ATTACHMENT 6 Instructions for 508.docx

ATTACHMENT 6

Instructions to Contractors Applicable to Section 508 Any EIT solution the Government intends to acquire based on this solicitation shall conform to SSA’s Accessibility Requirements (which include the Section 508 standards and additional agency specific accessibility requirements).

1.0 Special Instructions to Offerors for responding to the applicable Section 508 Standards Offerors are required to supply detailed information on how their proposed products, services, or solutions address the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 19743 9revised) and the Social Security Administration’s Accessibility Requirements. The information submitted in response to these special instructions shall be submitted in a separate volume (or compact disc, file, etc..), and the information provided will not count against any page limits that may be prescribed elsewhere in this solicitation for the Technical/ Non-Price response or Price responses.

1.1 Section 508 Technical Quotation Instructions:

For each product offered, the contractor must discuss how each mandatory requirement or specification is met. This is especially true for the Section 508 Standards and SSA’s Accessibility Requirements.

If this acquisition is for a product(s), contractors are requested to submit hard copy technical publications, glossy brochures, etc. regarding the characteristics of the proposed product(s) to support their compliance with the requirements contained in this RFQ.

If this acquisition is for services, or contains service requirements, the contractor shall provide written acknowledgement for each requirement stating that they have read and agree to comply with the requirements stated. As applicable, contractors must also indicate how each requirement shall be met and identify the service provider.

1.1.1 Instructions for completing a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) The contractor must provide a complete description of how the EIT solution to be provided shall address all applicable Section 508 requirements. The contractor shall provide this information on a VPAT to document conformance to the applicable Section 508 Standards. The VPAT template can be obtained at ITIC’s website: http://www.itic.org/index.php?submenu=Resources&submenu=Resources&src=gendocs&ref=vpat&category=resources

The VPAT consists of a long series of tables. The initial one, the Summary Table, is used to provide a sense of your product’s overall “level-of-compliance” with SSA’s Accessibility Requirements. Subsequently, the Section 1194.xx Tables contain the detailed subparagraphs that the SSA Accessibility Requirements are comprised of. It is within these tables that you shall define in detail how your product did or did not comply with a specific requirement.

Use the following information to understand the use of the three columns in the VPAT’s tables:

Summary Table

Section 1194.xx Tables

The Supporting Features and Remarks/Explanations columns in the VPAT are used to document exactly how a product conforms or does not conform to SSA’s Accessibility Requirements. In order to promote consistency in contractor responses, which shall ensure a quicker review process by SSA’s contracting and procurement officials, we encourage you to answer these columns in the following manner:

Supporting Features (second column)

Remarks & Explanations (third column))

AND

List exactly what parts of the product do not meet and describe how they fail to support the Criteria.

1.1.2 Instructions for responding to additional agency specific accessibility requirements In addition to the VPATs, the contractor shall provide accessibility conformance documentation which fully describes how the EIT solution addresses each applicable additional agency specific accessibility requirement. The list of requirements which are applicable to this procurement are defined on page 3 of this attachment. The additional agency specific accessibility requirements are fully defined at the end of this attachment.

Contractors may propose an EIT solution that provides equivalent facilitation. Equivalent facilitation is a recognition that technologies may be either developed or used in ways not envisioned by the SSA Accessibility Requirements, but still result in the same or better functional access as would be provided by strictly meeting the SSA Accessibility Requirements. Functional outcome, not form, is the key to evaluating whether a technology results in “substantially equivalent or greater access.” If a contractor proposes to meet the SSA Accessibility Requirements in this manner, they must fully describe how they would do so in a manner that is fully conforming with the additional agency specific accessibility requirements – requirement # 1.10.

When addressing the “Documentation in Accessible Formats” requirement, the contractor shall provide the agency with sample product documentation that meets the stated requirements on a separate CD labeled “Accessible Product Documentation”, in an appropriately labeled folder with the contractor’s response, or through a link to a web site where the link specifies the accessible documentation separate from the standard documentation. If the standard documentation provided commercially is already in an accessible format please state that explicitly in your response. The accessibility of product documentation shall be factored into SSA’s accessibility determination.

1.1.3 Quality standards relative to responses to SSA’s Accessibility Requirements When responding to SSA, the contractor shall state exactly how the proposed EIT solution meets the applicable requirements in the remarks/explanations column, or through additional narrative. In addition, all “not applicable” (N/A) responses must be supported in the remarks/explanations column or through additional narrative.

The contractor is cautioned to address each requirement individually and with specificity, and to be clear whether conformance is achieved throughout the entire EIT solution (i.e. both user functionality and administrator functionality), or only in limited areas of the EIT solution. The contractor shall also disclose what methods were used to validate conformance.

Incomplete, missing or unsupported statements may result in the EIT solution being removed from consideration in the award of the contract. It is the contractor’s responsibility to maintain the integrity of the accessibility documentation provided to SSA. Any documentation shall be considered to be a self-representation unless expressly affirmed otherwise.

For all services or service requirements delivered through this contract (including installation, configuration, modification and custom development services) the contractor shall provide written acknowledgement stating that the contractor has read and agrees to comply with the applicable SSA Accessibility Requirements in delivery of the final EIT solution. As applicable, the contractor shall indicate how each requirement shall be met and identify the service provider.

The contractor shall also break out any additional costs (if any) which may be associated with meeting the SSA’s Accessibility Requirements.

1.1.4 SSA’s Right to Perform Testing on a Contractor’s EIT solution SSA reserves the right to perform testing on a contractor’s EIT solution when it is commercially available in order to ensure the accuracy of their response regarding conformance with SSA’s Accessibility Requirements.

If requested, the contractor shall provide SSA with a copy of their EIT solution so that the agency may validate any of their claims of accessibility within its testing lab. If the contractor’s EIT solution is comprised of commercially available products which shall be configured or modified, the agency may request a commercial copy of the product(s) to gauge the likelihood of a fully conforming EIT solution being delivered based on these products.

The EIT solution being provided for testing purposes shall be equivalent to the final commercially available release version in terms of functionality and features. Demonstration and/or trial versions of EIT solutions, therefore, shall NOT be considered for testing purposes. This is necessary since limits imposed in the functionality and features would detract from accurate testing of an EIT solution’s level of conformance to SSA’s Accessibility Requirements. In addition to the actual EIT solution, any documentation (i.e. training guides, user manuals, etc.) and a Test Plan illustrating “typical” user scenarios shall be included in order to ensure fair and accurate testing by SSA.

Upon award, the EIT solution provided for testing by all unsuccessful contractors shall be returned, at the contractor’s expense. The successful contractor’s EIT product(s) shall be retained and shall be accounted for in any resultant order, if applicable. If an order is not imminent, the successful contractor’s EIT solution shall also be returned, at the contractor’s expense.

SSA’s interpretation of the Section 508 standards is available on the Social Security website: http://www.ssa.gov/oag/acq/oagacq_508.htm. The document titled “SSA’s Guide to Applying Section 508 Standards” covers many possible technology scenarios, and is intended to serve as a guide for understanding how SSA approaches evaluations of conformation to the applicable technical provisions outlined in Section 508. Due to the complexity and changing nature of technology, this document is only intended to be a guide; it is not intended to be used as an exhaustive reference capable of exclusively covering all product types and configurations.

1.2 Section 508 and SSA Accessibility Requirements Cost Information:

The contractor shall break out any additional costs which may be associated with meeting SSA’s Accessibility Requirements which are not incorporated in the price tables.

(End of Provision)