A02.12 PWS VTN Maintenance and Content - revised 1 September 2022.docx

Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) – Acquisition Sensitive

01 SEPTEMBER 2022 (REVISION 1)

Performance Work Statement (PWS) Value to the Nation: Website Maintenance and Content Development

1. BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Institute for Water Resources (IWR) was formed to provide forward-looking analysis and research in developing planning methodologies to aid the Civil Works program. IWR is a special element of the USACE, devoted to water resources research and development. IWR supports the Civil Works mission of the USACE with the development of methods and tools for planning, analysis, and evaluation. IWR is located at the Humphreys Engineer Center, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, approximately 15 miles from the District of Columbia.

Through the USACE Civil Works program, the Nation has made a series of investments in the development of its water resources. IWR has developed methods for estimating the value produced by the following USACE Civil Works programs: Navigation (Inland and Deep-Draft), Flood Risk Management, Hydropower, Water Supply, and Recreation. The estimate of value provided by each of these programs is communicated to the public through the Value to the Nation Fast Facts webpages and brochures. Via the Fast Facts website (https://www.iwr.usace.army.mil/Missions/Value-to-the-Nation/Fast-Facts/), NED benefit estimates and other relevant data are available at the district, division, state, and national levels for the each of the Civil Works programs noted above. Some programs have additional levels available, such as the project- and watershed-level detail. In addition to the NED benefit estimates, the Value to the Nation Fast Facts website also provides information related to the value of USACE Capital Stock. The Capital Stock webpages contain information on capital stock value (broken out into the following infrastructure categories: Navigation and Dredging, Flood Risk Management, Mississippi River & Tributaries, and Multipurpose), infrastructure age, and descriptions of the methods used to estimate value.

Fast Facts reports are retrievable by selecting a given business line/category, then choosing the level at which a user would like to view the data. In general, Fast Facts reports are available at the national, state, division, district, watershed, and project levels. Reports for Recreation are also available at the congressional district level. Reports for Flood Risk Management are only available at the national, state, division, and district levels.

The primary objective of this task order is for the contractor to update the content of Value to the Nation narratives and Fast Facts – both NED benefit and Capital Stock estimates – for online posting and website maintenance. Using data and any additional information provided by USACE, as available, the Contractor will develop new Fast Facts and narratives for each business line. Additionally, as a secondary objective and as permitted by time and labor, the contractor will assist the USACE Value to the Nation Team in additional analyses and updates throughout the contract period of performance, including updating the brochures/’fact sheets’, or the like.

2. SCOPE

The primary objective of this task order is for the contractor to update the content of Value to the Nation narratives and Fast Facts – both NED benefit and Capital Stock estimates – on the Value to the Nation webpages and to provide website maintenance. Using data and any additional information provided by USACE, as available, the Contractor will develop new Fast Facts and narratives for each business line. Additionally, as a secondary objective, the contractor will assist the USACE Team in additional analyses and updates related to the Value to the Nation throughout the contract period of performance, including updating the brochures/’fact sheets’ and providing website traffic data.

3. GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor should be familiar with the Civil Works Program and the major business lines of USACE and have the following qualifications:

a. Demonstrable knowledge of the Value to the Nation effort, specifically the Value to the Nation Fast Facts websites and brochures, their purpose, content, application, and development history;

b. Demonstrable capacity to deliver work products in accordance with acceptably-negotiated schedule;

c. Knowledge of USACE processes and guidance on National Economic Development (NED) benefit estimation procedures, USACE data systems, and USACE Public Affairs standards and regulations;

d. Technical writing skills and experience. Familiarity with USACE PAO branding standards.

Additionally, the Contractor should also meet and comply with the following IT standards:

· Promote the use of plain language, in accordance with the Plain Language Act of 2010

· Use the USACE PAO branding guide and website visual

· Maximize the use of the government style guide as applicable: https://playbook.cio.gov/designstandards/

· Ensure any newly created webpages meet digital government website requirements (http://www.digitalgov.gov/resources/checklist-of-requirements-for-federal-digital-services/)

· Section 508 compliance is required

3.1. Non-Personal Services

The contractor shall provide strictly non-personal services and contractor employees are not subject to direct supervision and control by the Government. The contractor shall advise and support the Government but shall not make final decisions or certifications on behalf of the Government nor perform any inherently governmental functions. The contractor and its employees shall not represent the Government nor appear to represent the Government in performance of these contract services. Contractor personnel shall clearly identify themselves as contractor employees in all interactions during contract performance.

3.2. Place of Performance

Services may be performed at the Contractor’s location.

3.3. Period of Performance

The Period of Performance includes a base year of service from 30 September 2022 to 29 September 2023 and one option year from 30 September 2023 to 29 September 2024.

3.4. Materials

All materials, minus expendable supplies, purchased by the Contractor with funds from this task order and used under this task order, become and remain the property of the Government.

3.5. Government Furnished Property/Equipment (GFP/GFE)

The contractor may be provided a government furnished computer to access Government networks. Access to Government networks is required to perform the tasks outlined in this PWS. The contractor is responsible for all GFP during the period of performance of this PWS and shall be responsible for safeguarding all Government equipment, information, and property provided for contractor use. It is the responsibility of the contractor that the GFE is maintained with the most recent software version via the USACE ACE-IT support, and USACE will provide advance notice to the contractor, if possible, when software/platform changes are issued. The Government does not accept cost for software or graphic license fees. The contractor shall not use the GFP for work outside the scope of this PWS. At the end of the contract, the contractor shall return all GFP to the Government in good, working condition.

3.6. Common Access Card (CAC)

If the contractor does not already have a Common Access Card (CAC), the contractor personnel will need to obtain a CAC for all contractor employees requiring access to Government networks per the individual’s job title and roles and responsibilities under the contract and per the PWS. This is a four-step process: (1) Sponsorship and Eligibility; (2) Registration and Enrollment; (3) Background Investigation; and (4) Obtain Card. These steps are explained in more detail at the following website: http://www.cac.mil/common-access-card/getting-your-cac/forcontractors/. Note that this process includes two in-person visits at a RAPIDS site: (1) Registration in the Trusted Associate Sponsorship System (TASS) and fingerprinting; and (2) card-issuance. Please, visit the following to find a list of RAPIDS sites (http://www.dmdc.osd.mil/rsl). Registration in TASS and obtaining a CAC requires close coordination with a USACE Sponsor and Trusted Agent. The contractor shall submit completed paperwork for each staff member, as necessary, for CACs within 5 days of contract award. The contractor will maintain a spreadsheet and provide updates to the PM as requested with access requirements and status for the life of the contract.

3.8. Transition

For contractors without a CAC, a transition period of 60 calendar days will be commenced upon contract award to allow the contractor to complete all personnel systems access and security requirements. The contractor shall submit all necessary documents for a CAC or systems access requests for staff designated as Key Personnel to the appropriate government official within 15 calendar days of contract award. Sufficient staff to execute all awarded tasks shall be in place within 60 days of contract award unless delays are documented which are no fault of the contractor.

3.9. Travel

The contractor shall provide services necessary to plan and schedule travel and travel shall be reimbursed in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 31.205-46. The contractor shall be reimbursed for actual allowable costs and not to exceed the amount allowed in the Joint Travel Regulations (JTR). No fee is allowable on travel costs. One trip to the DC metro area may be possible, as needed.

3.10. Security

This work will be UNCLASSIFIED and facility access is not required.

Network access, remotely via USACE-specific VPN, will be required for identified contractor personnel to support the activities outlined in this PWS. Therefore, each contractor personnel working on the tasks outlined in this PWS will require a CAC.

(AT-OPSEC, 1) All contractor employees, to include subcontractor employees, requiring access to Army installations, facilities, controlled access areas, or require network access, shall complete AT Level I awareness training within 30 calendar days after contract start date or effective date of incorporation of this requirement into the contract, whichever is applicable. Upon request, the contractor shall submit certificates of completion for each affected contractor employee and subcontractor employee, to the COR or to the contracting officer (if a COR is not assigned), within 5 calendar days after completion of training by all employees and subcontractor personnel. AT Level I awareness training is available at the following website: (http://jko.jten.mil/courses/atl1/launch.html); or, it can be provided by the RA ATO in presentation form which will be documented via memorandum.

(AT-OPSEC, 2a) The contractor and sub-contractor employees will be issued one, only if duties involve one of the following: (1) Both physical access to a DoD facility and access, via logon, to DoD networks on-site or remotely; (2) Remote access, via logon, to a DoD network using DoD-sponsored remote access procedures; or (3) Physical access to multiple DoD facilities or multiple non-DoD federally controlled facilities on behalf of the DoD on a recurring basis for a period of 6 months or more. At the discretion of the sponsoring activity, an interim CAC may be issued based on a favorable review of the FBI fingerprint check and a successfully scheduled NACI at the Office of Personnel Management.

(AT-OPSEC, 5) All contractor employees with access to a government info system must be registered in the Army Training Certification Tracking System (ATCTS, https://atc.us.army.mil/) at commencement of services, and must successfully complete the DOD Information Assurance Awareness prior to access to the information systems and then annually thereafter in accordance with personnel security standards listed in AR 25-2 (Information Assurance, http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r25_2.pdf), an appropriate background investigation will be conducted prior to accessing the government information systems.

(AT-OPSEC, 8) All contractor employees and associated sub-contractor employees must complete the DoD IA awareness training before issuance of network access and annually thereafter. All contractor employees working in IA/IT functions must comply with DoD and Army training requirements in DoDD 8570.01, DoD 8570.01-M and AR 25-2 within six months of employment.

(AT-OPSEC, 9) All contractor employees supporting IA/IT functions shall be appropriately certified upon contract IAW DoD 8570.01-M, DFARS 252.239-7001 and AR 25-2. The baseline certification as stipulated in DoD 8570.01-M must be completed upon contract award.

(AT-OPSEC, 15) The Contractor must pre-screen Candidates using the E-verify Program (http://www.uscis.gov/e-verify) website to meet the established employment eligibility requirements. The Vendor must ensure that the Candidate has two valid forms of Government issued identification prior to enrollment to ensure the correct information is entered into the E-Verify system. An initial list of verified/eligible Candidates must be provided to the COR no later than 3 business days after the initial contract award

4. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS (TASK AREAS)

4.1. Task 1: Update and Develop Content for Webpages and Fast Facts Updated data, including NED benefit estimates and Capital Stock estimates, for each business line will be provided to the Contractor via Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Under Task 1, the Contractor, using the updated data, is responsible for updating the related content for use on the Fast Facts webpages, for both the Value to the Nation (or NED Benefits Estimates) and Capital Stock Estimates, within 21 calendar days. Please note that the data for each business line will likely be ready and provided to the Contractor at various times; therefore, this process will be iterative. For each business line data received, the Contractor is expected to make updates to the webpage within 21 days, even if there is overlap on multiple business lines. For example, if updated data for two business lines were provided at the same time, the Contractor will have 21 calendar days to update the contents for both business lines. The 21 calendar days will include any back-and-forth reviews between the Contractor and USACE Team. Additionally, under Task 1, the Contractor will perform routine maintenance efforts, including making sure all contents are in its correct location, all links function properly, etc.

The Fast Facts pages and related information for each business line will likely need to be updated once per USACE fiscal year. Routine maintenance efforts should be an ongoing, routine effort throughout the fiscal year.

4.2. Task 2: Additional Updates – Brochures/Fact Sheets, Website Traffic Analyses The tasks outlined under this are secondary and minor, and they should not require significant time and effort. The Contractor, using the updated data provided by the USACE Team, will be responsible to update the brochures/fact sheets for all the business lines. This is in addition to updating the contents on the webpages. This effort will include updating statistics, any figures, and graphics, as well as narratives within the brochures/fact sheets based on the latest available data provided by the USACE Team. These brochures/fact sheets are designed for quick, marketing material. Additionally, the Contractor will provide the USACE team, as permitted by time and labor, any additional analyses and updates, including website traffic data analytics throughout the year.

Once the USACE Team puts in a request for additional analyses and/or updates, the Contractor shall provide drafts within 14 calendar days. Once approved by the USACE Team member, the Contractor shall post it on the appropriate section of the webpage within 7 calendar days for any contents that need to be uploaded to the webpage. Website traffic data, for instance, would not need to be posted to the webpage.

5. DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE

NOTE: Data for each business line will be sent to the Contractor separately and at various times throughout the period of performance

6. PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS)

Deliverables completed in accordance with Schedule

7. APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

N/A

8. CONTRACTING OFFICER REPRESENTATIVE AND/OR TECHNICAL POINT OF CONTACT (TPOC)

A technical point of contact (TPOC) will be appointed for this task order. The TPOC has no authority to direct the contractor in any way to alter the contractual obligation. The contracting officer is the only individual authorized to make changes to the contract.

9. INVOICING

The contractor is authorized to invoice as frequently as monthly, or as work is performed, or for the entire cost after all required tasks have been completed. Invoices will be submitted electronically. The invoice should include a summary of work completed.

Invoices should be sent to the following email addresses. Which ensures that a copy goes to the USACE finance office and a copy to the IWR Budget Officer:

CEFC-Q0Invoices@usace.army.mil DLL-CEIWRCONTRACT@usace.army.mil