SOW_OPE_MPS_2015.pdf

Request for Proposal

MSPB

Employee Survey

March 2015

Employee Surveys ii

Table of Contents

Section Page

1. Mission

2. Background

3. Survey EXAMPLE

4. Scope of Work

4.1 Tasks

4.1.1 Import survey questions provided by MSPB into a web-based delivery system

4.1.2 Host the web server(s) for delivery of surveys

4.1.3 Collect survey data

4.1.4 Provide MSPB with database of response data for all completed surveys

4.1.5 Validate email addresses for MSPB’s sample of respondents

4.1.6 Generate unique user ID’s and passwords

4.1.7 Email user IDs and passwords to survey participants

4.1.8 Email reminders to survey participants

4.1.9 Mail paper-based surveys to selected participants

4.1.10 Receive and process returned paper-based surveys

4.1.11 Optional Task --- Obtain email addresses for MSPB’s sample of respondents

4.3 Travel

4.5 Privacy, Security, Confidentiality

4.5.1 Privacy and Security of Survey Administration and Survey Response Data

4.5.2 Confidentiality and Nondisclosure

5. Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative

6. Payment

7. Evaluation Criteria

7.1 Cost

7.2 Technical Quality

7.3 Timeliness

7.4 Prior Experience

8. Award

9. Option To extend Term of Contract

10. How to Submit Proposals

Request for Proposal

1. MISSION

The mission of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) is to protect Federal merit systems and the rights of individuals within those systems. The Board carries out its statutory responsibilities and authorities primarily by adjudicating individual employee appeals and by conducting merit system studies.

The Office of Policy and Evaluation (OPE) within MSPB is responsible for conducting studies of the civil service and other Federal merit systems and for reviewing the significant actions of the Office of Personnel Management.

Additional information about OPE research is available at http://www.mspb.gov/studies/mspbstudiespage.html.

2. BACKGROUND

MSPB is seeking an experienced survey delivery contractor to host and administer a web-based Merit Principles

Survey (MPS) and to provide associated technical support services. The MPS is anticipated to be administered during calendar year 2015. Contractors can host the survey within a secure cloud service environment that is

FedRAMP authorized or at their facilities, if their facilities have passed a FISMA and/or FedRAMP assessment for a moderate-impact system. The contractor must allow government agencies (i.e., DHS, DOD, MSPB) to conduct a site inspection of their hosting site, if requested, and meet all security requirements during the inspection. The survey tool and hosting services must meet all applicable Federal web-based or cloud-based data and information security, privacy, and confidentiality requirements including protection of PII information (see Section 4.5).

MSPB professional staff will develop survey question content; generate the survey sample; and analyze the resulting survey data. Accordingly, MSPB is not seeking professional assistance with survey sampling, data-weighting, or data analysis.

Note: At the time of this solicitation MSPB is unable to guarantee that a survey will be conducted during the current fiscal year. Nonetheless, it is our plan to select a contractor and issue a single year contract for web-based administration of our surveys.

3. SURVEY EXAMPLE

The Merit Principles Survey will collect responses from a sample of Federal employees soliciting their perceptions of their jobs, work environment, supervisors, and agencies. The survey results are used to identify areas of success and areas that require improvement to assist Federal leaders in building and sustaining a highly qualified and productive Federal workforce. The results of the survey will be widely distributed to Federal policy decision-makers.

Key characteristics of a Merit Principles Survey include:

1. Approximately 75 – 150 questions that will be developed by MSPB including a minimal number of open-ended questions, e.g., 5 to 10. The questions will be similar in format to the 2010 Merit Principles Survey, which can be obtained from [insert link];

2. A survey population of (i.e., distribution to) approximately 120,000 individuals, employed in multiple

Federal agencies (usually 20-50);

3. A field (“live”) period of four weeks, with an optional extension of two weeks;

4. Field testing of the web-based survey, typically for a two-week period beginning four to six weeks before the scheduled opening of the survey; and

5. Distribution of a limited number of paper surveys to respondents who cannot complete a web-based survey or request a paper survey.

http://www.mspb.gov/studies/mspbstudiespage.html

As noted above, pending sufficient funding, the Merit Principles Survey is scheduled to be completed during calendar year 2015.

4. SCOPE OF WORK

Bidders will address each of the following tasks in their response. Tasks 4.1.1 through 4.1.10 are firm requirements and will be covered by a single cost for the Merit Principles Survey. Tasks 4.1.11 and 4.1.12 are optional and MSPB has the option to not require the contractor to perform these tasks based on contractor capability, cost, and MSPB preference.

4.1 Tasks

4.1.1 Import MSPB-specified survey content and structure into a web-based delivery system.

1. Capability to execute MSPB-specified survey templates and content presentation preferences (e.g., colors, fonts, inclusion of the MSPB’s logo, page breaks, types of questions per page, and other general formatting). This also includes the ability to make surveys have the general “look and feel” of MSPB’s current web page (http://www.mspb.gov);

2. Capability to execute MSPB-specified survey question and response option design (e.g., style, font, size, colors, bold/italic/underline, spacing, row shading, etc.). The contractor’s web-based delivery system must support a wide range of question stems and character and numeric response formats and response scales;

3. Capability to execute MSPB-specified survey structure and question and response types such as various scaled or categorical responses, question skip patterns and branching, and, required and respondent driven responses;

4. The contractor’s web interface must allow MSPB to specify groups of questions and responses that will appear together on a single screen or page. Systems that can only present one question at a time to the user are not acceptable;

5. Open ended questions and options for how response data is gathered, saved, (e.g., format) and linked to other survey data for a particular record. It must be possible for a single screen to display several closed-ended questions on the same screen as an open-ended question rather than requiring a separate screen for different formats of questions. Open-ended question response fields must be scrolling to allow entry of more text than can be displayed in the response area at once. Some responses may be several sentences or a few paragraphs in length as participants will be providing suggestions or describing experiences or events from the workplace. It must be possible for MSPB to specify separate length limits for responses for each open-ended question. This limit should be communicated and enforced in a user-friendly manner, preferably as data is entered. There is no requirement that participants use bolding, underlining or other text formatting in open-ended responses. However, data should be gathered such that special characters

(e.g., returns, double spaces) within the response do not result in lost data. The resulting data will be unformatted ASCII text in a file format to be agreed upon by the contractor and MSPB. The resulting file should include identifying information for each respondent and be linkable to other data from the same respondent;

6. Allowing survey participants to “skip” questions that they choose not to answer. MSPB prefers that the survey warns participants about skipped questions so they are not left unintentionally blank. Therefore, the web-based delivery system must also be able to insert automated reminders to participants at meaningful points to permit the opportunity for respondents to return and respond to “skipped” questions. However, respondents must have the option to ignore this warning and submit a survey with some questions unanswered;

7. Providers are asked to describe their system’s capabilities for enabling individuals to easily access and complete surveys without installation of additional software or plug-ins, including, but not limited to, http://www.mspb.gov/ specifying the Provider’s system compatibility with:

a. Operating systems;

b. Smart mobile devices (e.g., Android and iPhone);

c. Web browsers. Participants must be able to enter response data using a standard web browser. No additional plug-ins or software installation must be required for web-based completion of the survey.

The web interface must work with recent versions of the most commonly available web browsers, rather than requiring the most current version. This is an important requirement because employees from a wide range of Federal agencies will access the survey through older versions of software.

Proposals should specify the range of browsers and versions of each which the contractor will commit to support for the web-based surveys;

d. Internet Connection Speeds. Individual web pages in the survey must load quickly; and

e. Monitor resolutions. The contractor’s web interface must present a similar look and feel across a range of monitor resolutions. Proposals should specify the range of resolutions that will be supported.

8. The survey must be Section 508 compliant because contractors providing services or products (software applications and operating systems, including web-based intranet information and applications) to Federal agencies must provide Section 508 compliant deliverables. The contractor must provide MSPB with internet files in PDF and HTML that are 508 compliant. For more information, visit www.section508.gov.

In accordance with Federal regulations, Providers must have the capability to generate:

a. Internet survey files in PDF and HTML format that are 508 compliant; and

b. PDF, HTML, or similar versions of the survey that are 508 compliant, for inclusion in written and electronic reports.

9. Contractors are required to supply in the proposal the URL of a demo or sample web-based survey they have produced and administered. Contractors may be asked to give a live demo of survey design capabilities at the contractor’s expense before award. A useful live demo will illustrate the contractor’s ability to produce a range of question types, data entry validation such as completeness checking, and general ability to produce a usable, efficient, and inviting web interface.

10. Ability to print a response-ready paper copy of the survey to support MSPB in administering the survey by mail;

11. A readable PDF version of the survey for inclusion as an appendix in reports and for other purposes;

MSPB professional staff will work with the contractor to determine the best presentation strategies for the survey questions. Prior to and after field testing, MSPB will review the web-based survey and may require the contractor to make formatting, presentation and minor content changes prior to implementation. MSPB will make the final determination about the look and feel of the survey.

4.1.2 Host the web server(s) for delivery of surveys.

The MSPB requires a web-enabled, provider-hosted solution to store all MSPB survey information in a secure environment. Providers can host at their facilities or within a cloud service environment.

1. Providers shall describe their capabilities for hosting a survey system of the sizes, duration, and functionality specified in Sections 3 and 4. This should include, but is not limited to, specification of:

a. Details about the hosting environment, including whether it is cloud-hosted or non-cloud hosted;

b. Capacity and data processing for simultaneous “hits” on survey;

c. Capacity to work with questions from MSPB submitted in Word or Excel files without special coding.

Data backup capabilities for survey response data. The contractor will have backup server storage to minimize the chances of in-progress data loss. The Recovery Time Objective (RTO) should not exceed 4 hours and the Recovery Point Objective (RPO) should not exceed 5 minutes. The proposed backup strategy must be described in the proposal.

d. In the event of server outages or other difficulties that may prevent respondents from completing the survey, the contractor must notify MSPB and prospective respondents and provide alternative means of http://www.section508.gov/ accessing the survey within 24 hours. Single or successive server or survey access outages of more than 4 hours are not satisfactory. Contractors will describe in detail their procedures for recovery and continued access in the event of various foreseeable emergencies (e.g., power outages).

2. The contractor must provide evidence in the proposal that the server capacity is sufficient for hosting web surveys of the required size, duration, and complexity. This includes the capacity to handle surges of responses or “peak traffic” (i.e., attempts to access and complete the survey) occurring at various points during the “live” period (e.g., immediately after the survey opens and following the distribution of reminder messages).

3. The contractor must be able to provide pricing to MSPB for both a four week “live” period for the surveys and optional extension periods in two week increments.

4. The contractor must make the surveys available on the web site for two-week field tests prior to the official

“live” period. These field tests will begin four to six weeks before the scheduled open date of the survey.

Contractors will describe their ability to perform survey field testing to include but not limited to:

a. Tests of systems and processes such as email distribution systems, server capacity, survey administration and operations, survey questions and formats, skip patters, and data collection and retention.

b. Deployment and testing of a demo survey, hosted by the Provider;

c. Distribution of test survey to a sample of field test participants and collection of participants’ survey response data, as well as generation of a formatted dataset of pilot survey responses for MSPB to use in assessing the thoroughness of the field test and troubleshoot the format and content of the data file.

This includes the raw data as recorded as well as a sample database or set of databases in the proposed format of final data delivery. The sample dataset(s) will include all variable names and labels, values and value labels, and responses for all data obtained during field testing; and

d. Opportunities for MSPB to examine sample response records and databases, and to make changes to survey as appropriate.

5. The contractor will have backup server storage to minimize the chances of in-progress data loss. The proposed backup strategy must be described in the proposal.

6. In the event of server outages or other difficulties which may prevent respondents from completing the survey, the contractor must notify MSPB and prospective respondents and provide alternative means of accessing the survey. Contractors will describe in detail their procedures for recovery and continued access in the event of various foreseeable emergencies (e.g., power outages).

4.1.3 Collect survey data.

1. The contractor must offer 24-hour/seven-days-per-week web site access for participants to complete surveys or access information about the survey such as “Frequently Asked Questions,” or “Survey

Background” information.

2. Contractor must provide technical support to survey participants including:

a. Assisting survey participants in recovering a lost survey invitation, username, or password;

b. Assisting survey participants with resolving technical difficulties in accessing or completing the survey. During the period beginning with field testing and throughout the administration of the surveys, including extension periods, the contractor must provide survey support during weekday business hours (8am – 5pm EST) for survey respondents experiencing difficulty accessing the survey.

Support may be through phone or email, but responses must be timely, e.g., within 24 hours during the business week;

c. Working with organizations participating in an MSPB survey (typically Federal agencies) to identify and resolve problems in survey distribution which may be due to technical issues such as agency server settings that restrict incoming mail.

3. The contractor’s web interface must allow survey participants to print a “cheat sheet” of definitions and other key information for use during the survey. This information will be provided by MSPB along with the survey content.

4. Save response data in real-time.

5. Perform data integrity checks as participants enter responses, to include the prevention of entry of invalid values (e.g., text in a numeric field, multiple responses for a forced-choice item, or an out-of-range numeric value). The general requirement is for the interface to require users to fix obvious data problems immediately rather than allowing them to enter the response in the database;

6. Survey participants must be able to utilize multiple session completion of a survey with saved data for each session. Survey participants must be able to exit an in-progress survey and return to it later for completion with all of their previously-entered response data saved. Participants must be able to re-enter the survey using the user ID and password information they have been given, without the need to contact the contractor for special access information or instructions.

7. When participants re-enter the survey, they must be able to see and, if necessary, change their previously entered responses including re-accessing a previously completed- and submitted-survey during the “live” period.

8. Warn about skipped questions (while permitting intentional non-response);

9. Prevent unintentionally skipped questions;

10. Allow for “required questions” that participants must answer before proceeding;

11. Generally enforce data input conventions as appropriate and courteous manner;

12. Prevent participants from submitting a survey more than once, and detect and remove any duplicate surveys submitted by the same participant;

13. Prevent participants from accessing another participant’s responses. It should be clear to participants that the confidentiality is protected and that others cannot access their responses.

14. Overcome unforeseen difficulties that may prevent respondents from completing the survey (e.g., server issues, power outages);

15. The contractor will work with agencies participating in an MSPB survey to identify and resolve problems in survey distribution which may be due to technical issues, such as agency server settings that restrict incoming email;

16. The Contractor will assist MSPB in overcoming any survey response data issues (e.g., unintended multiple responses or mistakes in skip patterns); and

17. The contractor will provide weekly updates to MSPB of the total surveys completed, the surveys completed by each participating agency and agency component, and when requested, the number of surveys completed by sex, race and national origin, grade level, supervisory status, or other characteristics of respondents.

4.1.4 Provide MSPB with database of response data for all completed surveys.

1. The contractor will provide survey-completion statistics in real-time (e.g., total surveys completed, the surveys completed by each participating agency, and possibly number of surveys completed by demographic factors, grade level, supervisory status, or other characteristics of respondents);

2. The contractor will provide a database of survey raw data and meta-data (e.g., variable labels, value labels, version of survey, percentage of survey completed/number of items answered) along with any corresponding open-ended data for each response record that can be directly imported into both SPSS and

SAS. Responses to open-ended questions may be in a separate database file, but must be identified by a participant ID key linking them to the corresponding survey response data for each participant. Responses to closed-ended questions will be in the form of numeric codes (first response=”1”, second response=”2”, nonresponse=”99”, etc.). Survey questions will be numbered sequentially and correspond consistently and transparently to variable names in the resulting data set;

3. Each response record in the database must contain unique information identifying the individual participants originally provided to the contractor. Confidentiality of each individual’s data will be maintained. MSPB may need this information to link survey responses to data sets with other survey responses or to additional workforce data collected by MSPB;

4. The data file will contain fields indicating which version of the web (or paper) survey a participant completed as well as the date and time of survey submission and the percent of complete responses.

Possible values for these fields include codes for web-based/508-compliant, paper-based/emailed, and paper-based/Postal-mailed (for employees without web access). This information is for MSPB quality control and data archiving purposes;

5. The contractor will generate a data dictionary (e.g., all variable labels with corresponding item stems and response options, value labels, skip patterns, missing data codes);

6. Prior to field testing of the web survey, the contractor will provide MSPB with a sample database or set of databases in the proposed format of final data delivery. MSPB will review this format and may require the contractor to make changes to facilitate MSPB’s analysis of the data.

7. The contractor will deliver interim or final databases and data files in a proprietary structure such as SAS or

SPSS to MSPB at MSPB discretion;

8. The contractor will deliver the final database(s) and data files to MSPB by email or web/ftp transfer, and on a set of standard data CDs. The contractor will provide two complete copies of these CDs to MSPB.

9. The contractor will return all data to MSPB at the conclusion of the project, and will certify that such data has been removed from the contractor’s databases. The contractor will agree to use the data only for purposes of conducting the Merit Principles Survey. This information will be kept confidential and secure.

In no case will it be provided to any third party, or to anyone in the contractor’s organization not working directly on the specific survey.

4.1.5 Validate email addresses for MSPB’s sample of respondents.

1. MSPB will obtain initial sample information from OPM’s CPDF. The name, duty station and other identifying information of each employee selected in the sample will be provided to a technical contact in each participating Federal agency. Each of these technical contacts will return a database of email addresses to MSPB which will then provide these databases to the contractor for implementation of the survey. Prior to implementation, the contractor will conduct a test to determine the validity of the emails.

Conducting this test will require communication with MSPB and with technical personnel in each agency.

2. MSPB intends to over-sample in anticipation of invalid email addresses due to factors such as employee transfer and turnover. The contractor will provide MSPB with a database containing invalid emails and the participant information associated with each email address. MSPB will devise a specific follow-up strategy based on the total number of invalid emails and their relative distribution across agencies

3. Some systematic email address problems may be encountered for individual agencies. The contractor will coordinate with MSPB and agency technical contacts to identify and resolve this type of problem.

4.1.6 Generate unique user ID’s and passwords.

1. Access to the surveys must be controlled through unique user IDs and passwords to be generated by the contractor and that can be distributed by email to the study samples. A participant who has received, but lost, an email containing the user ID and password must be able to contact the contractor and request that it be resent to the original email address. The contractor’s web site must provide a secure connection for participants. This connection must be recognized by participants’ browsers as secure (indicated by display of the “padlock” icon by the browser) to assure participants of a secure connection.

2. The contractor will implement a strategy for generating unique user IDs and passwords for survey participants. These passwords will be assigned by the contractor and used by participants to access the web site for completion of the survey.

3. To minimize participant frustration, user IDs and passwords should not contain characters such as 1’s

(“ones”), l’s (“ells”), O’s (“ohs”), or 0’s (“zeros”), which can be confused in the fonts used by some email systems.

4. There is no requirement that users be able to change or otherwise customize their password.

4.1.7 Email user IDs and passwords to survey participants.

1. The ability to distribute the email message from an “mspb.gov” address is required. In the proposal, contractors should explain how they would accomplish this, including whether or not they can accomplish this from their location or if they would need to be onsite at MSPB.

2. The ability to include an electronic signature on survey invitation and notification emails is required.

3. The contractor will send an initial email to each participant in the sample with a valid email address. The email will be provided by MSPB and will be from an MSPB official. It will contain a unique user ID and password that will allow the participant to access the contractor’s web site and complete the survey. It must also contain a working (“clickable”) link to the web site.

4. The content of the email will contain contact information for the contractor so participants can report and resolve web access problems and other technical difficulties. It will also contain email contact information for MSPB so participants can address survey content issues. Using mail merge or some equivalent approach, the contractor will also include contact information for each participant’s agency, so that any local technical issues or agency policy questions can be resolved.

5. The contractor will resend this original email to participants who have lost or deleted it. Our experience indicates that in some cases this will need to be done more than once.

6. The contractor should designate a contact to work with agencies to overcome difficulties with distribution which may be due to technical issues, such as agency server settings which may restrict incoming email

(e.g., “spam blockers”).

4.1.8 Email reminders to survey participants.

1. The contractor will send a weekly reminder to participants who have not yet completed the survey. This reminder must not go to participants who have completed the survey. It must contain all of the information in the original email, and such additional encouragement and inducements to participate as directed by

MSPB. MSPB will provide the specific content of this email.

2. The contractor will send a “Thank You” email to participants who have completed the survey. The content of this email will be provided by MSPB.

4.1.9 Mail paper-based surveys to selected participants.

1. The contractor must be able to easily produce a copy of the web-formatted survey in a .pdf file, or other portable document format easily accessible to respondents, so that a complete printed survey form can be emailed or mailed to respondents without web access. This survey form must contain user ID information so that paper-based responses can be linked to the right respondent. The survey directions, questions and response scales must be identical to the web-based survey, other than as needed for paper-based administration. The general look and feel must be as similar as possible to the web-based survey.

2. MSPB will require the contractor to email paper-based surveys to some participants who request them or who work in an agency without web access. They will also be sent via U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail to a pre-identified part of the sample who do not have either web access or email addresses. The number of participants in these two conditions is anticipated to be small, likely less than 5% of the sample. Bidders will respond to this task with costs conditional on the number of surveys to be emailed and/or sent via

USPS mail.

4.1.10 Receive and process returned paper-based surveys.

1. The contractor will receive and enter data for returned paper-based surveys. This data will be integrated with the identifying information for each participant. All data from paper-based surveys will be included with data from web-based surveys in the database(s) delivered to MSPB as a project deliverable.

2. The contractor must track the paper-based surveys as they are returned and include them in the weekly updates of total surveys completed as noted in Section 4.1.3.

3. As described in Task 4.1.9, the number of participants who will return paper-based surveys is anticipated to be small (i.e., likely less than 5% of the sample). Bidders will respond to this task with costs conditional on the number of paper-based surveys to be processed.

4. The contractor will send a weekly reminder to participants who have not yet completed the paper survey.

This reminder must not go to participants who completed the survey. The reminder should be sent via e-mail to participants who received the survey via e-mail and should be sent via postal mail to participants who received the survey via postal mail. MSPB will provide the content of the reminders.

4.1.11 Optional Task: Obtain email addresses for MSPB’s sample of respondents

In Task 4.1.5 above, it is noted that MSPB will obtain the e-mail addresses of the employees selected for the survey sample. In this optional task, the contractor, rather than MSPB, will obtain the e-mail addresses using the initial sample information from OPM’s CPDF that MSPB will provide. The contractor will need to obtain the e-mail address of every employee in the sample from a technical contact in each participating Federal agency. This task involves providing the name, duty station and other identifying information to the technical contacts and coordinating with them to provide a database of the e-mails in the format needed by the contractor. In some cases, the contractor may need to merge information from agency human resource systems and agency e-mail systems.

4.1.12 Optional Task: Administer additional surveys

Pending sufficient funding, additional surveys of Federal employees may also be developed and administered during the period of the contract, which runs from the date the contract is awarded in 2015 until the end of 2016. These surveys would have characteristics similar to those specified for the 2015 MPS survey in section 3 and 4, but would likely be on a smaller scale. (i.e., 5000-50,000 respondents).

4.2 Timeline

We anticipate the initial contract will be completed within 6 months of contract award.

4.3 Travel

Travel to the MSPB headquarters in Washington, DC may be required, as necessary during the performance of the task, at the Contractor’s expense. No other travel is expected.

4.4 Reporting Requirements

The MSPB Merit Principles Survey project manager will conduct a weekly progress meeting with the contractor during which the contractor will be expected to report, both orally and in writing, the progress made in the past week, the work planned for the next two weeks, issues, and potential problems. These meetings will typically be conducted via telephone but the project manager may require the contractor to meet in person when needed at the

MSPB headquarters or other location in the Washington DC metropolitan area.

4.5 Privacy, Security, Confidentiality

Providers must be compliant with all applicable Federal Government and MSPB rules, regulations, directives, instructions, orders, guidance, and policies pertaining to Information Assurance (IA), Information Technology (IT), IT Security, and protection of Federal and MSPB data and information systems including, but not limited to, adherence to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) policies, NIST/MSPB security standards, the

Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), and The Federal Risk and Authorization Management

Program (FedRAMP).

Providers are also required to safeguard PII in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and MSPB

Privacy Act Regulation Part 1205.

4.5.1 Privacy and Security of Survey Administration and Survey Response Data

The Provider’s hosting environment must ensure that MSPB-owned data is not at risk and that its physical assets are not exposed to harm or theft.

For cloud-hosted solutions, Providers must indicate whether they are:

a) FedRAMP certified;

b) In the process of receiving FedRAMP certification (and when such certification is expected); or

c) Authorized from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) under National Institute of Standards and

Technology (NIST) Risk Management Framework to operate at the Medium level.

For non-cloud hosted solutions, Providers must:

a) Substantiate adherence to all applicable Federal Government laws, rules, regulations, directives, instructions, orders, guidance, and policies pertaining to Information Assurance (IA), Information

Technology (IT), IT Security, and protection of Federal and MSPB data and information systems including, but not limited to, adherence to relevant National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) policies, NIST/MSPB security standards, and the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) for a moderate-impact system.

b) Completed and passed a FedRAMP and/or FISMA assessment.

All Providers are also asked to describe their capability and methods to:

a) Ensure the security and privacy of response information and prevent the disclosure of personally identifiable information (PII) and other sensitive government information to unauthorized personnel, and substantiate adherence to the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. § 552a, and MSPB Privacy Act

Regulation Part 1205. Capabilities and methods should include the Provider’s evaluation of the privacy impact of MSPB’s survey system.

b) Provide the ability to distribute the survey using an electronic signature;

c) Provide the ability to register an MSPB.gov domain address for the vendor-hosted URL;

d) Provide a secure connection for participants to take the survey; and

e) Enable controlled access to surveys (e.g., unique username and password), open-access, and possibly hybrid access (e.g., unique username, but no password). For controlled access, providers are asked to describe methods for ensuring authenticity

f) Certify that all data has been removed from the Provider’s databases upon MSPB’s request.

Also, as a condition of award, the Provider must certify that they will provide upon request any information, documents, or site access needed to verify implementation or compliance with the security plan submitted in response to this RFQ.

4.5.2 Confidentiality and Nondisclosure

MSPB requires that Providers hold information concerning survey participants in the strictest of confidence. Survey data—both administrative information (e.g., participant names and email addresses) and response information—is proprietary and/or sensitive and therefore cannot be used to solicit or benefit other work by the Provider without permission or consent from MSPB. The Provider agrees to comply with the following Federal Acquisition

Regulation (FAR) clauses 52.224-1 and 52.224-2. Specifically, MSPB requires that:

All survey information will be kept confidential and secure;

Data will only be used for purposes of conducting MSPB surveys;

The Provider agrees that all contract personnel will sign a non-disclosure agreement; and

The Provider will not sell or otherwise provide the data to any agency or other third party, or to anyone in the Provider’s organization not working directly on a specific survey, or to anyone who has not been pre-approved by MSPB.

The contractor will return all data to MSPB at the conclusion of the project, and will certify that such data has been removed from the contractor’s databases. The contractor will agree to use the data only for purposes of conducting the Merit Principles Survey. This information will be kept confidential and secure.

In no case will it be provided to any third party, or to anyone in the contractor’s organization not working directly on the specific survey.

5. CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE

At the time of award, the Contracting Officer may designate a Contracting Officer’s Representative to work with the

Contractor during performance of the contract. This individual will not be authorized to order or accept work beyond the scope of the contract or to obligate in any way additional work under or outside the contract. That authority is reserved strictly to the Contracting Officer.

6. PAYMENT

Payment will be made via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). Contractor must be registered in the System for Award

Management (SAM) before any payments may be processed. Information on the CCR program may be obtained through the Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative.

7. EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated according to the criteria listed below.

7.1 Technical Quality

Proposals will be evaluated for compliance to the specifications detailed for each project task and evidence of expertise. The following valuation criteria include:

a) Does the provider have sufficient hosting capacity for the volume of surveys and simultaneous users required for a survey the size of the MPS 2015?

b) Does the provider provide services and features necessary to ensure MSPB staff without scripting and coding expertise can develop effective surveys?

Does the provider provide services and features necessary to ensure MSPB staff without scripting and coding expertise can administer effective surveys?

c) Does the provider provide a capability to distribute, collect, and process paper surveys?

d) Does the provider provide sufficient technical support for the size and scope of the MPS 2015?

e) Is the provider Fedramp certified or has the provider demonstrated a sufficient understanding of Federal security and privacy laws and regulations?

f) Has the provider demonstrated capabilities and methods to ensure MSPB’s specific security requirements:

the security and privacy of PII, provide a secure connection, and enable controlled access?

7.2 Prior Experience

The contractor should describe their prior experience and current capabilities with web-based survey design and delivery. Bidders must provide three references from client organizations that have used their web survey capabilities. These clients may be contacted to determine their satisfaction with the contractor’s performance.

Bidders are encouraged to highlight experience conducting surveys of the Federal workforce, particularly surveys that included participants from multiple Federal agencies or bureaus.

Evaluation criteria include:

a) Has the provider performed work of similar size, scope and complexity?

b) Do references indicate that the provider provided high quality, timely delivery of services?

c) Has the provider provided data hosting for other Federal Departments and agencies requiring adherence with applicable Federal security and privacy laws and regulations?

d) Does the provider have a history of meeting deadlines throughout their projects?

7.3 Cost

Cost will be evaluated for completeness, cost reasonableness, and other FAR factors. An award will be made based on the best value for MSPB.

8. AWARD

MSPB intends to award a contract for the products and services specified in this Request for Proposal to a source that will be of the best value to MSPB, upon considering price and other factors. The lowest possible price proposal may not be selected if award to a higher priced proposal is deemed to be most advantageous to MSPB. This determination will be made by considering differences in the value of each proposal’s technical features in addition to differences in cost.

MSPB reserves the right to request presentations or other information from the group of contractors who have been rating as highly qualified to further identify the best-qualified contractor. MSPB also reserves the right to make a contract award without additional discussions and to make an award for a subset of the tasks outlined in this

Statement of Work. MSPB also may decide to select more than one contractor to provide the services listed in the

Statement of Work.

9. OPTION TO EXTEND TERM OF CONTRACT

MSPB will provide written notice to the contractor of its intent to extend the term of the contract at least 60 calendar days before the contract expires. Exercise of the option will be no later than 30 days beyond the initial or any option period unless a later date is agreed upon by the contractor and MSPB. The total duration of any award resulting from this solicitation shall not exceed 36 months.

10. HOW TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS

Contractors should submit proposals to MSPB by email, postal mail or delivery to the following address:

Merit Systems Protection Board

ATTN: Michaela Klarmann, Contracting Officer

1615 M Street, NW, Suite 500

Washington, DC 20036

Michaela.klarmann@mspb.gov

(202) 653-6772, ext. 4408

Proposals must be received by MSPB no later than close of business (4:45 PM) on May 11, 2015.

Proposals shall include:

1. A corporate profile or resume showing Contractor’s experience in this field, including three (3) references

(past performance);

2. Name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number(s) of Contractor’s proposed Project

Manager;

3. Technical Proposal that addresses all areas in the Scope of Work;

4. A firm fixed price cost proposal for Tasks 4.1.1 through 4.1.10. These costs should be indicated on the cost proposal chart attached.

5. A separate firm fixed price cost proposal for Optional Task 4.1.11 and 4.1.12. These costs should be indicated on the cost proposal chart attached.

6. An appendix containing the following information:

a) A list of the contractor personnel who are proposed to work on the project and the role each will play

b) Resumes of all contractor personnel who are proposed to work on the project

c) A signed statement from each person proposed to work on the project that the person is aware that they are being proposed for the project and they are available to work on the project in the role described.

d) Offerors must submit representation information concerning their products by completing the VPAT template at http://www.Section508.gov.

Proposals shall not be longer than 30 pages, excluding the appendix. Additional materials beyond the 30-page limit may not be considered by MSPB in evaluation of the bidder’s proposal. Proposals must not contain any graphics of cute little forest animals.

mailto:Michaela.klarmann@mspb.gov

COST PROPOSAL

SURVEY OR TASK

FIRM FIXED PRICE

2015 MERIT PRINCIPLES SURVEY

Sample size of 120,000

OPTIONAL TASK 4.1.11: OBTAIN E-MAIL

ADDRESSES

Sample size of 5,000 - 19,999

Sample size of 20,000 – 39,999

Sample size of 40,000 – 59,999

Sample size of 60,000 – 79,999

Sample size of 80,000 – 100,000

Sample size of 100,000 – 120,000

OPTIONAL TASK 4.1.12: ADDITIONAL SURVEYS

Sample size of 5,000 - 19,999

Sample size of 20,000 – 39,999

Sample size of 40,000 – 59,999

Sample size of 60,000 – 79,999

Sample size of 80,000 – 100,000

Sample size of 100,000 – 120,000

OPTIONAL EXTENSION OF TASK 4.1.10.3

No paper surveys up to 999 paper surveys

1,000 to 1,999 paper surveys

2,000 to 2,999 paper surveys

3,000 to 3,999 paper surveys

4,000 to 4,999 paper surveys

5,000 to 6,000 paper surveys