RFP No. 283-24-0642 Attachment 1a PWS.docx

RFP No. 283-24-0642 Attachment 1a

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Project Title: Grant and Contract Review Support (GCRS)

A. Background and Need Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)/Office of Financial Resources (OFR)/Division of Grant Review (DGR) and Division of Contract Management (DCM) are required by Congress to conduct technical review of grants and contracts through an extramural peer review process. This requirement ensures that all technical reviews are conducted impartially by a panel of highly qualified persons.

Notice of Funding opportunity (NOFO) are grant funding opportunities announced to prospective applicants via SAMHSA’s website and Grants.gov. They describe a specific program design, information to include in the application, and necessary instructions for submitting grant applications to SAMHSA. Applications are sent to SAMHSA electronically through the Grants.gov system. SAMHSA expects the bulk of the work to occur between January and August, annually, with February through June defining the peak workload during the Federal Fiscal Year. The Contractor shall provide program and honorarium payment support to SAMHSA’s DGR during the grant application peer review process.

SAMHSA’s DCM contract review team administers and conducts technical merit/peer review meetings for proposals submitted in response to SAMHSA-wide Request for Proposal (RFP) announcements and projects announced through SAMHSA’s Indefinite Delivery-Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract mechanism. The Contractor shall provide reviewers, content writers, and honorarium payment support to SAMHSA’s DCM during the proposal peer and objective review process.

In addition, SAMHSA’s DCM also requires full-time staff to perform contract technical assistance services for the peer and objective reviews, and contract closeout technical support services.

B. Objectives The purpose of this contract is to provide technical and logistical support services to SAMHSA/OFR/DGR and DCM.

When providing logistical and technical support to SAMHSA, the Contractor is responsible for maintaining the integrity and quality of SAMHSA’s review process by notifying the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) of potential problems and recommending changes. It is critical (with no exceptions) that quality control measures (cross-checks) are in effect and remain in effect for all services provided.

All persons participating in the program and honorarium payment process shall be trained and execute agreements concerning confidentiality and Information Technology (IT) security. These signed agreements shall be filed with the COR and or ACOR.

To ensure that Federal policy of confidentiality and anonymity are maintained, the Contractor shall not disclose to anyone outside the immediate contract team the identification of any Reviewer, Offeror, or any information contained in the proposals/grant applications. The Contractor shall strictly adhere to the confidentiality requirements concerning Offerors’ proposals/grant applications, as specified in the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulations (HHSAR). The Contractor shall protect the contents of each proposal/grant applications from unauthorized use, duplication, or disclosure, and agrees not to use this information to compete for any Government or private contract in the future. The Contractor’s Fire Wall action plan that is submitted with its proposal in response to the RFP shall be made part of this contract. The Fire Wall action plan shall take effect if the situation arises in which, during contract performance, the Contractor competes for a SAMHSA contract that is being peer reviewed.

C. General Requirements

Services to be Performed:

1. The Contractor shall account for project funding necessary to meet all requirements specified in the PWS, including but not limited to activities supporting IT security and privacy, Section 508 compliance, and web content development, management, and migration.

2. Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish the necessary personnel, labor equipment, software, services, materials, and supplies, except as otherwise noted specifically herein to perform the work set forth below.

3. All work under this contract shall be monitored by the COR and ACOR.

General boilerplate requirements are the Division of Technology Management (DTM) and Office of Communications (OC) requirements-Please see Attachment 1b.

D. Specific Requirements

Task 1 – Program Management and Reporting Activities

Task 1.1: Contract Kick-Off Meeting

Within seven (7) business days after the Contract Effective Date (CED), the Contractor shall meet with the COR, ACOR, and other relevant SAMHSA staff. The purpose of the kick-off meeting is to introduce key personnel and discuss technical and contracting objectives of this contract and review the Contractor's Work Plan. Within one (1) business day after the kick-off meeting, the Contractor shall provide a summary report to the COR and Alternate COR.

Task 1.2: Develop and Submit Draft Work Plan

The Contractor shall provide a draft Work Plan two (2) business day before the kick-off meeting for Government review and comment. The Work Plan shall define the process that the Contractor shall utilize in staffing the project, scheduling tasks defined in the Performance Work Statement (PWS), obtaining necessary resources to complete the objectives of this contract, detailing major milestones, and sequencing of work.

At a minimum, the Work Plan shall describe:

1. All proposed activities outlined in the Tasks, including staffing plans with hours, timetables and development activities, and technical approaches/strategies/procedures for performing all activities.

2. A plan for the use of any FedRAMP compliant IT/software services for electronic transmission and storage of honorarium payment and summary statement creation documents.

3. A plan for verifying and monitoring peer reviewer participation, allocating and tracking cost on a FOA level and per-meeting level for honorarium payments, collecting and storing peer reviewer payment information, and providing periodic progress reports, electronically via email.

4. A plan for the creation of Summary Statement documents, delivery of sensitive information and storage.

5. A plan that specifies the materials, procedures, time lines, etc., to be implemented for a possible transition from the Contractor to any successor contractor in the future.

6. The qualifications, experience, and time commitments of all proposed staff (including a staff loading chart) to demonstrate their competence to successfully implement all of the tasks required under this contract. The Project Coordinator assigned to the oversight and day-to-day management of this contract shall be identified by name, qualifications, and a commitment to the position.

7. The plan shall include a strategy for adapting to the unpredictable workload and managing a substantial larger workload during peak times. The Contractor shall demonstrate the availability of necessary qualified staff during peak workloads to ensure that all peer reviewer honorarium payments are successfully completed within the predetermined government approved deadlines.

8. The plan shall describe a quality control/cross-check procedures that will be used. Quality Control measures are imperative and of upmost importance in the completion of the honorarium payment process. Cross-checks/balances document and practices shall be implemented assuring minimum of errors are made when peer reviewer payments are distributed.

9. The Corporate/management capability, facilities, and other resources that are necessary and readily available to successfully perform the tasks required under this contract.

10. The Contractor shall immediately notify the COR and CO of its intent to compete for a SAMHSA contract, either as a primary or as a subcontractor, while it is performing tasks required under this contract. The Contractor shall update, as necessary, the Fire Wall action plan submitted with its proposal for a situation in which the Contractor competes on a project that is being peer reviewed.

11. IT Work Plan: Within four (4) weeks after the CED, the Contractor shall create and submit draft system’s Privacy Impact Assessments, Entity Relationship Diagrams, Physical and Logical diagrams, information types along with data types and related relationship diagrams for the data that is being stored, processed and transmitted within the system. The above information shall be submitted to SAMHSA Security through the COR for approval and validation.

12. Within four (4) weeks after the CED, the Contractor shall meet with the COR and Chief Information Security Officer at a Privacy and Security Kick Off meeting to plan an implementation schedule that attains an ATO prior to system entering the production stage. (This meeting can be held virtually.)

13. The Contractor is responsible for submitting all required materials 30 days prior to the ATO anniversary date for review by the SAMHSA Security team, and contractor must follow SAMHSA continuous monitoring schedule.

Data Classification Note: Based upon preliminary review of the PWS, the data residing within this system should be categorized as a “Moderate” and must obtain Authorization to Operate (ATO) before system gets deployed into the production environment. Please see Security and Privacy Requirements section ‘B’ for example deliverables for the ATO.

Task 1.3: Review and Submit Final Work Plan

Within one (1) week after receipt of comments from the COR on the draft Work Plan, the Contractor shall revise and submit a final Work Plan that incorporates suggestions and comments received in writing by the COR. The COR and other appropriate staff will review the revised Work Plan. Upon acceptance by the COR, the Work Plan shall serve as the guide for work requirements to be performed. The Work Plan shall be modified or updated as necessary as a result of subsequent assessments of the Contractor's progress and/or continuing or newly identified needs. Changes in the Work Plan shall be made at the request of the COR when issues arise or other events necessitate a change in requirements of the contract.

Within 48 weeks of the CED, the Contractor shall submit to the COR a draft Work Plan for the next year. The purpose of the revised plan, which is the updated plan of Year 1 work, is to ensure that it is responsive to SAMHSA's technical and logistical support requirements during the second year of the contract. Within two (2) weeks of the COR’s review of the Year 2 plan, the Contractor shall revise this plan and incorporate the COR’s comments. Within the following two (2) weeks, the final Work Plan for Year 2 shall be submitted to the COR for review and final approval prior to implementation. This process shall be repeated each contract year.

Task 1.4: Monthly Teleconference Meeting

The Contractor shall meet monthly, via teleconference, to review the Work Plan and incorporate changes as needed to ensure its continued consistency with SAMHSA’s logistical and technical support requirement at the end of each month. The Contractor shall provide a summary of the monthly teleconference meeting one (1) business day after the meeting. The Contractor is responsible for keeping the COR/ACOR informed throughout the performance period of this contract, and ensure Contractor activities are aligned with SAMHSA objectives. Additional meeting(s) will be scheduled on an as needed basis. Any significant deviations from the approved Work Plan agreed to at the meeting shall be submitted to the COR/ACOR in writing.

Task 1.5: Reporting

The Contractor shall prepare and submit the following reports: Monthly Progress Reports and Annual Reports.

One (1) electronic copy of each report shall be submitted to the COR and the Contracting Officer (CO) as contract deliverables.

Monthly Reports

The Contractor shall prepare and submit a detailed Monthly Progress Report by the 10th day of the following month. One (1) electronic copy shall be provided to the COR and the CO, which shall include, but is not limited to:

· Progress and Accomplishments: A brief summary of what was accomplished during the reporting period (e.g., Reviewer recruiting efforts, Technical Reviews completed, and other information as may be specified by the COR/ACOR).

· Planned Work: A brief summary by task of what is planned for accomplishment during the next reporting period.

· Problems: Problems, issues or delays that the Contractor has experienced in the delivery of services. The Contractor shall include specific recommendations/suggestions for corrective action, either by the Contractor or the COR to resolve or alleviate the identified problems.

Annual Reports

The Contractor shall provide a Draft Annual Report (electronically) to the COR/ACOR and the CO no later than three (3) weeks before the end of the Base Year and if exercised, Option Years 2-4. The report shall summarize the previous year’s activities, the number of honorarium processed and Summary Statements created, the Contractor's experience in accomplishing the work under this contract, a budget summary detailing the financial status of the contract for the year, and the problems encountered and solutions for quality improvement to the contract and other such information as may be specified by the COR/ACOR. The COR/ACOR may suggest revisions to this draft or approve the draft. No later than one (1) week after receipt of COR/ACOR comments, the Contractor shall submit a Final Annual Report (electronically) to the COR/ACOR and CO.

Task 2 – Grant Review Program Support

The Contractor shall provide all staff and supplies necessary to provide programmatic support for SAMHSA’s approximate 35 NOFOs (approximately 2,000 grant applications) per federal fiscal year.

Each SAMHSA NOFO is assigned to a SAMHSA Review Administrative Group that consist of the Review Administrator (Lead) and Review System Specialist and/or a Grants Technical Assistant. Each SAMHSA Review Administrative Group is assigned approximately 4-6 NOFOs per federal fiscal year to manage, monitor, and complete the peer review process.

The Contractor shall provide one (1) Program Analyst per SAMHSA Review Administrative Group (a total of eight (8) Program Analysts). This position will be full time/annual. The Program Analyst shall meet with the SAMSHA Review Administrative Group to discuss the timeline of the NOFO, estimated quantity of grant applications it will receive, tasks and responsibilities, goals and objectives, and any other support needed throughout the review process. The Program Analyst responsibilities shall include, but are not limited to:

1. Meet with the Division of Grant Review staff.

2. Assist with NOFO analysis.

3. Assist in developing documents.

4. Assist in peer reviewer recruitment and developing the peer reviewer reports.

5. Assist with applicant organization and reviewer communications.

6. Assist in screening grant applications.

7. Assist in the IRG/peer review process of the grant applications.

8. Assist in assigning reviewers to grant applications.

9. Assist in monitoring peer reviewer progress.

10. Assist in first level quality check of scores and comments from the peer review group.

11. Assist in scheduling and managing the discrepancy discussions of the grant applications scores.

12. Assist in writing summary statements for all grant applications.

13. Assist in data analysis of grant applications and peer reviewers, to include the year-end report.

14. Assist in vetting and training peer reviewers.

15. Assist in eRA Data entry.

16. Assist with post-season improvement projects/workgroups.

Task 3 – Contract Technical Support

The Contractor shall provide support for all Technical Peer and Objective Review meetings for SAMHSA by performing the following subtasks.

The Contractor shall develop and maintain a status log of the reviews and their process. This log shall include information such as: project number, project title, Reviewers status of confirmation, writer status, meeting date, Reviewer information sent to CTA, number of summaries, Contract Specialist assigned, and post-meeting reimbursement status for Reviewers and writers.

The Technical Peer and Objective Review Meetings are held virtually via Microsoft Teams.

The Contractor shall ensure that the following sub-tasks are accomplished in a timely, complete and thorough manner, with strict attention to the confidentiality of offerors’ proposals upon receiving a technical review tasking from the COR.

Task 3.1: Provide Technical Reviewers for Peer Review Meetings

The Contractor shall establish a method and mechanism for recruiting and retaining a sufficient number of Reviewers in each discipline listed in Appendix 1 to accommodate the number of reviews each year. It is a requirement that each Peer Review have five (5) Reviewers in attendance.

Reviewers with expertise in other disciplines than those listed in Appendix 1 may be required, as directed by the COR.

The details of the recruiting mechanism shall be outlined in the Work Plan associated with Task 1.

The Reviewers shall have demonstrated expertise in the disciplines listed in Appendix 1. Each Reviewer shall have an advanced degree, minimum masters, and at least five (5) years of experience in their field of expertise. Experience in reviewing contract and/or grant proposals is preferred, but not required.

The Reviewers shall be retained on a consultant or part-time basis and their services engaged on an as-needed basis.

Task 3.2: Provide Technical Writers for Peer Review Meetings

The Contractor shall assign a Technical Writer to the Peer Review meeting and inform the COR of that information within seven (7) business days after receipt of the task. Each Technical Writer shall be proficient in note taking, proofreading, writing, and Microsoft Word.

Technical Writers are responsible for taking comprehensive notes at each technical review session to accurately capture Reviewers’ verbal comments and discussions; compiling the Reviewers’ written technical reviews into the Technical Review Summary Report; forwarding the complete, edited and proofread Technical Review Summary Report to the COR or CO for review and acceptance no later than ten (10) calendar days after the meeting; and making any changes to the Technical Review Summary Report, as required by the COR or CO, in a timely manner.

Due to the workload, it might be necessary for the writer to divide the work due to urgency; therefore, if that is determined, then for those offerors that have scored highly and are considered in the competitive range, their summaries will be due in the ten (10) calendar days after the meeting. For the other summaries, they should be submitted for review and acceptance by no later than twenty (20) calendar days after the meeting. Please note that depending on the work- load of the writers, they will need to prioritize their work.

In certain circumstances, a reconvene of the review panel is required to assess the Offerors’ responses to the technical questions originally raised by the review panel and update the technical scores. The Technical Writer shall be present at the reconvene meeting to take notes and update the final Technical Review Summary Report.

Technical Writers may be either retained on a part-time basis, as needed, or be Contractor staff who will be available when needed.

The Contractor shall reimburse the writers $300 for each Technical Review Summary Report that he/she acceptably completes for each reviewed proposal. The writer shall deliver the draft final Technical Review Summary Report for the Peer Review to the COR or CO within ten (10) calendar days after the meeting. The Contractor shall pay the writers a fee for each day they attend the Peer Review meeting. The writer’s fee is based on a full day (8 hours) @ $300, or a half-day (4 hours) @ $150. The COR will sign off on the payment for the writer’s fee for each review prior to being processed. After all the summaries are received for the specific review, the COR will acknowledge the receipt of all summaries and the Contractor can then process the writer’s fee for the summaries written.

All Technical Writer fee disbursements for attendance at the meeting shall be made no later than ten (10) business days after the meeting. All Technical Writer summary fees shall be made no later than ten (10) business days after COR acceptance of the final Technical Review Summary report and the return to Government custody of all documentation.

ASSUMPTION CHART:

Peer Review Meeting – Writer Reimbursement

Option 2

IDIQ Meeting

12 meetings

$300 each

$300 each $300/full day @ $150/half day

$300/full day

Note: The Contractor shall assume reconvene meetings are half days. The Contractor shall assume three (3) proposals per initial meeting and three (3) proposals per reconvene meeting.

Task 3.3: Provide Technical Writers for Objective Review Meetings

The Contractor shall assign a Technical Writer to the Objective Review meeting and inform the COR of that information within seven (7) business days after receipt of the task. Each Technical Writer shall be proficient in note taking, proofreading, writing, and Microsoft Word.

Technical Writers are responsible for taking comprehensive notes at each technical review session to accurately capture Reviewers’ verbal comments and discussions; compiling the Reviewers’ written technical reviews into the Technical Review Summary Report; forwarding the complete, edited and proofread Technical Review Summary Report to the COR or CO for review and acceptance no later than ten (10) calendar days after the meeting; and making any changes to the Technical Review Summary Report, as required by the COR or CO, in a timely manner.

Due to the workload, it might be necessary for the writer to divide the work due to urgency; therefore, if that is determined, then for those offerors that have scored highly and are considered in the competitive range, their summaries will be due in the ten (10) calendar days after the meeting. For the other summaries, they should be submitted for review and acceptance by no later than twenty (20) calendar days after the meeting. Please note that depending on the work- load of the writers, they will need to prioritize their work.

In certain circumstances, a reconvene of the review panel is required to assess the Offerors’ responses to the technical questions originally raised by the review panel and update the technical scores. The Technical Writer shall be present at the reconvene meeting to take notes and update the final Technical Review Summary Report.

Technical Writers may be either retained on a part-time basis, as needed, or be Contractor staff who will be available when needed.

The Contractor shall reimburse the writers $300 for each Technical Review Summary Report that he/she acceptably completes for each reviewed proposal. The writer shall deliver the draft final Technical Review Summary Report for the Objective Review to the COR or CO within ten (10) calendar days after the meeting. The Contractor shall pay the writers a fee for each day they attend the Peer Review meeting. The writer’s fee is based on a full day (8 hours) @ $300, or a half-day (4 hours) @ $150. The COR will sign off on the payment for the writer’s fee for each review prior to being processed. After all the summaries are received for the specific review, the COR will acknowledge the receipt of all summaries and the Contractor can then process the writer’s fee for the summaries written.

All Technical Writer fee disbursements for attendance at the meeting shall be made no later than ten (10) business days after the meeting. All Technical Writer summary fees shall be made no later than ten (10) business days after COR acceptance of the final Technical Review Summary report and the return to Government custody of all documentation.

Objective Review Meeting Information

Note: The Contractor shall assume reconvene meetings are half days. The Contractor shall assume three (3) proposals per initial meeting and three (3) proposals per reconvene meeting.

Task 3.4: Provide Contract Technical Assistant

The Contractor shall provide a Contract Technical Assistant (CTA) to attend the technical merit reviews and finalize documentation related to the assigned review meetings for which they will be responsible. Typical duties and responsibilities for CTA include, but are not limited to, the following:

· Providing support services to Contract Specialist and COR to carry out contract review meetings. The CTA shall assist with pre-meeting, meeting, and post-meeting services and shall assist committee members with any administrative needs.

· Collecting and distributing review materials, keeping accurate records of all review meeting activities, and providing final Reviewers’ marked-up critiques to the Technical Writer to prepare a draft Technical Review Summary Report. The Contractor’s CTA shall utilize SAMHSA’s SharePoint site to disburse proposals and review materials to the Reviewers.

· Assisting Contract Specialists with copying, scanning contract modifications, file distribution, faxing, shredding, and retrieving documents and various general tasks associated with contracts management.

· Preparing notifications for the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). Sending out all reminders to the CORs on their past performance evaluations.

· Researching, tracking, and monitoring all contracts, as required by the COR or Specialist.

· Other duties as assigned.

The Offerors’ proposals are confidential documents and are protected by Federal laws and regulations. The Contractor shall make sure that the confidentiality and accountability of each proposal is protected at all times during the review process.

Typical skills needed to serve as a CTA include the following: Excellent verbal and written communication skills; initiative and ability to complete tasks quickly and independently; a professional attitude toward other individuals involved in the review process; ability to proficiently use a computer and word processing software; ability to follow the review discussion and understand the changes and keep scores correctly at the meeting; attention to detail and instructions; and composure under pressure.

The Contractor shall provide sufficient and adequate documentation to verify that the CTA hired by the Contractor possess the requisite knowledge and skills to serve in that capacity.

Task 3.5: Establish and Maintain Reviewer and Technical Writer Database

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a database containing Reviewer and Technical Writer information, including contact information, educational background, area(s) of expertise, and experience. Additional fields may be required, per the COR’s directive.

This database must conform to SAMHSA IT standards and must be accessible by the COR at all times. The database shall be maintained to reflect the current status of all personnel in the database at all times. The Contractor shall provide data storage/sharing and other technical solutions that are in line with HHS/SAMHSA IT technology standards for DTMs review and approval. The Reviewer and Technical Writer Database is currently hosted on a SAMHSA SharePoint site.

Task 3.6: Contract Closeout Technical Support

The Contractor shall provide two (2) full-time equivalent (FTE) staff for Closeout support. The Contractor shall have experience in closing out federal contracts. The Closeout Specialists shall possess highly competent skills with computer software, hardware and related equipment. This task includes the following functions:

1. For contracts/task orders that have expired, the Contractor shall review the file to determine their type, contract limitations, contract periods, types of costs, legal status, indirect rates and ceilings, when applicable.

2. The Contractor shall be responsible for the management/administration of each completed contract from receipt through close-out execution, including the transfer of closed files to the Federal Records Center in Washington, DC. The Contractor shall perform, coordinate and schedule the close-out actions necessary for completion of the close-out process.

3. The Contractor shall perform limited auditing services when no previous audit has occurred to reconcile direct and indirect costs billed, including adjustments for changes in indirect costs over the entire contract period.

4. The Contractor shall ensure the receipt of final property inventory, final clearance for the SAMHSA Property Officer, and receipt of the particular contractor’s GPO certification.

5. The Contractor shall, as necessary, prepare a Desk Audit Memoranda for each contract in the close-out process to document the steps for the closed contract file. The Contractor shall review indirect costs paid and reconcile them to amount due using the final rates.

6. The Contractor shall prepare and submit closing documents, and with the COR’s written approval, submit the documents to the specific contractors requesting recovery of overpayments if SAMHSA is owed money, or invoices for any amounts due, if applicable.

7. The Contractor shall correspond with applicable contractors (vendors) by phone, email or written correspondence to request and exchange information needed in the close-out process, to include receipt of the final voucher, final release and certification of funds, rebates, and credits. The Contractor shall work closely with the appropriate DCM COR (depending on the particular contract) on the preparation of the SAMHSA COR’s final determination letter outlining the contractor’s appeal right.

8. The Contractor shall, as necessary, request from the Finance Office reports on the amounts obligated and the amounts paid under each contract/task order and reconcile voucher records with disbursements. Accurate obligation and paid amounts should be available in the SAMHSA tracking system.

9. Checks recovered for overpayment by the close-out process shall be submitted to the Finance Office through the CO and the contract file shall be annotated to reflect receipt of the payment.

10. The Contractor shall attempt to resolve any differences and/or questionable costs by telephone with the contractor (vendor) whose contract is being closed out. If unable to resolve differences via telephone conversation, the Contractor shall draft a letter for the SAMHSA CO’s signature to request the contractor’s position on amounts questioned.

11. Where applicable, the Contractor shall prepare documentation recommending that DCM attempt to recover costs that should be disallowed. The documentation shall be prepared for submission to Collections following approval by the SAMHSA CO.

12. A crucial element in the close-out process that shall be followed by the Contractor is the preparation of the Close-out Checklist for review and approval of the CO. The completed checklist must reflect that all required forms and documents have been reviewed and included in the file prior to submission of the file to the CO for final review and sign-off.

13. The Contractor shall prepare a memorandum and then forward that memorandum with the signed closing document to the Finance Office. The memorandum must include instructions for de-obligating the balance of funds, if applicable.

14. The Contractor shall maintain the DCM closeout filing room located at 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville MD 20857, and shall be responsible for generating letters and forms, and boxing up files and reports to ensure that the entire contract close-out process is supported in a timely and professional manner.

15. The Contractor shall prepare monthly reports, and meet with the COR to review project performance once a month (as necessary), as well as produce the following reports:

· Open Contract Report – to include contract number, vendor’s name, number of contract files, types of contracts, and contract amount.

· Contract Status Report – a numerical order list of all contracts and a narrative indicating the status of each contract, including problems experienced or anticipated, or indicating no action.

· Archived Contract Report – a numerical list of all documents sent to the Records Center for storage.

· Ad Hoc Reports – Special reports, as requested, on a case-by-case basis, draft responses to queries.

· Status tracking spreadsheet – to include information such as letters issued, documents received, closed, etc.

16. The Contractor shall maintain a file that will house the standard form letters that can be chosen from to generate a letter to the contractors (vendors) requesting the required documentation. In some cases, this may require repeated follow-ups because the contractor (vendor) may in fact have a credit balance with funds actually due to SAMHSA. In some cases, this information maybe difficult to identify a source; in those cases, the file shall be documented with the information from the SAMHSA contract files.

Task 4 – Honorarium Payments Support

Task 4.1: Contract Honorarium Payment Support

The Contractor shall receive review tasking from the COR. The COR will send out an email informing the potential recommended Reviewers that they have been nominated, inquiring if they will accept the nomination and providing a tentative timeframe.

Once the initial notification is sent by the COR to the nominated Reviewers and they respond either in favor of participating or decline, the Contractor shall maintain the available information on the nominated Reviewer. If the nominated Reviewer accepts the nomination, the Contractor shall contact them for their resume and information. As the nominated Reviewers decline, the Contractor shall maintain their information for future use and shall start to identify potential reviewers to back fill those that declined and provide a draft list with resumes to the COR. The review panel shall consist of individuals with an appropriate mix of skills and expertise so that each skill listed in the Reviewer Skills Matrix is represented. Reviewers, as they accept their nominations, shall be screened for conflict of interest, availability and appropriate skills.

The Reviewers shall write critiques for the offerors’ proposals prior to the meeting. The full committee meets virtually via Microsoft Teams to discuss, evaluate, and score each proposal. It is a requirement that each Peer Review have a minimum of five (5) Reviewers in attendance. One (1) of the five (5) Reviewers is permitted to be a Federal Staff person. For the Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) review meeting, there could be numerous panels meeting concurrently with approximately five (5) Reviewers each.

The Contractor shall develop a system to document and track obligations and expenditures to Reviewers and ensure that honoraria are mailed within ten (10) business days following the close of the meeting. The Contractor shall pay $500/per day and $150/per proposal reviewed to Reviewers. The system developed by the Contractor shall document all appropriate obligations and expenditures for each technical merit peer review committee, the date on which each Reviewer received honoraria payments, and any other claims for reimbursement. The Contractor utilizing this tracking system should be able to report, if requested from the COR, the cost per review meeting, to include the amount also reimbursed to the writers.

Peer Review Honorarium Information

Option 2

IDIQ Meeting

12 meetings occurring concurrently

5 reviewers per meeting 1 day

5 days

$500/day & $150/per proposal prep time

Note: The Contractor shall assume prep time for three (3) proposals per initial meeting and three (3) proposals per reconvene meeting. In Option Year 2, the Contractor shall assume twenty (20) proposals per IDIQ meeting.

Task 4.2: Grant Honorarium Payment Support

The Contractor shall provide all staff and supplies necessary to provide logistical and technical support for SAMHSA’s peer reviewer honorarium payment for approximately 2,000 grant applications (each application is reviewed by three (3) peer reviewers).

The Contractor shall pay each reviewer an honorarium at SAMHSA’s authorized rate of $180 per application successfully reviewed. The honorarium payments shall be completed and sent to the peer reviewer within ten (10) business days of receipt of honorarium documents from the Agency. The Contactor shall also provide 1099-MISC information forms to peer reviewers, per the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) regulations, policies, and guidelines.

The Contractor shall use the existing secure, federally approved software payment service for processing, tracking, monitoring and storing peer reviewer honorarium payment information. Furthermore, the Contractor shall develop a procedure for verifying that each peer reviewer successfully participated in a SAMHSA NOFO peer review.

· The Contractor shall provide secure transmission and storage of any peer reviewer financial, biographical and/or personal identifiable information;

· The Contractor shall validate, through the COR or the ACOR, a list of all peer reviewers who have successfully completed the peer review process before issuing payment;

· The Contractor shall ensure the Agency meets all extramural honorarium payment requirements in a timely manner;

· The Contractor shall track and monitor honorarium payments to ensure payment is made to the reviewer and to eliminate the duplication of payments, and;

· The Contractor shall ensue that any employee hired for the honorarium payment support staff maintain confidentiality of all peer reviewer information and grant application information in accordance with current and pertinent Federal regulations, policies, and guidelines.

The contractor will have the option to use paper check payments to be mailed to SAMHSA peer reviewers when developing the electronic payment system. This option is a temporary solution and not to be a permanent method of processing honorariums.

Note: The Contractor shall assume 2,000 grant applications, three (3) peer reviewers per application, and $180 per application reviewed.

Task 5 – Transition of Contract Specific Activities

Startup at Beginning of Contract

The Contractor shall coordinate an orderly transition of the project from the previous Contractor during the time between award of this contract and expiration of the previous contract. The Contractor shall:

a) At the CO’s discretion, participate in five (5) meetings with the previous contractor to effect a smooth transition and to receive detailed information on the operation of the previous contract.

b) Ensure receipt from the previous contractor, or SAMHSA, of complete documentation and all government furnished property, hardware, software, materials and data necessary to support continuation of full services, capabilities and outstanding technical and related work inherited from the previous contractor and promptly notify the COR of any omissions or deficiencies or difficulties in obtaining resources mentioned above; and

c) Ensure that, during a three-week transition period, the Contractor’s personnel receive training from the previous contractor’s senior personnel in all system operation and maintenance functions.

Turnover at End of Contract

All information and materials, including data, developed under this contract are the property of the Government and shall be delivered as part of the turnover at the end of the contract. No information developed under this contract shall be released by the Contractor to any other entity without the written permission of the Government.

At contract closeout, the Contractor shall provide, no later than two (2) months prior to completion of the final period of performance a draft plan for transfer of the project to either the Government or a new Contractor (as applicable). These activities shall include:

IT Transition Plan:

The Contractor shall follow the requirements of contract closeout and schedule a meeting with the COR/ACOR and the Division of Technology Managements to discuss the execution of information technology transition activities related to data, software, web content, and electronic records. Use the Chain of Custody Form when records are transferred from Vendor to COR/ACOR at end of contract and for providing authorization to destroy any records (requests need to be made from the vendor to the COR/ACOR and COR/ACOR provides approval).

Optional Tasks

The following optional tasks may be exercised during each contract year.

Optional Task 6 & 7, individually or in combination, may not exceed 4,200 applications.

For example, Optional Task 7 may be exercised 84 times for 4,200 applications.

Optional Task 6 – Ability to increase Grants honorarium support for ten (10) applications

At the discretion of the COR and based on the availability of funding and programmatic needs in support of the grant peer reviewer honorarium payment process in sub-task 4.2, Optional Task 6 may be exercised as necessary. The honorarium payments shall be completed and sent to the peer reviewer within ten (10) business days of receipt of honorarium documents from the Agency.

Note: The Contractor shall assume 10 grant applications, three (3) peer reviewers per application, and $180 per application reviewed.

Optional Task 7 – Ability to increase Grants honorarium support for fifty (50) applications

At the discretion of the COR and based on the availability of funding and programmatic needs in support of the grant peer reviewer honorarium payment process in sub-task 4.2, Optional Task 7 may be exercised as necessary. The honorarium payments shall be completed and sent to the peer reviewer within ten (10) business days of receipt of honorarium documents from the Agency.

Note: The Contractor shall assume 50 grant applications, three (3) peer reviewers per application, and $180 per application reviewed.

Optional Task 8 – Ability to increase one (1) Program Analyst Support

At the discretion of the COR and based on the availability of funding and programmatic needs in support of SAMHSA NOFOs, Optional Tasks may be exercised as necessary. The support staff will be one (1) Program Analyst for Optional Task 8. The Program Analyst will be assisting in elements listed in Task 2. This task may be exercised three (3) times in each contract year.

Optional Task 9 – Ability to increase Contract Technical Support

Optional Task 9 shall increase Contract Technical Support for five (5) objective review meetings and include all activities outlined in sub-task 3.3. This task may be exercised three (3) times in each contract year.

ASSUMPTION CHART:

Objective Review Meeting Information

Note: The Contractor shall assume three (3) proposals per meeting.

Optional Task 10 – Ability to hold an In-Person Contract Review Meeting

Optional Task 10 shall increase Contract Technical Support one (1) in-person peer review meeting. This task may be exercised three (3) times in each contract year.

Task 10.1: Contact Nominated Technical Reviewers

The Contractor shall receive review tasking from the COR. The COR will send out an email informing the potential recommended Reviewers that they have been nominated, inquiring if they will accept the nomination and providing a tentative timeframe.

Once the initial notification is sent by the COR to the nominated Reviewers and they respond either in favor of participating or decline, the Contractor shall maintain the available information on the nominated Reviewer. If the nominated Reviewer accepts the nomination, the Contractor shall contact them for their resume and information. As the nominated Reviewers decline, the Contractor shall maintain their information for future use and shall start to identify potential reviewers to back fill those that declined and provide a draft list with resumes to the COR. The review panel shall consist of individuals with an appropriate mix of skills and expertise so that each skill listed in the Reviewer Skills Matrix is represented. Reviewers, as they accept their nominations, shall be screened for conflict of interest, availability and appropriate skills. The Contractor shall provide email updates to the Reviewers with regard to the contact information, meeting expense information; travel needs; registration and travel completion.

The Reviewers shall write critiques for the offerors’ proposals at their home. The majority of our Reviewers live outside the Washington, DC metropolitan area. They fly in and stay at the hotel to review for one (1) day or more (depending on the number of Reviewers and proposals). The COR will attempt to select one (1) or two (2) local Reviewers per review, if applicable. The Reviewers commute to the review meeting and are reimbursed for all travel expenses. The full committee meets in person to discuss, evaluate, and score each proposal. It is a requirement that each Peer Review have a minimum of five (5) Reviewers in attendance. One (1) of the five (5) Reviewers is permitted to be a Federal Staff person, and travel and fees will not need to be reimbursed for this individual.

The Contractor shall develop a system to document and track obligations and expenditures to Reviewers and ensure that honoraria are mailed within ten (10) business days following the close of the meeting. The Contractor shall pay $500/per day and $150/per proposal reviewed to Reviewers. Separate and apart from the honoraria payment, Reviewers shall also be reimbursed for per diem, travel, ground transportation, etc., in accordance with the Federal Travel Regulation (FTR). The system developed by the Contractor shall document all appropriate obligations and expenditures for each technical merit peer review committee, the date on which each Reviewer received honoraria payments, reimbursements for miscellaneous and incidental expenses, and any other claims for reimbursement. Reimbursement checks for travel shall be mailed by no later than 30 calendar days after the Contractor receives a Reviewer's claim for reimbursement. The Contractor utilizing this tracking system should be able to report, if requested from the COR, the cost per review, to include the amount also reimbursed to the writers.

Reviewers shall be responsible for room service and all expenses other than the room and the room tax. The Contractor shall notify Reviewers in advance that incidentals not paid at check-out will be deducted from their per diem reimbursement. Reviewers may choose their own accommodations and be reimbursed later; however, overnight room costs and related expenses shall not be reimbursed in excess of the allowable rate according to the current FTR for the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Peer Review Honorarium Information

Note: For budgeting purposes, please assume one (1) meeting with five (5) reviewers for one (1) day. The Contractor shall assume reconvene meeting is virtual, three (3) proposals per initial meeting, and three (3) proposals per reconvene meeting. The honorarium for reviewers is $500/per day and $150/per proposal reviewed. Please assume $650 airfare, $100 ground transportation, $258 lodging for one (1) night, and $59.25 meals & incidentals at 75% for two (2) days.

Task 10.2: Finalize Contract with Hotel for Lodging and Meeting Rooms for the Technical Merit Peer Review Committee Meetings

The Contractor shall secure appropriate hotel facilities to accommodate the lodging and meeting room requirements for the peer review meetings within four (4) weeks of the Option Task Effective Date (OTED) and each contract year thereafter, if the option task is exercised. The Contractor shall finalize those sleeping and meeting rooms as each individual review is assigned. The hotel facilities must be able to accommodate persons with disabilities in accordance with the requirements of the American Disabilities Acts (ADA).