AmendmentFourInterpretingServicesPWS_v5.4_05032019.pdf

PERFORMANCE WORK

STATEMENT

NIH Sign Language Interpreting Services 2019

April 23, 2019

Abstract This is an Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) performance-based with incentive fees contract to provide centralized sign language interpreting services for NIH staff, patients, and visitors who are deaf/hard of hearing (D/HH), in accordance with the terms and conditions specified herein, and in compliance with all applicable Federal laws.

NIH/ORS |Version 5.4

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1 About NIH

2 Objective

2.1 Recent Trends

3 Scope of Work

3.1 Required Services and Usage Averages

3.2 Staffing Requirements

3.3 Non-Personal Services

3.4 Period of Performance

3.5 Place of Performance

4 Program/Contract Management

4.1 NIH Reasonable Accommodation Policy

4.2 Subcontractors

5 Interpreting Service Requirements

5.1 Key Personnel

5.2 Interpreter Qualifications and Tasks

5.3 CART Reporter Tasks and Qualifications

5.4 Qualifications for Remote Interpreters (VRI)

5.5 Requirements/Tasks

5.6 Contractor Furnished Equipment and Supplies

6 Security Requirements

6.1 FISMA/FedRAMP Compliance

6.2 508 Compliance for Services

6.3 Employee Separation Checklist

7 Deliverables

7.1 Web Based Reservation System

7.2. Invoicing and Reporting Requirements

7.3. Fiscal and Quarterly Data Call Reports

7.4. Special reports upon request

7.5. Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)

7.6. Transition Plan

7.7. Extension of Services Plan

7.8. Communication Plan

7.9. Quarterly Community-Building Partnership Initiative

8 Delivery Schedule

9 Performance Standards

9.1 Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan (QASP) [Table 2]

10 Performance Incentives

10.1 Quarterly Incentive Criteria (Ref. Section 8.2) [Table 3]

11 Standards of Conduct

11.1 Personnel and Supervision

12 Use of Government Property

12.1 Government Issued ID Badge

12.2 Records and Data Retention

12.3 Government Furnished Space

12.4 Facilities

12.5 Parking

12.6 Government-Owned Equipment

12.7 Telecommunications and Computer Systems

12.8 Integrated Pest Management

12.9 Trash Removal/Recycling/Composting

12.10 Hazardous Conditions

12.11 Occupant Emergency Plan

12.12 Federal Sustainability Best Practices

12.13 Post-Award Administration

Appendix A – Security and Privacy Language for Information and Information Technology Procurements (Revised 4/4/2019)

Attachments

Attachment 1 - Federal Government OPM Snow and Dismissal Policy

Attachment 2 – NIH Reasonable Accommodations Policy (Released 8/1/2001)

Attachment 3 - Sign Language Interpreter Policy (Released 12/7/2017)

Attachment 4 – Division of Amenities and Transportation Services Badging SOP

1 About NIH The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the largest organization under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services1 and the largest source of funding for medical research in the world, awarding more than 80% of its annual budget2 to support research projects at universities, medical schools and independent research institutions in all 50 states and territories, and in more than 90 countries. To date, 148 NIH supported researchers have been sole or shared recipients of 87 Nobel Prizes.

For over a century, NIH has been advancing innovative biomedical research and paving the way for important discoveries that improve health and save lives. Through its 27 different Institutes and Centers3 (ICs), NIH fulfills its mission to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and the application of that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. It also promotes the acquisition and dissemination of medical knowledge to health professionals and the public.

The remaining 20% of its annual budget goes to support the Intramural Research laboratories, most of which are on the main campus4 in Bethesda, Maryland, which occupies 310 acres in Montgomery County, Maryland, approximately five miles northwest of Washington, DC. It is the primary workplace for over 80% of the NIH workforce and is also home to the NIH Clinical Center5, the largest hospital in the world totally dedicated to clinical research. NIH’s impact on the economy is massive. Its funding generates $62 billion (double taxpayers’ investment); and it serves as the foundation of the entire medical sector that employs 1 million U.S. citizens; generates $84 billion in wages and salaries, and exports $90 billion in goods and services. One of the goals of the 2013 Bethesda Master Plan6 is to foster the environmental sustainability of the Bethesda campus through new construction, with the overall objective of sustaining the NIH mission and its world-class scientists, over the next 20 years.

Accomplishing this mission requires many dedicated people with diverse talents, skills, expertise, and experiences from around the world. Over 18,000 Federal employees work on the main campus and surrounding facilities in both scientific and non-scientific roles. This count does not include contract workers, Clinical Center patients, or visitors who also utilize the facilities. The NIH community is broadly

1 Department of Health and Human Services: http://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/index.html 2 NIH Budget: http://www.nih.gov/about/budget.htm 3 NIH Institutes and Centers: http://www.nih.gov/icd/index.html 4 NIH Visitor Center: http://www.nih.gov/about/visitor/index.htm 5 NIH Clinical Center: http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/crc/ 6 Bethesda Master Plan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq9HBZA87mY http://www.hhs.gov/about/agencies/index.html http://www.nih.gov/about/budget.htm http://www.nih.gov/icd/index.html http://www.nih.gov/about/visitor/index.htm http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/crc/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq9HBZA87mY diverse in every way and yet closely connected by a shared mission. For the third year in a row, NIH has been named one of the 50 Best Employers for Workers over 50 by AARP7.

2 Objective NIH prides itself on being an inclusive and collaborative agency and is committed to meeting the diverse needs of its staff, patients and visiting family members, and visitor/guests. Members of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) community consider NIH a workplace of choice for providing quality sign language interpreting services that enable them to perform the essential duties of their job, fully participate in social activities, trainings and seminars; and enjoy full access to all the benefits of working at NIH. These essential services also allow patients and visitors/guests to engage in all that NIH has to offer.

2.1 Recent Trends

3 Scope of Work Under this Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) performance based contract, the Contractor shall provide basic and scientific sign language interpreting services for D/HH employees, patients, and visitors, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract.

The Federal Government is requesting proposals from experienced sign language interpreting service providers to provide an average of 3,000 hours/month of interpreting services to approximately 100 D/HH employees, as well as contracting staff, visitors and patients. Services include basic sign language, 7 AARP Report: http://www.aarp.org/work/2013-aarp-best-employers/national-institutes-health-aarp-best-employers.html http://www.aarp.org/work/2013-aarp-best-employers/national-institutes-health-aarp-best-employers.html http://www.aarp.org/work/2013-aarp-best-employers/national-institutes-health-aarp-best-employers.html scientific sign language, oral, tactile, close-vision, certified deaf interpreting, cued speech, CART, and VRI. The primary location where services are provided is on the main campus in Bethesda, Maryland, nearby leased facilities within Montgomery County, as well as Frederick and Baltimore. NIH also has facilities in North Carolina, Montana, Arizona, Michigan, and Massachusetts. In FY18 (10/1/17-9/30/18) , 99% of all interpreting services requested by NIH occurred in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Only the following locations used interpreting services outside the area surrounding the NIH main campus:

Missouri (34 hours), North Carolina research facility (Raleigh, NC, 302 hours).

In anticipation of continued growth and increasing demand for interpreting services, NIH is looking for innovative solutions for keeping pace with demand without compromising quality of services. The Contractor understands the services provided under this contract are vital to the Government and must be continued without interruption, including after hours on weekdays, weekends, Federal holidays, and Government shutdowns.

3.1 Required Services and Usage Averages

Service Schedule Description 1 Basic Interpreting

Services Monday-Friday

6:30AM – 6:30PM

ASL, oral, tactile, close-vision, deaf interpreting, and cued speech, etc.

2 Scientific Interpreting Services

Monday-Friday

6:30AM – 6:30PM

Certified technical vocabulary specific to scientific and medical applications

3 On-Call afterhours weekdays*

As needed For patients, family members, and clinical staff, work-related meetings/events

4 On-Call weekends, holidays, Government closures*

As needed Primarily for patients, family members, and clinical staff

5 CART Onsite 6:30AM – 6:30PM M-F

To be used in lieu of an on-call interpreter, or as requirements dictate.

6 CART Remote 6:30AM – 6:30PM M-F

To be used in lieu of an on-call interpreter, or as requirements dictate.

7 CART afterhours, weekends, holidays, Government closures*

As needed Primarily for patients, family members, and clinical staff

8 Video Remote Interpreting (VRI)

Anytime Ideal for short, impromptu small group meetings under 59 minutes

Under the current contract, approximately 30 on-call interpreters work an average of 135 hours per workday collectively. In FY 2018, NIH used an average of 3000 hours per month and consumed a total of 36,002 hours. Given the nature of support required by the NIH for patient emergencies, last-minute interpreting service requests can occur at any time. Also in FY19, approximately 1,500 hours were used by patients at the Clinical Center; of that approximately 200 hours occurred outside of business hours.

Services must be available to NIH 24 hours/ day, seven days/ week, 365 days/year. Contractor shall provide a dedicated emergency phone number that is answered by a live person. Emergency requests must be filled immediately, and a qualified interpreter is expected to arrive onsite ready to work within 60 minutes of the call. If under unusual and compelling circumstances, the use of VRI can be used as a replacement until an on-site interpreter can be found. This practice should be minimal, and only used in emergency requests.

3.2 Staffing Requirements

The Contractor shall provide interpreters who are certified through a national certifying body such as the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf or the National Association of the Deaf or Certified CART Providers (CCP) through the National Court Reporters Association, to provide American Sign Language (ASL) to English interpreting and transliteration services.

• Minimum of 60 qualified interpreters to handle all non-technical routine interpreting services;

• Minimum of 40 qualified interpreters with documented experience in scientific interpreting

• Minimum of 10 Certified Deaf interpreters

• Minimum of 15 CART reporters

• On demand access to Video Remote Interpreters (VRI).

• Minimum pool of 400 freelance interpreters accessible nationwide.

The above minimum staffing numbers may increase/decrease based on business needs of the NIH.

3.3 Non-Personal Services

This contract is a "non-personal services contract" as defined in FAR 37.101. It is, therefore, understood and agreed that the contractor and/or the contractor's employees: (1) shall perform the services specified herein as independent contractors, not as employees of the Government; (2) shall be responsible for their own management and administration of work required and bear sole responsibility for complying with any and all technical, schedule, or financial requirements or constraints attendant to the performance of this contract; (3) shall be free from supervision or control by any Government employee with respect to the manner or method of performance of the services specified; but (4) shall, pursuant to the Government's right and obligation to inspect, accept, or reject the work, comply with such general direction of the Contracting Officer, or the duly authorized representative of the Contracting Officer as is necessary to ensure accomplishment of the contract requirements.

3.4 Period of Performance

The proposed period of performance is one (1) base year with four (4) option years based on performance.

Base year: TBD prior to award Option Year 1: TBD prior to award Option Year 2: TBD prior to award Option Year 3: TBD prior to award Option Year 4: TBD prior to award

3.5 Place of Performance

Primary Location:

• NIH main campus located at 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20892 Other DC Metro Locations:

• Rockville and Bethesda

• NCI Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center (FCRDC)8 at Fort Detrick in Frederick, MD

• NIH Animal Center in Poolesville, MD

• Biomedical Research Center9 in Baltimore, MD

Distant Locations:

• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences10' main facility in Research Triangle Park

(RTP), NC

• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases' Rocky Mountain Laboratories11 in Hamilton, MT

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development program in

Perinatal Research and Obstetrics in Detroit, MI

• Epidemiology and Clinical Research Branch of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Phoenix, AZ

• Framingham Heart Study12 in Framingham, MA

4 Program/Contract Management Centralized sign language services are available to all NIH employees, contract staff, visitors, and patients. The contract for these services is managed by the Office of Research Services (ORS), Division of Amenities and Transportation Services (DATS).13 The program management team is responsible for monitoring the day-to-day operations and surveillance of the contract as well as responding to issues and concerns.

4.1 NIH Reasonable Accommodation Policy14

4.1.1 NIH Sign Language Interpreting Policy15

It is strongly encouraged that all key personnel review the sign language interpreter policy, which governs all sign-language interpreting requests for the NIH workforce.

4.1.2 Using Services at On-Campus Events

If requested, Sign Language interpreting services are available to all employees, visitors and patients of the NIH. It is a policy of the NIH that interpreting services will be provided for NIH sponsored conferences, training, classes, meetings, interviews, and workshops, upon request. It is the responsibility of the event organizer to announce upcoming events; inquire about specific needs for D/HH participants; and to inform the NIH Interpreting Program of those specific requests for services, as far in advance as possible. Public events will be interpreted only if there are Deaf or hard-of-hearing persons present who require the service.

8 MD Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center (FCRDC): https://ncifrederick.cancer.gov/Default.aspx 9 Biomedical Research Center: https://www.orf.od.nih.gov/AboutORF/BFM/Pages/BRCBayviewBal.aspx 10 NIEHS: https://www.niehs.nih.gov/ 11 NIAID RML: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/rocky-mountain-laboratories 12 Framingham Heart Study: https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/ 13 Office of Research Services, Division of Amenities and Transportation Services:

http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/pes/dats/interpret/Pages/index.aspx 14 NIH Reasonable Accommodation Policy: https://policymanual.nih.gov/2204 15 NIH Sign Language Interpreter Policy: https://policymanual.nih.gov/2206 http://web.ncifcrf.gov/ https://www.orf.od.nih.gov/AboutORF/BFM/Pages/BRCBayviewBal.aspx http://www.niehs.nih.gov/ https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/rocky-mountain-laboratories http://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/ http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/pes/dats/interpret/Pages/index.aspx http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/pes/dats/interpret/Pages/index.aspx https://ncifrederick.cancer.gov/Default.aspx https://www.orf.od.nih.gov/AboutORF/BFM/Pages/BRCBayviewBal.aspx https://www.niehs.nih.gov/ https://www.niaid.nih.gov/about/rocky-mountain-laboratories https://www.framinghamheartstudy.org/ http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/pes/dats/interpret/Pages/index.aspx https://policymanual.nih.gov/2204 https://policymanual.nih.gov/2206

4.1.3 Using Services Away from the Workplace

NIH will provide an interpreter for an employee who is deaf or hard of hearing who, as part of his/her job, attends a meeting or event outside the workplace. If s/he attends a conference or training program sponsored by an outside organization, the sponsoring organization is principally responsible for providing interpreters. If, however, the outside organization fails to do so, NIH will provide interpreting services.

4.1.4 Travel Policy

The NIH Interpreting Services Program is responsible for ensuring that sign language services are provided to NIH employees at their regular workplace or IC approved meeting/event offsite (travel/per diem costs are not included). If an employee is required to travel and the IC has approved an interpreter to accompany the employee, the Contractor shall work directly with ICs to coordinate these arrangements. In this case, the IC is responsible for all associated business travel arrangements and costs for the employee and approved interpreter (mileage, airfare, lodging, meals, etc.).

4.2 Subcontractors

The primary contractor may use subcontractors to deliver interpreting services at remote locations, using local service providers, interpreters with specialized skills, or to supplement regular staff at large events. All subcontractors must adhere to the same standards and requirements contained within the

PWS.

5 Interpreting Service Requirements

5.1 Key Personnel

Include resumes of key personnel as indicated below.

Position Responsibilities Minimum Requirements 1 Executive Officer Executive level oversight;

responsible for making decisions on behalf of the company or delegating authority to act on his/her behalf; signs the contract and any modifications or agreements between the company and the Government

Minimum 5 years managing at the executive level within the industry and experience overseeing 2 or more Federal contracts of similar scope. Must have demonstrated proven track record of success at other agencies and have the following skills/competencies:

•Ability to work within a changing schedule •Outstanding communications skills •Strong Signing and voicing skills •Excellent customer service skills •Interpersonal skills and ability to interact with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds (customers, colleges and management) •Broad knowledge of technical and human resource vocabulary •Strong understanding of ASL and Deaf culture

2 Information Security Officer

Responsible for managing system of records, security

Minimum 2 years managing security compliance IT systems operated by or on behalf of the Federal compliance, oversight of Helpdesk, and serves as curator for records and retention housed in the system and owned by the government

Government. Must have the following skills/competencies:

•Ability to work within a changing schedule •Outstanding communications skills •Excellent customer service skills •Interpersonal skills and ability to interact with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds (customers, colleges and management)

3 Accounting Officer

Responsible for invoicing, and reporting data to Contract Officer’s Representative (COR)/Program Manager

(PM)

Minimum 2 years of accounting experience and other technical skills. Must have the following skills/competencies:

•Ability to work within a changing schedule •Outstanding communications skills •Excellent customer service skills •Interpersonal skills and ability to interact with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds (customers, colleges and management)

4 Scheduling Officer

Responsible for scheduling and schedulers, responds to emergency calls, and ensures requests are filled on time.

Minimum 2 years managing interpreting schedules, dispatching interpreters for a large and fast paced organization. Must have demonstrated proven track record of success at other agencies and have the following skills/competencies:

•Ability to work within a changing schedule •Outstanding communications skills •Strong Signing and voicing skills •Excellent customer service skills •Interpersonal skills and ability to interact with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds (customers, colleges and management) •Broad knowledge of technical and human resource

5 Primary Point of Contact (POC) (lead interpreter)

Works fulltime on campus; responsible for coordinating interpreters and resolving minor issues

Certified interpreter with at least 3 years interpreting experience and 3 years coordinating interpreters for a large and fast paced organization; must have:

•Ability to work within a changing schedule •Outstanding communications skills •Strong Signing and voicing skills •Excellent customer service skills •Interpersonal skills and ability to interact with colleagues from a variety of backgrounds (customers, colleges and management) •Broad knowledge of technical and human resource

•Meets Interpreter Qualifications and Tasks (Section 5.2)

6 Backup POC Available to fill in for primary POC

Same as primary.

5.2 Interpreter Qualifications and Tasks

All interpreters including staff, subcontractors, and remote VRI shall meet the following requirements:

Must possess at least one of the following certifications:

National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID)

National Interpreter Certification (NIC) Certificate of Interpretation or Certification of Transliteration (CI/CT) Comprehensive Skills Certificate (CSC)

Reference: http://www.rid.org/rid-certification-overview National Association for the Deaf (NAD) for levels 4 or 5 only (while no longer providing active certification, those with this certification are still permitted on the contract);

Any other certification required to perform other language specialties, e.g. Certificate in

Healthcare Interpreting (CHI), TECUnit (www.tecunit.org).

Fluent in sign language on the entire sign language continuum to effectively facilitate communication between D/HH employees and hearing employees;

Able to perform a least one of the following and meet the corresponding national certification for each specialization, if any: (1) interpret voice to sign, (2) interpret sign to voice, (3) oral transliteration, (4) tactile, (5) close-vision, and (6) cued speech; and certified deaf interpreting

Able to accurately interpret in a variety of settings, including those that require specialized, technical, legal, scientific, medical, library, and information technology vocabulary, and familiarity with government vernaculars;

Able to keep pace with multiple communications in conferences, meetings, seminars, training classes, etc.

Able to negotiate with speakers to mediate pace of communication as necessary and appropriate; or voice interpret when a D/HH person(s) speech is not easily understood;

Able to extrapolate, emphasize, and summarize information within context when dealing with complicated concepts, idioms, etc.

Working knowledge of and adhere to the tenets of the RID and NAD Code of Professional Conduct16, which includes:

Standards of confidential communication;

Skills and knowledge required for the specific interpreting situation;

Show respect for consumers, colleagues, interns, and students of the profession;

Maintain ethical business practices and pursue continuing education and professional development.

Knowledge of the diverse cultures within NIH D/HH community to effectively work as an interpreter; able to prepare for each interpreting assignment including the knowledge needed to assist in setting up an environment that is conducive to meeting the communication needs of both the hearing and deaf consumer;

Able to effectively assess the language needs of the deaf consumer; in certain circumstances color appropriate attire may be necessary. This is the responsibility of the contractor.

16 Code of Professional Conduct: https://rid.org/ethics/code-of-professional-conduct/ http://www.rid.org/rid-certification-overview http://www.tecunit.org/ https://rid.org/ethics/code-of-professional-conduct/

Able to apply the analytical skills necessary to determine which communication modes the Deaf consumer is utilizing.

Accountable to the Contractor, who, in turn, shall be accountable to the Government

5.3 CART Reporter Tasks and Qualifications

All qualified CART reports must meet the following requirements:

Demonstrate Knowledge, skills and abilities in the Core Competency areas defined by the

National Court Reporters Association (NCRA) and have achieved at a minimum, Certified CART Provider (CCP) certification, or industry-equivalent;

Able to provide small venue CART services to be used by D/HH staff, patients and visitors; report various medical, scientific and technical terms proficiently;

Provide real time translation and an unedited version of the transcript to the consumer upon request, within two (2) business days.

5.4 Qualifications for Remote Interpreters (VRI)

All VRI interpreters must adhere to the same standard as live interpreters (see 5.2)

5.5 Requirements/Tasks

The Contractor will provide all of the necessary personnel, services, and material needed perform the work set forth in this Performance Work Statement (PWS) including but not limited to all equipment and related materials/office supplies, and administrative support services. Current requirements include but are not limited to:

• Formal training sessions dealing with specialized terminology in the fields of acquisition, human resources, supply, and quality assurance, etc.

• On the job training in specific applications used in the fields of procurement, human resources, supply planning, and quality assurance, etc.

• Other appointments as requested including, but not limited to, job interviews, safety talks, discussions on work procedures, policies or assignments, and disciplinary discussions, team building events, etc.

• Standard Requests: Standard requests are 3 business days in advance of any single event or 5 business days in advance for a large or long (more than 16 hours interpreting hours) work training session.

• Emergency Requests: Emergency requests are considered as 2 business days or less. At all times the expectation is that the Contractor will make every effort to ensure coverage when possible. Emergency requests will be handled based upon the availability of interpreting services; therefore, there is no penalty to the contractor if coverage cannot be secured on an Emergency Request only.

• If the communication mode of the customer (D/HH or Hearing) and the interpreter do not match, the interpreter must be replaced within 24 hours. Determination will be made based on agreement between the Government and the Contractor.

• Cancellations: If any time requirement/task is cancelled by the Government, the Government is responsible for payment of cancellation fees for any requirement/task cancelled less than 2 business days before the scheduled start of the requirement/task

5.6 Contractor Furnished Equipment and Supplies

All required equipment shall be provided by the Contractor and shall be replaced, as needed and kept in good working order.

• Equipment deemed necessary by the Contractor for the execution of proposed interpreting services and/or concepts shall be provided and installed by the Contractor at no cost to the Government.

• Contractor shall maintain a physical inventory of all Contractor owned equipment on site.

All items provided by the Contractor shall be of good quality, suitable for the purpose of its intended use, and consistent with the quality of the various items provided by the Government and meeting current business and industry standards.

6 Security Requirements This acquisition requires the Contractor to fully comply with ARTICLE H. NIH INFORMATION AND PHYSICAL ACCESS SECURITY, detailed in Appendix A to PWS.

6.1 FISMA/FedRAMP Compliance17

In accordance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA), and/or Federal Risk Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) agencies are required by law to provide adequate security for all information collected, processed, stored, transmitted, or disseminated in federal information systems. Respond to the questions below to provide Government information necessary to evaluate compliance with FISMA/FedRAMP requirements:

1. Describe the security controls that limit or restrict access to the system.

2. Describe your IT systems change management process.

3. Describe your patch management, antivirus and vulnerability remediation process.

4. Describe the process to collect, protect and dispose information gathered by the proposed application, i.e. Personally Identifiable Information (PII). See Section M of solicitation.

6.2 508 Compliance for Services18 Section 508 requires that all website content be accessible to people with disabilities. This applies to Web applications, Web pages and all attached files on the intranet, as well as, internet.

Each month the Department of Health and Human Services runs a 508 analysis on all of the website in its portfolio. The resulting report is called a “HHS 508 Leaderboard Report.” This 508 status report is made available to every OPDIV and STAFFDIV for any needed actions to achieve a 508 compliant site.

Use the link19 to see the most recent leaderboard report. Specifically, the end product must be conformant with all applicable provisions, including:

1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems

1194.22 Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications

1194.24 Video and Multimedia Products

1194.31 Functional performance criteria

17 FISMA http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SMA/fisma 18 HHS Section 508: http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/ 19 HHS 508 Compliance: https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/compliance-and-remediation/leaderboards/index.html http://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/compliance-and-remediation/leaderboards/index.html http://csrc.nist.gov/groups/SMA/fisma http://www.hhs.gov/web/508/ https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/compliance-and-remediation/leaderboards/index.html https://www.hhs.gov/web/section-508/compliance-and-remediation/leaderboards/index.html

1194.41 Information, documentation, and support

6.3 Employee Separation Checklist

The contractor shall perform and document the actions identified in the "Employee Separation Checklist" (https://ocio.nih.gov/aboutus/publicinfosecurity/acquisition/Documents/Emp-sep-checklist.pdf) when a contractor/subcontractor employee terminates work under this contract. All documentation shall be made available to the Project Officer and/or Contracting Officer upon request.

7 Deliverables

7.1 Web Based Reservation System

The Contractor shall provide and maintain a secure, Government approved scheduling system with a user-friendly platform for entering all interpreting services requests. ALL service requests, regardless of how they are initially requested by customers (i.e. phone, email…,) MUST be entered into the registration system to ensure data integrity and for tracking and billing purposes. NOTE: NIH will not be billed for any service not logged into the contractor provided system. The system must meet the following minimum requirements:

7.1.1. General Requirements

• System shall be a web-based reservation system used as a central location for both NIH D/HH staff, and those supporting the D/HH community to request, manage, oversee and administer all required sign-language interpreting services within this contract.

• System shall provide NIH users a unique URL to ensure NIH customers are entering their requests in the correct location/website.

• System shall be hosted in a cloud environment (at a FedRAMP certificated location, or meet FedRAMP security requirements for a low risk system, if hosted with a non-FEDRAMP certification location)

• System shall have publicly accessible websites at a minimum, that are mobile optimized. It is preferred the contractor provide free to download mobile applications available on the Apple App Store and Google Play or functionally equivalent.

• System must be able to generate confirmation emails as soon as requests have been successfully submitted to the user and admin inbox.

• System must be able to generate confirmation emails as soon as requests have been successfully fulfilled to the user and admin registered account emails, with pertinent information, such as the interpreter assigned, etc.

• System shall have multiple user groups; at a minimum, a user/consumer and an administrator.

• System shall allow admin user or contractor user to flag priority requests.

• System shall be able to track and handle off-hour and emergency requests.

• System data shall be the system of record for confirmed/filled/unfilled requests and used for preparing monthly and ad-hoc reports (See Section 7.2).

• System shall maintain an up-time of at least 97% or higher.

• System shall ensure maintenance, patches, enhancements are scheduled for off-hours to not disrupt system availability for users.

• Access to the System must utilize a two-factor authentication for all users’ types.

https://ocio.nih.gov/aboutus/publicinfosecurity/acquisition/Documents/Emp-sep-checklist.pdf https://ocio.nih.gov/aboutus/publicinfosecurity/acquisition/Documents/Emp-sep-checklist.pdf

7.1.2. Users/Consumers

• System must collect the following data from users for each request: Requestor’s name and contact information (phone and email); name of the person for who the services will be provided (if not the requestor), preference for interpreter or type of service being requested;

name of event or activity, location, date, start and end times, name of interpreter(s) assigned;

and NIH specific information such as organization (commonly known as Institute/Center, e.g.

NCI)

• System must also include a link to a helpdesk or support team to allow users to obtain help making requests easily.

• System shall have an internal evaluation system (survey or other) to record user feedback after their request. These evaluations must be shared with the COR.

• System shall have the ability to create unique user accounts/profiles that allows information from previous requests to be retrieved and recalled for faster future reservation requests.

7.1.3. NIH Admin Users

• Data stored in the system shall be searchable by a variety of search criteria and easily downloadable/exportable to an Excel spreadsheet (.xlsx) or alternatively, comma separated value (.csv) files.

• System shall have the ability to display scheduled and confirmed (with interpreter assigned) requests.

• System shall have the ability for admin users to have pre-set views that show upcoming reservations (both scheduled and confirmed) in a calendar type format in the following date increments: Day of, 2 Days, 7 Days, 14 Days, 30 Days.

7.1.4. NIH Information and Physical Access Security Requirements System must meet requirements set forth in Appendix A – NIH Information and Physical Access Security Acquisition/Solicitation Language (Revised 4/4/2019); as well as those set for in the RFP, Section L.

• System must meet all NIH security requirements and be accessible to NIH for performing a risk assessment prior to obtaining an Authorization to Operate (ATO) to use NIH staff information and be used to provide required services.

• System owner must agree in writing to maintain the system for the duration of the contract and provide the COR/NIH system owner, and ITB with a SSA Plan for routine testing and reporting to ensure compliance.

7.2. Invoicing and Reporting Requirements

7.2.2. Monthly Invoicing

• Contractor shall invoice no more frequently than MONTHLY. Contractor must submit accurate, timely invoices to the COR via email attachment (Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (.pdf) no later than the 15th of the following month, (e.g. an October invoice must be received by November 15, or the first business day thereafter). Inaccurate invoices shall be returned to the Vendor within seven (7) days for correction.

7.2.3. Monthly Reporting

• Monthly executive summary along with YTD and MTD comparative data and trend analysis with charts shall be prepared by the contractor and emailed to the COR along with the invoice. More specifically, the following information shall be included. The report format shall be PDFs for the summaries and charts and analysis and Excel files for monthly data reports.

1. Executive Summary

2. Performance metrics obtained from web-based reservation system (See 7.1) to include the following:

3. Service Report

4. Statistical Data Report, showing the following: month to date (MTD) and year to date (YTD) formats:

a. Independent Services and overall hours/costs

b. Hours/costs MTD/YTD variances

c. Charts that mirror a. and b.

7.3. Fiscal and Quarterly Data Call Reports

7.4. Special reports upon request

• Special reports shall be provided within three (3) business days upon request from the COR or CO. These reports will typically result in the development of a data file in Excel (,xlsx).

Two examples of these reports are listed below. The government reserves the right to add additional reports as necessary.

o A data call concerning reasonable accommodations provided to employees through sign language interpreting services, where the total number of interpreting hours are requested.

o Programmatic requests such as providing the number of requests within the past year that:

Were provided with more than 5 business days’ notice Were provided with less than 1 business days’ notice Were for short assignments (3 hours or less) Were for more than 3 hours, but less than 7 hours Were for all-day work (7 hours or more)

7.5. Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP)

Continuity of Operations (COOP) is the initiative that ensures that Federal Government departments and agencies are able to continue operation of their essential functions under a broad range of circumstances, including all-hazard emergencies, natural and man-made, and technological, biological, and terrorist threats to our national security. Essential functions include those that meet the 12/30 rule:

Must be resumed within 12 hours and cannot be interrupted for 30 days. To accomplish its mission, NIH must ensure its operations are performed efficiently with minimal disruption, especially during an emergency or threat. Contractor plays an essential role in in the COOP planning and process by communicating important information to D/HH staff in the event of a shelter-in-place order and/or state of emergency directive.

7.6. Transition Plan

In accordance with the Continuity of Services clause20, the Contractor recognizes that the services under this contract are vital to the Government and must be continued without interruption and that, upon contract expiration, a successor, either the Government or another contractor, may continue them. The Contractor agrees to (1) furnish phase-in training and (2) exercise its best efforts and cooperation to affect an orderly and efficient transition to a successor.

7.7. Extension of Services Plan

Award of contracts for recurring and continuing service requirements are often delayed due to circumstances beyond the control of contracting offices. Examples of circumstances causing such delays are bid protests and alleged mistakes in bid. In order to avoid negotiation of short extensions to existing contracts, the contracting officer has included the Option Clause21 in this solicitation to require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates22 specified in the contract. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance thereunder shall not exceed 6 months.

7.8. Communication Plan

Contractor shall propose a comprehensive communication plan to articulate how information will be relayed consistently between the key personnel and PM/COR and program team. The plan shall include how information, issues, feedback, complaints, and grievances will be reported and documented.

7.9. Quarterly Community-Building Partnership Initiative

• Contractor is encouraged to partner with NIH on mutually beneficial initiatives, including:

o Offering community-building activities that facilitate better communication between the deaf and hearing communities and remove barriers and stigmas, such as co-hosting or participating in mini workshops for those interested in learning/practicing basic sign language, story-telling events, or town hall meetings to discuss topics of interest, and outreach events that help raise awareness and support diversity and inclusion.

o Exploring innovate solutions that help streamline services, offer new alternatives to traditional services, and control costs without compromising services.

o Regularly surveying consumers to collect feedback using a variety of media platforms (Twitter, Listserv, email, etc.), in addition to the one integrated in the reservation system.

8 Delivery Schedule

ITEM DUE DATE DUE TO

7.1 Web Based Reservation System Contract start date COR

20 FAR 52.237-3

21 Option clause: FAR 52.217-8.

22 These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/52_215.htm#P1090_189798

7.2 Invoicing and Reporting Monthly by the 15th, or

otherwise stated

COR

7.3 Fiscal Year Report (October 1-September 30) Annual by the 15th of each October

COR

7.4 Special reports upon request Within 3 business days COR

7.5 Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) Contract start date COR

7.6 Transition Plan Contract start date COR

7.7 Extension of Services Plan Contract start date COR

7.8 Communication Plan Contract start date COR

7.9 Community-building Partnership Initiative Quarterly COR

HSPD-12 Roster (See RFP, Section L, 16.A.1 14 days post award, or as stated in this section

CO/COR

Authority to Operate (ATO)/Security Assessment and Authorization (SA&A) (See RPF, Section L. 16.B

90 day post award CO/COR

Request Documents to obtain Interim-ATO 7 days post award CO/COR SA&A Package Deliverables (See Section L. 16.C) 30 days post award CO/COR Independent Assessment (See Section L. 16.C) 90 days post award CO/COR Contingency Plan and Contingency Plan Test (See Section L. 16.D) 60 days post award CO/COR Reporting and Continuous Monitoring Ongoing CO/COR

9 Performance Standards NIH is committed to providing quality interpreting services for its consumers and maintaining the highest standards possible of any Federal agency. NIH works hard to build a trusting relationship between the interpreting service provider and its consumers who depend on these services every day to do their jobs.

The Contractor shall maintain records and prepare reports as set forth in this PWS. A copy of all reports shall be maintained and be available for inspection by the Government at all times. From time to time, the Contractor and its employees may be required to make written and/or oral statements to authorized Government agencies due to a particular incident or issue. Any written statements provided shall be considered a report under the terms of this contract. All records and copies of reports shall be turned over to the PM/ COR within five (5) calendar days after completion.

The Government reserves the right to modify any performance standards and/or metrics during the life of this contract, in order to ensure that the appropriate outcomes are being assessed and that the performance standards are appropriate. Changes to the contract will be made only by the CO as contract modifications, per the Changes clause –FAR 52.243-1.

9.1 Quality Assurance and Surveillance Plan (QASP) [Table 2]

Performance Objectives

Performance Standard Acceptable Quantity Level

Surveillance Method

Accurate Confirmed Requests

99-100% of all service requests received five (5) days or more in advance of date are confirmed.

98% PM (COR) will review Contractor’s monthly records and report

Last Minute Requests

98-100% of all service requests received less than five (5) days in advance are confirmed.

97% PM (COR) will review Contractor’s monthly records and report

Same Day Requests

96-100% of all interpreting requests received during normal working hours same day are confirmed.

95% PM (COR) will review Contractor’s monthly records and report

Emergency Off-hour Requests

98-100% of all service requests received after normal working hours will have an interpreter respond on-site within 60 minutes.

97% PM (COR) will review Contractor’s monthly records and report

Confirmation of Request Delivery

99-100% of interpreting services requests are confirmed within 24 hours of request receipt.

98% PM (COR) will review Contractor’s monthly records and report

Confirmed Interpreter Response Time

99-100% of interpreters respond to the scheduled requested event at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the event. The Point of Contact (derived from the request) must be appraised of the interpreters’ arrival and departure for each event.

98% PM/COR will review customer feedback reports monthly

Quality of Customer Service

Scored 9-10 point average (on 10-point scale) derived from monthly consumer feedback surveys averaged and reported quarterly.

8-9 point average

PM/COR will review customer feedback reports monthly

Quality of Interpreters

Scored average 9-10 points (on 10-point scale) derived from monthly consumer feedback surveys averaged and reported quarterly.

8-9 point average

PM/COR will review customer feedback reports monthly

Community Building Initiatives

Deliver 3-4 initiatives per 12-month POP (preferably 1 per quarter) in partnership with DATS. Examples: ASL workshops, Deaf culture education seminars, open discussion forums to share experiences/stories, participation in NIH sponsored events

2 initiatives PM (COR) will participate in coordinating activities

10 Performance Incentives23 The Contractor may be eligible for a monetary incentive on a quarterly basis for outstanding contract performance that meets or exceeds required standards.

10.1 Quarterly Incentive Criteria (Ref. Section 8.2) [Table 3]

23 FAR 16.401 – Incentive Contracts

Monthly Invoicing and Reporting

99% accurate invoice and monthly report package submitted to COR by the 15th each month.

98% PM (COR) will review Contractor’s monthly records and complete receiving.

Performance Objectives

Performance Target Acceptable Quantity Level

Incentive Award $$ - Performance Above AQL

Deduction fee $$ performance below AQL

1) Accurate Confirmed Requests

99-100% of all interpreting services requests received five (5) days or more in advance are filled.

98% +1000 -1000

2) Last Minute Requests

98-100% of all interpreting services requests received less than five (5) days in advance are filled.

97% +1000 -1000

3) Same Day Requests

96-100% all interpreting services requests received during normal working hours of that day are filled.

95% +500 (96-97%) +500 (98-100%)

-1000

4) Emergency Off-Hour Requests

98-100% of all interpreting services requests received after normal working hours will have an interpreter respond on-site within 60 minutes.

97% +1000 -1000

5) Confirmation of Request Delivery

99-100% of interpreting services requests are confirmed within 24 hours of request receipt.

98% +1000 -1000

6) Confirmed Interpreter Response Time

98-100% of interpreters respond to the scheduled requested event at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the event; and designated POC notified of the interpreters’ arrival and departure for each event.

97% +1000 -1000

7) Quality of Customer Service

Scored 9-10 point average (on 10-point scale) derived from monthly consumer feedback surveys averaged and reported quarterly.

8-point average

+1000 -1000 http://farsite.hill.af.mil/reghtml/regs/far2afmcfars/fardfars/far/16.htm#P181_28361

11 Standards of Conduct

11.1 Personnel and Supervision

• Contractor shall employ sufficient professional personnel to ensure prompt and efficient service.

All staff must be conscientious, neat, and courteous.

• All Contract personnel shall abide by NIH Tobacco-Free policy.24

• A representative of the Contractor at the executive level status (i.e. Vice President) shall be required to visit the facilities on a quarterly basis to adjust significant matters requiring attention, and/or within 48 hours’ notice from the Government.

• Contract staff shall wear professional business attire.

• All contract staff shall where a visible NIH badge or NIH visitors badge for identification, while on duty.

• Contractor shall require all contract staff to comply with NIH conduct policies and building regulations in effect.

• 45 CFR Part 325 – Conduct of Persons and Traffic on the National Institutes of Health Federal

Enclave – shall be observed by the Contractor and its staff and associates.

• Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining satisfactory standards of staff competency, conduct, appearance, and integrity and shall be responsible for taking such disciplinary action with respect to his/her staff members, as necessary.

• Contract staff who fail to observe the above standards of conducts or have been identified as a potential threat to the health, safety, security, general wellbeing, or operational mission of the facility, building population or the Government, may be removed from the premises by NIH security.

24 Tobacco-Free NIH (http://tobaccofree.nih.gov/) provides a direct link to the policy along with educational and promotional materials 25 Conduct of Persons and Traffic on the NIH Enclave: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2011-title45-vol1/pdf/CFR-2011-title45-vol1-sec3-2.pdf

8) Quality of Interpreters

Scored average 9-10 points (on 10-point scale) derived from monthly consumer feedback surveys averaged and reported quarterly.

8-point average

+1000 -1000

9) Community Building Initiatives

Deliver 3-4 initiatives per 12-month POP (preferably 1 per quarter) in partnership with DATS. Examples: ASL workshops, Deaf culture education seminars, open discussion forums to share experiences/stories, participation in…