NOIS2 Statement of Work.pdf

NOIS 2 Statement of Work

3.1 INTRODUCTION

The Federal Government continues to seek new and improved ways of solving problems and driving innovation through the use of existing and/or emerging open innovation tools. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has used open innovation in the form of public challenges since the launch of the Centennial Challenges Program in 2005. Since 2011, NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation (CoECI) has been maturing its experience with using Federal procurement authority to work with companies who conduct competitions and rely on other crowdsourcing approaches to deliver solutions or stimulate innovation. Across the agency interest continues to grow in the broader use of crowdsourcing as a tool to help NASA meet its mission. NASA defines crowdsourcing as a method to obtain needed services, ideas, or content by soliciting contributions from a group of individuals or organizations, especially from an online community. As a result, CoECI is seeking to expand the capabilities and expertise it provides to NASA, as well as other federal agencies, in the successful use of crowdsourcing.

This Statement of Work (SOW) describes the requirements for providing services and/or delivering products to multiple NASA centers and other government agencies.

3.2 SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of the NOIS2 contract includes the ability to solicit crowd-based solutions via contracts with multiple awardees using their commercial approaches to satisfy the SOW. The Contractors shall use one or more of the following methodologies to meet the requirements of specific task orders:

a. Crowd-Based Challenges and Prize Competitions: Challenges and prize competitions are competition-based activities that use a focused problem-statement approach and crowdsourcing, rather than specifically identified individuals or groups, to obtain solutions and/or stimulate innovation.

b. Crowd-Based Freelance Projects: Freelance is the process to select and manage individuals, teams, and/or talent pools (members of the crowd/community) best equipped to work on and deliver solutions and/or stimulate innovation.

c. Crowd-Based Micro-Task Projects: Micro-tasking is the process of splitting a large job into small tasks that can be distributed, over the internet, to many people (members of the crowd/community).

d. Other Crowd-Based Methods: Other crowdsourcing-based method not covered above that would provide solution(s) or stimulate innovation.

3.2.1 End Products and Services

The Contractor shall provide one or more of the end products and services below using one or more of the methodologies described in Section 3.2 of the SOW. Task Orders will be issued in accordance with the Task Ordering Clause 1852.216-80.

a. Technical solutions – These include, but are not limited to, technical ideas, concepts, conceptual designs, detailed designs, technologies, prototypes, or hardware that address or solves all or part of a specified requirement.

b. Multimedia - These include, but are not limited to, multimedia such as graphic art, logos, animations, videos, storyboards, voiceovers, music, or writing/copy.

c. Data science - These include, but are not limited to, data-science-related elements such as machine learning algorithms, mathematical algorithms/models, data sets (gathered, validated, or cleaned/improved).

d. Software - These include software development related elements including, but not limited to, conceptual designs, architectures, requirements/specifications, operations concepts/use cases, user interface designs/wireframes, software/application code, testing/bug hunt/validation reports, simulators/emulators, and users guides/documentation.

e. Engineering Design - These products or deliverables include, but are not limited to, computer aided design (CAD) digital files that provide design models and details for physical/technical systems including mechanical or electrical design elements.

f. Crowd Program Formulation - These products or deliverables include, but are not limited to, recommended approaches or plans for the formulation and execution of organizational programs that leverage crowdsourcing as a tool for accessing expertise, skills, or products.

g. Public Engagement Campaign - This includes, but is not limited to, executed campaigns, programs, or events that engage the public in various technical aspects of Government programs to provide task support, promote STEM education, and/or public interest/support.

3.3 CONTRACT MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

The Contractor shall perform all management functions, including technical and business management, necessary to plan, implement, track, report and deliver the required products and services described in the SOW and more specifically in each Request for Task Plan.

a. Contractors may be requested to support CoECI-sponsored workshops with presentations showcasing their capabilities and highlighting their approach to crowd-based projects.

b. The work on this contract shall be performed primarily at the contractor’s facility and/or virtually via the Contractor’s IT infrastructure, unless specified otherwise in the

TO.

3.4 WORK AUTHORIZATIONS

The Contracting Officer (CO) will issue Request for Task Plans specific to each effort requested by the Government. Task orders will be issued in accordance with the contract task ordering procedures. Each Request for Task Plan will contain specific details concerning the end products and/or services required.

3.5 Task Order Execution

To deliver the products and services described in section 3.2.1, and more specifically described in each task order, the contractors shall:

a. Coordinate with the Government to refine project goals and requirements and translate the specific problem and/or need into a project plan to deliver the end product or service using one or more of the methodologies listed in Section 3.2 of the SOW. This may include problem analysis and decomposition, problem/challenge statement development, etc.

b. Provide access to a community and an established process for facilitating matching that community to successfully meet the requirements specified in individual Request for Task Plan.

c. Provide access to the tools required to fully support the management and conduct of the project effort for the defined community.

d. Coordinate project execution with all project stakeholders as defined per TO.

e. Comply with the specific Intellectual Property (IP) rights/licensing for any delivered product/solutions identified in the task order to enable the Government to fully utilize the deliverable for its intended purpose

f. Execute the task order and, where appropriate, provide and support recommended solutions for hosting any necessary data, algorithms, or computer infrastructure as specified in the task order.

g. Conduct media coordination and outreach, where appropriate, to advertise task order defined projects and build participation and engagement.

h. Execute/Coordinate a defined process, where applicable, for solution/product submission, evaluation, and selection based on task order requirements. This process will be supported by Government participation and feedback as needed.

i. Provide an appropriate and complete compensation/award system for community members including the vendor-specific process and documentation required where the award results in transfer or management of Intellectual Property (IP) rights, details of licensing agreements, and any additional documentation for the delivered end product or service, as required by task order.

j. Execute a defined process to ensure any community/crowd participants receiving compensation under a given task order are eligible to receive payment under the laws of the United States.

k. Resolve any questions, issues, and disputes with community/crowd members during or following a project, as defined by task order.

l. Deliver end products resulting from the task order execution to the Government and, as applicable, support the installation and/or integration of products/solutions. For digital products, this includes delivery to an online data repository specified by the Government.

(In most cases, the Government will create the repository and work with the Contractor to assign necessary permissions).

m. Provide training for any Contractor specific platform(s) or process(es) as required.

3.6 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide status reporting for every executed task order project, as defined per task order. Typical task order reporting includes specified metrics, program reviews, periodic status reports, and a project close-out report.

a. The project close-out report shall be presented to the stakeholders at a close-out meeting to review results, solicit feedback on the effectiveness of project processes and results, and discuss lessons learned. Contractor attendance in person is not required.

b. The Contractor shall provide data associated with task order execution. Note that the Government will provide the Contractor with a web-based form interface for collection of this data. Specific data requirements will be identified per task order.

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