R408--VEO Community Challenge Award Requirement

DRAFT PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS) VEO Community Challenge Award 1. Introduction. One of the Veterans Experience Office (VEO) goals is to create a community of practice with community partners allowing Veterans and their families across all eras and demographics to access community resources and care, improve the Veteran’s experience, and create a coordinated support system to make services easier, more effective, and delivered with positive emotion. In support of the current VA Secretary’s priorities, VEO coordinates across the department to meet the health and benefits needs of our Veteran customers by establishing community-level, public and private partnerships to bridge gaps in services, foster knowledge exchange, and conduct outreach with underserved communities to support Veterans experiences. 2. Scope or Purpose. This project is designed to leverage innovative community- based solutions to improve customer experience, expand outreach, and increase Veteran access to both VA and non-VA services focused on the VA Secretaries top priorities; transitioning Veterans, Veteran homelessness, suicide prevention and increasing VA enrollments. Participation is open to not-for-profit organizations. The Contractor will support this effort by engaging Veteran-serving organizations through the VEO Community Challenge Award and identifying community models that address unmet needs. The project includes Project Management, development and maintenance of a web- based host platform, establishment of award process and criteria, Challenge promotion and training, application management and judging, and fund management and distribution services. 3. Period of Performance. The contract period of performance will not exceed 12 months. The exact dates, including deliverable due dates in Section 7, will be mutually agreed upon by the Government and Contractor upon completion of Task 1. All tasks must be completed by the end of the period of performance. 4. Place of Performance. The place of performance will be in the Contractor’s facility and completed through virtual communications with the VA. 5. Contract Type -- 1 of 8 -- Firm-Fixed Price 6. Travel. Not applicable. 7. Task statement. Project Kick-off Task 1: Contractor Project Management Plan. The Contractor shall deliver a Project Management Plan (PMP) that lays out the Contractor’s approach, timeline and tools to be used in execution of this contract. The PMP will take the form of both a narrative and graphic format that displays the approach to overall management of the task and requirements engaged, i.e. schedule, milestones, risks and resource support. The initial baseline PMP will be concurred upon and updated biweekly thereafter throughout the period of performance. The VEO team lead will support The Contractor in the development of the schedule and have final say on the determination of Community Challenge Award deadlines. The Contractor shall establish and facilitate a biweekly meeting that includes the Contractor team, the COR, the VEO project lead, and other relevant stakeholders. The Contractor will develop and maintain all associated meeting materials, including a team charter, meeting invitations, agendas, and meeting minutes and post those to a shared location accessible by all team members. Task 1 Deliverables: • Task 1A: Contract Project Management Plan • Task 1B: Establish Biweekly Meetings and shared document storage location for team members Task 2: Build and Host Platform. The Contractor shall design, develop, and maintain a secure, user-friendly, web-based platform to be used by external community partner organizations. All development, hosting, operations, and maintenance activities shall comply with all applicable VA Office of Information and Technology (OIT) security, privacy, and data protection requirements, including but not limited to the VA Privacy Policy, VA Handbook 6500, VA Directive 6500, and all associated VA security and privacy standards. The Contractor shall ensure the platform meets all VA requirements for safeguarding data, including protection against unauthorized access, maintaining data integrity, ensuring system availability, and incorporating required privacy notices and -- 2 of 8 -- disclosures. The Contractor shall support all Authority to Operate (ATO) requirements as directed by VA. The platform will be used to support the following functions: 1. Posting all program requirements, award information, expected outcomes, applicable VA Privacy Policy information, and all materials related to the VEO Community Challenge Award. 2. Serving as a communications portal or crowdsourcing tool through which applicants may submit questions or concerns. 3. Accepting and tracking application submissions through a secure web-based form. a. All application fields must be limited to non-PII organizational information that is publicly accessible (e.g., information available on public websites or government entity searches). No PII or sensitive personal data may be collected, stored, displayed, or transmitted by the platform at any time. The platform will additionally be accessible via a link promoted on the VetResources Community Network (VRCN) website. The VEO Project Team Lead will collaborate with the Contractor during development to review and validate visual design, usability, functionality, and compliance with program requirements. Task 2 Deliverables: • Task 2A –Build, host and maintain web-based platform Task 3: Establish Award Process and Criteria. Working with the VEO team lead, The Contractor shall establish application requirements, content, award eligibility and scoring criteria to be used for finalist selection and final award winner selection. All documentation must be written in a way that it is clear to applicants what is expected of them for the application submission and post award should they be chosen as an award winner. All documentation will be posted to the host platform for access b…