Genealogy Services - PWS - Final.pdf

Performance Work Statement

(Genealogical Support Services)

1.0 Background:

The Headquarters Marine Corps Casualty Section (MFPC), Military Personnel Services Branch, Manpower, and Reserve Affairs (M&RA) has a requirement to obtain non-personal professional services for a certified Genealogist. The requirement is for the technical expertise of the certified Genealogist to locate family members of Marines unaccounted for from past wars.

2.0 Scope/Objectives:

The Performance Work Statement (PWS) is for the non-personal services for a certified Genealogist for the procurement and delivery of fifty (50) cases. The Casualty Section is responsible for identifying relatives of Marines unaccounted for from past wars to donate a Family Reference Sample (FRS) for Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) testing.

The Contractor shall be required to provide the labor, supplies, materials, and facilities to assist the Casualty Section in locating family members of over 2700 Marines previously unaccounted for from World War II, approximately 149 Marines unaccounted for from the Vietnam War and the Korean War, and to locate family members of Marines previously recovered and identified from the Vietnam War, the Korean War and the Cold War when additional remains are recovered and identified.

American service members from previous wars who did not return home alive or whose remains were not recovered are considered “unaccounted for.” After a specific period of time, if no new information was received to confirm that these individuals were alive, a Presumptive Finding of Death (PFOD) was issued by the appropriate Service Secretary declaring them deceased, even if remains were not recovered. The Marine Corps has over 3800 Marines that were lost in military operations in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. Of the over 3800, the Marine Corps has been unable to locate family members of approximately 2849. The Marine Corps is often tasked with priority requests to locate living descendants of unaccounted for Marines from past conflicts when the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) believes they have recovered remains or have remains of unaccounted Marines in their Identification Laboratory. The skills of a professional certified genealogist are required to complete this mission.

3.0 Tasks and Specifications: The contractor shall be responsible for locating and providing contact information for the closest living family member. The objective of this requirement is to locate and provide contact information of the closest living family member, referred to as the “Primary Next of Kin” per Department of Defense Instruction 1300.18 (Personnel Casualty Matters, Policies and Procedures).

Additionally, provide contact information on living DNA eligible family members for approximately 2700 Marines unaccounted for from World War II and approximately 149 Marines unaccounted for from the Vietnam War, the Korean War and the Cold War, for the purpose of collecting Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), paternal (Y-DNA), and autosomal / nuclear (auDNA - children of service member) for FRS comparisons, and to locate family members of Marines previously recovered and identified from the Vietnam War, the Korean War, the Cold War, and World War II when additional remains are recovered and identified, in accordance with the Performance Work Statement.

The expectation is that the contractor will establish direct contact with any relatives of the deceased Marines to fulfill the requirements of this contract. Below are specific steps for potential relative/DNA donor contact:

1. The contractor shall contact the potential relative/DNA donor via phone and email (if available) to confirm relationship to the decedent on each case.

2. If the potential relative /DNA donor is not responsive to the initial attempt to establish contact within 24-hours, the contractor will execute three (3) follow-up attempts at establishing contact, but not exceeding one attempt per 24-hour period.

3. If the potential relative/DNA donor does not respond within 72 hours of the last attempt, the contractor may move-on to the next potential relative/DNA donor found on the genealogy report.

If the contractor has any questions or requires guidance, the contractor shall contact the Government representative (Name will be provided at award).

4. The DPAA and the Armed Forces Medical Examiner have requested maternal relatives be located for (mtDNA) DNA analysis and paternal relatives be located for contact, Y chromosome (Y- STR) DNA analysis and Nuclear (Autosomal) (au-STR) DNA analysis.

5. The contractor shall spend no more than 24 hours per case. When it is determined that a case will require more than 24 hours to complete, due to adoption, foster care, etc., the Contractor must notify the Casualty Section representative for discussion and guidance.

Below, are specific tasks in specific order that will be required:

3.1 The contractor shall first identify the Marine’s closest living family member, referred to as the “Primary Next of Kin” per Department of Defense Instruction 1300.18 (Personnel Casualty Matters, Policies and Procedures). Then, proceed as follows:

3.2 The contractor shall identify , if feasible, at least two maternal (mtDNA) DNA eligible relatives of the Marine. Continue to Task 3.3.

3.3 The contractor shall identify, if feasible, at least two paternal (Y-DNA) DNA eligible relatives of the Marine. Continue to Task 3.4

3.4 The contactor shall identify, if feasible, at least two nuclear / autosomal (auDNA) DNA eligible relatives of the Marine (service-member’s children if applicable).

3.5 The contractor shall report all potential Next of Kin (NOK) found as a result of the genealogy search, including any whose relationship is not DNA eligible (e.g., relationship is that of a paternal niece). The contractor shall report the NOK’s contact information (to include name, address, phone number, email, etc.) to MFPC within 7-10 days of receipt of the request from MFPC, once Contractor obtains verbal authorization from NOK. Information attained from the contractor must result in a successful contact with a NOK 90% of the time.

3.6 Should attempts to find the Marine’s NOK be unsuccessful, the contractor shall inform MFPC. Based on information provided, MFPC will make a case status determination.

4.0 Government Furnished Information: The U.S. Government will provide the DODI 1300.18 manual and technical information as required for the implementation of this contract. The Contractor must comply with the requirements of DODI 1300.18 including compliance with section 552a of title 5, United States Code (U.S.C.), “The Privacy Act of 1974.”

The Contracting Officer’s Representative may require that these items/files to be password protected.

Unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer, the Contractor will not use the Contractor's or a Third-Party's proprietary data, information, software items and/or other materials for any purpose without meeting the requirements of DFARS clause 252.227-7020, and without the specific, written approval by the Contracting Officer, prior to start of any work.

All Contract developed, generated and/or produced images and other items, and all associated intellectual property, (singularly or collectively hereinafter known as “Items”), completed or in progress under the contract will be provided to the Government and are solely and fully owned by the Government

(“Deliverables”). The Contractor will transfer all Contract Deliverables/Items, and all associated intellectual property, completed or in progress, to the Government, if not already delivered, upon contract completion.

The Marine Corps is required to have unrestricted access and use of all Deliverables/Items upon delivery.

The Contractor will provide all Deliverables/Items in a version, format, and media used/useable and modifiable by the Marine Corps. Therefore, unless otherwise directed by the COR, the Deliverables/Items identified in this PWS will be delivered in a media and an electronic format compatible with resources currently being used by the Government.

Moreover, the Contractor is obligated to protect from unauthorized use or disclosure all Government confidential or classified material and/or Government-owned proprietary, and/or Personally Identifiable Information or Personal-Privacy related, Items obtained in the course of performance under the Government contract, as long as such Items remain proprietary, confidential, sensitive or classified.

Contract personnel will not publish, divulge, disclose, or make known Items in any manner, or to any extent not authorized by the Contract, and Contractor personnel will not publish, divulge, disclose, or make known this information/Items/Deliverables in any manner or to any extent not authorized by the Contracting Officer. When the Contractor's need for such Items ends (including all database or GFI/GFE items), the Items will be returned promptly (within 10 business days or as required by Section 5.0) to the appropriate Government program personnel. However, the obligation not to discuss, disclose, release, reproduce or otherwise provide or make available such Items, or any portion thereof, will continue, even after completion of this Contract/Order. Any actual or suspected unauthorized use, disclosure, release, or reproduction of any Items or violation of this agreement, of which the company or any employee is or may become aware, will be reported promptly (within one business day) to the Contractor's program manager, who will inform the Contracting Officer within 5 business days of receiving such report.

5.0 Period of Performance and Delivery: The contractor shall provide at least five (5) cases monthly with a total of fifty (50) cases during the period of performance. Contractor shall provide the Government with the requested cases in an Adobe PDF formatting through electronic exchanges via e-mail communications. The contractor shall provide the cases/Items to the Government with the rights provided for under DFARS 252.227-7020, e.g., an assignment of all rights, title, and interest.

5.1 The contractor shall provide the following deliverables to the COR or Government Led for review using the best commercial practices for quality by the requested due dates.

5.2 All data and personnel documents provided to the Contractor shall be returned to the Government upon expiration of this award.

Task Deliverable Content Format Due Date

3.1

The contractor shall utilize MFPC’s standardized spreadsheet to report progress/successful contacts on a weekly basis.

Reports shall be submitted on time and be error free 90% of the time.

Adobe PDF/Report

First Case due to COR/Government Lead within seven (7) business days after receipt of the furnished Marine Corps document.

Then due to COR/Government Lead - Weekly

3.2

Produce contact sheets with the target family member/member’s full name, relationship to the decedent, current mailing address, and current telephone number, if available.

Adobe PDF/Report

Due to COR/Government Lead - Weekly (As Needed)

3.3

Create reports which illustrates the efforts and progress under tasks 3.1 and 3.2 with accomplishments and cite the number of hours worked per case. (Examples of reports will be provided to contractor for reference)

Extensions will be granted on a case-by-case basis as an exception.

Adobe PDF/Report

Due to COR/Government Lead - Weekly (As Needed)

5.2 Performance Requirements Summary (PRS)

The performance standards for the Performance Work Statement are stated in the PRS below:

Performance Objectives Standard Inspection, Type and Frequency Program Management • Responsive

• Thorough

• Comprehensi ve

• Complete

• Timely

• Weekly Reports

• Project officer feedback on the weekly reports

Genealogical Reports and other work demonstrating adherence to prescribed PWS procedures

• Current

• Accurate

• Complete

• Weekly Reports

• Project officer feedback on the weekly reports

• Continuous review Observation

5.3 Quality Surveillance and Performance Standards

The Government will conduct quality surveillance in accordance with the Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) above. Contractor performance shall be measured against the specific standards and metrics identified in the PRS. The Marine Corps will establish respective quality assurance surveillance plans to track timeliness of reports delivered and identify reporting backlogs. The PRS shall establish standards for evaluating the reports required under this PWS.

6.0 Contractor Furnished Material (CFM): Contractor shall furnish all reports/cases utilizing Adobe/PDF format.

The Government shall reserve the right to request that these reports/cases are password protected and will inform the contractor prior to receiving the reports/cases.

7.0 Government Responsibilities: Government personnel will be made available, whether in person, email, phone and/or Microsoft Teams (whichever is most efficient) to provide technical input, answer contractors questions, clarify and provide feedback on any cases or finds, review completed draft deliverables and provide final point of contact for deliverable, completed cases.

8.0 Security Requirements: Actions in support of this effort will be unclassified but sensitive in nature.

The Contractor shall not disclose information obtained or generated as a result of this effort without prior approval of the Headquarters Marine Corps Casualty Section. The contractor shall be required to sign a Non-Disclosure Addendum (NDA) at time of award.

9.0 Place of Performance: Performance will be at the contractor’s site.

10.0 Travel: Travel is not required and/or authorized.

11.0 Period of Performance:

Period of performance is for one base year as follows:

CLIN PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Base Period 0001 29 September 2023 – 28 September 2024

12.0 Government Furnished Information:

The U.S. Government will provide the DODI 1300.18 manual and technical information as required for the implementation of this contract.

13.0 Inspection/Acceptance:

All deliverables will be inspected by the Government Technical Lead/Representative. The Government Technical Lead/Representative will provide the Contractor with written feedback for individual deliverables and will accept all formal deliverables via email. Unless otherwise directed by the Government Technical Representative, reports shall be submitted to the Government in Microsoft Office format and/or Adobe PDF (currently Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.x); file names shall clearly be labeled with the Marine Case and the genealogist who worked on the case and include the following: last name, first name, middle name (if applicable) and past conflict (i.e., Halstead, Murat, WWII, Tarawa).

14.0 Non-Personal Services Statement:

Contractor employees performing services under this contract will be controlled, directed, and supervised at all times by Contractor management personnel. Contractor management shall ensure all employees comply with the performance work standards outlined in this PWS. Contractor employees shall perform their duties independent of, and without the supervision of, any Government official or other Defense Contractor. The tasks, duties, and responsibilities set forth in this PWS shall not be interpreted or implemented in any manner that results in any Contractor employee creating or modifying federal policy, obligating the appropriated funds of the United States Government, overseeing the work of federal employees, providing direct personal services to any federal employee, or otherwise violating the prohibitions set forth in Subparts 7.5 and 37.1 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). The Government will grant contractor access to the facilities and will perform the inspection and acceptance of the completed work.

15.0 Government Technical Representative:

NAME: To Be Provided at Time of Award

ADDRESS:

TELEPHONE:

EMAIL:

The Government Technical Representative will represent the Contracting Officer in the administration of technical details within the scope of this contract and will perform inspection and acceptance of all deliverables. The Government Technical Representative is not otherwise authorized to make any representations or commitments of any kind on behalf of the Contracting Officer or the Government. The Government Technical Representative does not have the authority to alter the Contractor's obligations or change the specifications in the contract or issue Task Orders. If, as a result of technical discussions, it is desirable to alter contract obligations or statements of work, a modification must be issued in writing and signed by the Contracting Officer. The Government Technical Representative is responsible for reviewing the invoices submitted by the Contractor and informing the Contracting Officer of areas where exceptions are to be taken. The Government Technical Representative authority is non-delegable. The Government Technical Representative may be personally liable for unauthorized acts.

Performance Objectives