL and IVR phone # |
| 2 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
6.1.4.1b
| Project Support |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
6.1.4.1c
| Privacy statement |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
6.1.4.1d
| Distribution of paper surveys |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.4.2 |
| Secured web setup for survey instrument |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.4.3 |
| Time Stamps |
At least 30 days prior to survey administration
| 6.1.5.1a |
| Secured web setup for survey instrument |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1b |
| IVR setup for survey instrument |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1c |
| Paper survey setup for survey instrument |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1d |
| Response rate update web sites |
| 2 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1e |
| VA review and test run of all processes and data reports |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1f |
| Paper surveys printing |
| 2,000 – 4,000 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.2a |
| Web Data Collection |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Throughout AES administration |
| 6.1.5.2b |
| IVR data collection |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Throughout AES administration |
| 6.1.5.2c |
| Paper data collection and scanning |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Throughout AES administration |
| 6.1.5.2d |
| Merge responses into 1 data file |
| 1 |
| EA |
| 1-2 business days after survey’s conclusion |
| 6.1.5.2e |
| Secure response rate links |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Immediately following survey’s conclusion |
| 6.1.5.2f |
| Automatic response rate e-mails |
| All work groups that have a specified # of responses over the assigned work group count |
| EA |
| Immediately after threshold is reached. |
| 6.1.5.2g |
| Data validation |
Flag blank and duplicate responses
| 1 |
| EA |
| Throughout AES administration. VA to concur with capability 1 month prior to AES |
| 6.1.5.3a |
| Secured web and IVR setup |
| 2 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.3b |
| Paper survey setup |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.3c |
| Response rate websites |
| 2 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.3d |
| VA review and test run of all processes and data reports |
| 3 modes and response rate websites |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.3e |
| Paper survey printing |
| 2,000-4,000 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.4a |
| Module set up |
| Varying depending on VA needs (typically 5 – 20) |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4b |
| Web set up and data collection |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4c |
| IVR set up and data collection |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4d |
| Paper set up and data collection costs |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4e |
| Merge data into 1 file |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4f |
| Response rate websites |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4g |
| Automatic e-mails |
| As many as necessary |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4h |
| Data validation |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.2.1 |
| Monthly Report (broken out by task and include, at a minimum, the following elements: a description of the service/support provided and the results of that service / support |
| 1 per month (June – October) |
| EA |
| By the 5th of every month |
OPTION YEAR 1
| Task/Deliverable |
| Description |
| Qty |
| Unit |
| Due Date |
| 6.1.1.a |
| Work group Code |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.b |
| Occupation Code |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.c |
| Demographics including required branching |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.d |
| Organization structure |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.e |
| Instructions and Definitions with hyperlinks to defined terms. |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration |
| 6.1.1.f |
| Free Text Question |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Capability within at least 30 days of survey administration. Free text question results due weekly during the course of the AES administration. Final file to be provided the day after the survey closes. |
| 6.1.2.1 |
| Consultation and advice on the effective use of survey systems and services offered. |
| Work with the vendor will be for approximately a 5 month period each year. During this period there will be one scheduled call per week for 30 minutes. Impromptu call times will occur as questions and problems arise. The vendor can expect to have between 20-40 calls during the contract year. |
| EA |
A weekly call will be scheduled throughout the AES timeframe (May-October). Other calls will be scheduled on an as needed basis.
| 6.1.2.2 |
| Help Desk |
| 2 hours/day during the 3 week AES administration |
| EA |
| Help Desk support should be available at minimum through business hours but with low volume of calls this typically results in 2 hours or less of Contractor time per day. |
| 6.1.2.3a |
| Web based survey |
| 1 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.3b |
| Phone based survey |
| 1 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.3c |
| Paper Survey |
| 1 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.4 |
| Provide all survey modalities for acceptance testing |
| 3 administration modes (web, phone, paper) |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.5 |
| VA requests that services include real time response rate updates for web-based submissions, that IVR be updated daily, and that paper surveys be processed at least once weekly. |
| 2 separate links |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.5.a |
| Automatic e-mail system |
| 1 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review within at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.2.6 |
| Final AES data file |
| 1 |
| EA |
| 1-2 business days after surveys conclusion |
6.1.2.7
| Live AES data file |
| 52 |
| EA |
| Quantitative data file within 5 days of AES start date. Free text file sent weekly. |
| 6.1.2.8 |
| Toll free help desk |
| 2 hours/day during the 3 week AES administration |
| EA |
| Help Desk support should be available at minimum through business hours but with low volume of calls this typically results in 2 hours Contractor time per day. |
| 6.1.3 |
| Each All Employee Survey will be conducted approximately 1 year from the previous All Employee Survey. The anticipated completion rate is 60% or roughly 240,000 responses. The full administration will be composed of instructions, survey entrance controlled by validating the organization work group code entered by the participant, a selection of an occupation from an occupation listing based on branching, the survey instruments, and demographic questions. |
| 1 (with 3 modes of administration) |
| EA |
| AES administration modes should be available for review within at least 30 days prior to AES start date. |
| 6.1.4.1a |
| Survey URL and IVR phone # |
| 2 |
| EA |
| VA to be able to review at least 30 days prior to survey administration |
6.1.4.1b
| Project Support |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
6.1.4.1c
| Privacy statement |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
6.1.4.1d
| Distribution of paper surveys |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.4.2 |
| Secured web setup for survey instrument |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.4.3 |
| Time Stamps |
At least 30 days prior to survey administration
| 6.1.5.1a |
| Secured web setup for survey instrument |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1b |
| IVR setup for survey instrument |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1c |
| Paper survey setup for survey instrument |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1d |
| Response rate update web sites |
| 2 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1e |
| VA review and test run of all processes and data reports |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.1f |
| Paper surveys printing |
| 2,000 – 4,000 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.2a |
| Web Data Collection |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Throughout AES administration |
| 6.1.5.2b |
| IVR data collection |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Throughout AES administration |
| 6.1.5.2c |
| Paper data collection and scanning |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Throughout AES administration |
| 6.1.5.2d |
| Merge responses into 1 data file |
| 1 |
| EA |
| 1-2 business days after survey’s conclusion |
| 6.1.5.2e |
| Secure response rate links |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Immediately following survey’s conclusion |
| 6.1.5.2f |
| Automatic response rate e-mails |
| All work groups that have a specified # of responses over the assigned work group count |
| EA |
| Immediately after threshold is reached. |
| 6.1.5.2g |
| Data validation |
Flag blank and duplicate responses
| 1 |
| EA |
| Throughout AES administration. VA to concur with capability 1 month prior to AES |
| 6.1.5.3a |
| Secured web and IVR setup |
| 2 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.3b |
| Paper survey setup |
| 1 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.3c |
| Response rate websites |
| 2 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.3d |
| VA review and test run of all processes and data reports |
| 3 modes and response rate websites |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.3e |
| Paper survey printing |
| 2,000-4,000 |
| EA |
| At least 30 days prior to survey administration |
| 6.1.5.4a |
| Module set up |
| Varying depending on VA needs (typically 5 – 20) |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4b |
| Web set up and data collection |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4c |
| IVR set up and data collection |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4d |
| Paper set up and data collection costs |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4e |
| Merge data into 1 file |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4f |
| Response rate websites |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4g |
| Automatic e-mails |
| As many as necessary |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
| 6.1.5.4h |
| Data validation |
| 1 |
| EA |
| Upon submission |
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