DRAFT PWS - People Readiness Training License v6.docx

People Readiness Training Platform License Procurement

VA-24-00034989

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Information & Technology Office of People Science People Readiness

People Readiness Training Platform License Procurement

Date: August 27, 2024

VA-24-00034989

PWS Version Number: 6.6

Contents

BACKGROUND

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has a formidable mission: to provide quality, cost-efficient, and timely care and benefits to America’s 22 million Veterans. These benefits and services require an effective—and secure—digital infrastructure. The VA’s Office of Information and Technology (OIT) works to ensure the agency has the necessary Information Technology (IT) tools, services, and infrastructure to support our nation’s Veterans, including safeguarding the private medical and personal information they entrust with the Department. This is an increasingly difficult mandate in today’s environment where VA cyber professionals prevent or mitigate threats constantly.

The mission of the Office of People Science’s (OPS), People Readiness (PR) is to provide high quality, effective, and efficient professional development and training services to those responsible for providing care to the Veterans at the point-of-care as well as throughout all the points of the Veterans’ health care in an effective, timely, and compassionate manner. VA depends on Information Management/Information Technology (IM/IT) systems to meet mission goals.

PR developed and established Skills Based Assessments to develop and link training to work roles in VA’s Learning Management System (LMS). PR developed career development tools and created work role assignments based of the General Schedule (GS) 2210 job series and the varied IT work roles throughout OIT. The Work Roles clearly identify skills that an OIT professional should possess to do his/her job successfully which will include the relevant training content that supports the desired proficiency level of the position.

The work roles have been populated into VA’s TMS, and each role requires associated training. Continuing in its efforts to provide professional development for the entire OIT workforce and to further develop the Work Role Skills Based program, PR plans to develop new roles for the remaining OIT staff in support functions.

Workforce initiatives are complementary and are centered on skills-based assessment, proficiency identification, and training programs to fill the proficiency gaps. To that end, VA requires a commercially developed training platform with licenses to provide on-going training and development of the various workforce roles in this area. The continued strategic alignment within OIT will assure coordination of changes in areas such as:

1. VA policies

2. Organization

3. Staff training

4. Equipment

5. Supervisor education and incentives

6. Personnel and facilities required for full realization of the expected benefits of investing in IT solutions

Training provides a wide variety of benefits to VA. Some of these benefits are as follows:

1. Increases productivity and efficiency

2. Decreases system downtime and increases overall savings

3. Empowers staff and improves service to Veterans

4. Increases employee development to drive results

5. Improves internal customer satisfaction

6. Increases employee retention

PR works to provide training to OIT professionals and supervisors to better serve our nation’s Veterans, their families, and internal and external stakeholders by providing the services necessary in today’s electronically networked world. Through procurement of this solution, VA will be able to accommodate these training needs in the most efficient manor.

APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

In the performance of the tasks associated with this Performance Work Statement, the Contractor shall comply with the following:

1. 44 U.S.C. § 3541-3549, “Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002”

2. “Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014”

3. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 140-2, “Security Requirements for Cryptographic Modules”

4. FIPS Pub 199. “Standards for Security Categorization of Federal Information and Information Systems,” February 2004

5. FIPS Pub 200, “Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems,” March 2006

6. FIPS Pub 201-2, “Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors,” August 2013

7. 10 U.S.C. § 2224, "Defense Information Assurance Program"

8. 5 U.S.C. § 552a, as amended, “The Privacy Act of 1974”

9. Public Law 109-461, Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, Title IX, Information Security Matters

10. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”

11. VA Directive 0710, “Personnel Security and Suitability Program,” June 4, 2010, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

12. VA Handbook 0710, “Personnel Security and Suitability Program,” May 2, 2016, https://www.va.gov/vapubs/index.cfm

13. VA Directive and Handbook 6102, “Internet/Intranet Services,” August 5, 2019

14. 36 C.F.R. Part 1194 “Information and Communication Technology Standards and Guidelines,” January 18, 2017

15. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-130, “Managing Federal Information as a Strategic Resource,” July 28, 2016

16. 32 C.F.R. Part 199, “Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS)”

17. NIST SP 800-66 Rev. 1, “An Introductory Resource Guide for Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule,” October 2008

18. Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended, January 18, 2017

19. Homeland Security Presidential Directive (12) (HSPD-12), August 27, 2004

20. VA Directive 6500, “VA Cybersecurity Program,” February 24, 2021

21. VA Handbook 6500, “Risk Management Framework for VA Information Systems VA Information Security Program,” February 24, 2021

22. VA Handbook 6500.2, “Management of Breaches Involving Sensitive Personal Information (SPI),” March 12, 2019

23. VA Handbook 6500.5, “Incorporating Security and Privacy into the System Development Lifecycle,” March 22, 2010

24. VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security,” March 12, 2010

25. VA Handbook 6500.8, “Information System Contingency Planning,” April 6, 2011

26. VA Handbook 6500.10, “Mobile Device Security Policy,” February 15, 2018

27. VA Handbook 6500.11, “VA Firewall Configuration,” August 22, 2017

28. OIT Process Asset Library (PAL), https://www.va.gov/process/ . Reference Process Maps at https://www.va.gov/process/maps.asp and Artifact templates at https://www.va.gov/process/artifacts.asp

29. One-VA Technical Reference Model (TRM) (reference at https://www.va.gov/trm/TRMHomePage.aspx)

30. VA Directive 6508, “Implementation of Privacy Threshold Analysis and Privacy Impact Assessment,” October 15, 2014

31. VA Handbook 6508.1, “Procedures for Privacy Threshold Analysis and Privacy Impact Assessment,” July 30, 2015

32. VA Handbook 6510, “VA Identity and Access Management,” January 15, 2016

33. VA Directive and Handbook 6513, “Secure External Connections,” October 12, 2017

34. VA Directive 6300, “Records and Information Management,” September 21, 2018

35. VA Handbook, 6300.1, “Records Management Procedures,“ March 24, 2010

36. NIST SP 800-37 Rev 2, “Risk Management Framework for Information Systems and Organizations: A System Life Cycle Approach for Security and Privacy,” December 2018

37. NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5, “Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Information Systems and Organizations,” September 23, 2020 (includes updates as of 12/10/2020)

38. VA Directive 0735, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) Program,” October 26, 2015

39. VA Handbook 0735, “Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) Program,” March 24, 2014

40. OMB Memorandum 05-24, “Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 – Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors,” August 5, 2005

41. OMB Memorandum M-19-17, “Enabling Mission Delivery Through Improved Identity, Credential, and Access Management,” May 21, 2019

42. OMB Memorandum, “Guidance for Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 Implementation,” May 23, 2008

43. Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management (FICAM) Roadmap and Implementation Guidance, December 2, 2011, (NOTE: Part A of the FICAM Roadmap and Implementation Guidance, v2.0, was replaced in 2015 with an updated Architecture (https://arch.idmanagement.gov/#what-is-the-ficam-architecture)

44. NIST SP 800-116 Rev 1, “Guidelines for the Use of Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Credentials in Facility Access,“ June 2018

45. NIST SP 800-63-3, 800-63A, 800-63B, 800-63C, “Digital Identity Guidelines,” updated March 02, 2020

46. NIST SP 800-157, “Guidelines for Derived PIV Credentials,” December 2014

47. NIST SP 800-164, “Guidelines on Hardware-Rooted Security in Mobile Devices (Draft),” October 2012

48. Draft National Institute of Standards and Technology Interagency Report (NISTIR) 7981, “Mobile, PIV, and Authentication,” March 2014

49. VA Memorandum, VAIQ #7100147, “Continued Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12),” April 29, 2011 (reference https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514)

50. IAM Identity Management Business Requirements Guidance document, May 2013, (reference Enterprise Architecture Section, PIV/IAM (reference https://www.voa.va.gov/documentlistpublic.aspx?NodeID=514)

51. VA Memorandum “Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Logical Access Policy Clarification,” July 17, 2019, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4896

52. Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) 3.0 Core Guidance Documents, https://www.cisa.gov/publication/tic-30-core-guidance-documents

53. OMB Memorandum M-19-26, “Update to the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Initiative,” September 12, 2019

54. OMB Memorandum M-08-23, “Securing the Federal Government’s Domain Name System Infrastructure,” August 22, 2008

55. Sections 524 and 525 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, (Public Law 110–140), December 19, 2007

56. Section 104 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, (Public Law 109–58), August 8, 2005

57. Executive Order 13834, “Efficient Federal Operations,” dated May 17, 2018

58. Executive Order 13221, “Energy-Efficient Standby Power Devices,” August 2, 2001

59. VA Directive 0058, “VA Green Purchasing Program,” July 19, 2013

60. VA Handbook 0058, “VA Green Purchasing Program,” July 19, 2013

61. Office of Information Security (OIS) VAIQ #7424808 Memorandum, “Remote Access,” January 15, 2014, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

62. Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, 40 U.S.C. §11101 and §11103

63. “Veteran Focused Integration Process (VIP) Guide 4.0,” January 2021, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4371

64. VA Memorandum “Proper Use of Email and Other Messaging Services,” January 2, 2018, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentListPublic.aspx?NodeId=28

65. “DevSecOps Product Line Management Playbook” version 2.0, May 2021, https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4946

66. NIST SP 500-267B Revision 1, “USGv6 Profile,” November 2020

67. OMB Memorandum M-21-07, “Completing the Transition to Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6),” November 19, 2020

68. Social Security Number (SSN) Fraud Prevention Act of 2017

69. Section 240 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) 2018, March 23, 2018

70. VA Handbook 6505, Technical Workforce Identification and Handbook, dated November 2023 (https://www.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=485&FType=2)

71. Department of Defense (DoD) Instruction 8140.02, https://dodcio.defense.gov/Portals/0/Documents/Library/DoDI-8140-02.pdf

72. DoD Cyber Workforce Framework; https://public.cyber.mil/wid/dcwf/

SCOPE OF WORK

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Office of Information & Technology, Office of People Science, People Readiness requires deployment of a suite of products and services to ensure VA’s technical talent is of the highest caliber and ready to meet mission needs of the organization at each stage of their career. The solution will integrate with VA’s Electronic Learning Management System/Talent Management System (ELMS/TMS) and other VA systems (i.e.: Active Directory). The system will allow for assessing skills and matching training to improve technical skills. It will provide an interface for managing and tracking employee and group performance and progress.

PERFORMANCE DETAILS

PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The Period of Performance (PoP) shall be 12 months from date of award, with four 12-month option periods that may be exercised at the Government’s discretion. The total period of performance shall not exceed 60 months.

Any work at the Government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO).

There are eleven (11) Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA follows:

Under current definitions, four are set by date:

If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.

The other six are set by a day of the week and month:

PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

the primary Place of Performance shall be a VA site located in Washington, District of Columbia DC, and up to 9 Contractor staff can be accommodated for on-site work. All other efforts under this TO shall be performed at Contractor facilities.

TRAVEL

The Government anticipates travel under this effort to perform the tasks associated with the effort, as well as to attend program-related meetings or conferences throughout the PoP. Include all estimated travel costs in your firm-fixed price line items. These costs will not be directly reimbursed by the Government.

The total estimated number of trips in support of the program related meetings for this effort is 2. Anticipated locations include the following, estimated at 2 days in duration:

1. 811 Vermont Ave, Washington DC

SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall perform the following:

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

CONTRACTOR PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Contractor shall deliver a Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP) that lays out the Contractor’s approach, timeline, and tools to be used in execution of this effort. The CPMP should take the form of both a narrative and graphic format that displays the schedule, milestones, risks, and resource support. The CPMP shall also include how the Contractor shall coordinate and execute planned, routine, and ad hoc data collection reporting requests as identified within the PWS. The initial baseline CPMP shall be concurred upon and updated in accordance with Section B of the PWS. The Contractor shall update and maintain the VA Program Manager (PM) approved CPMP throughout the PoP.

Deliverable:

A. Contractor Project Management Plan with Monthly Status Reports

TECHNICAL KICKOFF MEETING

A technical kickoff meeting shall be held within 10 days after Contract award. The Contractor shall coordinate the date, time, and location (can be virtual) with the Contracting Officer (CO), as the Post-Award Conference Chairperson, the VA PM, as the Co-Chairperson, the Contract Specialist (CS), and the COR. The Contractor shall provide the draft agenda to the CO and VA PM at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting. Upon Government approval of a final agenda, the Contractor shall distribute to all meeting attendees. During the kickoff-meeting, the Contractor shall present, for review and approval by the Government, the details of the intended approach, work plan, and project schedule for each effort via a Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Contractor shall update the presentation with a final slide entitled “Summary Report” which shall include notes on any major issues, agreements, or disagreements discussed during the kickoff meeting and the following statement “As the Post-award Conference Chairperson, I have reviewed the entirety of this presentation and assert that it is an accurate representation and summary of the discussion held during the Technical Kickoff Meeting for the People Readiness Program Support Services. The Contractor shall submit the final updated presentation to the CO for review and signature within three (3) calendar days after the meeting. The Contractor shall also work with the CS, the Government’s designated note taker, to prepare and distribute the meeting minutes of the kickoff meeting to the CO, COR, and all attendees within three (3) calendar days after the meeting. The Contractor shall obtain concurrence from the CS on the content of the meeting minutes prior to distribution of the document.

Deliverable:

A. Kickoff Slide deck

PEOPLE READINESS TRAINING PLATFORM LICENSE REQUIREMENT

The Contractor shall provide access to a commercial training platform to deploy a suite of training products and services to VA in order to ensure VA’s technical talent is of the highest caliber and ready to meet mission needs of the organization at each stage of their career. In order to meet this goal, the Contractor shall:

1. Provide access to platform that contains a suite of pre-developed information technology, cybersecurity and cross-functional training and skills-based learning that aligns to the work roles in the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Workforce Framework for Cybersecurity and the DoD Cyberspace Workforce Framework. This platform shall provide, at a minimum, the following functionality:

a. Includes skills-based assessments based on role to allow the employee and supervisor to gauge the employees level and assist in determining appropriate training regimen to increase the employee’s skillset.

b. Be searchable based on data elements such as class title, category, and other common data elements. Search results shall be configurable to display only VA identified non-sensitive information.

c. Students shall be able to access the full catalogue of skills-based learning and training that is current, relevant, and ready to use now with off-the-shelf content and accompanying skills labs or practicums, where applicable. The curriculum shall be based on industry standards and shall not require VA specific course development or customization.

i. The Contractor does not have to own the training content and could potentially be part of a larger network/federation of training providers. This training does not have to lead to industry standard certifications as the goal of the training is skills development, but course offerings could be part of an existing certification framework. The Contractor shall ensure that any changes to curriculum shall be provided in writing to the VA COR/PM/Contracting Officer and approved prior to any changes being made.

d. The platform shall provide a solution with the capability to manage learners including but not limited to the following:

i. Based on their VA Active Directory Accounts

ii. To search for learners by any or all learner record and profile information

iii. By dates that specific learning is required to be completed

iv. By whether the specific learning is completed

v. By whether the specific learning was completed on time

1. The platform shall also have the capability to associate learner profiles within organizations, supervisors, subordinates, coaches, and mentors both individually and in large batches that can accommodate all users, to allow learners to manage and update selected portions of their own user profile and manage their own options and settings.

e. The platform shall have the capability to aggregate user profile information from a variety of data sources, to include sources such as VA feeds and user or administrator inputs. Additional data sources may be identified during discovery. Any other additional interfaces that require development shall be reviewed and approved by VA, and may result in a modification signed by a warranted Contracting Officer

f. The platform shall provide role-based User Interfaces that permit, at a minimum, the following:

i. An administrator user interface for running reports for all participants, assign training, and import new or alternative training.

ii. An employee user interface to track progress and identify and enroll in available training resources or classes.

iii. A management user interface to allow for monitoring of a group of employees, their progress, and make assignments.

iv. Meets Identity Access Management/ Single Sign On (IAM/SSO) requirements based on hosting requirements as noted in PWS Section 6.1.2

2. The platform and license thereto shall be able to accommodate the potential pool of up to 10,000 students.

3. The catalogue shall cover all work roles noted in VA Handbook 6505, DoD Cyber Framework and DoD 8140.02. VA anticipates that based on the number of roles in these standards, that catalogues may exceed 2,000 classes for the subject matter.

4. The solution shall meet Section 508 compliance requirements at start of task order, and adhere to requirements noted at Section A.3.1.

Deliverable:

A. Platform User License

Platform Integration with Existing LMS System The platform described above shall interface with VA’s training management solution (currently TMS, and then ELMS once deployed) either directly or indirectly. If not already developed, the Contractor shall develop, test and deploy an application programming interface (API) to update employee learning records in VA’s system. The VA shall own the source code for any developed API under this effort. Relevant data fields for integration to include but not limited to First Name, Last Name, VA email address, TMS ID, and Training Completed.

Deliverables:

A. API Interface Source Code

FEDRAMP REQUIREMENTS/HOSTING

The Contractor shall provide and maintain a hosting solution that is compliant with or exceeds the requirements noted below at time of award for the solution described in PWS Section 5.2.

ASSESSMENT, AUTHORIZATION, AND CONTINUOUS MONITORING

1. The information system solution selected by the Contractor shall comply with the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)

2. The Contractor shall comply with FedRAMP requirements as mandated by Federal laws and policies, including making available any documentation, physical access, and logical access needed to support this requirement

3. The system must be FedRAMP Authorized at no less than the FISMA Low.

4. The Contractor shall, where applicable, assist with the VA ATO Process to help achieve agency authorization of the cloud service or migrated application.

5. The Contractor shall develop a VA specific system boundary diagram including any integration and connectivity components that will be known as a VA Implementation Diagram (VAID) demonstrating the proposed implementation of this system at VA. The Contractor shall provide the VAID within 10 calendar days of contract award.

6. The Contractor shall provide confirmation of their FedRAMP System Security Plan (SSP) and supporting documentation completion via their repository ID number and a link for VA to download the SSP and all required artifacts within 5 calendar days of contract award.

7. The Contractor shall provide the results of their most recent Third-Party Assessment Organization (3PAO) Security Assessment Plan (SAP) within 10 calendar days of contract award.

8. The Contractor shall complete a 3PAO Security Assessment Report (SAR) within 10 calendar days after the SSP is accepted by VA.

9. The Contractor shall provide VA with the most recent monthly scans for the production environment within the authorization boundary and their scan upload schedule for FedRAMP within 30 calendar days of contract award.

10. The Contractor shall provide their availability to participate in monthly continuous monitoring meetings to be scheduled following successful VA ATO within 30 calendar days of contract award.

11. Contractor shall work with assigned VA Subject Matter Expert (SME)to develop a VA specific Incident Response Plan (IRP) and perform an IRP Table Top Exercise with VA Stakeholders. This should be completed within 30 calendar days of the SAR being delivered.

12. If new or unanticipated vulnerabilities are discovered by either VA or the Contractor, or if existing safeguards have ceased to function, the discoverer shall immediately bring the situation to the attention of the other party in accordance with Addendum B, VA Information and Information System Security/Privacy Language

13. The Contractor shall comply with data management requirements.

14. Successful issuance of a VA ATO will be required before live VA data can be used in the system.

Deliverables:

A. VA Implementation Diagram B. FedRAMP System Security Plan (SSP) and supporting documentation C. 3PAO Security Assessment Plan (SAP) D. 3PAO Security Assessment Report (SAR) E. IRP Scenario

VA AUTHORITY TO OPERATE REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall:

1. Coordinate with applicable Veterans Affairs stakeholders for an Authority to Operate to interface the hosted environments to the Veterans Affairs Network.

2. Provide all Assessment and Authorization support and documentation required to achieve and maintain full Assessment and Authorization certification using the process specified in the FedRAMP Program Requirements (https://www.fedramp.gov/issuing-an-authority-to-operate/).

3. Generate the Assessment and Authorization Authority to Operate Package that includes the following security documentation:

a. System Security Plan,

b. Risk Assessment,

c. Incident Response Plan,

d. Information Security Contingency Plan,

e. Disaster Recovery Plan,

f. Configuration Management Plan,

g. Interconnection Security Agreement/Memorandum of Understanding,

h. Additional system description/and diagrams required by Veterans Affairs to gain access to Veterans Affairs network and receive an Authority to Operate.

Deliverable:

A. Assessment and Authorization Authority to Operate Package

SUPPORT SERVICES

PERFORMANCE AND UPTIME GUARANTEE:

The Contractor shall guarantee > 99.99% monthly uptime with financial penalties for failing to meet this standard. In the event that the Contractor is unable to meet the specified uptime performance guarantee in a particular month, the Contractor shall discount that month’s Service Fee (CLINs 0004; 1004; 2004; 3004; and 4004) as follows:

The Government defines performance failure as the Contractor failing to meet > 99.99reliability.

The Contractor shall measure uptime performance each month using the following formula: One minus the total number of unscheduled downtime minutes in that month, divided by total number of minutes in that month, times 100%. ((1- unscheduled downtime minutes/total minutes) x 100%)).

The Contractor shall submit uptime data in conjunction with the invoice, so the COR can determine if a discount should be applied.

SOLUTION MONITORING AND HELP DESK

Contractor shall provide Active system monitoring with in-house support desk 24x7x365. 4-hour onsite guarantee for hardware repair/replacement. All service/updates will be performed during normal hours of coverage unless requested or approved by Facility POC designee.

Hours for Support shall be:

· For Clinical Application Support and Education: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year (24x7x365).

· Technical Support: Contractor shall provide technical support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Contractor shall provide dedicated help desk for all VA as a minimum.

· Response Time: Contractor must respond to a phone call within 4 hours for any call. For emergency technical support issues, Contractor must provide immediate technical support.

OPTION PERIOD ONE

If exercised, the Contractor shall provide all services listed under PWS Sections (and subsections) 5.1 through 5.4, inclusive of all subparagraphs, upon completion of Base Period.

OPTION PERIOD TWO

If exercised, the Contractor shall provide all services listed under PWS Sections (and subsections) 5.1 through 5.4, inclusive of all subparagraphs, upon completion of Option Period One.

OPTION PERIOD THREE

If exercised, the Contractor shall provide all services listed under PWS Sections (and subsections) 5.1 through 5.4, inclusive of all subparagraphs, upon completion of Option Period Two.

OPTION PERIOD FOUR

If exercised, the Contractor shall provide all services listed under PWS Sections (and subsections) 5.1 through 5.4, inclusive of all subparagraphs, upon completion of Option Period Three.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

ENTERPRISE AND IT FRAMEWORK

VA TECHNICAL REFERENCE MODEL

The Contractor shall support the VA enterprise management framework. In association with the framework, the Contractor shall comply with OIT Technical Reference Model (VA TRM). The VA TRM is one component within the overall Enterprise Architecture (EA) that establishes a common vocabulary and structure for describing the information technology used to develop, operate, and maintain enterprise applications. Moreover, the VA TRM, which includes the Standards Profile and Product List, serves as a technology roadmap and tool for supporting OIT. Architecture & Engineering Services (AES) has overall responsibility for the VA TRM.

FEDERAL IDENTITY, CREDENTIAL, AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT (FICAM)

The Contractor shall ensure Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) product(s), software configuration and customization, and/or new software are Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card-enabled by accepting HSPD-12 PIV credentials using VA Enterprise Technical Architecture (ETA), https://www.ea.oit.va.gov/EAOIT/VA_EA/Enterprise_Technical_Architecture.asp, and VA Identity and Access Management (IAM) approved enterprise design and integration patterns, https://www.oit.va.gov/library/recurring/edp/index.cfm. The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor delivered applications and systems comply with the VA Identity, Credential, and Access Management policies and guidelines set forth in VA Handbook 6510 VA Identity and Access Management, VA Handbook 0735 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) Program, and align with the Federal Identity, Credential, and Access Management Roadmap and Implementation Guidance v2.0.

The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor delivered applications and systems provide user authentication services compliant with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-63-3, VA Handbook 6500 Appendix F, “VA System Security Controls”, and VA IAM enterprise requirements for direct, assertion based authentication, and/or trust based authentication, as determined by the design and integration patterns. Direct authentication at a minimum must include Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) based authentication supportive of PIV card and/or Common Access Card (CAC), as determined by the business need.

The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor delivered applications and systems conform to the specific Identity and Access Management PIV requirements set forth in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memoranda M-05-24, M-19-17, and NIST Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201-2. OMB Memoranda M-05-24 and M-19-17 can be found at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/memoranda/2005/m05-24.pdf, and https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/M-19-17.pdf respectively. Contractor delivered applications and systems shall be on the FIPS 201-2 Approved Product List (APL). If the Contractor delivered application and system is not on the APL, the Contractor shall be responsible for taking the application and system through the FIPS 201 Evaluation Program.

The Contractor shall ensure all Contractor delivered applications and systems support:

1. Automated provisioning and are able to use enterprise provisioning service.

2. Interfacing with VA’s Master Person Index (MPI) to provision identity attributes, if the solution relies on VA user identities. MPI is the authoritative source for VA user identity data.

3. The VA defined unique identity (Secure Identifier [SEC ID] / Integrated Control Number [ICN]).

4. Multiple authenticators for a given identity and authenticators at every Authenticator Assurance Level (AAL) appropriate for the solution.

5. Identity proofing for each Identity Assurance Level (IAL) appropriate for the solution.

6. Federation for each Federation Assurance Level (FAL) appropriate for the solution, if applicable.

7. Two-factor authentication (2FA) through an applicable design pattern as outlined in VA Enterprise Design Patterns.

8. A Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML) implementation if the solution relies on assertion-based authentication. Additional assertion implementations, besides the required SAML assertion, may be provided as long as they are compliant with NIST SP 800-63-3 guidelines.

9. Authentication/account binding based on trusted Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) headers if the solution relies on Trust based authentication.

10. Role Based Access Control.

11. Auditing and reporting capabilities.

12. Compliance with VIEWS 00155984, PIV Logical Access Policy Clarification https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4896.

The required Assurance Levels for this specific effort are Identity Assurance Level 3, Authenticator Assurance Level 3, and Federation Assurance Level 3.

INTERNET PROTOCOL VERSION 6 (IPV6)

The Contractor solution shall support Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) based upon the memo issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on November 19, 2020 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/M-21-07.pdf). IPv6 technology, in accordance with the USGv6 Program (https://www.nist.gov/programs-projects/usgv6-program/usgv6-revision-1), NIST Special Publication (SP) 500-267B Revision 1 “USGv6 Profile” (https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.500-267Br1), and NIST SP 800-119 “Guidelines for the Secure Deployment of IPv6” (https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-119), compliance shall be included in all IT infrastructures, application designs, application development, operational systems and sub-systems, and their integration. In addition to the above requirements, all devices shall support native IPv6 and dual stack (IPv6 / IPv4) connectivity without additional memory or other resources being provided by the Government, so that they can function in a mixed environment. All public/external facing servers and services (e.g. web, email, DNS, ISP services, etc.) shall support native IPv6 and dual stack (IPv6 / IPv4) users and all internal infrastructure and applications shall communicate using native IPv6 and dual stack (IPv6 / IPv4) operations.

TRUSTED INTERNET CONNECTION (TIC)

The Contractor solution shall meet the requirements outlined in Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-19-26, “Update to the Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) Initiative“ (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/M-19-26.pdf), VA Directive 6513 “Secure External Connections”, and shall comply with the TIC 3.0 Core Guidance Documents, including all Volumes and TIC Use Cases, found at the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) (https://www.cisa.gov/publication/tic-30-core-guidance-documents). Any deviations must be approved by the VA TIC 3.0 Working Group at vaoisesatic30team@va.gov.

STANDARD COMPUTER CONFIGURATION

The Contractor IT end user solution that is developed for use on standard VA computers shall be compatible with and be supported on the standard VA operating system, currently Windows 10 (64bit), Edge (Chromium based), and 365 Apps for enterprise. Applications delivered to VA and intended to be deployed to Windows 10 workstations shall be delivered as a signed .msi package with switches for silent and unattended installation and updates shall be delivered in signed .msp file formats for easy deployment using Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (CM) VA’s current desktop application deployment tool. Signing of the software code shall be through a vendor provided certificate that is trusted by VA using a code signing authority such as Verizon/Cybertrust or Symantec/VeriSign. The Contractor shall also ensure and certify that their solution functions as expected when used from a standard VA computer, with non-admin, standard user rights that have been configured using the United States Government Configuration Baseline (USGCB) and Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Secure Technical Implementation Guide (STIG) specific to the particular client operating system being used.

VETERAN FOCUSED INTEGRATION PROCESS (VIP) AND PRODUCT LINE MANAGEMENT (PLM)

The Contractor shall support VA efforts IAW the updated Veteran Focused Integration Process (VIP) and Product Line Management (PLM). The major focus of the new VIP is on Governance and Reporting and is less prescriptive, with a focus on outcomes and continuous delivery of value. Product Line Management (PLM) is a framework that focuses on delivering functional products that provide the highest priority work to customers while delivering simplified, reliable, and practical solutions to the business, medical staff, and our Veterans. The VIP Guide is a companion guide to the PLM Playbook and can be found at: https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4371 and the PLM Playbook can be found at https://www.voa.va.gov/DocumentView.aspx?DocumentID=4946. The PLM Playbook pivots from project-centric to product-centric delivery and contains descriptive practices that focuses on outcomes. The PLM Playbook contains a set of “plays” that implement Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps) principles and processes such as automated development, continuous integration/continuous delivery, and release on demand. The PLM Playbook details how product lines implement Lean-Agile principles, methods, practices, and techniques through levels of maturity. VIP and PLM are the authoritative processes that IT projects must follow to ensure development and delivery of IT products.

PROCESS ASSET LIBRARY (PAL)

The Contractor shall perform their duties consistent with the processes defined in the OIT Process Asset Library (PAL). The PAL scope includes the full spectrum of OIT functions and activities, such as VIP project management, operations, service delivery, communications, acquisition, and resource management. PAL serves as an authoritative and informative repository of searchable processes, activities or tasks, roles, artifacts, tools and applicable standards and guides to assist the OIT workforce, Government and Contractor personnel. The Contractor shall follow the PAL processes to ensure compliance with policies and regulations and to meet VA quality standards. The PAL includes the contractor onboarding process consistent with Section 6.2.2 and can be found at https://www.va.gov/PROCESS/artifacts/maps/process_CONB_ext.pdf. The main PAL can be accessed at www.va.gov/process.

AUTHORITATIVE DATA SOURCES

The VA Enterprise Architecture Repository (VEAR) is one component within the overall EA that establishes the common framework for data taxonomy for describing the data architecture used to develop, operate, and maintain enterprise applications. The Contractor shall comply with the department’s Authoritative Data Source (ADS) requirement that VA systems, services, and processes throughout the enterprise shall access VA data solely through official VA ADSs where applicable, see below. The Information Classes which compose each ADS are located in the VEAR, in the Data & Information domain. The Contractor shall ensure that all delivered applications and system solutions support:

1. Interfacing with VA’s Master Person Index (MPI) (formerly the Master Veteran Index (MVI)) to provision identity attributes, if the solution relies on VA user identities. MPI is the authoritative source for VA user identity data.

2. Interfacing with Capital Asset Inventory (CAI) to conduct real property record management actions, if the solution relies on real property records data. CAI is the authoritative source for VA real property record management data.

3. Interfacing with electronic Contract Management System (eCMS) for access to contract, contract line item, purchase requisition, offering vendor and vendor, and solicitation information above the micro-purchase threshold, if the solution relies on procurement data. ECMS is the authoritative source for VA procurement actions data.

4. Interfacing with HRSmart Human Resources Information System to conduct personnel action processing, on-boarding, benefits management, and compensation management, if the solution relies on personnel data. HRSmart is the authoritative source for VA personnel information data.

5. Interfacing with Vet360 to access personal contact information, if the solution relies on VA Veteran personal contact information data. Vet360 is the authoritative source for VA Veteran Personal Contact Data.

6. Interfacing with VA/Department of Defense (DoD) Identity Repository (VADIR) for determining eligibility for VA benefits under Title 38, if the solution relies on qualifying active duty military service data. VADIR is the authoritative source for Qualifying Active Duty military service in VA.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER (SSN) REDUCTION

The Contractor solution shall support the Social Security Number (SSN) Fraud Prevention Act (FPA) of 2017 which prohibits the inclusion of SSNs on any document sent by mail. The Contractor support shall also be performed in accordance with Section 240 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) 2018, enacted March 23, 2018, which mandates VA to discontinue using SSNs to identify individuals in all VA information systems as the Primary Identifier. The Contractor shall ensure that any new IT solution discontinues the use of SSN as the Primary Identifier to replace the SSN with the ICN in all VA information systems for all individuals. The Contractor shall ensure that all Contractor delivered applications and systems integrate with the VA Master Person Index (MPI) for identity traits to include the use of the ICN as the Primary Identifier. The Contractor solution may only use a Social Security Number to identify an individual in an information system if and only if the use of such number is required to obtain information VA requires from an information system that is not under the jurisdiction of VA.

SOFTWARE AND LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall be responsible for the provision of all software licenses and any associated licensing maintenance required for any development, delivery, integration, operation, and/or maintenance associated with its proposed application(s), software products, software solution, and/or system including, but not limited to, any and all application(s), software and/or software products that comprise, are a part of, or integrate with the Contractor’s proposed application(s), software products, software solution, and/or system for the life of any resulting contract.

SECURITY AND PRIVACY REQUIREMENTS

POSITION/TASK RISK DESIGNATION LEVEL(S)

In accordance with VA Handbook 0710, Personnel Security and Suitability Program, the position sensitivity and the level of background investigation commensurate with the required level of access for the following tasks within the PWS are:

Position Sensitivity and Background Investigation Requirements by Task

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.

CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Contractor Responsibilities:

1. The Contractor shall prescreen all personnel requiring access to the computer systems to ensure they maintain the appropriate Background Investigation, and are able to read, write, speak, and understand the English language.

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 in accordance with the PAL template artifact. The Contractor Staff Roster shall contain the Contractor’s Full Name, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, individual background investigation level requirement (based upon Section 6.2 Tasks), etc. The Contractor shall submit full Social Security Numbers either within the Contractor Staff Roster or under separate cover to the COR. The Contractor Staff Roster shall be updated and provided to VA within 1 day of any changes in employee status, training certification completion status, Background Investigation level status, additions/removal of employees, etc. throughout the Period of Performance. The Contractor Staff Roster shall remain a historical document indicating all past information and the Contractor shall indicate in the Comment field, employees no longer supporting this contract. The preferred method to send the Contractor Staff Roster or Social Security Number is by encrypted e-mail. If unable to send encrypted e-mail, other methods which comply with FIPS 140-2 are to encrypt the file, use a secure fax, or use a traceable mail service.

1. The Contractor should coordinate with the location of the nearest VA fingerprinting office through the COR. Only electronic fingerprints are authorized. The Contractor shall bring their completed Security and Investigations Center (SIC) Fingerprint request form with them (see paragraph d.4. below) when getting fingerprints taken.

b. The Contractor shall ensure the following required forms are submitted to the COR within 5 days after contract award:

1) Optional Form 306

2) Self-Certification of Continuous Service

3) VA Form 0710

4) Completed SIC Fingerprint Request Form The Contractor personnel shall submit all required information related to their background investigations (completion of the investigation documents (SF85, SF85P, or SF 86) utilizing the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Electronic Questionnaire for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) after receiving an email notification from the Security and Investigation Center (SIC).

The Contractor employee shall certify and release the e-QIP document, print, and sign the signature pages, and send them encrypted to the COR for electronic submission to the SIC. These documents shall be submitted to the COR within 3 business days of receipt of the e-QIP notification email. (Note: OPM is moving towards a “click to sign” process. If click to sign is used, the Contractor employee should notify the COR within 3 business days that documents were signed via e-QIP).

1. 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.

1. 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), completed training delineated in VA Handbook 6500.6 (Appendix C, Section 9), signed “Contractor Rules of Behavior”, and with a valid, operational PIV credential for PIV-only logical access to VA’s network.