Electronic Mail Management PWS.docx

TRANSFORMATION TWENTY-ONE TOTAL TECHNOLOGY – NEXT GENERATION (T4NG)

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA)

Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) Electronic Mail Management Services Date: June 1, 2020 Task Order PWS Version Number: 1.0 FINAL for RFI

T4 Performance Work Statement Template_FEB_15_2012

Contents

Background The fundamental mission of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) is to provide Veterans, service members, and their families the benefits they have earned through their military service to the United States. VBA accomplishes its mission by delivering client-centered, personalized services that help Veterans readjust to civilian life and enhance their well-being.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to optimize the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), a paperless claims processing system that greatly reduces the time required to establish, develop, decide, and pay claims. The system replaces what was once a largely manual and paper-based process that had inherent bottlenecks and inefficiencies that led to processing delays and errors. Ongoing development of and continued enhancements to VBMS support VBA’s progression towards an automated (or computer-assisted) processing environment.

In an effort to continuously improve benefits processing efficiency and cycle-time, VBA expanded document conversion services to include Centralized Mail (CM) processing. The CM activities require conversion vendors to receive source materials directly from Veterans, Veterans Representatives, and third parties providing evidence in support of a claim rather than from VBA Regional Offices (RO) exclusively. Materials are received via physical mail and electronically via direct upload (by an external Veteran Service Organization user), secure file transfer, fax, and other Application Program Interfaces (API). The mail is converted to searchable Portable Document Format (PDFs) which are then made available to VA end users for review within an interactive portal. Upon completion of automation and/or end user required actions, images, with associated metadata, are uploaded to VBMS. Where the CM materials are paper-based those materials are then prepared for shipment to long-term storage awaiting disposition.

VBA then implemented the Private Medical Records (PMR) Retrieval Program to improve timeliness for the receipt of medical records in support of a Veterans’ claim for disability benefits. Under the PMR process, the conversion vendors receive medical release statements (VA Form 21-4142, 21-4142a, and other medical release of information authorizations) via physical mail or electronically. The conversion vendors convert the medical release statements to PDF format and transfer the PDF files and metadata to the PMR vendor via an existing secure, automated, system-to-system process. The private medical records are then requested by the PMR vendor on behalf of VA. In parallel, the conversion vendors upload the medical release statements to the VBMS eFolder.

As the work is completed by the PMR vendor, it is securely transferred back to the conversion vendor via the secure, automated system-to-system process. The returning electronic documents include medical records/evidence received, letters, reports of contact, returned mail (in some instances), and reject notices. Each electronic document and associated metadata received from the PMR vendor is then uploaded to the VBMS eFolder in the same manner and by the same processes as used for the documents converted by the conversion vendors. If any of the documents fail to upload into the VBMS eFolder, the documents are routed to the mail portal and made available to VA end users for resolution.

VBA also initiated the Centralized Benefits Communication Management (CBCM) service to centralize the printing and mailing of outbound communications generated and prepared manually by VBA staff at its 56 regional offices. Through the CBCM process, VBA partnered with VA Office of Information and Technology Operations (ITOPS) and an ITOPS print vendor to consolidate the process of labeling and filling envelopes and mailing directly to Veterans and other benefit recipients.

More recently, VBA initiated Mail Automation Services (MAS) to begin automating the triage and handling of mail associated with Veterans benefits. MAS allows for unattended Mail automation following conversion via the application of robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) including natural language processing (NLP).

Figure 1 provides for reference the existing high-level end-to-end centralized mail and CBCM processes. While many of the processes, from receipt through post-conversion storage, is executed by each of the existing vendors’ conversion locations, specific internal procedures and systems utilized are at the conversion vendors’ discretion. MAS and CBCM processes are primarily supported by other VBA and OIT vendors but are included here for reference to reflect the general process.

Figure 1. Generalized Centralized Mail and CBCM Processes

Applicable Documents

The following documents, in addition to the documents in Paragraph 2.0 in the Basic T4NG PWS, are referenced for the performance of this effort:

1. VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management, dated September 21, 2018

2. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Records Control Schedule 10-1; dated March 1, 2011

3. 36 CFR Part 1236 – Electronic Records Management

4. VA Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program, dated September 10, 2004

5. VA Handbook 0730, Security and Law Enforcement, dated August 11, 2000

6. VA Handbook 0730/1, Security and Law Enforcement, dated August 20, 2004

7. Authorization Requirements Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) dated February 4, 2019 (Attachment A)

8. Benefits Intake API Process Flow, dated July 2, 2019 (Attachment B)

9. Benefits Intake API Business Requirements Document (BRD), v5.2 dated September 9, 2019 (Attachment C)

10. Electronic Document Upload Tool BRD, v1.2 dated September 10, 2019 (Attachment D)

11. National Call Center Process Workflow, v1.1 dated June 28, 2019 (Attachment E)

12. Electronic Document Upload Tool Workflow, v1.1 dated August 26, 2019 (Attachment F)

13. Public-Facing Upload Service BRD, v1.1 dated September 10, 2019 (Attachment G)

14. Electronic Mail Management Services Source Material Tracking Service (SMTS) BRD (Attachment H)

15. VBMS PDF Specification Document, Release 17.1 dated August 2, 2019 (Attachment I)

16. Document Conversion Rules (DCR) 20-1 effective March 30, 2020, (Attachment J)

17. Document Type Identification and Date of Receipt Guide (DTIDORG) 20-1 effective March 30, 2020 (Attachment K)

18. Application Change Request 156 (ACR156) dated August 11, 2019 (Attachment L)

19. VBMS Release 18.0 eFolder v1.0 Service Contract Document (SCD) dated December 6, 2019 (Attachment M)

20. Mail Routing Logic dated August 2019 (Attachment N)

21. DMHS – CM Portal - R1 – Interface Control Document (ICD) v.1.22 dated February 24, 2020 (Attachment O)

22. DMHS - CM Portal – ICD – v1.22 – Location Appendix dated February 24, 2020 (Attachment P)

23. Private Medical Records (PMR) Data Transfer Protocol v3.2 dated August 21, 2019 (Attachment Q)

24. Private Medical Records (PMR) Process Flows v1.0 dated June 28, 2019 (Attachment R)

25. VBMS Release 18.0 Web Services Startup Guide, dated December 6, 2019 (Attachment S)

26. Centralized Benefits Communications Management BRD, v1.16 dated April 2020 (Attachment T)

27. VBA Regional Office and VBA District Office Alignment Document dated February 24, 2020 (Attachment U)

28. Emergency Notification SOP, v1.0, dated September 3, 2019 (Attachment V)

29. AutoCEST Business Requirements Document (BRD), v1.0 dated January 20, 2020 (Attachment W)

30. AutoCEST Report Dictionary (Attachment X)

31. VCIP Emergency Notification SOP, v1.0 dated September 9, 2019 (Attachment Y)

32. VA Handbook 6500.6, Contract Security, Appendix C (Attachment Z)

Scope of Work The Contractor shall perform electronic mail management services for VA. Services include the receipt, control, and conversion of electronic mail (mail packets) to standardized, indexed, and searchable Portable Document Format (PDF) (PDF Image plus Text). Services also include document retrieval, document preparation, and packaging services for outbound communications (letters) to be delivered to Veterans/claimants and their elected representatives.

The Contractor shall perform data extraction on a subset of the documents within mail packets prior to uploading to VBMS, to a contract-developed mail portal, or transmitting mail packets to the VBA Mail Automation Service (MAS). The Contractor shall incorporate quality assurance activities and validation into multiple steps of the conversion process to ensure that VA receives images and data of sufficient quality to support its business processes. The Contractor shall also support Government-contracted third-party auditing throughout the periods of performance.

The Government anticipates it will require mail management services for mail packets equivalent to approximately 99 million images (split between 49.5 million images in the base period and 49.5 million images in the option period, if exercised.) The volume of electronic mail received by the Contractor for conversion will be dependent primarily on the number of claims received from Veterans/claimants. The Government also anticipates outbound communications equivalent to approximately 50 million letters (split between 25 million letters in the base period and 25 million letters in the option period, if exercised.)

The Government will order a guaranteed minimum volume of 40 million images (20 million images in the base period and 20 million images in option period, if exercised). The maximum volume of images that may be ordered is 250 million (125 million images in the base period and option period, if exercised). The Government will also order a guaranteed minimum of 20 million outbound letters (10 million letters in the base period and 10 million letters in the option period, if exercised.) The maximum outbound letters that may be ordered is 150 million (split between 75 million letters in the base period and option period, if exercised.)

The Government will notify the Contractor at least 30 calendar days before it anticipates any significant increases in monthly electronic mail receipt volume. This would typically occur following a change of benefit entitlement law or a sudden military drawdown, both resulting in an increase in the number of claims VA receives.

The Contractor shall refer to Appendix B, Estimated Volume Characteristics, for additional information characterizing the projected volumes of electronic mail.

Applicability

This TO PWS is within the scope of Section 4.9, Operations and Maintenance, of the Basic T4NG PWS.

Order Type

The effort shall be a hybrid Firm Fixed Price (FFP) and Labor Hour (LH) mix type order.

Performance Details

Performance Period The period of performance shall be 12 months from the effective date of TO award, with one 12-month option, to be executed at the Government’s discretion.

Place of Performance The Government is not prescribing or prohibiting the use of cloud-based services in the performance of electronic mail management. The Contractor shall include in its proposal a detailed breakdown of all services and the locations where each will be performed. This breakdown shall also include detailed descriptions of how each location will meet all VA security requirements outlined in VA Handbook 6500. Any planned teleworking shall also be detailed in the Contractor’s proposal. No work related to any task in the PWS shall be performed Outside Continental United States (OCONUS).

Where the Contractor elects to utilize a facility for performance of any tasks included in this PWS, the Contractor shall, within 60 calendar days of TO award, have in place ready space and security processes consistent with applicable VA security regulations including security requirements provided in VA Handbook 0730, VA Handbook 0730/1, VA Handbook 0730/4, and VA Handbook 6500.

While the Government does not prescribe the place of performance or the construction standards to be met, there are physical facility considerations that must be addressed where the Contractor elects to utilize a facility. These considerations include security aspects in relation to the Government Furnished Information (GFI), as well as privacy aspects associated with electronic communications with Veterans/claimants.

It is anticipated that any Contractor would consider the use of a facility in support of this Task Order. While the Government does not direct the use of a facility, security and privacy considerations must be addressed, and the Government reserves the right to inspect any proposed facility to ensure it is acceptable for use under this Task Order. In support of this effort, any proposed facility shall:

· Include space dedicated solely to the performance of the requirements outlined in this PWS

· Include non-public, limited and controlled access by use of approved physical access devices, lock and key, or security alarms after hours to ensure only authorized personnel who have had VA privacy and security awareness training and proper background investigations are allowed unescorted entry

· Include construction that ensures security from penetration above the ceiling and below the floors

· Include coverings on any windows/glass that would prevent visibility of computer screens from outside the secure area Travel or Special Requirements The Government anticipates travel to perform the tasks associated with the effort, as well as to attend program-related meetings or conferences throughout the period(s) of performance. Travel shall be in accordance with FAR 31.205-46 and requires concurrence in advance by the COR. 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 two (2) three-day trips to Washington, DC (one (1) trip during each period of performance for a total of two (2) trips.) The Government estimates that the Contractor will include five (5) personnel for each trip. Anticipated locations include the following:

· Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), 1800 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006 Travel is for the base period and the option period, if exercised.

Contract Management All requirements of Sections 7.0, Contract Management and 8.0, Reporting and Meeting Requirements, of the T4NG Basic PWS apply to this effort. This TO shall be addressed in the Contractor’s Progress, Status, and Management Report as set forth in the T4NG Basic contract.

Government Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government Furnished Information (GFI) The Contractor will be provided access to, and training on, VBA’s policies and guidance impacting work requested in this PWS. It is anticipated the Contractor will require training/information for areas related to claims establishment; VBMS functionality; existing web services; and existing APIs. The Government will provide any relevant Contractor-requested training within 15 calendar days of receipt of the training request. Any Contractor-requested information not already included in this PWS will be provided not more than 5 calendar days following receipt of the request. Requests for training/information shall be submitted to the COR as soon as a training need or additional information need is identified.

If required, the Government will provide VA network access, email addresses, and access to specific applications necessary to perform the tasks in this PWS.

Security and Privacy All requirements in Section 6.0, Security, of the T4NG Basic PWS apply to this effort. Specific TO requirements relating to Addendum B, Section B4.0 paragraphs j. and k. supersede the corresponding T4NG Basic PWS paragraphs, and are as follows:

j. The Contractor shall notify VA within 24 hours of the discovery or disclosure of successful exploits of the vulnerability which can compromise the security of the Systems (including the confidentiality or integrity of its data and operations, or the availability of the system). Such issues shall be remediated as quickly as is practical, but in no event longer than one day.

k. When the Security Fixes involve installing third party patches (such as Microsoft OS patches or Adobe Acrobat), the vendor will provide written notice to VA that the patch has been validated as not affecting the systems within 10 working days. When the Contractor is responsible for operations or maintenance of the Systems, they shall apply the Security Fixes within one day.

Position Sensitivity

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

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 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 its submitted proposal.

Specific Tasks and Deliverables The Contractor shall perform the following:

Project Management (FFP) The Contractor shall plan, monitor, and control the tasks outlined in this PWS. The Contractor shall follow an accepted project management methodology such as the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK).

Contractor Project Management Plan The Contractor shall provide a detailed PMP and briefing summarizing the PMP content for the Government following TO award. The briefing may be conducted virtually. The PMP presents the Contractor’s plan for successfully completing all work described in the contract. The PMP shall take the form of both a narrative and graphic form that displays the schedule, milestones, risks, and resource support. The baseline PMP and all subsequent updates shall be coordinated with VBA and approved by the COR. At a minimum the following items shall be incorporated into the PMP:

· Change Control Plan

· Communications Plan

· Configuration Management Plan

· Integrated Master Schedule (IMS)

· Integration Plan

· Quality Management Plan

· Requirements Management Plan

· Risk Management Plan

· Scalability Plan

· Service Rollout Plan

· Staffing Plan

· Stakeholder Management Plan

· Subcontractor Management Plan

· Technical/Management Plan

· Training Plan

· Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) Deliverables:

A. Project Management Plan and Briefing Technical Kickoff Meeting The Contractor shall coordinate and facilitate a technical kickoff meeting within 10 calendar days following TO award. In addition to the introduction of its contract leadership team, 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. The Contractor shall specify dates, locations (can be virtual), agenda (shall be provided to all attendees at least five (5) calendar days prior to the meeting), and meeting minutes (shall be provided to all attendees within one (1) calendar day following the meeting). The Contractor shall invite the Contracting Officer (CO), Contract Specialist (CS), Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), and the Government Program/Project Manager (PM).

Deliverables:

A. Kickoff Meeting Agenda, Meeting and Presentation, and Minutes Weekly/Monthly Update Meeting The Contractor’s PM shall participate in and facilitate weekly and monthly update meetings. Weekly and monthly meetings shall be set up in advance, considering availability of Government Program Management Office (PMO) staff, providing phone dial-in and/or teleconferencing or web conferencing. An agenda shall be provided prior to the meeting. The Contractor shall facilitate the meeting, track action items, describe any risks associated with performance, schedule, or other concerns during this meeting, and deliver meeting minutes following the meeting. Meeting minutes shall include current statuses of all open issues and any upcoming service development and service implementation activities.

The Contractor shall include, at minimum, the following topics:

· Risk register review with mitigation strategy and status

· Quality status/issues with resolution plan

· Service status/issues with resolution plan

· Staffing status/issues with resolution plan

· Schedule status/issues with resolution plan

· Performance status/issues with resolution plan (performance improvement plan/remediation plan)

· Plans for coming weeks (including performance improvement plan/remediation plan efforts)

· Authority to Operate (ATO)/Interim Authority to Operate (IATO) status/issues with resolution plan

· All action items (status (pending, closed, other), duration, and resource assignments)

· Contractor corporate/resource email distribution list with updates monthly

· Deliverable status The Contractor shall capture, track, and report action items and risks weekly. Capturing, tracking, and reporting shall be electronic via a Government approved enterprise change management, risk/issue tracking tool (e.g., Backlog, JIRA, or similar). The Contractor is not required to develop and implement a new tracking tool to satisfy this requirement. Use of an existing solution is acceptable so long as the tool meets the following minimum requirements and its use is approved by the Government PM:

· Action items and risks are organized and enumerated

· The tool displays the metadata related to each action item/risk Deliverables:

A. Weekly Update Meeting Agenda and Minutes B. Monthly Update Meeting Agenda and Minutes C. Action Item and Risk Register Progress Reports and Reviews In support of this TO VA requires reporting above and beyond the T4NG Monthly Progress Reports at the T4NG basic contract level.

The Contractor shall deliver Monthly and Annual Progress Reports throughout the TO performance period. The Monthly Progress Report shall include an out brief to the Government PM. The content contained in the reports shall be representative of performance requirements as outlined in the PWS. The Government will work with the Contractor to develop the content for the reports to ensure relevant datasets are accurately defined and captured. The Contractor shall maintain a lessons-learned diary and deliver as a part of the Monthly Progress Report. Progress Reports shall include, at minimum:

· Operational Report (budget, hiring (gain/loss report), etc.)

· Trends over time

· Productivity Report (process definition, equipment types, etc.)

· Trends over time

· Quality Report (metrics, measurement, maintenance procedures, etc.)

· Trends over time

· Performance issues with mitigation strategies

· Contractor Privacy and Security Training Report

· Contractor Staff Roster

· Deliverable Matrix (status of all PWS deliverables for the reporting period) Deliverables:

A. Monthly Progress Reports B. Annual Progress Reports Change Control Support VBA will establish a Change Control Board (CCB) as part of the change control process to adjudicate proposed change requests. VBA anticipates the CCB will conduct routine meetings on a monthly basis. The Contractor shall participate in these CCB meetings when requested by the Government and may do so on a virtual basis. The participation shall include at least one representative with the authority to make commitments on behalf of the Contractor. The Contractor shall support the CCB in assessing the level of effort and the impact of proposed change requests.

VBA will manage the change control process. Proposed change requests may include managing and implementing changes which may include but are not limited to:

· Service enhancements

· Document Conversion Rules

· VBMS document taxonomy

· Indexing

· Document Type and Date of Receipt Guide

· Data extraction

· Automatic claims establishment (AutoCEST)

· Interfaces with PMR vendor system(s)

· Interfaces with Government system(s)

· Interfaces with the VICCS Mail Automation Services Contractor system(s)

· Graphical Self-Service Report Generation (other than ad hoc reports) Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)/Disaster Recovery (DR) Plans The Contractor shall develop, maintain, and test service continuity, contingency, and disaster recovery plans for all services performed under this TO. In providing these services, the Contractor shall:

· Prepare and deliver COOP and DR Plans to ensure the orderly recovery from a disaster that may render all or part of a service facility, system, or equipment inoperable

· Coordinate with interfacing systems to verify integration of procedures and planning

· Develop measures to protect all services, equipment, and data for which the Contractor is responsible from potential environmental threats

· Ensure services and equipment for which the Contractor is responsible are operational and restore any lost capabilities and data after the occurrence of a disaster

· Conduct and participate in semi-annual COOP/DR exercises

· Provide COOP/DR exercise results Deliverables:

A. Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) B. Disaster Recovery (DR) Plan C. COOP/DR exercise results Electronic Mail Receipt (FFP) The Contractor shall receive electronic mail from VBA ROs, other VBA entities, VBA partners, and directly from Veterans, their families, and their representatives.

The Government anticipates that the volume of electronic mail received by the Contractor will vary by day, week, and month. The Contractor’s solution shall accommodate these fluctuations such that there is no impact to VA business operations. The Government will provide as much advanced notice as is practical where anticipated increases in mail may occur. This typically occurs during periods immediately following military drawdowns or the passage of legislation impacting Veterans benefits.

Each packet of electronic mail shall be assigned a date of receipt indicating the date and time it was received. This assigned date of receipt endorsement shall then be applied to each piece of mail during the conversion process. As there are multiple VA lines of business, different endorsements must be used. The digital endorsement shall consist of the following:

“MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM:SS – VA [Line of Business] Intake Center” (e.g., 01/01/2020 08:15:45 – VA Compensation Intake Center).

This receipt shall constitute the acceptance of the records and liability for records management by the Contractor. The Contractor shall initiate tracking of mail upon receipt.

Facsimiles (Faxes) The Government has existing fax lines, each with a termination point specific to an organization responsible for administering Veterans benefits. The Government will, following TO award, transfer existing fax lines to the Contractor. The Contractor shall assume administrative responsibility for each fax line for the duration of any exercised period of performance.

The following table includes a listing of existing fax lines to be redirected from their current termination point location to a Contractor-owned termination point following award:

Table 3. Fax Lines to be Redirected Following the configuration and integration of existing fax lines into the Contractor’s fax solution, that Contractor shall receive and store faxes electronically. The Contractor shall take receipt of faxes 24 hours per day, seven (7) days per week. The fax service shall support a maximum of 999 pages. No truncating shall occur for faxes received under the max page limit of 999. Faxes shall not be printed. The Contractor’s fax solution shall include a fax receipt notification capability that transmits an editable confirmation message to the sending fax machine that a fax was received in its entirety. The confirmation message shall be initiated within one (1) minute following receipt of a fax.

The Contractor shall preserve and store the original electronic files (not paper copies) received via Fax in accordance with Task 5.11, Post-Conversion Retention.

New Fax Line Setup (FFP) (Recurring Optional Task) The Government anticipates additional fax lines will be required throughout the performance of this TO. As organizations continue to migrate away from handling paper mail to more electronic mail handling configurations, the need for more electronic delivery means will be required. The Government will establish new toll-free fax line(s), where one does not exist, for requesting organization(s). Where the requesting organization anticipates claimants submitting source material via fax from outside of the CONUS the Government will establish a non-toll-free fax number.

Following establishment, the Government will transfer administrative control of the new fax line(s) to the Contractor. The Contractor shall establish the appropriate connection to its internal solution and receive, store, and prepare faxes for conversion in accordance with established Contractor procedures.

The Government will notify the Contractor in advance of its intent to exercise this optional task. The following table includes a listing of currently planned fax lines to be established, although additional fax lines may also be identified:

Table 4. Planned Fax lines Inbound Application Program Interface (API) The Contractor shall develop an access point, such as an API, to take receipt of digital claims related materials and associated metadata from VA.gov, VETS.gov, and eBenefits. The Government is providing Attachment B, Benefits API Process Flow, as a reference document demonstrating an existing API used for the submission of claims related materials.

New Inbound API Setup (LH) (Recurring Optional Task) The Government anticipates additional APIs will be required throughout the performance of this TO. As organizations continue to migrate away from handling paper mail to more electronic mail handling configurations, the need for more electronic delivery means will be required. The Contractor shall be an API provider by establishing and maintaining service interconnections and API specifications, where third parties (e.g., other Government entities or vendors) consume the API and comply with these specifications for uploads and metadata transfer into the mail processing service.

The Government will notify the Contractor in advance of its intent to exercise this optional task. The Government will provide an updated business requirements document (or its equivalent) and applicable interface control documents (ICD). The Contractor shall meet the business needs as identified in Attachment C, Benefits Intake API Business Requirements Document (BRD).

Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) The Contractor shall establish and maintain a minimum of two (2) SFTP services to be used for transmitting/receiving VA sensitive information:

· Between the Government and the Electronic Mail Management Services Contractor (Internal)

· Between the Electronic Mail Management Services Contractor and other authorized VA Contractor(s) (e.g., Private Medical Records (PMR) exchange) (External) At no time will VA sensitive information be transmitted via Contractor personal or corporate email accounts. The requirement for SFTP connections is in addition to Task 5.9, Mail Packet Routing Service.

Deliverables:

A. SFTP Service – Internal B. SFTP Service – External New SFTP Setup (LH) (Recurring Optional Task) The Government anticipates additional SFTP connections will be required throughout the performance of this TO. As additional vendors are incorporated into the Government’s conversion, paper mail, and electronic mail processing services, it is expected there will be additional needs to transmit and receive sensitive information between the Electronic Mail Management Contractor and those vendors. The Contractor shall establish and maintain an SFTP upon notice from the Government.

The Government will notify the Contractor in advance of its intent to exercise this optional task and with which vendor the SFTP shall connect. The Government will provide an updated business requirements document (or its equivalent) with its notice of intent to exercise the optional task.

Deliverables:

A. SFTP Service – Internal/External National Call Center (NCC) Service The Contractor shall provide a service accessible only from authorized VA National Call Center (NCC) internal network hosts supporting electronic delivery of commonly completed VA Forms (e.g., VA Form 27-0820s, VA Form 686-c, Intent to File) resulting from direct communications with Veterans/claimants. The VA Form 27-0820 is used by NCC employees to document actionable phone calls in real-time. The NCC employees will utilize the Contractor’s service to deliver the completed forms to the Contractor’s mail processing service. The Contractor shall provide the NCC service in accordance with Attachment D, Electronic Document Upload Tool BRD and Attachment E, National Call Center Process Workflow.

Deliverables:

A. National Call Center (NCC) Service Fugitive Felon System Match Service The Contractor shall deliver an internally facing service accessible by authorized users supporting electronic delivery of routine system matches used to determine continued eligibility to VA benefits for persons identified as a fugitive felon. The Contractor shall provide the fugitive felon service in accordance with Attachment D, Electronic Document Upload Tool BRD and Attachment F, Electronic Document Upload Tool Workflow.

Deliverables:

A. Fugitive Felon System Match Service Self-Service Document and Claim Submission Service (Optional Task) The Contractor shall deliver an outward facing service and take receipt of digital submissions and associated metadata. Self-service document and claim submission services business needs are defined in Attachment G, Public-Facing Upload Service.

The Contractor shall take receipt of images and metadata uploaded directly from this service and initiate tracking in accordance with Task 5.3, Electronic Mail Custodial Requirements.

The Government will notify the Contractor in advance of its intent to exercise this optional task. The Government will provide an updated business requirements document (or its equivalent) and applicable interface control documents (ICDs).

Deliverables:

A. Self-Service Document and Claim Submission Service Electronic Mail Custodial Requirements (FFP) Electronic Mail Handling and Management Mail contains Veterans’ claims, including personally identifiable information (PII), protected health information (PHI), and sensitive personal information (SPI), and shall be treated as sensitive information in accordance with the Basic T4NG PWS. The Contractor shall ensure that mail and the VA information it contains is not compromised.

The Contractor shall maintain the arrangement (i.e., order of materials in electronic mail) until the conversion is complete unless otherwise directed by the Document Conversion Rules.

The Contractor shall have a documented process for internal electronic inventory management and tracking of all electronic mail while in the Contractor’s systems.

Source Material Tracking Service (SMTS) As part of the Contractor’s Electronic Mail Management Services, the Contractor shall develop, implement, and operate a SMTS accessible by VA authorized users to track and maintain a chain of custody for all operational electronic mail-related materials received. The SMTS shall include all capabilities as defined in Attachment H, Electronic Mail Management Service SMTS BRD. The SMTS will account for all electronic mail receipts from VBA ROs, other VA entities, VA partners, and directly from Veterans and their representatives.

The SMTS shall provide authorized users the capability to access and monitor all operational/real-time data for electronic mail in all stages of processing.

A VA compliant “Single-Sign On” approach shall be applied allowing authorized VA users to log on once per session utilizing a single set of credentials to access all authorized facets of the electronic mail inventory and tracking service. All appropriate VA security policies and procedures shall be followed (which includes multi-factor authentication via Personal Identity Verification (PIV) badges or another VA compliant multifactor authentication methodology).

Within 60 calendar days of award and prior to the operational receipt of electronic mail, the Contractor’s SMTS shall be set up, tested, and validated per PWS Task 5.14, Integration, Setup, Test, and Validation. Although the Contractor has the responsibility for account provisioning, the service shall include a self-service capability for VA and other Contractor personnel to request access and manage user accounts, including access control. The service shall log changes to user account information and disable any unutilized accounts after 90 calendar days of inactivity. Upon approval by authorized VA representative(s), the Contractor shall grant the access (establish the account).

Any planned periods of unavailability due to routine releases shall be approved by the COR at least 10 calendar days in advance. Any planned service periods of unavailability due to non-routine release requires prior approval. Any service periods of unavailability due to emergent issues shall be communicated to the COR in accordance with Section 6.11, Outage/Degradation Notification. Unplanned or unapproved downtimes that are the result of the Contractor will count against the Contractor’s performance evaluation. Downtimes not the result of the Contractor will not count against the Contractor’s performance evaluation. VA will assess each downtime and make the final determination.

Deliverables:

A. Source Material Tracking Service with Configurable User Interface SMTS User Administration The SMTS shall provide for the addition of named users and the general administration of users, roles, and permissions within the service. The service shall authenticate all authorized VA personnel in accordance with VA Common Security Services guidelines. Role permissions and functional assignments are a feature specific to a user’s assignment within a “user” hierarchy structure. In coordination with VA, the Contractor shall maintain a user hierarchy and develop, deliver, and maintain a Policy Definition Table. An initial set of required user roles are detailed in Attachment H, Electronic Mail Management Service SMTS BRD. The Contractor shall also develop and deliver to the Government a process for requesting users, roles, and permission administration.

Deliverables:

A. Process for requesting users, roles, and permission administration B. Completed Policy Definitions, Permission and User Table Mail Preparation (FFP) The Contractor shall develop and implement processes for the preparation of electronic mail. The Contractor shall enhance badly faded electronic images in order to achieve the best readable image. The Contractor shall refer to the special handling rules in the DCRs where receipt of electronic mail of such poor quality prevents the creation of a readable image through normal processes.

Electronic Mail Conversion (FFP) In keeping with NARA standards, the Contractor shall convert electronic mail images to images with a minimum resolution of 300 dots per inch (DPI). In exceptional cases electronic mail may include images that were captured from their original state at a lower resolution (e.g., microfilm or microfiche). The Contractor may retain the lesser quality image where the source images are only readable at the lesser resolution and efforts to increase the dpi to meet the 300 dpi standard renders an unreadable/unusable image (e.g., too small for viewing or decreased legibility). This exception ensures Government end users have a sufficient image for review.

The Contractor shall convert all electronic mail to searchable PDFs. The Contractor shall utilize Attachment I, VBMS PDF Specification Document Release 17.1. The Contractor shall delete blank images generated from blank electronic mail submissions. The Contractor shall propose a process to ensure all images marked for deletion are sufficiently reviewed to ensure no loss of data and that all images marked for deletion are available for review by government personnel.

Some electronically submitted mail is anticipated to be of poor quality. If electronic mail images cannot be improved upon or is otherwise unclear, the Contractor shall label resulting image(s) “Best Copy” as described in the DCRs. The guidance on specific placement of the “Best Copy” label is also defined in the DCRs.

The Contractor shall convert the following in color regardless of the presence or lack of color in the electronic submission:

· Photographs

· DD214s and DD215s Indexing (FFP) In accordance with the Attachment J, Document Conversion Rules, and its accompanying Attachment K, Document Type and Date of Receipt Guide, and Attachment L, Application Change Request 156 (ACR156), the Contractor shall assign the following four index values for each converted document generated for electronic mail packets:

· Veteran Name

· VA File Number

· Document Type

· Date of Receipt Some electronic mail may include barcodes or Quick Response (QR) codes containing various metadata to include the indexing values above. These barcodes or QR codes may also be used to identify a particular Line of Business which may be used for mail packet routing purposes. If included, the Contractor shall utilize the barcode/QR code to assign the supplied indexing value(s). If the Veteran’s file number, SSN, and/or name do not exist on or within the mail packet, no indexing values will be assigned for Veteran file number and/or name.

Where a mail packet is routed to the Paper Mail Conversion and Management Service’s Digitized Mail Handling Service (DMHS), the Contractor shall include in the transmission the assigned indexing values and associated metadata.

Extraction (FFP) The Government requires data extraction on a subset of electronic mail packet documents received. In support of data extraction, the Contractor shall extract data from any VA Form 21-526, including all versions (e.g., 21-526, 21-526c, 21-526ez, etc.), received via electronic mail. Extraction shall occur in accordance with Attachment M, VBMS Release 18.0 eFolder v1.0 Service Contract, and Attachment J, Document Conversion Rules, as applicable.

As described in Task 5.6, Indexing, the vendor is required to index VA file number, name, date of receipt, and document type for all mail packets, all or some of which may be required to be extracted. If the Veteran’s file number, SSN, and/or name do not exist on or within the mail packet and cannot be assigned, no indexing values will be extracted for Veteran file number and/or name and the mail packet shall be routed to the DMHS Unassociated queue.

New Data Extraction Forms and Fields (LH) (Recurring Optional Task) As VA expands automated processing, and additional VA organizations migrate to electronic document processing in VBMS, the volume of forms used in the overall data extraction process will increase.

The Government will notify the…