PWS Digital Email Subscriptions Draft.pdf

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Digital Email Subscriptions

06/26/2025

Version 1.0

Vision Statement

1 General Information

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Background

1.3 Constraints

1.3.1 Project Planning and Management

1.4 Description of Services

1.5 Non-Personal Services

1.6 Period of Performance

1.7 Place of Performance

1.8 Hours of Operation

1.9 Special Qualifications

1.10 Post Award/Kickoff Conference

1.11 Status Meetings

1.12 Contractor Travel

1.13 Transition In

1.14 Transition Out

2 Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions

2.2 Acronyms

3 Government-Furnished Property and Services

3.1 Government Services

3.2 Facilities

3.3 Equipment

3.4 Materials

3.5 Quality Assurance (QA)

4 Contractor-Furnished Items and Services

4.1 Facilities

4.2 Equipment

4.3 Material

4.4 Contractor Responsibilities

4.5 Contractor Personnel

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

4.7 Quality Control

4.7.1 Quality Control Plan

5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Digital Email Subscriptions

5.2 Provide Digital Email Subscriptions

5.3 Provide HTML links to digital email subscription features on state websites

6 Deliverables

6.1 Quality Control Plan

6.2 Acceptance Criteria

7 Performance Requirements Summary

8 Related Documents

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Digital Email Subscriptions

Vision Statement

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Public Affairs (OPA) needs a digital email subscription system to promote and distribute emails to stakeholders.

1 General Information

1.1 Introduction

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)/Office of Public Affairs is seeding contractor support to provide digital email subscription services.

1.2 Background

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Public Affairs, has contracted services to provide a digital email subscription service, placing HTML links to digital email subscription features on state websites and providing hosting and management services in support of user profiles and subscriptions at other state facilities since 2015. The current contract is set to expire on June 15, 2026. This Sources Sought is to establish vendors that can provide the requirements of this service.

Current Environment:

The current environment in which the Contractor shall be performing work and supplying digital email subscription, headers, HTML links to digital email subscription features on state websites and providing hosting and management service in support of user profiles and subscriptions at other state facilities will be set up on the Contractor's website.

1.3 Constraints

The services identified in this PWS will adhere to the rules, regulations, laws, standards, and conventions identified by HUD as well as within the Federal Government. Constraints include the following:

Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Accessibility Standards Section 508.

https://www.access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it/about-the-section-508-standards/section-508-standards

1.3.1 Project Planning and Management

All HUD IT projects, including all information systems acquired, developed, enhanced, or maintained shall follow the policy, procedures, standards, and guidelines set forth within the IT Management Framework using the Project Planning and Management (PPM) Life Cycle located at HUDs PPM Life Cycle Website:

http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/cio/ppm/PPMV20HOME

PPM was designed based on the best practices from Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) for systems development and PMBok for project management. While at the foundation, PPM is designed as a Waterfall methodology, HUD encourages tailoring the PPM to use the many modern solution development methodologies available to enable the planning, development and delivery of useable functionality within 6-9-month increments.

Contractors are encouraged to propose a preferred methodology whether their solution(s) are for custom development, including prototypes or pilots, Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS)/ Government Off the Shelf (GOTS) configuration, or Software as a Services. Working with the HUD Project Manager(s), the Contractor will tailor PPM to take advantage of the contractor’s proposed expertise in using other methodologies in a manner that will provide HUD the best value and address all the work necessary for successful project completion, on time, within budget, and delivering intended functionality.

The decisions of PPM tailoring are captured in the Project Tailoring Agreement (PTA), which documents the specific agreement for creating, combining, referring or omitting specific artifacts applicable to the project, as well as adjusting project control gate reviews to be consistent with the tailoring. All tailoring of PPM must be approved by HUDs Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) for Business & IT Modernization. As a default, any project without an approved project tailoring agreement is required to follow all PPM phases and artifacts as presented.

1.4 Description of Services

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Public Affairs (OPA) needs a digital email subscription system to promote and distribute emails to stakeholders. This includes up to 20 subscription topics, up to 10 HUD OPA administrators, up to 50,000 subscribers, support to upload and migrate existing email lists, social media integration, full customization of sign-up and email templates, ongoing support provided by the designated Client Success Consultant, and access to partnerships with other government agencies using digital email subscriptions.

Training and 24/7 emergency support, ability to send wireless alerts via direct SMS for volumes up to 600,000 total messages per year, and message analytics module for advanced insights will also be included.

1.5 Non-Personal Services

The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor control the method by which the Contractor performs the required tasks. Under no circumstances shall the Government assign tasks to, or prepare work schedules for, individual Contractor employees. It shall be the responsibility of the Contractor to manage its employees and to guard against any actions that are of the nature of personal services or give the perception of personal services.

If the Contractor believes that any actions constitute, or are perceived to constitute personal services, it shall be the Contractor's responsibility to notify the Contracting Officer (CO) immediately. These services shall not be used to perform the work of a policy, decision making, or management nature, i.e. inherently Government functions. All decisions relative to programs supported by the Contactor shall be the sole responsibility of the Government.

1.6 Period of Performance

The Period of Performance shall be for one base period of 12 months and 10 12-month Call Orders.

1.7 Place of Performance

The services to be performed under this contract shall be performed at the Contractor's facility via Contractor's website.

1.8 Hours of Operation

NA

1.9 Special Qualifications

NA

1.10 Post Award/Kickoff Conference

The Contractor shall attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with FAR Subpart 42.5. The Government intends to convene a Post Award Conference with the Contractor within 10 business days after the contract is awarded. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor of the specific date, location, and agenda within five business days after the contract is awarded.

1.11 Status Meetings

The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and other Government personnel, as appropriate may meet periodically with the Contractor to also review Contractor performance, requirement status, etc. At these meetings, the Contracting Officer will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the Contractor's performance or progress of the requirement. The Contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate action shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government. Post Award Conference and subsequent meetings may be held via teleconference.

1.12 Contractor Travel

No Contractor travel is anticipated during the performance period of this contract.

1.13 Transition In

The Contractor shall, upon the Contracting Officer's written notice, furnish Transition-In services as required. As a successor, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the first 30 calendar days after the award of the contract Transition-In period to ensure a smooth transition with the incumbent Contractor. The Contractor shall provide an orderly transition of work acceptance and accomplishment such that any impact to the program is minimized. During the Transition-In period, the Contractor shall become familiar with the requirements to commence full performance of services by the end of the contract Transition-In period.

Transition-In is not required if the successor Contractor is the incumbent Contractor.

1.14 Transition Out

To minimize any decrease in productivity and to prevent possible negative impacts on additional services, the Contractor shall have sufficient personnel on board during the last 30 days prior to contract expiration. Transition-Out period. The incumbent Contractor shall ensure a smooth transition with the successor Contractor during the Transition-Out period, prior to completion of contractual performance. The incumbent Contractor shall aid the successor in the development of plans, procedures, and methods for the assumption of all on going work. The Contractor shall provide an orderly transition of work acceptance and accomplishment, such that full control by the successor Contractor is achieved by the end of the new contract Transition-In period.

2 Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions

Business/Workdays - Every official workday of the week which are days between and including Monday to Friday. This does not include public holidays and weekends.

Calendar Day - Any day of the week.

Contractor - A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the Government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Contracting Officer (CO) - A person with authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings on behalf of the Government. Note: the only individual who can legally bind the Government.

Contracting Officer Representative (COR) - An employee of the U.S. Government appointed by the Contracting Officer to perform contract administration activities in regard to technical issues.

This individual has authority to provide technical direction to the Contractor as long as direction is within the scope of the contract, does not constitute a change and has no funding implications. This individual does NOT have the authority to change the terms and conditions of the contract.

Defective Service - A service output that does not meet the standard of performance associated with the Performance Work Statement.

Deliverable Anything that can be physically delivered but may include non-manufactured things such as meeting minutes or reports.

Government Furnished Property (GFP) - Government-furnished property means property in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the Government and subsequently furnished to the Contractor for performance of a contract. Government-furnished property includes, but is not limited to, spares and property furnished for repair, maintenance, overhaul, or modification.

Government-furnished property also includes contractor-acquired property if the contractor-acquired property is a deliverable under a cost contract when accepted by the Government for continued use under the contract.

Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) - A listing of the performance requirements under the contract that are to be evaluated by the Government on a regular basis, performance indicators for these requirements, performance standards for these requirements and surveillance methods to be used to determine if performance standards are met.

Performance Standard - The Contractor's performance level required by the Government.

Performance Work Statement (PWS) - A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions that describe the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

Physical Security - Actions that prevent the loss or damage of Government property.

Quality Assurance (QA) - Policies and procedures adopted by the Government to ensure that supplies and services acquired under Government contracts conform to the contracts’ quality requirements.

Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) - A plan describing how the agency will survey, observe, test, sample, evaluate and document the Contractor's performance in meeting critical performance standards identified in the contract.

Quality Control (QC) - All necessary measures taken by the Contractor to assure that the quality of an end product of service shall meet contract requirements.

Service Contract - A contract that directly engages the time and effort of a Contractor whose primary purpose is to perform an identifiable task rather than to furnish an end item of supply.

Subcontractor - Any person, other than the prime Contractor, who offers to furnish or furnishes any supplies, material, equipment, or services of any kind under a prime contract or a subcontract entered into in connection with such a prime contract, and any person who offers to furnish or furnishes general supplies to the prime contractor or a higher tier subcontractor. The

Government does not have privity of contract with a subcontractor.

Work Week - Monday through Friday, unless specified otherwise.

2.2 Acronyms

AQL - Acceptable Quality Level

ARAMS - Automated Renewal and Amendment System

BAA - Business Area Analysis Study

CBT - Computer-Based Training

CCB - Change Control Board

CCMB - Configuration Change Management Board

CMMI - Capability Maturity Model Integration

CFO or OCFO - Office of the Chief Financial Officer of HUD

CFR - Code of Federal Regulations

CIO or OCIO - Office of the Chief Information Officer of HUD

CO - Contracting Officer

COR - Contracting Officer Representative

COTS - Commercial Off-the-Shelf

CPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer of HUD

EST - Eastern Standard Time (U.S.)

ETC - Estimate to Completion

GAO - U.S. General Accounting Office

HUD - U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

HUDAR - HUD Acquisition Regulation

HUD/ISG - Internet Services Group within the Telecom Processing Division

HUD Web - HUDs Intranet Web Site and related WEB pages.

IG or OIG - Inspector General (Office of)

IT - Information Technology

IV&V - Independent Validation and Verification

LOOCS - Line of Credit Control System

OCPO - Office of the Chief Procurement Officer

OIG - Office of Inspector General

OMB - Office of Management and Budget

PL Public Law

PM - Project Manager

POC - Point of Contact

PPM - Project Planning and Management

QA - Quality Assurance

QASP - Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

QCP - Quality Control Plan

SF - Standard Form

TBD - To be determined

U.S.C - United States Code

3 Government-Furnished Property and Services

The Contractor shall ensure accurate control and accountability of all Government-Furnished Property (GFP) in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract. The Government will furnish, at no cost to the Contractor, the GFP shown below.

3.1 Government Services

No Government services will be provided.

3.2 Facilities

No facilities will be provided by the Government.

3.3 Equipment

No equipment will be provided by the Government.

3.4 Materials

No materials will be provided by the Government.

3.5 Quality Assurance (QA)

The Government shall evaluate the Contractor's performance under this contract in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure that the Contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable quality level.

4 Contractor-Furnished Items and Services

The Contractor shall furnish, all facilities, equipment, and supplies required to perform the work under this contract that are not listed under Government-Furnished Property and Services.

4.1 Facilities

The contractor shall furnish all required facilities.

4.2 Equipment

The Contractor shall furnish all required equipment.

4.3 Material

The Contractor shall furnish all required materials.

4.4 Contractor Responsibilities

The Contractor shall only conduct business with designated Government personnel listed as points of contact (POCs). Names of authorized personnel shall be provided to the Contractor by the Government, in writing, and updated as necessary throughout the contract period. U.S.

Government records, copies of original results and reports, verified original data, corrected data and corrected supporting final reports which are maintained by the Contractor remain the property of the U.S. Government. These files/results must be surrendered to the COR.

4.5 Contractor Personnel

The Contractor shall provide a Contract/Project Manager who shall be responsible for the performance of work. An alternate shall also be designated to act in the absence of the Contract/Project Manager. These Contractor personnel (main point of contact and alternate point of contact) are considered Key Personnel by the Government and shall be listed as such in accordance with HUDAR 2452.237-70, "Key Personnel”. The Contract/Project Manager and alternate shall have full authority to act on all contact matters relating to the daily operations of this contract. Accordingly, at a minimum, the points of contact shall have the technical knowledge of the requirement and be in the position to actually receive assignment, guidance, and direction from the COR and CO per HUDAR 2452.237-73, "Conduct of Work and Technical Guidance" and shall be allocated enough hours to the requirement to ensure successful performance. These points of points of contact shall each be an employee of the Contractor. An employee of a subcontractor is not acceptable for either of these positions. The Contract/Project Manager or alternate shall be available between the hours of 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday EST, except Federal Holidays or when the Government facility is closed for administrative reasons.

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

All Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall wear company picture identification badges to distinguish themselves from Government employees. When conversing with Government personnel during business meetings, over the telephone, or via electronic mail, Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall identify themselves as such to avoid situations arising where sensitive topics might be better discussed solely between Government employees.

Contractors/subcontractors shall identify themselves on any attendance sheet or any coordination documents they may review. Electronic mail signature blocks shall identify their company affiliation. Where practicable, Contractor/subcontractors occupying collocated space with their Government program customer shall identify their workspace area with their name and company affiliation, or at a minimum, "Contractor" after name.

4.7 Quality Control

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a complete quality control program that shall ensure services are performed in accordance with this contract. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non reoccurrence of defective services.

The Contractor's quality control program is the means by which he assures himself that his work complies with the requirements of the contract. The Contractor shall provide the associated Quality Control Plan to the Government as directed.

4.7.1 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor shall develop, maintain, enforce, and document a Quality Control Plan (QCP).

The QCP shall ensure the Government receives the level of quality that is consistent with the requirements specified in this contract. The QCP shall be sufficiently detailed to provide the Contractor's methodology for identifying and recruiting qualified personnel. The QCP shall also provide the Contractor's methodology for resolving problems identified by the Government during reviews conducted in accordance with its Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).

The QCP shall also provide the Contractor's methodology for establishing an internal feedback system for support personnel, and for resolving problems identified by that feedback system.

The QCP shall demonstrate and validate that the services or deliverables to be provided under the contract are completed with a level of quality that meets the minimum performance threshold established in the Government's QASP. The QCP shall address the Quality Management Approach, Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Quality Standards.

5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Digital Email Subscriptions

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Draft Program Management Plan AQL: Zero deviation

b) Standard: Final Program Management Plan AQL: Zero deviation

Deliverables

A001 Draft Program Management Plan

A002 Final Program Management Plan

5.1.1 No later than seven business days after the Post-award / Kick-off meeting, the

Contractor shall submit a draft PMP to the COR/PM via email. Upon receipt of COR/PM comments, the Contractor shall incorporate the comments and suggestions and submit a final draft no later than five business days after receipt of comments. Subsequent updates from the COR/PM shall be submitted no later than five business days after update. The PMP shall address all the requirements contained in this PWS and define a detailed plan and schedule for the entire program throughout the periods of performance. The PMP shall display the process by which the Contractor shall provide digital email subscription services, place HTML links to digital email subscription features on state websites and provide hosting and management services in support of user profiles and subscriptions at other state facilities to assist HUD in meeting its goals of providing digital email subscriptions to HUD's stakeholders. The PMP shall be updated annually.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Provide Digital Email Subscriptions AQL: Zero deviation

b) Standard: Provide Headers AQL: Zero deviation

c) Standard: Place HTML links to digital email subscriptions on state websites AQL: Zero deviation

d) Standard: Provide hosting and management services AQL: Zero deviation

A003 Contractor's Website

5.2 Provide Digital Email Subscriptions

Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Office of Public Affairs (OPA) needs a digital email subscription system to promote and distribute emails to stakeholders. This includes up to 20 subscription topics, up to 10 HUD OPA administrators, up to 50,000 subscribers, support to upload and migrate existing email lists, social media integration, full customization of sign-up and email templates, ongoing support provided by the designated Client Success Consultant, and access to partnerships with other government agencies using digital email subscriptions.

Training and 24/7 emergency support, ability to send wireless alerts via direct SMS for volumes up to 600,000 total messages per year, and message analytics module for advanced insights will also be included.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Provide Digital Email Subscriptions

5.3 Provide HTML links to digital email subscription features on state websites

Place HTML links to digital email subscription features on state websites and provide hosting and management services in support of user profiles and subscriptions at other state facilities.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Place HTML links to digital email subscriptions on state websites AQL: Zero deviation

6 Deliverables

The Contractor shall complete all work and submit all deliverables as specified herein. The Government reserves the right to make changes to delivery dates.

Number Name Frequency Quantity

A001 Draft Program Management Plan once 1

A002 Final Program Management Plan once 1

A003 Contractor's Website monthly 1

A004 Quality Control Plan once 1

Delivery within 30 calendar days after contract award and no later than five business days upon any changes.

6.1 Quality Control Plan

The Contractor's QCP shall be delivered to the COR within 30 days after the contract award (or with the Contractor's proposal if it is an evaluation factor). The QCP shall be submitted to the COR within five business days when changes are made thereafter. After acceptance of the QCP, the Contractor shall receive the Contracting Officer's acceptance in writing of any proposed change to its quality control system.

6.2 Acceptance Criteria

Acceptance of all deliverables shall be within five business days.

7 Performance Requirements Summary

The summary chart below lists the contract's primary requirements, the associated performance standards, the expected target performance, and the methods of surveillance. While some contract requirements may not be listed in the chart below, requirements not appearing on the PRS chart do not negate the Contractor's obligation to perform all requirements as specified in the contract. Additionally, HUD reserves all rights and remedies under the provisions and clauses of the contract when performance of any contract requirement, whether or not listed below, is unacceptable.

HUD will develop a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan to be used to provide contract oversight. In conjunction with the Contractor's Quality Control Plan and various other methods of assessing performance, the COR may perform on-site reviews and/or other types of verification to determine that the specified target performance requirements have been met.

Regular review of Contractor performance is critical to the overall success of the contract. On a monthly basis, the COR will evaluate the quality of the product or services.

8 Related Documents

The Contractor shall abide by all applicable regulations, publications, manuals, policies, and procedures in the performance of this contract.

Performance Requirement Summary (PRS)

Statements Standards/AQLs Incentive/Remedy

5.1 Digital Email

Subscriptions

a) Draft Program Management Plan AQL: Zero deviation

b) Final Program Management Plan

2% deduction from invoice CLIN

5.1.1 No later than seven

business days after the Post-award / Kick-off meeting, the Contractor shall submit a draft PMP to the COR/PM via email. Upon receipt of COR/PM comments, the Contractor shall incorporate the comments and suggestions and submit a final draft no later than five business days after receipt of comments.

Subsequent updates from the COR/PM shall be submitted no later than five business days after update.

The PMP shall address all the requirements contained in this PWS and define a detailed plan and schedule for the entire program throughout the periods of performance. The PMP shall display the process by

a) Provide Digital Email Subscriptions AQL: Zero deviation

b) Provide Headers AQL: Zero deviation

c) Place HTML links to digital email subscriptions on state websites AQL: Zero deviation

d) Provide hosting and management services which the Contractor shall provide digital email subscription services, place HTML links to digital email subscription features on state websites and provide hosting and management services in support of user profiles and subscriptions at other state facilities to assist HUD in meeting its goals of providing digital email subscriptions to HUD's stakeholders. The PMP shall be updated annually.

5.2 Provide Digital

Email Subscriptions

a) Provide Digital Email Subscriptions

5.3 Provide HTML links

to digital email subscription features on state websites

a) Place HTML links to digital email subscriptions on state websites