C04 Attachment 1 - Performance Work Statement (PWS).pdf

Attachment 1 - PWS

US Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Technical Advisory Support Services -

Food for Peace Transition

Contents Project Title

General Information

1.0 Background and Purpose

2.0 Definitions

Contractor Requirements

3.0 Technical Requirements / Tasks

4.0 Deliverable / Schedule

5.0 Government Furnished

6.0 Travel

7.0 Contractor’s Key Personnel

8.0 Security Requirements

9.0 Data Rights

10.0 Section 508 - Electronic and Information Technology Standards

11.0 Performance Requirement Measures

Project Title Technical Advisory Services Supporting the Transition of Food for Peace to USDA management

General Information

1.0 Background and Purpose

America’s farmers and ranchers are the best in the world – blessed with the most bountiful land, armed with the most innovative techniques, and supported by an agricultural policy that encourages bold approaches and protects against risk.

Since the advent of the Marshall Plan in 1945, it has been the policy of the United States to share its agricultural bounty with those less fortunate around the world, using America's agricultural surpluses to provide food assistance around the world, broaden international trade, and advance U.S. international diplomacy.

The creation, authorization, and appropriation of Food for Peace falls under Agricultural Programs (i.e. Title VII of U.S.

Code) rather than Foreign Assistance (i.e. Title XXII), but it has been implemented by the U.S. Agency for International Development since that agency’s establishment in 1962. Regardless of which agency manages such program, it is imperative that it support efforts to improve administrative efficiencies, transparency, and integration of American agricultural producers and processors.

Although the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) has long expertise in procurement and provision of food and agricultural commodities for international food assistance programs, these programs generally operate in stable, non-emergency environments. The Food for Peace Program operates in emergency, unstable, and otherwise non-traditional environments, and includes operating provisions with which USDA is not experienced.

Accordingly, USDA seeks technical advisory support, to assist USDA in understanding the unique requirements of the program's operating environment, and guide USDA in adapting (as needed) its systems, processes, and procedures to bridge the operational and experience gap.

2.0 Definitions

Terms defined at 7 USC § 1732, 2 CFR Subpart 200.1, and 22 CFR Subpart 211.2 retain those definitions.

3.0 Technical Requirements

Following protocols described in section 7.0, the contractor shall provide technical advisors who have the subject area expertise described in this section, in support of the transition of Food for Peace to USDA management.

In general, the contractor shall undertake analysis, design, development, testing, integration, logistics, program management, cost, financial, or management analysis, or maintenance of systems, processes, programs, offices or products, as applicable to the Food for Peace program. The contractor shall perform analytical tasks related to design and program implementation, including personnel, hardware, software, and support facilities and/or equipment, as related to the transition of the Food for Peace program to USDA implementation.

The overarching objective of this effort is that, at the conclusion of the contract, USDA staff will be prepared to implement the Food for Peace Program in an efficient and effective manner. The last period (90 days) of the contract will be dedicated to expert advice and guidance in implementing the items and protocols developed.

3.1 Communications

The contractor shall advise USDA on issues relating to:

Branding within foreign markets; noting that some destination countries have branding limitations that may be at odds with the program’s desire for promotion.

Publicity of program activities in foreign countries; noting that there is no “one-size fits all” approach but establishing the differences in program promotion and marketing in environments which may be experiencing emergencies and/or where U.S. branding may be hazardous to project personnel or project success.

Publicity of program activities in the United States; for which it is envisioned to be especially necessary for the advisor to be familiar with the principles underpinning the America First agenda, and how the program supports that agenda.

Bridging the gap between USDA’s stakeholders in the U.S. Agriculture industry and traditional Title II stakeholders whose focus is predominantly on agricultural development in the beneficiary markets.

Communications strategy guide providing a clear understanding of how to discuss the program with an “America First” approach, how to ensure that U.S. Farmers, Ranchers, and Processors understand the impacts of this program on their labors, and how to ensure that beneficiaries recognize the generosity of the American People in providing assistance.

3.2 Prepositioned Commodities

The contractor shall advise USDA on issues relating to the establishment and maintenance of prepositioned commodities.

This must incorporate the trade-off between the cost of establishing and maintaining prepositioned commodities, the risks of such prepositioning, the benefits of having shelf-stable commodities in the vicinity when an unforeseen emergency occurs, and supply chain considerations in procurement. This includes triangulating Cargo Preference requirements, domestic manufacturing capacity (especially as it relates to specialty formulated commodities), and timely response to emergency events.

Manual and/or process guide providing a description of considerations for prepositioned commodities, when would and would not be effective/efficient, and how USDA can make those determinations.

3.3 Non-Traditional Operating Environments

The contractor shall advise USDA on considerations for program operation, monitoring, accountability, and oversight in contexts that may be unstable, insecure, or hazardous, as contrasted with the comparatively more stable contexts in which USDA has traditionally administered food assistance programming. This includes best practices for assessing risk, defining scopes with limited information, managing contracts with third parties for monitoring ongoing activities, approaches for evaluation, and adjustments needed to ensure safety of implementing partner personnel. The contractor shall also provide input on the relationship between USDA’s international field offices and Food for Peace programming, particularly as it relates to offices located in countries other than where activities are taking place.

The contractor shall provide a manual or process guide on risk management, to include how to determine whether third-party monitoring is appropriate, how to evaluate program outcome, and a guide as to the roles that can be played by different USDA offices both in headquarters and in field offices that may be in different countries and/or have limited wherewithal to travel to field sites.

3.4 Geography and Commodity Prioritization

The contractor shall advise USDA on key considerations for determining priority geographies and appropriate commodities, noting that although USDA undertakes a comparable process for its established non-emergency food assistance programs, considerations may differ in salience for emergency programming. This includes the most appropriate processes for determining funding allocations, and best practices for keeping funds in reserve for contingent events.

Process guide to assist USDA in determining which geographies are appropriate for programming, to include weighting each of the many considerations; as well as a recommended formula, which considers more than just finances, to determine the appropriate amount of financial resources to keep in reserve for contingent events.

3.5 Cross-Cutting and Emerging Issues

The contractor shall advise USDA on considerations related to any area which USDA should consider in program administration, and offer recommendations on whether, and how, USDA should pursue different approaches. Inherently, not all of these will be known to USDA; but they include, at minimum:

The Food Aid Consultative Group (FACG) International Food Relief Partnership (IFRP) Food Aid Quality Review Non-Emergency Programming Title V (the Farmer-to-Farmer program) IT Infrastructure and system needs

Reports, handbooks, and/or process guides describing the most suitable approaches to stakeholder relations, programmatic reporting, planning and executing nonemergency programming, and how to define programmatic infrastructure needs.

3.6 Coordination and Reporting

3.6.1 Biweekly Reports: Every two weeks, on the last business day of that two-week period, the contractor shall submit a report detailing the activities that were planned to take place, the activities that did take place, the reason(s) those differed (if applicable), the intended activities upcoming, and any issues that should be brought to USDA’s attention.

3.6.2 Monthly Dialogue: Monthly, the COR shall engage with the POC to discuss progress under the contract. This engagement may take the form of a written communication or a virtual meeting hosted by USDA, as is appropriate for the circumstances each month.

3.6.3 Technical Issue Coordination: Should the contractor become aware of matters or issues that arise not previously within USDA’s awareness, the contractor POC shall notify the COR. The COR shall consider the matter in consultation with other appropriate USDA personnel. The information shall also be noted in written bi-weekly reports. The contractor shall not expend further effort on such matters unless and until the contractor receives a formal modification for scope changes or written technical direction.

3.7 USDA Staff Training and Handover

During approximately the last three months of the contract period, the contractor shall be responsible for training USDA staff who will be engaged for Food for Peace, as to the topic areas described in sections 3.1 – 3.5, inclusive. The contractor will craft an assessment based on each guide in Section 4.1 Deliverables, Item Nos 3-10 to measure staff competency in these matters and administer this assessment prior to the end of the contract period. At the conclusion of the contract, those staff should be capable of independently executing the Food for Peace program.

4.0 Deliverable / Schedule

4.1 Deliverables

Item No.

Deliverable Description Delivery Format Due*

Contract Implementation Plan

Defining the responsibilities, personnel schedule of availability for COR awareness, timeline, risks, and milestones of contract objectives.

In person, via teams;

email presentation in PDF format.

14 days after contract award submitted to the COR

2 Biweekly Report As described in Section 3.6.1

Email, PDF format

The last business day of each biweekly period beginning on the first Sunday after contract award

Communications Strategy Guide

As described in Section 3.1 By email in PDF format 3 months after award

Prepositioned Commodities Guide

As described in Section 3.2 By email in PDF format 5 months after award

Risk Management Guide

As described in Section 3.3 By email in PDF format 7 months after award

Country Selection Guide

As described in Section 3.4 By email in PDF format 2 months after award

Stakeholder Relations Guide

As described in Section 3.5 By email in PDF format 6 months after award

Programmatic Reporting Guide

As described in Section 3.5 By email in PDF format 8 months after award

Nonemergency Programming Planning Guide

As described in Section 3.5 By email in PDF format 9 months after award

Programmatic Infrastructure Guide

As described in Section 3.5 By email in PDF format 11 months after award

USDA Staff Training and Handover

As described in Section 3.7 Continuous; in-person and virtually

End of contract period

4.2 Period of Performance

The period of performance for this contract is 12 months with no opportunity for extension.

4.3. Place of Performance

All work is expected to be performed at a USDA facility in the Washington, DC area during regular business hours, due to the need for access to stakeholders, systems, in-person coordination, and training of USDA staff The contractor may need to coordinate personnel schedules in regard to infrequent conference calls with overseas offices in which the time zone requires calls outside of regular business hours.

The FAS office hours are Monday through Friday, from 6:00am to 6:00pm Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays as recognized by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and excluding facility dependent closures. The Government will not reimburse the Contractor for overtime or premium labor. The Contractor shall ensure that sufficient personnel are available during these hours to meet all performance requirements identified. The Contractor shall ensure that sufficient personnel are available during these hours to meet all performance requirements identified in this PWS.

5.0 Government Furnished

USDA will provide shared office space with not less than four (4) workstations at the USDA headquarters facility. A list of equipment will be provided once interim T2 background investigation clearances have been issued, in accordance with Section 8.0.

6.0 Travel

No travel outside the Washington, DC area is anticipated.

7.0 Contractor’s Personnel

The contractor shall provide personnel who, individually and in combination, have the breadth and depth of knowledge, skills, abilities, and experience to provide this technical advice.

The Contractor shall provide a point of contact to facilitate Government-Contractor communications and technical directions, and that point of contact shall have adequate delegated authority for day-to-day purposes. USDA shall engage not less than monthly with the contractor’s POC as described in section 3.6.2 to validate ongoing activities, discuss upcoming tasks, and address concerns (if any).

Any delivery or performance time periods for individual tasks shall be established during Monthly Dialogue Meeting.

Adjustments to time periods or prioritization of tasks may be necessary during performance of the contract, however, unilaterally altering the substance, scope, nature or quantity of task is not authorized. Changes that impact the substance, scope, nature, quantity, schedule, performance or price shall be negotiated with the contractor and formally documented through appropriate contractual mechanisms.

The contractor’s point of contact shall be reachable during regular business hours. The contractor shall designate an alternate point of contact for times when the principal point of contact is on leave or otherwise expected to be unavailable, and the availability of such alternates will be considered acceptable for purposes of this section.

8.0 Security Requirements

All work under this contract is unclassified. The contractor shall ensure that all information is safeguarded against unauthorized access.

Contractor employees performing work under this contract require Public Trust (Moderate Risk) background investigations (also known as T2 background investigation) conducted by USDA prior to beginning work under the contract. Upon clearance, the Government will provide credentials for physical access to USDA facilities and logical access to relevant USDA computer systems.

Contractor personnel shall visibly display Government issued identification badges at all times while on USDA premises and shall comply with all facility entry/exit procedures. The Contractor is responsible for immediately notifying the COR and CO when personnel no longer require access or are removed from the contract, and for returning all Government issued credentials.

If performance requires access to Government information systems, the Contractor shall ensure personnel complete all required training and adhere to applicable USDA and federal policies.

9.0 Data Rights

Data collected and products delivered to USDA will be considered property of the U.S. Government.

10.0 Section 508 - Electronic and Information Technology Standards The contractor shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, Section 508 Compliance with the performance and delivery outlined in the performance work statement. See https://www.section508.gov/.

11.0 Performance Requirement Measures

Performance Objective

Performance Standard Method of Surveillance

Biweekly Reports

Each report is specific and verifiable, and indicates the specific tasks undertaken, obstacles encountered, issues resolved, and anticipated tasks ahead.

All reports are submitted timely as described in Section 4.1 Deliverables, Item No 2.

100% Inspection

Process Guides Each guide is succinct, easy to read, includes all required processes, and free of factual and formatting errors.

All Process Guides are submitted timely as described in Section 4.1 Deliverables, Item Nos 3-10

100% Inspection

USDA Staff Training and Handover

Staff are competent and confident to perform necessary tasks to operate the program.

A passing competency score of 90%, as described in Section 3.7 USDA Staff Training and Handover.

Random Sampling, 80% of Government employees

Incentives/Disincentives 2.5% reduction in contract value for failure to meet AQLs for 3 consecutive months.

Subsequent incorporation of nonmaterial revisions shall not be considered a late submission.