DRAFT PWS PDM FARM FOR REVIEW ONLY.pdf

B.2 PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

The Procurement Decision Makers (PDM) Facilitated Administration, Research & Management (FARM) Professional Services

1.0 VISION STATEMENT

To maintain a minimum 95% positive customer satisfaction experience for internal and external stakeholders through the provision of cross-functional professional services.

2.0 BACKGROUND

The Acquisition Support Team (AST) has a mandatory policy requirement to serve as a voting member on all Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) within VA for the purpose of informing the development of acquisition strategies. In this capacity AST brings to an IPT a set of capabilities and resources it offers as a value-added service to all VA Program Offices during the acquisition strategy development process. AST also has a statutory obligation to provide oversight of the agencies enterprise market research practices. Additionally, AST provides data management and data collection capabilities intended to facilitate all market intelligence data collection requirements for the agency, as well as support critical Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) specific programs such as the Secretary of the VA’s small business procurement goals management program, pursuant to the Small Business Administration’s statutory requirements.

OSDBU is committed to four core capabilities:

1. Advise VA contracting and program staff of procurement strategies that maximize opportunities for small businesses, especially Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSBs);

2. Offer training and informational resources on procurement readiness and doing business with VA;

3. Maintain professional courtesy in all forms of communication. Being deliberate in networking by considering intentions before interacting with others. Conducting thoughtful exchanges in a manner that favors the perception of politeness and reverence by the recipient and among onlookers; and

4. Provide opportunities for small businesses to engage directly with and have access to Procurement Decision Makers (PDMs).

These core capabilities align with OSDBU's customer engagement framework, Customer Service Outreach Respect and Engagement, or CORE. These core capabilities comprise some of the critical programs within OSDBU's organizational portfolio.

3.0 SCOPE

The Contractor shall provide data management expertise to facilitate the entirety of OSDBUs data management and data collection needs, which supports the VA small business procurement goals program, enterprise market intelligence and procurement support functions, forecast of contracting opportunity data collection, and risk management and quality assurance programs. Additionally, the Contractor facilitates the performance of strategic and tactical market research for VA Procurement Decision Makers (PDMs) across the entire agency over a broad range of industry sectors. To this end the Contractor will be provided with access to a questionnaire-based research data collection capability, hereafter referred to as the Request for Information (RFI) tool.

Lastly the Contractor provides total program and administrative management support for the daily operation of the AST mission areas.

4.0 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance shall be one, 12-month base period and four, 12-month option periods.

Period of Performance Projected Start Date End Date Base Period April 29, 2026 April 28, 2027 Option Period One April 29, 2027 April 28, 2028 Option Period Two April 29, 2028 April 28, 2029 Option Period Three April 29, 2029 April 28, 2030 Option Period Four April 29, 2030 April 28, 2031

5.0 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The official duty station for work performance shall be at the Contractor specified worksite. The alternate duty station for work performance shall be at 801 I St NW, Washington, DC 20001. The Government may designate specific performance requirements that must be accomplished at the alternate duty station, either on a short-term basis or permanent basis, as such needs emerge. Additionally, there are no known requirements that would prohibit the contractor from permitting its employees from telecommuting under USC Title 41 Section 3306(f). However, the Government retains the right to exercise its sovereign authority if, based on the determination of the contracting officer, a specific requirement of the agency emerges that would be adversely impacted by telecommuting. Such determinations will be made on a case-by-case basis and be limited in scope and duration to the needs of specific requirements that might arise.

Hours of Operations

The official duty station hours of operation are from 7 AM to 5:30 PM Eastern Time Monday through Friday except federal holidays.

There are eleven (11) federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA observes. Under current definitions, five holidays are set by date:

New Year’s Day January 1 Juneteenth June 19 Independence Day July 4

Veterans Day November 11 Christmas Day December 25

Under current definitions, the remaining six holidays are set by a specific day of the week or 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

Dates observed only by the District of Columbia as a holiday:

Inauguration day Saturday January 20, 2029

If any of the holidays that are set by date falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if any of the dates fall on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.

6.0 TRAVEL

There is no travel anticipated for this task order.

7.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT (GFE)

The government anticipates the issuance of up to six (6) GFE laptops under this requirement. The laptops will be issued to all onsite personnel provided they follow all general, background investigation, and training requirements outlined in paragraphs

13.0 and 14.0. The VA laptops must comply with all rules/requirements regarding patches and updates and must be returned to the COR and OSDBU property manager at the conclusion of the task order.

8.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED INFORMATION (GFI)

The Government will provide samples of deliverable reports to the Contractor and access to required data and network resources to support the performance of tasks under this requirement as needed. All procedural guides, reference materials, and program documentation for the project and other Government applications will be made available as needed and, on a need-to-know basis.

The Contractor shall use common knowledge and resourcefulness in securing all other reference materials, standard industry publications, and related materials that are pertinent to the work. The Contractor shall request other Government documentation deemed pertinent to the work accomplishment directly from the Government officials with whom the Contractor has contact. When acquiring information directly from other Government officials in the performance of tasks under this requirement the Contractor shall provide adequate disclaimers as to the identity of the Government official the

Contractor is issuing the subject request on behalf of as needed to complete assigned tasks. The Contractor shall consider the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) as the final source for needed Government documentation when the Contractor is unable to secure the documents by other means.

9.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall determine and maintain a right sized and qualified labor mix necessary to ensure successful execution of all tasks, proportionate to the realized workload, at all times throughout the life of this requirement. The Government shall bear no responsibility for determining what constitutes a right sized labor mix.

9.1 TASK 1 – PROGRAM MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

Program management support is the act of applying a forward leaning approach to ensure the effective, efficient and timely execution of all tasks identified in this PWS.

OSDBU requires program management support to successfully plan, execute, track, and complete all PWS requirements in accordance with stated contract performance standards. OSDBU requires Contractor support to successfully develop program strategic plans and associated artifacts, track, measure, and report on key performance metrics. The Contractor shall provide support for the implementation of policy guidance, facilitate the development of IPT artifacts, conduct both strategic and tactical industry market research, and enable the preparation and dissemination of training content for the OSDBU program support mission area. Additionally, OSDBU requires Contractor support to implement an Early Involvement (EI) initiative.

EI is an OSDBU program to promote awareness of OSDBU’s market research tools and industry outreach engagement methodologies, for utilization at the earliest phases of the requirements definition process. The mission of this initiative is to provide acquisition planning teams (i.e., Program Managers and Contracting Officers) with sophisticated methods for gathering market research data. It is also meant to assist novice Program Managers with ongoing strategic or tactical market research, as well as assist with improving the efficiency of workflows used by Program Managers in their preparation of actionable procurement documents.

Specific Contractor tasks include:

9.1.1 Provide program management support, in the form of data pulls and knowledge-based recommendations, for the development of EI initiative marketing material.

9.1.2 Provide program management support for performing requirements analysis and needs assessments for external Program Managers (PMs) and Procurement Decision Makers (PDMs).

9.1.3 Provide program management support, in the form of data collection and knowledge-based interpretation of data, for the development of policy content.

9.1.4 Provide data collection to support an automated RFI tool market research process utilizing survey feedback. Data received in response to a market research request for information or sources sought survey is analyzed applying advanced statistical methodologies to determine a reasonable expectation of a respondent’s quantifiable measure of alignment with specific government requirements. The total number of respondents answering any survey can range from only 4 respondents to 50 respondents.

9.1.5 The Contractor shall develop, circulate, edit, and finalize custom research questionnaires for each RFI request with the following requirements.

a) Strategic questions tailored to meet the research objectives of specific government requirements.

b) Questions will be of any structure necessary to meet research objectives, to include but not limited to (1) free text, (2) multiple choice,

(3) multiple select, (4) binary (Yes/No), or (5) value based (ranges, specific quantities);

c) Questions will be assigned a value based on their priority ranking (meaning questions whose response directly correlates to a quantifiable measure of alignment with specific government requirements);

d) Any question can be deemed a “qualifier”, meaning a must have minimum capability; and

e) Ability to offer questions that have complex conditions (question type that provides a response capability for a given X & Y condition

Additionally, the structure of survey question types and the total number thereof varies with each questionnaire and the number of questions per survey can range from only 20 questions to over 200 questions: with each requiring its own algorithm to facilitate data collection. The question types are selected to ensure adequate data collection and may include a mixed variety of structures as needed.

9.1.6 Provide Bid Protest data collection support.

This list is illustrative of the steady state task deliverables. All average quantity values and delivery frequencies are estimates only and do not represent any guarantee of actual volumes.

SUBTASK 9.1

Steady State Data Collection Outputs

Average Quantity Approximate LOE Per Each

Timeliness Standard

Early Involvement (EI) initiative marketing material

12 annually 10.780 hours Completed within 48 hours of initiating task

Early Involvement (EI) initiative requirements

12 annually 21.560 hours Finalized within 48 hours of completion analysis/needs assessments Early Involvement (EI) initiative policy content

12 annually 8.525 hours Completed within 48 hours of initiating task

Market Research RFI Data Collection

55 annually 21.560 hours Finalized within 48 hours of completion

Market Research RFI Questionnaires

55 annually 8.525 hours Finalized within 48 hours of completion

Provide Bid Protest Data Collection Support

12 annually 8.525 hours Finalized within 48 hours of completion

Deliverables:

9.1.1 Monthly Early Involvement (EI) initiative marketing material

9.1.2 Monthly Early Involvement (EI) initiative requirements analysis/needs assessments

9.1.3 Early Involvement (EI) initiative policy content

9.1.4 Market Research RFI Data Collection

9.1.5 Market Research RFI Questionnaires

9.1.6 Provide Bid Protest Data Collection Support

9.2 TASK 2 – MARKET RESEARCH SUPPORT

The Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), in accordance with Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 USC § 644(k)(10)), is required to conduct procurement reviews of proposed acquisition strategies and to make recommendations with respect to their anticipated impact on small business participation as prime and subcontractors. Small business program reviews are intended to ensure that Veteran-owned small businesses are considered in procurement strategies based on adequate market research. OSDBU does not approve or disapprove procurements. It provides recommendations on most appropriate acquisition strategy considering small business, based on market research.

OSDBU also serves as a voting member of Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) for all acquisitions valued above $7 million (including options) within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). IPTs are also required for complex acquisitions valued at less than $7 million when there is considerable technical, program, or business risk to the Government. IAW 15 USC § 644(e)(2) and VA Procurement Policy Memorandum (VA PPM) 2017-05 the IPT must produce documented market research.

Additionally, OSDBU leadership relies on data driven decision making to facilitate organizational strategy planning.

Lastly, nonmanufacturer firms may qualify as a small business concern for a https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:15%20section:644%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section644)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=(title:15%20section:644%20edition:prelim)%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title15-section644)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true https://www.va.gov/oal/docs/business/pps/ppm201705.pdf requirement to provide manufactured products or other supply items as a nonmanufacturer if it meets qualification requirements of 13 CFR 121.406(b) to include obtaining a nonmanufacturer rule (NMR) waiver of such requirement pursuant to paragraph (b)(5) of this section. For a multiple item procurement, a contracting officer must determine that no small business manufacturer or processor reasonably can be expected to offer each item for which a waiver is sought. The contracting officer must include a narrative describing market research and supporting documentation.

Specific Contractor tasks include:

9.2.1 Provide procurement review market research support. OSDBU conducts on average 1,071 procurement reviews annually. It is estimated that 20% of the total received baseline market research submitted for initial assessment falls into a category requiring greater focus area assessment (i.e., proposed procurement involving sole source, brand name, limitations on subcontracting). It is further estimated that of the focus area assessment actions 50% of these require independent market research validation.

9.2.1.1 Conduct initial research assessment (i.e., to answer the question of whether the proposed acquisition strategy reasonably appears to be a logical conclusion of the research submitted for review).

9.2.1.2 Conduct focus area assessment (i.e., sole source, brand name, limitations on subcontracting)

9.2.2 Provide integrated project team (IPT) market research support. OSDBU participates on average in 73 IPTs annually. It is estimated that 75% of the annual IPTs require meaningful market research documentation of acquisition strategy alternatives.

9.2.2.1 Conduct analytics of acquisition strategy alternatives

9.2.3 Provide ad hoc market research support.

9.2.3.1 Process Executive Director data collection and response requests. These requests are received and processed through either informal processes or formal processes in accordance with assignment processing as described in section 9.3.10 below for operational support.

9.2.4 Provide nonmanufacturer rule (NMR) market research support

(OPTIONAL).

This list is illustrative of the steady state task deliverables. All average quantity values and delivery frequencies are estimates only and do not represent any guarantee of

SUBTASK 9.2

Average Quantity Approximate LOE Per Each

Timeliness Standard https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-I/part-121/subpart-A/subject-group-ECFR0fca5207262de47/section-121.406#p-121.406(b) https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/section-121.406#p-121.406(b)(5)

Initial research assessment

1,071 annually 0.750 hours Completed within 2 business days of 2268 submission

Focus area assessment

107 annually 0.250 hours Completed within 2 business days of 2268 submission

Analytics of acquisition strategy alternatives

55 annually 8.525 hours Completed within 5 business days of initiating task

Executive Director data calls

12 annually (Variable)

8.525 hours Completed within 2 business days of initiating task

(OPTIONAL) NMR

market research support

1 annually (Variable)

21.560 hours Completed within 14 business days of initiating task

9.2.1.1 Initial research assessment

9.2.1.2 Focus area assessment

9.2.2.1 Analytics of acquisition strategy alternatives

9.2.3.1 Executive Director data calls

9.2.4 NMR market research support (OPTIONAL)

9.3 TASK 3 – OPERATIONAL SUPPORT

OSDBU requires support to ensure the continuity of all daily operational activities for the program support mission area.

Specific Contractor tasks include:

9.3.1 Provide administrative support, in the form of data pulls and recordkeeping, for tracking and reporting the award of all new VA contracts.

9.3.2 Provide administrative support for the development of content, in the form of data collection and knowledge-based interpretation of data, for 36 to 48 annually recurring outreach events.

9.3.3 Provide administrative support for the development of all program specific standard operating procedures, in the form of written sequences of activities intended to ensure quality and consistent outcomes through repeatable processes.

9.3.4 Provide administrative support for the preparation and dissemination of outgoing market research email notifications.

9.3.5 Provide administrative support for monitoring and assigning incoming support requests (i.e., 2268, market research, and IPT). The Contractor shall receive, assess, assign, track, and closeout reviewable procurement packages for the Procurement Review Team (PRT). 2268 procurement review requests shall be received, assigned, tracked and closed-out in accordance with the current 2268 Assignments Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). The submitted 2268 procurement review request will be assessed for assignment as outlined in the Procurement Review Program (PRP) policy for all procurements not set-aside for Veteran-owned small businesses within the Small Business Focus Categories (SBFC).

9.3.6 Provide administrative support for tracking and maintaining all customer relationship management interactions (CO, SBL, IPT Chairs, PDMs, and industry).

9.3.7 Provide administrative support for the preparation and maintenance of various activity logs (i.e. 2268, market research, scorecards, correspondence follow-up, business engagement follow-up and IPT). This includes logs maintained in any format (i.e. Excel, SharePoint etc.) associated with all AST activities and acquisition related inquiries.

9.3.8 Provide administrative support for developing reports on the performance, effectiveness, and trends of all program support activities (i.e., 2268, market research, scorecards, correspondence follow-up, business engagement follow-up, IPT, subcontract plan reviews, and early involvement).

9.3.9 Provide administrative support for facilitating outreach, in the form of telephone and email correspondence, for the purpose of confirming the causes of contracting payment issues (i.e., late payments).

9.3.10 Provides administrative support for processing VA Integrated Enterprise Workflow Solution (VIEWS) assignments in the form of drafting correspondence and editing content provided by Federal staff and routing to the OSDBU front office staff.

This list is illustrative of the steady state task deliverables. All average quantity values and delivery frequencies are estimates only and do not represent any guarantee of

SUBTASK 9.3

Average Quantity

Approximate LOE Per Each

Timeliness Standard

Monthly new contracts award report

12 annually 43.120 hours Finalized within 48 hours of completion

Monthly outreach event content

12 annually 8.620 hours Completed within 48 hours of initiating task

Standard operating procedures

1 annually and update as needed

43.120 hours Finalized within 48 hours of completion

Daily market research email notifications

55 annually 1.080 hours Completed within 4 hours of receiving assignment

Daily incoming support and 2268 requests assignment

1,071 annually 0.750 hours Assigned by close of business on the date of receipt

Daily customer relationship management interactions

251 annually 0.540 hours Completed within 48 hours of initiating task

Daily activity and 2268 log submissions (Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual 2268 status reports)

320 annually 0.834 hours Completed within 48 hours of initiating task

Quarterly program support activities performance reports (i.e., 2268, market research, IPT)

4 annually 43.120 hours Finalized within 48 hours of completion

Semi-weekly outreach contracting payment report

104 annually 2.160 hours Completed within 48 hours of initiating task

VIEWS/Correspondence Assignments

14 annually 24.00 hours Completed within 72 hours of initiating task

9.3.1 Monthly new contracts award report

9.3.2 Monthly outreach event content

9.3.3 Standard operating procedures

9.3.4 Daily market research email notifications

9.3.5 Daily incoming support requests assignment

9.3.6 Daily customer relationship management interactions

9.3.7 Daily activity and 2268 log submissions (Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual 2268 status reports)

9.3.8 Quarterly program support activities performance reports

9.3.9 Semi-weekly outreach contracting payment report

9.3.10 Views/Correspondence Assignments

9.4 TASK 4 – BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT SUPPORT

The Contractor shall provide general business and management support to track, measure, and report on market research, compliance requirements, implementation of policy guidance, and enable preparation and dissemination of training content for the OSDBU program support mission area.

Specific Contractor tasks include:

9.4.1 Provide interpretation of data requirements to assist with market research recommendations that focus on business type demographics.

9.4.2 Conduct objective "micro measures” to add more fidelity in assessing data alignment (criteria to be balanced at the response level with the distribution of these weights being configurable by user) allowing the ability to see visual comparisons by business type and to export for inclusion in reports.

9.4.3 Provide management support, in the form of data collection and knowledge-based interpretation of data, for reporting on contract awards not set-aside for small business.

This list is illustrative of the steady state task deliverables. All average quantity values and delivery frequencies are estimates only and do not represent any guarantee of

SUBTASK 9.4

Average Quantity Approximate LOE Per Each

Timeliness Standard

Market Research Analysis Recommendations

18 annually 21.560 hours Completed within 72 hours of initiating task

Micro Measure Comparison Reports

30 annually 21.560 hours Completed within 72 hours of initiating task

Small Business Set- Aside Reports

12 annually 21.560 hours Completed within 72 hours of

9.4.1 Market Research Data Collection Recommendations

9.4.2 Micro Measure Comparison Reports

9.4.3 Small Business Set-Aside Reports

9.5 RAPID RESPONSE RESOURCING (OPTIONAL)

OSDBU requires the capability to temporarily resource to meet emergent support for any one or all previous tasks required above normal operations and Enterprise-wide Analytics support outlined below. The Contractor shall provide additional resources, of equivalent technical capability, to meet surge requirements in support of the support tasks, subtasks and associate subtask elements listed above. The Contracting Officers Representative (COR) shall notify the Contracting Officer (CO) of a requirement to exercise this optional support at the earliest identification of such need. The CO shall notify the Contractor of the government’s intent to exercise this optional support. The Contractor shall provide the requisite resources within 30 calendar days, only after being notified by the CO that this optional support has been officially exercised.

The Government estimates that up to two FTE’s may be required for these optional services on a monthly basis. The Government will determine the level of effort needed at the time this optional CLIN is exercised.

9.5 Monthly Rapid Response Resourcing

TASK 5 – ENTERPRISE-WIDE ANALYTICS

OSDBU requires professional services for data collection and analysis support to determine trends, track key performance indicators, measure real-time statistics, utilize business intelligence and develop forecasts for all OSDBU organizational programs.

The OSDBU process has been historically supported by a database repository built on Microsoft Dynamics Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 2015 and migrated to Microsoft’s Dynamics 365. Both CRM 2015 and Dynamics 365 include customized, advanced find capabilities, which allows users with the appropriate security role, to build a search-based query against the various SQL database tables to extract information.

The Output of these “queries” can be reflected as “lists” or “charts” and when strung together, as desired, can be displayed via a specific Dashboard. Microsoft CRM provides the ability to create and share personal dashboards amongst various users but also provides the ability to create permission-based system dashboards. Dynamics 365 also provides native integration with Microsoft Power BI and can accept Application Programming Interfaces (API’s) from similar business intelligence platforms to provide enhanced dashboarding functionality.

Specific tasks include:

9.5.1 Provide data collection and analysis by processing and analyzing large and diverse datasets to discover hidden patterns, correlations, insights, and other business information that support all facets of OSDBU management decision making.

9.5.2 Prepare analytics reports, data visualizations, predictive analytics, machine learning implementation, datasets and presentation briefings to support all facets of OSDBU management decision making.

This list is illustrative of certain steady state task deliverables. All average quantity values and delivery frequencies are estimates only and do not represent any guarantee of actual volumes.

TASK 9.5

Steady State Analysis Outputs

Average Quantity

Approximate LOE Per Each

Timeliness Standard

Data Collection and Analytics

12 annually 14.593 hours Completed within 48 hours of initiating task

Data Analytics Reports 12 annually 3.3203 hours Completed within 48 hours of

9.5.1 Data Collection and Analytics

9.5.2 Data Analytics Reports

10.0 SCHEDULE OF DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall provide deliverables in electronic format, unless otherwise directed by the COR. Acceptable electronic media include MS Word 2007, MS Excel 2007, MS PowerPoint 2007, MS Project 2007, MS Access 2007, MS Visio 2007, and Adobe Postscript Data Format (PDF).

Number Name Frequency Annual

Quantity

9.1.1 Monthly Early Involvement (EI) initiative

marketing material Annually 12

9.1.2 Monthly Early Involvement (EI) initiative

requirements analysis/needs assessments

Annually 12

9.1.3 Early Involvement (EI) initiative policy

content

Annually 12

9.1.4 Market Research RFI Data Collection Annually 55

9.1.5 Market Research RFI Questionnaires Annually 55

9.1.6 Provide Bid Protest Data Collection

Support Annually 12

9.2.1.1 Initial assessment Annually 1,071

9.2.1.2 Focus area assessment Annually 107

9.2.2.1 Analytics of acquisition strategy

alternatives Annually 55

9.2.3.1 Executive Director data calls Annually 12

9.2.4 NMR market research support

(OPTIONAL)

Annually TBD

9.3.1 Monthly new contracts award report Annually 12

9.3.2 Monthly outreach event content Annually 12

9.3.3 Standard operating procedures Annually 1

9.3.4 Daily market research email notifications Annually 55

9.3.5 Daily incoming support requests

assignment Variable 1,071

9.3.6 Daily customer relationship management

interactions

Annually 251

9.3.7 Daily activity and 2268 log submissions

(Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual 2268 status reports)

Annually 320

9.3.8 Quarterly program support activities

performance reports

Annually 4

9.3.9 Semi-weekly outreach contracting

payment report

Annually 104

9.3.10 Views/Correspondence Assignments Annually 14

9.4.1 Market Research Data Collection

Recommendations Annually 18

9.4.2 Micro Measure Comparison Reports Annually 30

9.4.3 Small Business Set-Aside Reports Annually 12

9.5 Monthly Rapid Response Resourcing

(OPTIONAL)

Optional TBD

9.5.1 Data Collection and Analytics

(OPTIONAL)

Optional TBD

9.5.2 Data Analytics Reports (OPTIONAL) Optional TBD

11.0 SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

This section describes the special requirements for this effort. The following sub-sections provide details of various considerations on this effort.

11.1 INHERENTLY GOVERNMENTAL FUNCTIONS

The Contractor shall manage and supervise its personnel. This contract is for non-personal services. Nothing in the PWS shall be construed as authorizing or directing the Contractor to perform an Inherently Governmental Function (IGF) as defined by the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) Policy Letter 11-01. Tasks executed by the Contractor shall be considered recommendations subject to the review and approval by the Government. Contractor personnel shall not perform any IGF as detailed in FAR

7.503. Contractor personnel shall serve in a support role; final decisions will be made by Government personnel.

11.2 PERSONNEL REQUIREMENTS

All Contractor personnel shall be fully qualified, possessing required certification, and have skill sets and the level of experience necessary to accomplish the requirements of this PWS. In addition, Contractor personnel shall be acceptable to the Government in terms of personal and professional conduct, and technical knowledge. All initial Contractor personnel's task specific training shall be conducted within the first 30 business days of contract award.

The Government reserves the right to waive requirements on a case-by-case basis. Any waivers for minimum education and experience requirements must be approved in writing by the Contracting Officer (CO).

This task order includes key personnel and non-key personnel which are outlined in the table below. All key personnel and non-key personnel shall meet the minimum qualifications for education and experience as described in the VECTOR base contract and task order specific requirements as listed below.

TASK

NUMBER

Minimum Technical Capabilities Minimum Qualifications

Task(s) 9.1 The Program Management Support task and subtasks requires expert level capability utilizing the full Microsoft suite of applications (i.e., MS Word, MS

Required Years of Experience for Program Management Support (Key Personnel):

PowerPoint, MS Excel, MS Excel Pivot, MS Access etc.).

Eight (8) years’ experience performing work relevant to the PWS task requirements and are reflective of applying the minimum technical capabilities (in the previous column).

Required Education:

Bachelor’s degree in a field of study relevant to the PWS task requirements.

Greater levels of professional/technical expertise relevant to the PWS task requirements may be substituted for education, upon the Contractors expressed intent to.

Task(s) 9.2 The Market Research Support task and subtasks requires expert level capability utilizing the full Microsoft suite of applications (i.e., MS Word, MS

Required Years of Experience for Market Research Support (Key Personnel):

Eight (8) years’ experience performing work relevant to the PWS task requirements and are reflective of applying the minimum technical capabilities (in the previous column).

Required Education:

Bachelor’s degree in a field of study relevant to the PWS task requirements.

Greater levels of professional/technical expertise relevant to the PWS task requirements may be substituted for education, Task(s) 9.3 The Operational Support task and subtasks requires expert level capability utilizing the full Microsoft suite of applications (i.e., MS Word, MS

Required Years of Experience for Operational Support (Key Personnel):

Eight (8) years’ experience performing work relevant to the PWS task requirements and are reflective of applying the minimum technical capabilities (in the previous column).

Required Education:

Bachelor’s degree in a field of study relevant to the PWS task requirements.

Greater levels of professional/technical expertise relevant to the PWS task requirements may be substituted for education, Task (s) 9.4

The Business and Management Support task and subtasks requires expert level capability utilizing the full Microsoft suite of applications (i.e. MS Word, MS PowerPoint, MS Excel, MS Excel Pivot, MS Access etc.).

Experience for Business and Management Support (Key Personnel):

Eight (8) years’ experience performing work relevant to the PWS task requirements and are reflective of applying the minimum technical capabilities (in the previous column).

Required Education:

Bachelor’s degree in a field of study relevant to the PWS task requirements.

Greater levels of professional/technical expertise relevant to the PWS task requirements may be substituted for education, Task (s) 9.5

The Enterprise-wide Analytics task and subtasks requires expert level capability utilizing the full Microsoft suite

Experience for Enterprise-of applications (i.e. MS Word, MS wide Analytics (Key Personnel):

Eight (8) years’ experience performing work relevant to the PWS task requirements and are reflective of applying the minimum technical capabilities (in the previous column).

Required Education:

Bachelor’s degree in a field of study relevant to the PWS task requirements.

Greater levels of professional/technical expertise relevant to the PWS task requirements may be substituted for education,

12.0 KEY PERSONNEL

The Contractor shall be responsible for managing and overseeing the activities of all Contractor personnel, as well as subcontractor efforts, used in performance of this effort. Contractor management responsibilities shall include all activities necessary to ensure the accomplishment of timely and effective support, performed in accordance with the requirements contained in the PWS. Contractor personnel shall have the level of experience necessary to accomplish the requirements of this PWS. In addition, Contractor personnel shall be acceptable to the Government in terms of personal and professional conduct, and in technical knowledge. Furthermore, Contractor personnel are expected to be proficient in using office automation equipment and software and have sufficient written and verbal communication skills to support VA program offices, program offices’ customers and any other VA organizations. Should any Contractor personnel be determined unacceptable in terms of technical competency or unacceptable personal conduct, the Contractor shall immediately remove and replace the unacceptable personnel at no additional cost to the Government. inherently

Certain skilled, experienced professional and/or technical personnel are essential for accomplishing the work to be performed. These individuals are defined as “Key Personnel” and are those persons whose résumés are submitted and marked by the vendor as “Key Personnel”. Substitutions shall only be accepted if in compliance with the “Substitution of Key Personnel” provision below.

The following personnel shall be designated by the Contractor as Key Personnel and shall meet the qualification listed in the table of Section 11.2:

Key Personnel Positions Name

Substitution of Key Personnel: All Contractor requests for approval of substitutions hereunder shall be submitted in writing to the CO at least 15 calendar days in advance of the effective date of a key person’s departure, whenever possible, and shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution, a complete résumé for the proposed substitute, and any other information requested by the CO necessary to approve or disapprove the proposed substitution. New personnel shall not commence work until all necessary security requirements have been fulfilled and résumé provided and accepted. The CO will evaluate such requests and promptly notify the Contractor of approval or disapproval in writing. Any substituted personnel shall have the equivalent or better education, experience, and credentials than the personnel submitted with the proposal, and are subject to COR and CO review and concurrence.

13.0 POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S)

The position sensitivity and the level of background investigation commensurate with the required level of access for all tasks within the Performance Work Statement is Low/NACI.

Position Sensitivity

Background Investigation (in accordance with Department of Veterans Affairs 0710 Handbook, “Personnel Security Suitability Program,” Appendix A)

Low National Agency Check with Written Inquiries (NACI) A NACI is conducted by OPM and covers a 5-year period. It consists of a review of records contained in the OPM Security Investigations Index (SII) and the DOD Defense Central Investigations Index (DCII), FBI name check, FBI fingerprint check, and written inquiries to previous employers and references listed on the application for employment. In VA it is used for Non-sensitive or Low Risk positions.

The Tasks identified above, and the resulting Position Sensitivity and Background Investigation requirements identify, in effect, the Background Investigation requirements for Contractor individuals, based upon the tasks the particular Contractor individual will be working. The submitted Contractor Staff Roster must indicate the required Background Investigation Level for each Contractor individual based upon the tasks the Contractor individual will be working, in accordance with their submitted proposal.

14.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

14.1 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Contractor Responsibilities:

a. The Contractor shall prescreen all personnel requiring access to the computer systems to ensure they maintain the appropriate Background Investigation.

b. The Contractor shall bear the expense of obtaining background investigations.

c. Within 3 business days after award, the Contractor shall provide a roster of Contractor and Subcontractor employees to the COR to begin their background investigations. The roster shall contain the Contractor’s Full Name, Full Social Security Number, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, and individual background investigation level requirement.

d. The Contractor should coordinate the location of the nearest VA fingerprinting office through the COR. Only electronic fingerprints are authorized.

e. For a Low-Risk designation, the following forms are required to be completed:

(1) Optional Form (OF) 306;

(2) Self-Certification Form;

(3) VA Form 0710; and

(4) DVA Memorandum for Electronic Fingerprints

f. The Contractor personnel will receive an email notification from the Security and Investigation Center (SIC), through the Electronics Questionnaire for Investigations Processes (e-QIP) identifying the website link that includes detailed instructions regarding completion of the investigation documents (NACI- SF85). The Contractor personnel shall submit all required information related to their background investigations utilizing the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP).

g. The Contractor shall complete the e-QIP questionnaire and digitally sign e-QIP within 7 days of receipt of initiation email. The Contractor shall print the signature pages, and send them to the COR for electronic submission to the SIC. These should be submitted to the COR within 7 days of receipt of the e-QIP notification email.

h. The Contractor shall be responsible for the actions of all personnel provided to work for VA under this contract. In the event that damages arise from work performed by Contractor provided personnel, under the auspices of this contract, the Contractor shall be responsible for all resources necessary to remedy the incident.

i. A Contractor may be granted unescorted access to VA facilities and/or access to

VA Information Technology resources (network and/or protected data) with a favorably adjudicated Special Agreement Check (SAC) or “Closed, No Issues” (SAC) fingerprint results, training delineated in VA Handbook 6500.6 (Appendix C, Section 9), and, the signed “Contractor Rules of Behavior.” However, the Contractor will be responsible for the actions of the Contractor personnel they provide to perform work for VA. The investigative history for Contractor personnel working under this contract must be maintained in the database of the Office of

Personnel Management (OPM).

j. The Contractor, when notified of an unfavorably adjudicated background investigation on a Contractor employee as determined by the Government, shall withdraw the employee from consideration in working under the contract.

Failure to comply with the Contractor personnel security investigative requirements may result in termination of the contract for default.

15.0 TASK ORDER PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND METRICS

Performance Standards define required performance for specific tasks. The Government performs surveillance to determine if the Contractor exceeds, meets or does not meet these standards. The Government may utilize the Performance Based Service Assessment Survey (per base VECTOR IDIQ contract; also see ATTACHMENT A) or other methods to compare Contractor performance to the Acceptable Performance Levels (APLS) – see table below.

a. Methods of Surveillance: Various methods exist to monitor performance. The COR shall use any or several of the surveillance methods listed below in the administration of this QASP.

i. 100% Inspection (evaluates all outcomes) - Each month, the COR shall review all of the Contractor's performance/generated documentation and document results accordingly. This assessment shall be placed in the COR's QA file.

ii. Random Sample - The COR shall review a random sampling of the

Contractor's performance/generated documentation and document your results accordingly. This assessment shall be placed in the COR's QA file.

iii. Validated Customer Complaint or Validated Below Average ALP in a Specific

Area - Each month, the COR shall review the Contractor's performance/generated documentation corresponding to a validated customer complaint or validated inability to perform in accordance with the ALP in a specific area and document your results accordingly. This assessment shall be placed in the COR's QA file.

b. Frequency of Measurement: During task order performance, the COR will periodically analyze whether the negotiated frequency of surveillance is appropriate for the work being performed, and at a minimum shall be twice a year.

c. Acceptable Performance Levels (APLS)

Deliverable or Requirement

Performance Standard Surveillance Method

Outcome

9.1 a) Quality: 100% of What:

Program Management Support performance

b) Timeliness: 100% of work assignments to be done IAW PWS section 9.1

c) Timeliness: All deliverables shall be provided for Government acceptance not less than two (2) business days prior to the prescribed due date.

Deliverables How: Routine cross-checks Frequency:

Quarterly Who: Alternate and primary COR

9.2 Market Research Support

a) Quality: 100% of

b) Timeliness: 100% of work assignments to be done IAW PWS section 9.2

c) Timeliness: All deliverables shall be provided for Government acceptance not less than two (2) business

What:

How: Routine cross-checks Frequency:

Quarterly

9.3 Operational Support

a) Quality: 100% of the work products to be accurate and error free

b) Timeliness: 100% of work assignments to be done IAW PWS section 9.3

c) Timeliness: All deliverables shall be provided for Government acceptance not less than two (2) business days prior to the prescribed due date.

d) Timeliness: Any 2268 package received no later than 30 minutes prior to close of business (COB) must be assigned to a review team prior to COB.

e) Timeliness: Monitor and assign 2268 Small Business Program and Contract Bundling Review packages to a review team promptly upon receipt.

f) Compliance: Submit daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, What:

Deliverables How: Routine cross-checks Frequency: Upon delivery and annual 2268 status reports utilizing current VA OSDBU format and procedures.

9.4 Business and Management Support

a) Quality: 100% of work

b) Timeliness: 100% of the work to be done according to the timeline assigned by the Program Manager

c) Timeliness: All deliverables shall be provided for Government acceptance not less than two (2) business

How: Routine cross-checks Frequency: Upon delivery

9.5 Enterprise-wide Analytics (OPTIONAL)

a) Quality: 100% of work

b) Timeliness: 100% of the work to be done according to the timeline assigned by the Program Manager

c) Timeliness: All deliverables shall be provided for Government acceptance not less than two (2) business

How: Routine cross-checks Frequency: Upon delivery

d. Documenting Performance

i. Acceptable Performance: The Government shall document acceptable performance in accordance with the chart above. Any report may become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action.

ii. Unacceptable Performance: When unacceptable performance occurs, the

COR shall inform the CO. This will always be in writing although when circumstances necessitate immediate verbal communication, that communication will be followed in writing. The COR shall document the discussion and place it in the COR file. When the CO determines formal written communication is required, the COR shall prepare a Contract Discrepancy Report (CDR) and present it to the Contractor's program manager. The Contractor shall acknowledge receipt of the CDR in writing to the CO. The CDR will state how long after receipt the Contractor has to take corrective action. The CDR will also specify if the Contractor is required to prepare a corrective action plan to document how the Contractor shall correct the unacceptable performance and avoid a recurrence. The CO shall review the Contractor's corrective action plan to determine acceptability. Any CDRs may become a part of the supporting documentation for any contractual action deemed necessary by the CO.

16.0 FACILITY/RESOURCE PROVISION

The government will provide office space, telephone service, and system access when authorized contractor staff work at a government location as required in accomplishing the tasks associated with this PWS. The government will provide access to necessary equipment for onsite contractor staff, including monitors, a keyboard, and a CPU, and access to printing, scanning, and copying.

VA will provide remote access to VA specific systems/network in accordance with VA Handbook 6500, which requires the use of a VA approved method to connect external equipment/systems to VA's network. Citrix Access Gateway (CAG) is the current and only VA approved method for remote access users when using or manipulating VA information for official VA Business. VA permits CAG remote access through approved Contractor Furnished Equipment (CFE) provided the equipment meets all applicable 6500 Handbook requirements for Government Furnished Equipment (GFE). All of the security controls required for Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) must be utilized in approved CFE. The contractor shall provide proof to the COR for review and approval that their CFE meets the VA Handbook 6500 requirements and VA Handbook 6500.6 Appendix C, herein incorporated into the PWS, before use. CAG authorized users shall not be permitted to copy, print or save any VA information accessed via CAG at any time.

The contractor shall not transmit, store or otherwise maintain sensitive data or products in contractor systems (or media) outside the VA firewall IAW VA Handbook 6500.6 dated March 12, 2010. All VA sensitive information shall be protected at all times in accordance with VA Handbook 6500, local security field office System Security Plans (SSP) and Authorities to Operate (ATO) for all systems/LANs accessed while performing the tasks detailed in this PWS. For detailed security and privacy requirements refer to VA Information and Information System Security/Privacy.

17.0 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST

1. It is recognized by the parties that the efforts to be performed by the contractor under this contract are of such a nature that they may create a potential organizational conflict of interest as contemplated by Subpart 9.5 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).