R499--WHSD: Outreach and reminder mailings

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT General Description: The aim of this requirement is to reach out to a national sample of Veterans inviting them to complete an established, web-based assessment tool. We will then follow up with a second mailing to study completers inviting them to return to the same website to complete a follow-up assessment. The project involves reaching out to Veterans using a list provided by the Principal Investigator at two timepoints, approximately three months apart. The work will involve sending approximately 472 initial invitations to potential participants. We anticipate that approximately 106 Veterans will participate at T1, and that these individuals will be recontacted at the second time point with the expectation that approximately 69 Veterans would participate at T2. To maximize study participation rates a $25 gift card will be sent to the approximately 175 Veterans who complete each survey. We will also provide a link to the website for Veterans who are not randomized to receive individualized feedback on their assessment results so they will have the opportunity to do so at this time. The plan will look like this for both timepoints (initial outreach and follow-up): 1) an invitation letter will be mailed to potential participants along with a study fact sheet and a postage-paid opt-out form that Veterans can return to indicate they do not wish to be contacted again if that is the case. 2) They will receive information about how to complete the study at a secure website including a unique ID to be used to access the survey. 3) A reminder postcard will be mailed two weeks later, followed by a second invitation two weeks after that. A final reminder postcard will be mailed two weeks later. The original mailing will be sent to the most recent address and re-mailed to a maximum of three alternate addresses. 4) To maximize study participation rates, a final mailing will be sent with a $25 gift card to all Veterans who complete the survey. We anticipate approximately 175 gift cards will be sent. The final number of gift cards is subject to change based on response rates. 5) A link to the website will also be provided for Veterans who are not randomized to receive individualized feedback on their assessment results. Period of Performance: Within 12 months of contract award Deliverables and Requirements: The Contractor must have several layers of data security protection and credentialing in place, including a current valid Authorization to Operate (ATO) as a VA vendor (which is required to work with personal identifiable information (PII), as is the requirement for this project). It is essential that the contractor have a proven track record of maintaining the security and confidentiality of files and sensitive data, as this characteristic is essential to the successful execution of this research project. The Contractor must also be accomplished in designing and executing data collection methods that yield the highest possible response rates. The acquisition does not require services that involve a connection from contractor-owned IT devices (e.g., laptop, workstation, server, etc.) to a VA internal trusted network. Therefore, the A&A requirements do not apply, and a Security Accreditation Package is not required. Contractor shall administer outreach materials (provided by Principal Investigators or Project Coordinator) as follows: Contractor shall be responsible for hiring and training all personnel needed to complete tasks associated with the contract. In addition, Contractor shall ensure that all personnel have received training in data security, privacy, and the protection of human participants and maintain this training for the duration of the contract period. Contractor shall assist in the finalization of procedures and methods for the study using expertise in conducting survey research. Contractor shall provide weekly updates on work progress to PI or Project Coordinator via email or telephone. Contractor shall perform final formatting of the outreach materials to maximize readability and ease of completion, while minimizing paper usage and weight. Contractor shall prepare mailings containing the cover letter, informed consent fact sheet, opt-out postcard, gift cards, postage-paid/pre-stamped return envelopes for materials to be sent back to the Contractor, and thank you/reminder postcards. Contractor shall incur all costs associated with USPS postage, packaging, and shipping, as well as mailing supplies, paper, and reproduction of the survey. Contractor shall provide each veteran with a unique participant ID (provided to the Contractor by the PI) and a link to the website where they will complete study activities (also provided to the Contractor by the PI). PI shall provide the Contractor with updates on Veterans who have completed study procedures and thus can be removed from subsequent mailings. Contractor shall develop a system for tracking non-deliverable mailings and will provide updates to the PI. This will include tracking costs of the $25 gift cards that will be mailed to Veterans who complete the survey. The contractor shall conduct survey mailings to 472 potential participants as follows: For the Stage 1 contact, Contractor shall mail a cover letter, study fact sheet, and a self-addressed/pre-stamped opt-out postcard to each participant s address via USPS 1st Class Mail. For the Stage 2 contact, Contractor shall mail reminder postcards via USPS 1st Class Mail approximately two to three weeks after the initial mailing to all participants who have not completed the study. Study personnel will notify the contractor which Veterans have not yet completed the study, or the opt-out form indicating that they are not interested in being contacted again. For Stage 3 contact, which shall occur approximately two weeks after Stage 2 contact, a second cover letter, study fact sheet, and self-addressed/pre-stamped opt-out postcard will be mailed via USPS 1st Class Mail to participants who did not respond to Stage 1 and 2 contacts. For Stage 4 contact, which shall occur approximately two to three weeks after the Stage 3 contact, Contractor shall mail reminder postcards via USPS 1st Class Mail to participants who have not completed the study or returned an opt-out form indicating that they are not interested in being contacted again. For Stage 5 contact, which shall occur approximately three to four weeks later Contractor shall mail a final cover letter along with a $25 gift card to those who have completed the study. As directed by the PI, letters to Veterans who are not randomized to the active study condition will be sent including a link to the study website with the opportunity to receive assessment feedback. Contractor will have a website for Veterans with questions during data collection. The contractor will use CASS (coding accuracy support system) or a similar software to ensure addresses are valid and the National Change of Address (NCOA) or similar database for postal address updates, or another comparable procedure to ensure that the most current addresses are available for potential participants. Letters will be remailed to up to three alternative addresses. Contractor will perform the full five-stage mailing procedure described above for all participants (except those who opt out of future contacts). If at any point during the mailing it is determined that the initial address attempted is no longer valid (e.g., a post office non-deliverable notice is received in response to a mailing attempt), the same five-stage mailing will then be performed with the next best address available, provided that an alternative address is available. The source of the alternative address could be obtained via a post office non-deliverable notice with an address update, the address-update search through LexisNexis, or an alternate address procured from another service. It is anticipated that the total period of performance for Contractor herein shall be approximately 12 months from date of contract issue 4 months to prepare the study materials and prepare to enter the field, and approximately 6 months to administer the mailing. At the completion of the mailing, a final report detailing the outreach process shall be prepared and delivered to the VA. Contractor herein is the recognized expert in survey data gathering techniques and, as such, any and all issues and/or tasks not addressed or cited above will be addressed, performed, and/or completed by Contractor within the time and price of this agreement without further equitable adjustment for such issues and/or tasks. Additional information: Ensure that a Contractor Security Control Assessment (CSCA) is completed within 30 days of contract approval and yearly on the renewal date of the contract. Ensure that the CSCA is sent to the ISO and the OCS Certification Program Office for review to ensure that appropriate security controls are being implemented in service contracts. Ensure a copy of the CSCA is maintained in the GRC Risk Vision database. COTR will provide a copy of the completed CSCA to ISO for uploading into GRC Risk Vision database