A21_Attachment__2_Live_Task_Order_PWS.docx

Performance Work Statement SERDP & ESTCP Support Task Order 0001 16 January 2019 – 15 July 2019

1.0 OBJECTIVE

The Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) and the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) require program support to execute their missions of developing and demonstrating technologies that meet the Department of Defense (DoD) environmental requirements. SERDP and ESTCP are separate programs that are managed through a joint program office. Support is needed at the program level and in each of the technical areas in which SERDP and ESTCP invest.

2.0 PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

The contractor shall provide comprehensive technical, programmatic and program wide support services for the SERDP and ESTCP Office in the Washington, D.C. area. The contractor shall provide services to the Executive Director and his staff to meet all program planning, technical and financial oversight and management needs to the two programs. This includes support for the Program Office located in Alexandria, VA.

2.1 Program Level Support

2.1.1 Web-Based Reporting System: The contractor shall host and maintain a web-based project tracking system for approximately 350 active SERDP and ESTCP projects through the SERDP and ESTCP Management System (SEMS), which is used to track the technical and financial status of projects, contract actions, document status, financial planning and distribution. The contractor shall adhere to security plans for SEMS according to industry best practices.

2.1.2 Solicitation: The contractor shall manage tasks associated with the FY20 and FY21 SERDP and ESTCP Environmental and Energy Technologies solicitations. Tasks include (a) assisting with updating and preparing proposal submittal instructions and announcements; (b) supporting the integration of technical input to the annual statements of need (SONs) and topic areas; and (c) disseminating outreach materials describing the solicitations, including but not limited to the SERDP and ESTCP joint web site, ListServe, and support of two webinars.

2.1.3 Proposal Management and Selection: The contractor shall provide technical and programmatic support to execute the SERDP and ESTCP FY20 solicitations. Tasks include maintaining an electronic proposal submittal and tracking system; assistance with drafting selection plans, procedures, and associated documentation; assisting with technical evaluations of proposals; and drafting and disseminating notification to proposers. The contractor shall manage the receipt and review of up to 300 SERDP preproposals, which are due in January and up to 700 ESTCP preproposals, which are due in March 2019.

The contractor shall manage the review of SERDP preproposals and the request for full proposals that are to be sent out in early February 2019. The contractor shall manage the receipt of SERDP full proposals, peer review, technical committee review, and notification of selected proposals. The contractor shall prepare draft agendas for the June 2019 SAB meeting.

Peer review involves locating four qualified reviewers for each proposal and providing an honorarium to each peer reviewer. Peer reviewers generally must hold advanced degrees and have significant experience in their field.

The contractor shall manage the receipt and review of ESTCP preproposals, internal review, technical committee review and the request for full proposals. The contractor shall prepare a draft agenda for ESTCP Technical Committee (ETC) selection meetings.

2.1.4 SERDP Scientific Advisory Board (SAB): The contractor shall provide technical and program support to the director in managing the SAB. The SAB is a Federal Advisory Committee governed by the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) that meets four times per year. Tasks include:

Distribution of correspondence to project Principle Investigators;

Development and distribution of agendas and read-ahead materials for SAB meetings;

Drafting and review of presentations to be presented to the SAB;

Support travel for SAB members Support a web site for the SAB to access materials, Meeting site selection and logistics;

On-site support;

Recording and tracking action items from meetings;

Recording official minutes;

Process and track SAB appointment paperwork, including maintaining correspondence and schedule for membership appointments;

Assistance with preparing the annual FACA report;

Meeting all other FACA requirements.

The contractor shall support one SAB meeting in June 2019. For planning purposes, the contractor should assume a meeting location in Arlington, Virginia.

2.1.5 Information Requests and Programming Actions: The contractor will assist the director in responding to requests from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Congress, the General Accountability Office, and other similar requests. The contract shall assist in drafting and maintaining budget exhibits (R-2/R-3/R-4). The contractor shall plan for 3 actions updating exhibits.

2.1.6 Financial: The contractor shall provide assistance to the director and financial officer. Tasks include assisting with the preparation of funding documents; tracking execution of ~150 projects; and tracking the status of approximately 200 invoices per month.

2.1.7 SERDP Annual Report: The contractor will develop draft and final versions of the FY 2018 SERDP Annual Report according to EI&E guidelines.

2.1.8 Document Management: The contractor will track the status of all documents associated with SERDP and ESTCP projects, including receipt, review, revision, submission for clearance, and posting to the joint web site and DTIC. Document status shall be tracked electronically in a web-accessible format that is easily accessed by federal program staff. The contractor shall prepare DoD forms to clear documents for public release and interact with the reviewing office in DoD.

2.1.9 Special Studies and Analyses: No special studies are planned for this TO.

2.1.10 Program Wide Support: The contractor shall provide program wide support needed to execute the requirements set forth in this PWS. Tasks will include assistance with correspondence, preparation and tracking of packages for OSD, assistance with travel planning, preparation and transmittal of contracting packages, maintenance of office files, interaction with DoD security and building management, interaction with DoD IT staff, and maintenance of an annual master program schedule.

2.2 Program Area Direct Support

The contractor shall provide direct support to each Program Area under SERDP and ESTCP. The direct support will involve assisting the Program Manager throughout the life-cycle of investments, including solicitation planning, proposal review and selection, tracking project execution, and ending with technology transfer. Specific support activities that are required are described in the following sections.

2.2.1 Manage Project Selection Process: SERDP will release the FY20 solicitation in October 2018 with preproposals due January 2019 and full proposal request letters to be sent not later than early February 2019. The contractor shall manage review and notification for approximately 300 preproposals, receipt and peer review for approximately 125 full proposals, and review by the SERDP Technical Committee (STC).

ESTCP plans to release solicitations in January 2019. The contractor shall manage receipt, review and notification for approximately 700 preproposals. This support shall include as needed:

Coordinate the technical review of submitted proposals, including interfacing with Technical Review Committees.

Assist with the development of response letters to Principle Investigators (PIs).

Assist with the organization of selection meetings, including developing agendas, interfacing with PIs, collecting presentations in advance, and conducting the meeting.

2.2.2 Project Technical and Financial Tracking: The PI for each project is required to submit specific technical and financial information to the SERDP and ESTCP Office. Technical and financial information is summarized in a number of different reports and includes the following:

Monthly financial reports (MFRs) (required of all projects) Quarterly progress reports (QPRs) (required of all projects) Demonstration Plan (required for all ESTCP projects) Interim Report (at least one required for all SERDP projects) Final Report (required for all projects) Miscellaneous project-specific reports

Historically, excluding the MFRs and QPRs, SERDP and ESTCP receive a total of approximately 350 documents in a six-month period, including all revisions. The contractor shall track technical and financial information through every step of the review process, including the following:

Review the database for delinquent reports and contact lead investigators regarding delinquent reports as necessary.

Enter tracking information into a database for all documents excluding MFRs and QPRs.

Coordinate the technical review of documents as needed.

Incorporate technical reviewer comments into response letters to the PI for Program Office review as needed.

2.2.3 Manage Technical Progress Meetings: All SERDP and ESTCP PIs are required to attend an in-person meeting on an annual basis to provide an overview of project results to the Program Office. The contractor shall manage Winter and Spring In Progress Review (IPR) meetings for all five program areas in the Washington, D.C. area to include the following:

Track projects to ensure they attend progress meetings on the appropriate schedule.

Assist the Program Manager in the development and distribution of meeting agendas.

Interface with PIs and the Technical Committee to communicate logistical details.

Collect final presentations from PIs.

Assist with the development of comments and action items to PIs after the meeting.

Assist with conducting the meeting.

2.2.4 Other Duties: The contractor shall provide additional direct support to the program areas in responding to data requests, maintaining orderly and up to date project information in SEMS and tracking deviances, planning and attending program area-related meetings, tracking project contracting actions and funding distributions, and attending and documenting other project-related calls and meetings including kick off calls and final project summary briefings.

2.3 Technical Review

The contractor shall provide technical review of documents and proposals as required by SERDP and ESTCP. Effective technical review will require personnel with expertise in a wide variety of technical topics including environmental engineering, ecology, materials science, chemistry, energetic materials, electromagnetics, underwater acoustics, contaminated groundwater and sediments, wastewater treatment, munitions constituents, energy efficiency technologies, renewable energy, cybersecurity, microgrids, and climate change vulnerability and adaptation. As the SERDP and ESTCP portfolios evolve, additional expertise beyond this list may be required.

The technical reviewers shall have advanced degrees (generally a Ph.D. or a M.S. with sufficient experience) in their specified technical areas. Reviewers shall have sufficient familiarity with the environmental requirements of the DoD to make recommendations as to the technical merit of proposed and ongoing work, and its value to the DoD.

Specific support activities required are described in the following sections.

2.3.1 Demonstration Plans and Reports: Each SERDP and ESTCP project is required to submit a number of technical reports over the life of the project. These include:

Demonstration Plans (required for all ESTCP projects), Interim Reports (at least one required for all SERDP projects), Final Reports (required for all projects), and Miscellaneous project-specific reports.

Historically, a total of 350 of these documents are received in a six-month period. The contractor shall provide a critical, substantive review of each submitted document. The normal turn-around time expected for these reviews is three weeks, although the vagaries of field site availability or weather windows may require a shorter turn-around in a limited number of cases.

2.3.2 Preproposals and Proposals: Both SERDP and ESTCP release an annual solicitation of proposals. Historically, approximately 800-1000 preproposals and 250 full proposals are received in response to these solicitations. The contractor shall provide technical reviews of these proposals as referenced in Section 2.1.3.

For each ESTCP full proposal requested, the contractor shall coordinate a technical review as required by the Program Manager. The technical experts who review the proposals may be required to support the Program Manager at a Technical Committee selection meeting and subsequent In Progress Reviews. The contractor shall plan for one to two attendees at the ESTCP downselect meeting.

2.4 Meeting Planning, Support and Logistics

2.4.1 Program Meetings: The contractor shall provide support for program meetings as listed below. Tasks will include assistance identifying projects to present, working with the PIs to coordinate presentations, capturing technical content, and summarizing and documenting action items. In addition, the contractor will provide an improved teleconferencing system for program meetings.

In Progress Review Meetings (IPR): IPR meetings are held three times per year. Every project that SERDP and ESTCP fund is required to provide an IPR presentation at least once per year. The contractor shall support five IPRs in February 2019 and five IPRs in April/May 2019.

SAB: The contractor shall support one three-day meeting in June 2019 in Arlington, Virginia.

2.4.2 Workshops and Special Technical Meetings: The contractor shall provide technical, program, and logistical support for occasional meetings hosted by SERDP and ESTCP. Such meetings may include project reviews, technology transfer meetings, workshops, and other focused technical meetings. These meetings may vary in size from 10 to 100 participants. Tasks will include developing agendas, organizing speakers, organizing and disseminating read-ahead material, planning and acquiring space, making arrangements for hotel room blocks, providing on-site support, taking meeting notes, and drafting summary reports. For proposal purposes, the contractor shall assume support is required at the following meetings:

· Two 2-day meetings in Arlington VA.

· Two 2-day meetings on the West Coast.

2.4.3 ITRC Support: The contractor shall provide technical support to the Interstate Technology Regulatory Council (ITRC). The contractor shall support the following ITRC activities:

· PFAS Team involvement

· Quality Considerations for Munitions Response team involvement

2.5 Outreach

2.5.1 Web Site: The contractor shall maintain and host the suite of up to seven web sites under the SERDP and ESTCP joint web site. This includes ASETS Defense, TC websites, and project websites. The contractor shall keep content current, draft news stories and blogs, update and draft content for web pages, and produce pages for new start and complete projects. The SERDP & ESTCP web site can be accessed at www.serdp-estcp.org. The contractor shall renew domain names as needed. In addition, the contractor shall conduct minor software updates of the content management system for the SERDP & ESTCP web site.

The contractor will also assess the need for upgrades and improvements to the current SERDP & ESTCP web site to possibly include a new content management system and a new web site design.

2.5.2 Webinar Series: The contractor shall provide support for a series of regular bi-weekly webinars with a capacity of up to 1500 attendees. The contractor shall be responsible for maintaining a schedule in consultation with SERDP and ESTCP staff, contacting presenters, coordinating presentations, providing all needed technical support, and recording and editing webinars for archiving on the SERDP-ESTCP web site.

2.5.3 ListServe: The contractor shall maintain the SERDP and ESTCP ListServe, which currently has approximately 15,000 subscribers, and periodically disseminate information at the direction of SERDP and ESTCP.

2.5.4 Social Media: The contractor will maintain SERDP and ESTCP social media presence on Twitter, Linked-In, Facebook, and Google+, as well as other emerging social media as appropriate. The contractor shall regularly post notices, including but not limited to new start projects, recently completed reports, awards to investigators, and significant events in the DoD related to energy and environment.

2.5.5 Newsletters: The contractor will assemble and disseminate two SERDP and ESTCP Headlines newsletters and up to 10 Program Area specific electronic newsletters. Most content is derived from materials already produced for the web site. Additional content will be required in the areas of program updates, news, and announcements.

2.5.6 Conference Support: The contractor shall represent and promote SERDP and ESTCP technical conferences relevant to the programs. Tasks include maintenance and support of an exhibit booth, preparing technical presentations, and supporting training sessions on technology implementation. The contractor shall support up to four conferences:

2.5.7 Technology Transfer Products: The contractor shall provide support for generating technology transfer products such as project-specific fact sheets and expanded project web pages.

2.5.8 Symposium: The contractor shall provide technical and logistical support for a joint SERDP and ESTCP Symposium to be held in the Washington, D.C. area in a major conference center. The contractor shall cover all requirements to plan, publicize and execute a national technical conference that has recently attracted more than 1200 attendees. It is expected that future symposia will be similar in format to prior symposia, including a plenary session, multiple concurrent technical sessions, poster sessions, and short courses.

3.0 PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

3.1 Contract Meetings

The contractor shall participate in meetings for program management as deemed necessary by either party. Meetings may be held virtually, at the Humphreys Engineer Center in Alexandria, VA or at the SERDP & ESTCP Office in Alexandria, VA. The contractor shall participate in the SERDP and ESTCP weekly staff meeting and a biweekly meeting between the contractor PM and Director/Deputy.

3.2 Monthly Report

The contractor shall provide a monthly progress report summarizing required activities for this task order. The report shall identify each sub-task as assigned and display cost, performance and schedule against the budget and work plan originally submitted in the proposal responding to each task order.

4.0 TIMELINESS OF SERVICES

In order to maintain orderly execution at the program and project level, it is essential that SERDP and ESTCP adhere to a tight annual schedule, including but not limited to solicitation development, proposal review, project selection, project review, document review, and funding execution. The contractor shall be required to provide timely services at critical steps throughout the annual cycle. Typical requirements are

5.0 SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

This section describes the special requirements for this effort. The following sub-sections provide details of various considerations on this effort.

5.1 Contractor Manpower Reporting

The contractor shall report ALL contractor labor hours (including subcontractor labor hours) required for performance of services provided under this task order for SERDP/ESTCP via a secure data collection site. The contractor is required to completely fill in all required data fields using the following web address: https://dodcmra.hqda.pentagon.mil/. Reporting inputs will be for the labor executed during the period of performance during each Government fiscal year (FY), which runs October 1 through September 30. While inputs may be reported any time during the FY, all data shall be reported no later than October 31 of each calendar year of contract/task order performance. Contractors may direct questions to the help desk at help desk at: http://www.ecmra.mil to review user manuals and gain an understanding about the data fields that will be included in the reporting structure that is hosted at http://www.ecmra.mil/.

5.2 Travel

All travel requirements (including plans, agenda, itinerary, or dates) shall be pre-approved by the government (subject to local policy procedures), and is on a strictly cost reimbursable basis. Costs for travel shall be billed in accordance with the regulatory implementation of Public Law 99-234 and FAR 31.205-46 Travel Costs.

5.4 Deliverables

The contractor shall provide deliverables as described in this PWS. Deliverables shall be specified by the government. Format and delivery schedule for deliverables are outlined in CDRLs and/or as stated in the applicable section of the PWS. The table below identifies a set of deliverables that will be required under this contract.

Summarizes required activities for each active task order; identifies each sub-task as assigned and display cost, performance and schedule against the budget and work plan originally submitted in the proposal responding to each task order.

Performance Requirement Summary (PRS) Performance standards define services. The Government performs surveillance to determine if the contractor meets or does not meet these standards.

The Contractor shall submit a time and cost estimate for each proposed task order and shall submit their plan for performance of the work. At a minimum, the Contractor’s plan will include: (1) a statement of understanding the task; (2) a description of the approach to the task; (3) a list of participants by expertise; (4) level of effort estimated by labor category, e.g., program manager, project manager, technical specialist, and; (5) a cost estimate. The Government shall use these standards to determine contractor performance and shall compare contractor performance to an Acceptable Quality Level (AQL). The Acceptable Quality Level is the percentage of tasks that meet the standards listed in the table below.

95% over all task orders

100% Review

Exercise of Option Period

95% over all tasks

100% Review

Exercise of Option Period

95% over all tasks

Direct Observation, 100% Review or Status Meeting.

Exercise of Option Period

95% over task

Direct Observation, 100% Review of Status Meeting

System Down Time less than 0.5 days/month

Direct Observation

Exercise of Option Period

95% of document reviews

Direct Observation, 100% Review or Status Meeting.

Exercise of Option Period

APPENDIX A – LABOR CATEGORIES

The following labor categories are the only approved labor categories to be used on task orders:

Project Manager (PM) - Serves as single individual responsible for formulating and enforcing work standards, assigning contract staff and schedules, maintaining regular contact with Government's Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR). Supervises all project personnel and communicates policies, procedures, and goals of the firm to these employees. The PM is responsible for the overall project plan, project performance, and client satisfaction on multiple project tasks.

Information Technology Specialist (ITS) – The ITS provides oversight for the information technology enterprise and has expertise in state of the art hardware and software, including experience in web site management, database management, on-line reporting and management systems, acceptance and management of electronic proposals, and the appropriate security protections.

Technical Reviewer (TR) – The TR is a highly qualified, nationally recognized expert in his or her field. The TR’s role review and provide written comments on pre-proposals, full proposals, demonstration plans, and final reports, as well as other occasional technical project reports. The TR will also attend In-Progress Reviews and assist in technical workshops.

Deputy Project Manager (DPM) – Oversees key tasks and directly supervises junior personnel. The DPM is responsible for coordination, schedule, and staffing of day-to-day activities to meet program requirements.

Program Assistant 1 - Responsible for advising, assisting, performing technical work, project tracking, financial tracking, interacting with investigators, and guiding lower level employees in a broad set of tasks within a technology area.

Program Assistant 2 – Responsible for assisting in the performance of technical work, project tracking, financial tracking, and interacting with investigators to maintain project files.

Administrative/Clerical (A/C) - Assists PM and DPM by producing, administrative, fiscal, and management reports for resource planning, meetings, and client briefings. Assists with correspondence, file maintenance, FACA requirements, and day-to-day office operations. A/C staff must be knowledgeable in Microsoft Office products such as Scheduler, Word, and Excel.

Technical Specialist (TS) – Responsible for such tasks as document management, data base management, technical editing, web site maintenance, and production of outreach materials.

Financial Specialist (FS) – Assists the financial officer with the preparation of funding documents and travel. Provides regular updates on the execution status of funds.