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PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Office of Human Resources and Administration

VA Learning University

Content Management Support

Date: January 18, 2011

PWS Version Number: 0005

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Procurement Sensitive

VERSION HISTORY

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Contents1.0 BACKGROUND.........................................................................................................12.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS.....................................................................................23.0 SCOPE OF WORK.....................................................................................................24.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS........................................................................................3

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIODs.....................................................................................44.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE..................................................................................44.3 TRAVEL................................................................................................................5

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES..................................................................55.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT................................................................................5

5.1.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN....................................................................55.2 Learning Content Management System SUPPORT...................................................6

5.2.1 Develop, Deploy And Maintain VALU LCMS....................................................65.2.2 Develop Content Publishing and Hosting Strategy................................................75.2.3 Provide VA Content Quality Assurance...............................................................75.2.4 Provide VA Content Quality Assurance Audits......................................................75.2.5 Design LCMS Content Templates........................................................................85.2.6 Manage VA LCMS Configuration Requirements and Associated Processes.............8

5.3 VA Talent management system support......................................................................85.3.1 Reviewing and validating standard operating procedures (SOPs) to Manage Competencies and Competency Profiles in the Talent Management System.............................8

5.3.2 Support the Development of VA Certification Program SOPs..................................95.3.3 Establish VALU Frequently Asked Questions Knowledge Repository........................95.3.4 Domain Management Support..............................................................................10The Contractor shall support domain management of VA education programs in the TMS (historical support has been approximately 7,600 hrs.).....................................................10

6.0 DATA INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE...................................................................107.0 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS...................................................................................118.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS......................................................................................11

8.1 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS...................................118.2 Copyright Notice.......................................................................................................15

9.0 METHOD AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELIVERABLES................................................1510.0 SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERABLES..........................................................................1511.0 PERFORMANCE METRICS.....................................................................................17ADDENDUM A.................................................................................................................20ADDENDUM B..................................................................................................................23

I. Standard Operating Procedure For Writing SOPs...................................................29DEFINITIONS………………….……………………………………………………………..….. 32

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1.0 BACKGROUND

As part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Human Capital Investment Plan (HCIP), VA has recently undertaken an ambitious transformation effort designed to improve service to our Nation’s Veterans, including a commitment to invest in employees at all levels of the employee life cycle. Employee development is a primary target of many of the transformation initiatives. As a foundation for these initiatives, a supporting technological infrastructure is necessary. The VA Learning University (VALU) has implemented the basic learning infrastructure and will be expanding it to meet the needs of the Department. The ongoing care, management, and support of that learning infrastructure are the target of this performance work statement (PWS).

In October 2007, VA implemented an enterprise Learning Management System (LMS) to support employee development efforts at the national level. Up until that point the offering, delivery, and tracking of learning was primarily managed at the facility level. Disparate systems were either built or purchased locally, and resources were dedicated locally, to manage the efforts. Neither centralized reporting capability, nor any standard content development or implementation procedures were available to the Department. With the acquisition of an enterprise-wide LMS, VA positioned itself to provide employees and staff with a single tool to support their development and meet the Department’s reporting requirements.

The LMS transitioned May 23, 2011 to the VA Talent Management System (TMS), which provides all the capabilities previously available in the LMS but has added a set of performance management features enabling VA to implement an effective talent management strategy. The VA TMS has nearly 400,000 users, and as of June 2010, included the ability to offer local catalogs of content to all VA facilities and offices. At the start of FY10, roughly 10,000 courses with online content were offered via the VA LMS, over 25,000 programs in all. Since deploying the VA LMS, the system has recorded more than 10,000,000 training completions from VA employees and staff. In FY11, VA anticipates the number of users to grow to 500,000 and to double the content offerings as facilities grow more comfortable with the system.

VA implemented the VA TMS through an Interagency Agreement between VA and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM). The VA TMS is an enterprise-level software application designed to plan, deliver, and manage all learning events across the organization. It is a web-based application that serves as the single point of access for all training activities for VA employees and staff. The VA TMS is a Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) learning management system created by Plateau Systems, Ltd. The existing VA production version is 6.3.10.

The VA has acquired the Learning Content Management System (LCMS) to provide education and learning developers with the capability to: a) create content-centric learning strategies that can support multiple methods for gathering and organizing content, b) leverage content for multiple purposes, and c) operationalize content for mission critical purposes.

An important role in supporting use of the TMS is providing feedback to stakeholders (VA Staff, supervisors, and managers) so they know what TMS can provide as well as how to resolve any issues or problems may arise. Additionally, the VALU Learning Management Office works with users to develop and deploy functional, effective learning in the TMS. More specifically, the

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VALU Learning Management Office is accountable for the conformance of e-learning content available on the TMS to various VA and regulatory policies and standards, despite the fact that they do not build the content themselves.

2.0 APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

Documents referenced or germane to this Performance Work Statement (PWS) are listed below. In the performance of the tasks associated with this Performance Work Statement, the Contractor shall comply with the following:

1. FIPS Pub 201, “Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors,” March 2006

2. 5 U.S.C. § 552a, as amended, “The Privacy Act of 1974” 3. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d).4. 42 U.S.C. § 2000d “Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964”5. 36 C.F.R. Part 1194 “Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards,”

July 1, 20036. VAAR 852.273.75 Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology

Resources (Interim – October 2008)7. VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program, July 4,

2010.8. Sections 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended by the Workforce

Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220), August 7, 19989. VA Directive 6500, “Information Security Program,” August 4, 200610. VA Handbook 6500, “Information Security Program,” September 18, 200711. VA Handbook 6500.6, “Contract Security,” March 12, 201012. VA Handbook 5015, Employee Learning and Professional Development.13. VA Directive 6102, VA Internet/Intranet Services.14. VA Directive 6221, Accessible Electronic and Information Technology.

3.0 SCOPE OF WORK

The VALU Directorate for Learning Infrastructure is responsible for the configuration and reliability of VALU learning infrastructure systems that support VA-wide education, leadership development, learning and training, as well as the content delivered from the systems and the quality of the data recorded therein.

Under this PWS the contractor is to support all aspects of the Directorate’s responsibilities, and is to ensure VALU’s systems, processes and content are effectively and promptly evaluated, monitored, updated and their statuses reported in a prompt, efficient and effective matter. This includes uploading new courses to the TMS, managing existing courses, monitoring courses; generating course completion reports and data reports reflecting the success of current initiatives and the quality of TMS systems; reviewing, prioritizing, and recommending for implementation ad hoc requests for system modifications, and providing the resources necessary to support the operations and management of the LCMS, TMS, and other support services provided by the VALU Directorate for Learning Infrastructure.

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The Contractor shall provide management support to facilitate the development, user acceptance testing, and deployment of VALU learning infrastructure systems (including the LCMS and TMS). Those systems support the creation, delivery, and management of VA-wide education, training and learning. Support includes troubleshooting any non IT errors identified in the execution of this contract, providing feedback to stakeholders, verifying the quality of the VALU systems, and drafting communications messages intended for VA learning infrastructure users. Managing customer expectations is an important element to the support. The focus of this PWS is on achieving the following results:

1. Developing and implementing an e-Learning plan to ensure all e-learning content available via the VA TMS is 508 compliant.

2. Developing, deploying, and supporting management of the VA Learning Content Management System and provide content management support (refer 5.2).

a. Coordinate the planning of the integration of the LCMS with the VA’s TMS. This includes planning and coordinating the importing of LCMS produced educational products to TMS Items and the corresponding TMS Item configuration, as well as the corresponding entry of e-learning product metadata into appropriate TMS data fields.

b. Designing content development templates for content developed using VA’s LCMS.

c. Providing services to assist in the management of the LCMS and associated processes.

3. Supporting the development and/or review of VALU standard operating procedures for competency and competency profile development and management and certification program implementation.

4. Supporting domain management of VA education programs in the TMS.5. Support the establishment of a searchable national VALU Frequently Asked

Questions (FAQs) knowledge repository with lookup (search for answers) capability for Help Desk staff and VALU customers.

4.0 PERFORMANCE DETAILS

The planned deliverables for the performance are listed in PWS Addendum B.

Work at the government site shall not take place on Federal holidays or weekends unless directed by the Contracting Officer (CO). (If required, the CO may authorize the Contractor to work during holidays and weekends)

There are ten (10) Federal holidays set by law (5 U.S.C. §6103) that the VA follows:

Under current definitions, four are set by date:

New Year's Day January 1Independence Day July 4Veterans Day November 11Christmas Day December 25

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If any of the above falls on a Saturday, then Friday shall be observed as a holiday. Similarly, if one falls on a Sunday, then Monday shall be observed as a holiday.

The other six are set by a day of the week and month:

Martin Luther King's Birthday Third Monday in JanuaryWashington's Birthday Third Monday in FebruaryMemorial Day Last Monday in MayLabor Day First Monday in SeptemberColumbus Day Second Monday in OctoberThanksgiving Fourth Thursday in November

4.1 PERFORMANCE PERIODS

The base period is one year from date of award with a single, consecutively following one-year option period subject to the availability of appropriated funds. The Deliverable Schedule corresponds to the Period of Performance in the solicitation/contract/order. Note: the Government’s decision not to exercise the option shall not be deemed a termination.

4.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

TMS and LCMS are internet-based application and can be accessed from any location. Other systems and/or services will require centralized contractor staffing locations in the Washington, DC area.

Contractor employees will be required to access the VA Intranet in order to access and perform contractual duties supporting this award. However, contractor proximity to Washington, DC is needed in order to meet with VA management and employees when VA requires travel in support of this contract. VA will provide suitable access upon determining the contractor’s security controls’ sufficiency but will not provide any information technology equipment, hardware, software, or any Government-owned equipment.

The Contractor’s proposed locations must be identified in the Contractor’s quote submitted in Notes to CO.No work may be done, transmitted to, accessed from, or stored outside of the United States. This may not be circumvented by using off-shore sub-contractors. Any violation of this will be deemed a material breach of the contract and subject to termination by default at the Government’s sole discretion. This Agreement is governed by United States’ Federal jurisdiction. The Government assumes and requires that the contractor will have a centralized location for the work close to Washington, DC to allow for timely meetings and communication with Agency management and employees in connection with this effort.

The Government will not provide space or equipment to the Contractor to perform this work; all work will be done on Contractor equipment and premises. The Government will allow appropriate access to Federal IT systems, subject to appropriate security controls, enhancements, and an authority to operate (ATO).

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4.3 TRAVEL

The Government anticipates travel under this effort to attend program-related meetings or conferences through the period of performance. The Contractor shall identify estimated travel costs separately. The Government will reimburse these costs directly upon review and approval.Total estimated number of trips in support of this effort is:

Base period 6 trips contractor place of business to Los Angeles, CAOption period 3 trips contractor place of business to Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles is used as a furthest example within the U.S. for cost estimating purposes only. Actual travel destinations may be different locations. Estimated duration of each trip is 3 days. Any travel contemplated in support of this contract will be done according to Federal Travel Regulations (FTR), subject to the CO written approval before such travel is booked or undertaken submitted via the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR).

BASE YEAR REQUIREMENTS:

5.0 SPECIFIC TASKS AND DELIVERABLES

5.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The scope of the required VALU Infrastructure Content Management support shall include planning, managing, and reporting at both program and project/task levels. The Contractor is responsible for providing consistent technical and program management execution and coordination of all deliverables.

The Contractor shall:

1. Lead the timely effort to identify critical program issues, risks, and other impediments to program success; however, the contractor shall not direct any federal employee or make any decision as to committing federal funds or to forebear from committing federal funds. The contractor may not perform inherently governmental functions.

2. Communicate and coordinate the assessment of project and program impacts in a timely fashion;

3. Develop effective and efficient solutions based on current technology; and

4. Lead the effort to implement mitigations through to their conclusion.

5.1.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLANThe Contractor shall draft a Project Management Plan (PMP) that lays out the Contractor’s approach, timeline, and tools to be used in execution of the contract. The PMP should take the form of both a narrative and graphic format that display the schedule, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) components, milestones, risks, and resource support. The PMP shall also include how the Contractor shall coordinate and execute planned, routine, and ad hoc data collection reporting

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requests as identified within the PWS. The initial baseline PMP shall be concurred upon and updated monthly thereafter. The Contractor shall update and maintain the VA Program Manager (PM) approved PMP throughout the period of performance as indicated in section 4.1. All files shall be submitted electronically via email and via a hard copy delivered to the COR. The Contractor shall follow the proposal submission format requirements for all deliverables.

Deliverable 5.1.1: Project Management Plan

5.2 LEARNING CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SUPPORT

VALU is implementing a Learning Content Management System (LCMS) business process across the VA to provide education and learning developers with the capability to: a) create content-centric learning strategies that can support multiple methods for gathering and organizing content, b) leverage content for multiple purposes, and c) operationalize content for mission critical purposes. The contractor will not create content or courses but will organize and manage the same.

To accomplish this goal the Contractor shall support the deployment of VA LCMS and integration of the LCMS with the VA TMS including:

1. Supporting the management of content development in the LCMS and strategies for delivering content across the VA

2. Create and provide support for LCMS business processes and support mechanisms (including defining LCMS roles and responsibilities)

3. Create and provide support for quality assurance processes to ensure that LCMS content meets learning content management standards (content items, video, etc.)

4. Create and support LCMS reporting

An integrated LCMS/TMS education and learning system allows VA to shift from our “one use ~ one time” learning content model to a learning content development model that examines the strategic value of learning content, focusing on how we view, structure, and deploy learning content in a continuum.

5.2.1 Develop, Deploy And Maintain VALU LCMSThe Contractor shall support the management of the VA LCMS. The Contractor shall develop a project plan that clearly identifies the development strategy that establishes a VA enterprise LCMS business process, a VA-wide deployment plan that seamlessly integrates the LCMS with the VA’s Plateau TMS which includes how the contractor will manage the LCMS application post deployment.

Deliverable 5.2.1 (a): VA LCMS Project Plan (continuous updates)

The project plan shall include identifying potential risks, issues and include recommended mitigation solutions. The Contractor will develop a data configuration and management plan supporting the tracking and trending of data provided in reports delivered through the reports plan.

Deliverable 5.2.1 (b): VA LCMS Data Configuration and Management Plan.

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The Contractor will develop a reports plan that identifies those reports which meet industry best practices for content hosting services.

Deliverable 5.2.1 (c): VA LCMS Reporting Plan

5.2.2 Develop Content Publishing and Hosting Strategy

The Contractor shall develop the business processes and support tools required for managing the VA’s content publishing and hosting capabilities across the VA. This includes:

1. VA-Wide Content hosting management Strategy that seamlessly integrates the LCMS with the VA TMS.

2. Standard VA LCMS content hosting solutions and operating procedures for:

a. Identifying enterprise-wide LCMS administrative, operational and user roles and role responsibilities to develop business processes maps and document all LCMS processes and roles.

b. VA Content publication and hosting processes.c. Managing the processing of content from content providers, through content

testing, until the content is delivered for user access via the hosting service.d. Training

3. The Contractor shall develop standard VA LCMS content quality assurance (QA) tools and recommend QA business practices.

4. The Contractor shall develop standard operating procedures for VA LCMS secure file transfer receipt tool.

Deliverable 5.2.2 (a): VA Content Hosting Strategy and Management Plan

Deliverable 5.2.2 (b): VA LCMS Operating Procedures

Deliverable 5.2.2 (c): VA LCMS Quality Assurance Plan

5.2.3 Provide VA Content Quality AssuranceThe VA maintains over 15,000 online learning content items on its learning content systems. Approximately 6,000 are national items and the remainder are local items. The Contractor shall develop an audit strategy to validate functionality and ensure identified new and existing learning content to meet VALU quality assurance guidelines.

Deliverable 5.2.3: VA Content Quality Assurance Audit Strategy & Plan

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5.2.4 Provide VA Content Quality Assurance AuditsThe Contractor shall audit new and existing content for 3,000 items to validate functionality and ensure they meet VALU quality assurance guidelines.

Deliverable 5.2.4: Quality Assurance Audits

5.2.5 Design LCMS Content TemplatesThe Contractor shall design three (3) LCMS content templates that meet the requirements for VA content delivery and VA TMS content communication criteria for standard operating procedures. (see Addendum C) The VA will evaluate the 3 draft templates and select two (2). The Contractor shall prepare all the elements for, and facilitate the VA 508 certification of, the VA selected LCMS templates.

Deliverable 5.2.5 (a): Provide three (3) draft LCMS content template designs

Deliverable 5.2.5 (b): Provide two (2) final VA 508-Compliant LCMS Content Template Designs

5.2.6 Manage VA LCMS Configuration Requirements and Associated ProcessesThe Contractor shall provide services to manage LCMS business owner configuration requirements and associated processes.

1. The Contractor shall analyze the LCMS and TMS operations (see 5.2.2) and recommend how to manage the LCMS with the TMS. The Contractor shall support the management of the LCMS to ensure continued support of VALU (business owner) configuration requirements.

2. The Contractor shall manage LCMS administrative processes.3. The Contractor shall provide ad hoc tier 1.5 service level support to developers and

reviewers for LCMS assistance (historical support has been approximately 1,900 hours)4. The Contractor shall provide LCMS Configuration Management Plan

Deliverable 5.2.6 (a): LCMS Management (operations support) Report

Deliverable 5.2.6 (b): LCMS Configuration Management Plan

5.3 VA TALENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SUPPORT

The contractor shall support the VALU Director of Learning Infrastructure’s progression in the development of the TMS to deploy the new Talent Management System (TMS) features.

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5.3.1 REVIEWING AND VALIDATING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES (SOPS) TO MANAGE COMPETENCIES AND COMPETENCY PROFILES IN THE TALENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The Contractor shall support the review and validation of SOPs for managing competencies and competency profiles in the VA Talent Management System (TMS):

1. The Contractor shall review and validate competencies and competency profiles standard operating procedures (SOPs) recommending improvements, identify risks/issues and develop mitigation solutions that apply best practices. The Contractor shall update competencies and competency profile SOPs as necessary.

2. The Contractor shall provide competencies and competency profile monthly reports identifying work accomplished, average time required to accomplish tasks, rework required, error rates, and projecting future work requirements.

Deliverable 5.3.1 (a): Competency & Competency Profile Analyses and Recommendation Report

Deliverable 5.3.1 (b): Competency & Competency Profile Activity Report (monthly)

5.3.2 Support the Development of VA Certification Program SOPsThe Contractor shall support the development of certification standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the VA certifications, recommend improvements, identify risks/issues and develop mitigation solutions that apply best practices. The Contractor will update certification SOP and SOP strategies as necessary.

Deliverable 5.3.2 (a): Certification SOPs (historically 6)

Deliverable 5.3.2 (b): Program Analysis and Recommendation Report

5.3.3 Establish VALU Frequently Asked Questions Knowledge RepositoryThe Contractor shall facilitate the establishment of a searchable national VALU Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) knowledge repository with lookup (search for answers) capability for Help Desk staff and VALU customers:

1. The Contractor shall develop VALU FAQs knowledgebase management plan that includes strategies for quickly searching for FAQ information (answers, lessons learned, etc.).

2. The Contractor shall provide all required support documentation required to describe, obtain, and oversee the deployment of the knowledgebase solution.

3. Contractor will be responsible for uploading and updating the content of the VALU FAQs knowledgebase solution, throughout the period of performance.

4. The Contractor shall develop standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the population and management of the VALU FAQ knowledgebase.

5. The Contractor shall develop a FAQ knowledgebase quality assurance plan.6. The Contractor shall support non-IT tier 1.5 assistance to the VA Help Desk

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7. The Contractor shall issue monthly FAQ tracking reports that indicate the most “popular” FAQs and ranks them according to relevance.

Deliverable 5.3.3 (a): VALU FAQs Knowledgebase Development and Management Plan

Deliverable 5.3.3 (b): VALU FAQs Knowledgebase SOPs

Deliverable 5.3.3 (c): VALU FAQ Repository

Deliverable 5.3.3 (d): VALU FAQs Knowledgebase Quality Assurance Plan

Deliverable 5.3.3 (e): FAQ and Tier 1.5 Activity Report (monthly)

5.3.4 Domain Management Support

The Contractor shall support domain management of VA education programs in the TMS (historical support has been approximately 7,600 hrs.)

1. The Contractor shall enter education program data in the TMS2. The Contractor shall manage education program data in the TMS3. The Contractor shall support program questions4. The Contractor shall review and validate VALU’s education programs (including SOPs

and strategies), recommend improvements, identify risks/issues and develop mitigation solutions that apply best practices (5.3.4 (a))

5. The Contractor shall update SOP and SOP strategies as necessary6. The Contractor shall provide monthly education reports identifying work accomplished,

average time required to accomplish tasks, rework required, error rates, and projecting future work requirements

Deliverable 5.3.4 (a): Education Program Analysis and Recommendation Report

Deliverable 5.3.4 (b): Education Program Activity Report (monthly)

6.0 DATA INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

The Contractor shall incorporate appropriate management practices for quality assurance of all data and support the Government’s inspection and acceptance procedures necessary to ensure that data is prepared and delivered in accordance with the contract.

All deliverable documents, whether draft or final, shall be delivered as an electronic file using an appropriate Microsoft Office suite file format compatible with Office 2007 15 business days prior to final submission for Government review, comment and editing.

Contractual provisions for withholding payment in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) shall be invoked when a contractor fails to fulfill contractual data requirements including delivery requirements.

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1. Guidelines for the receipt and acceptance procedures for technical data.

a. Overall resources expended on inspection and verification of the data shall be commensurate with the expected economic return and operational needs for the data.

b. The designated VA Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COR) will review, inspect, and accept or deny acceptance of all contract deliverables.

7.0 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

VA requires a monthly Progress Report on program development and progress. The report shall be sent electronically to the COR. The monthly Progress Reports shall cover all work performed and completed during the reporting period and work planned for the subsequent reporting period. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, the Contractor shall provide an explanation. The Contractor shall monitor performance against the PMP and report any deviations. It is expected that the Contractor will keep in communication with the VA accordingly so that both parties are aware of issues that arise so that efforts can occur to eliminate or mitigate outstanding issues.

At a minimum, the Contractor will participate in weekly teleconference progress meetings between the Contractor, Director of VALU Learning Infrastructure (or designee) and the COR.

The contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) with bi-weekly Progress Reports in electronic form in Microsoft Word and Project formats. The report shall include detailed instructions/explanations for each required data element, to ensure that data is accurate and consistent. These reports shall reflect data as of the last day of the preceding week.

Deliverable 7.0: Monthly Progress Report

OPTION YEAR REQUIREMENTS:

8.0 PROJECT MANAGEMENT

The scope of the required VALU Infrastructure Content Management support shall include planning, managing, and reporting at both program and project/task levels. The Contractor is responsible for providing consistent technical and program management execution and coordination of all deliverables.

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The Contractor shall:

1. Lead the timely effort to identify critical program issues, risks, and other impediments to program success; however, the contractor shall not direct any federal employee or make any decision as to committing federal funds or to forebear from committing federal funds. The contractor may not perform inherently governmental functions.

2. Communicate and coordinate the assessment of project and program impacts in a timely fashion;

3. Maintain effective and efficient solutions based on current technology; and

4. Lead the effort to implement mitigations through to their conclusion.

8.1 PROJECT MANAGEMENT PLAN

The Contractor shall maintain an updated Project Management Plan (PMP) that lays out the Contractor’s approach, timeline, and tools to be used in execution of the contract. The PMP should take the form of both a narrative and graphic format that display the schedule, Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) components, milestones, risks, and resource support. The PMP shall also include how the Contractor shall coordinate and execute planned, routine, and ad hoc data collection reporting requests as identified within the PWS. The Contractor shall update and maintain the VA Program Manager (PM) approved PMP throughout the period of performance as indicated in section 4.1. All files shall be submitted electronically via email and via a hard copy delivered to the COR. The Contractor shall follow the proposal submission format requirements for all deliverables.

Deliverable 8.1: Project Management Plan Updates

9.0 LEARNING CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SUPPORT

The Contractor shall support the maintance and Quality Assurance (QA)of the CMS of VA LCMS and integration of the LCMS with the VA TMS including:

1. Supporting the management of content development in the LCMS and strategies for delivering content across the VA

2. Support for LCMS business processes and support mechanisms (including defining LCMS roles and responsibilities)

3. Provide support for quality assurance processes to ensure that LCMS content meets learning content management standards (content items, video, etc.)

4. Support LCMS reporting

An integrated LCMS/TMS education and learning system allows VA to shift from our “one use ~ one time” learning content model to a learning content development model that examines the strategic value of learning content, focusing on how we view, structure, and deploy learning content in a continuum.

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10.0 Quality Assurance of Content Publishing and Hosting

The Contractor shall maintain QA business processes and support tools required for managing the VA’s content publishing and hosting capabilities across the VA. This includes:

1. VA-Wide Content hosting management Strategy that seamlessly integrates the LCMS with the VA TMS.

2. Standard VA LCMS content hosting solutions and operating procedures for:

a. Identifying enterprise-wide LCMS administrative, operational and user roles and role responsibilities to maintain business processes maps and document all LCMS processes and roles.

b. VA Content publication and hosting processes.c. Managing the processing of content from content providers, through

content testing, until the content is delivered for user access via the hosting service.

d. Training

3. The Contractor shall maintain standard VA LCMS content quality assurance (QA) tools and recommend QA business practices.

4. The Contractor shall maintain standard operating procedures for VA LCMS secure file transfer receipt tool.

Deliverable 10.0 (a): VA Content Hosting Strategy and Management Plan

Deliverable 10.0 (b): VA LCMS Operating Procedures

Deliverable 10.0 (c): VA LCMS Quality Assurance Plan

11.0 Provide VA Content Quality Assurance AuditsThe Contractor shall audit new and existing content for 3,000 items to validate functionality and ensure they meet VALU quality assurance guidelines.

Deliverable 11.0: Quality Assurance Audits

12.0 Manage VA LCMS Configuration Requirements and Associated ProcessesThe Contractor shall provide services to manage LCMS business owner configuration requirements and associated processes.

1. The Contractor shall analyze the LCMS and TMS operations (see 5.2.2) and recommend how to manage the LCMS with the TMS. The Contractor shall support the management of

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the LCMS to ensure continued support of VALU (business owner) configuration requirements.

2. The Contractor shall manage LCMS administrative processes.3. The Contractor shall provide ad hoc tier 1.5 service level support to developers and

reviewers for LCMS assistance (historical support has been approximately 1,900 hours)4. The Contractor shall provide LCMS Configuration Management Plan

Deliverable 12.0 (a): LCMS Management (operations support) Report

Deliverable 12.0 (b): LCMS Configuration Management Plan

13.0 VA TALENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SUPPORT

The contractor shall support the VALU Director of Learning Infrastructure’s progression in the development of the TMS to deploy the new Talent Management System (TMS) features.

14.0 Maintain VALU Frequently Asked Questions Knowledge RepositoryThe Contractor shall facilitate the establishment of a searchable national VALU Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) knowledge repository with lookup (search for answers) capability for Help Desk staff and VALU customers:

1. The Contractor shall maintain VALU FAQs knowledgebase management plan that includes strategies for quickly searching for FAQ information (answers, lessons learned, etc.).

2. The Contractor shall provide all required support documentation required to describe, obtain, and oversee the deployment of the knowledgebase solution.

3. Contractor will be responsible for uploading and updating the content of the VALU FAQs knowledgebase solution, throughout the period of performance.

4. The Contractor shall maintain standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the population and management of the VALU FAQ knowledgebase.

5. The Contractor shall maintain a FAQ knowledgebase quality assurance plan.6. The Contractor shall support non-IT tier 1.5 assistance to the VA Help Desk7. The Contractor shall issue monthly FAQ tracking reports that indicate the most “popular”

FAQs and ranks them according to relevance.

Deliverable 14.0 (a): VALU FAQ Repository

Deliverable 14.0 (b): FAQ and Tier 1.5 Activity Report (monthly)

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15.0 Domain Management Support

The Contractor shall support domain management of VA education programs in the TMS (historical support has been approximately 7,600 hrs.)

1. The Contractor shall enter education program data in the TMS2. The Contractor shall manage education program data in the TMS3. The Contractor shall support program questions4. The Contractor shall review and validate VALU’s education programs (including SOPs

and strategies), recommend improvements, identify risks/issues and maintain mitigation solutions that apply best practices (5.3.4 (a))

5. The Contractor shall update SOP and SOP strategies as necessary6. The Contractor shall provide monthly education reports identifying work accomplished,

average time required to accomplish tasks, rework required, error rates, and projecting future work requirements

Deliverable 15.0 (a): Education Program Analysis and Recommendation Report

Deliverable 15.0 (b): Education Program Activity Report (monthly)

16.0 DATA INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE

The Contractor shall incorporate appropriate management practices for quality assurance of all data and support the Government’s inspection and acceptance procedures necessary to ensure that data is prepared and delivered in accordance with the contract.

All deliverable documents, whether draft or final, shall be delivered as an electronic file using an appropriate Microsoft Office suite file format compatible with Office 2007 15 business days prior to final submission for Government review, comment and editing.

Contractual provisions for withholding payment in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) shall be invoked when a contractor fails to fulfill contractual data requirements including delivery requirements.

1. Guidelines for the receipt and acceptance procedures for technical data.

a.Overall resources expended on inspection and verification of the data shall be commensurate with the expected economic return and operational needs for the data.

b. The designated VA Contracting Officer Technical Representative (COR) will review, inspect, and accept or deny acceptance of all contract deliverables.

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17.0 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

17.1 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

The following security requirements must be addressed regarding Contractor supplied equipment: Contractor supplied equipment, PCs of all types, equipment with hard drives, etc. for contract services must meet all security requirements that apply to Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) and Government Owned Equipment (GOE). Security Requirements include: a) VA Approved Encryption Software must be installed on all laptops or mobile devices before placed into operation, b) Bluetooth equipped devices are prohibited within the VA; Bluetooth must be permanently disabled or removed from the device, c) VA approved anti-virus and firewall software, d) Equipment must meet all VA sanitization requirements and procedures before disposal. The COR, CO, the Project Manager, and the Information Security Officer (ISO) must be notified and verify all security requirements have been followed.

1. Information made available to the Contractor/Subcontractor by VA for the performance or administration of this contract or information developed by the Contractor/Subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the Contractor/Subcontractor’s rights to use data as described in Rights in Data – General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

2. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the Contractors/Subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the Contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct onsite inspections of Contractor and Subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

3. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, Contractor/Subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the Contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a Contractor/Subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1, Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the Contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA CO within 30 days of termination of the contract.

4. The Contractor/Subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate

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in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

5. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on Contractor/Subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the Contractor/Subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

6. If VA determines that the Contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the Contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

7. The Contractor/Subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA sensitive information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

8. The Contractor/Subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

9. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the Contractor/Subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA’s prior written approval. The Contractor/Subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA CO for response.

10. Notwithstanding the provision above, the Contractor/Subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the Contractor/Subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that Contractor/Subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA CO for response.

11. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require Certification and Accreditation (C&A) or a Memorandum of Understanding-Interconnection Service Agreement (MOU-ISA) for system interconnection, the Contractor/Subcontractor must complete a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) on a yearly basis and provide it to the COR. NIST 800-47

12. Position Sensitivity and Background Investigation – The position sensitivity and the level of background investigation commensurate with the required level of access is:

Low/NACIModerate/MBIHigh/BI

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Contractor Responsibilities:

a. The Contractor shall prescreen all personnel requiring access to the computer systems to ensure they maintain the appropriate Background Investigation, and are able to read, write, speak and understand the English language. The Contractor shall provide the name, address, and date of birth, Social Security Number and any other pertinent and relevant information of the Contractor personnel assigned to this project to the COR and CO prior to Project Kickoff Meeting.

b. The Contractor shall bear the expense of obtaining background investigations. If the investigation is conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Contractor shall reimburse VA within thirty (30) days.

c. The Contractor(s) and Contractor point of contact (POC) will receive an email notification from the Security and Investigation Center (SIC) identifying the website link that includes detailed instructions regarding completion of the background clearance application process and what level of background clearance was requested. Reminder notifications will be sent if the complete package is not submitted by the due date.

d. The Contractor shall submit or have their personnel submit the required forms (SF 85P – Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions, SF 85P-S – Supplemental Questionnaire for Selected Positions, FD 258 – U.S. Department of Justice Fingerprint Applicant Chart, VA Form 0710 – Authority for Release of Information Form, Optional Form 306 – Declaration for Federal Employment, and Optional Form 612 – Optional Application for Federal Employment) to the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement within 30 calendar days of receipt.

e. All costs associated with obtaining clearances for Contractor provided personnel shall be the responsibility of the Contractor. Further, the Contractor shall be responsible for the actions of all individuals provided to work for VA under this contract. In the event that damages arise from work performed by Contractor provided personnel, under the auspices of this contract, the Contractor shall be responsible for all resources necessary to remedy the incident.

f. If the security clearance investigation is not completed prior to the start date of the contract, the contract employee may work on the contract with an initiated status while the security clearance is being processed. However, the Contractor will be responsible for the actions of the Contractor personnel they provide to perform work for the VA. In the event damage arises from work performed by Contractor personnel, under the auspices of the contract, the Contractor will be responsible for resources necessary to remedy the incident.

g. The investigative history for Contractor personnel working under this contract must be maintained in the databases of either the OPM or the Defense Industrial Security Clearance Organization (DISCO).

h. The Contractor, when notified of an unfavorable determination by the Government, shall withdraw the employee from consideration in working under the contract.

i. Failure to comply with the Contractor personnel security requirements may result in termination of the contract for default

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17.2 COPYRIGHT NOTICE

The work performed will be as a work-for-hire as defined under the U.S. Copyright Act, Section 101. The VA shall retain all rights in all deliverables produced in any format known or unknown in perpetuity. Contractor may not claim copyright protection for work developed for or delivered to VA. Government-furnished materials as well as work produced shall be the solely titled in VA and may not be used for any other purpose or customer. The contractor is prohibited from claiming copyright protection for this work. All materials supplied by the government as well as the work products are the sole property of VA and may not be used for any other purpose.

18.0 METHOD AND DISTRIBUTION OF DELIVERABLES

The Contractor shall deliver documentation in electronic format, unless otherwise directed in Section B of the solicitation/contract. Acceptable electronic media include: Microsoft (MS) Word 2007/2010, MS Excel 2007/2010, MS PowerPoint 2007/2010, MS Project 2007/2010, MS Access 2007/2010, MS Visio 2007/2010.

19.0 SCHEDULE FOR DELIVERABLES

Note: Days used in the table below refer to calendar days unless otherwise stated. Deliverables with due dates falling on a weekend or holiday shall be submitted the following government work day after the weekend or holiday.

(Note: If a deliverable is requested in draft, and then final submission-the deliverable line item is complete, no further update can be requested. Continued reporting should be a separate line item. Corrections are not considered updates)

Deliverables implemented during the period of performance will be maintained after VA acceptance by the vendor.

20.0 PERFORMANCE METRICS

The table below defines the Performance Metrics associated with this effort. All deliverables are subject to Government review, approval and revision.

The contractor is responsible to provide deliverables that function as specified and are delivered by the scheduled delivery dates.

If the contractor and/or sub-contractor causes a data breach – defined as the unauthorized access to, exposure of, or use of VA Sensitive Personal Information – such shall be considered a material breach of the contract at the Government’s discretion.

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All deliverables that will be published for access by VA employees shall be Section 508 conformant.

The Contractor’s shall develop a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP).. Government shall utilize the QASP, throughout the life of the contract, to ensure that the Contractor is performing the services required by this PWS in an acceptable manner.

Deliverable 20.0: QASP

21.0 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

VA requires a monthly Progress Report on program development and progress. The report shall be sent electronically to the COR. The monthly Progress Reports shall cover all work performed and completed during the reporting period and work planned for the subsequent reporting period. The report shall also identify any problems that arose and a description of how the problems were resolved. If problems have not been completely resolved, the Contractor shall provide an explanation. The Contractor shall monitor performance against the PMP and report any deviations. It is expected that the Contractor will keep in communication with the VA accordingly so that both parties are aware of issues that arise so that efforts can occur to eliminate or mitigate outstanding issues.

At a minimum, the Contractor will participate in weekly teleconference progress meetings between the Contractor, Director of VALU Learning Infrastructure (or designee) and the COR.

The contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) with bi-weekly Progress Reports in electronic form in Microsoft Word and Project formats. The report shall include detailed instructions/explanations for each required data element, to ensure that data is accurate and consistent. These reports shall reflect data as of the last day of the preceding week.

Deliverable 21.0: Monthly Progress Report

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22.0 FACILITY/RESOURCE PROVISIONSGovernment will NOT provide office space, staffing, equipment, information technology, telephone service, or software to the contractor in support of the effort. The government will provide system access from the contractors’ location (using approved equipment) as required in accomplishing the tasks associated with this PWS. All procedural guides, reference materials, and program documentation for the project and other Government applications will also be provided on an as-needed basis. The Contractor shall request other Government documentation deemed pertinent to the work accomplishment directly from the Government officials with whom the Contractor has contact.

The Contractor shall consider the COR as the final source for needed Government documentation when the Contractor fails to secure the documents by other means. The Contractor is expected to use common knowledge and resourcefulness in securing all other reference materials, standard industry publications, and related materials that are pertinent to the work.

All VA sensitive information shall be protected at all times in accordance with local security field office System Security Plans (SSP’s) and Authority to Operate (ATO)’s for all systems/LAN’s accessed while performing the tasks detailed in this PWS. For detailed Security and Privacy Requirements refer to Addendums A and B.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS

GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING CONTRACTOR STAFF BACKGROUND CHECKS AND EMPLOYEE CLEARANCESThe following needs to be provided by the CO to the Contractor:

1. The VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement (SIC) will provide the necessary forms to the Contractor or to the Contractor’s employees after receiving a list of names and addresses.

2. Upon receipt, the VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will review the completed forms for accuracy and forward the forms to OPM to conduct the background investigation.

3. The VA facility will pay for investigations conducted by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in advance. In these instances, the Contractor will reimburse the VA facility within 30 days.

4. After the COR has received Section 3, Part A of VA Form 0711 from the Contractor, SIC will send an e-mail notification to the Contractor and their POC identifying the website link that includes detailed instructions regarding completion of the background clearance application process and what level of background was requested. SIC will also send reminder notifications to the Contractor and their POC if the complete package is not submitted by the due date.

5. The VA Office of Security and Law Enforcement will notify the CO and Contractor after adjudicating the results of the background investigations received from OMB.

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ADDENDUM A

A1.0 Training requirements: The Contractor shall complete all mandatory training courses identified on the current external VA training site, the Talent Management System (TMS), and shall be tracked therein. The TMS may be accessed at https://www.tms.va.gov. Contractor employees shall complete a VA Systems Access Agreement if they are provided access privileges as an authorized user of the computer system of VA.

A2.0 VA Enterprise Architecture ComplianceThe applications, supplies, and services furnished under this contract must comply with One-VA Enterprise Architecture (EA), available at http://www.ea.oit.va.gov/index.asp in force at the time of issuance of this contract, including the Program Management Plan and VA's rules, standards, and guidelines in the Technical Reference Model/Standards Profile (TRMSP). The VA reserves the right to assess contract deliverables for EA compliance prior to acceptance.

A2.1 VA Internet and Intranet Standards: The Contractor shall adhere to and comply with VA Directive 6102 and VA Handbook 6102, Internet/Intranet Services, including applicable amendments and changes, if the Contractor’s work includes managing, maintaining, establishing and presenting information on VA’s Internet/Intranet Service Sites. This pertains, but is not limited to: creating announcements; collecting information; databases to be accessed, graphics and links to external sites.

Internet/Intranet Services Handbook 6102 is posted at (copy and paste following URL to browser): http://www1.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=410&FType=2

A3.0 Notice of the Federal Accessibility Law Affecting All Electronic and Information Technology Procurements (Section 508)On August 7, 1998, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 was amended to require that when Federal departments or agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use Electronic and Information Technology, that they shall ensure it allows Federal employees with disabilities to have access to and use of information and data that is comparable to the access to and use of information and data by other Federal employees. Section 508 required the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) to publish standards setting forth a definition of electronic and information technology and the technical and functional criteria for such technology to comply with Section 508. These standards have been developed are published with an effective date of December 21, 2000. Federal departments and agencies shall develop all Electronic and Information Technology requirements to comply with the standards found in 36 CFR 1194.

Section 508 – Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) Standards:The Section 508 standards established by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) are incorporated into, and made part of all VA orders, solicitations and purchase orders developed to procure Electronic and Information Technology (EIT). These standards are found in their entirety at: http//www.section508.gov and http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm. A printed

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http://www.access-board.gov/sec508/standards.htm

http://www.section508.gov/

http://www1.va.gov/vapubs/viewPublication.asp?Pub_ID=410&FType=2

http://www.ea.oit.va.gov/index.asp

https://www.tms.va.gov/


copy of the standards shall be supplied upon request. The Contractor shall comply with the technical standards as marked:

_x_§ 1194.21 Software applications and operating systems_x_§ 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications_x_§ 1194.23 Telecommunications products_x_§ 1194.24 Video and multimedia products_x_§ 1194.25 Self-contained, closed products_x_§ 1194.26 Desktop and portable computers_x_§ 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria_x_§ 1194.41 Information, Documentation, and Support

The standards do not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device, but merely require that the EIT be compatible with such software and devices so that it can be made accessible if so required by the agency in the future.

A4.0 Physical Security & Safety Requirements:The Contractor and their personnel shall follow all VA policies, standard operating procedures, applicable laws and regulations while on VA property. Violations of VA regulations and policies may result in citation and disciplinary measures for persons violating the law.

1. The Contractor and their personnel shall wear visible identification at all times while they are on the premises.

2. The VA does not provide parking spaces at the work site; the Contractor must obtain parking at the work site if needed. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to park in the appropriate designated parking areas. The VA will not invalidate or make reimbursement for parking violations of the Contractor under any conditions.

3. Smoking is prohibited inside/outside any building other than the designated smoking areas.4. Possession of weapons is prohibited.5. The Contractor shall obtain all necessary licenses and/or permits required to perform the work,

with the exception of software licenses that need to be procured from a contractor or vendor in accordance with the requirements document. The Contractor shall take all reasonable precautions necessary to protect persons and property from injury or damage during the performance of this contract.

A5.0 Confidentiality and Non-DisclosureThe Contractor shall follow all VA rules and regulations regarding information security to prevent disclosure of :For Official Use Only” information to unauthorized individuals or organizations.

1. The Contractor shall have access to some privileged which may be deemed “For Official Use Only”. These printed and electronic documents are for internal use only, are not to be copied or released without permission, and remain the sole property of the VA. Some of these materials are protected by the Privacy Act of 1974 (revised by PL 93-5791) and Title 38. Unauthorized disclosure of Privacy Act or Title 38 covered materials is a criminal offense.

2. The VA Contracting Officer shall be the sole authorized official to release in writing, any data, draft deliverables, final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this contract. The Contractor shall release no information. Any request for information relating to this contract presented to the Contractor shall be submitted to the VA Contracting Officer for response.

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3. Contractor personnel recognize that in the performance of this EFFORT, Contractor personnel may receive or have access to sensitive information, including information provided on a proprietary basis by carriers, equipment manufacturers and other private or public entities. Contractor personnel agree to safeguard such information and use the information exclusively in the performance of this contract. Contractor shall follow all VA rules and regulations regarding information security to prevent disclosure of “For Official Use Only” information to unauthorized individuals or organizations as enumerated in this section and elsewhere in this Contract and its subparts and appendices.

4. Contractor shall limit access to the minimum number of personnel necessary for contract performance for all information considered “For Official Use Only” or proprietary in nature. If the Contractor is uncertain of the sensitivity of any information obtained during the performance of this contract, the Contractor has a responsibility to ask the VA Contracting Officer.

5. Contractor shall train all of their employees involved in the performance of this contract on their roles and responsibilities for proper handling and nondisclosure of sensitive VA or proprietary information. Contractor personnel shall not engage in any other action, venture or employment wherein “For Official Use Only” information shall be used for the profit of any party other than those furnishing the information. The sensitive information transferred, generated, transmitted, or stored herein is for VA benefit and ownership alone.

6. Contractor shall maintain physical security at all facilities housing the activities performed under this contract, including any Contractor facilities according to VA-approved guidelines and directives. The Contractor shall ensure that security procedures are defined and enforced to ensure all personnel who are provided access to “For Official Use Only” information must comply with published procedures to protect the privacy and confidentiality of such information as required by the VA.

7. Contractor must adhere to the following:a. The use of “thumb drives” or any other medium for transport of information is expressly

prohibited.b. Controlled access to system and security software and documentation.c. Recording, monitoring, and control of passwords and privileges.d. All terminated personnel are denied physical and electronic access to all data, program

listings, data processing equipment and systems.e. VA, as well as any Contractor (or Subcontractor) systems used to support development,

provide the capability to cancel immediately all access privileges and authorizations upon employee termination.

f. Contractor PM and VA PM are informed within twenty-four (24) hours of any employee termination.

g. Contractor does not require access to classified data.h. Regulatory standard of conduct governs all personnel directly and indirectly involved in

procurements. All personnel engaged in procurement and related activities shall conduct business in a manner above reproach and, except as authorized by statute or regulation, with complete impartiality and with preferential treatment for none. The general rule is to strictly avoid any conflict of interest or even the appearance of a conflict of interest in VA/Contractor relationships.

ADDENDUM B

VA INFORMATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEM SECURITY/PRIVACY LANGUAGE VA HANDBOOK 6500.6, APPENDIX C, MARCH 12, 2010

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B1. GENERALContractors, Contractor personnel, Subcontractors, and Subcontractor personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA Directives and Handbooks as VA and VA personnel regarding information and information system security.

B2. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS1. A Contractor/Subcontractor shall request logical (technical) or physical access to VA

information and VA information systems for their employees, Subcontractors, and affiliates only to the extent necessary to perform the services specified in the contract, agreement, or task order.

2. All Contractors, Subcontractors, and third-party servicers and associates working with VA information are subject to the same investigative requirements as those of VA appointees or employees who have access to the same types of information. The level and process of background security investigations for Contractors must be in accordance with VA Directive and Handbook 0710, Personnel Suitability and Security Program. The Office for Operations, Security, and Preparedness is responsible for these policies and procedures.

3. Custom software development and outsourced operations must be located in the U.S. to the maximum extent practical. If such services are proposed to be performed abroad and are not disallowed by other VA policy or mandates, the Contractor/Subcontractor must state where all non-U.S. services are provided and detail a security plan, deemed to be acceptable by VA, specifically to address mitigation of the resulting problems of communication, control, data protection, and so forth. Location within the U.S. may be an evaluation factor.

4. The Contractor or Subcontractor must notify the Contracting Officer immediately when an employee working on a VA system or with access to VA information is reassigned or leaves the Contractor or Subcontractor’s employ. The Contracting Officer must also be notified immediately by the Contractor or Subcontractor prior to an unfriendly termination.

B3. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE1. Information made available to the Contractor or Subcontractor by VA for the performance or

administration of this contract or information developed by the Contractor/Subcontractor in performance or administration of the contract shall be used only for those purposes and shall not be used in any other way without the prior written agreement of the VA. This clause expressly limits the Contractor/Subcontractor's rights to use data as described in Rights in Data - General, FAR 52.227-14(d) (1).

2. VA information should not be co-mingled, if possible, with any other data on the Contractors/Subcontractor’s information systems or media storage systems in order to ensure VA requirements related to data protection and media sanitization can be met. If co-mingling must be allowed to meet the requirements of the business need, the Contractor must ensure that VA’s information is returned to the VA or destroyed in accordance with VA’s sanitization requirements. VA reserves the right to conduct onsite inspections of Contractor and Subcontractor IT resources to ensure data security controls, separation of data and job duties, and destruction/media sanitization procedures are in compliance with VA directive requirements.

3. Prior to termination or completion of this contract, Contractor/Subcontractor must not destroy information received from VA, or gathered/created by the Contractor in the course of performing this contract without prior written approval by the VA. Any data destruction done on behalf of VA by a Contractor/Subcontractor must be done in accordance with National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) requirements as outlined in VA Directive 6300, Records and Information Management and its Handbook 6300.1 Records Management Procedures, applicable VA Records Control Schedules, and VA Handbook 6500.1,

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Electronic Media Sanitization. Self-certification by the Contractor that the data destruction requirements above have been met must be sent to the VA Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract.

4. The Contractor/Subcontractor must receive, gather, store, back up, maintain, use, disclose and dispose of VA information only in compliance with the terms of the contract and applicable Federal and VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies. If Federal or VA information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies become applicable to the VA information or information systems after execution of the contract, or if NIST issues or updates applicable FIPS or Special Publications (SP) after execution of this contract, the parties agree to negotiate in good faith to implement the information confidentiality and security laws, regulations and policies in this contract.

5. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall not make copies of VA information except as authorized and necessary to perform the terms of the agreement or to preserve electronic information stored on Contractor/Subcontractor electronic storage media for restoration in case any electronic equipment or data used by the Contractor/Subcontractor needs to be restored to an operating state. If copies are made for restoration purposes, after the restoration is complete, the copies must be appropriately destroyed.

6. If VA determines that the Contractor has violated any of the information confidentiality, privacy, and security provisions of the contract, it shall be sufficient grounds for VA to withhold payment to the Contractor or third party or terminate the contract for default or terminate for cause under Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) part 12.

7. The Contractor/Subcontractor must store, transport, or transmit VA “For Official Use Only” information in an encrypted form, using VA-approved encryption tools that are, at a minimum, FIPS 140-2 validated.

8. The Contractor/Subcontractor’s firewall and Web services security controls, if applicable, shall meet or exceed VA’s minimum requirements. VA Configuration Guidelines are available upon request.

9. Except for uses and disclosures of VA information authorized by this contract for performance of the contract, the Contractor/Subcontractor may use and disclose VA information only in two other situations: (i) in response to a qualifying order of a court of competent jurisdiction, or (ii) with VA’s prior written approval. The Contractor/Subcontractor must refer all requests for, demands for production of, or inquiries about, VA information and information systems to the VA contracting officer for response.

10. Notwithstanding the provision above, the Contractor/Subcontractor shall not release VA records protected by Title 38 U.S.C. 5705, confidentiality of medical quality assurance records and/or Title 38 U.S.C. 7332, confidentiality of certain health records pertaining to drug addiction, sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or alcohol abuse, or infection with human immunodeficiency virus. If the Contractor/Subcontractor is in receipt of a court order or other requests for the above mentioned information, that Contractor/Subcontractor shall immediately refer such court orders or other requests to the VA contracting officer for response.

B4. INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT1. The standard installation, operation, maintenance, updating, and patching of software shall

not alter the configuration settings from the VA approved and FDCC configuration. Information technology staff must also use the Windows Installer Service for installation to the default “program files” directory and silently install and uninstall.

2. Applications designed for normal end users shall run in the standard user context without elevated system administration privileges.

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3. In the event of violations of the Act, a civil action may be brought against the agency involved when the violation concerns the design, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, and criminal penalties may be imposed upon the officers or employees of the agency when the violation concerns the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function. For purposes of the Act, when the contract is for the operation of a SOR on individuals to accomplish an agency function, the Contractor/Subcontractor is considered to be an employee of the agency.a. “Operation of a System of Records” means performance of any of the activities

associated with maintaining the SOR, including the collection, use, maintenance, and dissemination of records.

b. “Record” means any item, collection, or grouping of information about an individual that is maintained by an agency, including, but not limited to, education, financial transactions, medical history, and criminal or employment history and contains the person’s name, or identifying number, symbol, or any other identifying particular assigned to the individual, such as a fingerprint or voiceprint, or a photograph.

c. “System of Records” means a group of any records under the control of any agency from which information is retrieved by the name of the individual or by some identifying number, symbol, or other identifying particular assigned to the individual.

4. The vendor shall ensure the security of all procured or developed systems and technologies, including their subcomponents (hereinafter referred to as “Systems”), throughout the life of this contract and any extension, warranty, or maintenance periods. This includes, but is not limited to workarounds, patches, hot fixes, upgrades, and any physical components (hereafter referred to as Security Fixes) which may be necessary to fix all security vulnerabilities published or known to the vendor anywhere in the Systems, including Operating Systems and firmware. The vendor shall ensure that Security Fixes shall not negatively impact the Systems.

5. The vendor shall notify VA within 24 hours of the discovery or disclosure of successful exploits of the vulnerability which can compromise the security of the Systems (including the confidentiality or integrity of its data and operations, or the availability of the system). Such issues shall be remediated as quickly as is practical, based upon the severity of the incident.

6. When the Security Fixes involve installing third party patches (such as Microsoft OS patches or Adobe Acrobat), the vendor will provide written notice to the VA that the patch has been validated as not affecting the Systems within 10 working days. When the vendor is responsible for operations or maintenance of the Systems, they shall apply the Security Fixes based upon the requirements identified within their contract.

7. VAAR 852.273-75 Security Requirements for Unclassified Information Technology Resources (Interim-October 2008).a) The contractor and their personnel shall be subject to the same Federal laws, regulations, standards, and VA policies as VA personnel regarding information and information system security. These include, but are not limited to Federal Security Management Act (FISMA), Appendix III of OMB Circular A-130, and guidance and standards available from the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). This also includes the use of common security configurations available from NIST’s Web site at: http://checklists.nist.gov.b) To ensure that appropriate security controls are in place, contractors must follow the procedures set forth in “VA Information and Information Security/Privacy Requirements for IT Contracts” located at the following Web site: http://www.iprm.oit.va.gov/docs/Security_and_Privacy_Requirements_for_IT_Contracts_Attachment.pdf [formerly- http://iprm.oit.va.gov].

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http://iprm.oit.va.gov/

http://www.iprm.oit.va.gov/docs/Security_and_Privacy_Requirements_for_IT_Contracts_Attachment.pdf

http://www.iprm.oit.va.gov/docs/Security_and_Privacy_Requirements_for_IT_Contracts_Attachment.pdf

http://checklists.nist.gov/


B5. SECURITY INCIDENT INVESTIGATION1. The term “security incident” means an event that has, or could have, resulted in unauthorized

access to, loss or damage to VA assets, or sensitive information, or an action that breaches VA security procedures. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall immediately notify the COR and simultaneously, the designated ISO and Privacy Officer for the contract of any known or suspected security/privacy incidents, or any unauthorized disclosure of sensitive information, including that contained in system(s) to which the Contractor/Subcontractor has access.

2. To the extent known by the Contractor/Subcontractor, the Contractor/Subcontractor’s notice to VA shall identify the information involved, the circumstances surrounding the incident (including to whom, how, when, and where the VA information or assets were placed at risk or compromised), and any other information that the Contractor/Subcontractor considers relevant.

3. With respect to unsecured protected health information, the business associate is deemed to have discovered a data breach when the business associate knew or should have known of a breach of such information. Upon discovery, the business associate must notify the covered entity of the breach. Notifications need to be made in accordance with the executed business associate agreement.

4. In instances of theft or break-in or other criminal activity, the Contractor/Subcontractor must concurrently report the incident to the appropriate law enforcement entity (or entities) of jurisdiction, including the VA OIG and Security and Law Enforcement. The contractor, its employees, and its Subcontractors and their employees shall cooperate with VA and any law enforcement authority responsible for the investigation and prosecution of any possible criminal law violation(s) associated with any incident. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall cooperate with VA in any civil litigation to recover VA information, obtain monetary or other compensation from a third party for damages arising from any incident, or obtain injunctive relief against any third party arising from, or related to, the incident.

B6. LIQUIDATED DAMAGES FOR DATA BREACHThis Agreement is subject to the statutory requirement to assess liquidated damages against the contactor and/or subcontractor under 38 U.S.C. §5725 in the event of a breach of Sensitive Personal Information (SPI)/Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Such liquidated damages shall be assessed at $37.50 per affected Veteran or beneficiary. A breach in this context includes the unauthorized acquisition, access, use, or disclosure of VA SPI which compromises not only the information’s security or privacy but that of the Veteran or beneficiary as well as the potential exposure or wrongful disclosure of such information as a result of a failure to follow proper data security controls and protocols.

1. The Contractor/Subcontractor shall provide notice to VA of a “security incident” as set forth in the Security Incident Investigation section above. Upon such notification, VA must secure from a non-Department entity or the VA Office of Inspector General an independent risk analysis of the data breach to determine the level of risk associated with the data breach for the potential misuse of any sensitive personal information involved in the data breach. The term 'data breach' means the loss, theft, or other unauthorized access, or any access other than that incidental to the scope of employment, to data containing sensitive personal information, in electronic or printed form, that results in the potential compromise of the confidentiality or integrity of the data. Contractor shall fully cooperate with the entity performing the risk analysis. Failure to cooperate may be deemed a material breach and grounds for contract termination.

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2. Failure to maintain the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of SPI causing a data breach shall be considered a material breach of the contract, subject to Termination for Default.

3. Each risk analysis shall address all relevant information concerning the data breach, including the following:

a. Nature of the event (loss, theft, unauthorized access);b. Description of the event, including:

i. date of occurrence;ii. data elements involved, including any PII, such as full name, social security

number, date of birth, home address, account number, disability code;c. Number of individuals affected or potentially affected;d. Names of individuals or groups affected or potentially affected;e. Ease of logical data access to the lost, stolen or improperly accessed data in light of the

degree of protection for the data, e.g., unencrypted, plain text;f. Amount of time the data has been out of VA control;g. The likelihood that the sensitive personal information shall or has been compromised

(made accessible to and usable by unauthorized persons);h. Known misuses of data containing sensitive personal information, if any;i. Assessment of the potential harm to the affected individuals;j. Data breach analysis as outlined in 6500.2 Handbook, Management of Security and Privacy

Incidents, as appropriate; andk. Whether credit protection services may assist record subjects in avoiding or mitigating the

results of identity theft based on the sensitive personal information that may have been compromised.

4. Based on the determinations of the independent risk analysis, the Contractor shall be responsible for paying to the VA liquidated damages in the amount of $37.50 per affected individual to cover the cost of providing credit protection services to affected individuals consisting of the following:

a. Notification;b. One year of credit monitoring services consisting of automatic daily monitoring of at least

3 relevant credit bureau reports;c. Data breach analysis;d. Fraud resolution services, including writing dispute letters, initiating fraud alerts and credit

freezes, to assist affected individuals to bring matters to resolution;e. One year of identity theft insurance with $20,000.00 coverage at $0 deductible; andf. Necessary legal expenses the subjects may incur to repair falsified or damaged credit

records, histories, or financial affairs.

B7. TRAINING1. All Contractor employees and Subcontractor employees requiring access to VA information

and VA information systems shall complete the following before being granted access to VA information and its systems:a. Sign and acknowledge (either manually or electronically) understanding of and

responsibilities for compliance with the Contractor Rules of Behavior, Appendix E relating to access to VA information and information systems;

b. Successfully complete the VA Cyber Security Awareness and Rules of Behavior training and annually complete required security training;

c. Successfully complete the appropriate VA privacy training and annually complete required privacy training; and

d. Successfully complete any additional cyber security or privacy training, as required for VA personnel with equivalent information system access

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2. The Contractor shall provide to the contracting officer and/or the COR a copy of the training certificates and certification of signing the Contractor Rules of Behavior for each applicable employee within 1 week of the initiation of the contract and annually thereafter, as required.

3. Failure to complete the mandatory annual training and sign the Rules of Behavior annually, within the timeframe required, is grounds for suspension or termination of all physical or electronic access privileges and removal from work on the contract until such time as the training and documents are complete.

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Addendum C

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRSVA LEARNING UNIVERSITY (006V)

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE (SOP) [INSERT TITLE]

Version #: _______Effective Date: ________

I. Standard Operating Procedure For Writing SOPs

1.0 Purpose/Scope:

1.1 This procedure describes the standard format and method for establishing standard operating procedures at this investigational site.

1.2 This procedure is intended to meet XXX federal regulations (xx CFR XX)

2.0 Policy/Responsibilities:

2.1 The DEPARTMENT is responsible for preparing and complying with SOPs at this site.

3.0 Procedures:

3.1 Writing the SOP:

3.1.1 After identifying need for SOP, the author decides on the level of detail for the SOP.

3.1.2 The author prepares a step by step task list of the activity including who is responsible for each activity.

3.1.3 Each activity is evaluated for efficiency, effectiveness, and compliance with VA regulations, guidelines and institutional policy.

3.1.4 Tools are designed and (attached where applicable) to be used with the SOP such as forms, templates, logs, checklists, etc.

3.1.5 The first draft of SOP is completed. Each SOP is reviewed (include by whom) for accuracy and feasibility.

3.1.7 All comments and revisions are evaluated and are included in the final version as appropriate.

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3.1.8 The final version (including version dates) is completed and distributed to Department staff.

3.2 Format:

3.2.1 SOP Cover Page:Include SOP version number, bulletin, scope, effective date and title of SOP.

3.2.2 Title of SOP:

Include a title that is descriptive but not too long.

3.2.3 Bulletin: Include implementation plan and revision history

3.2.4 Scope: Include audience to whom the SOP applies.

3.3 Purpose of SOP:Include the objective of the SOP.

3.4 Responsibilities:

Include who is responsible for oversight of the SOP, performing the activities, or other procedure responsibilities.

3.5 Procedures:Includes the tasks or step by step procedures necessary to complete the activity. Include definitions as necessary.

3.6 Regulations and Guidelines:List applicable regulations and guidelines (e.g. ICH GCP, PHRC)

3.7 Reference:List applicable references used in the creation of the SOP. May include other SOP related to current SOP

3.8 Definitions/Acronyms:Include key terms used in SOP

3.9 AttachmentsAttach forms, checklists, flowcharts, or other additional information that supplements the procedural activities described in SOP.

4.0 Implementation:

4.1.1 After the SOP is finalized, the author distributes copies to all Department staff.

4.1.2 As each SOP is implemented, a training session is conducted to ensure that all staff understands the requirements of the SOP and each person can complete their

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responsibilities as designated in the SOP. Documentation of the training session is maintained in the personnel training record.

5.0 SOP revisions:

5.1.1 Each SOP is reviewed as required. Revisions are made accordingly to account for changes in regulation, site procedure or institutional policy.

5.1.2 Revisions are labeled as such with an effective date and a new version date.

5.1.3 A copy of the revised SOP is sent to each staff member who is instructed to destroy the previous version of the SOP.

5.1.4 All previous versions of the SOP are kept on file.

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Definitions

Hosting- The business of housing, serving, and maintaining files for one or more Web sites.

Knowledge Repository- A system that contains knowledge assets. It is a collaborative system where people can query and browse both structured and unstructured information in order to retrieve and preserve organizational knowledge assets and facilitate collaborative working.

Learner Assessment- The evaluation of a VA employee’s ability to acquire new or modify their existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, or values as it pertains to their professional development and/or educational needs.Learning Management System (LMS) - Is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content. The system also facilitates users’ ability to access online training and record external (non-LMS) educational events.

Learning Content Management System (LCMS) - Is a system that allows for automating the development, management, maintenance, delivery and publishing of modular and personalized learning – including online, instructor guides, mobile, assessments and reporting. This system is often tied to a TMS or LMS to provide a conduit by which to deliver said developed online content.

Talent Management System (TMS) - While similar to a LMS in all functionality which it retains (administration of learning, administration of learners, delivery of content, etc...) A TMS is a system that also addresses competency gaps, particularly in mission-critical occupations, by implementing and maintaining programs to attract, acquire, develop, promote, and retain quality talent. The VA's TMS is the next generation of the previously used LMS.

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