Research Services_PWS_5162024124336 V2.doc

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

Research Services

05/08/2024

Version 2.0 4Vision Statement

1 General Information

1.1 Scope of Work

1.2 Background

1.3 Constraints

1.4 Non-Personal Services

1.5 Period of Performance

1.6 Place of Performance

1.7 Hours of Operation

1.8 Special Qualifications

1.9 Post Award/Kickoff Conference

1.10 Status Meetings

1.11 Contractor Travel

1.12 Transition In

1.13 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 and Information

3.5 Quality Assurance (QA)

4 Contractor-Furnished Items and Services

4.1 Facilities

4.2 Equipment

4.3 Materials

4.4 Contractor Responsibilities

4.5 Contractor Personnel

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Research Software

6 Deliverables

6.1 Quality Control Plan

6.2 Acceptance Criteria

7 Related Documents 8 Performance Requirements Summary

Performance Work Statement (PWS) Research Services Vision Statement

Provide online research services to assist the Single-Family Insurance Operations Division.

1 General Information

1.1 Scope of Work

SFIOD is seeking a contractor to provide access to software as a service that allows SFIOD staff to research online current addresses of approximately 700,000 previous borrowers owed an FHA refund. Since the US Postal Service will not forward a government check even if a change of address notification has been filed, these checks are returned to HUD as undeliverable. To assist in locating these homeowners, contractor services are needed.

1.2 Background

SFIOD is responsible for providing information services, via SFIOD Systems, to homeowners, lenders, the public, Home Ownership Centers (HOCS) and other government organizations related to Single Family Mortgage Insurance premium refunds for homeowners and lenders.

SFIOD has approximately 700,000 unpaid cases that are entitled to a mortgage insurance premium (MIP) refund. Many of these do not have a valid address to send a claim form to the homeowner.

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.

1.4 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 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.

1.5 Period of Performance

The Period of Performance shall be for one (1) base period of 12 months and four 12-month option periods.

1.6 Place of Performance

N/A

1.7 Hours of Operation

The Contractor is responsible for providing services between the hours of 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday thru Friday except for Federal holidays or when the Government facility is closed due to local or national emergencies, administrative closing, or similar Government directed facility closings. The Government reserves the right to change hours of operation or restrict contractor access. Government agencies will not be available during scheduled holidays, inclement weather, weekends, and after duty hours.

The Contractor shall maintain an adequate workforce for the uninterrupted performance of all tasks defined within the contract when the Government facility is not closed for the above reasons. When hiring personnel, the Contractor shall keep in mind that the stability and continuity of the workforce is essential.

1.8 Special Qualifications

N/A

1.9 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 and HUD Acquisition Regulation (HUDAR) clause 2452.237-79 - Post Award Conference.

1.10 Status Meetings

The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officers 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 at the Contracting Officer's discretion.

1.11 Contractor Travel

N/A

1.12 Transition In

N/A

1.13 Transition Out

N/A 2 Definitions and Acronyms

2.1 Definitions

Business Day - Every official day of the week which are days between and including Monday to Friday. This does not include federal 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's 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 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 ) - 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 requirement 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.

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.

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 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 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's 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 - Government Accountability Office

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

HUDAR - HUD Acquisition Regulation

IG or OIG - Inspector General (Office of)

IT - Information Technology

IV&V - Independent Validation and Verification

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

SCOR - Subordinate Contracting Officers Representative

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 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

N/A

3.2 Facilities

N/A

3.3 Equipment

N/A

3.4 Materials and Information

See HUDAR 2452.227-70, Government Information The Government shall provide the following materials and information (insert materials and information):

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 facilities for this requirement.

4.2 Equipment

The contractor shall furnish all equipment for training.

4.3 Materials

The contractor shall furnish all materials to meet the requirements under the PWS.

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 of performance.

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

See HUDAR clause 2452.237-70 - Key Personnel in the Key Personnel section of the contract.

4.6 Identification of Contractor Employees

All Contractor/subcontractor personnel shall wear company picture identification badges as 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.

5 Specific Tasks

5.1 Research Software

The contractor shall provide access to their research software. The research software shall have the following functionalities.

· Ability to search for people with or without entering the Social Security Number.

· Ability to enter multiple types of personally identifiable information to narrow down search results

· Ability to see date of death

· Identify a deceased persons true next of kin

· Has mapping functionality

· Reverse-chronological listing of locations resided and the time period of residence

· Possible past addresses are shown on same page

· Secure log-in process

· Provides all versions of a name associated with a Social Security Number/address .

The contractor shall provide Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software with fourteen seat licenses.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: The contractor shall provide the software is operational 100% of time excluding scheduled maintenance periods.

AQL: Zero Deviation

b) Standard: The contractor shall ensure the software has the functionalities listed in section 5.1 of the PWS AQL: Zero Deviation

c) Standard: The contractor shall provide Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software with fourteen seat licenses.

AQL: Zero Deviation Deliverables A001 Research Software

5.1.1 Monthly Access Report

The Contractor shall provide a monthly report detailing system software usage for all licenses and system down time. The contractor shall provide the monthly report within 5 calendar days of the end of the month.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: The contractor shall provide the monthly report within 5 calendar days of the end of the month.

AQL: The contractor shall provide the monthly report within 7 calendar days of the end of the month.

A002 Monthly Access Report

5.1.2 Provide Training

The Contractor shall provide web based initial group training within 30 calendar days to users on the use of the research software and its functions.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: The Contractor shall provide initial group training within 30 calendar days to users on the use of the research software and its functions at the user's location.

AQL: The Contractor shall provide initial group training within 33 calendar days to users on the use of the research software and its functions at the user's location.

b) Standard: The user training shall go over all functionality of the research software.

AQL: Zero Deviation

A003 User Training

5.1.3 Provide Telephone Support

The Contractor shall provide telephone support with knowledgeable personnel that can provide technical support and software usage. The telephone support shall be available from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm EST.

Performance Standards

a) Standard: Telephone support/user assistance is responsive to user inquiries 100% of the time.

AQL: Telephone support/user assistance is responsive to user inquiries 98% of the time; no more than (5) substantiated customer inquiries/complaints received from users.

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.

6.1 Quality Control Plan

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 they assure themselves that their work complies with the requirements of the contract. The Contractor shall provide the associated Quality Control Plan to the Government as directed.

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 Quality Management Approach, Quality Assurance, Quality Control, and Quality Standards.

The Contractor's QCP shall be delivered to the COR within 30 days after contract award (or with the Contractor's proposal if it is an evaluation factor). The QCP shall be submitted to the COR within 5 business days when changes are made thereafter.

6.2 Acceptance Criteria

Each contract deliverable shall meet the following inspection and acceptance criteria in additional to any "Inspection and Acceptance contract terms and conditions:

· Deliverables shall incorporate all HUD comments;

· All deliverables shall be provided to the designated COR first in draft format for review and comment unless specified otherwise by the COR;

· Subsequent final reports shall incorporate the comments, changes, edits, and concerns expressed to the Contractor by the COR. All deliverables shall be grammatically correct, reflect comprehensive research, incorporate complete analysis, and address HUD concerns;

· Acceptance of all deliverables shall be provided in writing by the COR within 5 business days. Upon written notification by the COR, the Contractor shall make any required revisions and resubmit the documentation within 5 business days, and/or submit a final draft within two (2) business days. The COR will inform the Contractor of the final draft.

· The Contractor shall provide any further refinement needed for documents required by the COR;

· All deliverables must be in compliance with Section 508 requirements as established by the Section 508 Access Board and other HUD guidelines; and

· In the event the Government deems a deliverable as unacceptable and the deliverable is rejected, the Contractor shall rework the deliverable at no cost increase to the contract. In the event the Government deems the services are unacceptable and rejects the service, the Contractor shall take action necessary to correct deficiencies and bring the service into compliance with the acceptability standards of the contract.

7 Related Documents

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

8 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 and PM 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.

Performance Requirement Summary (PRS)

AQL: Zero Deviation

b) The contractor shall ensure the software has the functionalities listed in section 5.1 of the PWS AQL: Zero Deviation

c) The contractor shall provide Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software with fourteen seat licenses.

AQL: Zero Deviation

A reduction in cost of .5% of the invoice amount when the percentage of the access to the research software falls under 98% for the current period of performance.

AQL: The contractor shall provide the monthly report within 7 calendar days of the end of the month.

AQL: The Contractor shall provide initial group training within 33 calendar days to users on the use of the research software and its functions at the user's location.

b) The user training shall go over all functionality of the research software.

AQL: Zero Deviation

AQL: Telephone support/user assistance is responsive to user inquiries 98% of the time; no more than (5) substantiated customer inquiries/complaints received from users.