SOW for FOIA Services.doc

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

1. Title. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Support Specialist.

2. Background. MSHA needs temporary part-time FOIA Specialist to fully meet its FOIA requests submitted to the Agency and related responsibilities for processing these requests. MSHA receives approximately 1400 FOIA requests per year related to subjects such as disaster investigations, rule making, contracting and procurement, and other agency activities. The objective of this acquisition is timely, accurate, and responsive handling of FOIA requests to prevent a backlog. The FOIA Specialist will be required to advise MSHA management on legal issues related to release of information and potential liability to the Agency. The Specialist will not have authority to make decisions on information to be released as this authority is reserved for MSHA senior management officials.

3. Scope. The FOIA Specialist will review FOIA requests as received, advise MSHA management on the potential response, and assist in drafting a response to MSHA Headquarters and Field Office FOIA requests. The Specialist will also assist in drafting and presenting FOIA guidance to MSHA FOIA coordinators to meet all reporting requirements. Legal and technical assistance will be provided to coordinators as necessary to process requests. Contractor/Specialist will be personally involved in the most complex and sensitive FOIA requests and will provide assistance in other related matters as required. Some of this advisory assistance may involve subject matter expertise unique to the mining industry and the rules and regulations enforced by MSHA. The Specialist is not required to have mining experience, but will be expected to understand basic mining terminology, the laws referenced in this requirement, and MSHA procedures related to enforcement and investigation activities. The work is primarily administrative in nature in an office environment.

4. Task 1 – Advisory work.

a. Subtask 1 – Advice to all MSHA top staff, all HQ FOIA coordinators and all MSHA field coordinators on unusual or complex FOIA requests.

b. Subtask 2 – Provide sensitive analyses and options related to complex FOIA cases, including those involving litigation.

Deliverable: Preparation of complete and thorough briefings, options and analyses of complex FOIA cases.

5. Task 2 - Tasks unique to MSHA or mining industry.

a. Subtask 1. Knowledge and familiarity with a wide variety of MSHA generated documents including documents related to enforcement actions, accident investigations, discrimination investigations, special investigations and litigation under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 as amended by the MINER Act.

b. Subtask 2. Analysis and Preparation of recommended FOIA responses in light of the Mine Act and its objectives.

Deliverable:

Analyze and prepare FOIA responses in light of MINE Act Enforcement and MSHA priorities for approval by MSHA management.

6. Task 3. Administrative tasks

a. Coordinates assignments where a request has multiple responses within the agency.

b. Assists and guides HQ Coordinators with administrative requirements of FOIA

c. Assists in preparation of FOIA reports to be submitted to the Department or the Department of Justice as required.

7. Performance Standards. All work performed will be professionally well written, accurate, concise, and easily understood by the FOIA coordinators and MSHA management. Report formats will be according to MSHA requirements.

8. Place of Performance.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration Headquarters located at 1100 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, VA 22209. Space will be provided by the Government on site with computer network access for e-mail exchanges. The Government will provide computers and related supplies for this effort.

9. Travel. Limited travel may be necessary to obtain information related to the FOIA request

10. Period of Performance. This requirement will be for a base period of 12 months with 2 Option periods of 12 months each. Exercise of option periods is dependent upon availability of funding and at the discretion of MSHA management. Services will begin immediately upon contract award.

11. Security. An active government security clearance will be required. Minimum level of security clearance is Secret.

12. Other Pertinent Information or Special Considerations.

a. Unique Qualifications to perform this work:

1. Extensive experience in handling FOIA requests

2. Knowledge of the Mine Act of 1977 as amended by the Miner Act

3. Legal background and education. Law degree required.

13. MSHA CONTRACTING OFFICER: The MSHA Contracting Officer for this contract is:

Darrell A. Cooper, CPCM

U.S. Department of Labor

Mine Safety and Health Administration

1100 Wilson Blvd, 21st Floor

Arlington, VA 22209-3939

Office: 202-693-9834

Fax: 202-693-9826

14. MSHA CONTRACTING OFFICER TECHNICAL REPRESENTATIVE (COTR):

To be determined at time of award.

15. Special provisions The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data – General shall apply to all deliverables and associated documentation, including technical data, related to this contract.

The contractor shall have no right to publish or release any report or material related to a report or FOIA request unless authorized in writing by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Contractor/ Specialist agrees to maintain the confidentiality of any information to which she/he may be given access, and not to disclose any such material or information without the U.S. Department of Labor written authorization.

The Contractor/ Specialist agrees that all reports submitted to MSHA shall be labeled as “Confidential and Privileged.”

ATTACHMENT 1

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)

Title: Mine Safety and Health Administration FOIA Service.

2. Work Requirements:

· Task 1 – Provide timely review of assigned FOIAs for review and clearance.

· Task 2 – Provide timely review of assigned FOIAs for initial review and response.

2. Primary Method of Surveillance: (choose a method that best fits your requirement To ensure quality of services provided, the program office/customer will be surveyed periodically to determine if work requirements are being met. Quality acceptance will be based upon professionalism, well written documentation and materials, and timeliness of deliverables.

3. Scope of Performance:

5. Performance Standards: The performance standards for this effort are as follows:

Field inquiries responded to within 24 hours

Clearance reviews completed by assigned deadlines

Initial review to draft and response prepared.

6. Acceptable Quality Level (AQL):

The AQL for this project is 100% due to the critical nature of the requests received

7. Evaluation Method:

The proposal submitted will be evaluated based upon the offeror’s ability to perform the work required, knowledge of the technical and legal aspects indicated above, and the overall price for the base period and option years. Prices submitted shall be inclusive of all costs except for travel. Any proposed travel expenses shall be listed separately and will be included in the overall cost evaluation.

Experience in processing FOIA requests and rendering legal opinions based upon FOIA requests is more important than knowledge of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 as amended by the MINER Act. Having a legal background is a mandatory requirement.

Price shall be considered in the overall evaluation to determine the best value for the Government. MSHA may pay a higher price to obtain the best value for this requirement.

ATTACHMENT 2

(CLIN STRUCTURE)

ITEM NO

SUPPLIES/SERVICES

QTY/UNIT

UNIT PRICE

AMOUNT

BASE PERIOD

Services

___Hours

(1 Year Period)

Descriptive Data:

The contractor shall provide services in accordance with the SOW entitled, Optional Travel

NTE$______

OPTIONAL PERIOD 1

Services

___Hours

The contractor shall provide services in accordance with the SOW entitled, OPTIONAL PERIOD 2

Services

___Hours

The contractor shall provide services in accordance with the SOW entitled, EVALUATION CRITERIA

Please submit a Past Performance, Technical and Price proposal to perform the requirements of the Statement of Work. Your proposal is to be UNCLASSIFIED. Use a 10 Point Font for your proposal. The following is the specific description of our proposal requirements for this Contract:

PRICE PROPOSAL: Provide a price for CLINs identified in attachment 2. CLIN 0001, 1000,and 2000 shall include a fully burdened hourly rate. In order to be more competitive and realistic to the specific work and location requirements of the SOW, please consider discounting your contract rates. The Unit Price and Amount columns in Attachment 2 “Task Order CLIN Structure” of the SOW shall be filled in. Please submit the price proposal as a separate document from the resume and past performance.

TECHNICAL PROPOSAL: To be considered responsive to this solicitation the follwing requirements must be met. The Technical Proposal must consist of a detailed Resume of the person proposed for this effort, consisting of work history and details regarding the knowledge, education, detailed experience and expertise as required in the statement of work. The Technical Proposal must contain an affirmative commitment to perform the work as described in the statement of work.

PAST PERFORMANCE PROPOSAL: Provide a summary of 2 of your most recent, related (relevant) references (projects) that best demonstrate your potential for success on this requirement. To be considered a recent project, the reference must have been completed within the last 3 years. Provide the contract number, name of project, name, phone number and email address of the customer representative that oversaw the project, the length of the project, dollar value and number of personnel who worked on the project. Limit response to 1 page per summary The Government intends to review all factors (past performance, technical, and price) in making a best value determination. After responses have been evaluated against these factors, the contract will be placed with the contractor that represents the best value based upon our integrated assessment of past performance, technical capabilities and price Your proposal must be received no later than January 29,2009. After this time, a proposal may be considered late and may not be considered for award. Please submit your proposal electronically via email to: cooper.darrell@dol.gov. No hardcopy should be sent. Any questions regarding this RFP can be addressed to Mr. Cooper at via email or by phone. H e can be reached at 202-693-9831

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