Final_Solicitation_-_RFP_ID11190004.docx

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)

ISSUED AS AN OPEN MARKET COMPETITION

FOR

GINNIE MAE DIGITAL eVAULT PILOT

ISSUED BY:

GSA

FAS/NCR

301 7TH & D STREETS, S.W. - Room 6124

WASHINGTON, DC 20407

AUGUST 2, 2019

NCR FAS Project Number ID11190004

SECTION 1 – SOLICITATION/CONTRACT FORM

1.0 SF1449

1.1 Please See Attachment E

SECTION 2 – SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

2.0 SUPPLIES OR SERVICES AND PRICES/COSTS

2.1 GENERAL

Ginnie Mae is seeking to obtain a robust electronic vault (“eVault”) solution that is fully integrated with the MERS eRegistry to use as secure storage for eNotes and other Trailing eDocs that serve as collateral for Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) carrying the Ginnie Mae Guarantee. Ginnie Mae will use the eVault solution as part of a pilot program to test the processes, policies, and controls necessary to enable Mortgagees participating as Issuers in its MBS Program to securitize federally-insured or guaranteed mortgage loans executed on eNotes (“the Pilot”). The purpose of this contract is for the contractor to provide the eVault Pilot solution being requested. The contractor shall demonstrate a substantial record of successful performance in executing transactions with the MERS eRegistry, and the ability to support eNote transactions at levels of a minimum of 15,000 per year in a secure vault.

The contractor shall provide the products and services required by this contract on a Firm-Fixed Price (FFP) basis.

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, material, facilities, equipment, administrative, financial, and managerial resources necessary for the performance of the awarded contract and shall not be separately priced.

2.2 PRICING TABLES

The following abbreviations are used in this pricing section:

CLIN: Contract Line Item Number FFP: Firm Fixed Price NSP: Not Separately Priced SA: Semi-Annual The contractor shall perform the effort required by this contract on a Firm-Fixed-Price (FFP) basis for CLINs:

· 0001 thru 0007

· 1001 thru 1007

· 2001 thru 2007

· 3001 thru 3007

· 4001 thru 4007

Except as specified herein, the contractor’s price for each CLIN must include all costs for labor, material, equipment, etc., necessary to perform all requirements.

2.2.1 BASE PERIOD:

2.2.1.1 FFP CLINs

TOTAL MANDATORY BASE PERIOD FFP CLINs: ___________________________

2.2.1.2 OPTION PERIOD 1:

2.2.1.2.1 FFP CLINs

TOTAL OPTION PERIOD 1 FFP CLINs: _____________________

2.2.1.3 OPTION PERIOD 2:

2.2.1.3.1 FFP CLINs

TOTAL OPTION PERIOD 2 FFP CLINs: ________________________

2.2.1.4 OPTION PERIOD 3:

2.2.1.4.1 FFP CLINs

TOTAL OPTION PERIOD 3 FFP CLINs: __________________________

2.2.1.5 OPTION PERIOD 4:

2.2.1.5.1 FFP CLINs

TOTAL OPTION PERIOD 4 FFP CLINs: ___________________________

GRAND TOTAL BASE AND OPTIONS 1 THROUGH 4: _________________________

SECTION 3 – DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATION/STATEMENT OF WORK

3.0 STATEMENT OF WORK

3.1 ORGANIZATION

Ginnie Mae Office of Strategic Policy 451 7th Street, S.W.

Washington, DC 20410

3.2 MISSION

Ginnie Mae is a wholly owned corporate instrumentality of the United States located within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Its powers are prescribed by Title III of the National Housing Act, as amended (12 U.S.C. 1716 et seq.). Through its Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) programs, Ginnie Mae guarantees privately issued securities that are backed by pools of mortgages insured or guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Rural Development (RD) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and HUD’s Public and Indian Housing program (PIH). The guarantee ensures MBS investors that the timely payment of principal and interest due for each Ginnie Mae-Guaranteed MBS is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States Government.

With the use of its MBS program, Ginnie Mae serves as the principal financing arm for government loans and is responsible for ensuring that funds flow into the mortgage market. The Ginnie Mae MBS Programs are governed by Guaranty Agreements entered into by Ginnie Mae and Issuers according to the terms of the Mortgage-Backed Securities Guide 5500.3, Rev. 1 (“MBS Guide”).

Ginnie Mae has committed to developing and implementing the policies, technology, and operational capabilities necessary to enable Issuers to use eNotes, Trailing eDocs, and other digitized loan files as acceptable collateral for Ginnie Mae MBS. To accomplish this objective, Ginnie Mae plans to launch a Pilot in 2019 to test its approach, optimize processes, and arrive at a strategy that promotes large-scale adoption of eNotes in the government mortgage segment. The viability of the Pilot depends, in part, on Ginnie Mae’s ability to obtain an eVault and eVault support services outlined in this solicitation.

SECTION 3– DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

In light of the growth in Ginnie Mae’s portfolio and the recent turmoil in the financial markets, Ginnie Mae has taken steps directed at improving and increasing its ability to monitor the financial health of these counterparties and thus better manage its risk profile.

3.3 CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

Ginnie Mae currently does not have plans to establish an eVault on any special system platform at the Ginnie Mae hosted data center. This requirement is for a cloud solution as specified under Section 3.5.4 of this solicitation.

3.4 SCOPE

Ginnie Mae is seeking to obtain a robust electronic vault (“eVault”) solution that is fully integrated with the MERS eRegistry to use as secure storage for eNotes and other Trailing eDocs1 that serve as collateral for Mortgage Backed Securities (MBS) carrying the Ginnie Mae Guarantee. Ginnie Mae will use the eVault solution as part of a pilot program to test the processes, policies, and controls necessary to enable Mortgagees participating as Issuers in its MBS Program to securitize federally-insured or guaranteed mortgage loans executed on eNotes (“the Pilot”). For each eNote securitized during the Pilot, Ginnie Mae will use the eVault to update its status as a rights holder in the MERS® eRegistry in accordance with various scenarios, including but not limited to, loan payoff, borrower default, or the transfer of mortgage servicing rights, as well as to execute transfers of control and location for eNotes associated with defaulted Issuer portfolios.2

Ginnie Mae is developing and implementing the policies, technology, and operational capabilities necessary to enable Issuers to use eNotes, Trailing eDocs, and other digitized loan files as acceptable collateral for Ginnie Mae MBS3

1 Please see Attachment A for a definition of eNote and eDoc respectively.

2 Please see Mortgage-Backed Securities Guide, HUD Handbook 5500.3 Rev-1 for a description of the various scenarios that can cause Ginnie Mae to default an Issuer. The MBS Guide is available on Ginnie MaeE’s website at http://www.ginniemae.gov.

3 Please see Ginnie Mae’s Digital Collateral Strategy outlined in Ginnie Mae 2020, a White Paper detailing Ginnie Mae’s strategic road map, accessible at https://www.ginniemae.gov/newsroom/publications/Documents/ginniemae_2020.pdf

SECTION 3 – DESCRIPTION/SPECIFICATIONS/STATEMENT OF WORK

3.5 PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

The contractor shall provide an eVault as well as all personnel, expertise, material, facilities, equipment, administrative, financial, and managerial resources necessary for the performance of this contract to meet Ginnie Mae’s Pilot objectives, as shown below:

3.5.1 eVault Implementation and Onboarding Services.

APPLICABLE CLINS: 0001-0001e, 1001, 2001, 3001, 4001

3.5.1.1 Coordinate a Kick-Off Meeting.

The contractor shall schedule and coordinate an in-person or virtual Project Kick-Off Meeting approved by the Government (Section 6, Deliverable - 02). The meeting will provide an introduction between the contractor personnel and Government personnel who will be involved with the contract. The meeting will provide the opportunity to discuss technical and management aspects of the contract. At a minimum, the attendees shall include representatives performing the work and those from the directorates, other relevant Government personnel and the General Services Administration (GSA), National Capital Region (NCR), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

At least three days prior to the Kick-Off Meeting, the contractor shall provide a Kick-Off Meeting Agenda (Section 6, Deliverable - 01) for review and approval by the GSA AAS COR and the Ginnie Mae Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) prior to finalizing. The agenda shall include, at a minimum, the following topics/deliverables:

0. Points of contact (POCs) for all parties

0. Discuss Implementation that includes schedule and tasks, etc.

0. Security discussion and requirements (i.e., building access, badges, common access cards (CACs)

0. Personnel discussion (i.e., roles and responsibilities and lines of communication between contractor and Government)

0. Invoicing requirements

0. Transition-Out discussion

0. Discuss Contractor Quality Control Methods.

3.5.1.2 Licensing and User Credentials Provide Ginnie Mae with any and all necessary user and/or software licenses or credentials necessary for Ginnie Mae employees or third-party agents to access the documents stored in the eVault and execute the transactions described in Section 3.5.2. Licenses must be fully transferrable to Ginnie Mae.

3.5.1.3 Onboarding and Integration. Perform all necessary activities to establish connectivity between the Ginnie Mae acquired production eVault identified in Section 3.5.4 of the MERS eRegistry and eDelivery services, including any necessary system testing. If a data transfer is required with existing Ginnie Mae systems, integration must support secure connectivity and data transfer with Ginnie Mae infrastructure, currently deployed at Ginnie Mae’s Managed Data Center supported by IBM, as the contractor.

3.5.2 eNote Transaction Volume Requirements.

APPLICABLE CLINS: 0002, 1002, 2002, 3002, 4002

Contractor shall execute transactions that update the rights holder filed in the MERS eRegistry for a minimum of 15,000 eNotes per year, including for example, transactions that execute transfers of control and/or location. The various fields in the eRegistry for each eNote may be updated several times each year.

3.5.3 eNote Storage Volume Requirements.

APPLICABLE CLINS: 0003-0003a, 1003-1003a, 2003-2003a, 3003-3003a, 4003-4003a

Contractor shall have the capacity over the life of the awarded contract to store a minimum of 75,000 copies of the Authoritative Copy of the eNotes for which Ginnie Mae is identified as a rights holder as well as other related eDocs for each such note, including but not limited to copies of title insurance policies or other digitized loan closing files or pool/loan package files.

3.5.3.1 Batch/Bulk Processing Requirements. Provide end users with the ability to initiate MERS eRegistry updates in batch for multiple eNotes at a time (Ginnie Mae understands that the eRegistry will accept/perform each such transaction sequentially and not in bulk/batch) even in cases when the Authoritative Copy of the eNote is not changing location. The eVault must also be able to execute bulk/batch transfers of location and control of the Authoritative Copy such that the Ginnie Mae acquired eVault becomes the location of the Authoritative Copy.

3.5.4 Production eVault Platform Requirements and Specifications.

APPLICABLE CLINS: 0004-0004a-e, g-h, 1004-1004a-e, g-h, 2004-2004a-e, g-h, 3004-3004a-e, g-h, 4004-4004a-e, g-h

A production eVault accessible by Ginnie Mae and its agents to use as secure storage for eNotes and other electronic loan files, including Title Insurance Policies, HUD prescribed forms, and security instruments (“Trailing eDocs”) that meets the following specifications:

· Be fully integrated with the MERS eRegistry.

· Interface with MERS® eRegistry seamlessly and enable Ginnie Mae to update the MERS eRegistry as needed to reflect Ginnie Mae’s status as a rights holder to the eNote for the life the corresponding loan, or for any other time period prescribed by Ginnie Mae.

3.5.4.1 MERS eRegistry Integration and eDelivery Integration. The contractor’s eVault shall:

· Have the capability to transfer eNotes and any other eDocs in eVault System to another eVault using MERS eDelivery.

· Be capable of establishing a relationship between an eNote and other eDocs related to the same loan such that end users are capable of accessing all documents stored within an eVault that relate to the same loan.

· Support eNote paper out process and deactivation.

3.5.4.2 Software as a Service (SaaS). The contractor’s eVault shall:

· Be a web-based turnkey solution offered as a web-service.

· Provide true electronic vaulting capabilities with a minimum of effort.

· Cloud Platform must meet and comply with all federal FedRAMP requirements. Contractor must comply with information technology security requirements as stated in Section 8.6.1.2 – “Information Technology Security.”

3.5.4.3 Cloud-Based Dynamic Storage. The contractor’s eVault shall:

· Enable document accessibility through a centralized and privileged platform.

· This platform shall be installed behind the institution’s firewall and tightly integrated to existing processes, while allowing authorized, third-party access.

3.5.4.4 Data and Data Validation Standards. The contractor’s eVault shall:

· Support the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) industry standard document version in which the eNote or other eDocs were originally created for the life of loan.

· Allow for the encryption of documents and wrapping them in a Tamper-Evident Seal to instantly identify and reject unauthorized document modifications. This shall, at a minimum, include detailed audit trails that establish both compliance and veracity of electronically signed documents.

· Verify document integrity including, but not limited to, compliance with eNote Document Type Definition (“DTD”) or schema and eNote Tamper Evident Seal before accepting documents.

· Log the validations of eNotes’ and any other SMART Documents’ Tamper Seals in a manner that allows Ginnie Mae to validate the same.

· Support one or more authentication methods to authenticate user access.

· Be capable of identifying whether an eNote being stored is the Authoritative Copy or a copy of the Authoritative Copy.

3.5.4.5 Data Security and System Availability Standards. The contractor’s eVault shall:

· Be a Federal Information System Controls Audit Manual (FISCAM)/ Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA)-Certified Platform and shall implement security operations that ensure compliance with these standards.

· Be available 99.99% of the time and only considered unavailable when the servicer goes off line.

· Support operability in accordance with the required service levels. Automated and/or manual component testing shall be in place and performed to prevent threats and ensure recoverability.

· Prevent unauthorized viewing of the most sensitive data and documents through restricted access.

· A Disaster Recovery (DR) Plan and procedures that enable institutions to rapidly recover mission-critical data stored in the eVault. A DR Test Plan must be conducted annually, and the results provided to Ginnie Mae.

3.5.4.8 Support Compliance with eCommerce Laws. Support the storage of eNotes and Trailing eDocs in a manner that is consistent with the provisions of UETA and ESIGN as applicable by safeguarding the reliability of the documents, supporting paper-out procedures, as well as de-registration and deactivation of eNotes from MERS eRegistry.

3.5.5 eVault Environment for Testing Upcoming Code Releases and Patches.

APPLICABLE CLINS: 0005-0005a, 1005-1005a, 2005-2005a, 3005-3005a, 4005-4005a

A test environment, other than the UAT environment identified in Section 3.5.5.1, that supports test execution with hardware, software and network that is configured as per the need of the development and testing users for unit testing, system testing and/or integration testing of programming that has not been incorporated or deployed in the production environment. The Contractor shall provide patches on a regular schedule for Ginnie Mae testing in the test environment.

3.5.5.1 eVault Environment for User Acceptance Testing. In addition to the production eVault identified in Section 3.5.4, the contractor shall also provide an eVault/eVault environment that replicates the production environment in a manner that is sufficient to conduct user acceptance testing (“UAT”). During UAT, software users will test the software to make sure it can handle required tasks in real-world scenarios, according to specifications, and to identify issues.

3.5.6 Reporting.

APPLICABLE CLINS: 0006-0006c, 1006a, 1006c, 2006a, 2006c, 3006a, 3006c, 4006a, 4006c

The contractor shall provide summary reports for event logs as specified under Standard/Audit Reporting, as well as ad hoc reports under Post-Implementation Custom Reporting as specified under Section 6 of this solicitation.

3.5.6.1 Standard Audit/Reporting.

The eVault solution shall provide a suite of standard system audit and use reports including event detail and summary reports relating to event logs, document inventories, eNote registration, eNote transfers, eDelivery events, eNote validations, and Ginnie Mae rights holder status by MERS Mortgage Identification Number (MIN).

3.5.6.2 API Integrations. The contractor’s eVault’s Application Programming Interface (API) shall:

· Allow for a seamless integration with Ginnie Mae systems, or have the capability to buildout integrations to enable potential auto-certification solutions and/or external interfaces.

· The contractor shall ensure that no data/functionality is exposed.

3.5.6.3 Post-Implementation Custom Reporting.

The contractor shall have technical staff available to perform ad hoc functions required by Ginnie Mae after the initial implementation, consisting of custom reports that are requested by the Government. The custom reports shall include any combination of fields reflected or captured by the eVault system. Once developed, the government must be able to reproduce and retrieve the report at any time without contractor intervention. The government estimates a need for up to six custom reports in the base year and approximately up to three custom reports in the option years.

3.5.7 Post-Implementation API Integration.

APPLICABLE CLINS: 0007, 1007, 2007, 3007, 4007

The contractor shall have technical staff to assist Ginnie Mae in completing API integrations to Ginnie Mae’s proprietary systems.

3.5.7.1 Support API integration in accordance with Ginnie Mae’s proprietary systems.

3.5.8 Post-Implementation Help-Desk Technical Support.

APPLICABLE CLINS: 0008, 1008, 2008, 3008, 4008

The contractor shall provide live technical support services for Ginnie Mae eVault users between the hours of 9:00 am EST and 5 pm EST, excluding federal holidays and weekends. For each technical support request, the vendor’s technical support staff shall be reachable within 2 hours from Ginnie Mae’s initial contact. A log of all inquiries should be maintained. A monthly report on the disposition of all tickets shall be submitted to the Government. The Government anticipates no more than 5-10 calls per week.

3.5.9 Transition Out Services.

APPLICABLE CLIN: 4009

The contractor shall provide Transition-Out support when required by the Government. The Transition-Out Plan shall facilitate the accomplishment of a seamless transition from the incumbent to the incoming contractor/Government personnel at the expiration of the contract. The contractor shall provide a draft Transition-Out Plan within six months of the expiration date. (Section 6, Deliverable 12). The Government will work with the contractor to finalize the Transition-Out Plan (Section 6, Deliverable -13) in accordance with Section 6.

In the Transition-Out Plan, the contractor shall identify how it will coordinate with the incoming contractor and/or Government personnel to transfer knowledge regarding the following:

a. Project management processes

b. Points of contact

c. Location of technical and project management documentation

d. Status of ongoing technical initiatives

e. Appropriate contractor to contractor coordination to ensure a seamless transition.

f. Schedules and milestones

g. Actions required of the Government

h. Transition of all technology, licenses and data to the incoming contractor.

The contractor shall also establish and maintain effective communication with the incoming contractor/Government personnel for the period of the transition via weekly status meetings or as often as necessary to ensure a seamless Transition-Out. The contractor shall implement its Transition-Out Plan NLT six months prior to expiration of the contract.

3.6 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

If any, Ginnie Mae documents will be provided after award.

SECTION 4 – PACKAGING AND MARKING

4.1 PRESERVATION, PACKAGING, PACKING, AND MARKING REQUIREMENTS:

The contractor shall deliver all electronic versions by submission into ITSS https://web.itss.gsa.gov/Login. Identified below are the required electronic formats, whose versions must be compatible with Microsoft 2003 or more recent versions.

4.2 MARKING OF REPORTS:

All reports delivered by the Contractor to the Government under this contract shall be delivered through ITSS and to the Ginnie Mae TPOC which shall be provided at award. The ITSS website is provided below:

ITSS Portal: portal.fas.gsa.gov

SECTION 5 – INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

5.1 INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE BY THE GOVERNMENT

5.1.1 PLACE OF INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

Inspection and acceptance of the products and services provided by the Contractor under this contract shall be performed by the following GSA COR and the client Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) representative:

Angel Hernandez – Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) Ginnie Mae, Office of Strategic Policy 451 7th Street SW Washington, DC 20410 Email: angel.hernandez@hud.gov

5.1.2 SCOPE OF INSPECTION

5.1.2.1 All deliverables will be inspected for conformance to contract requirements by the client representative. Inspection may include validation of information or software through the use of automated tools and/or testing of the deliverables, as specified in the contract.

5.1.2.2 The Government requires a period not to exceed ten (10) working days after receipt of initial access to the Contractor’s service for inspection and acceptance or rejection.

5.2 BASIS FOR ACCEPTANCE

5.2.1 The basis for acceptance shall be in compliance with the requirements set forth in the contract, the contractor’s proposal and relevant terms and conditions of the contract. Deliverable items rejected shall be corrected in accordance with the applicable clauses.

The final acceptance will occur when all discrepancies, errors, or other deficiencies identified in writing by the Government have been resolved, through documentation updates, program correction, or other mutually agreeable methods.

Reports, documents, and narrative-type deliverables will be accepted when all discrepancies, errors, or other deficiencies identified in writing by the Government have been corrected.

If the draft deliverable is adequate, the Government may accept the draft and provide comments for incorporation into the final version.

All of the Government’s comments on deliverables shall either be incorporated in the succeeding version of the deliverable, or the contractor shall explain to the Government’s satisfaction why such comments should not be incorporated.

If the Government finds that a draft or final deliverable contains spelling errors, grammatical errors, or improper format, or otherwise does not conform to the quality assurance requirements stated within this contract, the document may be rejected without further review and returned to the contractor for correction and resubmission. If the contractor requires additional Government guidance to produce an acceptable draft, the contractor shall arrange a meeting with the GSA AAS COR.

5.2.2 DRAFT DELIVERABLES

The Government will provide written acceptance, comments, and/or change requests, if any, within 15 workdays (unless specified otherwise in Section 6.4 - Deliverables or Performance) from Government receipt of the draft deliverable. Upon receipt of the Government comments, the contractor shall have ten workdays to incorporate the Government’s comments and/or change requests and to resubmit the deliverable in its final form.

5.2.3 WRITTEN ACCEPTANCE/REJECTION BY THE GOVERNMENT

The GSA AAS COR will provide written notification of acceptance or rejection of all final deliverables within 15 workdays (unless specified otherwise in Section 6 – Deliverable Schedule). All notifications of rejection will be accompanied with an explanation of the specific deficiencies causing the rejection.

5.3 DELIVERABLES

The contractor shall:

· Deliver to the government all information and products developed under this RFP in electronic media.

5.3.1 NONCONFORMING PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

Non-conforming products or services will be rejected. Deficiencies shall be corrected, by the contractor, within ten workdays of the rejection notice. If the deficiencies cannot be corrected within ten workdays, the contractor shall immediately notify the GSA AAS COR of the reason for the delay and provide a proposed corrective action plan within ten workdays.

If the contractor does not provide products or services that conform to the requirements of this contract, the Government will withhold the fixed price until the non-conforming products or services are remediated.

SECTION 6 – DELIVERIES OR PERFORMANCE

6.1 DELIVERABLES OR PERFORMANCE

The principal place of performance shall be the Contractor site. Meetings, if required, shall be virtual.

6.1.1 NOTICE REGARDING LATE DELIVERY

The Contractor shall notify the GSA COR as soon as it becomes apparent to the Contractor that a scheduled delivery will be late. The Contractor shall include in the notification the rationale for late delivery, the expected date for the delivery and the project impact of the late delivery. The GSA COR will review the new schedule and provide guidance to the Contractor via a contract modification. Such notification in no way limits the Government's right to any and all rights and remedies up to and including termination.

6.2 PLACE(S) OF DELIVERY

Originals of all correspondence and invoices related to this contract shall be submitted in ITSS at: https://web.itss.gsa.gov/Login.

NOTE: FAILURE TO SUBMIT THE REPORTS/INVOICES IN ITSS WILL RESULT IN REJECTION OF THE REPORT/DELIVERABLE.

6.2.1 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance shall be one base year and four (4) one-year option periods from date of award.

6.3 CONTRACT SCHEDULE AND MILESTONE DATES

The following schedule of milestones will be used by the NCR AAS COR to monitor timely progress under this contract.

The following abbreviations are used in this schedule:

CA: Contract Award

Performance Start

At Contract Award

The contractor shall mark all deliverables listed in the above table to indicate authorship by contractor (i.e., non-Government) personnel; provided, however, that no deliverable shall contain any proprietary markings inconsistent with the Government's data rights set forth in this Contract. The Government reserves the right to treat non-conforming markings in accordance with subparagraphs (e) and (f) of the FAR clause at 52.227-14.

6.5 PUBLIC RELEASE OF CONTRACT DOCUMENTS REQUIREMENT

The contractor agrees to submit, within ten workdays from the date of the GSA COD CO’s execution of the initial contract, or any modification to the contract (exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays, and Federal holidays), a portable document format (PDF) file of the fully executed document with all proposed necessary redactions, including redactions of any trade secrets or any commercial or financial information that it believes to be privileged or confidential business information, for the purpose of public disclosure at the sole discretion of GSA. The contractor agrees to provide a detailed written statement specifying the basis for each of its proposed redactions, including the applicable exemption under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 552, and, in the case of FOIA Exemption 4, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(4), shall explain why the information is considered to be a trade secret or commercial or financial information that is privileged or confidential. Information provided by the contractor in response to the contract requirement may itself be subject to disclosure under the FOIA. Submission of the proposed redactions constitutes concurrence of release under FOIA.

GSA will carefully consider the contractor’s proposed redactions and associated grounds for nondisclosure prior to making a final determination as to what information in such executed documents may be properly withheld.

SECTION 7 – CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

7.1 CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

The GSA FAS CO will appoint a GSA AAS COR in writing through a COR Appointment Letter (Section 10 – List of Attachments, Attachment C). The GSA AAS COR will receive, for the Government; all work called for by the contract and will represent the GSA FAS CO in the technical phases of the work. The GSA AAS COR will provide no supervisory or instructional assistance to contractor personnel.

The GSA AAS COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions, scope, schedule, and price of the Contract. Changes in the scope of work will be made only by the GSA FAS CO by properly executed modifications to the contract.

7.1.1 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION

7.1.2 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

(a) A contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) may be appointed to assist the contracting officer in administration of this contract.

(b) When the appointment of a COR is deemed necessary, the contracting officer will issue the formal Letter of Appointment defining the scope and limitations of the authority of the designated COR. A copy of the COR appointment letter will be maintained in the contract file. (See Attachment B)

(c) In no event is the COR authorized to direct any action which:

(1) Exceeds the scope or limitations specified in the Letter of Appointment; or

(2) Constitutes a change to the Statement of Work (SOW) or any other term or condition of the contract. Such changes may be authorized only upon written notification by the contracting officer.

7.2 INVOICE SUBMISSION:

The contractor shall provide invoice backup data, including products and services provided in accordance with pricing specified in the awarded Contract. The contractor shall submit invoices as follows: Invoices shall be sent to www.finance.gsa.gov, and https://portal.fas.gsa.gov

Additionally, reports, deliverables, and invoices must be submitted electronically by the Contractor to IT Solutions Shop (ITSS) for client review/acceptance. All invoices must include the Contract ID, and the GSA ACT# for proper identification. Failure to include this information may result in the Contractor having to resubmit the invoice and delaying payment.

7.2.1 INVOICE REQUIREMENTS:

The Contractor shall submit Requests for Payments to be considered proper for payment. In addition, the data elements indicated below shall be included on each invoice:

Contract number: (from GSA Form 1449, Block 2) Paying Number: (REQ/PURCHASE NO.)(From GSA Form 1449 Block 1) NCR Project No.: ID11190004 Project Title: Ginnie Mae Digital eVault Pilot

The contractor shall certify with a signed and dated statement that the invoice is correct and proper for payment.

The contractor shall provide invoice backup data in accordance with the contract type.

7.3 FIRM-FIXED-PRICE (FFP) CLINs:

The contractor may invoice for the period of performance as stated in Section 2 – Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs for the FFP CLINs. The invoice shall include the period of performance covered by the invoice (all current charges shall be within the active period of performance) and the CLIN number and title. All prices shall be reported by CLIN element (as shown in Section 2– Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs) and shall be provided for the current invoice and in total from project inception to date. The contractor shall provide the invoice data in spreadsheet form with the following detailed information:

1. FFP period of performance – as stated in Section B – Supplies or Services and Price/Costs)

1. Total Amount Paid (Lump Sum) by CLIN The listing shall include separate columns and totals for the current invoice period and the project to date.

7.4 NCR INVOICING INSTRUCTIONS:

A proper invoice shall be submitted not later than 5 work days after acceptance by the Government of the product, services and/or cost item for one twelfth (1/12) of the FFP CLIN amount on a monthly basis. In the absence of Government acceptance within 30 days, the contractor shall submit an invoice.

SECTION 7– CONTRACT ADMINISTRATION DATA

A separate invoice shall be submitted on official company letterhead with detailed costs for each of the following categories:

· For fixed price tasks, products delivered and accepted, listed by deliverable number

· Total other direct costs (ODC)

· Total invoice amount

· Prompt payment discount offered (if applicable)

For fixed price tasks, an invoice reflecting amounts that do not exceed the fixed price approved for that deliverable product or service in the task order shall be submitted for those tangible deliverable products or services that have been accepted by the Government. In addition to the above information, the invoice shall include the following minimum identification:

0. Contract Number, Order ID Number, Act Number, and Prompt Payment Discount

0. Requisition/Purchase number (assigned by GSA on the Contract, GSA Form 1449 Block 1)

0. Period of Performance (month services performed for work request orders, month deliverable completed for contracts).

0. Invoice Number

0. Client name & Phone Number, and Remittance address

When the paying office is GSA, the original of each invoice, with supporting documentation, invoices shall be submitted electronically as noted within Invoice Submission.

Invoices for final payment must be so identified and submitted when services have been completed and no further charges are to be incurred.

These close-out invoices, or a written notification that final invoicing has been completed, must be submitted to GSA within 30 days of order completion. A copy of the written acceptance of completion must be attached to final invoices. If the Contractor requires an extension of the 30-day period, a request with supporting rationale must be received by GSA prior to the end of the 30-day period.

SECTION 8 – SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

8.1 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED PROPERTY (GFP)

Government furnished property will not be provided.

8.2 GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED INFORMATION (GFI)

Government furnished information, where applicable, will be provided after award.

8.3 GINNIE MAE SYSTEM ADMINISTRATOR RIGHTS

The Contractor shall grant Ginnie Mae third-party system administrator access to the data covered by this requirement in order to load applicable data into the appropriate Ginnie Mae internal systems. This will be the only function of the third-party administrator with respect to the data and Ginnie Mae is responsible for such third party's compliance with the terms of Contractor's license agreement. Ginnie Mae will notify the Contractor of the designated thirdparty administrator who shall be granted access to data.

If the Contractor discontinues or modifies the required services in a manner that materially and adversely affects amount and functionality of the services, then Ginnie Mae may terminate the applicable services and Pricing Schedule by providing thirty (30) days prior written notice thereof, provided however, that such termination shall not take effect if the Contractor cures or corrects the services within such notice period.

8.4 SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

Work on this project does not require that Contractor personnel have access to sensitive, privileged, or Privacy Act information.

Contractor personnel shall not divulge or release privacy data or information developed or obtained in the performance of this contract, until made public or specifically authorized by the Government. The contractor must not use, disclose, or reproduce third party companies’ propriety data, other than as authorized and required in the performance of this contract.

8.5 INFORMATION ASSURANCE

The contractor may have access to sensitive (to include privileged and confidential) data, information, and materials of the U.S. Government. These printed and electronic documents are for internal use only and remain the sole property of the U.S. Government. Some of these materials are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 (AMENDED) and Title 38. Unauthorized disclosure of Privacy Act or Title 38 covered materials is a criminal offense.

SECTION 8 – SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS

8.5.1 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST (OCI)

1. If a contractor has performed, is currently performing work, or anticipates performing work that creates or represents an actual or potential OCI, the contractor shall immediately disclose this actual or potential OCI to the GSA AAS CO in accordance with FAR Subpart

9.5. The nature of the OCI may involve the prime contractor, subcontractors of any tier, or teaming partners.

1. The contractor is required to complete and sign an OCI Statement. The contractor must represent either that (1) It is not aware of any facts which create any actual or potential OCI relating to the award of this contract, or (2) It has included information in its quote, providing all current information bearing on the existence of any actual or potential OCI and has included a mitigation plan in accordance with paragraph (c) below.

1. If the contractor with an actual or potential OCI believes the conflict can be avoided, neutralized, or mitigated, the contractor shall submit a mitigation plan to the Government for review.

1. In addition to the mitigation plan, the GSA AAS CO may require further information from the contractor. The GSA AAS CO will use all information submitted by the contractor, and any other relevant information known to GSA, to determine whether an award to the contractor may take place, and whether the mitigation plan adequately avoids, neutralizes, or mitigates the OCI.

If any such conflict of interest is found to exist, the GSA AAS CO may determine that the conflict cannot be avoided, neutralized, mitigated, or otherwise resolved to the satisfaction of the Government and the contractor may be found ineligible for award. Alternatively, the GSA FAS CO may determine that it is otherwise in the best interest of the U.S. to contract with the contractor and include the appropriate provisions to avoid, neutralize, mitigate, or waive such conflict in the contract awarded.

8.6 STATUTES, REGULATIONS, POLICY AND GUIDELINES

1. The Contractor shall execute a comprehensive support service program in full conformance and compliance with all applicable statutes, regulations, policy and guidance in support of Ginnie Mae.

1. The Contractor shall conform to Ginnie Mae, Office of Strategic Policy Enterprise Architecture standards within the Office of Management and Budget Standard Architecture Format and all governing documents associated with the Ginnie Mae infrastructure, as applicable. Contractor shall conform to HUD and Ginnie Mae documentation standards. The link is provided below:

https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/cio/ppm

8.6.1 HUD SPECIFIC CLAUSES

8.6.1.1 Right to Audit Statement

CONTRACTOR agrees to retain all records, processes documentation, controls, flowcharts, and accounts related to AGENCY under this Agreement for a period of at least three (3) years from the completion date of any WORK. Such records, processes documentation, controls, flowcharts, and accounts shall itemize the names of employees, hours worked, services performed, materials used, and any other costs or expenses.

At any reasonable time, CONTRACTOR shall permit AGENCY or Ginnie Mae Contractor to review and audit all records and accounts related to costs and expenses invoiced to AGENCY which pertain to the non-fixed price transactions under this Contract. The contractor agrees to cooperate with all inspections (i.e. Contract Audit Reviews (CARs), OMB A-123, Appendix A, Operational Risk Assessments (RCSA), Vendor Risk Assessment (VRM), and Continuity of Operations (COOP) activities) and to resolve all findings to Ginnie Mae’s satisfaction at no additional cost to the Government. The contractor agrees that the government may deduct any monetary discrepancies from any invoice submitted by the contractor to correct any and all monetary findings. AGENCY's signature on time cards or other documents evidencing WORK performed or materials purchased shall not preclude AGENCY from receiving an adjustment to amounts paid to CONTRACTOR based on an audit or other review by or on behalf of AGENCY.

Such records shall include, but not be limited to, accounting records, written policies and procedures; flowcharts, subcontract files (including proposals of successful and unsuccessful bidders, bid recaps, etc.); all paid vouchers including those for out‐of‐pocket expenses; other reimbursement supported by invoices; ledgers; cancelled checks; deposit slips; bank statements; journals; original estimates; estimating work sheets; contract amendments and change order files; back charge…