BACKGROUND

The purpose of this contract is to provide the NMFS eSignature project team with specialized expertise and experience experience to assist in designing a citizen-to-government eSignature system.

Under Sections 1703 and 1704 of the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA), Executive agencies are required to provide for the use and acceptance of electronic signatures. It is NMFS' policy to use and accept electronic signatures whenever possible and to encourage agency programs to provide individuals or entities with the option of submitting information or transacting business with the agency electronically. During the Electronic Reporting Planning Workshop held in July 2007, it was determined that an approved design and implementation plan for electronic reporting eSignature would be of significant benefit to multiple regions. A project has been initiated to develop an approved design and implementation plan for electronic reporting system(s) eSignature, as well as establishing a template and process for future eSignature initiatives.

The most significant challenge of an eSignature project is creating alignment among many diverse stakeholders. Electronic signatures raise new and cross-cutting issues throughout an organization. General Council and Enforcement have strong interests in enforceability and admissibility; executives have strong interests in agency reputation; Information Technology have strong interests in information security; line of business staff have strong interests in usability, support and customer satisfaction. These groups have different perspectives but all share ownership in an eSignature solution. While often viewed as a technology issue, in reality eSignature initiatives are organizational change efforts where the technology is the easiest part of the project.

The primary analytical challenge for eSignature projects is how to identify and value risks and related mitigations so that an organization can have a fact-based, dispassionate discussion of the relative merits of policy and implementation options. Frequently, there are calls for absolute security or characterizations of great risks that, in reality, have little likelihood of occurring. Part of the problem is that competing interests in eSignature projects often paint choices as black and white, when in fact the analysis requires distinguishing among shades of gray. The lack of specificity of federal law and policy around eSignatures can have a paralyzing effect on organizations. There is no one right way and federal officials have to exercise judgment on how craft and then implement policy with oftentimes murky and incomplete data.

OBJECTIVES OF CONTRACT

Advising the project team with respect to identifying, characterizing, and communicating with stakeholders
Advising the project team with respect to alternative approaches
Reviewing project outlines, drafts, and presentations
Providing context for the proposed solution, including comparisons between the proposed solution and prior art, and/or analysis with respect to industry norms or best practices
Assistance developing and presenting the solution to stakeholders

SCOPE OF WORK

The contractor will participate in meetings, teleconferences, email correspondence, and other online collaborative systems to guide the project team to a successful project conclusion. The contractor will advise the project team based on his/her successful experience with similar projects, critique team work products, and facilitate stakeholder meetings. The contractor will contribute to and coordinate collaborative development of documents including a stakeholder communication plan, an analysis of alternative approaches to each of the constituent technical components, a risk assessment and cost benefit analysis, an implementation plan, and a final presentation to stakeholders.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

A six month period commencing at the time of contract award.

CONTRACTOR PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS

Monthly Itemized Resource Use Reports: The contractor will provide an itemized list of the work completed, the personnel involved in the work, and the number of hours and costs associated with each work component as appropriate.
Staff Interactions: The contractor will meet/teleconference/correspond frequently with identified NMFS staff to discuss progress, problems, and review analysis.
Contributing to and coordinating documents: The contractor will coordinate the development of project team documents. The contractor will work with the project team to assign writing responsibilities. The contractor will have primary responsibility for writing assignments where prior experience with eSignature systems is critical, while project team members will have primary responsibility for writing assignments where knowledge of NMFS mission, practices, and organization are critical. The contractor will work collaboratively with project team members to complete writing assignments and the contractor will coordinate the incorporation of multiple contributions into complete documents.
Written Work Product Critiques: The contractor will provide written critiques of project outlines, draft documents, and presentations. These will be informal notes intended for internal team use.

SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES/TASKS:

Task 1:

Advise the project team with respect to identifying, characterizing, and communicating with stakeholders. Lead the team though a process to identify stakeholders and characterize them with respect to their interest in the outcome and their sensitive issues. Lead the team through the development of a stakeholder communications plan. Facilitate teleconferences and/or meetings with stakeholders.

Task 2:

Advise the project team with respect to risk assessment and cost benefit analysis. Based on experience and knowledge of the eSignature arena, direct and facilitate team research and analysis. Lead the team through the development of a risk assessment and cost benefit analysis per the procedural directive.

Task 3:

Advise the project team with respect to alternative technical approaches. Based on experience and knowledge of the eSignature arena, direct and facilitate team research and analysis. Connect team members with other practitioners in the eSignature field. Lead the team through the development of an analysis of alternative technical approaches.

Task 4:

Assist in finalizing documents and presentations. Present the solution to stakeholders and participate in question and answer sessions.

CONTRACT DELIVERABLES AND DEADLINE FOR EACH:

June 18, 2008 – A stakeholder communication plan which identifies stakeholders, the nature of their interest, their sensitive issues, stakeholder contacts, and how to keep each stakeholder informed and engaged.
July 16, 2008 – An analysis of alternative approaches to each of the constituent components, specifically: (see Concepts)
- Identity Assertion, Person Proofing and Registration
- User Interface and Flow and Signing Ceremony
- Binding Document to Identity, Document Integrity and Tamper Evident Packaging, and Audit Trails
- Application Programming Interface
August 13, 2008 – A Risk Assessment and Cost Benefit Analysis prepared per NMFS procedural directive 32-110-01
September 17, 2008 – An Implementation Plan prepared per the procedural directive
October 15, 2008 – Present preliminary results to stakeholders
November 12, 2008 – Critique final project documents

OTHER CRITICAL FACTORS

Key personnel: The contractor shall provide an analyst possessing direct experience with leading an electronic signature design in a large-scale citizen-to-government context. The analyst must have a track record that clearly demonstrates skills, knowledge and experience in eSignature design and implementation from policy, management and organization culture perspectives. The analyst's record must demonstrate experience in creating alignment among diverse stakeholders in a government setting; experience in identifying and evaluating risks and related mitigations; and experience in leading organizational change initiatives. In evaluation of proposals NMFS will consider both the quantity of experience (years of engagement in large-scale citizen-to-government eSignature design and implementation) and the quality of experience (scope of analyst's involvement and degree of similarity between the context of the analyst's prior experience and the context of the NMFS eSignature initiative).
This is a non-personal service contract; personnel performing work under this contract are employees of the contractor and are not employees of the Government.
Work Location: The work will occur at the contractor's facilities, coordinating with NMFS staff via telephone and internet, with travel to National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD, on three separate occasions for one-day meetings with stakeholders and project team members.
Hours of Operation: Normal operating hours are expected to be 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Pacific Local Time Monday through Friday, except for Federal holidays.
Safety: The contractor will provide for the safety and protection of staff employed in support of this contract. The contractor will be required to complete any NOAA required safety training courses in compliance with NOAA policy.
Insurance Coverage: The contractor is solely responsible for their own health, workmen's compensation and unemployment insurance as well as applicable social security, local, state, and federal taxes.
Site Security: Personnel performing work under this contract will be required to pass NOAA security clearances for contractors.
Computers/Software: The contractor is solely responsible for providing any necessary computers/software and office supplies. The contractor will be required to have a telephone and Internet connection. The contractor will not be required to connect contractor-owned equipment to NMFS networks.

BUDGET

a.	Salary and Wages
b.	Personnel Benefits
c.	Contractual Services	$35,000
d.	Goods, Supplies and Services
e.	Travel Expenses
f.	Overhead @ 15%
g.	Equipment
Total Budget		$35,000

COTR DESIGNATION

Jennifer Mondragon__________ is hereby designated as the Government's Contracting Officer's Technical Representative (COTR). In this capacity, this person will inspect and accept services rendered in this contract on behalf of the Government. The COTR is located at National Marine Fisheries Service, 709 W. 9th Street, Juneau, AK. The contact telephone number is 907-586-7010.

The responsibilities and limitation of the COTR are as follows:

The COTR is responsible for the technical aspects of the project and technical liaison with the Contractor. The COTR is also responsible for the final acceptance of all reports, and such other responsibilities as may be specified in this contract.

The COTR is not authorized to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the Government or authorize any changes, which affect the contract price, terms or conditions. Any Contractor request for changes shall be referred to the Contracting Officer directly or through the COTR. No such changes shall be made without the prior authorization of the Contracting Officer. The COTR may designate an assistant COTR to act for them by naming such assistant in writing and transmitting a copy of such designation through the Contracting Officer to the Contractor.

INVOICING:

In compliance with the Prompt Payment Act, the Financial Management Division will pay an invoice in accordance with the terms set forth in the contracts with vendors if it receives a "proper invoice". A "proper invoice" has:
¿ Name of the vendor and an invoice date
¿ Purchase order number
¿ Description, price and quantity of property and services actually delivered or rendered. The cost breakdown shall include labor, fringes, overheads, other direct costs (by category)
¿ Payment terms
¿ Other substantiating documentation , for example a waybill for shipping charges if freight is $100 or more, or other information as required by the contract
¿ Name, title, phone number, and complete mailing address of the responsible official to whom payment is to be made

Invoices are to be submitted to:
National Marine Fisheries Service
Procurement Office
P.O. Box 21668
709 W. 9th Street, Room 420
Juneau, Alaska 99801-1668

TERMS AND CONDITIONS / CONTRACT CLAUSES

See Attached

Browser not supported