Loren Data's SAM Daily™

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF JANUARY 25, 2012 FBO #3714
DOCUMENT

R -- HS 12-89 - SECTION 508 COMPLIANCE - FINK - Attachment

Notice Date

1/23/2012
 

Notice Type

Attachment
 

NAICS

541611 — Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
 

Contracting Office

Department of Veterans Affairs;Program Contract Activity Central;6150 Oak Tree Blvd, Suite 300;Independence OH 44131
 

ZIP Code

44131
 

Solicitation Number

VA70112I0101
 

Response Due

2/6/2012
 

Archive Date

4/6/2012
 

Point of Contact

Andrea Fink
 

E-Mail Address

6-3030
 

Small Business Set-Aside

N/A
 

Description

VA-701-12-I-0101 Sources Sought Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Health Information HS 12-89 Section 508 Complicance 1.INTRODUCTION: This Sources Sought notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA is currently conducting market research to locate qualified, experienced, and interested potential sources. Responses will not be considered as proposals, nor will any award be incurred by interested parties in responding to this sources sought announcement. The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) is seeking interested sources (contractors) for a near-future solicitation and procurement for the Office of Health Information (OHI). At this time, no solicitation exists. Therefore, DO NOT REQUEST A COPY OF THE SOLICITATION. 2.BACKGROUND: The VHA Section 508 Office's primary mission is to test eLearning courses for Section 508 compliance before they are placed on the TMS. The 508 program has yielded impressive gains in operational efficiency and compliance performance over the last 20 months. These gains, however, are constrained by the lack of Section 508 knowledge and experience among the Dynamically changing workforce. There is still much to be done to continue this trend, and the key is to continue program development for compliance with Section 508 within the VHA Section 508 Office. The program operation includes administrative support, compliance monitoring, reporting, providing technical support with remediation and to provide guidance in the way of training and resources so Section 508 violations can be avoided altogether in this very complex and often misunderstood field of accessibility and Section 508. As amended, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act requires Federal agencies to ensure that their electronic and information technology provides comparable access to both people with and without disabilities whenever an agency develops, procures, maintains, or uses Electronic & Information Technology (E&IT). Additionally, Sections 501 and 504 of the Rehabilitation Act protect the rights of Federal employees and qualified persons with disabilities against discrimination in Federal employment and in the receipt of Federal programs, services, or activities. Violating any of these sections of the Rehabilitation Act carries with it the risk of administrative complaints and Federal lawsuits. For Section 508 violations, we believe that the potential liability of the agencies can be quite large and may require an agency to repurchase or rebuild an entire IT system that fails to meet the Section 508 standards. VHA strives to have a strong Section 508 program that meets the legal requirements of Section 508 and that considers the ancillary requirements of Section 501 and 504 as the Department of Veterans Affairs transitions to a new generation of health information. The Section 508 Program Office requires a multidisciplinary approach with specialized resources to assist in all levels of addressing this regulatory requirement 3.OBJECTIVES: The Office of 508 Compliance, within the VHA Office of Health Information (OHI) is seeking services to support and augment an efficient Section 508 program that supports members of the workforce with key roles in the procurement, management, development, and dissemination of accessible electronic products and services. An in-depth understanding of the provisions of section 508 is required. Advanced technical expertise in identifying and remediating Section 508 violations and providing solutions based on current best practices are essential. Expert knowledge of a variety of assistive technologies, i.e., screen readers, screen magnification software, voice input software and alternative input devices is critical. Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe Professional and Flash, HTML, HTML5 and other common authoring tools with respect to accessibility is a must. Provide assistance with batch file creation, script development and small programming projects as needed to help assistive technology better interface with VA software and computer systems when version changes or deployment necessitates such interventions to ensure access to electronic content. In addition to the technical skills listed above, administrative support and program management are needed. The Section 508 standards established by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) are incorporated into and made part of all VA contracts, solicitations and purchase orders developed to procure Electronic and Information Technology (EIT). These standards are found in their entirety at http://www.section508.gov. A printed copy of the standards will be supplied upon request. The contractor shall comply with the technical standards at 36 CFR 1194.21 Software Applications and Operating Systems, 1194.22 Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications, 1194.24 Video and Multimedia Products and 1194.31 Functional Performance Criteria. 4.SUBMITTAL INFORMATION: Contractors having the skills and capabilities necessary to perform the stated requirements should submit a response of no more than 15 pages in length, single spaced, 12 point font minimum. The Government will not review any other data, attachments that are in excess to the 15 pages. Companies should provide clear and unambiguous evidence to substantiate their capability to fulfill these requirements. Interested parties shall furnish the following minimum information: 1.Company name and address 2.Company point of contact name, telephone number and email address 3.Company business size and status (i.e., Large Business, Small Business, Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, Women-Owned Small Business, etc.), the number of years in business, affiliate information: parent company, joint venture partners, potential teaming partners 4.If the company holds a Federal Supply Schedule (FSS) Contract, list the GSA Contract Number and relevant SINS 5.Capabilities/Qualifications: A written response providing clear and unambiguous evidence to substantiate the capacity to fulfill this requirement. Description of the capabilities/qualifications/skills your company possesses to perform services described in the scope of work. 6.Past Experience: Brief summary of the company history relative to similar requirements. Offer may provide the following information on a maximum of three similar projects for which the responder was a prime or subcontractor. 1.The name, address, and value of each project 2.The Prime Contract Type, Firm Fixed-Price, or Time and Material 3.The name, telephone and address of the owner of each project 4.A description of each project and why it is relevant to this requirement. Include difficulties and successes 5.Your company's role and services provided for each project. It is requested that the above information be provided no later than February 6, 2012 at 9:00AM EST. Responses should be emailed Andrea Fink at Andrea.Fink@va.gov. All Email Correspondence for this project must reference the RFI Number, Project Identifier and Project Title in the subject line of the
 

Web Link

FBO.gov Permalink
(https://www.fbo.gov/spg/VA/ISC/OISC/VA70112I0101/listing.html)
 

Document(s)

Attachment
 

File Name: VA701-12-I-0101 VA701-12-I-0101.docx (https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=290001&FileName=VA701-12-I-0101-000.docx)

Link: https://www.vendorportal.ecms.va.gov/FBODocumentServer/DocumentServer.aspx?DocumentId=290001&FileName=VA701-12-I-0101-000.docx

 

Note: If links are broken, refer to Point of Contact above or contact the FBO Help Desk at 877-472-3779.
 

Record

SN02659425-W 20120125/120123234546-682179ddbb0d14e69bcfa4ed61030350 (fbodaily.com)
 

Source

FedBizOpps Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)

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