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2 9 The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Network Contracting Office 20 (NCO 20) is conducting a market survey and is seeking potential sources for an TelePain Su... 2 9 The Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Network Contracting Office 20 (NCO 20) is conducting a market survey and is seeking potential sources for an TelePain Survey .This Sources Sought Notice is issued for information and planning purposes only. This is not a solicitation or a request for proposal and shall not be construed as an obligation or commitment by the Government. An award will not be made on any offers submitted in response to this notice, and it shall not be implied the Government is committed to providing any solicitation or award following this notice. The Government will not pay for any information received in response to this request, nor will the Government compensate a respondent for any costs incurred in developing the information provided.   Responses shall be submitted to Nick Price at Nicholas.Price@va.gov by COB 04/13/2022 at 5:30 PM PST SUBJECT: RFI TelePain Survey RFI 36C26022Q0386  This notice is intended strictly for market research. The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to determine interest and capability of potential qualified sources of supply and determine the socioeconomic size classification of the supplier and manufacturer of the end item.  Interested companies shall provide, at a minimum, the following information with their response;   Company Name and Address: Point of Contact (POC) Name: Email Address: Phone Number: DUNS Number/UNIQUE SAM ID: Brochures of their offered SERVICES.  The anticipated North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is: 541910 Support: Professional Market research/Public Opinion . Mark if your firm is eligible for participation in one of the following small business programs. If so, please indicate the program:   [ ] yes [ ] no - Small Business (SB)   [ ] yes [ ] no - HUBZone   [ ] yes [ ] no - Small Business 8(a)   [ ] yes [ ] no - Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)   [ ] yes [ ] no - Women-Owned (WO) Small Business  [ ] yes [ ] no - Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB)  [ ] yes [ ] no - Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) [ ] yes [ ] no - Large Business   [ ] yes [ ] no - Other (please specify)    Please answer the following questions:  [ ] yes [ ] no - Does not exceed $16,500,00.00; (for NAICS 541910) must be verifiable thru the System for Award Management)  [ ] yes [ ] no Is primarily engaged in the retail or wholesale trade and normally sells the type of item being supplied;   [ ] yes [ ] no Takes ownership or possession of the item(s) with its personnel, equipment or facilities in a manner consistent with industry practice (identify how this occurs); and   [ ] yes [ ] no Will supply the end item of a small business manufacturer, processor or producer made in the United States, or obtains a waiver of such requirement pursuant to paragraph (b)(5) CFR 121.406.  Note: Do not include Proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information in responses.  In addition to providing the information requested above, responding companies are encouraged to include any relevant information (specifications, cut sheets, brochures, capability statement, past experience etc.) to confirm the company s ability to meet the requirements outlined in this request.   Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the U.S. Government to form a binding contract or agreement. This notice shall not be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation, or ultimately award a contract, nor does it restrict the Government to a particular acquisition approach. The Government will in no way be bound to this information if any solicitation is issued. STATEMENT OF WORK Scope. VA Puget Sound will provide contact information (first name, last name, salutation/suffix, TelePain referral date, mailing address, email address, all phone numbers, and a unique study identifier) for potential Veteran participants so that the vendor can approach them to invite them to participate in the TelePain survey. This is referred to throughout this document as the participant list. The TelePain team will identify potential participants based off a referral date for TelePain services. VA Puget Sound staff will provide the participant list to the Vendor via a VA approved secure transfer. The data transfer method will be approved by the VA privacy and information security offices. Upon receiving the data, the Vendor will be the point of contact to perform the survey and the information will be hosted on secure, encrypted and approved platforms. The location must be FIPS 140-2 approved and have a FIPS 140-2 certification. The collected data from the Vendor will be stored on the Vendor servers, which are encrypted and will be physically locked and secured to a desk, wall or floor. The Vendor will conduct a survey with up to 5,400 Veterans completing the survey at two-time points for a total of 1,685 Veterans completing both surveys. Multimodal forms of contact will be: E-mail (Participants can complete the survey online via a secured link.) Text (Participants can complete online via link.) Phone (the vendor will call non-responders and offer them the opportunity to complete the survey over the phone or the participant can call the study specific 1-800 provided in the email and text to participants) The survey length is expected to be approximately 10 minutes online. The survey is comprised of 40 questions and 3 demographic questions. The follow-up survey is the same as the first survey. This will be translated into 15 minutes in length if completed over the telephone. The Vendor must meet the following project requirements: ** Vendor must have at least 3 years of experience conducting multi-modal surveys for multiple VA projects. ** Vendor must have at least 3 years of experience setting up and managing secure texting for multimodal VA surveys. ** Vendor must have at least 3 years of experience training staff for multi-modal secure surveys. ** Vendor staff must be trained on the use of the Veterans Crisis Line and employ an emergency protocol if necessary. ** Vendor must be able to launch survey within two months of contract execution. ** Vendor must be willing to work in tandem with the investigators (and their team) to complete phone interviews. ** Vendor must have a call center that is available to make calls in the evenings and on weekends (non-business hours). ** Vendor must provide reports of recruitment progress and on a regular (at least two times per month) basis. ** Vendor must be able to host web survey via a VA domain that is mobile-friendly and 508 compliant. Vendor will be supplied with contact information for up to 5,400 Veterans provided as weekly lists provided by the TelePain staff. The project duration is expected to be 36 months. The weekly lists for the first 12 months are expected to be comprised of 30-75 potential participants. Weekly lists will start at the beginning of the contract period via a secure method, with contact information increasing in project months 13-36 to approximately 50-300 potential participants per week. Tasks. The specific tasks that will be part of this SOW include the following: Task 1 Survey Programming Program survey for web and telephone options. Web will be mobile device friendly programming. Survey will be provided by the TelePain team. Both, baseline and follow-up surveys are the same, so programming will only be needed one time. Task 2 Training of staff and soft launch Vendor will train staff in conducting the survey via telephone. Vendor will be given a brief overview of the TelePain program and Veteran focused handout for references. Vendor will follow survey procedures provided by the TelePain team with the first 1-4 weekly supplied data pulls of participants to be surveyed. Vendor will make adjustments to survey methods in partnership with the TelePain team if needed. Task 3 Email/Text administration of the survey Vendor will start communication with the participant immediately after receiving the updated list of participants from the TelePain team no later than 2 business days. Vendor will email, text and call participants inviting them to take the TelePain survey. Up to 3 emails and 4 text messages will be sent to encourage participants to complete the survey. The invitation email will include a phone number for the participant to call if they need assistance completing the survey, and to verify authenticity. The goal is to have the participant complete the survey within 2 weeks of being contacted. No Veterans should be contacted after 4 weeks from the initial contact. We expect up to 55% of all surveys to be completed from the emails and text messages. Task 4 Follow-up If the initial email and text message attempts are not successful, the Vendor will call participants up to 8 times, if necessary. Communication encouraging the participant to complete the survey will be approximately every 48-72 hours using the modalities of email, text, and phone call until the survey has been completed or until 4 weeks after the initial contact. Preference is for the survey to be completed within the first 2 weeks. If the participant cannot be reached the Vendor call center staff will leave a voicemail about the TelePain survey with a return call number. It is expected that up to 45% of all participants will complete the survey over the phone. We expect a minimum of 2,592 of the 5,400 participants (48%) to complete the baseline survey. Task 5 Telephone survey completion and data entry Telephone responses will be entered via the computer assisted telephone interview (CATI) system as responses are collected. Data will be recorded in real time. Vendor must utilize full disk encryption and a FIPS 140-2 Encryption (or equivalent) with the Windows Server for data entry. Task 6- First Incentive After each completed survey the participant will be able to choose if they would like an instant gift card (via email) to an accessible store (i.e., Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, Walgreens) or a $10 check mailed to them. If a participant declines payment for completing the survey they may also be able to direct their payment to a Veteran focused charity (i.e., Fisher House, Honor Flight, USO, etc.). Customer service specialists need to be available to answer questions about participant incentives. Task 7- Follow-up survey Six months after the participants TelePain consult was placed, the Vendor will field the survey again to all respondents that completed the first survey. Each participant will receive 3 emails and texts and up to 8 phone calls. It is expected that 1,685 of the participants will complete the baseline and follow-up survey, for an overall response rate of 31%. Task 8- Second Incentive After each completed follow-up survey the participant will be able to choose if they would like an instant gift card (via email) to an accessible store (i.e., Amazon, Walmart, Starbucks, Walgreens) or a $10 check mailed to them. If a participant declines payment for completing the survey they may also be able to direct their payment to a Veteran focused charity (i.e. Fisher House, Honor Flight, USO, etc.). Customer service specialists need to be available to answer questions about participant incentive. Task 9 Data and generating reports Weekly reports on response rates, cumulative count of contact made by what method, net response rate, survey length, phone surveys, participant phone calls and other to be determined variables will be provided by Vendor to TelePain team. Weekly Vendor & TelePain team phone calls to discuss progress, any issues that have been found, resolution on participant concerns or questions and other matters that may arise. Recruitment report provided by Vendor to TelePain team monthly. Task 10- Final report Upon completion of the study provide the TelePain team with final data files, logs of payments and participant contacts. Vendor will provide the VA with preliminary, an agreed upon midpoint and then final data files and disposition files. Deliverables. Delivery Date Deliverables Y1Q1 2-month period after date of executed contract Programming survey for web, mobile and telephone options Sample Processing Set up 800# for incoming participant questions and phone surveys Y1Q1 2-month period after date of executed contract TelePain training provided by the VA TelePain staff to Vendor. This is comprised of TelePain informational handouts and a brief overview of what VA TelePain is, current rollout and regional diversity. Y1Q1-Y3Q4 to be provided as requested TelePain staff will provide weekly list of participant demographic data referred to TelePain services. Within 2 business days of receipt of new participant list Vendor will make initial contact with participants. Send e-mails / texts/ phone calls, for maximum of 4 weeks after consult date. Complete issuance of gift card, check, or donation Have dedicated phone number for participants to call if they have questions or need assistance Repeat process for the 6-month survey using the TelePain consult date Provide data files, disposition reports, and project management services Y1Q2 Y1Q4 Weekly phone calls with TelePain staff Provide weekly reports to the TelePain team on response rates, cumulative count, net response rate, survey length, phone survey participant phone calls and other variables to be determined. Y1Q2-Y1Q4 Twice monthly provide recruitment progress Y3Q4 Provide final data files and disposition files Performance Monitoring. Contractor must have demonstrated 3 years of prior experience conducting similar multimodal surveys for VA including prior response/participation rates of >50%. There will be regular conference calls/meetings with the project team to review project deliverables and milestones. Dr. Jessica Chen will provide oversight of the work, which will be measured by meeting project deadlines in a timely fashion and regularly assessed quality of the work in achieving the stated project goals. This regular performance evaluation will be recorded in minutes that will be available to the Station POC for review. The Station POC will work with Dr. Chen and the TelePain team to complete the required annual performance evaluation. Security Requirements. Vendor does not require access to VA internal network. The C&A requirements do not apply, and Security Accreditation package is not required. Vendor will store collected survey data on a temporary basis while conducting the project. GENERAL Contractors, 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. ACCESS TO VA INFORMATION AND VA INFORMATION SYSTEMS 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. 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. Contract personnel who require access to national security programs must have a valid security clearance. National Industrial Security Program (NISP) was established by Executive Order 12829 to ensure that cleared U.S. defense industry contract personnel safeguard the classified information in their possession while performing work on contracts, programs, bids, or research and development efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs does not have a Memorandum of Agreement with Defense Security Service (DSS). Verification of a Security Clearance must be processed through the Special Security Officer located in the Planning and National Security Service within the Office of Operations, Security, and Preparedness. 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. 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. VA INFORMATION CUSTODIAL LANGUAGE 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). 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. 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 Contracting Officer within 30 days of termination of the contract. 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. 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. 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. If a VHA contract is terminated for cause, the associated BAA must also be terminated and appropriate actions taken in accordance with VHA Handbook 1600.01, Business Associate Agreements. Absent an agreement to use or disclose protected health information, there is no business associate relationship. 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. 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. 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. 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. For service that involves the storage, generating, transmitting, or exchanging of VA sensitive information but does not require C&A or an 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 COTR. INFORMATION SYSTEM DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT Information systems that are designed or developed for or on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities shall comply with all VA directives developed in accordance with FISMA, HIPAA, NIST, and related VA security and privacy control requirements for Federal information systems. This includes standards for the protection of electronic PHI, outlined in 45 C.F.R. Part 164, Subpart C, information and system security categorization level designations in accordance with FIPS 199 and FIPS 200 with implementation of all baseline security controls commensurate with the FIPS 199 system security categorization (reference Appendix D of VA Handbook 6500, VA Information Security Program). During the development cycle a Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must be completed, provided to the COTR, and approved by the VA Privacy Service in accordance with Directive 6507, VA Privacy Impact Assessment. The contractor/subcontractor shall certify to the COTR that applications are fully functional and operate correctly as intended on systems using the VA Federal Desktop Core Configuration (FDCC), and the common security configuration guidelines provided by NIST or the VA. This includes Internet Explorer 7 configured to operate on Windows XP and Vista (in Protected Mode on Vista) and future versions, as required. 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. Applications designed for normal end users shall run in the standard user context without elevated system administration privileges. The security controls must be designed, developed, approved by VA, and implemented in accordance with the provisions of VA security system development life cycle as outlined in NIST Special Publication 800-37, Guide for Applying the Risk Management Framework to Federal Information Systems, VA Handbook 6500, Information Security Program and VA Handbook 6500.5, Incorporating Security and Privacy in System Development Lifecycle. The contractor/subcontractor is required to design, develop, or operate a System of Records Notice (SOR) on individuals to accomplish an agency function subject to the Privacy Act of 1974, (as amended), Public Law 93-579, December 31, 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) and applicable agency regulations. Violation of the Privacy Act may involve the imposition of criminal and civil penalties. The contractor/subcontractor agrees to: Comply with the Privacy Act of 1974 (the Act) and the agency rules and regulations issued under the Act in the design, development, or operation of any system of records on individuals to accomplish an agency function when the contract specifically identifies: (a) The Systems of Records (SOR); and (b) The design, development, or operation work that the contractor/subcontractor is to perform; Include the Privacy Act notification contained in this contract in every solicitation and resulting subcontract and in every subcontract awarded without a solicitation, when the work statement in the proposed subcontract requires the redesign, development, or operation of a SOR on individuals that is subject to the Privacy Act; and Include this Privacy Act clause, including this subparagraph (3), in all subcontracts awarded under this contract which requires the design, development, or operation of such a SOR. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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, hotfixes, 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. 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, but in no event longer than ____ days. 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 within ____ days. All other vulnerabilities shall be remediated as specified in this paragraph in a timely manner based on risk, but within 60 days of discovery or disclosure. Exceptions to this paragraph (e.g. for the convenience of VA) shall only be granted with approval of the contracting officer and the VA Assistant Secretary for Office of Information and Technology. INFORMATION SYSTEM HOSTING, OPERATION, MAINTENANCE, OR USE For information systems that are hosted, operated, maintained, or used on behalf of VA at non-VA facilities, contractors/subcontractors are fully responsible and accountable for ensuring compliance with all HIPAA, Privacy Act, FISMA, NIST, FIPS, and VA security and privacy directives and handbooks. This includes conducting compliant risk assessments, routine vulnerability scanning, system patching and change management procedures, and the completion of an acceptable contingency plan for each system. The contractor s security control procedures must be equivalent, to those procedures used to secure VA systems. A Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA) must also be provided to the COTR and approved by VA Privacy Service prior to operational approval. All external Internet connections to VA s network involving VA information must be reviewed and approved by VA prior to implementation. Adequate security controls for collecting, processing, transmitting, and storing of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), as determined by the VA Privacy Service, must be in place, tested, and approved by VA prior to hosting, operation, maintenance, or use of the information system, or systems by or on behalf of VA. These security controls are to be assessed and stated within the PIA and if these controls are determined not to be in place, or inadequate, a Plan of Action and Milestones (POA&M) must be submitted and approved prior to the collection of PII. Outsourcing (contractor facility, contractor equipment or contractor staff) of systems or network operations, telecommunications services, or other managed services requires certification and accreditation (authorization) (C&A) of the contractor s systems in accordance with VA Handbook 6500.3, Certification and Accreditation and/or the VA OCS Certification Program Office. Government-owned (government facility or government equipment) contractor-operated systems, third party or business partner networks require memorandums of understanding and interconnection agreements (MOU-ISA) which detail what data...