P01 - FY26-30 AES DRAFT PWS.docx

Applied Informatics Management Clinical Informatics Support Services Performance Work Statement (PWS)

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

National Center for Organization Development (NCOD)

Date: 11/26/2025 Version Number: 1

All Employee Survey (AES) Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Table of Contents

1.0 PURPOSE

The Veteran’s Health Administration’s (VHA) National Center for Organization Development (NCOD) requires assistance to support the administration of the VA All Employee Survey (AES). The AES is a critical initiative as it is a feedback tool from employees to management about employees’ satisfaction with and perceptions of the VA workplace. The AES identifies workplace experiences where VA is doing well, and where it can improve.

2.0 BACKGROUND

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the second largest of the 15 Cabinet Departments and operates nationwide veterans’ service programs for health care, financial assistance and burial benefits. VA has approximately 450,000 employees located in all 48 contiguous states, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, and Manila, Philippines.

VA conducts an annual survey of its employees as part of its continuing effort to improve employee satisfaction and productivity. VA wishes to obtain services to assist in administering an all-employee survey over the next several fiscal years. A fiscal year (FY) is October 1st through the following September 30th. VA will design and develop the survey instrument along with associated instructions and employee marketing tools. VA will subsequently analyze and use the information in its workplace improvement programs. The selected Vendor will support the VA by providing Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and secure Internet web-based services to administer the surveys and collect the responses, provide data validation (e.g., flag blank and duplicate responses), and submit the detailed survey response data to VA for its use.

The AES is an annual, voluntary, census survey of the VA workforce with data used to support a range of VA efforts from action planning to serving as a feedback tool from employees to leadership. The AES has provided this feedback function since 2001, and remains a trusted VA resource for action planning, and development. NCOD compiles and presents AES findings across VA at national, regional, office, and facility levels. Data are also available at mapped workgroup levels and by demographic indicators (e.g., gender, race/ethnicity, VA tenure, supervisory status, etc.).

The AES began in 1997 and 2001 as the One VA Survey. These initial survey periods provided pilot (1997) and baseline (2001) data on employee satisfaction and perceptions of the work environment. The One VA Survey was administered only to VHA employees and consisted of approximately 160 questions. The results of the One VA Survey highlighted two needs for future VA workforce surveys: 1) Senior leaders wanted a more thorough understanding of employees’ impressions of VA. 2) Employees wanted to know the survey outcomes in order to see change occurring based on their input.

In 2002, NCOD was asked by VHA leadership to form a survey team to review the One VA Survey instrument and recommend changes to help VHA networks and facilities more effectively translate data results into action planning and implementation. This survey team was tasked to develop a new all-employee survey and consisted of several VHA offices. Team members worked together to refine the instrument and improve the process of survey administration, data analysis, report production, and disseminating results. The outcome was a shortened and more efficient instrument that also maintained maximum compatibility with the prior survey instruments from 1997 and 2001.

This new AES incorporated three indexes each addressing a different measurement level (individual, workgroup, or organization):

• Job Satisfaction Index (JSI) to assess employee perceptions of individual job satisfaction.

• Organizational Assessment Inventory (OAI) to assess employee perceptions of the workgroup and work environment.

• Culture Survey (Culture) assessing employee perceptions of the organizational culture.

In November 2003, NCOD piloted this new AES instrument with a sample of over 10,000 VHA employees. The AES Survey Team tested various methods of administration (e.g., web, paper, and telephone/Interactive Voice Response (IVR)) to compare ease of use, response rates, and psychometric data qualities. As a result, the team identified the new AES format as providing reliable, valid measures.

In Spring 2004, the new instrument was administered to the entire VHA organization resulting in 110,490 participants (51.8% response rate). Data analysis explored key workplace issues relevant for action planning, including rewards/recognition, planning/evaluation, cooperation, innovation, work-family balance, and conflict resolution, among others. NCOD presented results to leaders at national, regional, and program office levels. Results were available within 30 days of survey closure.

The AES was next administered in 2006 to all VHA employees, and at this point it became an annual VHA employee survey. In 2006, two new OAI concepts were added: employee engagement and psychological safety. In 2008, VA Central Office (VACO) employees joined the annual survey with National Cemetery Administration (NCA) employees joining in 2009. By 2010, the AES instrument was launched VA-wide (i.e., VACO, VHA, Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), and NCA staff) with the annual number of respondents approaching 200,000 and an average response rate of 65%.

In 2012, new survey concepts were piloted on supervisory behaviors, burnout, and workplace perceptions (e.g., competency, ethics, communication, resources, etc.) to replace the Culture Survey, which had low field utility for action planning. This same year the AES also added an open text/comment option (web-based format only, reaching 96% of all respondents), which resulted in approximately 55,500 usable comments from 28% of all 2012 VA AES respondents.

In 2013, many of the piloted items from 2012 were added into a redesigned 2013 AES instrument that shifted from its original 2003 ‘indexes’ (e.g., JSI, OAI, and Culture) to new field-driven ‘themes’ (e.g., job satisfaction, high-performing workplaces, supervisory behaviors, turnover, burnout). The 2013 AES also incorporated more open text options assessing (a) workplace strengths and (b) areas for improvement. Text options were paired with self-theming selections to facilitate data interpretation.

In 2014, the VA All Employee Survey used new streamlined data analyses, graphical models, and reporting processes through software programming and automation techniques. This change allows more timely and efficient processing of AES results in order to share findings sooner with VA leadership and staff.

In 2015, the VA AES website received a much-needed update to improve VA-wide access to AES results. AES reports and data transparency were then accessible through the VA Workforce Surveys Portal.

In 2018 the AES merged with the Federal Employee Viewpoints Survey (FEVS) to serve as the sole census organization health survey throughout VA.

VA plans to award one (1) twelve (12) month contract, with four (4) twelve (12) month option years to be exercised at the discretion of the Government.

3.0 Applicable Documents

4.0 Scope

The contractor shall provide all services necessary for supporting successful AES administration:

· Administration of survey instrument via two (2) modalities (web and phone).

· Data collection for all two (2) modalities. Data should be able to be captured at various levels.

· Development of a quick counts links that can capture response rates (in real time) down to the workgroup level.

A more granular breakout of contractor requirements and scope can be found detailed in the deliverable section below.

5.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

The Contractor shall perform the tasks and complete the associated deliverables under this contract by the scheduled due dates within the overall period of performance. If the Contractor cannot deliver those deliverables specified by this task order by the required due date, then the Contractor shall provide a written explanation to the Contracting Officer (CO). This written transmittal shall include the reasons for the delay; when the Contractor knew or should have known a delay would incur; due diligence taken to mitigate the problems, the impact on the overall project; and a firm commitment of when the work is to be completed. The Contracting Officer (CO) will then review the facts and issue a response in accordance with applicable regulations.

5.1 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

The period of performance shall be twelve (12) months from date of award with four (4) twelve (12) month option periods, to be exercised at the discretion of the Government.

Any work at the Government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO).

There are eleven (11) Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103) that VA follows:

Under current definitions, five are set by date:

If any of the holidays mentioned above fall on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.

The other six (6) are set by a day of the week and month:

5.2 CONTRACT KICKOFF MEETING

The contractor shall hold a Project Kick-Off Meeting with a project advisory group comprised of key stakeholders and subject matter experts (SMEs) to be identified by the VA PM. The contractor shall schedule the Kick-Off Meeting to be held no later than (30) business days after contract award or as agreed upon between the VA PM and contractor. At the Kick-Off Meeting, the contractor shall review the details of their intended approach, work plan and project schedule.

5.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

Tasks under this contract shall be performed at the contractor’s site. All work can be completed by the contractor virtually.

Contractor shall typically provide service during normal business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Eastern Local Time, Monday through Friday, with the understanding that all VA employees, across various time zones, will be participating in the AES. Contractor is expected to respond to all participant questions/concerns (or direct them to appropriate VA points of contacts who can answer the questions/concerns) within 24 hours.

5.4 TRAVEL

All work on this contract will be performed by the contractor at the contractor’s respective office. There will be no instance where contractor travel to NCOD is necessary.

6.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall perform the tasks and complete the associated deliverables as follows by the scheduled dates within the overall period of performance.

Task 6.1 –DEVELOPMENT of Survey Links & administration OF SURVEY: The Contractor shall develop the VA All Employee Survey (AES) in various modes for VA employees to respond. The survey will be in the English language and on one flowing survey document. The survey will have separate sections designating each survey component. Once a respondent begins the survey, they will be asked to complete the survey in its entirety, i.e. respondents who exit the survey will not be able to resume their partially completed survey.

The survey will be administered with common organization and occupation codes and demographic questions. There will be also be free text write-in response items on the survey. The AES may be supplemented with additional survey modules targeting issues and sub-populations of employees. The number of survey modules and questions is subject to change annually.

Deliverable 6.1.1 –Development of Common Survey Administration Elements:

The contractor shall develop the various features of the VA AES.

Common Survey Design and Planning Elements: The following demographic elements will be used as a part of the survey administration:

Deliverable 6.1.1a - Work Group Organization Code: A 7 digit code that identifies each valid VA organizational entity and work unit. These identification codes will identify work units rather than specific individuals. VA will provide a table of approximately 22,000 to 30,000 valid work group organization codes prior to survey administration. Work group codes will require branching capabilities. Branching logic will be determined by VA and provided to the Vendor three weeks before survey administration.

Deliverable - 6.1.1b - Occupation Code: A 1 to 3 digit code that identifies valid employee occupation groups. VA will provide a table of approximately 100 to 300 valid occupation codes prior to survey administration.

Occupation codes will require branching capabilities as there will be separate occupation code groupings for the following VA agencies/departments: VHA, VBA, NCA, VACO, and the Office of Information and Technology (OIT). Branching logic will be determined by VA and provided to the Vendor three weeks before survey administration.

Deliverable 6.1.1.c - Demographics: Demographic questions with multiple choice responses defining additional employee characteristics will be included. Demographic questions may require branching capabilities.

Branching logic will be determined by VA and provided to the Vendor.

Deliverable 6.1.1.d - Organization Structure: A table of organizations, their physical location, mailing address and their reporting structure will be provided. This hierarchy will be used by the Vendor to create a response rate web-accessible secure site. The Vendor will provide two response rate count web sites; one site which can be utilized by all employees and another which will only be accessible by the VA administrators of the survey. The response rate sites will be updated by the Vendor for any edits requested by the VA administrators (e.g., changes in the number of employees assigned to a particular facility, work group, etc.) These response rate sites will be separate from the survey instrument website.

Deliverable 6.1.1.e - Instructions and Definitions: VA will provide additional survey documents, such as welcome letter, survey instructions, survey definitions, variable names, response values (including missing values), the structure of the final raw data file, etc. to the Vendor in various formats e.g., Microsoft Word document, an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file, Excel, etc. The survey welcome letter will serve as the opening page of the survey instrument web site.

Deliverable 6.1.1.f - Free Text Question(s): VA will provide the Vendor with the free text question(s) to be asked within the survey instrument. The free text question will be provided on the web version of the survey only. The free text question should be limited to a defined number of characters as determined by VA. The free text question should include running spell check capability which the respondent should not be able to turn off. The free text question(s) should disallow tabs (i.e. treat respondent-inserted tabs as blanks) so that the final file can be provided as tab-delimited.

Deliverable 6.1.2 –Contractor services common to AES Administrations:

VA will be responsible for all employee marketing and communications regarding the various survey administrations as well as for subsequent analysis, communication and presentation of survey results.

The Contractor will be asked to provide the following services for each survey administration:

Deliverable 6.1.2.1 - Consultation and advice on the effective use of survey systems and services offered. Daily conference calls may be required at the onset of survey administration. Prior to survey administration conference calls may be weekly. Circumstances may require more frequent calls.

Deliverable 6.1.2.2 - Help desk support with various options and prices. Vendor will be responsible for notifying VA of questions/concerns/issues received and be responsive to help desk issues to minimize confusion. Vendor will provide help desk scripting for VA approval.

Vendor will provide 2 modalities of survey data collection: secure Internet web-based and IVR.

Deliverable 6.1.2.3a - Secure Internet web-based site; must be compatible with multiple types of client browsers. The web modality represents approximately 98% of responses. OIT internet and web policies will be communicated and followed by the Vendor. The back button on the browser will be disabled; once the participant has clicked the submit button it will be disabled to prevent multiple submission of the participants’ responses during 1 survey session. Vendor will take additional steps to ensure multiple submissions to the survey are not possible while still ensuring respondent anonymity. These additional steps will be communicated to VA, (e.g. Javascript must be enabled by the respondent in order to take the survey). Responses must be captured in real time as selected. Web based instrument must allow for branching capability, ensure certain questions are required as determined by VA, allow for multiple response modalities (e.g. select one response only, select all that apply, etc.) and allow free text submissions. Vendor will collect and process all web based survey submissions. Data collected from this modality shall be merged and provided in the same format as the other modality (IVR). Weblink for survey shall meet all VA 508 compliance standards.

Deliverable 6.1.2.3b - IVR modality represents approximately 2 percent of responses. Vendor is required to provide adequate IVR resources to minimize busy signals. IVR services will utilize the touch tone phone option. IVR instrument must allow for branching capability, ensure certain questions are required as determined by VA, allow for multiple response modalities (e.g. select one response only, select all that apply, etc.). Vendor will collect and process all IVR survey submissions. Data collected from this modality shall be merged and provided in the same format as the other modality (web).

Deliverable 6.1.2.4 - VA requires acceptance testing before each survey administration. VA will review sample test data from all modalities prior to administrations to ensure the outcome are as desired. Vendor will provide the VA with all raw data and participation/response rate data.

Deliverable 6.1.2.5 - VA requests that services include real-time response rate updates for web-based submissions and that IVR be updated daily. The survey participants, survey coordinators, and the oversight committees will each have access to response rate information via a website created and provided by the Vendor. This service will be a secure internet web-based site capturing response rates. The response rate site must be compatible with multiple types of client browsers. Navigation will begin with the response rate home page. The home page will be the introduction page for the site; the next page will represent the first level in the VA organization hierarchy, and subsequent pages will drill-down from the parent organization to its children until the lowest level work unit page. Each response rate web page will have navigation to and from the previous page.

Deliverable 6.1.2.5e - The response rate site will display the work unit at the lowest level (work group code) hierarchically rolled upward in summary totals to the next level within the organization. The hierarchy will be based on the organization structure (facility and parents) and the 7 digit work group code defined in the VA provided tables.

Deliverable 6.1.2.6 - Work group codes will not be published on the response rate site but work group names will be published.

The response rate site should update web responses in real time and IVR by at least the next day.

To further protect respondent anonymity, the response rate at the work group level will not be available until there are at least a certain number of responses as determined by VA. When this minimum number of responses is received the number of responses, potential respondents, and response rate percentage will be made available. For work groups that have less than the determined number of potential respondents, work group response rates will only be published after a work group attains a predetermined response rate set by VA.

Deliverable 6.1.2.7 - Automatic e-mails will be sent from the Vendor to a specified VA point of contact notifying VA every time a work group reaches a determined number of responses (set by VA) over the number of employees assigned to that particular work group. The automatic e-mail will include work group name, work group code, the number of responses received, and the number of employees assigned to the work group.

Deliverable 6.1.2.8 - Final data file(s) with all data collected during the survey administration will be provided electronically in the prescribed format within 1 to 2 business days after the conclusion of the survey. File format will be at a minimum in an ASCII tab delimited file and distribution media will be encrypted and provided in physical form in VA prescribed format (e.g., thumb drive, etc.), mailed directly to VA. VA will submit specific data file format instructions and a specific address to receive the data prior to a survey administration. VA owns all survey data collected.

Deliverable 6.1.2.7 - Live data test file with the results of the first 3 days of the survey administration will be provided to VA in the prescribed format within 5 business days after the start of the survey administration. Free text data will be provided to VA on a weekly basis throughout the course of the administration.

Deliverable 6.1.2.8 - Vendor will provide a toll free help desk service to assist participants having problems using the Vendor’s systems or services during the survey administration period.

Deliverable 6.1.3 –Full Administration of the All Employee Survey:

The FY26 All Employee Survey is expected to be conducted in May of 2026 and will involve all VA organizations nation-wide (approximately 450,000 potential participants). Vendor is expected to be flexible with the administration timeframe should VA need to alter it. Each All Employee Survey will be conducted approximately 1 year from the previous All Employee Survey. The anticipated completion rate is 60% or roughly 270,000 responses. The full administration will be composed of instructions, survey entrance controlled by validating the organization work group code entered by the participant, a selection of an occupation from an occupation listing based on branching, the survey instruments, and demographic questions.

All participants will be offered their choice of modality- web or IVR.

The survey will be administered over a 3-week period, though an extension of the survey administration may be requested during the course of the administration. Administration extensions are typically one additional week. In solicitation, Vendor should provide costs for a 3 week administration period as well as cost per week for survey extensions. Marketing for the survey will be announced by the VA several weeks prior to the survey administration. The Vendor will provide the survey web-based link, IVR phone number, and provide help desk service phone number 3 weeks prior to the launch date.

VA approves the design of the web and IVR script provided by the Vendor.

VA approves the help desk scripts and the response rate web sites. Also, VA will design rules for dealing with raw data and a data file format for submission to VA at the conclusion of the survey.

Vendor will set up the survey and response rate web site for preview by VA. VA will review each and test to ensure that all processes are as requested. All test data will be removed prior to the live survey administration.

Deliverable 6.1.4 – IT and Support:

As part of the requirements specified above in this document, the Vendor will also provide the following specific items.

Vendor will provide VA with the following information:

Deliverable 6.1.4.1a - Survey URL and 24 hour/ 7 day toll-free IVR phone number

Deliverable 6.1.4.1b - Name, phone number, and e-mail address of a main Vendor contact, help desk line, and technical support for difficulties while completing the survey

Deliverable 6.1.4.c - Privacy statement

Vendor will design an administrative secure Internet web site for the VA survey participants, survey coordinators, and the oversight committees to monitor and obtain real time response rate tallies reported at the work group, organization, network, program office, and national levels. VA will provide a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet with approximately 22,000 – 30,000 7 digit work group codes. Each code will have associated with it the name of the work unit and the number of employees in that work unit. VA will provide a list of special contingency 7 digit work group codes. The number of contingency codes will be based on the number of participating organizations. Contingency work group codes will be closely held and made available for respondent use by the Vendor only when VA has instructed the Vendor to make contingency work group codes available. Contingency work group codes will not be published on the response rate site unless activated by VA request.

Deliverable 6.1.4.3 - All secure Internet web-based setup (survey web site and daily response rate web site) shall be compatible with multiple types of client browsers, Chrome, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, etc. JavaScript software must be enabled to take the survey should it be determined it is necessary to prevent multiple survey submissions.

The Vendor will have reputable experience with providing services of this size including examples of past performance and references. References will demonstrate the Vendors’ capacity for handling this volume, ease and clarity of web and IVR systems particularly with federal agencies.

The Vendor warrants that each hardware, software, and firmware product licensed to or developed for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, shall be able to accurately process date data including, calculating, comparing, and sequencing from, into, and between leap year and day light savings time calculations, when used in accordance with the product documentation provided by the Vendor, provided that all listed or unlisted products (e.g., hardware, software, firmware) used in combination with such listed product properly exchange date data.

Deliverable 6.1.4.4 - The Vendor will provide VA with survey submission time stamps, i.e. the time a respondent began taking the survey as well as the time the respondent submitted the survey. The time stamp should include year, month, day, hour, minute, and second of survey timeframe.

Deliverable 6.1.5 – Contractor Service Requirements:

VA is seeking a Vendor to provide web, IVR, and response rate services for the full administration and subsequent scheduled limited survey administrations as described above.

Vendor shall note what is fully included in the following service contract requirements.

1. Full Administration of Survey Set Up

Deliverable 6.5.1a - Secured web setup for survey instrument

Deliverable 6.5.1.b - IVR setup for survey instrument

Deliverable 6.5.1.c - Response rate update web sites set up for all modalities

Deliverable 6.5.1.d - VA review and test run of all processes and data reports

2. Full Survey Data Collection/Reporting

Deliverable 6.1.5.2.a - Web data collection

Deliverable 6.1.5.2.b - IVR data collection

Deliverable 6.1.5.2.c - Merge web and IVR data into one (1) consistent data file where the response values for specific variables are consistent across web and IVR, and correspond to the standard dictionary of response values provided by the VA.

Raw data output shall be submitted at a minimum in an ASCII tab delimited file on encrypted hard-copy medium (CD/DVD(s) or thumb drive)

Data will be provided electronically in the prescribed format within 1-2 business days after the conclusion of the survey.

Deliverable 6.1.5.2.e - Secured web-based status reporting of response rates at work group, organization, network, central office, and national levels representing real time/daily tallies. The response rate at the work group level will not be available until there are at least a predetermined number of responses (set by VA). When the predetermined number of responses are received the number of responses, potential respondents, and response rate percentage will be made available. For work groups that have less than the predetermined number of potential respondents, work group response rates will be published after a work group attains a predetermined response rate.

Deliverable 6.1.5.2.f - Automatic e-mails will be sent from the Vendor to identified VA points of contact notifying VA every time a work group has exceeded a predetermined number of responses over the number of employees assigned to that particular work group. The automatic e-mail will include work group name, work group code, the number of responses received, and the number of employees assigned to the work group.

Deliverable 6.1.5.2.g - Vendor will provide data validation (e.g., flag blank and duplicate responses).

Future Administration of Surveys

Deliverable 6.1.5.3.a - Secured web and IVR setup for survey instrument

Deliverable 6.1.5.3.b - Response rate update web site set up for all modalities

Deliverable 6.1.5.3.c - VA review and test run of all processes and data reports

3. Itemized Optional Service

Deliverable 6.1.5.4.a - Set up cost for per additional module(s) for specific VA organizations to coincide with future survey administrations

Deliverable 6.1.5.4.b - Web set up and data collection

Deliverable 6.1.5.4.c - IVR set up and data collection

Deliverable 6.1.5.4.d - Merge web and IVR data into 1 consistent file.

Raw data output shall be submitted at a minimum in an ASCII tab delimited file.

Deliverable 6.1.5.4.e - Secured web-based status reporting of response rates at work group, organization, network, central office, and national levels representing daily real time tallies. The response rate at the work group level will not be available until there are at least a predetermined number of responses. When the predetermined number of responses is received the number of responses, potential respondents, and response rate percentage will be made available. For work groups that have less than the predetermined number of respondents, work group response rates will be published after a work group attains a predetermined response rate.

Deliverable 6.1.5.4.f - Automatic e-mails will be sent from the Vendor to identified VA points of contact notifying VA every time a work group has exceeded a predetermined number of responses over the number of employees assigned to that particular work group.

The automatic e-mail will include work group name, work group code, the number of responses received, and the number of employees assigned to the work group.

Deliverable 6.1.5.4.g - Vendor will provide data validation (e.g., flag blank and duplicate responses).

Task 6.2 - Monthly report: The contractor shall provide a Monthly Report detailing the clinical informatics services that the contractor has provided to the AIM portfolios during the preceding month.

Deliverable 6.2.1 – Monthly Report: The Monthly report shall be broken out by Task and include, at a minimum, the following elements: a description of the service/support provided and the results of that service / support

6.3 DELIVERABLES (Base and Option Years)

Note: Days used in the table below refer to calendar days unless otherwise stated. Deliverables with due dates falling on a weekend or holiday shall be submitted the following Government work day after the weekend or holiday. All tasks are required for each option year.

Required Services (Task Deliverable) Required Services (Task Descriptions) Performance Standards Acceptable Quality Levels Methods of Surveillance

100 percent

100 percent

100 percent

100 percent

Satisfactory

100 percent

Periodic

Periodic

Satisfactory

100 percent

Satisfactory

100 percent

Satisfactory

100 percent

Satisfactory

100 percent

Satisfactory

100 percent

6.1.2.7

100 percent

Periodic

100 percent

Satisfactory

100 percent

6.1.4.1b

100 percent

6.1.4.1c

100 percent

100 percent

100 percent

100 percent

100 percent

Flag blank and duplicate responses

100 percent

Satisfactory

100 percent

100 percent

100 percent

100 percent

6.4 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

a) The contractor shall submit a monthly progress report addressing the status of all active efforts. These monthly reports are due on the fifth (5th) business day of each month. The reports will cover progress made for the prior month. At the conclusion of each task, the contractor shall provide a written memo documenting task completion.

b) The monthly progress report shall also identify any problems that may have arisen and an explanation of how each problem was resolved, or where not resolved, a plan for how the problem will be resolved.

c) The contractor shall take minutes of all formal conference calls and/or meetings held with the Task Manager. Copies of these minutes shall be attached to the next monthly progress report.

d) Monthly progress reports shall contain the following information:

· Status summary

· Change request status (new, open, closed since last report)

· Issue status (new, open, closed since last report)

· Schedule status

· Minutes of status meetings

· Contractor staff roster (providing updates as they occur, including personnel and security requirements)

· Status of required background investigations

e) The contractor shall notify the Task Manager, Contracting Officer Technical Representative and Contracting Officer, in writing, if problems arise that could adversely impact the performance of the order.

6.5 FORMAL ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF DELIVERABLES:

The Government will have ten (10) business days to review each deliverable and provide feedback/comments. The contractor shall have five business days to incorporate feedback/comments and make appropriate revisions. The contractor shall provide the revised version of each deliverable to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and VA Program Manager (VA PM). The COR will review and determine final acceptance by the Government. The COR will notify the contractor of final acceptance within five business days.

The contractor shall be responsible for adhering to all pertinent VA standards including but not limited to ensuring that all documentation and deliverables are stored on appropriate VA servers within one week of their completion. The contractor shall use the VA Nationwide Teleconferencing System (VANTS) for all pertinent conference calls, and the VA Exchange server for all pertinent email. Upon assignment of VA email accounts, use of external email accounts for the purpose of VA communications and business will be prohibited. The contractor shall be responsible for adhering to all pertinent VA information technology policies and procedures, which will be made available at the contractor’s request on award.

6.6 KEY PERSONNEL

Certain skilled experienced professional and/or technical personnel are essential for accomplishing the work to be performed. These individuals are defined as "Key Personnel" and are those persons whose resumes are submitted and marked by the contractor as "Key Personnel". Substitutions shall only be accepted if in compliance with “Substitution of Key Personnel" provision identified below.

The Contracting Officer may notify the contractor and request immediate removal of any personnel assigned to any task by the contractor that are deemed to have a conflict of interest with the government or if the performance is deemed to be unsatisfactory. The reason for removal shall be documented and replacement personnel shall be identified within three business days of the notification. Employment and staffing difficulties shall not be justification for failure to meet established schedules.

6.7 SUBSTITUTION OF KEY PERSONNEL

All Substitutions hereunder shall be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer Technical Representative and the Contracting Officer using the Attachment Personnel Change For at least 30 calendar days in advance of the effective date, whenever possible, and shall provide a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitution, a complete resume of the proposed substitute, and any other information requested by the Contracting Officer. The contractor is advised that in the event it may become necessary to replace any of the proposed Key Personnel prior to and/or during the course of the contract performance, the Offeror must, prior to conducting the replacement, provide the cognizant Contracting Officer with assurances that they agency will receive replacements with equal or better qualifications as compared to those Key personnel being replaced. New personnel shall not commence work until all necessary security requirements have been fulfilled and resumes provided.

6.8 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENT

The contractor shall hold a Project Kick-Off Meeting with a project advisory group comprised of key stakeholders and subject matter experts (SMEs) to be identified by the VA PM. The contractor shall schedule the Kick-Off Meeting to be held no later than (30) business days after contract award or as agreed upon between the VA PM and contractor. At the Kick-Off Meeting, the contractor shall review the details of their intended approach, work plan and project schedule.

6.9 METHOD AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall deliver documentation in electronic format, unless otherwise directed in Section B of the solicitation/contract. Acceptable electronic media include current or previous year version of: MS Word MS Excel, MS PowerPoint, MS Project, MS Access, MS Visio, AutoCAD, and Adobe Postscript Data Format (PDF). Version to be discussed and approved by VA prior to Contractor sending.

The Government will utilize a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) throughout the life of the contract to ensure that the Contractor is performing the services required by this PWS in an acceptable manner. The Government reserves the right to alter or change the surveillance methods in the QASP at its own discretion.

8.0 FACILITY/RESOURCE PROVISIONS

All procedural guides, reference materials, and program documentation for the project and other Government applications will also be provided on an as-needed basis.

The Contractor shall request other Government documentation deemed pertinent to the work accomplishment directly from the Government officials with whom the Contractor has contact. The Contractor shall consider the COR as the final source for needed Government documentation when the Contractor fails to secure the documents by other means. The Contractor is expected to use common knowledge and resourcefulness in securing all other reference materials, standard industry publications, and related materials that are pertinent to the work.

9.0 ADDENDUM A

The C&A requirements do not apply, a security accreditation package is not required.

Cyber and Information Security Requirements for VA IT Services The Contractor shall ensure adequate LAN/Internet, data, information, and system security in accordance with VA standard operating procedures and standard PWS language, conditions, laws, and regulations. The Contractor’s firewall and web server shall meet or exceed VA minimum requirements for security. All VA data shall be protected behind an approved firewall. Any security violations or attempted violations shall be reported to the VA Program Manager and VA Information Security Officer as soon as possible. The Contractor shall follow all applicable VA policies and procedures governing information security, especially those that pertain to certification and accreditation.

Contractor supplied equipment, PCs of all types, equipment with hard drives, etc. for contract services must meet all security requirements that apply to Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Owned Equipment (GOE). Security Requirements include: a) VA Approved Encryption Software must be installed on all laptops or mobile devices before placed into operation, b) Bluetooth equipped devices are prohibited within VA; Bluetooth must be permanently disabled or removed from the device, c) VA approved anti-virus and firewall software, d) Equipment must meet all VA sanitization requirements and procedures before disposal. The COR, CO, the Project Manager, and the Information Security Officer (ISO) must be notified and verify all security requirements have been adhered to.

Each documented initiative under this contract incorporates VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security,” March 12, 2010 by reference as though fully set forth therein. The VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security” shall also be included in every related agreement, contract or order. The VA Handbook 6500.6, Appendix C, is included in this document as Addendum B.

Training requirements: The Contractor shall complete all mandatory training courses on the current VA training site, the VA Talent Management System (TMS), and will be tracked therein. The TMS may be accessed at https://www.tms.va.gov. If you do not have a TMS profile, go to https://www.tms.va.gov and click on the “Create New User” link on the TMS to gain access.

Contractor employees shall complete a VA Systems Access Agreement if they are provided access privileges as an authorized user of the computer system of VA.

The C&A requirements do not apply , a security accreditation package is not required.

No VA sensitive information (e.g., personally identifiable information such as social security number, patient information) is being collected.

VA Enterprise Architecture Compliance The applications, supplies, and services furnished under this contract must comply with One-VA Enterprise Architecture (EA), available at http://www.ea.oit.va.gov/index.asp in force at the time of issuance of this contract, including the Program Management Plan and VA's rules, standards, and guidelines in the Technical Reference Model/Standards Profile (TRMSP). VA reserves the right to assess contract deliverables for EA compliance prior to acceptance.

VA Internet and Intranet Standards:

The Contractor shall adhere to and comply with VA Directive 6102 and VA Handbook 6102, Internet/Intranet Services, including applicable amendments and changes, if the Contractor’s work includes managing, maintaining, establishing and presenting information on VA’s Internet/Intranet Service Sites. This pertains but is not limited to: creating announcements; collecting information; databases to be accessed, graphics and links to external sites.

Internet/Intranet Services Directive 6102 is posted at (copy and paste the following URL to browser): https://www.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=1056

Internet/Intranet Services Handbook 6102 is posted at (copy and paste following URL to browser): https://www.va.gov/vapubs/search_action.cfm?dType=2 Notice of the Federal Accessibility Law Affecting All Electronic and Information Technology Procurements (Section 508) On August 7, 1998, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was amended to require that when Federal departments or agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use Electronic and Information Technology, that they shall ensure it allows Federal employees with disabilities to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of information and data by other Federal employees.