DEMO-24-0009 Digital Incentives Draft PWS.pdf

U.S. Census Bureau: Demographic Programs Directorate Digital Incentives

Performance Work Statement (PWS) Draft – v0.9

Background

The United States Census Bureau (USCB) serves as the leading source of quality data about the nation's people and economy. Census data are used for apportionment, distribution of federal funding, monitoring of important programs, enforcement of federal law, official social/demographic/economic measurement, and many other activities throughout the nation. The Census Bureau’s major programs include the Decennial and economic censuses, demographic and economic surveys, and a wide range of reimbursable survey work conducted for other agencies.

The USCB Demographic Programs Directorate conducts more than twenty household- or school-based surveys annually. Surveys range in size from 10,000 to over 350,000 households. Many of these surveys offer incentives to foster high participant response rates to maintain overall survey data quality.

Survey incentives are generally provided under three approaches: 1) as part of the initial invitation to motivate participation in the survey, but without conditions to complete it; 2) as an appreciation upon completion of a survey; or 3) both.

The USCB is authorized by Federal law to collect data under Title 13 United States Code (U.S.C.) 8(b); and all protocols for collecting data, including those that incorporate incentives, are subject to review and approval by the Office of Management and Budget under the Paperwork Reduction Act. The USCB is required by Federal law (Title 13 U.S.C., Section 9) to protect the confidentiality of all data collected. The agency is prohibited from releasing any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) to external individuals or entities.

Purpose/Scope of Work

The UCSB intends to establish and conduct a digital incentives program that will provide incentives to USCB survey participants via a digital payment platform. The overall goal is for digital incentives be delivered instantly via an electronic method eliminating postage and printing costs.

The USCB recognizes some survey populations may not be comfortable with or have access to digital incentives. In those situations, the contractor shall provide physical incentive cards as an alternative.

The USCB cannot disclose any PII to the Contractor during all phases of the survey incentive process. PII is information that can identify an individual, household or school -- including but not limited to name, address, zip code, date of birth, email address, or phone number. Therefore, any solution that is developed or adopted must meet the strict requirements by law that the UCSB operates under to not disclose any PII.

The Contractor shall work with the USCB to establish a baseline incentives delivery service for specific survey programs that are identified through each task order.

Incentive amounts and volume will vary (ranging from about $1,000 to $2,000,000). Incentive denominations will vary per task order and at a minimum, may include any combination of $5, $10, $15, $20, $25, $30, $40, $50, $60, $75, $100, and $200 denominations. The incentive specifications provided through the task orders shall define the required tasks, schedules, and expected outcomes.

The Contractor shall provide comprehensive digital incentives and physical card incentives to the USCB, including (at minimum) but not limited to the following payment options:

• Open system digital payment options including VISA or Mastercard that can be utilized anywhere VISA or Mastercard is accepted

• Open system physical gift cards including VISA or Mastercard that can be utilized anywhere VISA or Mastercard is accepted

• Closed system digital payment options tied to specific retailers, shops, or services such as Amazon or Target (list of retailers is dependent on the options proved by the contractor)

• Closed system physical gift cards tied to specific retailers, shops, or services such as Amazon or Target (list of retailers is dependent on the options by the contractor)

Incentive Delivery Management

The Contractor will establish an incentive delivery management process for every step from when the incentive is issued through the final redemption, return, or otherwise. An expiration date to be determined by the USCB should accompany each digital reward code or physical card provided to survey participants. Once the expiration date has passed, any unredeemed digital reward codes or physical cards should either be refunded to the USCB account to be used for future purchases or returned directly to the USCB if the survey program has ended as specified in the task order.

The Contractor has the responsibility to manage the overall “Incentive Delivery” service program. This includes the following activities:

• Develop and deliver a project plan, including schedule, management approach and provisions for security and quality assurance.

• Develop a risk register and appropriate mitigation plans.

• Develop and deliver monthly status reports. Status will address progress against the project plan and include status on significant activities and status of any issues/risks and mitigation plans.

• Conduct Status (Program Management) Review for the Census Bureau and designees as required by the COR.

Digital Incentive Delivery and Logistic Tasks

The Contractor shall perform the following tasks related to digital incentives management:

• Deliver an electronic excel file of the unique tokens or digital reward codes to the USCB within 5 business days of award.

• Provide a USCB branded online redemption portal where survey participants will be directed (via a link or QR code) to use their token or digital reward code to select their digital incentive from open and closed source vendors including but not limited to Visa and Mastercard. The online redemption portal should offer both English and Spanish language options and shall be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

• Provide detailed redemption and troubleshooting instructions that the USCB can communicate to survey participants both in online and physical format.

• Enable an expiration on the digital award codes as specified in the task order.

Physical Gift Card Incentive Delivery and Logistic Tasks

The Contractor shall perform the following tasks related to physical card incentives management:

• Deliver physical gift cards and inventory spreadsheet including debit card numbers to the USCB.

• Provide detailed redemption and troubleshooting instructions that the USCB can communicate to survey participants. These instructions should be sent along with the physical card in the form of a letter, card holder, or other acceptable method.

• Provide online portal for Census to be able to view and create reports on balances, redemption dates, etc.

• Enable an expiration on the physical gift cards as specified in each task order.

Closeout Procedures for Expired Codes and Physical Cards

Upon expiration of both the digital award codes and/or the physical gift cards, the Contractor is required to return the full amount unused funds to the USCB. The funds are to be deposited into a designated agreed-upon USCB account and the funds will be verified and accepted by the designated Government personnel at the Census Bureau Finance Division.

Customer Service/Troubleshooting

The Contractor shall provide troubleshooting support for USCB survey participants who have difficulty redeeming their digital incentive as follows:

• If the survey participant has access to their digital reward code, the Contractor’s customer support solution should include both phone and online self-service troubleshooting options (in both English and Spanish) to resolve issues without requiring the disclosure of the participant’s PII. This information should be included with every incentive issued.

• Replacement incentives may be provided if troubleshooting was unsuccessful at the discretion of the USCB.

• If the survey participant does not have access to their digital reward for any reason, the Contractor’s customer support solution should redirect the participant to contact the USCB directly for further troubleshooting.

The Contractor shall provide troubleshooting support for USCB survey participants who have difficulty redeeming their physical gift card as follows:

• If the survey participant has access to their physical gift card, the Contractor’s customer support solution should include both phone and online self-service troubleshooting options (in both English and Spanish) to resolve issues without requiring the disclosure of the participant’s PII.

Deliverables

Deliverables shall be submitted to the COR for inspection, review, and acceptance. Final acceptance will occur upon COR or his or her designee’s approval through email or written method (i.e., signature). All deliverables become the property of the Federal Government. The Government will provide timely comments on deliverables, as necessary. In the event of rejection of any deliverable, the contractor will be notified, in writing by the COR, of the specific reasons why the deliverable is unacceptable.

Task/Deliverable Timeline/Due Date Project plan Prior to any task orders being submitted: Submit draft with contract offer

Risk register and mitigation plans (Contract level)

Prior to any task orders being submitted: Submit draft with contract offer

Monthly status reports Due monthly by the last business day of the month

Electronic excel file of the unique tokens or digital reward codes

Within 5 business days of award and/or file of tokens/codes sent each time we submit a task order

USCB branded online redemption portal

Prior to any task orders; should be available 14 days prior to the first task order(s) and throughout the contract period. Communicate any scheduled downtime to UCSB (for site maintenance, etc.)

Redemption and troubleshooting instructions including specific survey titles and timeframes for physical (letter, card holder) and digital rewards

Available within 30 days from contract award; should be continuously available throughout the contract period

Physical gift cards and inventory

Within 10 business days of award

Online portal for Census to be able to view and create reports on balances, redemption dates, etc.

Available within 30 days from contract award; should be continuously available throughout the contract period

Enable an expiration on the digital award codes as specified in the task order

Available within 30 days from contract award

Enable an expiration on the physical gift cards as specified in each task order

Available within 30 days from contract award

Return of expired and unused funds to USCB

Post award and post redemption of incentives; Return by monthly deposit of unused funds from the prior month

Performance Requirements Matrix

Performance Objective

Performance Standard Performance Threshold

Method of Surveillance

Monthly status reports routinely sent

Due monthly by the last business day of the month

On-time delivery with a 2-day grace period from the last day of the month

The COR, Program Leads, and Technical Points will evaluate

Electronic excel file of the unique tokens or digital reward codes

Within 5 business days of award and/or file of tokens/codes sent each time we submit a task order

100% on time delivery The COR, Program Leads, and Technical Points will evaluate

USCB branded online redemption portal available 24 hours a day

Prior to any task orders; should be available 14 days prior to the first task order(s) and throughout the contract period. Communicate any scheduled downtime to UCSB (for site maintenance, etc.)

Redemption portal should be operational 24 hours a day except due to scheduled maintenance

The COR, Program Leads, and Technical Points will evaluate

Redemption and troubleshooting instructions for physical (letter, card holder) and digital rewards

Available within 30 days from contract award; should be continuously available throughout the contract period

100% complete by the first task order;

updated by request

The COR, Program Leads, and Technical Points will evaluate

Online portal for Census to be able to view and create reports on balances, redemption dates, etc.

Available within 30 days from contract award; should be continuously available throughout the contract period

Online portal should be operational 24 hours a day except due to scheduled maintenance

The COR, Program Leads, and Technical Points will evaluate

Return of expired and unused funds to USCB

Post award and post redemption of incentives; Return by monthly deposit of unused funds from the prior month

100% of eligible funds returned to USCB

The COR, Program Leads, and Technical Points will evaluate

Deliverables Acceptance Criteria

All contractor-produced documents and documentation (‘work products’) identified throughout this document shall meet the following general acceptance criteria. Final inspection and acceptance of all work performed, reports and other deliverables will be performed at the place of delivery by the Census Bureau’s COR.

The COR will inspect the draft and final work products and deliverables within five (5) business days after receipt for completeness, accuracy, appropriateness, and format and return them to the Contractor for correction or augmentation as required. If corrections are required, the contractor shall make corrections and resubmit work product or deliverable within five business (5) days after receipt of rejected deliverable from the Government. Final acceptance will be provided by the COR in writing to the Contractor after final approval. The general acceptance criteria are as follows:

• Accuracy – Work products and deliverables shall be accurate in presentation, technical content, and adherence to accepted elements of style as described through government- provided standards (Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan).

• Technical Content - Work products shall provide expert comments on procedures, specifications and data review.

• Clarity - Work Products shall be unambiguous and relevant. Any/all diagrams shall be easy to understand and be relevant to the supporting narrative.

• Consistency to Requirements - All work products must satisfy the requirements of this statement of work.

• Format - Work products shall be submitted in hard copy (where applicable) and in electronic form using the Census Bureau’s standard word processing software (currently Microsoft 2010).

• Completeness - Work products shall be comprehensive and entirely developed as described through government-provided standards.

Government Furnished Property

The Government will not furnish any property/materials to the Contractor for the performance.

Travel

Travel is not required through this procurement.

Task Order Issuance

Each task order shall specify the following:

• Survey background

• Digital or physical incentive

• Denomination of incentive

• Quantity of incentive

• Expiration of incentive

• Delivery Deadline

• Any other pertinent information

In task order contracts, all work shall be initiated only by issuance of fully executed task orders issued by the Contracting Officer. The work to be performed under these orders must be within the scope of the contract. The Government is only liable for labor hours and costs expended under the terms and conditions of this contract to the extent that a fully executed task order has been issued and covers the required work and costs. Charges for any work not authorized shall be disallowed.

• For each task order under the contract, the Contracting Office shall send a request for quote to the contractor(s). The request will contain a detailed description of the tasks to be achieved, a schedule for completion of the task order, and deliverables to be provided by the contractor.

• The contractor shall submit a price quote defining the technical approach to be taken to complete the task order, work schedule and proposed cost/price. All price quotes will be evaluated in accordance with Section 11.3.2 of solicitation YA1323-22-KD-0030.

• After any necessary negotiations, the contractor shall submit a final quote.

• Task orders will be considered fully executed upon signature of the Contracting Officer. The contractor shall begin work on the task order in accordance with the effective date of the order.

• The contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer of any instructions or guidance given that may impact the cost, schedule or deliverables of the task order. A formal modification to the task order must be issued by the Contracting Officer before any changes can be made.

• Task orders may only be placed during the period of performance of the contract.