Attachment_1_-_SOW_Historical_Services_FINAL.docx

Attachment 1 Statement of Work Office of Historical Trust Accounting Historical Research Services

1. BACKGROUND

The Department of the Interior (Interior) currently oversees approximately 55 million surface acres of land, 57 million acres of subsurface mineral interests, and $3.6 billion in assets that are held in trust or restricted status by the Federal Government on behalf of individual American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and federally recognized Indian tribes. Trust revenues are derived from the sale of Indian trust or restricted lands and from leasing surface and subsurface rights for farming and grazing activities, harvesting of timber, extraction and sale of oil and gas and other leased minerals, generation of hydroelectric power, and granting of rights-of-way and utility easements. Trust revenue is subsequently credited to Individual Indian Monies (IIM) and Tribal accounts based on Interior’s records of tracts of trust lands.

Interior has the fiduciary responsibility on behalf of the United States Government to manage both IIM and Tribal trust funds. Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) currently manage these funds.

The American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (Reform Act) requires, in part, the Secretary of the Interior to “account for the daily and annual balance of all funds held in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual Indian which are deposited or invested pursuant to the Act of June 24, 1938” (25 U.S.C. § 4011 (a)). In July 2001, the Office of Historical Trust Accounting (OHTA) was created by Secretarial Order No. 3231 to plan, organize, direct, and execute the historical accounting of IIM accounts. The Secretarial Order was amended on June 27, 2002, to extend the same responsibilities to the historical accounting of Tribal accounts. OHTA was re-aligned to report to OST on July 1, 2007.

Interior is currently involved in 55 lawsuits filed by or on behalf of individuals, Indian tribes, or tribal entities in various Federal District Courts and the Court of Federal Claims. OHTA also assists the OST, BIA, Interior’s Office of the Solicitor (SOL), and other Interior offices and bureaus by preparing historical accountings and other analyses and compilations related to non-litigation inquiries. Working closely with the SOL and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), OHTA satisfies the critical information needs of the various parties through research document production, organization, and analysis of IIM and Tribal accounts. Given the litigation and various laws regarding the confidentiality and privileges of certain information (e.g., the Privacy Act), the work of the Contractor is subject to confidentiality requirements – protected attorney work product, and/or confidential settlement materials and the Contractor must protect and maintain data and work products as such.

2. OBJECTIVE

The objective of this Statement of Work (SOW) is to have the Contractor provide OHTA and Interior with independent historical knowledge, research and reporting expertise, and advice concerning Interior’s management of trust funds and natural resources and to accomplish all aspects of OHTA’s mission. Historical research services are divided into six specific task areas: 1) document identification, search, and collection; 2) compile collections of responsive historical documents; 3) preparing histories of Tribal Trust Fund administrative processes and procedures; 4) documenting historical treatment/management/use of trust resources; 5) documentation for real estate appraisals; and 6) other work as needed.

3. CONTRACTOR QUALIFICATIONS

The Contractor must have extensive working knowledge and expertise:

a. Of how Tribal funds and IIM were historically received, invested, and disbursed by the BIA and OST, and have familiarity with trust account ledgers, statements of account, leases, permits, allotments, grants of easement, appraisals, contracts, maps, titles, deeds, and other documents used in managing Indian trust funds and natural resources.

b. In the identification, search and collection of documents relating to individual Indians and Indian tribes, particularly with collections at the American Indian Records Repository (Lenexa, Kansas), regional facilities of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), BIA offices, tribal offices, and other public and private record repositories.

c. Working with BIA, BLM, SOL, DOJ, certified public accountants, and other experts on research projects involving Indian trust accounting;

d. In compiling, organizing, and summarizing historical documentation for trust beneficiaries, the Department, plaintiffs, the court, and Congress, posting on websites and other databases, and creation of digitized map layers.

e. In writing comprehensive and thoroughly documented historical studies and have expert knowledge of scholarly standards, including citation standards.

The Contractor’s quote must demonstrate that both its organization and proposed key personnel can successfully complete the specific tasks (see Section 5) of this project.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of this SOW encompasses Contractor support to provide professional historical expertise to OHTA and Interior officials in carrying out the Federal Government’s historical accounting and trust fund and trust land management obligations under the Reform Act and other laws. The Contractor will be required to work in a communal environment characterized by teamwork and extensive interaction with various Interior offices and bureaus, Government agencies outside of Interior, and other professional contractor firms such as accountants, scanning and coding contractors, and other technical contractors from various disciplines.

All Government-provided data received, processed, evaluated, loaded, and/or created as a result of the contract shall remain the sole property of the Government unless specific exception is granted by the Contracting Officer (CO). The Government owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation provided or created as a result of the contract provided under FAR Clause 52.227-14 as utilized in this contract. The Contractor must deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit the OHTA to use the data. The Contractor shall use Government provided information technology applications and systems to perform all tasks under this contract and shall restrict access to and not transfer the data to any third party without the Contracting Officer’s Representative’s written approval in compliance with this contract.

Task orders will be issued throughout the life of this contract in one or more of the following areas:

5. SPECIFIC TASKS

a. Document Identification, Search, and Collection. The Contractor shall identify, search, and collect documents relating to Indian tribes and American Indian individuals at various locations, including the American Indian Records Repository (AIRR) (Lenexa, Kansas), regional facilities of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), OST offices, BIA offices, BLM offices, tribal offices, OHTA’s Accounting Reconciliation Tool (images), and other public and private record repositories. Other contractors may also be involved in this process, particularly for documentation identification, search, and collection at the AIRR and for the imaging and coding of collected documents. This task is necessary to accomplish various litigation and settlement related tasks listed below, as well as responding to informal and formal information requests/discovery from tribes and/or Government attorneys.

Deliverables: Specific deliverables will be defined in individual Task Orders but may include inventories of documents and accessions as maintained at records facilities, as requested by OHTA, including research reports that document procedures performed, limitations, potential next steps, etc.

b. Compile Collections of Responsive Historical Documents. The Contractor shall organize, tag, and summarize collections of historical documents needed to respond to requests for information, document historical administrative decisions, and inform ongoing decision-making. Compilations of documents shall be prepared in coordination with SOL and DOJ, and, for collections to be posted on the web, relevant Interior information technology staff.

Deliverables: Specific deliverables will be defined in individual Task Orders but may include authoritative written historical reports on each of the identified topics.

d. Documentation of Specific Trust Lands and Resources. The contractor shall research, compile documentation, and prepare accurate legal descriptions and authoritative written histories regarding the management and use of specific trust lands and resources on a case-by-case basis. The contractor may need to provide a wide range of expertise related to the management of trust lands and resources, including, but not limited to, leasing surface and subsurface rights for farming and grazing activities; harvesting of timber; extraction and sale of oil and gas, uranium, sand and gravel, and other leased minerals; and generation of hydroelectric power, irrigation, and management of other water resources.

Deliverables: Specific deliverables will be defined in individual Task Orders but may include accurate legal descriptions and authoritative written historical reports of specific identified topics.

e. Documentation for Real Estate Appraisals. The Contractor shall research and compile geographic information services (GIS) data regarding land use, transportation, and hydrography, create new datasets for inclusion in GIS processing, modify existing geoprocessing models to work with the GIS data to produce summary statistics, and complete quality assurance processing to ensure resalable results for real estate appraisals.

Deliverable: Specific deliverables will be defined in individual Task Orders but may include digitized map layers inventorying under-documented right of ways, including location, type, legal authorities, documentation, consent, and /or compensation. Compiled documents will be based on the CAD NSDI PLSS framework and prepared for posting to the Title Image Repository of Interior’s Trust Asset and Accounting Management System (TAAMS).

f. Other Work as Needed. OHTA may require historical research and reporting on other issues pertaining to Indian individuals and tribes, such as specific investigations related to portions of tribal trust and IIM accounts, specific lands or natural resources, and claims made by individuals or Indian tribes.

Deliverables: Specific deliverables will be defined in each individual Task Order but may include special reports on topics and of such scope as directed by OHTA.

6. ANTICIPATED LEVEL OF EFFORT

The Government estimates that this contract will require the following approximate level of effort. All task orders issued under the contractsolicitation will be labor hour.

Please note that the Government estimate is only communicated to Offerors to describe the approximate or estimated level of effort for these tasks. However, this is not to be construed as either a maximum and minimum level of effort based on historical data. It is only in place as a reference to illustrate the Government’s estimated distribution of effort. The Government is seeking the best level of effort and labor mix the Offeror feels is right to accomplish the mission contained in this SOW. The following labor categories are anticipated.

Director/Partner (key personnel) – This individual needs to have an advanced degree in a relevant field and at least 10 years of experience in historical research related to Indian tribes and individual American Indians, with historical research related to Indian trust accounting preferred. At least 5 years of this experience should be in a managerial capacity, with strong planning, organizational, and written communication skills. Must have the ability to understand the project and its goals, change project directions when needed, meet project deadlines, and maintain several projects at the same time. This individual will have overall responsibility for the project and serve as liaison to the government.

Senior Manager/Project Manager (key personnel) – This individual needs to have an advanced degree in a relevant field and at least 7 years of experience in historical research related to Indian tribes and individual American Indians, with historical research related to Indian trust accounting preferred. At least 3 years of this experience should be in a supervisory capacity, with strong planning, organizational, and written communication skills. Must have the ability to understand the project and its goals, change project directions when needed, meet project deadlines, and maintain several projects at the same time. This individual must have the ability to effectively and professionally interact with the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) and government program managers.

Experienced Staff (key personnel) – This individual needs to have a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and at least 3 years of experience in historical research related to Indian tribes and individual American Indians, with historical research related to Indian trust accounting preferred. Must have strong written communication skills and the ability to understand the project and its goals, change project directions when needed, meet project deadlines, and maintain several projects at the same time. At least one senior staff member should have strong skills related to global imaging systems.

Junior Staff – This individual needs to have a Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field. Must have strong written communication skills and the ability to understand the project and its goals, change project directions when needed, meet project deadlines, and maintain several projects at the same time.

Administration – This individual needs to have a high school diploma and be experienced in automated office products such as a personal computer, photocopier, facsimile machine, microfiche reader/printer, and telephone system that has voicemail, paging, and conference capabilities. Must be able to manage a filing system, proficient in software such as Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, etc.).

7. OTHER PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

a. Security Requirements and Data Restrictions. A security background check is required for all Contractor staff in performance of this contract, unless waived by the Security Officer for OST. The security background check level shall be for a “Public Trust Position” and shall be conducted by Interior, FBI, and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) staff.

The Contractor shall maintain, transmit, retain in strictest confidence, and prevent the unauthorized duplication, use, and disclosure of sensitive information. In the addition to the Government, the Contractor shall provide such information only to employees, other OHTA contractors, and subcontractors having a need to know such information in the performance of their duties for this project. Information made available to the Contractor by the Government for the performance of this effort shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the written agreement of the CO.

If the Government provides information to the Contractor for use in performance or administration of this effort, the Contractor shall not use such information for any other purpose, except with the written permission of the CO. If the Contractor is uncertain about the availability or proposed use of information provided for the performance or administration of this effort, the Contractor shall consult with the COR and/or CO regarding use of that information for other purposes.

The Contractor agrees to assume responsibility of protecting the confidentiality of Government records which are not public information. Each Contractor or employee of the Contractor, to whom information may be disclosed, may use the information only to the extent authorized herein.

All data received, processed, evaluated, loaded, and/or created as a result of this contract shall remain the sole property of the Government unless specific exception is granted by the CO.

The work performed under this contract shall only be performed by individuals who are employed by the Contractor or a subcontractor, whose conduct and behavior is consistent with the requirements of this contract and OHTA-established workplace rules. New or replacement staff shall not be permitted by the Contractor to have access to contract related data or paperwork, or perform work under the contract prior to receipt of notice that the Government has completed a background check and approved the individual as suitable to have access and perform the work. The Government shall conduct the required background investigation on each individual prior to that individual performing work under this contract, and shall give the Contractor prompt notice of either a rejection of the individuals or that it has affirmatively determined that such individuals meet the Government’s minimum standards of acceptability for a “Public Trust Position.’

If OHTA receives disqualifying information, such as updated police, illegal drugs, or financial records, on a Contractor’s employee, the Contractor, upon such notification shall immediately remove the employee from duties which require access to government facilities and Government-furnished equipment and data. Failure on the part of the Contractor to comply with the requirements of this provision shall constitute grounds for termination.

In the event of a disagreement between the Contractor and the Government concerning the disapproval of an individual for suitability reasons or cancellation of a previously successful suitability determination, the Government shall have the right of final determination.

The Contractor shall notify the COR immediately when an employee working on this contract agreement is reassigned or leaves the Contractor’s employ. For unfriendly terminations, the contractor shall notify the CO, COR, OST CIO, and Security Officer prior to the termination, as is practicable.

The Contractor employees shall annually complete various online IT, security-related, and other training furnished by the Government.

b. Contractor-to-Contractor Interface. The Contractor and/or its subcontractors shall, as part of the performance of this contract, work closely with other contractors working for the Government. Such other contractors shall not direct the Contractor and/or its subcontractors in any manner. Also, this Contractor and/or its subcontractors shall not direct the work of other contractors in any manner.

The Government shall establish an initial contact between the Contractor and other contractors and shall participate in an initial meeting at which the conventions for the scheduling and conduct of future meetings/contacts shall be established. CORs for other affected contractors shall be included in any establishment of conventions.

c. Anticipated Travel. Out-of-town travel may be required occasionally as requested by the COR for any of the awarded task orders. All travel shall be in accordance with federal travel guidelines (FTR).

All travel requests shall be submitted on a REQUEST FOR TRAVEL/APPROVAL FORM (see attachment 1) to the COR for approval/signature and a dated copy must be sent to the CO to be placed in the file for invoice verification and approval by the CO. Travel costs with proper documentation (e.g., receipts, copy of credit card statement, etc.) shall be submitted for contractor reimbursement with the applicable invoice. Invoices for travel shall include the name of the traveler, travel itinerary, purpose of travel (event, exercise, workshop, etc.), and any other documentation requested by the COR for a copy of the approved trace; request form. Travel costs that are projected to exceed standard federal travel rates shall be requested and pre-approved in writing by the CO/COR prior to incurring the cost. For further information on Travel Costs, see Reference FAR 31.205-46.

8. PLACE(S) OF PERFORMANCE

It is anticipated that the contractor will be available for periodic meetings at its office or offices of OHTA, Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C., or at sites around the United States. Meeting frequency is expected to average two events per month. The contractor will also be called upon to conduct investigation and research at various record facilities around the United States.

The Contractor will be reimbursed for travel to provide support at a Government site or other sites as may be specified and approved by the COR under this effort. All travel shall be approved in writing, by the COR, prior to commencement of travel. The Contractor shall be reimbursed for actual allowable, allocable, and reasonable travel costs incurred during performance of this effort in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulations currently in effect on date of travel. [Reference FAR 31.205-46] Travel Costs]

9. DELIVERABLES/DELIVERABLE SCHEDULE

In fulfillment of this effort, the Contractor shall provide the following deliverables. All deliverables shall be submitted to the COR, unless otherwise agreed upon.

a. Monthly Program Actual Cost Report. The Contractor shall submit a report electronically, by the 8th day of each month, regarding the Contractor’s Actual Costs by OHTA Program Area to the CO, COR and OHTA’s Manager for Budget and Administration. For each task order, the Contractor will report on the actual costs for the previous month and for the task to date, with separate reporting for labor, travel, and other costs. Additionally, the CO and/or COR reserves the right to direct the Contractor to track costs at a more detailed level.

b. Weekly Status Reports (WSR). No later than 12 PM EST on Thurday of each week, the contractor shall submit to the COR a WSRs summarizeing the tasks that have been completed or the progress of the project during the past week. The Contractor shall use the format provided by OHTA, which shall be provided post-award. The WSR shall be completed on a weekly basis and is due by noon (Washington, DC time) each Thursday on the work that was completed from the past Friday through Thursday work week. The WSR shall be provided via email to the COR and/or other OHTA management/staff as directed.

c. Monthly Program Anticipated Level of Effort Report. No later than 12 PM EST the 20th 10th day of each month, the contractor shall submit to the CO and COR for acceptance and approval a report detailing anticipated level of effort for the upcoming month. For each task order, the Contractor will report on the anticipated level of effort in terms of labor, travel, and other costs. The contractor shall not exceed the anticipated level of effort for any particular month without express written prior authorization from the CO. Any requests to exceed anticipated level of efforts shall be accompanied by a detailed outline of the need for the increase.

d. Deliverable Inspection and Acceptance Criteria. Final inspection and acceptance of all work performed, reports and other deliverables shall be performed at the place of delivery by the COR.

1. Deliverable General Acceptance Criteria. General quality measures, as set forth below, shall be applied to each work product received from the Contractor under the SOW.

A. Accuracy - Work Products shall be accurate in presentation, technical content, and adherence to accepted elements of style.

B. Clarity Work Products shall be clear and concise. Any/All diagrams shall be easy to understand and be relevant to the supporting narrative.

C. Consistency to Requirements All work products must satisfy the requirements of this SOW.

D. File Editing All text, worksheets, and diagrammatic files shall be editable by the Government.

E. Format - Work Products shall be submitted in hard copy (where applicable) and in media mutually agreed upon prior to submission. Hard copy formats shall follow any specified Directives or Manuals.

F. Time-lines Work Products shall be submitted on or before the due date specified in this SOW or submitted in accordance with a later scheduled date determined by the Government.

2. Deliverable Quality Assurance. The COR shall review documentation that the Contractor submits for completeness and may return it to the Contractor for additions/clarifications/corrections. Absence of any comments by the COR shall not relieve the Contractor of the responsibility for complying with the requirements of this work statement. Final approval and acceptance of documentation required herein shall be through a verbal or written acceptance by the COR. The Contractor shall not construe any verbal or written form of acknowledgment of receipt material as a waiver of review, or as an acknowledgment that the material is in conformance with this work statement. Any approval given during preparation of the documentation, or approval for shipment shall not guarantee the final acceptance of the completed documentation.

10. GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY AND SERVICES

Government-furnished property (GFP) and government-furnished services (GFS) made available for Contractor use is solely for use in direct performance of the work specified in this contract, and any subsequent task orders. The contractor shall not use any GFP or GFS provided under this contract, and any subsequent task orders, for the performance of any other work. Should the Contractor reject or choose not to use GFP or GFS, no equitable adjustment for additional expenses incurred by the Contractor shall be allowed. The Contractor shall follow all government policies and regulations governing the GFP and GFS.

All Government-provided data received, processed, evaluated, loaded, and/or created as a result of the contract, and any subsequent task orders, shall remain the sole property of the Government unless specific exception is granted by the CO. The Government owns the rights to all electronic information (electronic data, electronic information systems, electronic databases, etc.) and all supporting documentation provided or created as a result of the contract, and any subsequent task orders, provided under FAR Clause 52.227-14 as utilized in this contract. The Contractor shall deliver sufficient technical documentation with all data deliverables to permit OHTA to use the data. The Contractor shall use Government-provided information technology applications and systems to perform all tasks under this contract and shall restrict access to and not transfer the data to any third party without the CO’s and/or COR’s written approval in compliance with this contract.

a. Government-Furnished Records. The government shall provide either paper documents or access to electronic records necessary to carry out the designated requirements awarded under the task orders.

b. Computer Access. The Government shall provide the Contractor with access to its computer network, information technology systems and software applications (such as TFAS, TAAMS, ProTrac, Historical Query, Stratavision, CSS, ART, DART, SDA Pro, SDA Plus, ServiceCenter, OST email and other applications) as required for performance under this contract, and any subsequent task orders, commensurate with existing departmental systems and security requirements.

11. TRANSITIONAL IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

The Contractor shall submit a transitional implementation plan (Transition Plan), which sets forth an approach to a seamless and effective transition to full performance. The Contractor shall submit the Transition Plan with its proposal and shall be updated no later than 5 days after contract award, if needed. The Transition Plan shall contain each transition action/event necessary to achieve successful transition to full performance capability, a schedule of critical milestones, and titles of contractor personnel required to participate in each transition action/event. The Transition Plan should include a list of qualified personnel.

12. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this contract is the date of award for a period of one (1) year, which is hereafter referred to as the “Base Period.” This contract shall include four (4)-one year option periods, which may be unilaterally exercised by the Government. All terms and conditions applicable to the Base Period shall extend to the option periods unless otherwise agreed upon.

13. HOURS OF OPERATION

Contractor personnel shall conform to normal operating hours. The normal core workday shall be eight hours, between 7:006:00 a.m. and 6:007:30 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday, with the exception of Federal Government holidays and an allowance for a one-hour lunch period each day. Modifications to this schedule shall be made with written approval from the COR.

a. Productive Direct Labor Hours. The contractor shall only charge the Government for “Productive Direct Labor Hours,” defined as those hours expended by Contractor personnel in performing work under this contract. Productive Direct Labor Hours does not include sick leave, vacation, Government or contractor holidays (unless work is agreed upon by the COR), jury duty, military leave, or any other kind of administrative leave such as acts of God (e.g., hurricanes, snow storms, tornadoes, electricity or utility failures, etc.), Presidential funerals, or any other unexpected Government closures.

b. Government Holidays. The following Government holidays are normally observed by Government personnel: New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King’s Birthday, Presidential Inauguration Day (metropolitan DC area only), President’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and any other day designated by Federal Statute, Executive Order, and/or Presidential Proclamation, or any other kind of administrative leave such as acts of God (e.g., hurricanes, snow storms, tornadoes, electricity or utility failures, etc.), Presidential funerals, or any other unexpected Government closures.

14. POINT OF CONTACT

The U.S. Department of the Interior – Interior Business Center Contracting Officer (CO) shall be responsible for administering the terms and conditions of this contract. The PM shall provide all technical assistance and clarification required for the performance of tasks under this and subsequent task ordersBPA Calls. The Contracting Officer shall issue all Task orders and the COR shall monitor delivery against the Task orders, certify receipt of services upon invoicing, and certify invoices for payment.