NW_Attachment_I_-_PWS.pdf

ATTACHMENT I - PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

NEWS WRITING, GRAPHICS, & PODCASTS – ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA

1. BACKGROUND: The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) publishes the monthly scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP). EHP is a world-renowned journal that helps the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to implement its strategic plan of advancing science and improving health. EHP disseminates cutting-edge research throughout the scientific community. The name EHP is synonymous with quality due to years of hard work from its dedicated team.

EHP is a fully open-access (OA) journal that charges no author fees or page charges, and yet still produces and distributes high quality, composed, peer reviewed, and edited content. EHP is also an online-only journal; this distribution model keeps EHP content accessible to all authors and readers, and keeps the journal at the forefront of the publishing landscape. The journal is made available for free (Open Access, http://www.plos.org/about/open-access) online at https://www.EHPonline.org. EHP provides Advance

Publication versions of papers upon acceptance and deposits their content into PubMed Central. EHP publishes 12 issues per year, in a monthly format. Each issue consists of both Research and original News content. This diversity of content helps EHP to reach a broad audience, from researchers and clinicians to policymakers and citizen scientists. EHP also publishes a Chinese Edition for EHP’s international readers, which is currently on a quarterly release schedule. The Chinese Edition consists primarily of content translated from the English edition.

The EHP News program currently commissions between 60–80 original articles per year. 80% of this content is short format (one page) Science Selections, with the remainder comprised of long format Focus and Sphere of Influence articles. These articles do not undergo traditional peer review, though they are subject to fact checking by in-house staff and external subject matter experts. Projected growth is approximately 10–15% per year.

1.1. Current Processes and Specifications: The EHP News Editor conceives of stories, and sends story ideas (including topic and article length) to the contractor. The EHP News Editor also recommends a particular writer. The contractor then works with a subcontracted writer to create the story. The News

Editor reviews drafts and serves as a copyeditor, and requests changes as needed. All work to and from the

News Editor and the writer is handled via a ticketing program maintained by the contractor.

The contractor also finds appropriate images for each article, based on the direction and concepts received from the News Editor. The contractor searches stock image houses and provides samples to the News

Editor for approval. The News Editor makes selections, and the contractor licenses the images for use on behalf of EHP. Should no images suit the EHP News Editor’s needs for a particular article, the contractor shall commission original photos or artwork on behalf of EHP. The current process involves quite a bit of back-and-forth communication, and is rather inefficient; hence, the goal is to utilize a more efficient process under this Performance Work Statement (PWS).

For the Chinese Edition, the contractor also licenses images for use on both the separate Chinese EHP site, as well as on partner sites that republish EHP international content.

For all images, the contractor tweaks the graphics as needed to prepare them for the news articles, the issue cover, image carousels/sliders on the website, and internal NIEHS advertising spaces. Images are not currently licensed to promote any research articles.

In the past, EHP also produced a series of popular podcasts with contractor support. The topic was provided by journal staff, and EHP had final approval on the host of the podcast series, as well as the other participants. At the direction of the journal, the contractor arranged the process and delivered final audio and transcript files (required for the journal’s 508 compliance mandates) for publication to the website.

This project was abandoned in 2013 for cost reasons.

https://www.ehponline.org/

2. OBJECTIVES: The basic service objective is to perform news writing, graphics, and podcast support services for the monthly scientific journal EHP. The contractor shall commission news articles for publication in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) and on its website; obtain graphics for use and publication with EHP materials, based on guidance and feedback from EHP staff; and create podcasts for publication based on EHP guidance. The contractor shall provide services to improve the following processes:

Commission and obtain original news articles for publication in the journal, or on the EHP website but outside a journal issue, at the direction of the EHP Editorial Office.

Obtain and license images for use in news content, translated content, advertising/marketing (not limited to just News articles), and content outside the cover of the journal, for use on both the

EHP website and partner sites.

Create original artwork for use in EHP content and the website.

Create podcasts for publication to the EHP website.

The first year of service expects to see the publication of approximately 90 News articles, with a 15% increase in output each year after that (estimated). The number of licensed images per News article varies from one to six typically; this number does not include images licensed specifically for marketing purposes, or for translated content, which vary considerably. Outside the News, images are licensed on an as-needed basis, as many papers published in EHP (primarily research) require no licensed images at all.

In addition, the contractor shall provide podcasts support services. The Government projects the creation of 6 to 10 podcasts in the first year of service, with popularity helping to dictate the number in subsequent years. The total number of podcasts is contingent upon funding availability but it is anticipated that there will be no more than 15 in any single year.

3. TASKS: The Government will not exercise any supervision or control over the contract service providers performing the services herein. Such contract service providers shall be accountable solely to the contractor who, in turn is responsible to the Government. The contractor, in turn, shall be accountable to the Government for contractor personnel, subcontractors, or contract service providers. Items not included in this PWS are copyediting and composition. Copyediting and composition of news articles are handled the same way as EHP’s research content, and are therefore not within the scope of this contract. Final sizing and placement of licensed or original images in articles will be handled in those same processes. As such, that work is also excluded from this PWS. The contractor shall provide the following services:

Task 1 – Writing Assignment Support Services: In the future, the Government projects developing a more direct method for assigning and reviewing articles from freelance writers while maintaining these services on contract. The ideal workflow will provide a seamless contractor management layer that will not interfere with essential contact between EHP staff and the writers, but will still clearly define the management relationship between the contractor and their staff. The workflow will take advantage of

EHP’s Editorial Manager (EM) and ProduXion Manager (PM) tracking systems to manage content and assignments. The contractor shall adhere to the following process for issuing and executing assignments:

The EHP News staff will enter a new proposed article job into the EM system. The proposal will include the type of article, working title, target publication date (if applicable), the response due date (to accept the assignment), the due date of the assignment itself, and any background or introductory information the writer will need to complete the assignment.

The proposal will be sent to the desired author, and also to an agent of the contractor. Both parties must accept the proposal for it to be deemed accepted by EHP.

Once the initial draft is complete, the writer uploads the paper to EM. This delivers the draft to the EHP News team.

Revisions will be handled through the EM review process. Once the draft is deemed acceptable, the paper will be accepted in EM.

Accepted News articles are transferred to EHP’s PM system for final editing and in preparation for publication.

The contractor shall pay the writer within 30 days of accepted article.

The Government will include the contractor on the work assignment as it travels through the EHP’s system in order to “approve” the work assignment. The following guidelines must be adhered to:

All articles should be written with the EHP style guide in mind; this will be provided to the contractor but maintained by EHP staff. EHP welcomes feedback from the contractor and writers on the overall usability of the manual, as well as specific style points.

The EHP style guide was originally based on the AMA style guide, so experience with AMA style is a good starting point.

Grammar, spelling, and punctuation must be correct in all deliverables.

Task 2 – Graphics Support Services: In the future, the Government projects developing a more efficient method for finding image content to license for EHPs articles and marketing materials. The contractors shall participate in the image search process, and handle the licensing of images. The contractor shall review license restrictions on images and shall compare market prices to provide the Government with the best value. The contractor shall adhere to the following process:

EHP staff will browse stock image houses to find images that are close to what is desired.

The image links will be sent to the contractor, along with direction about the article or the intended use of the image.

The contractor shall locate similar images, and sends these links to EHP journal staff for review and approval. Included with these links are the license cost for the intended use, and any license restrictions that EHP needs to know about (limitations on length of use, how many sites the image can appear on, what types of content this image may accompany, and any other restrictions).

In finding these images, the contractor shall send links and recommendations for the lowest-cost image that meets the EHP’s needs. The same image can often be found from multiple stock photo houses, often at different prices. The contractor shall review multiple licensing services to determine the best-value option for the journal.

If none of the images suit the needs or budget of the journal, further direction will be given to the contractor.

If no suitable images already exist, and with the explicit approval of the journal, the contractor shall maintain a network of graphic artists and photographers to provide original images.

Direction from the journal will be provided to the artist, and a cost estimate for the work shall be provided to the journal before any work begins. The Government will provide feedback to the artist who in turn must accept any recommendations and shall incorporate them as directed.

The contractor shall recommend revised selections or original artwork to the journal staff.

The EHP staff will select image(s) for use, and the contractor shall license them on behalf of the journal. The contractor shall send the images to the journal staff member that requested them, either via email, ftp, or direct download link.

The contractor shall provide licenses to the journal with sufficient rights and privileges to use the content in a manner keeping with the publication of a typical scholarly journal article:

online publication in all known and future formats; for use in promoting the article on the journal’s website, email blasts, and other limited marketing; and maintaining permanent, published archives of the content. Separate images will be licensed for translated content as needed. A copy of the license for each image shall be provided to the journal.

Task 3 – Podcasts Support Services: The process for creating podcasts will make use of project tracking via

Editorial Manager/ProduXion Manager. The contractor shall adhere to the following process:

The contractor shall seek candidates to act as a host of the series. This individual shall officially report to the contractor (staff, freelance, etc.).

EHP will provide advice to the contractor on its suggestion for the host position.

EHP will provide topics for podcasts based on perceived user interest, along with candidates for the discussion/interview. General and/or specific questions, or an outline, will also be provided. This will be issued as a proposal to the contractor through the Editorial Manager system.

When the contractor accepts the proposal, the contractor shall commission the podcast, and deliver audio files for EHP’s review via EM.

The journal will provide advice to the contractor as to any edits or re-takes that are necessary through the revision or production process in EM/PM.

After editing, the contractor shall submit the content for final approval via EM/PM. This includes the audio file (mp3 format), transcript (Word format), and any miscellaneous files or data.

Task 4 – Customer Support Services:

The contractor shall assign an individual customer support representative (with a backup) to act as a single point of contact for all inquiries from the journal. Direct email and phone contact information must be provided for both individuals. The contractor shall provide a central customer support representative for the EHP account. The Government will not provide support to be initiated through a ticketing system or phone queue.

The contractor shall possess the ability to host regular conference calls with the account manager, and with any other members of the contractor’s team that are required based on current projects or issues.

The frequency for these calls is expected to be once a week at the start of the contract, moving to once every two weeks or once a month under normal operations. A regular meeting schedule will be established to ensure consistency in these conference calls. When materials need to be shared in real time, a WebEx (or similar) meeting can be initiated by the contractor.

Task 5 – Correspondence Services:

The contractor shall maintain frequent contact and interaction with authors, editors, and other individuals who work closely with EHP. In many instances, the contractor will contact individuals on behalf of the journal. The contractor must maintain exceptional service standards in all these interactions, and must always present the journal in a positive manner.

4. QUALITY CONTROL: The Government is committed to a highly interactive relationship between quality control by the contractor and quality assurance by the government recipient of services. This relationship shall be achieved through an effective prevention based quality control program dedicated to ensuring the best possible products and services to end users. The Quality Control Plan (QCP) shall be updated five (5) days after contract award. The QCP shall document how the contractor intends on meeting and complying with the quality standards established in this PWS. At a minimum, the QCP shall include a self-inspection plan, an internal staffing plan, and an outline of the procedures that the contractor will use to maintain quality, timeliness, responsiveness, customer satisfaction, and any other requirements set forth in this PWS.

The contractor’s QCP shall be maintained throughout the life of the contract and shall include the contractor’s procedures to routinely evaluate the effectiveness of the plan to ensure the contractor is meeting the performance standards and requirements of the contract.

5. COMPLIANCE: All content published in EHP must be Section 508 accessibility guidelines as defined by the federal government. Please see the following URLs for details:

Section 508 Information: http://www.section508.gov/

Guide to the Section 508 Standards: https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards

Making Files Accessible: http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/making-files-accessible/index.html

NOTE: If the deliverable includes features and functions in addition to those identified as requirements, these features and functions also need to conform to relevant Section 508 technical provisions, functional performance criteria, and information, documentation and support.

http://www.section508.gov/ https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/guide-to-the-section-508-standards http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/making-files-accessible/index.html

6. PHASE-IN /PHASE-OUT PERIOD: To minimize any decreases in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the contractor shall have personnel on board during the one (1) month phase-in, and for up to six (6) months during phase-out. During the phase in period, the contractor shall become familiar with performance requirements in order to commence full performance of services on the contract start date. The contractor shall prepare to assume full responsibility for all areas of operation in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. The contractor shall take all actions necessary for a smooth transition of the contracted support operations. Transition requirements are as follows:

The contractor shall implement a detailed management plan to accomplish transition of contract activities from the expiring contract to the new contract within four (4) months of contract award.

In order to minimize the disruption of service for any follow-on contract, the incumbent shall participate with the successor contractor and the contract officer representative (COR) in an orderly transfer of services for any follow-on contract. It is anticipated that a six (6) month transition period is set aside at the end of the routine performance period for the phase-out of the contractor’s performance. Any resulting contract from this PWS shall include the phase-out transition period in the established completion date. During the transition period, the incumbent shall prepare transition reports and documents which shall describe the status of marketing efforts, all email lists, and any outstanding issues that a new contractor must know in order to continue service of the publication with minimal disruption.

All electronic and print documentation and materials developed under the contract (including applications, databases, and intellectual property) shall be transferred, as directed by the COR, to the successor or the NIEHS.

6.1. Phase-Out: Prior to the completion of this contract, an observation period shall occur, at which time team management personnel of the incoming Contractor may observe operations. This will allow for orderly turnover of equipment, and records and will help to ensure continuity of services. The outgoing

Contractor is ultimately responsible for performing full services IAW the contract during the phase-out period and shall not defer any requirements for the purpose of avoiding responsibility or of transferring, such responsibility to the succeeding Contractor. The outgoing Contractor shall fully cooperate with the succeeding Contractor and the Government, so as not to interfere with their work or duties. The outgoing

Contractor shall ensure all outstanding work orders, equipment, and all Government-owned items are turned in to the COR. All outgoing Contractor personnel shall out-process through the designated

Government personnel to ensure compliance with the Government’s requirements for closing e-mail accounts, terminating access, and turning in ID cards, etc. The outgoing Contractor shall be prepared to transition the work load to the newly selected Contractor during the one (1) month phase-out period, which will occur prior to the end of the period of performance of the contract.

7. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Restriction on contractor’s use of or dissemination of databases: Mailing lists either furnished to the contractor by the COR or prepared by the contractor as part of its continuing efforts to support the journal are protected by the Privacy Act, and shall not be used by the contractor or any other third party for any purposes other than for the expressed purpose of this contract. Mailing lists provided as part of this contract shall not be disseminated to other persons or entities, except the

COR and EIC, and shall not be used by the contractor, its subcontractors, or any other organization of persons for any purpose other than the services specifically described by the PWS and contract document. The contractor shall ensure that all subcontracts and consultant agreements in support of this contract include this restriction.

Privacy Act Notice: This PWS requires the Parties to do one or more of the following: design, develop, or operate a system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974, Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 USC 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Act may involve the imposition of criminal penalties. The Privacy Act System of Records applicable to this project is Number 09-90-0024.

8. DATA RIGHTS: The Government has unlimited rights to all documents/material produced under this contract to the extent permitted by the data rights clauses. The parties mutually acknowledge their understanding that this is the government’s intent. All documents and materials, to include the source codes of any software, if applicable, produced under this contract shall be government owned and are the property of the government with all rights and privileges of ownership/copyright belonging exclusively to the government. These documents and materials may not be used or sold by the contractor without written permission from the contracting officer. All materials supplied to the Government will be the sole property of the government and may not be used for any other purpose. This right does not abrogate any other government rights.

9. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: The requirement has a five (5) year ordering period. The ordering period includes a one (1) month phase-in period. Individual task orders issued cannot exceed a 12 month period.

10. HOURS OF OPERATION: The contractor shall be responsible for providing routine services between the core hours of 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM Eastern time Monday through Friday, except federal holidays or when the government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closings or similar government directed facility closings. All responses to queries from EHP staff and authors, reviewers, and associate editors must be issued in a timely manner, usually the same business day. The contractor shall at all times maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within this

PWS when the government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce are essential. No overtime

(OT) or compensatory time (CT) is authorized under this contract.

10.1. Federal Holidays: The National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences observes the following holidays:

New Year’s Day Labor Day

Martin Luther King’s Birthday Columbus Day

Presidents Day Veteran’s Day

Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day

Independence Day Christmas Day

11. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE: The management office place of performance, and the place of performance for EHP’s customer support representative, shall be anywhere in the United States.

Additionally, writers and podcast hosts can be anywhere in the United States, as these positions require high-level language skills due to the customer support requirement. Any other personnel involved in the contract outside of these particular positions, can be anywhere in the world as long as they are available in the required times of operations so as not to delay any contract requirement to the Government.

12. CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL: The contractor shall provide personnel who are qualified to provide all services and work in a professional and courteous manner. Contractor personnel shall abide by applicable regulations, NIEHS rules and procedures, and present a neat appearance if working at NIEHS locations. Contract staff shall demonstrate the following proficiencies:

Curating original scientific content for publication in a scholarly journal.

Establishing and maintaining a network of professional writers qualified to author content that deals with complicated scientific and policy matters.

Experience seeking appropriate graphical and image content for use with scientific materials.

Demonstrated experience working with items under copyright, reading and interpreting contracts and licenses, and discussing contracts and licensing terms with customers who are not contracts and copyright experts.

Demonstrated pre-existing network of original artists and photographers capable of providing professional, original content suitable for publication in a scholarly journal.

Demonstrated experience managing the generation of original audio content for publication on the web.

13. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES: This section identifies those items such as property, information and/or services that will be provided for the contractor’s use (without cost to the contractor) to allow the contractor to provide the required services, such as materials, facilities, training, etc. as follows:

Facilities: The Government shall not furnish work space, work stations, computers.

Materials: The Government will not provide Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs), applicable regulations, manuals, texts, briefs or any other materials associated with these projects.

Training: The Government will not provide any training, management, or accountability for contractor’s staff beyond the initial guidance given during initial setup, and the ongoing feedback that is provided throughout the course of the contract.

14. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND RESPONSIBILITIES: The contractor shall furnish all supplies, equipment, and services required to perform work under this contract that are not listed under section 13 of this PWS.

14.1. Items: The contractor shall provide all required hardware, software, licenses, internet access, etc., along with all necessary support, to perform this work. The Government will not will provide any equipment, materials, or technical support. The contractor will not have access to the NIEHS network or email accounts.

The contractor is required to use the following software in the completion of the work of this contract:

Aries Systems Editorial Manager/ProduXion Manager (no license required)

Microsoft Word 2010 (or later) for Windows (Windows 7 or later is the required platform)

This is not an exhaustive list of the software that may be required to fulfill this work – this is merely the software that the journal requires you to use. When not specified, the contractor is free to select the software that best fits their needs.

14.2. Security/Security Log: The contractor shall maintain the security and integrity of their systems at all times. This includes promptly installing updates to mitigate security threats, actively testing all software releases for potential security holes, and promptly informing customers of known or suspected data breaches.

15. ATTACHMENT/TECHNICAL EXHIBIT LISTING: This section lists all attachments and technical exhibits applicable to the contract.

Attachment II - Quality Assurance Requirements Summary

Attachment III - Reporting and Deliverable Schedule

Attachment IV - Historical Data & Workload