Section_J _Attachment_5 _Award_Term_Plan.docx

Award Term Plan- ITCC II

1.0 Introduction

(a) This plan provides for award term awards and describes the basis for evaluating the Contractor's performance and for presenting an assessment of that performance to the Award Term Determining Official (ADO).

(b) The specific criteria and procedures used for assessing the Contractor's performance and for determining the award term awards earned are described herein. All ADO decisions regarding the award of any award term—including, but not limited to, the methodology used to determine any awards, the Contractor's entitlement to the awards, and the nature and success of the Contractor's performance—are final and not subject to dispute.

2.0 Organization

The award organization includes the ADO and an Award Review Board (ARB) consisting of a chairperson, the Contracting Officer, ITCC II Program Manager, a recorder, functional area participants, advisory members, and Service Delivery Managers (SDMs)/Contracting Officer’s Representatives (CORs).

3.0 Responsibilities

(a) Award Determining Official (J6/CIO, SES). The ADO approves the award term plan and significant changes to it. The ADO reviews the recommendations of the ARB, considers pertinent data, and determines the earned award term calculations for each evaluation period. The ADO appoints the ARB chairperson.

(b) Program Manager (PM) (J645 Branch Chief). The PM is the USSTRATCOM lead for managing the ITCC II contract. The lead PM reviews and certifies invoices monthly, and applies awards and penalties.

(c) Award Review Board Chairperson (J64 Division Chief). The ARB Chairperson chairs the meetings of the ARB. The ARB Chairperson briefs the ADO on recommended earned awards and the Contractor's overall performance and recommends award term plan changes to the ADO.

(d) Award Review Board. ARB members review CORs' evaluations of the Contractor's performance, consider information from pertinent sources, prepare interim performance reports, and recommend earned awards to the ADO. The ARB will also recommend changes to this award term plan. ARB members will normally be at the Division Chief/O-6/GS15 level and will include representation from primary customers of the ITCC II contract.

(e) Award Review Board Recorder. The ARB Recorder is appointed by the ARB Chairperson and is responsible for coordinating the administrative actions required by the CORs, the ARB, and the ADO.

(f) Contracting Officer (CO). The CO is the government person responsible for total administration of the contract. The CO appoints a COR as a representative to administer the details of the award term plan. Subsequent to the ADO decision, the CO evaluates the awards available and modifies the contract, if necessary, to reflect the decision.

(g) Contracting Officer’s Representatives (COR). The CORs represent the CO for administration of the award term plan. CORs monitor the Contractor’s performance and maintain written records of the Contractor's performance in their assigned evaluation areas so that a fair and accurate evaluation is obtained. CORs prepare interim and end-of-period evaluation reports as directed by the ARB. CORs will assess the Contractor's performance monthly.

4.0. Award Term Process

(a) The contract may be extended on the basis of Contractor performance. The award terms are for contract years 8, 9, and 10. The award term is conditioned on the Government’s continuing need for service and availability of funds. If the Contractor earns an Award Term, per the process in paragraphs (b) and (c) below, the applicable Award Term period will be converted to a conventional option period; this option period may or may not be exercised by the Government, just as the Government reserves the right to exercise any other option period on the contract. If the Contractor does not earn the Award Term, then the Government will not exercise the option period associated with said Award Term.

(b) Earning Award Term. The award term earned will be based on the Contractor's performance during each evaluation period. The Government will evaluate the Contractor's performance as excellent, satisfactory, or unsatisfactory in accordance with Table 1 below. 9 out of the 12 elements must receive blue ratings as described in Table 1 below in order to receive a 1-year award term extension. The elements are equally weighted.

(c) Monitoring of Performance. The Government will regularly monitor evaluation criteria and provide feedback to the Contractor if performance is not satisfactory. At the end of the award term period, the ARB will evaluate the Contractor's performance and make a recommendation to the ADO. The ADO will make the final Award Term Determination. There are three possible Award Term Determinations: excellent (routinely meets or exceeds all contract requirements with no or minimal penalties and earns an award term), satisfactory (usually conforms to contract requirements, but does not meet award term objectives), and unsatisfactory (does not conform to contract requirements). The Contractor earns the award term if the ADO decides that the Contractor's performance was excellent overall (i.e., at least 9 out of the 12 elements receive a blue rating and no red ratings). If performance is determined to be satisfactory (green ratings) or unsatisfactory (red ratings), the Contractor does not earn the award term.

(d) Award Term Plan. The Award Term Plan is the basis for evaluating the Contractor's performance and for presenting an assessment of that performance to the ADO. The first annual award term evaluation will take place 12 months after the contract start. For Award Term Period 1 (Option Year 7), the evaluation score will be determined by the weighted scores of Award Term Boards 3, 4, and 5 per the schedule below. To earn Award Term Period 1, Award Term Board 5 evaluation results must be an excellent/blue rating, and at least one of either Award Term Board 3 or 4 shall be blue/excellent and no red/unsatisfactory annual ratings. Award term evaluations will be conducted annually; however, additional evaluations may be conducted more frequently at the discretion of the ADO. Award Term Boards will be held per schedule as follows:

(e) Interim Evaluation Process. Interim evaluations may be conducted at the discretion of the ADO. The ARB recorder notifies ARB members and CORs 14 calendar days before the end of the evaluation period. CORs submit their evaluation reports to the ARB 21 calendar days after this notification. The ARB determines the interim evaluation results. The CO notifies the Contractor of strengths and weaknesses for the current evaluation period. The CO may also issue letters at any time when necessary to highlight areas of concern. The ADO will sign out official letter to the Contractor of interim evaluation results. The Contractor may request follow up meeting with the ADO to discuss the results of the evaluation.

(f) Annual Evaluations. The first award term evaluation will take place 12 months after the contract start date and then annually. If the option year following a contracted period of performance is not exercised (i.e., in accordance with this plan), no award term evaluation will take place in those years. The ARB recorder notifies ARB members and CORs 14 calendar days before the end of the evaluation period. CORs submit their evaluation reports to the ARB 14 calendar days after the end of the evaluation period. The CO provides COR reports to the Contractor. The Contractor may then address COR evaluations with the CO. The ARB prepares its evaluation report and recommendation regarding earned or unearned award term points. The ARB briefs the evaluation report and recommendation to the ADO within 30 calendar days after the end of the evaluation period. The ADO determines and provides to the CO the overall award term points for the evaluation period within 45 calendar days after each evaluation period. The ADO will sign out official letter to the Contractor of annual evaluation results. The Contractor may request follow up meeting with the ADO to discuss the results of the evaluation. Contingent on availability of funds, within 14 calendar days after the ADO's determination, the CO informs the Contractor of the award term points and issues a contract modification authorizing an award term based on the earned award term points. The first potential contract modification for award term option year #1 (Option Year #7) will be after award term board #5.

(g) Contractor's Self-Assessment. The Contractor's self-assessment shall be submitted to the COR within 7 days after the end of the evaluation period. Self-assessments will be required for only planned annual evaluation periods. This written assessment of the Contractor's performance throughout the evaluation period should contain any information that the Contractor wishes to provide to the ARB and the ADO for use in evaluating the Contractor's performance. The Contractor's self-assessment may not exceed 25 pages.

(h) Award Term Extension. The contract period may be unilaterally modified to reflect the ADO decision. The total contract period including extensions under this clause will not exceed 126 months.

(i) Evaluation Criteria. If the CO does not give specific notice in writing to the Contractor of any change to the evaluation criteria identified in Table 1 prior to the start of a new evaluation period, then the same criteria applying to the preceding period apply to the following award term evaluation period. Modifications to the plan shall take effect in the next evaluation period.

(j) Award Term Plan Changes. The Government may make unilateral changes to this plan prior to commencement of the period in which the changes take effect. Government proposed changes to future periods of performance will require coordination and discussions with the Contractor prior to any modifications to the Award Term Plan. Changes that apply to performance during the period in which a change is made shall require mutual agreement of the parties. Nothing in this plan shall excuse the Contractor from complying with the terms and conditions of the contract.

(k) Refusal of Award Term. The Contractor may refuse an award term. However, the Contractor shall notify the Government, in writing, no later than 10 days after receiving notice from the government that they have earned an award term.

Table 1: Acceptable Levels of Performance – Award Term Note: In the rows of the table, column 6 from the left identifies up to three regions of performance for Award Term purposes:

Blue region, where performance is Excellent;

Green region, where performance is Satisfactory;

Red region, where performance is Unsatisfactory.

(total penalties for 12 month award term period) Surveillance Method/ Measure

System Tiers

Platinum

2 or 3 penalties = Green 3+ penalties = Red

Frequency—Monthly Method of surveillance— Data Analysis, Monitoring

Gold

2 or 3 penalties = Green 3+ penalties = Red

Frequency—Monthly

Customer Satisfaction

Platinum

95% or higher with 2 or 3 penalties = Green < 95% or more than 3 penalties = Red

Frequency—Monthly Method of surveillance— Data Analysis, Monitoring

Customer Satisfaction

Gold

90% or higher with 2 or 3 penalties = Green < 90% or more than 3 penalties = Red

Frequency—Monthly Method of surveillance— Data Analysis, Monitoring

90% or higher = Blue < 90% = Red CPIF Plan evaluation

Completed per CPIF Workbook

90% = Blue < 90% = Red CPIF Plan evaluation

Platinum

1 penalties = Green 2 or more penalties = Red

Frequency—Monthly Method of surveillance— Data Analysis, Monitoring

Gold/Silver/ Bronze

2 or 3 penalties = Green 3+ penalties = Red

Frequency—Monthly Method of surveillance— Data Analysis, Monitoring

All tiers

2 or 3 penalties = Green 3+ penalties = Red Frequency—Monthly Method of surveillance— Data Analysis, Monitoring

COR verifies whether complaints are contractor caused.

10% or lower = Blue > 10% = Red Frequency—Monthly Method of surveillance— Data Analysis, Monitoring

Plan accepted and approved= Blue Plan accepted but not approved = Green No plan submitted or submitted plan is not feasible = Red Frequency—Annual Method – deliverable report

All work on approved POA&M complete within agreed timeline

2 or 3 penalties = Green 3+ penalties = Red

Frequency—Monthly