PWS - Survey-Printing-Mailing-2024 8.13.24.pdf

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ENTERPRISE SERVICES

STATEMENT OF NEED

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT:

U.S. BUSINESS SURVEYS PRINTING AND MAILING

SERVICES

FOR

BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORATE

1. Background and Objective

The International Directorate of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) conducts several surveys of U.S. businesses each year. For each survey, BEA sends various letters to survey respondents throughout the year. BEA seeks a Contractor that can provide printing, assembly, and mailing services for its survey program.

2.0 Requirement

2.1 The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, supplies, facilities, transportation, tools, materials, supervision, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform this requirement.

2.2 The Contractor shall monitor performance in accordance with the approved Quality Control Plan, which is the means by which the Contractor will ensure that work complies with the requirements of the task order. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services.

2.3 The Contractor shall at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this Statement of Need. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall consider the stability and continuity of the workforce as essential.

2.4 The Contractor will provide survey printing and mailing services to support BEA’s International Directorate survey program. Attachment 1 contains a summary of Contractor service requirements, which are also specified below. Attachment 2 contains the schedule of the deliverables.

2.4.1 The Contractor will create proof and submit it to BEA for approval.

For each mailing, BEA will provide the Contractor with:

• An electronic file of the letter and any flyers,

• An electronic file with the survey respondent name, ID number, and address, and instructions for completing the mailing.

The Contractor will merge the respondent file with the letter file and return the proof to BEA for approval.

2.4.2 Upon BEA approval of the proof, the Contractor will print the letters, as well as any inserts and envelopes, according to the following:

• Letters are printed in 4 colors and may be double-sided. Some mailings may include a single-page flyer along with the letter. Letters are mailed in #10 white business window envelopes and printed with BEA’s return address.

• Envelopes will have “Mandatory” printed in red ink to the right of the envelope window.

2.4.3 The Contractor will assemble the mailings, apply first class or foreign postage, and mail the letters by the due date, according to the following:

• Mail-out must occur no later than 5 business days after BEA approval of the proof.

• Errors in printing or mailing must be reported to the Contracting Officer’s Representative

(COR) and Technical Point of Contact within 1 hour of discovery. Errors must be corrected, at Contractor expense, within 1 business day from discovery.

2.5 Attachment 3 contains a tentative list of survey mailings by date and includes the estimated number of letters that will be sent for each mailing along with other relevant information.

3.0 Place of Performance

Work shall be performed at the Contractor’s facility.

4.0 Period of Performance

The total period of performance with all options exercised is for a base year and 4 option years from the date of award.

5.0 Government-Furnished Resources

5.1 The Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all Government-furnished property, equipment, and information (GFP/E/I) provided for Contractor use. The Contractor shall not use GFP/E/I for any purposes other than for official Government business as performed under this task order. At the close of each work period, Government facilities, equipment, and materials shall be secured.

5.2 By law, all information about the respondents on BEA surveys—including name, address, and ID number—is confidential. The Contractor will ensure that all their staff take the BEA confidentiality training and abide by confidentiality rules. All electronic files and physical documents of BEA information will be stored securely and deleted, destroyed, or returned when no longer needed.

6.0 Qualifications

The Contractor shall ensure that staff are properly trained and hold the appropriate credentials as required for the services being performed.

7.0 Identification of Contractor Employees

All Contractor personnel attending meetings, answering Government telephones, and working in other situations where their Contractor status is not obvious to third parties are required to identify themselves as such to avoid creating an impression in the minds of the public that they are Government officials. They must also ensure that all documents or reports produced by the Contractor are suitably marked as Contractor products or that Contractor participation is appropriately disclosed.

8.0 Travel

Travel is not required under this task order.

9.0 Conflicts of Interest

Contractor and subcontract personnel performing work under this task order may receive, have access to, or participate in the development of proprietary or source selection information (such as cost or pricing information, budget information or analyses, and specifications or work statements) or perform evaluation services that may create a current or subsequent Organizational Conflict of Interests (OCI) as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5. The Contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer (CO) immediately whenever he/she becomes aware that such access or participation may result in any actual or potential OCI and may merit the submittal of a plan to the CO to avoid or mitigate any such OCI. This mitigation plan would be determined to be acceptable solely at the discretion of the CO. In the event the CO unilaterally determines that any such OCI cannot be satisfactorily avoided or mitigated, the CO may employ other remedies as he/she deems necessary, including prohibiting the Contractor from participation in subsequent contracted requirements that may be affected by the OCI.

10.0 Data Rights

The Government has unlimited rights to all documents and materials produced under this task order. All documents and materials, including the source code of any software produced under this contract, shall be the property of the Government with all rights and privileges of ownership/copyright belonging exclusively to the Government. These documents and materials may not be used or sold by the Contractor without written permission from the CO. All materials supplied to the Government shall be the sole property of the Government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other Government rights.

11.0 Reports and Deliverables

11.1 The Contractor shall attend progress meetings requested by the contracting activity or task order administration. The CO, the COR, and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the Contractor to review the Contractor's performance. At these meetings, the CO will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the Contractor's performance, and the Contractor will apprise the Government of any problems. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government.

11.2 The Contractor shall prepare and submit a monthly progress report describing at a minimum the work performed during the month, the projected work over the next month, and any issues or barriers that need to be addressed. Attachment 2 contains the schedule of these deliverables.

12.0 Inspection

BEA reserves the right to perform on-site inspection of Contractor facilities to assure compliance with training and confidentiality.

13.0 Submittal of Invoices

The Contractor will submit invoices and required supporting documents electronically to invoice@nist.gov and cc BEAinvoices@bea.gov.

Invoices shall be prepared as follows:

• Invoices shall be submitted within 10 days after delivery or performance of work but not more frequently than monthly.

• Invoices and supporting documents shall be submitted as an attached PDF.

• The email subject line shall include:

o Invoice number o Contract number o Company/Organization name

• The invoice shall include:

o Name and address of the Contractor o Invoice number and date o Contract number and title mailto:invoice@nist.gov mailto:BEAinvoices@bea.gov o Contract period of performance o Period of work billed o Amount billed by contract line-item number, CLIN o Description of print job o Cost per print job o Total amount of billing and cumulative total billed for all work under the contract to date o Name and address of the individual to whom payment should be sent o Name, title, phone number, and mailing address of the person to be contacted in the event of a defective invoice o Name of CO

• Each invoice shall include a statement certifying that data confidentiality rules have been followed and that staff handling BEA data have completed the required data privacy and security training that is signed by a Contractor representative. Attachment 4 contains a sample statement.

• If the invoice and supporting documents exceed 8 MB, the Contractor shall submit the invoice via the postal service to:

o As defined in orders

14.0 Attachments (Technical Exhibit List)

Attachment 1 – Performance Requirements Summary Attachment 2 – Deliverables Schedule Attachment 3 – Tentative Survey Mailings Schedule Attachment 4 – Data Confidentiality Certification

ATTACHMENT 1

PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS)

The Contractor service requirements are summarized into performance objectives that relate directly to mission essential items. The performance threshold briefly describes the minimum acceptable levels of service required for each requirement. These thresholds are critical to mission success.

Performance Objective (This is the service required and is usually a shall statement.)

Performance Standard

Performance Threshold (This is the maximum error rate. It could possibly be “Zero deviation from standard.”)

Method of Surveillance

PRS # 1

The vendor shall submit a proof of the mailing and envelope to BEA for review and approval within 24 hours of receipt of the electronic mailing files.

In order to meet mailing deadlines, the vendor must respond within 24 hours of the mailing request.

100% compliance is required unless excused in advance by the project manager.

Program staff and vendor must cc the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) on mailing request correspondence.

PRS # 2

The vendor shall print and mail out letters within 5 days of receipt of a mailing request.

Mailings must be received timely by recipients in order for recipients to comply with survey reporting requirements.

100% of letters in a mailing request must be mailed to the correct address within 5 days of request.

Errors in printing or mailing will be corrected by the Contractor at Contractor expense in 1 business day.

The vendor will develop procedures to audit accuracy of mailings and mail-outs. Errors must be reported to the COR and Technical Point of Contact within 1 hour of discovery.

ATTACHMENT 2

DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE

This technical exhibit lists any report or documentation that is required as a deliverable to include the frequency, number of copies, medium or format, and recipient. A deliverable is anything that can be physically delivered but may include non-physical items, such as meeting minutes.

Deliverable Frequency No. of Copies Medium/Format Submit to Letter or envelope proof (3.4)

1 week prior to mailing date

1 proof submitted electronically by email

Letter and envelope

Technical Point of Contact

(TPOC),

Contracting Officer’s Representative

(COR)

Monthly progress report (12.2)

Monthly by the 5th of each month covering the previous month

1 copy submitted electronically by email

MS Office or PDF formats

TPOC, COR,

Contracting Officer

ATTACHMENT 3

TENTATIVE MAILING SCHEDULE

Mail month Mail year Survey Mailing title

Estimated

no. of domestic letters

Estimated

no. of foreign letters

Single- or double-sided letter

September 2024 BE-11 Compliance letters 950 50 Single September 2024 BE-125 Notification letters 2,200 10 Single September 2024 BE-125 Compliance letters 1,300 0 Single September 2024 BE-15 Compliance letters 900 100 Single September 2024 BE-185 Notification letters 715 10 Single September 2024 BE-185 Compliance letters 350 0 Single September 2024 BE-45 Notification letters 550 0 Single September 2024 BE-45 Compliance letters 150 0 Single September 2024 BE-577 Notification letters 2,600 50 Double September 2024 BE-577 Compliance letters 1,400 25 Double September 2024 BE-605 Notification letters 6,000 500 Double September 2024 BE-605 Compliance letters 3,000 500 Double September 2024 BE-120 Compliance letters 2,000 50 Single September 2024 BE-140 Compliance letters 600 0 Single

October 2024 BE-11 Compliance letters 500 0 Single October 2024 BE-15 Compliance letters 500 50 Single

November 2024 BE-120 Compliance letters 1,000 0 Single December 2024 BE-11 Legal letters 780 20 Single December 2024 BE-125 Notification letters 2,200 10 Single December 2024 BE-125 Compliance letters 1,300 0 Single December 2024 BE-185 Notification letters 715 10 Single December 2024 BE-185 Compliance letters 350 0 Single December 2024 BE-45 Notification letters 550 0 Single December 2024 BE-45 Compliance letters 150 0 Single December 2024 BE-577 Notification letters 2,750 50 Double December 2024 BE-577 Compliance letters 1,400 25 Double December 2024 BE-605 Notification letters 6,250 500 Double December 2024 BE-605 Compliance letters 4,000 350 Double

January 2025 BE-180 Pre-notification letters 6,000 10 Single January 2025 BE-15 Pre-notification letters 6,400 600 Single March 2025 BE-15 Notification letters 6,400 600 Double March 2025 BE-577 Notification letters 2,750 50 Double March 2025 BE-577 Compliance letters 1,400 25 Double March 2025 BE-10 Notification letters 30,000 250 Double

March 2025 BE-125 Notification letters 2,400 0 Single March 2025 BE-125 Compliance letters 1,300 0 Single March 2025 BE-185 Notification letters 715 0 Single March 2025 BE-185 Compliance letters 350 0 Single March 2025 BE-45 Notification letters 550 0 Single March 2025 BE-45 Compliance letters 150 0 Single March 2025 BE-15 Legal letters 300 50 Single March 2025 BE-605 Compliance letters 4,000 350 Double March 2025 BE-605 Notification letters 6,250 500 Double May 2025 BE-180 Notification letters 6,000 0 Single June 2025 BE-577 Notification letters 2,750 50 Double June 2025 BE-577 Compliance letters 1,400 25 Double June 2025 BE-125 Notification letters 2,400 0 Single June 2025 BE-125 Compliance letters 1,300 0 Single June 2025 BE-185 Notification letters 715 0 Single June 2025 BE-185 Compliance letters 350 0 Single June 2025 BE-45 Notification letters 550 0 Single June 2025 BE-45 Compliance letters 150 0 Single June 2025 BE-605 Notification letters 6,250 500 Double June 2025 BE-605 Compliance letters 4,000 350 Double July 2025 BE-605 Legal letters 120 15 Single July 2025 BE-577 Legal letters 425 10 Double July 2025 BE-10 Compliance letters 0 0 Single July 2025 BE-15 Compliance letters 3,300 150 Single

August 2025 BE-10 Compliance letters 0 0 Single August 2025 BE-180 Compliance letters 3,000 0 Single

September 2025 BE-180 Compliance letters 1,500 0 Single September 2025 BE-125 Compliance letters 1,300 0 Single September 2025 BE-185 Compliance letters 350 0 Single September 2025 BE-45 Compliance letters 150 0 Single

Total 150,135 5,845

Total no. of mailings: 64 Total no. of letters: 155,980

ATTACHMENT 4

DATA CONFIDENTIALITY CERTIFICATION

I hereby certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that the services set forth herein were performed during the period stated above, and that all security controls and measures required by U.S.C. Title 13 and 26 have been implemented.

Printed Name Date

Signature

TENTATIVE MAILING SCHEDULE