Draft Statement of Work OSE MultiDisciplinary.pdf

Statement of Work (SOW) Department of Homeland Security Science & Technology Directorate

Office of Science & Engineering Multi-Disciplinary Support

1.0 Purpose

This Statement of Work (SOW) describes the scope of contractor support services needed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Directorate of Science and Technology (S&T) Office Science and Engineering (OSE) to provide dedicated multi-disciplinary support.

2.0 Background

Technology and threats evolve rapidly in today’s ever-changing environment. S&T monitors those threats and capitalizes on technological advancements at a rapid pace, developing solutions and bridging capability gaps at a pace that mirrors the speed of life. S&T’s mission is to safeguard the nation by answering the threats of tomorrow and the needs of today through science, technology, and innovation. As the primary research and development arm of the Department, S&T provides the homeland security enterprise with the technology and capabilities to protect the homeland.

3.0 Scope

This Statement of Work (SOW) provides for multi-disciplinary support that will assist OSE with high priority initiatives and activities including strategic planning and alignment, program management, outreach and communications as well as Research, Development and Innovation (RD&I) and standards expertise.

This contract is limited to S&T staffing only.

4.0 Tasks

The following are the tasks that the Contractor will perform and the skills and capabilities the Contractor will exercise on a regular basis in support of S&T:

4.1 Strategic Planning, Alignment, and Implementation

For task 4.1, the contractor shall perform the following:

• Assist federal portfolio, program, and project managers, SMEs, with development of strategic plans, aligned implementation plans and program documents as well as helping inform decisions on resource allocation. Provide and integrate background and historical context into strategic documents, briefs and recommendations.

• Assist in facilitation of strategic plan development and implementation, conducting research and stakeholder coordination and performing analysis of S&T’s current and planned work to ensure alignment with strategic goals and objectives. Support informing implementation strategies and actions necessary to achieve the strategic goals and monitoring of actions to the implementation plan.

• Facilitate strategy sessions as needed, these sessions may include stakeholders and will be used to identify core strategic drivers and validate the plan, goals and desired outcomes.

• Assist OSE in the identification, prioritization, and quantification of opportunities for program advancement/organizational improvement.

• Help align projects and activities to DHS missions, goals, and objectives. Support coordination with interagency research and development agencies to gain efficiencies such as cost-sharing or dual purpose or research.

• Develop and maintain metrics and dashboards as well as other knowledge products such as report and studies to demonstrate impact of OSE efforts.

• Provide subject matter expertise in the understanding of and execution of OSE Front Office responsibilities.

• Provide subject matter expertise in the First Responder and Detection mission area to support project and activities such as helping to articulate project descriptions, impacts, capability gaps, and future year planning of resources.

• Provide subject matter expertise to S&T business processes and recommend improvements for overall effectiveness and efficiency.

4.2 Program and Project Management

For task 4.2, the contractor shall perform the following:

• Provide project or program management support to ensure successful program, project, research activity execution and transition. Support will include but not limited to initiating, planning, executing, controlling, and closing the work of a team. Work will include coordinating meetings, knowledge capture, tracking financial execution, and developing documentation, briefing documents, and/or after-action reports.

• Support the development of Project Management Plans, Program Management Plans, Research Management Plans and applicable Research Agenda items. Help develop project charters and other relevant documentation such as work plans, project schedule, milestones, key dependencies, and critical path forward. In support of Research Management Plans and Research Agenda items, help define how the activities of the various Technology Centers are executed, monitored, and controlled.

• Develop automated tools to augment organizational efficiency and track effectiveness of

S&T operations. Create various add-ons (apps) in MS TEAMS; including power automate; power apps, and workflows. Assist in automating functions for tracking and facilitating work in a hybrid environment.

• Execute executive secretariat (ExecSec) operations for the OSE Front office. The Contractor, with their technical knowledge, shall triage ExecSec taskings to eliminate erroneous tasking to OSE Divisions and recommend to the Federal lead when there is no anticipated input. Provide synthesized material to Federal lead for review and approvals.

Maintain all records and tasks for reference.

• Support meetings with technical performers/other contractors, including developing agendas, facilitation, and capturing action items as necessary. In addition, support the logistics, planning, execution, and closeout for events such as cross-organizational working groups, program meetings, and off-sites.

• OSE routinely receives data calls or Request for Information taskers related to current and past efforts. Support the development of responses to those data calls and informational requests. In addition, with knowledge of the OSE organization including but not limited to legislative authorities, assist OSE in responding to requests that involve congressional, Inspector General or Federal Audit responses.

• Serve as a liaison between OSE and S&T’s Finance and Budget Division (FBD) as well as:

o Support OSE with data analysis for OSE execution.

o Support the divisions with interpreting their execution rates.

o Support OSE Federal staff with the completion of all data submissions necessary for the Federal Budget Lifecycle.

o Provide briefing materials for Senior Leadership on the OSE formulation documents, spend plans, as well as all submitted documentation.

o Support analysis to ensure financial certainty in paying necessary working capital requests. Use advance Microsoft features to include the ability to merge data from several systems to ensure overall financial health analysis o Support Federal staff in financial meetings with stakeholders including those with Office of Procurement Operations.

• Support the Transition-In process in order to assure a complete and effective transition of requirements from the incumbent within 90 days of award. The contractor shall provide a draft Transition In Plan with the proposal: addressing the task order transition methodology, processes, staffing, key milestones, and schedule. The contractor shall provide a final Transition-In Plan to the COR no later than two weeks following award.

• Support the Transition-Out process in order to assure a complete and effective transition of requirements at the conclusion of the contract.

4.3 Performance Measures, Milestones, and Metrics

For the task 4.3, the contractor shall perform the following task:

• Support the collection of performance measures, metrics, and milestones to help measure the impacts of OSE programs, projects, and initiatives. Coordinate all data collection efforts in support of Government Performance Results Act Modernization Act

(GPRAMA).

o Data collection includes but is not limited to the collection of reporting information as well as the quality assurance activities necessary for the performance measure definition forms-audit requirements.

• Ensure that all submission updates are completed timely.

• Develop quarterly briefing materials to OSE and S&T Leadership on the status of

GPRAMA performance reporting.

• Work closely with the OSE Performance liaison as well as the FBD Performance Team and the Strategy and Policy Office to ensure consistent reporting.

• Coordinate the collection of OSE Division quarterly metrics and develop summary view for OSE leadership.

4.4 Stakeholder Engagement

For task 4.4, the contractor shall perform the following:

• Support working groups, project action teams, direct coordination with groups of stakeholders from across the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE), academia, industry, associations, international partners, and others, as requested. Responsible for knowledge capture, facilitation, documentation during the engagement and post engagement communications. Develop meeting reports to include attendees, key discussion points, executive summary, decisions made, and any after action items or topics addressed with pertinent discussion. Collaborate with SMEs, DHS components, first responders, and other Federal, state, and local stakeholders to understand any capability gaps and technology requirements identified in these engagements.

• Support stakeholder engagement to help the government shape the direction of projects, and utilize methods such as interviews, targeted working groups, panel discussions, etc.

to gain and integrate feedback, including virtual meetings and in-person meetings.

• Support program office compliance with Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and development of S&T stakeholder directories, in accordance with DHS Privacy Office guidance. The Contractor will support the completion of DHS privacy compliance documentation as required by DHS policy.

• Understand the DHS conference approval process to ensure all stakeholder engagements are completed within department policy.

4.5 Stakeholder Communications, Outreach Materials

For task 4.5, the contractor shall perform the following:

• Produce outreach materials, publications, models, and templates to promote OSE programs, projects, research activities, initiatives, and partnerships to key audiences, including stakeholders, DHS leadership, Congress, and the public.

• Coordinate communications and outreach activities and materials with S&T’s

Communications and Outreach Division (COD) and applicable S&T leadership.

• Coordinate with portfolio, program, and project managers, SMEs, leadership, and COD to develop written, oral, and digital communications products. Products to include but not limited to press releases, newsletters, web content, one-pagers, knowledge products and digital content.

• Develop Communications Plans for the OSE that will detail who/what/when/how the government will communicate with targeted audiences. Help develop corresponding Implementation Plans, as appropriate for the scope of the initiative. Design and develop outreach materials, presentations, fact sheets, press releases, publications, newsletters, collateral, models, templates, and other documents in accordance with each Communications Plan. Provide content creation and production of digital communications for targeted engagement of stakeholders.

• Support the development of videos, webinars, townhall meetings, conference presentations and other mechanisms to engage stakeholders to provide information on current OSE projects, initiatives, and priorities.

• The Contractor, adhering to S&T and DHS website processes, plan, create, design, maintain and update OSE public facing and internal webpages. In addition, working coordination with Federal program managers across S&T to refine website content of project information for ease of use for core audiences.

• Develop and implement conference and event planning strategies for upcoming conferences relevant to OSE, including activities such as analyzing strategic goals and objectives to recommend what conferences would be most advantageous to attend for stakeholder engagement. Analyze and coordinate topics for presentations, draft panel submissions, and draft slide presentations that assist OSE in maximizing its effectiveness.

• Coordinate with the OSE Divisions and compile an annual OSE Accomplishments Report.

4.6 Knowledge Products

For task 4.6 the contractor shall perform the following:

• In coordination with S&T portfolio, program, and project managers, SMEs, and leadership develop knowledge products such as lessons learned documents, test plans, after-action reports, best practices, case studies, regulatory documents and communications mechanisms.

• Identify mechanisms to disseminate knowledge products to the HSE, relevant partners, and/or the public. Coordinate with portfolio, program, and project managers, SMEs, and leadership to evaluate existing activities and identify needed knowledge products.

4.7 Technical Expertise

For task 4.7 the contractor shall perform the following:

• Provide research, development, and innovation execution and standards support for S&T, including but not limited to the areas under the purview of the Office for Interoperability and Compatibility and Standards Executive.

• Provide technical expertise, including statistics, communications interoperability and resiliency, spectrum management, data analytics, data standards, and information sharing.

• Support the design and implementation of projects. In addition, support the evaluation of current and emerging technologies against DHS Components’ and/or First Responders’ current and or/projected future needs such as conducting testing exercises, panel discussions, stakeholder meetings, and working groups.

• Support spectrum and communication resiliency, including engaging with law enforcement and governing bodies, and support planning, conducting, and reporting on test events.

• Be responsible for providing technical advice and support for statistical and data analysis, communications, and networking especially as they relate to the intersection between land mobile radio, 5G/xG, broadband, satellite communications and deployable communications in support of DHS Components’ and First Responders’ missions and use cases, to meet current and future projected needs. Provide subject matter expertise to support OSE in executing the P25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP). Provide subject matter expertise of the title authorities, history and current and projected issues related to the P25 industry (manufacturers), ISO certification bodies or laboratory certifications to support OSE in executing the P25 CAP. Provide subject matter expertise on the Next Generation 911 landscape, stakeholders, operational challenges and make recommendations to OSE on next steps to advance DHS’s role in communications resilience.

• Utilize technical expertise to evaluate current and emerging technology, within components’ operational context, that could impact the HSE. Help the government assess and evaluate current and emerging technologies, considering constraints and operational context, and how they can support the DHS mission.

• Provide subject matter expertise of Industries of the Future (IotF) related technology – artificial intelligence, quantum information sciences, advance communications, next generation networks, internet of things, and advance commuting ecosystem that underpins advances in IotF.

• Support the development and maintenance of voluntary consensus data standards as well as support the adoption of those data standards into key program and projects. Support the awareness and training of data standards within the department and overall data literacy at S&T.

4.8 Pilots, Testing Exercises and Demonstrations

For task 4.8 the contractor shall perform the following:

• Utilize data collected from stakeholder engagement to identify and develop technical profiles for new projects and pilots for communications and networking systems, communications resiliency, and communications dependent information sharing, situational or domain awareness systems, IoT devices or systems, intelligence systems or sensor systems.

• Assist with the development of planning and execution documentation for pilots, tests, exercises, demonstrations, and field experiments, such as concept papers, test plans, data collection templates, participant handbooks, and similar test support documentation.

• Support the logistics, administration, stakeholder outreach, and compliance coordination necessary to execute these events, as necessary. These events may include several hundred participants from across the full HSE (federal, state, local, tribal, territorial), industry, international, and congressional.

• Coordinate with S&T portfolio, program, and project managers, SMEs, leadership, and stakeholders to support pilots and demonstrations of new technology and to capture best practices and lessons learned in knowledge products.

4.9 Technology Transition

For task 4.9 the contractor shall perform the following:

• Coordinate with S&T portfolio, program, and project managers, SMEs, and leadership to review current transition processes and use their expertise to recommend methods to continually improve S&T’s ability to transition technologies to the HSE.

• Support the development of materials to support the adoption, transition, and implementation of technologies to end users.

4.10 Standards Promotion and Compliance

For task 4.10 the contractor shall perform the following:

• Utilize in person and virtual meetings, teleconferences, and other engagement methods to coordinate with first responders, DHS components, interagency, industry, standards development organizations, and other stakeholder groups in support of open standards for interoperability of technology systems as set forth in 6 U.S. Code.

• Use knowledge of current interoperability policy and technical landscape to draft proposed meeting agendas and objectives. Support the development of guidelines for interoperability and compatibility framework consistent with legislative mandates.

• Provide talking points for items such as NG911, P25, 5G/6G. Engage stakeholder groups including the Project 25 Compliance Assessment Program Task Force through activities which include contributing to meeting agenda development, slide presentation development, reviewing documents, aiding with web site layout recommendations, and helping post documents to the DHS website and similar tasks.

• Support S&T’s role in OASIS NIEM Open.

• Engage with industry and support the development of an Industry Analysis Report to allow manufacturers a better understanding of first responder practitioner requirements.

4.11 Deliverables

Task Ref.

Deliverable Due Date Format Acceptance

4.1 Strategic Planning and

Implementation artifacts

As identified MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.2 Draft Transition-In Plan With proposal MS Word or

other approved editable format

Comments will be provided after award during the kickoff conference

4.2 Final Transition-In Plan Within 2 weeks of award MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.2 Transition-Out Plan 60 days before the end of

the contract

MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.2 Monthly Status Reports Every month MS Word or

other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.2 Program and Project

artifacts

As identified MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.3 GPRAMA Performance

Reporting

Quarterly, as defined by

S&T FBD

MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will accept in writing

4.3 OSE Metrics Quarterly, per

government fiscal year

MS Excel or other approved editable format

COR will accept in writing

All Meeting Reports As identified MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will accept in writing

4.4 Conduct Stakeholder

Engagement

As identified As identified COR will accept in writing

4.5 Communications Plans As identified

MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR

4.5 Communications Artifacts As identified

MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.5 OSE Accomplishments

Report

Annually MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.6 Knowledge Products The development of

knowledge products will depend based on the type and context.

MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.7 Maintenance of S&T

supported model content in OASIS NIEMOpen

As identified to align with scheduled releases

GitHub repositories

COR will accept in writing

4.7 Data Standards support to

programs and projects

As identified MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will accept in writing

4.8 Pilot/Demonstration

Concept Paper/Draft Decision Memorandum

As identified MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR will accept in writing.

4.9 Transition Support or

Implementation Documents

As identified MS Word or other approved editable format

COR will provide comments or revisions, if necessary. COR

4.12 Qualified Personnel

The Contractor shall provide qualified personnel to perform all requirements specified in this SOW. The Contractor shall submit complete and correct information to DHS’s Personnel Security Division for new personnel to backfill a position within thirty days of notifying the government of the previous personnel’s last day.

4.13 Holidays

On Government holidays, the office is normally closed. If work is necessary in the office, the contractor must make arrangements with the COR prior to the holiday.

Also included would be any holiday declared by presidential executive order.

5.0 Period of Performance

The award will be made for a 12-month base period of performance, and two (2) 12-month Option periods.

6.0 Place of Performance

It is anticipated that most of the required work will be performed remotely. When necessary, attendance for in-person meetings and/or travel may be required. The primary onsite location for S&T is the Department of Homeland Security at DHS S&T Headquarters, Saint Elizabeth Campus, Washington, DC.

7.0 Security and Privacy

This task order involves information that is CLASSIFED at the TOP SECRET level, and information that is SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY (FOUO). No safeguarding/storage of classified information is needed for this effort.

This contract is limited to S&T staffing only. Most of the work will take place on LAN-A. Work on government classified networks may occur, as necessary.

The Contractor will have access to Personal Identifying Information (PII) due to access to DHS information systems which is necessary for the performance of this task. Recurring access to government facilities may occur during the full period of performance on this task. No foreign nationals will have access to DHS CUI, DHS information systems, or government facilities.

8.0 Government Furnished Materials:

All work performed shall be done using government-furnished equipment. The Government will make available PIV badges, laptops, cell phones, and access to DHS information systems necessary for the contractor to complete the assigned tasks. The Contractor is approved to conduct most work remotely. The government may need the contractor to travel and/or participate in person meetings of which would be communicated in advance. All Government furnished materials will be returned at the completion of the task.

9.0 Travel

Travel, both within and outside of the DC Metropolitan area, may be required. The meaning of local travel within the Washington DC metropolitan area is defined by the General Services Administration (GSA); it will not be reimbursed. All travel is subject to advance written approval by the COR. Approved travel outside of the defined local area will be reimbursed in accordance with the limits set forth in FAR Part 31 and the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR).

This travel expense shall not be burdened with profit or fee, overhead, or G&A. The handling, coordination, and funding of invitational travel is outside the scope of this task order.

10.0 Invoices.

Invoices should be submitted monthly to InvoiceSAT.Consolidation@ice.dhs.gov with copies to the Contracting Officer and Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).