R499--508 Compliant RFI

***Please see Amendment 0002 - Q7A Results *****Request for Information 508 Compliant Services Introduction: This is a Request for Information (RFI) issued for conducting market research and for eliciting industry input as to the Government s requirement to be 508 compliant with all VA correspondence. Accordingly, this RFI constitutes neither a Request for Proposal/Quote (RFP/RFQ) nor a guarantee that one will ever be issued by the Government; furthermore, it does not commit the Government to contract for any services described herein. Do not submit a Quote/Proposal. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is not, at this time, seeking proposals or quotes, and therefore will not accept, review, or evaluate unsolicited proposals or quotes received in response hereto. This notice is not to be construed as a commitment on the part of the Government to award a contract/order, nor does the Government intend to pay for any information submitted because of this request. The Government does

not reimburse respondents for any costs associated with the submission of the information being requested, or reimburse expenses incurred for responses to this RFI. The information provided may be used by VA in developing its acquisition strategy and Performance Work Statement (PWS). Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP/RFQ, if issued. Any information submitted by respondents to this RFI is strictly voluntary; however, any information received shall become the property of the Government and will not be returned to the respondent. Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary, restricted, or competition sensitive information contained in their response. This is a request for information and does not obligate the Government in any way, nor does it commit the Government to any specific course of action. Requirement: Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) seeks to maximize innovation, automation, and customer experience in enabling and supporting 508 compliant communications. VBA envisions an enhanced experience and mission accomplishment through a 508 compliant managed process. Pursuant to that vision, VBA is planning to acquire a partner Contractor who has the capability to deliver rapid implementation and aggressive automation, while preserving government oversight and accountability of the processes to ensure that our Veterans and their dependents receive services in the most efficient manner possible. This RFI is being issued to solicit industry input on the viability of solutioning a 508 compliant process requirement with all VA correspondence in the attached business needs statement as well as to obtain associated data to help inform and shape a potential acquisition. The proposed contracted service will: Provide a Contractor developed software connection or other solution (e.g., API, SFTP, other similar solution) to receive or retrieve letters from the Centralized Benefits Communications Management (CBCM) or the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS) Control documents received/retrieved from CBCM or VBMS Include a managed utility/application type software or service that can provide 508 compliant customization and integration services to meet or exceed current/future 508 requirements and system interface with VBMS and/or CBCM Configure and upload both the original version letter and the 508 compliant version letter as a PDF, audio file, or other solution while maintaining as much of the original formatting integrity of the letter Configure correspondence to the 508 compliant standard or better with no more than 5% error Transmit original version and 508 compliant versions back to VBMS/CBCM within 5-7 calendar days following receipt of source letter for printing and mailing, audio conversion, or other process Responses: Please submit the below requested information by Noon Central Time on April 22, 2024, via email only to Mark.Branum@va.gov The e-mail subject line shall be 508 Compliant Services. VA reserves the right to not respond to any, all, or select responses or materials submitted. All VA current requirements identified herein are subject to change at any time. If you experience any problems or have any questions concerning this announcement, please contact Mark Branum via email. VA appreciates your time and anticipated response. As part of your RFI response, please provide the following information: GENERAL Include the following identification information: Company Name Unique Entity Identifier Number under which the company is registered in SAM.gov Confirmation of registration in VetBiz.gov if claiming SDVOSB/VOSB Company Address Point of contact name Telephone number Email address What experience does your organization have at providing similar services of size and scope to other Federal agencies and/or industry. For Federal awards provide contract number and agency points of contacts. ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS FROM THE GOVERNMENT Is your company s solution based on Generative Artificial Intelligence software/solution, custom software/solution, proprietary software/solution, or a combination of the above? Is your company s solution customizable to meet changing needs of the VBA i.e. formatting and templating? How would your company s solution verify that 508 compliance and readability is correct and conforms to 508 industry standards? Would your company s solution have an internal quality controls and assurance checks? Does your company s solution offer flexibility to update your solution as compliance standards change or evolve? Can your company handle increased volumes if needed? Do you have staffing to support your solution? How long would it take for your company to integrate your solution, and start making correspondence 508 compliant ready for printing, mailing, audio file converting, or other solution? What would be some of the obstacles that your company would anticipate implementing your solution(s)? What risks do you anticipate with your solution(s)? Would your solution(s) be able to provide real time data on production stats such as number received, number made to be compliant, number pending compliance changes that VBA could access? If your company s solution would direct Veterans to a website or other similar service, would it meet the government s Security and Ability to Operate (ATO) compliances? How much time does it take to produce a 508 compliant letter/document/audio file? VENDOR RESPONSE The vendor response shall address their company s approach to satisfy the objectives, constraints, and requirements described in the attached Business Needs Statement. INSTRUCTIONS FOR RESPONDING TO THIS RFI Interested parties are directed to respond to this RFI in Microsoft Word for Office or compatible format and shall not exceed twenty (20) pages plus a cover page. A page is defined as each face of an 8.5 x 11 sheet with information contained within a one-inch margin on all sides. Font type shall be Times Roman 12 point unless provided in table format. Tables can utilize Times Roman 10 point. Proprietary information, if any, should be minimized and MUST BE CLEARLY MARKED. To aid the Government, please segregate proprietary information. POST RFI REVIEW PHASE VA envisions that once RFI responses are reviewed, responders may be invited to provide a face-to-face or telephonic meeting(s) with VA personnel to answer additional questions with respect to the response given. The intent of face-to-face or telephonic meeting(s) would be further clarification of potential capability. VA retains sole discretion of whether any post RFI meeting(s) are warranted, and which industry partners may be invited to provide additional market research information. BACKGROUND The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) continues to optimize the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), a paperless claims processing system that greatly reduces the time required to establish, develop, decide, and pay claims. The system replaced the antiquated manual and paper-based process model which had inherent inefficiencies resulting in significant processing delays and errors by Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) field users. Ongoing development of and continued enhancements to VBMS support VBA s mission forward to provide Veterans and their claimants with their benefits earned during military service, while providing VBA employees with an innovative format for modern access to Veteran records to expedite processing benefits. The VBA continues to work towards an automated (or computer-assisted) processing environment. VBA implemented the Centralized Benefits Communication Management (CBCM) effort in January 2018, as an effort to transmit documents from VBMS for printing and mailing. In September 2021, Office of Business Integration (OBI) launched their own contract for the printing and mailing of Veterans and claimant correspondence. Referred to as CBCM Printing and Mailing Services (CBCM P&M) this contract streamlined the printing and mailing process by providing a seamless end to end correspondence capability which provides enhanced tracking capabilities for letters from transmission until transfer to USPS or UPS. In conjunction with efforts to modernize VBA and meet Section 508 Compliance, we are exploring the concepts of expanding innovation, automation and our customer experience platforms making all of our correspondence and documents 508 complaint leveraging all available cost effective solutions to include but not limited to, audio files, larger print, braille and QR coding solutions/options. Business Need The Government is exploring all avenues to support 508 Compliance to modernize Veterans benefits correspondence and fulfil their obligation to provide 508 compliant correspondence. VA requires innovative assistive technology to help Veterans or claimants with disabilities to understand the benefits and services that are readily available to them. VA would require the contractor to do the following at a minimum: Provide a Contractor developed software connection or other solution (e.g., API, SFTP, other similar solution) to receive or retrieve letters from the Centralized Benefits Communications Management (CBCM) or the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS). Download PDFs from VBMS for conversion to 508 compliant text or audio file. Convert/package multiple downloaded documents into a single piece of 508 complaint correspondence with or without coversheet depending on individual Veteran needs identified. Route both the original correspondence version and the 508 compliant version PDF(s) and/or file(s) back into VBMS/CBCM for Printing and Mailing, audio conversion, or other compliant solution. VA anticipates during the base period of performance for 508 compliant services the vendor would process an estimated 75 letters per day containing on average 10-12 pages per letter. VA further requires, during the additional optional period(s) the vendor could process up to an additional 50-75+ letters per day. The Government anticipates funding for the base period. As additional funding is made available, the Government may exercise option CLIN s to acquire additional volumes if needed. The Government will order a projected minimum volume of 17,500 letters for the base period. Ground Rules and Assumptions Assumes 75-100 letters per day. Assumes 10-12 page average per letter. Assumes 22 days worked per month. Assumes 240 workdays a year. Monthly and yearly projection assumes 11 federal holidays and weekends. Order Type VBA anticipates a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) type award resulting from a future procurement for the subject services.   Performance Details The vendor needs to complete the 508 compliant work within an established SLA with no more than a 5% error. A 3rd party vendor will conduct a quality and standards review of work completed and provide feedback of findings and ways to improve. Performance Period VBA anticipates a base period of performance of 12 months, with four 12-month option periods from any award resulting from a future procurement for the subject services. Place of Performance Efforts under this task order shall be performed at the Contractor facilities. The Contractor shall include in its proposal a detailed breakdown of all services and the locations where each will be performed. This breakdown shall include detailed descriptions of how each location will meet all VA security requirements outlined in VA Handbook 6500. Any planned teleworking shall also be detailed in the Contractor s proposal. No work related to any task in the PWS shall be performed Outside Continental United States (OCONUS).  While the Government does not prescribe the place of performance or the construction standards to be met, there are physical facility considerations that must be addressed when the Contractor elects to utilize a facility. These considerations include security aspects in relation to the Government Furnished Information (GFI), as well as Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and privacy aspects associated with electronic communications for Veterans/claimants.  If the Contractor proposes to use a facility in support of this Task Order, security and privacy considerations must be addressed, and the Government reserves the right to inspect any proposed facility, including unannounced visits to ensure it is acceptable for use under this Task Order. In support of this effort, any proposed facility shall:  Include space dedicated solely to the performance of the requirements outlined in the PWS. Include non-public, limited, and controlled access by use of approved physical access devices, lock and key, or security alarms after hours to ensure only authorized personnel who have had VA privacy and security awareness training and proper background investigations are allowed unescorted entry. Include construction that ensures security from penetration above the ceiling and below the floors. Include coverings on any windows/glass that would prevent visibility of computer screens from outside the secure area. Where the Contractor elects to utilize a facility for performance of any tasks included in a PWS, the Contractor shall, within 60 calendar days of TO award, have in place ready space and security processes consistent with applicable VA security regulations including security requirements provided in VA Handbook 0730, VA Handbook 0730/1, VA Handbook 0730/4, and VA Handbook 6500.Â