NCATS-PWS

10/23/2008

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) FOR NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH TRAVEL AND CONFERENCE SUPPORT C.1 Scope

This contract is intended to cover a broad range of administrative, travel, meeting and conference support. In addition, this contract will provide a wide range of documentation support, website design and development, and fiduciary services (pass-through). Successful offerors must have the ability to operate and provide for remote locations of personnel to 100 nations worldwide, and at times up to 20+ countries to include the African nations of Botswana, Cote d’lvoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia; the Caribbean nations of Guyana and Haiti; and Vietnam, India, Cambodia and other nations abroad. This remote location can range from a performance period of one (1) month to about one (1) year or longer.

The contract type is expected to be an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) task order contract containing one or more Time and Materials (T&M) type task orders. These contracts will be used primarily by the entire NIH, but may also be used by other portions of DHHS and other Federal agencies.

The draft PWS contained herein is intended to outline the general requirements required of vendors under NCATS II. Specific details of task assignments, deliverables, documentation, applicable government /department standards, etc., will be provided within each individual task order. Below are the task areas for this contract and examples of the types of tasks that may be obtained under this PWS provided that tasks are within the identified task areas.

NOTE: One meeting may be comprised of one or more of the following six task areas. The task areas for the proposed acquisition are described below:

C.2 Task Areas

C.2.1 Travel Support (Task Area 1)

The objective of the travel support task is to arrange and provide for travel (domestic and international) for program participants, escort services, executive escort services; non-medical ground transportation, translation and preparation of program documents; lodging accommodations; varied assistance at workshops and conferences; and subsistence allowances for participants. Response times for these services will vary and will be specified in each individual task order. The Contractor shall comply with the NIH Federal Travel Regulation (FTR) and other federal government agencies travel regulations. The Contractor shall be familiar with existing federal travel databases.

C.2.2 Meeting and Conference Support (Task Area 2)

The Contractor shall provide logistical support for conferences, meetings, seminars, and workshops held in the United States and in foreign countries. The Contractor shall have the ability to operate and provide for remote locations of personnel to 100 nations worldwide, and at times up to 20+ countries to include the African nations of Botswana, Cote d’lvoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia; the Caribbean nations of Guyana and Haiti; and Vietnam, India, Cambodia and other nations abroad. This remote location can range from a performance period of one (1) month to about one (1) year or longer. The Contractor shall comply with NIH Manual Issuance 1160-1 – Entertainment and the FTR policy requirements involving federal employees and food.

C.2.3 Documentation Support (Task Area 3)

The Contractor shall provide documentation services in support of meetings, conferences, seminars, and workshops held in the United States and in foreign countries. The contractor shall prepare in writing various pre/post conference materials, as well as other reports, articles and documents. The Contractor shall also provide support for the writing and production of reports/documents. The Contractor shall have the ability to prepare and disseminate tangible and electronic conference materials.

C.2.4 Pass-Through Support (Task Area 4)

At times, NIH or other federal agencies will direct the Contractor to wire transfer funds or forward a check to provide financial support for international and other scientific/medical research studies, conferences and meetings. These checks or wire transfers may range from $25K to $3M, and may be in direct support of the various research organizations, medical centers, universities, foundations, sponsorships, and research hospitals and clinics throughout the continental U.S. and abroad. In addition, funding may be used for per diem, subsistence allowance or various clinics throughout the continental United States and abroad. The Contractor should have funds available for immediate disbursement upon the government’s request. The Contractor must be able to respond within 24 hours. The Contractor shall provide personnel with knowledge of various logistical areas, including but not limited to the following: access to US consulate in foreign countries, exchange rates, and languages.

C.2.5 Administrative Support (Task Area 5)

The objective of the administrative support task is to provide services in direct support of conferences or scientific meetings to support the scientific/research program staff and other government agencies in accomplishing a variety of medical/research and administrative responsibilities. This contract will not be used for temporary services or any other administrative associated support services.

NOTE:

This task area shall be only be used in direct support of conferences, scientific meetings or research related matters only and to support the scientific program staff in accomplishing a variety of research and administrative responsibilities.

C.2.6 Website Design, Development, and Maintenance Support/Internet Support (Task Area 6)

The Contractor shall provide Internet and Intranet support. The Contractor will provide initial design, development, management, and conduct usability testing to evaluate effectiveness and ease of use. Websites must be 508 compliant. Contractors shall be familiar with VA/Government 508 compliance regulations. Contractors should also be familiar with the following programs:

Java 5.0 or later

Tomcat- version 5.5

Apache

Struts version 1framework and code

MySQL 4.0 databases

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), html, java scripts The Contractor shall have the ability to create websites that are compatible with the websites of the entire NIH, DHHS, and other Federal agencies.

NOTE: This task area shall only be used in support of a conference, meeting, focus groups, scientific research, studies, etc. This task area will be used to support IT services for conference, medical, research or related services only for the NIH, DHHS, and other federal agencies.

C.2.7 Quality Control and Assurance C.2.7.1 Quality Control.

The Contractor will establish a complete quality control program to assure the requirements of the contract are provided as specified. One copy of the Contractor’s quality control plan will be provided to the Task Order Project Officer as part of the proposal submission. When required an updated copy must be provided to the Contracting Officer and Task Order Project Officer on contract start date and as future changes occur. Failure to provide copy is a violation of the requirements under this contract. The program shall include, but not be limited to, the following: A method for identifying deficiencies in the quality of services performed before the level of performance is unacceptable.

C.2.7.2 Quality Assurance. The Government shall monitor the Contractor’s performance. The Contracting Officer or his representative can take action (set off deduction, cure letter, etc.) against the Contractor in accordance with FAR, 52.246-6 Inspection—Time-and-Material and Labor-Hour.

C.2.7.3 Performance Evaluation Meetings. The Contractor shall meet with the Quality Assurance Evaluator, Task Order Project Officer, or designated representative once during the first month of the task order. Meetings will be as often as necessary thereafter as determined by the Contracting Officer or the Task Order Project Officer. A meeting, however, shall be held whenever deficiencies in the quality of services are identified. A mutual effort shall be made to resolve all problems identified. The written minutes of these meetings shall be signed by the Contracting Officer, Contractor, Task Order Project Officer, and Quality Assurance Evaluator. Should the Contractor not concur with the minutes, the Contractor shall state in writing to the Contracting Officer and Task Order Project Officer any areas of nonoccurrence.

Operate and provide for remote locations of personnel to

100 nations worldwide and at times up to 20+ countries as requested and identified in the Task Order PWS.