DOCUMENT
R -- Request for Information for Closed Captioning Services In accordance with the attached PWS. The purpose of this modification is to correct reponse date on the attached notice to 03/10/2017 at 9am CDT - Attachment
- Notice Date
- 3/2/2017
- Notice Type
- Attachment
- NAICS
- 541519
— Other Computer Related Services
- Contracting Office
- Department of Veteran Affairs;SAO East;PCAE STL Contracting Officer;11152 South Towne Square;Saint Louis MO 63123
- ZIP Code
- 63123
- Solicitation Number
- VA77717N0039
- Response Due
- 3/10/2017
- Archive Date
- 3/15/2017
- Point of Contact
- Wanakee.Strickland@va.gov
- E-Mail Address
-
Wanakee.Strickland@va.gov
(Wanakee.Strickland@va.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- Page 1 of 9 I am currently conducting market research in an effort to determine which vendors can provide the services outlined in the PWS. Please provide a statement of capabilities that demonstrates your company s ability to provide the services outlined in the PWS specifically under the tasks and deliverables listed in the attached document. Please indicate your company s socio-economic status. All interested parties are advised that this is an information gathering only. This is not a solicitation and the Government does not intend to award a contract on the basis of this Sources Sought Notice. Any information received will not be binding. Please provide your responses via email by March 10, 2017 at 9am CDT. DEPARMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEE EDUCATION SYSTEM (EES) PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT Closed Captioning Services Title of Project: EES Closed Captioning Services Background: The Employee Education System (EES) provides educational real-time and on-demand video media deliverables for VA employees. These media deliverables are provided via satellite channel delivery, internal and external web-based delivery systems, and real-time virtual conferencing services, all in support Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities ability to stay abreast of the latest changes in treatment modalities, techniques, and regulations. The use of these media deliverables with the education system enables a much larger percentage of the VHA workforce to receive technical and professional training on a recurring basis. In order to operate in compliance of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, VHA EES intends to provide closed captioning services for our media deliverables. Scope of Work: The contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, supervision and other items and services necessary to perform real-time closed captioning services for live web-based broadcasts, and virtual conferencing applications. The contractor shall perform to the standards in this contract (See Technical Exhibit 1, Performance Requirements Summary). The estimated quantities of work are listed in Technical Exhibit 2, Workload Estimates. Period of Performance: One Year from Date of Award with two (2) one year options Mandatory Tasks and Deliverables: The Contractor shall perform the mandatory tasks and provide the specific deliverables described in Table 1 below, within the performance period stated in this Performance Work Statement (PWS). If, for any reason, any deliverable cannot be delivered on time according to the below schedule, the Contractor shall provide a written explanation to the Program Manager (PM)/Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) three days prior to deliverable due date. This written transmittal shall include a firm commitment of when the work shall be completed. This transmittal to the PM/OR shall cite the reasons for the delay and the impact on the overall project. The Contractor shall not commit or permit any act that interferes with the performance of work awarded to another Contractor or with the performance of Government employees. In any case where, in the course of fulfilling the contract requirements, the Contractor disturbs any work guaranteed under another separate contract, the Contractor must restore such disturbed work. Task 4.1: Kick-off meeting: The Contractor shall schedule and initiate, with the VA Contracting Officer (CO) and the Contracting Officer s Representative (COR) concurrence, a post-award Kick-Off meeting with the COR to discuss project objectives, scope of work, expectations and review project deadlines and deliverables within ten (10) business days after date of award. The Contractor shall provide minutes from the meeting. Deliverable 4.2 Real Time Adobe Connect Captioning Task 4.2: Real-time Captioning- Adobe Connect Caption Delivery- The Contractor shall provide real-time closed captioning services for Adobe Connect virtual conferencing sessions which must be compatible with Adobe s Caption Pod solution. The contractor shall have the ability to monitor audio from a VA telephone conference system and provide a live transcription of the dialog to the Adobe Connect real-time conference caption pod. The contractor shall have the ability to connect directly to the Adobe Connect session as an attendee and collaborate with the session host in order to verify proper caption pod connectivity. Deliverable 4.3: Real Time Blackboard Collaborate Captioning Task 4.3: Real-time Captioning- Blackboard Collaborate Caption Delivery- The Contractor shall provide real-time closed captioning services for Blackboard Collaborate virtual conferencing sessions. The contractor shall have the ability to monitor audio from a VA telephone conference system and provide a live transcription of the dialog to Blackboard Collaborate real-time conference interface. The contractor shall have the ability to connect directly to the Blackboard Collaborate session as an attendee in order to verify proper captioning connectivity. Deliverable 4.4: Real-time Captioning Web Portal Delivery Task 4.4: The Contractor shall provide real-time closed captioning services for web-based delivery. Web delivery of real-time captions shall be compatible with Internet Explorer web browser, mobile devices, and embedding to a VA website, in order to provide access to all viewers connected to the Internet. The contractor shall provide a web portal that provides user control for text size, text style and color, background color, and the ability to resize and reposition the caption window. The web portal shall include a text search tool and the ability to edit and export transcripts. The web portal shall provide a time-stamped SAMI (.smi) closed caption file of each web session. Deliverable 4.5: Caption File Conversion Only (excluding.smi,.scc &.cap) Task 4.5: The contractor shall be able to provide conversion between all current industry closed caption file formats upon request. Deliverable 4.6: Real-time Captioning Request Process Task 4.6: Real-time Captioning- Request Process - The vendor shall be able to receive and acknowledge real-time captioning requests created by the VA and delivered via MS Outlook email. The vendor shall acknowledge each real-time request on the same business day, between 0900 and 1800 ET, which the request was received. Task 4.6.1: The Contractor shall be able accept a script or other pertinent materials from the VA that will add to the value and accuracy of the captioners work for all real-time captioning services. Deliverable 4.7: SFTP Server Access Task 4.7: SFTP Server Access The Contractor shall provide an external secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) server with secure access accounts to which the VA can upload and download video files to be used with the captioning services process. The SFTP server shall be able to receive video files up to 100 GB in size. Table 1, Mandatory Deliverable Table Deliverable Description Quantity Due Date Deliverable 4.1 Post award kick-off meeting minutes 1 Ten (10) business days after contract award Deliverable 4.2 Real Time Adobe Connect Captioning 1 Within five (5) business of VA-submitted request Deliverable 4.3: Real Time Blackboard Collaborate Captioning 1 Within five (5) business of VA-submitted request Deliverable 4.4: Real-time Captioning Web Portal Delivery 1 Within thirty (15) business days after contract award Deliverable 4.5: Caption File Conversion Only (excluding.smi,.scc &.cap) 1 Within twenty (15) business days of VA-submitted request Deliverable 4.6: Real-time Captioning Request Process 1 Within twenty-five (25) business days of VA-submitted request Deliverable 4.7: SFTP Server Access 1 Within thirty (30) business days of VA-submitted request 5.1 Technical Exhibit 1- Performance Requirements: 5.1.1 The contractor shall provide closed captioning for programs and enter the text at 98.6% or better accuracy for real-time captioning and 100% for off-line captioning. 5.1.2 The Contractor shall evaluate system and staff performance and perform any technical repairs or staff changes to confirm proper operation and text accuracy. This evaluation shall be submitted monthly or upon request of the COR as a report. 5.1.3 The Contractor shall submit a monthly report that lists all invoice numbers and amounts submitted to the VA against the current contract purchase order, separated by off-line captioning, real-time captioning and file conversion The report shall also display the remaining purchase order balance at the date of the report. 5.1.4 The Government will use the performance standards below to evaluate the Contractor s performance and will compare performance against the acceptable quality level (AQLs) Table 2, Performance Requirements Summary (PRS) Table Contractor s Project Management Plan (CPMP) Initial Contractor Project Management Plan (CPMP) is comprehensive, is responsive to the PWS, and addresses all PWS tasks as communicated in the Contractor s technical proposal; risks are identified and quantified and include a mitigation plan; contract schedule presents a work breakdown structure including associated activities with start and finish dates; communication plan addresses internal and external customers and stakeholders; and quality assurance demonstrates adherence to the PRS. Updates are provided on time and are thorough and complete. The contractor shall provide qualified staff to provide closed captioning for programs and enter the text at 98.6% or better accuracy for real-time captioning and 100% for off-line captioning. Zero instances where significant errors or omissions were identified 100% 100% Initial CPMP Review Monthly Professional and Technical Industry Standards The Contractor shall evaluate system and staff performance and perform any technical repairs or staff changes to confirm proper operation and text accuracy. This evaluation shall be submitted monthly or upon request of the COR as a report. Zero instances where significant errors or omissions were identified 100% Upon receipt of services Reporting The Contractor shall submit a monthly report that lists all invoice numbers and amounts submitted to the VA against the current contract purchase order, separated by off-line captioning, real-time captioning, and file conversion. The report shall also display the remaining purchase order balance at the date of the report. Zero instances where significant errors or omissions were identified 100% Upon receipt of services 5.1.4 The VA has the right to cancel services if services are determined by the VA to be unacceptable. 5.1.5 The Contractor shall re-caption any program that is of unacceptable quality at no charge to the VA. Re-captioning shall be completed with 24 hours or at a time specified by the COR. 6.1 Technical Exhibit 2- Work Load Estimates: 6.1. Real-time Captioning. Live real-time captioning occurs almost daily during weekdays except for federal holidays. Number of programs per day will vary from 0-5 programs per day. Program lengths can vary from approximately 10 minutes long to up to 2 hours long. 7.1 Technical Exhibit 3- Definitions: Captions. Captions display spoken dialogue as printed words on a television screen or computer monitor. Closed Captioning. Optional text equivalent of a presentation s content that can be modified and turned on or off by a user. Real-time Captioning. This is a method of captioning where captioning is done and transmitted simultaneously. Adobe Connect and Webcast broadcasts and other live events require real-time captioning. 8.1 GOVERNMENT QUALITY ASSURANCE. Contractor performance shall be monitored to determine if it meets the contract standards. A variety of methods may be used. 8.2 Statistical random sampling. The VA will monitor quality of captioning by random monitoring, and customer feedback. Both Off-line and real-time captioning services will be monitored. The Contractor will be notified by the 8.3 The COR will ask for random monitoring of identified programs on a regular interval (approximately once a month) where the Contractor will apply a standard formula for percentage of accuracy. 8.4 The Contractor shall re-caption within 48 hours at no cost to the VA programs identified that are less than the accuracy rates identified in this contract. The Contractor shall re-caption at no cost programs where the captioner calls in late and/or any portion of the program are missed. The Contractor shall re-caption at no cost programs not captioned where problems exist with Contractor s equipment. 8.5 Customer complaints. The COR will provide a copy of all complaints to the contractor. The contractor shall resolve any complaints within 24 hours of the written notification. 9.1 Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government Furnished Information (GFI): 9.1.1 The VA will identify and provide direct dial phone lines to gain access to the VA owned audio couplers and closed caption encoders at the VA broadcast or other facilities. 9.1.2 The VA will provide a phone number and contact for testing, confirming encoder, and troubleshooting any VA owned closed caption equipment. 9.1.3 The VA manages the Adobe Connect and Blackboard Collaborate conferencing applications and will provide access to telephone conferencing and URL links to the online sessions. 9.1.4 The VA will manage any necessary VA firewall modifications for implementation and connection to the iCAP service for IP caption data delivery. 10.1 Performance Details: 10.2 Period of Performance: The period of performance shall be a base period of one year with 2 potential option years 10.3 Place of Performance: Captioning services will be completed at Contractors location. 10.4 Observance of Government Holidays. There are 10 Federal holidays set by law (USC Title 5 Section 6103). Under current definitions, four are set by date: New Year's Day January 1 Independence Day July 4 Veterans Day November 11 Christmas Day December 25 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 holidays are set by a day of the week and month: Martin Luther King's Birthday Third Monday in January Washington's Birthday Third Monday in February Memorial Day Last Monday in May Labor Day First Monday in September Columbus Day Second Monday in October Thanksgiving Fourth Thursday in November 11.1. Type of Contract: The Government anticipates awarding a firm fixed price contract. 12.1 Travel: Travel and per diem are cost reimbursable items, and they shall be reimbursed in accordance with VA/Federal Travel Regulations (FTR). Each Contractor invoice must include copies of all receipts that support the travel costs claimed in the invoice. The Contractor is only entitled to actual cost spent while on travel that falls within the perimeters as set forth within the FTR, to include food. Travel must be pre-approved by the Contracting Officer (CO). Travel must be priced separately in the price schedule. Local travel within a 50-mile radius from the Contractor s facility is considered the cost of doing business and will not be reimbursed. This includes travel, subsistence, and associated labor charges for travel time. Travel performed for personal convenience and daily travel to and from work at the Contractor s facility will not be reimbursed. Travel, subsistence, and associated labor charges for travel time for travel beyond a 50-mile radius of the Contractor s facility are authorized on a case-by-case basis and must be pre-approved by the CO. The Government anticipates travel under this PWS to include attending contract-related meetings through the period of performance. Travel requirements will be determined per call order. 13.1 Contract Post-Award Meeting: The Contractor shall not commence performance on the tasks in this PWS until the CO has conducted a post-award meeting or has advised the Contractor that the post-award meeting has been waived. 14.1 Formal Acceptance or Rejection of Deliverables: The Government will review each deliverable within five (5) business days and provide comments. The Contractor shall have five (5) business days to incorporate the Government s comments and make appropriate revisions. 15.1 Changes to the PWS Any changes to this PWS shall be authorized and approved only through written correspondence from the CO. A copy of each change will be kept in a contract folder, along with all other products of the contract. Costs incurred by the Contractor through the actions of parties other than the CO shall be borne by the Contractor. 16.1. Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure: It is agreed that: 16.1.1 The preliminary and final deliverables, as well as all associated working papers and other material deemed relevant by VA that have been generated by the Contractor in the performance of this contract, are the exclusive property of the U.S. Government and shall be submitted upon request to the CO at the conclusion of the contract. 16.1.2 The CO will be the sole authorized official to release, verbally or in writing, any data, draft deliverables, final deliverables, or any other written or printed materials pertaining to this contract. No information shall be released by the Contractor. Any request for information relating to this contract presented to the Contractor shall be submitted to the CO for response. 16.1.3 Press releases, marketing material, or any other printed or electronic documentation related to this contract shall not be publicized without the written approval of the CO. 16.1.4 Non-Disclosure and Conflict of Interest: The Contractor and Contractor s staff may have access to Government-sensitive information and shall be required to sign non-disclosure and conflict of interest statements. 17.1 Security 17.1.1 The C&A requirements do not apply, and that a Security Accreditation Package is not required. 17.1.2 The contracted personnel will not have access to a VA system or sensitive information. VA777-15-Q-0013
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