R701--Cincinnati VAMC: Radio Programming/Digital Communications

PREVIEW OF PEFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

Radio Commercials & Digital Media Communications

Section 1: General Information

General: Since October 2019, the Cincinnati VA Medical Center Office of Public Affairs has been conducting a weekly one-hour radio program that offers the Cincinnati VA Medical Center the opportunity to frequently provide awareness and education to the fifteen county catchment area of the Veteran population that the Cincinnati VA Medical Center services. The one-hour weekly radio program content is solely organized and controlled by the Cincinnati VA Medical Center Office of Public Affairs which will generally focus on VA Healthcare benefits, how and ways Veterans can enroll, and the types of services and locations Veterans can access from the Cincinnati VA Medical Center. The use of the radio program is part of the overall outreach plan of the Medical Center strategic initiative for growth of new unique Veterans which results in financial reimbursement to the Medical Center operational budget.

This vendor also needs to be capable of providing digital media communications through other radio communications that consists of audio streaming and podcasting. These additional communications besides the weekly radio program provide a unique communication package via radio in the demographic area that specifically targets the same demographic areas as the Cincinnati VA Medial Centers market county catchment areas that services Veterans.

Period of Performance: Base Year: April 7, 2021 to April 6, 2022

Option Year 1: April 7, 2022 to April 6, 2023

Option Year 2: April 7, 2023 to April 6, 2024

1.3 Place of Performance: Contractor place of employment

1.4 Hours of Operation: The weekly radio show needs to be recorded during the week on either a Wednesday or Thursday and the radio show program needs to air live every Saturday from 1pm-12pm. The additional digital media communications will occur weekly and monthly from an agreed upon schedule.

1.5 Work Schedule: All work shall be coordinated with the project manager (PM) and if the PM has any or all questions concerning the requirements within the contract, the PM will consult with the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) or the Contracting Officer or designated representative to avoid disruptions or conflicts between the Government functions and the provision of service under this contract.

1.6 Type of Contract: The government will award a Firm Fixed Price contract.

1.7 Contract Changes: If the contractor receives a request from VA personnel directing or requesting work that the contractor believes is not within the terms of the PWS or the contract, then the contractor must notify the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and the Contracting Officer of the request. The only person that has the authority to modify the terms of the contract or request work for which compensation will be provided is a Contracting Officer.

1.8 Invoicing: All invoices from the contractor shall be submitted electronically in accordance with VAAR Clause 852.232-72 Electronic Submission of Payment Requests.

VA s Electronic Invoice Presentment and Payment System The FSC uses a third-party contractor, Tungsten, to transition vendors from paper to electronic invoice submission. Please go to this website: http://www.tungsten-network.com/US/en/veterans-affairs/ to begin submitting electronic invoices, free of charge.

More information on the VA Financial Services Center is available at http://www.fsc.va.gov/einvoice.asp.

Section 2: Definitions & Acronyms

2.1 Definitions:

Contractor. A supplier or vendor awarded a contract to provide specific supplies or service to the government. The term used in this contract refers to the prime.

Contracting Officer (CO). A person with the authority to enter into, administers, and/or terminates contracts and makes related findings. The Contracting Officer is the only individual who has the authority to contractually bind the Government. The Contracting Officer may designate a Government employee to act as his authorized technical representative.

Contracting Officer Representative (COR). The person has been designated as the authorized representative of the Contracting Officer acting within the limits of his/her authority. This individual shall not be authorized to award, agree to, or sign any contract or modification thereto, or in any way to obligate the payment of money by the Government. The COR advises the Contracting Officer on matters relating to this contract, verifies completion of the work, certifies invoices related to completed work, and ensures compliance with all provisions of the contract.

Corrective Action. Action taken by the Contractor to correct a deficiency and identify the cause(s) of the deficiency.

2.2 Acronyms:

COR Contracting Officer Representative

PWS Performance Work Statement

PM Project Manager

VA Veterans Affairs

Section 3: Government Furnished Property, Equipment, and Services

GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT/SUPPLIES

The government will not be providing any government furnished equipment/supplies for this contract.

CONTRACTOR USE OF VAMC EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES

The contractor will not be using and VAMC equipment or supplies for this contract.

Section 4: Contractor Furnished Items and Services

The Contractor shall provide all personnel necessary to assure that all services are in accordance with the contract and all applicable laws and regulations. The contractor shall ensure all work meets performance standards specified in this Performance Work Statement (PWS) and referenced documents.

Section 5: Specific Tasks

Standards: All radio and digital media communication messages, content, and representation is full controlled and managed by the VAMC Office of Public Affairs staff.

5.1 Tasks Standards - The following table summarizes the tasks required under this PWS.

Radio Show Recordings are made available on air at 1pm each Saturday

weekly

(:30) second live commercial spots are delivered Monday-Friday between 6am-9am during a drive time morning radio program

daily

1 live radio guest appearance for a minimum of a 5 minute segment

Period of Performance

(:30) Commercials to air in Prime Monday-Friday 5a-8p, Pre-Game and Weekends during Cincinnati Reds Broadcasts

81 Cincinnati Reds Games

(:30) Commercials to air in Prime Mon-Friday 5a-8p, Cincinnati Bengals Focused Shows Mon-Friday 3-6p and Sunday Morning Pre-Game

113 during Cincinnati Bengals season from September 2021 to December 2021

1,000,000 (:15/:30/:60) Audio Spots on radio streaming

Period of Performance

1,555,556 (:15/:30) Audio Spots on Podcast Network stations

Period of Performance

5.2 Contractor Personnel

The contractor or representative shall be available during normal duty hours to respond by telephone within thirty (30) minutes of notification by the PM and shall be available to meet with PM or designated representative within 2 hours after notification to discuss problem areas. After normal duty hours, the contractor or representative shall be available within 3 hours.

The contractor s employees shall be fluent in English and shall be able to read, write, speak, understand and communicate effectively in English.

Prior to beginning performance under this contract, the Contractor shall provide the following:

Contact phone numbers and email addresses of employees who will provide services under this contract

The Contractor shall notify the PM in writing whenever there is a change of personnel appointed to fulfill supervisory or shift leader function or when there is a planned absence of key personnel.

The Contractor shall also be responsible for adhering to all requirements under the Privacy Act due to the possibility that confidential medical record information may be accessible and/or visible to contractor employees during performance of their daily duties. The Contractor shall obtain a signed Confidentiality Certificate from each employee prior to allowing them to start work under this contract. The contractor shall keep a copy of confidentiality certificate on site for inspection purposes.

5.3 Building Security.

Since there are no requirements for the contractor to be within the VAMC, there are no building requirement security measures necessary for this contract.

5.4 Safety.

Since there are no requirements for the contractor to be within the VAMC, there are no building requirement safety measures necessary for this contract.

5.5 Interference to Normal Function

The Contractor shall provide alternatives to performance of work with this contract if there are interruptions of their work at any time to avoid interference with delivering the tasks within this contract.

5.6 Damage and Equipment Loss

Since there is not equipment or supplies provided to the contract this section is not applicable.

Section 6: Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

To evaluate contractor performance and ensure quality of work provided by the contractor, the PM will conduct weekly meetings with the Contractor to assure all tasks are delivered in a timely manner as outlined in the contract.