PWS - Oral Transcriptions Follow-On IDIQ - 2025 (Final).docx

Performance Work Statement (PWS) For Combat and Operational Interview Transcription US Army Center of Military History Field Programs and Historical Resources Division, Washington, DC

PART 1 GENERAL INFORMATION

1.1 Description of Services/Introduction: This Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract is for the transcription of interviews conducted by military historians and is categorized as a non-personal services requirement.

The Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials supervision, and other items and non- personal services necessary to perform transcription services to the U.S. Army Center of Military History as defined in this Performance Work Statement except as specified in Part 3 as Government furnished property and services at the Contractor location. The Government will neither supervise Contractor employees nor dictate the methods used to accomplish the required tasks. Under no circumstances will the Government assign tasks or prepare work schedules for individual Contractor personnel. The Contractor is fully responsible for managing its workforce and ensuring that no actions resemble personal services or create such a perception. If the Contractor identifies any situation that constitutes or appears to constitute personal services, it must immediately notify the Procuring Contracting Officer (PCO).

1.2 Background: The US Army Center of Military History (CMH) has and continues to obtain interviews conducted by Army historians deployed to combat zones and at US Army home stations to support its Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) historical research and publications programs. Additionally, CMH has and continues to obtain interviews to support the Center’s Contingency and Cold War histories and other historical projects. These existing and future interviews are required to be transcribed per Army Regulation 870-5 in order for them to become permanent historical record.

1.3 Objectives: The Contractor shall provide transcription of interviews conducted by military historians.

1.4 Scope: The Contractor shall provide transcription services necessary for the transcription of recorded symposia proceedings and oral history interviews. Each symposium or interview will constitute an individual assignment.

1.5 Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be five (5) ordering periods of twelve (12) months each. Specific period of performance details will also be identified within each individual task order.

1.6 General Information

1.6.1 Quality Control Plan (QCP): The Contractor shall develop and maintain an effective quality control plan to ensure services are performed in accordance with this PWS. The Contractor shall develop and implement procedures to identify, prevent, and ensure non-recurrence of defective services. The Contractor’s quality control plan is the means by which it assures itself that its work complies with the requirement of the contract. At a minimum, the Contractor shall develop quality control procedures that address the areas identified in Technical Exhibit 1, “Performance Requirements Summary” in accordance with CDRL A001. The Contractor shall submit for Government approval a QCP to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) within 14 calendar days after the contract award. The COR must have a specific quality control inspector Point of Contact (POC) included in the QCP, to notify in case of complaints.

1.6.2 Quality Assurance: 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 defect rate(s).

1.6.3 Recognized Holidays: The Contractor is not required to perform services on the following Holidays:

Recognized Holidays:

New Year’s Day Labor Day Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Columbus Day President’s Day Veteran’s Day Memorial Day Thanksgiving Day Juneteenth Christmas Day Independence Day

1.6.4 Hours of Operation/Place of Performance: Work shall be performed at the Contractor’s facility.

1.6.4.1 Pickup and Delivery of Materials: The Contractor shall receive unclassified audiotapes and digital sound files requiring transcription from the US Army Center of Military History (CMH), located at Building 35, 102 Fourth Avenue, Fort Leslie J. McNair, Washington, DC 20319-5058. These materials may be transmitted using standard delivery methods such as US mail, FedEx, UPS, e-mail, courier, or through electronic methods including digital platforms, emails or specialized software), depending on which method is most advantageous to the Government.

1.6.5 Type of Contract: The Government anticipates award of an Indefinite- Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) contract with Firm-Fixed-Price task orders based on rates established at the time of contract award.

1.6.6 Security Requirements: All Contractors and/or subcontractor involved in processing unclassified information are required to safeguard or follow dissemination controls limiting its distribution to those with a lawful government purpose. Per AR 530-1, Operations Security, new Contractor employees must complete Level I OPSEC training. New employees must be trained within 30 calendar days of reporting for duty and annually thereafter. OPSEC awareness training is available at: https://securityawarenesss.usalearning.gov/opset/index.htm

1.6.7 Physical Security: The Contractor shall be responsible for safeguarding all Government property provided for Contractor use. At the close of each work period, material shall be secured.

1.6.8 Post Award Conference/Periodic Progress Meeting: The Contractor agrees to attend any post award conference convened by the contracting activity or contract administration office in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation Subpart 42.5. The Contracting Officer, Contracting Officer Representative, and other Government personnel, as appropriate, may meet periodically with the Contractor to review contract performance. At these meetings the contracting officer will apprise the Contractor of how the Government views the Contractor’s performance and the Contractor will apprise the Government of problems, if any, being experienced. Appropriate actions shall be taken to resolve outstanding issues. These meetings shall be at no additional cost to the Government.

1.6.9 Contract Manager: The Contractor shall provide a contract manager who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The name of this person and an alternate who shall act for the Contractor when the manager is absent shall be designated in writing to the contracting officer. The contract manager or alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all contract matters relating to daily operation of this contract.

1.6.10 Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR): The COR will be identified by a separate letter. The COR monitors all aspects of the contract and assists in contract administration. The COR is authorized to perform the following functions: assure that the Contractor performs the technical requirements of the contract; perform inspections necessary in connection with contract performance; maintain written and oral communications with the Contractor concerning technical aspects of the contract; monitor the Contractor's performance and notify both the Contracting Officer and Contractor of any deficiencies; coordinate availability of Government furnished property; and provide site entry of Contractor personnel. A letter of designation issued to the COR, a copy of which is sent to the Contractor, states the responsibilities and limitations of the COR, especially with regard to changes in cost or price and estimates or changes in delivery dates. The COR is not authorized to change any of the terms and conditions of the resulting contract.

PART 2 DEFINITIONS & ACRONYMS

CMH: Center of Military History Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR): A representative from the requiring activity assigned by the Contracting Officer to perform surveillance and to act as liaison to the Contractor.

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

FFP: Firm-Fixed-Price GWOT: Global War on Terrorism IDIQ: Indefinite-Delivery, Indefinite-Quantity PWS: Performance Work Statement Quality Assurance: Those actions taken by the government to assure services meet the requirements of the Performance Work Statement Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP): An organized written document specifying the surveillance methodology to be used for surveillance of Contractor performance.

Quality Control: Those actions taken by a Contractor to control the performance of services so that they meet the requirements of the PWS.

PART 3

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES

3.1 Equipment: The Government will provide audiotapes, digital sound CD/DVDs, manuscript narratives, and computer audio disks for transcription.

PART 4

CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS AND SERVICES

4.1 General: Except for those items specifically stated to be Government furnished in Part 3, the Contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision and other items necessary to perform the required tasks described in Part 5 below.

4.2 Secret Facility Clearance: The Contractor shall possess and maintain a SECRET facility clearance from the Defense Security Services at time of contract award.

PART 5 SPECIFIC TASKS

5.1 BASIC SERVICES. The Contractor shall prepare and submit oral history transcripts in support of the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) historical research and publications programs and the CMH’s Contingency and Cold War histories and other historical projects based upon interview recordings provided by the Government. As delineated by paragraphs 5.1.1 through 5.1.11 below, the Contractor shall prepare and submit to the Government, transcripts that are properly formatted, correctly styled, logical and cohesive.

5.1.1 The Contractor shall provide transcripts formatted in double-spaced typescript, 12-point Courier, printable on standard-sized eight and one half–inch by eleven-inch white bond sheets, with one-inch margins on all sides. The text shall be justified on the left margin and unjustified on the right margin. All pages shall be numbered with Arabic numerals appearing at the bottom center. Except for page one, which shall contain the title, all pages shall average no less than twenty-four lines of text.

5.1.2 The Contractor shall format the transcripts as follows: The first page of the transcription shall include at the top and centered, a title that contains the name of the agency or office under whose auspices the symposium was held or the interview was conducted; the subject (e.g., the title of the speech, address, paper, or interview); the full name of the speaker, or interviewee and interviewer; and the date and place of the recording.

5.1.3 The Contractor shall on the second page through the final page include a header consisting of the interviewee’s surname in capital letters, which shall appear at the top right margin on odd-numbered pages and at the top left margin on even-numbered pages if the transcription is of an oral history interview.

5.1.4 The Contractor shall use each speaker’s full name (first name, middle initial, and surname); followed by colon, the first time it is used. Thereafter, only the surname shall be used, followed by a colon.

5.1.5 The Contractor shall prepare the transcript verbatim.

5.1.6 The Contractor shall omit unnecessary expressions such as “umm” or “ah,” and any “false starts,” as well as any statements of agreement by the interviewer that certify a point made by the interviewee, such as “Yes,” “Yeah,” or “true.”

5.1.7 The Contractor shall not use paragraph indents in the transcription; i.e., statements shall remain unbroken by paragraphs even though the subject may change.

5.1.8 The Contractor shall use Arabic numbers for all numbers mentioned in an audiotape.

5.1.9 The Contractor shall spell surnames or place names that are unfamiliar phonetically in capital letters.

5.1.10 The Contractor shall check for conventional spelling.

5.1.11 The Contractor shall employ standard markings within the transcript to convey specific messages for the editor, as follows.

5.1.11.1 The Contractor shall type a word, term, phrase, or acronym used by a speaker in capital letters followed by a question mark when it is unclear and shall enclose it in parentheses.

5.1.11.2 The Contractor shall indicate when a word, term or phrase used by a speaker is inaudible by inserting “ ”; multiple inaudible words or a passage shall be indicated by inserting “ +”.

5.1.11.3

5.1.11.4 The Contractor shall indicate when a speech or interview has ended by typing in bold capital letters, -END-, two blank lines below the last line of text.

5.2 Delivery Schedule: The contractor shall deliver transcripts within 120 calendar days following the receipt of the corresponding audiotapes or digital sound files.

PART 6 APPLICABLE PUBLICATIONS

1) Army Guide of Oral Study, 2006 https://history.army.mil/About-CMH/Inquiries-and-Visitor-Policy/Historical-Resources-Branch/US-Army-Guide-to-Oral-History/#background

2) Army Regulation 870-5 dated 8 August 2024 https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN40228-AR_870-5-000-WEB-1.pdf

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 1

Performance Requirements Summary

Performance Objective (The Service required—usually a shall statement)

POSSIBLY BE “ZERO

DEVIATION FROM STANDARD”)

Method of Surveillance

PRS # 1.

The Contractor shall transcribe all interviews IAW PWS para 5.1 Oral history interviews will be transcribed in accordance with Army standards for Oral History programs, the 2006 U.S. Army Guide to Oral History.

Contractor shall carry out transcriptions with no more than five

(5) errors in content per 20 pages transcribed.

100% Inspection

TECHNICAL EXHIBIT 2 DELIVERABLES SCHEDULE

DELIVERABLE

FREQUENCY

# OF COPIES

MEDIUM/FORMAT

SUBMIT TO

PWS

paragraph

5.2 - Transcripts

COR