T004--COMMUNITY MAPPING PROJECT

THIS IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY Draft Performance Work Statement- Community Mapping The Department of Veterans Affairs National Contracting Office 6 (NCO6) is requesting comments on a draft Performance Work Statement (PWS) for community mapping effort to help inform NC Veterans and Transitioning Service Members (TMS) of the services that are available to them in their community. NCO6 is requesting industry comments/suggestion regarding the draft PWS. This request is intended to gather information only to help develop a PWS that is consistent with commercial/industry standards and practices. Due Date: February 17, 2023 @ 2:00pm Please provide comments and send to : Terry.brooks@va.gov B.3 Performance Work Statement 1. Purpose: The purpose of the community mapping effort is to inform NC Veterans and Transitioning Service Members (TMS) of the services that are available to them in their community so they can be utilized when most needed. Additionally, the effort can illustrate areas of saturation and gaps in services offered to facilitate decision-making on ongoing. funding. A successful effort will not only require data collection and analysis, but also best practice project management and communications expertise. 2. SCOPE OF WORK: The contractor shall provide all labor/Program Management and team, materials, supplies and/or services necessary to conduct assessments of the services available to Veterans and TSMs in North Carolina and are often based on the needs of the community. VISN 6 is coordinating with local, regional, state, and federal entities to identify the services available in North Carolina that meet the needs of regionally diverse local Veterans and TSMs. The effort is to identify the over 36,000 providers in 100 counties, seven CVEBs, four VAMCs, one VARO, and three state agencies that Veterans may utilize for services. The database must be searchable by county and type of service. 3. Meetings Contractor will schedule and coordinate weekly meetings with VISN Team, providing weekly updates. 4. Program Management / Team Responsibilities: PM shall continue to manage the project by ensuring adherence to the project charter Continue to manage the deliverables Manage any potential risk and develop mitigation plans for risk Continue to provide project status and receive feedback on activities needed to complete the project Ensure quality control measures are in place 5. Program Manager Qualifications: Must have at least 3 years of experience in consulting for similar projects Must be knowledgeable of power point, word, excel with excellent verbal and written skills Must be able to problem solve Must have Human Centered Design Experience and Certificate, such as Harvard Business School, some examples of acceptable courses Design Thinking Online Courses IDEO U User Experience Design Certificate Program eCornell Human Centered Design Continuing and Professional Studies (pratt.edu) The Best Design Thinking Certification Courses (2023 Guide) (careerfoundry.com) The basis of the assessment, at minimum, shall include the following criteria: Task 1. Strategy & Project Management Common Agenda. The contractor shall submit an overall strategy for the project through a project charter. The project charter will identify the mission, goals, and overarching activities for the effort along with stakeholder roles and relationships; facilitating a working session with project leadership to create the charter; and ensuring adherence to the charter throughout the project. The project charter will clearly identify team members along with their particular responsibilities and duties for each team member and show milestone dates and the potential risk in not meeting the milestone dates. The document will be submitted to the COR and Contracting Officer within 60 days after the award the contract. The Government must approve the project charter. Mutually Reinforcing Activities. The contractor shall create a project plan depicting key activities, dependencies, deliverables, and milestones from the project charter; The contractor shall provide weekly status reports and check-ins via emails and face to face meetings highlighting activities completed, upcoming activities, and potential risks and mitigation strategies and incorporating any feed backs from the Government on activities to the COR and Contracting Officer. Backbone Support. The contractor must Implement a governance structure outlining roles, responsibilities, and decision-making hierarchy; utilizing the project plan to coordinate activities amongst all stakeholders; also providing quality control on all processes, procedures, and products to ensure the Government receives a project charter that is acceptable and the contractor can adhere to and meet the Government expectations. Continuous Communication. Developing and executing processes, procedures, and tools by which stakeholders will interact and communicate throughout the project with the Government. Deliverables: Must be delivered within 60 days of contract award Project Charter Project Plan Weekly Status Reports Monthly Progress Reports Task 2. Data Collection . A plan will include: Desktop Research. Contractor must search relevant documentation such as websites, pamphlets, reports, etc. as an initial baseline for services offered. Contractor must be able to offer a broad range of services such as, health care, social services, career/ employment services, housing, homelessness charities and etc. Research Interviews. Contractor is responsible for recruiting individuals and will interview with a combination of personal interviews, and teams calls as required with key stakeholders, such as project leadership and sub-committee leads, to understand the Veteran and TSM support landscape. Utilizing the information gathered to meet with service providers regarding offerings provided and population served, coordination with other Veteran-facing services, and best practices in Veteran and TSM outreach and support. Interviews may be conducted virtually or in-person. Example stakeholders include: Veteran Advocacy Organizations, VAMCs, Defense Health Agency (DHA), Medical Treatment Facilities (MTF), State of NC, NC Serves (part of America Serves), UNC School of Public Health, Military Health System Organizations. Ethnographic Interviews. Contractor will hold iterative interviews and/or focus groups with Veterans, TSMs, and family members throughout the project, to understand their needs and how they best consume information, informing the creation and refinement of a community map prototype Cataloging. Contractor will create a searchable database of information gathered to act as the back-end of future prototypes. The database will become the property of the Government and can be used by Government in way deemed necessary to the public. Sub-Committee Coordination. Meet with sub-committee leads, as appropriate, to provide status, coordinate activities, and ensure alignment to GWG goals; utilizing tools such as meeting agendas, minutes templates, and status reports for efficient coordination Deliverables: Contractor must provide a resources dataset that will become the property of the Government must be delivered within 180 days of contract award. Task 3. Data Analysis The data collected can be utilized for two distinct purposes: 1) to communicate resources available to Veterans and TSMs in their community, and 2) to facilitate funding decisions based on saturation or gaps in service offerings. The presentation of data will vary based on purpose. Analysis of the data will include: Community Mapping. Contractor will create a visual depiction of services offered at the local, regional, state, and federal levels; analyzing maps, using LEAN methodologies, to determine gaps in service offerings as well as points of saturation; developing findings report. Finding reports will be submitted to the COR and Contracting Officer bi-weekly. Prototype Development. Contractor will create a working concept for how services identified will be presented to Veterans and TSMs in the community; continue to validate with Veterans/TSMs and stakeholders through working sessions and iterations; submit a final draft of working concept to COR and Contracting Officer for approval. The phototype will be functional online tool connected searchable database where downloading of resources describing where the resources can be found. Reporting. Present findings and working concept to VISN 6, COR and Contracting Officer. Deliverables: Delivered 240 days after award Community Maps Findings Report Veteran and TSM Interface Working Concept / Prototype - may be released publicly Task 4. Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Communication and coordination with key stakeholders, Veterans, and TSMs throughout the project will be key to planning for implementation. Understanding stakeholder roles and Veteran needs from the start and creating a communications plan, accordingly, will facilitate a seamless implementation. Communication efforts include: Veteran and TSM Outreach. Understanding Veteran and TSM communication preferences based on ethnographic research; contractor will create an outreach plan for dissemination of information to Veterans and TSMs and family members. Stakeholder Analysis. Identifying stakeholders involved in the project including roles, responsibilities, and preferences; determining how stakeholders will work together as the prototype is implemented; creating a stakeholder analysis report with findings; communicating roles to all stakeholders to gain buy-in prior to implementation submitting to the COR and Contracting Officer. Ongoing Internal Engagement . Providing regular communications updates to stakeholders (GWG and subcommittees) as needed. Internal Communications Plan elements could include: meeting updates, monthly email updates, managing email box, etc. Playbook. Documenting the process for creating community maps and prototypes for use in other states such as VA and SC; creating a roadmap for other states to use including resources, tools, and processes used in development of the outreach plan. Deliverables: Veteran and TSM Outreach Plan delivered within a 180 days after award 5. Option Years Requirements Provide monthly updates on the project to GWG and sub committees Complete as outreach plan Complete a playbook Manage Prototype Provide Community Maps Finding Reports Monthly Provide an update to the COR and Contracting Officer via letter