Inactive

This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Dept of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 5 (NCO5) in support of the Dept of Veterans Affairs, NCO5, Canandaigua VA Medical Center, 400... This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the Dept of Veterans Affairs, Network Contracting Office 5 (NCO5) in support of the Dept of Veterans Affairs, NCO5, Canandaigua VA Medical Center, 400 Fort Hill Rd, Canandaigua, NY 14424 is seeking information/sources sought notice in order to identity entities that have the resources and capabilities to provide support to the Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention. This RFI will be used as market research to determine the capability of industry to address the prospective requirement described in the attached Statement of Work (SOW). This is not a Request for Proposal (RFP) or Quote (RFQ) and no submissions will be accepted as official offers for a contract. INTERESTED & CAPABLE RESPONSES: NCO 5 is seeking responses from businesses that are interested in this procurement and consider themselves to have the resources and capabilities necessary to provide these products. Please respond with your: Business name, business type, socio-economic status (e.g., Veteran-Owned, Woman-Owned, Disadvantaged Small Business, 8(a), etc.), person of contact (including telephone number & email address), GSA Contract number (if applicable), and DUNS number Capability statement. GSA contract number, if your company has one, that includes line items covering these types of services. Responses must be submitted by 15:00PM Eastern Standard Time (EDT) 30 Jul 2021. Please submit all responses to: Laura Jardine, Contract Specialist, Email: laura.jardine@va.gov This request for information/sources sought notice is for planning purposes ONLY. The results of this market research will assist in the development of (1) the requirement, and (2) the acquisition strategy (eg, small business set-aside, full and open competition, etc). The Dept of Veterans Affairs assumes no responsibility for any costs incurred associated with the preparation of responses submitted as a result of this notice. NO PHONE CALLS WILL BE ACCEPTED DRAFT PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) Suicide Prevention Program (SPP) Assessment Tool and Analytic Support 1. Introduction The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention (OMHSP) is supporting an assessment of remotely delivered mental health applications for the prevention and treatment of common mental health disorders specifically, anxiety and depression. This acquisition shall provide assessment tools and analytic support for the development and evaluation of individualized treatment recommendations for Veterans suffering from anxiety and depression. This new innovative technology is part of a public health approach to preventing and ending suicide among Service members and Veterans. 2. Scope The Contractor shall provide the services required to design, develop, test, and personalize use of remotely delivered digital health applications for the prevention and treatment of anxiety and depressive disorders. 3. Performance Details 3.1 Period of Performance The period of performance shall be for one (1) base year and one (1) optional year as follows: Base Year: Date of Award (DOA) through one (1) year Option 1: DOA through one (1) year 3.2 Place of Performance Tasks under this PWS shall be performed at the Contractor s facility. The Contractor shall identify the Contractor s place of performance in their Task Execution Plan submission. The Contractor s facility shall have all necessary office equipment and supplies to include hardware and software in order to complete the tasks. No Personal Identify Verification (PIV) card access or Government Furnished Equipment or Information (GFE/GFI) will be issued to the Contractor. 3.3 Security Requirements The VA 6500.6 Checklist, Appendix A is required with signature from the COR, PM, ISO, and Privacy Officer. No other special security requirements are needed to perform contract activities. The certification and accreditation requirements do not apply, and a security accreditation package is not required. 3.4 Type of Contract This will be a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract. 3.5 Travel The government does not anticipate any contractor travel under this contract. 4. Specific Tasks and Deliverables The Contractor shall perform the following: Provide an evidence-based, customizable, assessment tool sufficient for detecting predictors of treatment response for mental health disorders. The assessment tool shall be in the form of a self-report survey or surveys appropriate for use with Computer Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) or electronic (i.e. internet) administration. The assessment tools shall be evidence-based and supported by appropriate documentation. Customization shall be to the characteristics of Veteran populations and treatment within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). The contractor is required to have experience in the assessment of treatment response for depression and/or anxiety disorders among Veterans receiving VHA services. A list of domains and recommended assessment schedule are required prior to delivery of the final instrument. Provide consultation, code and instructions on analyzing data collected from multiple sources including self-report surveys, digital tools (i.e. apps) and VA administrative data. The Contractor shall provide a document providing instructions on standardizing data, development of a final analytic data file, weighting of survey data (if appropriate), and analyses of data. Include personnel who are experts in the assessment of mental health disorders, including the assessment of treatment outcomes, among military and Veteran populations and analyses of heterogeneity in treatment effects. Provide project management for all work to be completed in developing/customizing an assessment tool, analysis of data, reporting, and meeting deliverables within allotted timeframes. 4.1 Assessment Tool The Contractor shall deliver an assessment tool in the form of a survey or surveys for collection of survey data and recommended data collection schedule. 4.1.1 Analytics Plan The Contractor shall develop an analytics plan, including example code, for analysis of data integrated from electronic medical records, surveys, and digital applications. 4.1.2 Analyses and Consultation The Contactor shall provide guidance on analyses and interpretation of results from evaluation of heterogeneity of treatment effects and development of individualized treatment recommendations. 4.1.3 List of Domains The Contractor shall provide a list of domains to be included in the recommended assessment tools. These domains should be comparable with other studies of mental health disorders using digital technologies and include a comprehensive list of recommended scales and sections. Deliverables: Assessment Tool Analytics Plan List of Domains and measures 4.2 Sprints The Contractor shall provide a series of development cycles, sprints, to iteratively develop and release functionality. The goal of each development sprint is for a particular element of system functionality to be 100 percent complete at the end of the sprint. The Contractor shall determine the number of sprints and the functionality to be developed and released in each sprint. The Contractor shall provide a sprint showcase one business day after each sprint. Deliverables: Project Kickoff Document Data collection schedule Data cleaning and weighting protocol Final report 4.3 Project Management The Contractor shall provide a Project Manager (PM) who shall be responsible for the performance of the work. The PM shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all matters relating to the contract. In addition, the Contractor shall provide a Scrum Master to be the primary point of contact for the development team. The Scrum Master shall coordinate developer activities and the creation / maintenance of various artifacts associated with the Sprint. The Contractor shall provide qualified personnel with relevant experience and domain knowledge in line with this task's PWS, in terms of necessary skills at the requisite level of knowledge and experience. Broadly, a team assigned to this project is expected to have experience with: Development and evaluation of assessments of mental health disorders among Veterans and military populations Testing of remotely delivered applications for prevention and treatment of mental health disorders Utilizing test-driven development methodologies Expertise in modeling of heterogeneity in treatment effects for mental health disorders; specifically, predictors of treatment response and depression among Veterans or active-duty military populations Artificial Intelligence (AI) training, and analytics development 4.3.1 Project Management Plan The Contractor shall deliver a Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP) that lays out the Contractor s approach, timeline, and tools to be used in execution of the contract. The CPMP should take the form of a narrative and/or graphic format that displays the schedule, milestones, risks, and resource support. The CPMP 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 PM approved CPMP throughout the period of performance. 4.3.2 Reporting Requirements The Contractor shall provide the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) with quarterly 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 quarter. The quarterly progress reports shall cover all work 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 including their plan and timeframe for resolving the issue. The Contractor shall monitor performance against the CPMP and report any deviations. The Contractor shall keep in communication with the VA accordingly so that issues that arise are transparent to both parties to prevent escalation of outstanding issues. Deliverables: Contractor Project Management Plan Progress Reports Master Schedule for Project Management Task Statement Section Deliverables Quantity/Frequency Deliverable Date 4.1 Assessment Tool 1 Assessment Tool 1 4 weeks after award 2 Analytics Plan 1 8 weeks after award 3 List of Domains and measures 1 3 weeks after award 4.2 Sprints 1 Project Kickoff Document 1 1 week after award 2 Data collection schedule 1 4 weeks after award 3 Data cleaning and weighting protocol 1 6 months after award 4 Final report 1 end of base year 4.3 Project Management 1 Contractor Project Management Plan 1 2 weeks after award 2 Progress Reports 4 quarterly 3 Master Schedule 1 2 weeks after award 5. Quality Control The Government shall evaluate the contractor's performance in accordance with the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP). This plan is primarily focused on what the Government must do to ensure the contractor has performed in accordance with the performance standards. It defines how the performance standards will be applied, the frequency of surveillance, and the minimum acceptable defect rates. The Contractor s performance on this Contract will be reported on an annual basis to the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS). Poor performance may result in issuance of a Contractor Discrepancy Report (CDR). The CO and COR will make use of information from CDRs, as well as any additional knowledge and information available to them with respect to the contractor s performance, to complete the CPARS. The Government will not pay for services that do not conform or do not meet performance standards or have not been properly rendered. The Contractor will be given an opportunity to correct non-conforming services at no cost to the Government if the services are non-conforming or the contract requirement is unacceptable. Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan Requirement Performance Standard Surveillance Method Outcome Assessment Tool Submits Deliverables in accordance with the deliverable schedule within five (5) business days of completion. 100% inspection of deliverables No more than five (5) incidents of performance schedule slippage Sprints Submits Deliverables in accordance with the deliverable schedule within five (5) business days of completion. 100% inspection of deliverables No more than five (5) incidents of performance schedule slippage Project Management 1. Notifies customer of potential problems 95% of the time. 100% inspection of agreed upon milestones per the approved CPMP Notification occurs within two (2) business days of potential issue when known in advance or within 24 hours of urgent problems, where less than two (2) business days exist. Submits Deliverables in accordance with the deliverable schedule within five (5) business days of completion. 100% inspection of deliverables No more than five (5) incidents of performance schedule slippage