Archived Information

**ATTACHMENT A**

**U.S. Department of Education**

**ED Pubs Performance Work Statement**

# Table of Contents

1.  **Purpose and General Requirements**

2.  **Background**

3.  **Scope of Work**

    1.  **Tasks**

        1.  **Project Management**

        2.  **Operate Customer Service Contact Center**

        3.  **Provide Receiving, Storage, and Inventory Control**

        4.  **Conduct Fulfillment Operations**

            1.  **Distribute/Ship Materials for Individual Requests**

            2.  **Perform Bulk Distribution**

            3.  **Perform Mass Mailings**

        5.  **Maintain Mailing Lists**

        6.  **Develop and Conduct Enhanced Customer Satisfaction
            Surveys**

        7.  **Provide Promotional Support**

        8.  **Conduct Routine and Special Analyses**

    2.  **Additional Requirements**

> **3.2.1 Reporting**
>
> **3.2.2 Technology Security**
>
> **3.2.3 Safety**
>
> **3.2.4 Contingencies**
>
> **3.2.5 Contract Transition**

**4.0 Quality Assurance/Quality Control**

**4.1 Government's QASP**

**4.2 Contractor's Quality Control Plan**

**5.0 Contractor Personnel**

**5.1 Basic Requirements**

**5.2 Key Staff Qualifications**

> **5.3 Other Staff Qualifications**

Appendix A: Minimum Standards of Performance/ Performance-Based Quality
Assurance Surveillance Plan / Service Level Requirements

**Appendix B: Government-Furnished Facilities, Equipment, and
Services/Contractor-Furnished Property, Services, Equipment, Materials,
Tools, and Supplies**

**Appendix C. Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Definitions**

#### Appendix D. Reporting

**U.S. Department of Education**

##### ED Pubs Performance Work Statement

**1.0 Purpose and General Requirements**

The purpose of this contract is to support the information dissemination
objectives of Principal Offices throughout the U.S. Department of
Education (ED) by providing a customer service center and associated
services that include a full range of customer service, warehouse
management, contact center, customer information management, Customer
Relationship Management (CRM) System, storage, product ordering,
database management with tracking and reporting capability, real-time
integration, and distribution services.

> The work entails four principal areas:
>
> **1. Customer service;**
>
> **2. Mail fulfillment (individual, bulk, mass mailings);**

**3. Storage; and**

> **4.** **Reports.**
>
> **General work requirements of the contract include, but are not
> limited to:**
>
> \(1\) Receiving and documenting internal and external customer
> requests for publications, documents, and other information products
> by phone (staff and automated systems), TDD, fax, mail, Internet,
> EDNet, and personal visits.
>
> \(2\) Referring customers to personnel designated by the COR who need
> products and services that are beyond the scope of this contract to
> the appropriate office.
>
> \(3\) Responding to all requests within specific turn around times
> (see Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan, Attachment A).
>
> \(4\) Receiving and storing ED products.
>
> \(5\) Developing, maintaining, and updating an accurate centralized
> mailing list system.
>
> \(6\) Designing, formatting, and preparing an ED publications catalog,
> both in hard copy and online versions.
>
> \(7\) Developing, maintaining, and updating the departmental
> publications database.
>
> \(8\) Operating unique toll-free phone lines facilitating information
> referrals and product ordering services.

\(9\) Developing, maintaining, and updating a customer database.

\(10\) Providing a full range of fulfillment services, including but not
limited to mailing, shipping, faxing, and electronic delivery via
Internet and electronic dissemination capabilities.

> \(11\) Measuring customer satisfaction through enhanced user surveys
> developed, distributed, analyzed, and reported by the Contractor.

\(12\) Producing and providing documents in Braille, large print,
audiotape, computer diskette, or other alternate formats, as-requested.

> \(13\) Providing grant applications to customers.
>
> \(14\) Providing ongoing operational review, recommendations, and
> enhancements of all processes.
>
> \(15\) Developing, hosting, operating, maintaining, and developing
> enhancements for a separate online ordering system website.
>
> \(16\) Providing reports; i.e. activity, inventory reports, weekly and
> monthly, customer profiles, order history, ad hoc activity on an as
> requested basis; reports on problems if a product has not moved;
> required daily activity reports on the high volume Bulk Publication
> Ordering System (BPOS); financial breakout costs for each Principal
> Office for labor, storage, shipping, and postage; and mandatory
> Departmental reports; and other financial reports upon request by ED
> staff.
>
> \(17\) Operating and maintaining a website for the online ordering and
> Bulk Publication Ordering.

**2.0 Background**

Each year, ED creates and distributes hundreds of information products,
such as publications, brochures, posters, grant applications, and other
information products, which are available at no charge to customers. In
addition, various organizations in the department make their products
available via fax on demand, electronically via the Internet, as well as
on CD-ROM and by other means, such as alternate formats for people with
disabilities. Together, these products help define the mission and
vision of the Department.

The Education Publications Center \[ED Pubs\] is a customer care center
that focuses on quality control and customer satisfaction as it
facilitates referral and distribution services. It is a state-of-the-art
information, warehousing, and distribution center that processes phone,
fax, Internet, e­mail, print-on-demand, and mail orders for publications
and other products. Inclusive audiences are reached through Spanish
speaking operators and TDD systems.

Senior management at ED recognizes the need to improve and enhance its
dissemination program through the effective implementation of
cost-effective technologies that will enable broader outreach to
constituent groups without cost increases, and preferably with cost
savings. Contractors are encouraged to offer proven, state-of-the-art
solutions to achieve ED's mission of quality and comprehensive
information sharing. Strategies should be offered that provide the
government "more for less" in terms of increased dissemination options
through advanced technology applications.

In this publications environment, ED Principal Offices retain editorial
authority and are responsible for funding and printing their own
publications. The process operates as follows:

-   Each Principal Office is responsible for internal clearance and
    production of a publication through either ED's Office of Public
    Affairs (OPA) or the Institute of Educational Sciences (IES).

-   Prior to publication, the Principal Office initiates a publication
    distribution order to the COR. The order will include the target
    release date, a dissemination plan, and any other information that
    impacts on the distribution of the documents.

-   The publication is shipped from the printer to the Contractor who
    manages distribution in accordance with the plan.

**3.0 Scope of Work**

The Contractor shall be required to provide all of the services and
perform all of the tasks described in this section of the Performance
Work Statement (PWS).

**3.1 Tasks**

The Contractor shall perform the following tasks in operating the entire
operation of the offsite publications distribution center for the U.S.
Department of Education. The Contractor shall be responsible for
products upon delivery at its location. The Contractor shall provide the
necessary integrated IT infrastructure to meet all contract objectives
and to fulfill all tasks and requirements detailed in below. The
contractor shall develop and maintain the databases as identified in
Appendix B. The government will not provide databases to the Contractor.
The contractor shall receive data in varying formats for the databases
required for operations. The Contractor will provide the necessary
integrated IT infrastructure system for the appropriate work
requirement. The government shall own the data. The Contractor shall
develop the integrated IT infrastructure system with tracking and
reporting capability.

The Contractor shall provide al property, services, equipment,
materials, tools, databases, customer relationship management (CRM)
system, and the necessary integrated IT infrastructure for the
appropriate work requirement.

For performance standards, refer to Appendix A to this PWS..

**Task 3.1.1: Project Management**

The contractor shall provide project management and quality control
sufficient to meet the requirements in this SOW and the performance
standards detailed in Appendix A. The Contractor shall provide all
property, services, equipment, materials, tools, databases, customer
relationship management (CRM) system, and the necessary integrated IT
infrastructure system for the appropriate work requirement. The term
"systems" refers to a customized, integrated infrastructure developed
and maintained by the new contractor.

ED requires that the contractor make available the following management
information:

-   Management and Quality Control - e.g., management systems that will
    provide real-time data on contract operations for contractor and ED
    staff, track workflow, provide automatic alerts of potential
    problems, and allow monitoring of work performance and instant
    quality control checks and reports.

-   Financial Control and Billing - e.g., automated tools for tracking
    individual labor, storage, shipping, and postage costs, by each of
    ED's Principal Offices, and provide real-time information on the
    status of each individual, bulk, and mass mailing request.

-   Databases -- e.g. real-time access to inventory data, concept
    searching, word stemming, and relevancy ranking, interfacing
    databases, order history, financial breakout costs, track workflow,
    mailing lists, customer profiles, etc.

The Contractor shall also have e-mail capability to correspond with the
COR and various Principal Office representatives within ED.

The contractor shall monitor, assess, and recommend emerging
leading-edge technology methodologies that can be applied to operations
to reduce costs, enhance customer service, and/or streamline processes
and procedures.

### Task 3.1.2: Operate Customer Service Contact Center

The contractor shall ensure optimum customer contact through a variety
of media (telephone, e-mail, fax, letter) and provide fast,
cost-efficient response to customer requests that meets the performance
standards in Appendix A.

The Contractor shall provide toll free telephone service to receive
requests for information and customer service complaints, and refer
requests for publications from customers and departmental staff. This
contact center will serve as the Contractor's primary point of contact
for all incoming calls. The personnel at the contact center shall be
familiar with the contractor's standard operating procedures for
performing work under this contract.

The Contractor shall operate unique inbound toll free lines, each
requiring customized scripts and prompts that must be delivered in both
English and Spanish. A TDD service line shall also be available.

The new contractor shall provide unique services for the following
toll-free lines:

1.  ED Pubs toll-free line for general ordering

2.  BPOS toll-free line for financial aid administrators with questions
    regarding BPOS

3.  Safe and Drug Free toll-free line for product ordering and referrals

4.  National Library of Education (NLE) toll-free line for product
    ordering and research referrals to the NLE help desk

5.  National Institute for Literacy (NIFL) toll-free line for product
    orders and referrals to literacy service providers in the callers'
    locality utilizing the America's Literacy Database (ALD).

Toll free telephone lines shall be operational on normal Government
workdays, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. local Eastern
Standard or Daylight Time. The Contractor shall provide automated
telephone answering capability for voice and TDD inquiries after normal
working hours, on weekends, and holidays. During business hours, calls
shall be answered by a live operator. (Initial prompts may be used to
direct calls to English or Spanish speaking customer service staff or to
capture specific customer information such as ZIP Codes or account
numbers.) The Contractor may use an automated voice mail system during
regular hours of operation as long as the customer reaches a customer
service representative within 18 seconds. The Contractor may use a
prompt call choice for customers placing orders and a prompt call choice
for speaking to a live operator within the required time. The Contractor
shall provide an appropriate number of customer service representatives
with proficiency in the Spanish language (speaking, reading, and
writing) to meet the performance requirements of Appendix A. Staff with
other language proficiency is desired.

The Contractor shall use a variety of tools to respond to inquiries,
including the publications database and other systems developed to
support contract operations.

If the Contractor does not have specific information requested by the
customer, the Contractor shall use the ERIC database and/or other Web
resources to help the customer locate information or identify the
appropriate referral contact. ED Pubs customers typically request
products or need referral assistance. The government will provide the
appropriate ED referral and special promotion assistance, and training
on the Educational Resource information Center CD ROM publications
database to the Contractor.

The Literacy Hotline service supported by ED Pubs for NIFL requires
dedicated, well-trained staff empowered to make knowledgeable decisions.
The staff must be supported by a state-of-the-art telephone system and
off-hours interactive voice response (IVR) technology. To serve
customers well, staff must have access to an up-to-date database,
in-depth training, competent scripts, and flexible staffing to manage
peak period during national literacy campaigns.

The new contractor shall provide the following services to the NIFL
hotline:

-   Provide a toll-free line to U.S. citizens that information
    specialists will use to answer questions and assist callers by
    providing information verbally and/or providing printed materials
    during normal business hours.

-   Match callers with program and technical assistance providers in
    their local communities using a national database of literacy and
    adult education providers and programs.

-   Serve as a single source for the location for literacy and adult
    education information and materials not generally found through
    other sources.

-   Provide callers with direct transfer to literacy and adult education
    referrals, the ability to place publication orders, or the ability
    to leave messages through an after-hours IVR service.

-   Maintain an up-to-date repository of information on literacy
    providers and adult education information.

-   Maintain a copy of the America's Literacy Database, resource
    database, for purpose of referrals and updating and adding new
    records. (The ALD master is maintained by a NIFL contractor. The ED
    Pubs contractor will receive and send updated ALD copies from the
    NIFL contractor in order to maintain accurate information.)

For all toll-free lines that are maintained, the Contractor must be able
to manage unforeseen surges in call and/or order volume that may reach
as high as 100 percent greater than the previous month's daily average.
There is a possibility that weekend service may be required on special
projects.

The Contractor shall provide all property, services, equipment,
materials, tools, databases, customer relationship management (CRM)
system, and the necessary integrated IT infrastructure system for the
appropriate work requirement.

In addition to responding to requests received via toll free telephone
service, the Contractor shall receive and process requests via
electronic means and by traditional mail. The Contractor shall host,
operate, and maintain the ED Pubs Online Ordering website provided by
the government. The contractor shall also develop, operate, and maintain
an online ordering system and databases supporting the website that
provides the following:

-   Real-time access to inventory data,

-   Concept searching,

-   Word stemming,

-   Relevancy ranking,

-   Real-time integration between the ordering site and the CRM system
    developed and provided by the Contractor, and

-   Customer ordering that enables customers to order publications as
    well as view the status of their current orders, view their order
    history, and their profile, including both e-mail and physical
    address.

The Contractor shall receive mail correspondence from customers that
covers the same subjects as those encountered on the toll-free telephone
service. Daily mail must be opened, sorted, batched, and prepared for
order data entry into the Contractor's CRM automated system.

**Task 3.1.3: Provide Receiving, Storage, and Inventory Control**

The Contractor shall maintain the entire operation and facilities (i.e.
physical warehouse, call center, etc.) with a warehouse management
system that allows real time inventory management on all publications
and be located within the Greater Washington Metro area identified as a
radius of 50 miles of Federal Building 6, ED headquarters. The
Department's present inventory consists of approximately 6,300 unique
titles and includes publications, CD-ROMs, audiovisual tapes, posters,
pamphlet brochures, grant applications, bookmarks and press releases.
The Contractor shall be responsible for developing and providing the
information required to maintain a publication database based on this
inventory through a collaborative effort with ED. The database shall
interact with the various functions of ED Pubs. The databases must
interface so that information can be easily accessed by ED employees and
compiled into report formats in real-time.

Poster will not likely be received in poster tubes. Some received
posters will be folded and some other posters will be received flat. The
Department of Education will determine if the posters will be shipped
folded or non-folded.

The Contractor shall have the capability to track, store, retrieve and
manage large quantities of materials through automated mechanisms and
provide real-time inventory data and reports to ED staff. The Contractor
shall maintain an industry standard perpetual inventory system meeting
the accuracy requirements outlined in Appendix A.

The Contractor shall develop recommended reorder points as defined in
Appendix A for all demand stock items and establish automated re-order
points with appropriate lead times, and inform the appropriate ED Pubs
Representative of the need to replenish stock to ensure that all
adequate stock is on hand to meet identified requirements.

Only designated ED staff may contract the appropriate ED Pubs' staff for
specific assistance regarding inventory, receiving, ordering, and
shipping requests. The government will provide a list of designated ED
staff and their approved interaction with the Contractor. The contractor
should expect the ED Pubs COR to visit the physical facility.

The Contractor shall receive all information from GPO or outside
printing contractors, store all publications, and provide adequate
protection. The facility shall have sufficient loading/unloading access
to meet GPO and postal service shipping requirements, including forklift
mechanisms for various sizes of pallets. The Contractor shall have the
capacity to manage an appropriate number of inbound and outbound
tractor-trailers at the facility on a daily basis.

Warehousing facilities and environmental conditions shall be appropriate
to maintain all stock in good condition.

The contractor shall accommodate peak seasons as well as sudden surges
in non-peak seasons in receiving, storage, and inventory control. During
the current contract, approximately 100,000 square feet to 130,000
square feet was required during peak seasons. However, past history may
not accurately represent future activity.

**Task 3.1.4: Conduct Fulfillment Operations**

The contractor shall distribute products to satisfy individual requests,
bulk distribution, and mass mailings. The contractor shall track the
status each order or request electronically and ensure accurate, timely,
cost-effective distribution of materials to customers in conformance
with the performance standards in Appendix A. Product types shipped in
mass mailing vary but will fall within the product categories listed in
6.3 Schedule B Pricing section. Such products listed are brochures,
flyers, lanyards, pencils, videos, inserts, press releases, kits, etc.

Distribution of materials shall include such activities as packaging,
metering, electronic dissemination, kit building, fax capabilities,
print on demand, and other capabilities that will provide expedited,
accurate materials handling and delivery.

The Contractor shall produce or arrange for the production and
distribution of publications and other education materials in Braille,
large print, audiotape, computer diskette, or other alternate formats on
an as-requested basis. In consultation with the COR, the Contractor
shall establish a relationship with, and develop alternate format policy
in conjunction with the Department's Alternate Format Center, Section
504 Coordinator, and Section 508 Coordinator to ensure that alternate
format requests are handled in the most expeditious manner. As
appropriate, the Government will provide the Contractor with documents
in standard formats such as ASCII text, Word Perfect, Microsoft Word, or
other standard text formats for their production in alternate formats.

The Contractor shall actively participate in dissemination planning
activities with ED and provide expert recommendations on increasing
electronic dissemination of education products.

**Rush Service.** The Contractor shall have the ability to provide
fulfillment operations on a rush basis (within one (1) business day of
the request) at the request of the COR.

**Messenger Service.** Due to the need for frequent communication,
transmittal of materials between the various ED components, and
emergency requests for rush shipments to training and conference sites,
the Contractor shall provide daily messenger service to all 10 ED
offices within the metropolitan DC area and delivery capability through
the most cost efficient process. On occasion, the Contractor may be
required to conduct more than one messenger trip per day. The number of
offices and buildings may vary throughout the life of the contract.

### Task 3.1.4.1: Distribute/Ship Materials for Individual Requests

The Contractor shall ship and distribute individual educational
information/products upon request in the most effective manner for the
government, considering both cost and delivery time.

ED reserves the right to limit the number of copies distributed per
individual order. This number will be identified on a case-by-case
basis. The contractor shall have the capability to identify limited
release items in its picking process. Only the COR can release
additional quantities.

The contractor shall furnish appropriate levels of packaging material
inventory and have appropriate tracking abilities to meet the
performance standards in Appendix A.

Because of the large numbers to be handled annually, the Contractor
shall use proper handling and delivery techniques for this function to
ensure rapid turnaround, accurate delivery, and lowest possible mailing
costs.

The Contractor shall maintain an appropriate administrative arrangement
to provide mail handling statistics and penalty indicia accountability
for all official government items.

The Contractor shall actively support ED's desire to increase electronic
dissemination as a percentage of overall outreach activities. The
Contractor shall directly and strongly encourage requestors to access
Web-based versions of publications, where available. The Contractor
shall offer education information products, particularly short
publications, by fax. To limit storage requirements, the Contractor
shall provide print on demand capabilities; however, the government will
create and provide the content. The contractor shall report quarterly
the percentage of requests satisfied by electronic dissemination of
publications and forms.

The contractor shall provide a variety of print on demand binding and
production formats. Typical products conducive to print on demand are
products in low demand and/or unanticipated exhausted inventory for
time-sensitive products requiring customer response such as grant
applications. The Department of Education office requesting this service
will meet with the COR, identify the product involved, select the type
of binding and production format, and agree on the cost before the
contractor proceeds. Offerors shall provide samples of print on demand.

### Task 3.1.4.2: Perform Bulk Distribution

The Contractor shall process the bulk distribution of materials as
requested by COR or POC designee, or in response to orders received from
external customers by telephone, fax, or other means. A single order
processed by the Contractor may include bulk quantities of up to 75,000
copies of publications.

It is estimated that the Contractor may distribute up to as many as 15
million documents (during peak periods) in bulk mailings per month. Most
of these peak period mailings will be handled through the Bulk
Publication Ordering \[web site\] (BPOS), which is a Web site which last
year supported more than 125,000 annual orders with a fulfillment
requirement reaching 50 million copies of various Federal Student Aid
documents. The peak volume for this work occurs in the months of October
through January when 75% of the orders are filled.

**The government will furnish the Bulk Publication Ordering System
website. The contractor will manage integrated databases containing the
government's data that the contractor has developed as well as the
contractor's integrated IT infrastructure system with tracking and
reporting capability for operation of each appropriate task.** The
Contractor shall manage the customized ED Pubs Online Ordering (BPOS)
website and provide an integrated IT infrastructure system with tracking
and reporting capability for operation of each appropriate task. The
Contractor shall provide the automated system for customer support and
manual entry for schools that have had difficulty placing an order, or
who are experiencing delivery problems.

The contractor shall provide tools that will support ED's integrated
process for online ordering of bulk federal student aid materials
(BPOS), including providing full-cycle, self-service online commerce
support, continuous updating of product information, real-time status of
publication availability, automated tracking of BPOS materials from
storage to customer, etc.

The Contractor shall provide the integrated infrastructure containing
the government's data and provide support to this highly customized,
tailored order processing website based on specific Financial Student
Assistance requirements such as geographical location, customer
classification, product availabilities, and other parameters. This
website often requires customized attention from the contractor.

Because of the large number of documents handled, the Contractor shall
use large volume handling and delivery techniques to support ED's bulk
distribution requirements and to ensure rapid turnaround, accurate
delivery, and lowest possible costs.

The Contractor shall have the capability for preparing conference
materials, kits, and handouts for insertion in a wide variety of
packaging and formats; i.e. binders of varying sizes and mailers. The
number of items and size of items in each kit will vary. The size of
kits will vary such that some could be inserted into envelopes while
other may require cartons. The Contractor shall have the capability to
perform "matching jobs", where the inserts and products require an exact
matching order, processing the conference orders, packing, and shipping
to and from conference sites. The Contractor is not required to create
departmental materials except for promotional products as described in
Task 3.1.7.

The contractor shall not be required to personally attend conferences on
behalf of ED but only to provide processing, packing and shipping of
conference orders.

The Contractor may handle up to five hundred (500) special bulk material
delivery shipments per month for workshop and conference sites.
Typically, the fall and spring are the busiest times for workshop and
conference work although major media promotions, and/or departmental
sponsored special events may cause unexpected volume of conference
and/or workshop activity.

The ED reserves the right to limit the number of copies distributed per
individual order. This number may be set in advance for each publication
type.

When the Contractor or ED staff identify delivery problems based on
calls received, the Contractor shall place and ship expedited orders
using the fastest and most reliable mode of shipment available. The
Contractor shall respond to these urgent requests within one day of the
receipt of the request.

### Task 3.1.4.3: Perform Mass Mailings

The Contractor shall develop procedures for regular mailings of single
or multiple materials to ED mailing lists. These mailings will be
initiated by ED offices, as opposed to requests received by the
Contractor by telephone or other means from members of the public. The
Contractor shall have the capability to generate address labels from
diskettes that ED provides, or to print the address directly on the
envelopes or mailers. The Contractor shall have the capability of
folding or otherwise preparing materials for insertion in a wide variety
of envelops and mailers. The contents of these mailings range from
one-page letters to 1,000 page handbooks that are boxed by the printer.
In the past, the number of pieces per mailing have ranged from a low of
25 to a high of 260,000. The Contractor shall have the capability to
perform occasional "matching jobs", where a printout or label specific
to the addressee has to be placed in an envelope that has the correct
address for that packet.

The Contractor shall process ED requests to perform broadcast e-mails as
well as manage any resulting correspondence. The Contractor shall also
provide comprehensive quarterly reports that detail the success and
failure rates of these communications.

The Contractor shall provide real time Web-based reporting on the status
of each mass mailing.

**Task 3.1.5: Maintain Mailing Lists**

The Contractor shall host, operate, and maintain a centralized mail list
management system that stores more than 250 mail lists containing more
than 800,000 records. At a minimum, the mail list management system must
satisfy the following requirements:

> a\. The Contractor must update all records at least twice a year
> through United States Postal change of address data files.
>
> b\. The Contractor shall ensure duplicates on mailing lists are
> identified and eliminated from all mailing lists at the time they are
> submitted to ED Pubs and again prior to being used to perform a mass
> or bulk mailing.
>
> c\. The Contractor shall create, update, and maintain mailing lists
> from historical distribution records for a specific product or
> products.
>
> d\. The Contractor shall provide, at the request of the Department,
> all or part of any mailing lists that can be downloaded for ED staff
>
> evaluation and analysis.
>
> e\. The Contractor shall provide a detailed listing of all mailing
> lists to ED staff.

f.  The Contractor shall establish registered user lists that will allow
    for more effective targeting of interest groups and ensure that only
    people who state their desire to be on ED's mailing list will
    receive notices/products.

g.  The contractor shall provide the capability to import data from
    external mailing lists, sort mailing lists multiple ways, e.g., zip
    codes.

The Contractor will develop a mail list management system from the
government-owned ED Pubs master Mail List Data. The Contractor shall
provide the capability to manipulate, format, and import data from
external mailing using various formats.

The Government will provide information to update the mailing lists to
the Contractor either in electronic (i.e. e-mail, or disk) or hard copy
(i.e. postcards, business cards, handwritten lists) format.

In addition, the Contractor shall purchase outside mailing lists and
expand ED's mailing list based on dissemination needs that are expressed
by POC liaisons and the COR. The Contractor shall perform mail merges,
which allow for individualized personalization of both physical and
electronic mass mailings.

The Government retains ownership of all mailing lists and controls their
dissemination.

The Contractor must provide secure backup of all government furnished
data and a Department of Education approved security contingency plan.

**Task 3.1.6: Develop and Conduct Customer Satisfaction Surveys**

To increase the effectiveness and utility of all ED products and
services to researchers, practitioners, and the public, the Contractor
shall perform telephone, hard copy and electronic surveys of customers
regarding service and product satisfaction and impact.

The contractor shall transmit the existing ED Pubs Customer Satisfaction
Survey with every tenth order. The Ed Pubs Customer Satisfaction Survey
is an OMB approved survey. Although there are no current plans for
publishing a hard copy of the ED Pubs Customer Satisfaction Survey in
other languages, the requirement to perform telephone, hard copy, and
electronic surveys of customers regarding service and product
satisfaction and impact may include other languages in the future.
Workload data for telephone surveys are not available. The Contractor's
proposal shall contain their approach for compiling the results of this
survey (which has an historical return rate of approximately 28%),
including analysis and formatting for Department of Education use.

In addition, the Contractor shall determine results through enhanced
user surveys to obtain such information as customer satisfaction with
the service and quality of the document. Enhanced Customer User Surveys
are different than the Customer Satisfaction Survey. An example of the
current survey and feedback format is on the RFP web site. A possible
enhanced survey might query the customer in more detail on how they use
the product, what type of audiences receive the products, what type of
products they need, etc. Each enhanced survey will be a customized
survey based upon the needs of a specific office. The ability to
produced enhanced user surveys in alternate languages is desirable, but
not required. There are no current plans to produce non-English language
surveys.

The Contractor shall provide the capability to design, format, and
develop the content provided by the government. Survey instruments shall
be reviewed and approved by the COR. Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) clearance for new survey instruments will most likely be
necessary. It is the responsibility of the Contractor to have a working
knowledge of the OMB clearance process and to prepare all documents
necessary to obtain such clearance in a timely fashion. In addition, the
Contractor will conduct routine and special analyses on ED Pubs
activities with short turnaround times.

Users of alternate format documents shall be included in these surveys
and the Contractor shall provide alternate formats as required.
Alternate formats include producing and providing documents in Braille,
large print, audiotape, computer diskette, or other alternate formats as
requested.

The Contractor shall provide the capability to design enhanced surveys
for a variety of audiences based upon Department of Education
requirements and provide marketing analysis for a variety of products.
The types of ED Pubs customers include the following: parents, business
organizations, community organizations, classroom teachers, college
professors, ED staff, legislators, principals, students, government
staff/not ED, reporters, health-care providers, Head-Start and other
early childhood providers, and journalists.

All reports reflecting user feedback and every complaint (written or
verbal), complement, or suggestion shall be provided monthly to the COR.
The Contractor shall also provide a brief note explaining how each
complaint was resolved by the contractor. The Contractor shall group
comments and complaints by POC. All completed submissions of the ED Pubs
Customer Satisfaction Surveys shall be provided monthly to the COR. The
Contractor's proposal shall reflect their approach to such feedback.

**Task 3.1.7: Provide Promotional Support**

The Contractor shall design, format and develop ED
publications/information products hardcopy and online catalogs utilizing
information maintained in the publications database and complying with
ED's web style sheets. The Contractor shall have the capability to scan
documents to produce product images for the online ordering website. The
Contractor shall update the online version continuously as new products
become available and remove products as requested by ED. The
contractor's proposal shall reflect their approach to providing an
online ordering capability.

Upon request by the COR, the Contractor shall design, format, and
develop information promotional materials to assist the Office of
Management in educating Principal Offices on capability of services
provided by ED Pubs. All requests for promotional activities will be
reviewed and approved by the COR prior to involving the contractor. This
support shall not be limited to but include such information products as
such as publication catalogs, mini catalogs, flyers, tent cards, Rolodex
card, and other informational guides. The COR shall approve the
materials before production and dissemination.

At the request of the COR, the contractor shall be required to conduct
promotional activities regarding ED products and ED Pubs. Such
activities shall include but are not limited to designing promotional
surveys, analyzing promotional mailing results, and suggesting
promotional activities for COR consideration. At the request of the COR,
the Contractor shall provide informational briefings on its services. A
promotional survey is a survey not yet developed that measures a
specific initiative the Department may be promoting. The survey would
measure the effectiveness of the initiative and accompanying materials
in addition to assisting the Department with funding and other
decisions.

### Task 3.1.8: Conduct Routine and Special Analyses

The Contractor shall conduct routine and special analyses on ED Pubs
activities as requested by the COR. These analyses may include, but are
not limited to the following:

> • Cost Estimates
>
> • Product(s) dissemination histories
>
> • Customer profiling
>
> • Dissemination trends
>
> • Quality of service

The Contractor must provide Web-based access to ED Pubs workload data
and costs to the COR.

**3.2 Additional Requirements**

**3.2.1 Reporting**

The Contractor shall submit all reports identified in Appendix D. In
addition, the Contractor shall produce and submit ad hoc reports at the
request of the COR.

The warehouse and customer service center management system shall store
and maintain costs (if applicable) and transactional data on all
dissemination activities. The system shall be capable of generating
pre-formatted and ad hoc reports.

This system shall contain but not be limited to the following
information regarding each transaction:

a.  Date received (day, month, year);

b.  Mode of receipt (letter, telephone, etc);

c.  Source of request (individual, school, superintendent, principal, ED
    staff, Congress, other Federal agencies)

d.  Method of distribution (regular mail, express mail)

e.  Publication requested (by code)

f.  Number of copies by publication,

g.  Date mailed (day, month, year)

h.  Name of person placing the order

i.  Source of how the requestor became aware of the product (i.e.
    magazine, newspaper)

j.  Information requested by alternate format and what type of format
    was delivered

k.  Customer type (i.e. parent, teacher, administrator, business, etc)

l.  Referrals to internal offices and external organizations

m.  Estimated cost of each line of inventory

**3.2.2 Technology Security**

The Contractor shall develop an Information Technology (IT) Project
Plan, which will be reviewed by ED and the Technical Review Board (TRB)
of ED's Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), to ensure that
the IT Project Plan conforms to ED standards. The plan shall address
accessibility for people with disabilities, technical profile
documentation, security, privacy, and records management and acknowledge
compliance with all ED information systems policies, including but not
limited to the following:

-   U.S. Department of Education Product Support Plan

-   U.S. Department of Education Handbook for Information Technology
    Security Policy (ACS OCIO-1)

-   U.S. Department Requirements for Accessible Software Design

-   Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, 29 U.S.C.
    794 Electronic and information technology and the federal
    accessibility standard

-   Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards,
    Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board
    \[published in the Federal Register on December 21,2000\] 36 CFR
    Part 1194 \[Docket No. 2000-01\], RIN 3014-AA25.

**3.2.3 Safety\
**

The Contractor shall comply with all applicable safety and occupational
health requirements set forth in 29 CFR 1910, OSHA's General Industry
Standards. If the Contractor fails or refuses to promptly comply with
safety requirements, the CO may issue an order stopping all or part of
the work until satisfactory corrective action has been taken by the
Contractor.

> The Contractor shall inform the COR via phone of any unsafe/hazardous
> conditions within thirty (30) minutes of becoming aware of the
> condition, and in writing within one (1) workday. If the condition is
> within the scope of the Contractor's responsibility, as contained in
> this PWS, the Contractor shall correct the unsafe condition and notify
> the COR and CO.

The Contractor shall orally inform the COR within two (2) business hours
of the occurrence of all types of injuries and illnesses (first aid,
limited duty, lost items and facility) sustained by a Contractor
employee arising out of and in the course of his/her employment; a
detailed written report is required within 24 hours to the CO. The
Contractor shall comply with OSHA and other regulatory agency
requirements for record keeping and reporting of all accidents.

The Contractor shall report to the COR and CO all incidents where
Contractor employees damage Government property. A verbal report shall
be made within four (4) business hours of an occurrence; a written
report of the facts and extent of damage is due within three (3)
workdays. The Contractor shall be responsible for all damages caused
purposively or by negligence of its employees.

The Contractor shall meet and maintain compliance with OMB Circular
A-130, Appendix III, "Security of Federal Automated Information
Resources," and the U.S. Department of Education's Certification and
accreditation program requirements.

**3.2.4 Contingencies**

In the event of a national disaster or major disruption at ED, the
Contractor shall be prepared to continue, and expand if necessary,
performance to meet the mission requirements of the operations and
maintenance support services included in this PWS. In all such
situations, the Contractor shall assume that the Government cannot
provide supplemental forces and continue to need the same or additional
performance under the contract. In the event that a national disaster or
emergency occurs and results in an increase of work directed by the CO
and an increase in the cost of performance, such increase will be
subject to the "Changes" clause (FAR subpart 52.2). Such emergency
situations may include, but will not be limited to:

-   A national or local emergency (i.e. national terrorist attack,
    epidemic or localized outbreak of disease) that increases contract
    requirements.

-   A national disaster (i.e. fire, flood, terrorist attack, weather
    \[OIIA\] acts of God) that impacts upon the Contractor's ability to
    perform.

In the technical proposal, Offerors shall include an emergency/disaster
contingency plan that describes procedures for responding to the
above-cited emergency situations. The plan shall describe an alternate
facility that will be used in the event the main facility is unavailable
to ensure continuity of service.

Within 60 days following contract award, the Contractor shall formally
submit an emergency/disaster contingency plan for COR review and
approval. Each year, the COR shall review the plan to verify the
Contractor's capability to provide an alternate facility in cases of
emergency.

The Contractor shall develop a strike contingency plan for the
continuation of services required by this PWS in the event of a work
stoppage, slowdown, or similar action by Contractor or subcontractor
employees. Any strike will not involve any government personnel. The
Contractor's plan shall also provide for the continuation of
subcontractor services in the event a subcontractor is unable to
satisfactorily implement his strike contingency plan. All proposed
changes to this strike contingency plan shall be approved by the COR
prior to their implementation.

**3.2.5 Contract Transition**

The Contractor shall provide: (1) a phase-in plan that describes
procedures for a smooth transition from the time of contract award to
full operational status; and (2) a phase-out plan from current contract
performance to performance by a different contractor in a follow-on
period. Phase-Out plans shall include provisions for completion of
appropriate Contractor responsibilities should there be a contract
termination proceeding.

Technical proposals shall include phase-in and phase-out plans, as
described below.

> **Phase-In Plan**
>
> The phase-in plan shall address how the Offeror will provide a work
> force that is fully qualified and capable of performing all work
> required under this contract upon award. The plan shall also address
> how the Offeror will set up the ED Pubs facility, secure necessary
> equipment and resources, assume responsibility and accountability for
> all Government-furnished property, transfer existing ED Pubs inventory
> and online catalog without disrupting operations, and work with the
> COR and OCIO to arrange and install Department of Education-provided
> FTS 2000 800 numbers. The Contractor shall pay for the cost of
> transferring materials to the new site. The Contractor shall be
> responsible for setting up the facility, ensuring necessary personnel
> for transition and assuming all responsibility of materials and
> government property.
>
> The plan shall include a schedule for performing these phase-in tasks,
> not to exceed 90 days following contract award.
>
> **Phase-Out Plan**
>
> The phase-out plan shall present procedures for phasing out contract
> performance, regardless of precipitating reasons. The plan shall
> include procedures for retaining the required staffing level
> (including key personnel) necessary to provide complete contractual
> support through expiration of the contract and describe how
> responsibility and accountability will be relinquished for all
> Government-furnished equipment. The plan shall also address
> coordination procedures with the incoming Contractor to effect a
> smooth and orderly transition at the end of the contract period.

**4.0 Quality Assurance/Quality Control**

**4.1 Government's Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan**

To ensure the highest quality performance, ED has established a
performance-based Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP), which
establishes performance standards and methods of measuring the
Contractor's achievement of all contract objectives. ED will monitor,
assess, record, and report on the Contractor's technical performance in
accordance with the procedures, methods, and guidelines set forth in its
QASP (see Appendix A).

To support ED's surveillance activities, the Contractor shall provide
real-time access for the COR and other designated ED staff to view
current and historical transactions and transaction status. All QASP
measures must be applied and shown in real time for all transactions.
This real-time access shall allow the COR to extract and analyze
transaction information for any product over any time period, by any
user characteristic (e.g., "requester type"). "Real-time" refers to
contractor's system reports that document exact system completion times
for tasks that can be reflected by such reports. For example, the Call
Center Application Report would reflect a detail report on each call for
time of day, calls received, calls answered, calls dispostioned, average
delay, service level, in or out of compliance, average talk time, etc.
For mailings, the Fulfillment report would reflect a detail report on
order number, amount of order, date order received, shipped date, in or
out of compliance status. For QASP measurements that do not lend
themselves to real-time reporting, the COR will perform traditional
monitoring means. The contractor's proposal shall reflect their
approach.

In addition, the Contractor shall provide the COR with the capability of
monitoring service calls undetected to evaluate the Contractor's phone
service performance.

To ensure adequate communication between the Contractor and ED regarding
quality performance issues, the Contractor, its designated Project
Director, Project Manager, or both, shall meet with the COR and/or CO at
the COR's request or if deemed necessary by the COR. The meetings shall
be held weekly for the first three months of the contract and biweekly
for next three months. Thereafter, meetings shall be held as often as
deemed necessary by the COR and/or CO. At these meetings, a mutual
effort will be made to resolve any problems identified. Written minutes
of these meetings shall be prepared by the Contractor and submitted to
ED for approval.

**4.2 Contractor's Quality Control Plan**

The Contractor shall establish a performance-based Quality Control Plan
to ensure that the minimum standards of performance detailed in the QASP
are fully met as specified in Appendix A. Technical proposals shall
include a draft quality control plan. An updated copy shall be provided
to the COR and the CO on the contract start date and as changes occur.
This performance-based Quality Control Plan shall include but not be
limited to the following:

-   An inspection program addressing all the services/tasks stated in
    the PWS. It must specify the areas to be inspected on either a
    scheduled or unscheduled basis and the names, titles, and
    qualifications of the individuals performing inspections and the
    extent of their authority. Their functional roles must be depicted
    in an organizational chart.

-   Methods of identifying deficiencies in the quality of services
    performed before the level of performance becomes unacceptable and
    the corrective actions needed to be taken; procedures for notifying
    the COR when deficiencies are encountered; planned corrective
    actions and descriptions of proposed sampling techniques. The
    Contractor is expected to implement a continuous improvement system.

-   Methods of documenting and enforcing quality control operations of
    both the Contractor's and subcontractors' (if any) work, including
    inspection and testing.

-   The format for the Contractor's Quality Control Reports.

-   For each option year, the contractor shall include a section on
    problems it has encountered, solutions implemented, and steps taken
    to avoid the same problems in the future.

Throughout the term of the contract, the Contractor shall maintain
documentation of all Quality Control Inspections, inspection results,
and any corrective action required and/or performed. This documentation
shall become the property of the Government and made available to both
the COR and CO upon request. The documentation shall be turned over to
the CO within ten (10) days after completion or termination of the
contract.

**5.0 Contractor Personnel**

The Contractor shall provide staff with the demonstrated experience,
education, and qualifications necessary to perform all PWS tasks and to
meet the minimum standards of performance described in Appendix A. At
minimum, Contractor staff must meet the requirements iterated in
5.1---5.3 below.

**5.1 Basic Requirements**

Contractor personnel responsible for answering the telephone and dealing
with ED employees must be able to clearly speak and easily understand
the English language, operate a TDD, and be familiar with and
experienced in using the GPO style manual and United States Postal
Service (USPS) address conventions.

**5.2 Key Staff Qualifications**

The Contractor shall provide a project director, project manager, and
systems manager as key staff for the contract, or staff positions with
comparable qualifications, as follows:

-   ***Project Director*** shall have demonstrated corporate management
    experience, particularly in the federal government contracting
    arena; be familiar with the mission and policies of the U.S.
    Department of Education and the role of this contract in supporting
    ED's mission; understand the needs of the Education field, its
    practitioners and researchers; and possess at least five (5) years
    of experience in overseeing contracts that entail contact
    center/distribution functions similar in magnitude to this
    procurement.

-   ***Project Manager*** shall have a minimum of five (5) years of
    recent experience in managing a combined contact center and
    distribution facility of similar size, scope, and complexity;
    familiarity with the mission and policies of the U.S. Department of
    Education and the role of this contract in supporting ED's mission;
    an understanding of Education policymakers, practitioners,
    researchers, and others who constitute ED constituents; and shall
    have technical experience and be knowledgeable in all facets of the
    work required under the contract. The Project Manager shall provide
    administration and technical supervision of Contractor employees and
    shall be the Contractor's primary representative and have the
    Contractor's full authority to act on matters pertaining to the
    performance of services under this contract

.

-   ***Systems Manager*** shall have a minimum of six (6) years of
    experience in overseeing the development and maintenance of
    automated systems to support complex contact center/distribution
    activities, including technologies and automated tools used to
    support the functions listed in PWS 3.1. Familiarity with ED's IT
    standards and policies is preferred.

**5.3 Other Staff Qualifications**

The Contractor shall employ staff who have knowledge of call center
operations, mail fulfillment, warehousing, and the ability to serve ED
employees and customers in a professional and courteous manner. At
minimum, the Contractor's personnel shall possess the following
knowledge, skills, and abilities:

-   Extensive knowledge in the mail fulfillment process, including
    familiarity with the U.S. Postal Service rules and regulations as
    well as other delivery services.

-   Skill in call center operations with focus on customer service.

-   Knowledge of "best practices" in information dissemination and
    distribution.

-   Skill in using databases and key word searches on the computer.

-   Ability to process orders in an effective and expeditious manner.

-   Skill in mailing list database management.

-   Experience in recommending, procuring, and implementing
    state-of-the-art information technology upgrades.

Appendix A

MINIMUM STANDARDS OF PERFORMANCE/ PERFORMANCE-BASED QUALITY ASSURANCE
SURVEILLANCE (QASP) PLAN/ SERVICE LEVEL REQUIREMENTS/

The Government will monitor the Contractor's performance in accordance
with procedures set forth in its QASP (B.1) and will take appropriate
action for all documented instances where performance falls below the
minimum standards of performance (MSP). The Contractor shall meet the
MSP described below (B.2) in performing the work described in the PWS.
The MSP identifies the point of demarcation between satisfactory and
unsatisfactory performance. In addition, the Contractor will meet the
lower control limits of the Service Level Requirements (SLR) described
in (B.3).

A.1 Performance-Based Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

INTRODUCTION

This Performance-Based Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP) has
been developed pursuant to the requirements of the Performance Based
Statement of Work in this contract. This plan sets forth procedures and
guidelines that the Department of Education will use in evaluating the
technical performance of the Contractor in Exhibit A. A copy of this
plan will be furnished to the Contractor so that it will be aware of the
methods that the government will employ in evaluating its performance,
and address any concerns that the Contractor might have prior to
initiating work. (All percentages indicated shall be quantitatively
measured on a quarterly basis.)

PURPOSE OF THE QASP

The QASP is intended to accomplish the following:

● Define the roles and responsibilities of participating Government
officials.

● Define the types of work to be performed with required end results,
i.e., work orders, preventive maintenance, distribution processes, etc.

● Describe the evaluation methods that will be employed by the
Government assessing the Contractor's performance.

● Provide copies of the quality assurance monitoring forms that will be
used by the government in documenting and evaluating the Contractor's
performance.

● Describe the process of performance documentation.

The Contractor must develop a performance based Quality Control Plan
that sets forth procedures and responsibilities for controlling
high-quality work. The Contractor must designate employee(s) to be
responsible for implementation of the quality control plan.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF PARTICPATING GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

The following Government Officials will participate in assessing the
quality of the Contractor's performance. Their roles and
responsibilities are described as follows:

Judy A. Craig will serve as the Contracting Officer's Representative
(COR). She or her authorized representative will be responsible for
monitoring, assessing, recording and reporting on the technical
performance of the Contractor on a day-to-day basis. She will have the
primary responsibility for measuring and completing the "Quality
Assurance Surveillance" report that will be used to document integrated
system work, inspection, and evaluation of the Contractor's work
performance. It is extremely important for the COR to establish and
maintain a team-oriented line of communication with the contractor's
Project Manager (PM) and the PM's office staff due to daily interface
necessary in performing monitoring functions. The COR will work directly
with designated ED Pubs Representatives to help facilitate work requests
performed by the Contractor on behalf of the Department of Education.
The COR will submit monthly costs for labor, storage, postage, and
shipping to PO budget officers.

Mr. Terence Haynes will serve as the Contracting Officer (CO) and have
overall responsibility for overseeing the Contractor's performance. The
Contract Specialist (CS) will also be responsible for the day-to-day
monitoring of the Contractor's performance in the areas of contract
compliance, contract administration, cost control and property control;
reviewing the COR's assessment of the Contractor's performance; and
resolving all differences between the COR's version and the Contractor's
version. The CO may appoint CS to attend meetings with Contractor and
act on her/his behalf. The CO may call upon the expertise of other
government individuals as required. The Contracting Officer's
procurement authorities include the following:

FINAL authority for any decisions which produce an increase or decrease
in the scope of the contract.

FINAL authority for any actions subject to the "Changes" clause.

FINAL authority for any decisions to be rendered under the "Disputes"
clause.

FINAL authority to approve the substitution or replacement of the
Project Manager and other key personnel.

FINAL authority to approve the Contractor's invoices for payment,
subject to the Limitation of Costs clause and the Limitation of Funds
clause.

FINAL authority to approve the GFE/GFP inventory turnover to the
Contractor.

FINAL authority to monitor and enforce Department of Labor-promulgated
labor requirements.

FINAL authority to administer all property-related clauses contained in
the contract.

Authority to arrange for and supervise QA activities under this
contract.

FINAL authority to approve the Contractor's Quality Control Plan,
preventive maintenance program, emergency/disaster contingency plan,
strike contingency plan, and phase-in/phase-out plan.

FINAL authority to approve significant subcontracts for work completed
on this contract.

Signatory authority for the issuance of all modifications to the
contract.

IDENTIFICATION OF THE TYPES OF WORK TO BE PERFORMED

This contract calls for the Contractor to provide publications
distribution/warehousing support services for the U.S. Department of
Education. The work to be performed under the contract falls into the
categories listed below:

Distribution/shipping-individual orders

Bulk and mass distribution

Inventory Accuracy

Customer service/contact center

Order Filling/database maintenance/marketing

Mailing list maintenance

Enhanced user surveys

Receiving Storage Inventory Control

Fax on Demand/Print on Demand

Scanning documents

Ad hoc reports on distribution and costs association for individual
products

Electronic Dissemination

Intranet/Internet Web work

METHODOLOGIES TO BE USED TO MONITOR THE CONTRACTOR'S PERFORMANCE

Even though the Government through its COR will be monitoring the
Contractor's performance on a continuous basis, the sheer volume of
tasks performed by the Contractor make 100% technical or manual
inspections impractical. Accordingly, the Department of Education will
use four methodologies (random sampling, validated complaints from ED
employees and outside customers, third party independent audit, and
automated systems reports) to monitor the Contractor's performance under
this contract. The use of these methodologies is described in Exhibit A.

QUALITY ASSURANCE REPORTING FORMS

The COR will review and file system reports and use six quality
assurance monitoring forms to document and evaluate the contractor's
performance under this contract.

The six forms, when completed, will document the COR's understanding of
Contractor requirements, what was actually done, and the impact or
consequences of what was not done.

Tally sheet indicating performance totals for each performance standard
for months to be measured and overall percentage total of the QASP.

The COR will evaluate each event in accordance with the following
definitions of contractor performance:

-   Superior (+)a level of performance that exceeds the target
    standards of performance with biannual award incentives to the
    contractor.

-   Acceptable (0), an acceptable level of performance that meets the
    target standards of performance without biannual incentives or
    deductions to the contractor.

-   Unacceptable (-), a level of performance that is not acceptable and
    fails to meet the minimum standards of performance with monetary
    deductions imposed upon the contractor.

For example, if a standard of performance is weighted 10 percent and the
contractor performs at a superior performance level it will receive 10
percent of the incentive award for that time period. If, on the other
hand, the contractor performs at the acceptable level it will receive no
incentive award. Finally, if the contractor performs at an unacceptable
level, it will be penalized 10 percent of the incentive award amount.
This calculation would be computed for each performance standard.

The COR must substantiate all tasks that he/she judges to be indicative
of "superior" or "unacceptable" performance. Performance at the
"Acceptable" level is expected from the Contractor. Performance at all
three (3) levels will be evaluated.

The COR will retain a file of system reports, customer complaints, and
monitoring forms for audit purposes. The COR will quarterly forward to
the COR/CS a completed COR QASP report containing a summary of pertinent
actions and observations by the COR and a completed ED PUBS Surveillance
Plan Results Report during the surveillance period. The QASP report
shall be submitted to the CO/CS within fifteen (15) working days of the
next quarter. The Contractor is required to respond in writing to any
negative QA monitoring form(s) within five (5) working days after
receipt of the form(s).

If a problem is discovered upon audit by COR, the Contractor will
respond in writing within five (5) working days the method(s) for
correcting the problem.

ANALYSIS OF SURVEILLANCE RESULTS

The CO/CS will review the completed QASP report prepared by the COR.
When appropriate, the CO/CS may review all files and reports to
determine if the facts and circumstances surrounding the COR QASP Report
were considered in the COR's opinions outlined in the report. The CO/CS
will immediately discuss every event receiving a substandard rating with
the Contractor to ensure that corrective action is promptly initiated.

INCENTIVES

The Department of Education shall establish performance incentives and
deductions. Incentive fee ranges shall focus on the areas that directly
contribute to customer service. Performance incentives that are included
in the contract shall be renegotiated annually to adjust for new
processes, advancements in technology, and economic factors. The
Department of Education reserves the right to not raise the range of
incentive fees. The attached Inventive Plan provides additional details
on available incentives.

A.2 Minimum Standards of Performance

A.2.1 Fulfillment Metrics

A.2.1.1 DISTRIBUTION/SHIPPING-INDIVIDUAL ORDER REQUESTS

The contractor shall ship in-stock items within two (2) business days
upon receipt of order 95% of the time.

All orders shall be shipped the most efficient and effective manner.
Timeframes for alternate format production and distribution will be
determined by COR and Contractor after award.

The Contractor shall provide real-time cost analysis prior to each order
being shipped to ensure the most cost efficient method is used.

A.2.1.2 BULK and MASS DISTRIBUTION

The contractor shall ship in-stock items within three (3) business days
upon receipt of order 95% of the time when the total number of
simultaneous mailings does not exceed 300,000 names or 5 separate lists
of requests.

All orders shall be shipped the most efficient and effective manner.
Timeframes for alternate format production and distribution will be
determined by COR and Contractor after award.

The Contractor shall establish and maintain a Quality Assurance Team for
bulk and mass distribution. The Quality Assurance Team shall perform a
comprehensive "after-pack" quality check on no less than 10 percent of
the total orders shipped each day to ensure the contents correctly match
the details of the order.

All shipping labels shall state the product name and quantity so that
BPOS clerks can verify a correct product match as the boxes flow down
the production lines.

The Contractor shall provide a system real-time cost analysis before
each order being shipped to ensure the most cost efficient method is
used. The contractor shall provide documentation of cost analysis upon
request to the COR.

The Contractor shall provide shipping and/or postage costs to the
Department and have the ability to sort these costs in a variety of ways
including, but not limited to, breakdowns for individual offices,
products, states, date ranges, and customers.

The Contractor shall provide comprehensive shipment/expenditure
estimates to the Department within 24 hours upon receiving a shipment
request unless the COR grants a waiver.

The Contractor shall provide, upon request by ED staff, professional
advice regarding such issues as packaging, to ensure the most cost
effective final product. The Contractor shall consider details such as
but not limited to size, indicia, color, and texture.

The Contractor shall provide extensive training and quality checking to
warehouse personnel to ensure the most appropriate and least expensive
package (i.e. envelope, box, jiffy bag, etc.) is used to guarantee a
safe and efficient delivery.

The Contractor shall maintain a Web site that is accessible real time to
the ED staff for purpose of viewing status of orders, order history and
inventory levels.

A.2.1.3 INVENTORY ACCURACY

The Contractor shall maintain an accurate inventory such that the
difference between the physical inventory level and the perpetual
inventory is within 5%.

A.2.1.4 LINES COMPLETE

\[Lines Complete: The number of survey respondents indicating they
received what was ordered.\]

The contractor shall ensure that 95% of all orders received during a
time period are completed within the same time period. The COR will
specify the time period. The percentage is calculated as the number of
completed orders divided by the total number of orders processed during
the specified time period. Backordered items will be excluded from the
calculation.

A.2.1.5 Order Filling

The contractor shall process 95% of all orders correctly. A correct
order is an order delivered on time, with the correct product, the
correct number of copies requested, and with the correct supporting
documentation. The Contractor shall accept and process requests by
telephone, fax, letters, Internet, e-mail, etc.

The Contractor shall establish and maintain an automatic e-mail script
service to customers whose order is returned to the Contractor.

A.2.2 Customer Service/Contact Center Metrics

A.2.2.1 CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

No more than .05% (1 per 2,000 customers served) of total quarterly
customers will make a complaint concerning contractor performance of the
fulfillment process.

A.2.2.2 AVERAGE SPEED TO ANSWER

Customers will not wait longer than an average of eighteen (18) seconds
for a customer service representative. The contractor shall answer all
calls in a courteous manner and accurately transcribe the customer's
request into a modern, Web-based warehouse management system. The
Contractor shall provide accurate and useful information on publications
to the customer.

A.2.2.3 ABANDON RATE

Less than 4% of customers will abandon calls before being helped by a
customer service representative.

### [A.3 Service Level Requirements]{.underline}

The Department of Education uses these service level requirements to
measure workload outputs. The contractor will not receive additional
monetary incentives for achieving the requirements of the SLR because
these requirements are lower control limits.

A.3.1 ADVANCE ORDERS

Advance orders occur when customers place requests for items that are
not currently in stock but that are expected to be ready for release in
a short period of time. The Contractor shall process advance orders
within three (3) days of receiving inventory.

A.3.2 CUSTOMER INQUIRY RESPONSE TIME

The Contractor should respond to all customer inquiries within eight (8)
working hours.

A.3.3 MAILING LIST MAINTENANCE

The Contractor shall update the Department of Education's more than 250
mailing lists containing more than 800,000 records on a continuous basis
to attain 98% accuracy.

The Contractor shall maintain a file and a system of noting dates
returned, reason for return, and re-mail information. No more than 2% of
all mail outs based upon Contractor's maintained lists are to be
returned as undeliverable. Quality assurance standards apply only to
Contractor-maintained mailing lists.

The Contractor shall receive the U.S. Post Office Biannual National
Change of Address (NCOA) entries and electronically update the
Contractor maintained records and addresses.

The Contractor shall update the system within 24 hours of receipt of
information.

The Contractor shall maintain specialized software packages to zip sort
each mail list to ensure maximum postal discounts.

The Contractor shall maintain mailing lists from historical distribution
records for a specific product or products.

The Contractor shall provide at the request of the Department all or
part of mailing lists that can be downloaded for ED staff evaluation and
analysis.

The Contractor shall maintain mailing lists separated by POCs on a web
site that is accessible to ED staff.

The Contractor shall establish registered users lists that will allow
for more effective targeting of interest groups and ensure that only
people who state their desire to be on ED's mailing list will receive
notices/products.

The Contractor will request and maintain e-mail addresses from all
entities on mailing lists so that future time and costs could be saved
when sending announcements or other simple communications to members of
a mailing list.

The Contractor shall provide proactive searching for potentially
interested individuals or groups that could be added to high-profile
mailing lists or used to establish new mailing lists.

A.3.4 ENHANCED USER SURVEY

The contractor shall conduct surveys at a pre-determined schedule
jointly agreed to by Contractor and the government for customer service,
measuring product satisfaction, impact, courteousness of Contractor
staff, and whether the order was filled correctly. Enhanced user surveys
are different than the Customer Satisfaction Survey. The Contractor's
approach should include user satisfaction forms with appropriate
products requested on a pre-determined schedule. Surveys will generally
be in written format, but occasionally may be taken by telephone or via
the Web. The Contractor shall include individuals with disabilities in
these surveys. Returned surveys must have their responses entered into a
centralized database, which must be used to perform monthly analysis and
reporting of survey responses. Contractor must perform physical and
electronic surveying.

A.3.5 DISCREPANCY RESOLUTION

The Contractor will resolve all discrepant shipment by re-shipping
within one (1) working day.

A.3.6 EXCESS STOCK NOTIFICATION

The Contractor will notify the PO when a stocked item has not received
any demands in the prior eighteen (18) months.

A.3.7 REORDER NOTIFICATION

The Contractor will notify the PO when stock needs to be reordered. An
inventory level equal to one hundred twenty (120) days should be
maintained.

A.3.8 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT

The Contractor should recycle products upon request. Recycling requests
shall be complete with five (5) work days.

A.3.9 REPORTING

The Contractor should provide ad hoc reports within three (3) work days
of the request.

EXHIBIT A

QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN

(QASP)

The table below summarizes the minimum standards of performance
required. The weight for each standard will be used to determine
incentive awards as described in section B.1. More detailed descriptions
for each standard are provided below the table.

  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
  Minimum                                                     
  Standards of                                                
  Performance                                                 
  and Associated                                              
  Weights                                                     
  -------------- ------------------ -------- ---------------- ----------------
  Standard       Definition         Weight   Target           Reporting
                                                              Frequency

  Fulfillment                                                 
  Metrics                                                     

  1\.            Requests for 1-5   5%       95% of all       Monthly
  Distribution   titles/pieces with          individual       
  of individual  a maximum of 5              orders are       
  requests       pieces                      shipped within 2 
                                             business days    

  2\. Bulk       Requests for 6 or  5%       95% of all       Monthly
  Shipments      more titles/pieces          orders are       
                                             shipped within 3 
                                             business days    

  3\. Mass       Shipments from a   5%       95% of all mass  Daily
  Distribution   mailing list                mailings are     
                                             shipped within 3 
                                             business days    

  4\. Inventory  Difference between 10%      Inventory        Weekly
  accuracy       physical inventory          differences are  
                 and perpetual               within 5%        
                 inventory                                    

  5\. Lines      The number of      5%       95% of survey    Monthly
  Complete       survey respondents          respondents      
                 indicating they             indicate they    
                 received what was           received         
                 ordered                     complete orders, 
                                             excluding back   
                                             orders           

  6\. Order      The number of      25%      95% of all       Monthly
  fulfillment    orders filled               orders are       
                 correctly, with             processed        
                 supporting                  correctly        
                 documentation, and                           
                 on time divided by                           
                 the total orders                             
                 processed                                    

  Customer                                                    
  Service/                                                    
  Contact Center                                              
  Metrics                                                     

  7\. Customer   Number of customer 10%      Less than .05%   Monthly
  Complaints     complaints                  of total         
                 regarding                   customers make a 
                 contractor                  complaint        
                 performance.                                 

  8\. Average    Also called        20%      The average call Real time
  Speed to       Average Delay. The          is answered      
  Answer (ASA)   average delay of            within 18        
                 all calls. It is            seconds          
                 total Delay                                  
                 divided by total                             
                 number of calls.                             

  9\. Abandon    The caller hangs   15%      Less than 4% of  Real time
  Rate           up before reaching          callers hang up  
                 an agent.                   before reaching  
                                             an agent         

  Total                             100%                      
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1\. DISTRIBUTION/SHIPPING-INDIVIDUAL ORDER REQUESTS

Contract Requirement: Section 3.1.4.1 of SOW

Performance Indicator: The Contractor shall be responsible for shipping
all in-stock items. Orders shall be shipped in the most efficient
manner. The Contractor shall ship 95% of all single/individual orders
within 2 business days. A single/individual order is defined as requests
for 1-5 titles/pieces with a maximum of 5 pieces.

Primary Method of Surveillance: The COR will use two (2) methods of
measurement: 1) Order Turnaround Reports (weight of 80% of this task)
and 2) Random Sampling of work in progress on conveyor (weight of 20% of
this task). Random sampling of packages shall be performed on each day
of audit. Packages, envelopes, poster tubes, videos and CD-ROMs from the
conveyer belt and reviewed for compliance regarding shipping within 2
business days and accuracy of the order being filled. In all cases,
sampled orders contained 1-5 products for this task.

Measured Standard of Performance (MSP):

Target standard: 95% of all single/individual orders within 2 business
days.

Weight measurement: 5%.

Level of Surveillance:

The initial level of surveillance will be at the discretion of the COR
to verify end item quality or quality control soundness. The level of
surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on the Contractor's
performance.

Sample Size: 10

Sampling Procedures: The COR shall select at random a variety of
packages from the conveyor belt and review for accuracy. A variety of
packages shall include flat packages, tubes, kits, flyers, publications,
thick packages, large and small boxes, and flat package/poster
containers.

Evaluation Procedures: The COR shall review reports extracted from the
inventory system and open various sizes of packages from the conveyor
belt. The order number, type of order, task required, clerk initials,
order correctness or error shall be noted.

Analysis of Results: The COR will compute the compliance percentages
from the Order Turnaround reports and random samplings. The percentage
that will be used to determine incentive awards will be a computation of
the report and sampling percentages as defined above.

2\. BULK DISTRIBUTION

Contract Requirement: Section 3.1.4.2 of SOW

Performance Indicator: The Contractor shall be required to perform bulk
and mass distribution of products. Items shall be shipped in the most
cost efficient manner. A bulk shipment is defined as requests for 6 or
more titles/pieces. A bulk shipment shall be shipped within 3 business
days.

Primary Method of Surveillance: The COR shall review reports extracted
from the ED Pubs Fulfillment System and opening sealed boxes ready for
shipping. After opening the boxes, the contents shall be inspected for
quality and checked against the shipment address, the mailing number,
number of items in each box, number of correct items, and the quality
rate.

Measured Standard of Performance (MSP):

Target standard: 95% of all bulk orders are shipped within (3) business
days.

Weight measurement: 5%.

Level of Surveillance: The initial level of surveillance will be at the
discretion of the COR to verify end item quality or quality control
soundness. The level of surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on
the Contractor's performance.

Sample Size: 10

Sampling Procedures: The COR shall select random sampling of packages on
each day of audits. Packages, envelopes, and posters that contain more
than 6 products from the conveyor belt shall be reviewed for compliance
regarding shipping within 3 business days and overall accuracy of the
order being filled. In all cases, sampled orders shall contain 6 or more
products for this task.

Evaluation Procedures: The COR shall review reports extracted from the
inventory system and open various sizes of packages from the conveyor
belt. The order number, type of order, task required, clerk initials,
order correctness or error shall be noted.

Analysis of Results: The COR will compute the compliance percentages
from the Order Turnaround reports and random samplings. The percentage
that will be used to determine incentive awards will be a computation of
the report and sampling percentages as defined above.

3\. MASS DISTRIBUTION

Contract Requirement: Section 3.1.4.3 of SOW

Performance Indicator: The Contractor shall be required to perform bulk
and mass distribution of products. Items shall be shipped in the most
cost efficient manner. A mass shipment is defined as shipments from a
mailing list. All mass mailing requests shall be shipped within 3
business days when the total of simultaneous mailings do not exceed
300,000 names or 5 separate lists.

Primary Method of Surveillance: The COR will use two (2) methods of
measurement: 1) Order Turnaround Reports (weight of 80% of this task)
and 2) Random Sampling of work in progress on conveyor (weight of 20% of
this task). Random sampling of packages shall be performed on each day
of audit. Packages, envelopes, poster tubes, videos and CD-ROMs from the
conveyer belt will be reviewed for compliance regarding shipping within
3 business days and accuracy of the order being filled.

The COR shall review reports extracted from the Order Turnaround Reports
and opening sealed boxes ready for shipping. After opening the boxes,
the contents shall be inspected for quality and checked against the mass
shipping request, shipment address, the mailing number, number of items
in each box, number of correct items, and the quality rate.

Measured Standard of Performance (MSP):

Target standard: 95% of all mass mailings are shipped within 3 business
days.

Weight measurement: 5%.

Level of Surveillance: The initial level of surveillance will be at the
discretion of the COR to verify end item quality or quality control
soundness. The level of surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on
the Contractor's performance.

Sample Size: 10

Sampling Procedures: The COR shall review mass mailing requests from the
system reports and select mass mailing requests and mass mailings in
progress, on conveyor belts, and in carrier trucks.

Evaluation Procedures: The COR shall open sealed pallets, counting
boxes, inspect contents against shipping order and inspecting address.
The order number, type of order, task required, clerk initials, order
correctness or error shall be noted.

Analysis of Results: The COR will compute the compliance percentages
from the Order Turnaround reports and random samplings. The percentage
that will be used to determine incentive awards will be a computation of
the report and sampling percentages as defined above.

4\. INVENTORY ACCURACY

Contract Requirement: Section 3.1.4 of SOW

Performance Indicator: All incoming products shall be received and
logged into an inventory control system within 8 business hours of
receipt. The Contractor shall maintain an accurate inventory such that
the difference between the physical inventory level and the perpetual
inventory is within 5%. The Contractor shall complete recycle requests
from the government within 5 business days. The Contractor shall resolve
discrepant shipments by reshipping within 1 business day. The Contractor
shall notify the PO when stock activity reports reflect no demands
within 18 months. The Contractor shall notify the POC when stock need to
be reordered.

Primary Method of Surveillance: The COR will use two (2) methods of
measurement -- The integrated inventory system and comparative analysis
of actual inventory on each day of the audit.

Measured Standard of Performance (MSP):

Target standard: Inventory accuracy within 5%

Weight measurement: 10%.

Level of Surveillance:

The initial level of surveillance will be at the discretion of the COR
to verify end item quality or quality control soundness. The level of
surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on the Contractor's
performance.

Sample Size: 10 deliveries

Sampling Procedures: The COR shall select, at random, products in the
system, physically locate the products as indicated in the system, check
for accuracy at the location, and note the inventory number, warehouse
location, and if correct or incorrect on the Quality Incident Log. The
COR shall review the Contractor's inventory log for receiving.

Evaluation Procedures:

The inventory differences shall be within 5%. The COR shall review the
Contractor's inventory system and complete comparative analysis of the
product received during the audit period.

Analysis of Results:

The COR will compute the compliance percentage from the random
samplings. The percentage that will be used to determine incentive
awards will be a computation of the sampling percentages.

5\. LINES COMPLETE

Contract Requirement: Section 3.1.4 of the SOW

Performance Indicator: The Contractor shall be responsible for packing
orders with the correct product and the correct number of copies
requested on the packing slip or label and operating and maintaining the
complete and accurate database. The Contractor is also responsible for
performing standard error-checking routines to ensure accuracy and
consistency of data entered. All updates shall be entered into the ED
Pubs Customer Database on a daily basis in an accurate and complete
manner.

Primary Method of Surveillance: The COR will use the ED Pubs Customer
Satisfaction Survey as a method of measurement. The Contractor will
provide the COR an interpretation of the results from the ED Pubs
Customer Satisfaction Survey reflecting service and product quality
satisfaction. The percentage of respondents indicating they had received
what they had ordered will be used as the method of measurement. The COR
will also use validated complaints as an additional sampling method of
surveillance.

Measured Standard of Performance:

Target standard: 95% of respondents from the ED Pubs Customer
Satisfaction Survey indicate that they have what they had ordered.
Backordered items will not be counted as part of the calculation.

Weight measurement: 5%

Level of Surveillance: The initial level of surveillance will be at the
discretion of the COR to verify end item quality or quality control
soundness. The level of surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on
the Contractor's performance.

Sample Size: Monthly survey results and validated complaints.

Evaluation Procedures: The COR will compute the compliance percentages
from the ED Pubs Customer Satisfaction Survey.

Analysis of Results: The COR will compute the compliance percentages
from the ED Pubs Customer Satisfaction Survey indicating they have what
they ordered.

6\. QUALITY ORDER FILLING

Contract Requirement: Section 3.1.4 of the SOW

Performance Indicator: The Contractor shall be responsible for packing
orders with the correct product and the correct number of copies
requested on the packing slip or label and operating and maintaining the
complete and accurate database. The Contractor is also responsible for
performing standard error-checking routines to ensure accuracy and
consistency of data entered. All updates shall be entered into the ED
Pubs Customer Database on a daily basis in an accurate and complete
manner.

Primary Method of Surveillance: The COR will use the Quality Incident
Log as a method of measurement. The Contractor will provide the COR a
monthly Quality Incident Log containing documentation of the date, name
of employee packing the order, customer type, description of the
incident, immediate action taken to resolve issue, resolution of the
problem, and description of error responsibility.

Measured Standard of Performance:

Target standard: 95% of all orders are filled correctly.

Weight measurement: 25%

Level of Surveillance: The initial level of surveillance will be at the
discretion of the COR to verify end item quality or quality control
soundness. The level of surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on
the Contractor's performance.

Sample Size: Two (2) each of the following assortment of shipping sizes:
flat, tube, kit, flat publication, flat flyer, small box, large box,
flat poster, and other assorted sizes.

Evaluation Procedures: The COR will compute the compliance percentages
from the Quality Incident Log, complaints received. Sampling results of
individual orders will be reflected on the Quality Assurance Daily Log
for Fulfillment. The COR will indicate the task, order number, order
type, correctness of order, error type, problems encountered, and
corrective action.

Analysis of Results: The COR will compute the compliance percentage from
the random samplings. The percentage that will be used to determine
incentive awards will be a computation of the sampling percentages.

7\. CUSTOMER COMPLAINTS

Contract Requirement, Section 3.1.2 of SOW

Performance Indicator: No more than .05% of total quarterly customers
will register a complaint regarding items under contractor control per
quarter. For these complaints related to contractor performance, this
equates to one complaint in 2,000 customer contacts. The Contractor will
be expected to obtain complete information on the nature of all
calls/requests for publications from the caller and accurately
transcribe it onto a publications request order form. The Contractor
will also be responsible for answering routine questions on publications
and be able to determine the exact publication the customer is seeking
through the data base key word or abstract search components.

Primary Method of Surveillance: Call Distribution System Reports (80%)
and Random Call Sampling (20%). Validated complaints will be used as
second method of surveillance. Also, the COR will periodically call
customers.

Measured Standard of Performance (MSP):

Target standard: No more than .05% (1 per 2,000 customers served) of
total quarterly customers will register a complaint per quarter.

Weight measurement: 10%.

Level of Surveillance: The initial level of surveillance will be at the
discretion of the COR to verify end item quality or quality control
soundness. The level of surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on
the Contractor's performance.

Sample Size: 15 calls

Sampling Procedures: The COR will randomly select a two-hour period
during a work day (work days will also be selected on a random basis)
during which the COR will monitor the time taken by the employee
assigned to the Customer Service Desk to answer incoming calls/requests
for publications. The COR will not inform the Contractor of the randomly
selected day or times during the day.

Evaluation Procedures: The COR will periodically monitor the Customer
Service Desk and will also review monthly reports supplied by the
contractor informing telephonic data. In addition, the government
reserves the right to monitor phone calls for quality of service.

Analysis of Results: The COR will review the Call Distribution System
Report and random sampling results to determine total customer
complaints.

8\. AVERAGE SPEED TO ANSWER

Contract Requirement, Section 3.1.2 of SOW

Performance Indicator: Incoming calls shall be answered in a courteous
manner with no caller waiting more than eighteen (18) seconds on average
for a customer service representative. The Contractor will be expected
to obtain complete information on the nature of all calls/requests for
publications from the caller and accurately transcribe it onto a
publications request order form. The Contractor will also be responsible
for answering routine questions on publications and be able to determine
the exact publication the customer is seeking through the data base key
word or abstract search components.

Primary Method of Surveillance: Call Distribution System Reports (80%)
and Random Call Sampling (20%).

Measured Standard of Performance (MSP):

Target standard: Average Speed of Answer (ASA) will not be greater than
eighteen (18) seconds per call.

Weight measurement: 20%.

Level of Surveillance: The initial level of surveillance will be at the
discretion of the COR to verify end item quality or quality control
soundness. The level of surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on
the Contractor's performance.

Sample Size: 15 calls

Sampling Procedures: The COR will randomly select a two-hour period
during a work day (work days will also be selected on a random basis)
during which the COR will monitor the time taken by the employee
assigned to the Customer Service Desk to answer incoming calls/requests
for publications. The COR will not inform the Contractor of the randomly
selected day or times during the day.

Evaluation Procedures: The COR will periodically monitor the Customer
Service Desk and record the number of calls received by the Customer
Service Desk and length of time each caller waited. The COR will also
review monthly reports supplied by the contractor informing telephonic
data. In addition, the government reserves the right to monitor phone
calls for quality of service.

Analysis of Results: The COR will review the Call Distribution System
Report for random computation of compliance percentage for the average
speed of answer.

9\. ABANDON RATE

Contract Requirement, Section 3.1.2 of SOW

Performance Indicator: No more than 4% of callers should abandon a call
before it is answered by a customer service representative. The
Contractor will be expected to obtain complete information on abandoned
calls and time before abandonment.

Primary Method of Surveillance: Call Distribution System Reports (80%)
and Random Call Sampling (20%).

Measured Standard of Performance (MSP):

Target standard: Abandon rate will be no more than 4%.

Weight measurement: 15%.

Level of Surveillance: The initial level of surveillance will be at the
discretion of the COR to verify end item quality or quality control
soundness. The level of surveillance may be adjusted monthly based on
the Contractor's performance.

Sample Size: 15 calls

Sampling Procedures: The COR will randomly select a two-hour period
during a work day (work days will also be selected on a random basis)
during which the COR will monitor calls. The COR will not inform the
Contractor of the randomly selected day or times during the day.

Evaluation Procedures: The COR will periodically monitor the Customer
Service Desk and record the number of calls abandoned by customers and
length of time each caller waited. The COR will also review monthly
reports supplied by the contractor informing telephonic data. In
addition, the government reserves the right to monitor phone calls for
quality of service.

Analysis of Results: The COR will review the Call Distribution System
Report for random computation of compliance percentage for the abandon
rate and average time before abandonment.

Appendix B

GOVERNMENT-FURNISHED FACILITIES, EQUIPMENT, AND SERVICES

CONTRACTOR-FURNISHED PROPERTY, SERVICES,

EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, TOOLS, AND SUPPLIES

B-1 Government-Furnished

Space and Building Services

N/A

Furniture, Furnishings, and Office Equipment

N/A

Equipment and Tools

N/A

Property

Publications/educational information inventory

FTS 2000-800 numbers

ED Pubs Master Mailing List Data

Publications Data

Data of Existing Customers

ERIC CD ROM Publication database system

Bulk Publications Ordering System (website)

America's Literacy Database (copy)

Online ordering website

Printing Services

The Government Printing Office (GPO) must print or, by delegation,
authorize the printing of the publications, brochures, pamphlets, and
other printed materials used in the performance of this contract.

The Contractor shall receive data for the databases required for
operation for this task.

Government-Provided Training

The Government will provide training to the Contractor on the use and
operation of the

Education Resources Information Center. (ERIC) CD ROM publications
database system and the Bulk Publication Ordering System (BPOS) during
the transition period. Periodic training, as necessary, will be
performed by the Government.

B-2 Contractor-Furnished

The Contractor shall provide all property, services, equipment,
materials, tools, databases, and supplies necessary to accomplish the
work under this contract to the government's satisfaction and in
accordance with minimum standards of performance. The Contractor shall
receive data for the databases required for operation for this task.

OFFICE SPACE/WAREHOUSE SPACE

The Contractor shall provide adequate protection from damage and
facilities consistent with the standards and regulations based on the
Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) of 1970.

Should the Government consider the facilities unacceptable, the
Government retains the right to require the Contractor to relocate to
facilities that meet Federal Government Standards, at the Contractor's
expense.

The Contractor shall provide sufficient space with a capacity to manage
all of ED's inventory as well as offices and call center infrastructure
required for inquiry handling.

OFFICE SUPPLIES

The Contractor shall supply all office supplies and materials, including
supplies required for computer operation, throughout the contract's
duration.

EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, TOOLS, AND SUPPLIES

The Contractor shall be responsible for furnishing all equipment,
materials, tools, databases, and supplies necessary to accomplish the
work under this contract. These include but are not limited to heavy
distribution-related machinery, conveyance systems, warehouse storage
materials, telephone system, mailing equipment, packing materials,
computers, manifesting system, etc.

The Contractor shall be responsible for obtaining necessary supplies and
materials of sufficient quality to meet all performance requirements of
the contract.

The Contractor shall receive data for the databases required for
operation for this task.

All equipment by the Contractor shall meet OSHA safety requirements.
This equipment must operate using existing building circuits. It shall
be the responsibility of the Contractor to prevent the operation or
attempted operation of electrical equipment or combinations of equipment
that require power exceeding the capability of existing guiding
circuits.

**Appendix C:**

**Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Definitions**

Acronyms used through out this Performance Work Statement (PWS) are
defined as follows:

ALD - America's Literacy Database

BPOS --- Bulk Publication Ordering System

CCR- Customer Communications Representative

CIP --- Continuous Improvement Process

CO --- Contracting Officer

COR --- Contracting Officer's Representative

CRM - Customer Relationship Management

CTI - Computer-Telephony Integration

ED --- The U.S. Department of Education

ERIC --- Education Resources Information Center

FAQ --- Frequently Asked Questions

FAR --- Federal Acquisition Regulation

FDO --- Fee Determination Official

IFDB --- Incentive Fee Determination Board

IRC --- Information Resource Center (ED)

IVR - Interactive Voice Response

MSP --- Minimum Standards of Performance

NIFL --- National Institute for Literacy

NLE --- National Library of Education (ED)

OCIO --- Office of Chief Information Officer (OCIO)

PO --- Principal Office within the U.S. Department of Education

PWS --- Performance Work Statement

QASP --- Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan

ODR --- Observed Defect Rate

OPE --- Office of Postsecondary Education (ED)

SOW --- Statement of Work incorporated into this solicitation

TDD --- Telecommunications Device for the Deaf

Definitions used throughout this PWS are defined as follows:

> ALTERNATE FORMATSAny format of a publication or information product
> that is accessible to people with disabilities, such as Braille, large
> print, audio tape versions of text documents, captioned versions of
> videotapes or text only electronic formats of documents.
>
> BULK PUBLICATION ORDERING SYSTEM (BPOS)A restricted website for
> postsecondary schools, high schools, libraries, nonprofit centers and
> agencies, guarantee agencies, higher education association and ED
> regional offices to place and to check their order history for bulk
> publications.
>
> BULK DISTRIBUTIONAny mailing of bulk quantities of a printed product,
> such as a box of applications (or a partial box), usually in response
> to an order placed by an external customer or a conference coordinator
> within ED.
>
> CONTRACTING OFFICERA person duly appointed with the authority to
> enter into and administer contracts on behalf of the government.
>
> CONTRACT DISCREPANCYA failure of the contractor to perform in
> accordance with contract requirements and specifications. A contract
> discrepancy may result from a failure of the contractor to provide, or
> provide on time, the required contract products or services; or it may
> result because delivered products or services do not meet specific
> contract standards.
>
> CONTRACT DISCREPANCY REPORT (CDR)A report used to document
> unsatisfactory contractor performance. The CDR requires the contractor
> to explain, in writing, why performance is unsatisfactory; how
> performance shall be returned to satisfactory levels; and how
> recurrence of the problem shall be prevented in the future.
>
> CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)An individual designated in
> writing by the Contracting Officer to act as his/her authorized
> representative of the and perform specific contract administrative
> functions within the scope and limitations as defined by the
> Contracting Officer.
>
> CONTRACTORThe contractor, its subsidiaries and affiliates, joint
> ventures involving the contractor, or any entity which the contractor
> may have merged or any individual or entity that assisted or advised
> the contractor in the preparation of a proposal under this
> solicitation.
>
> GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY (GFP)All equipment, goods, and land
> possessed by the government and, subsequently, delivered or otherwise
> made available to the contractor.
>
> MASS DISTRIBUTIONMailings of individual bulletins, publications,
> diskettes, etc., that are initiated by the Department o the addresses
> on one or more of its mailing lists.
>
> PERFORMANCE INDICATORA characteristic of an output of a work process
> that can be measured.
>
> PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY (PRS)Identifies the key service
> OUTPUTS AND END RESULTS of the contract that will be evaluated by the
> government to assure contract performance standards are met by the
> contractor.
>
> PUBLICATION/INFORMATION PRODUCTSAn electronic document or hard copy
> including but to limited to written works, CD-ROMs, audio-visual
> tapes, pamphlets, posters, brochures and various applications.
> Documents in alternate formats, such as Braille, audiotape and large
> print are also included in this definition.
>
> QUALITY ASSURANCEThose actions taken by the government to assure that
> the quality of purchased goods and services received are acceptable in
> accordance with established standards and requirements of the
> contract.
>
> QUALITY ASSURANCE SURVEILLANCE PLAN (QASP)A written document used by
> the government for quality assurance surveillance. The document
> contains specific surveillance methods used by the government in
> quantifying and evaluating the contractor's performance.
>
> QUALITY CONTROLActions taken by the contractor to control the
> production of goods and/or services to meet the requirements of the
> contract.
>
> RANDOM SAMPLEA statistical sampling method whereby each service
> output and resultant accomplishment has an equal chance of being
> selected.
>
> RANDOM SAMPLINGA statistical method of evaluating a few individual
> items and measuring the quantity and/or quality against pre-determined
> standards.
>
> RUSH---The need to complete an activity in less time than the
> established performance standard, generally within one business day.
>
> SAMPLEA sample consists of one or more service outputs in accordance
> with random sampling procedures to be evaluated by government
> personnel.
>
> SAMPLE SIZEThe number of outputs in the statistical sample; a group
> of one or more tasks draw from the specified performance.
>
> SYSTEM---A customized, integrated infrastructure developed and
> maintained by the contractor, to include all hardware, software, and
> technology required to support the contract requirements.

Appendix D

Reporting

The Contractor shall submit the reports listed below. The U.S.
Department of Education reserves the right to change, modify, delete, or
add report requirements for compliance by the Contractor as may be
required for ED administrative purposes. If reporting requirements are
significantly increased an equitable adjustment will be made. The
Contractor shall submit a Monthly Report and an Allocation Report to the
CO and the COR no later than 15 working days from the beginning of each
month.

1.  **Monthly Progress Report**

    a.  The Contractor shall submit concise monthly progress reports
        summarizing the previous month's activities and identifying
        problems, accomplishments, and any projected problems for the
        forthcoming moths. The MPR shall include, but not be limited to
        the following: An Executive Summary and an Operations Summary.

    b.  The Executive Summary shall contain concise statistical
        highlights of Customer Service Contact Center including
        telephone and written request statistics, statistics from the
        Receiving Fulfillment Center including receiving and
        distribution statistics, costs savings, accomplishments on
        pertinent activities, Top Ten Most Requested Products, and
        special reports.

    c.  The Operations Summary shall contain detail statistics of the
        Customer Service Contact Center. The detail statistics shall
        include the current month, total to-date, and total contract
        to-date. Detail statistics include but not limited to the
        following:

        -   Call Statistics and Analysis

        -   Written Order Statistics

        -   Month's Caller Feedback

        -   Top Ten Most Requested Products

        -   Comments on ED Pubs' Service

        -   Comments on ED's Materials

        -   Incoming Products from Government Printing Office (GPO)

        -   Aisle Audit Statistical Report

        -   Cycle Count Statistical Report

        -   Recycled Materials

        -   Shipments by Order Type (Individual Orders/mass
            Mailings/BPOS Bulk Shipments)

        -   Expedited Orders

        -   Postage/Expressage Cost Savings

        -   Summary of Customer Types

        -   Mailing List Maintenance

        -   Information Systems

        -   ED Pubs Fulfillment System

        -   ED Pubs Extranet

        -   Quality Assurance

        -   Staff Training

        -   Deliverables

        -   ED Pubs Customer Satisfaction Survey

        -   ED Pubs Marketing Plan

        -   Online Ordering Catalog

        -   Publication Scanning

        -   Bulk Publication Ordering System

        -   Individual Hotlines

        -   Special/ad hoc reports

2.  **Allocation Report**

    a.  The Contractor shall submit a monthly Allocation Report. The
        Allocation Report is an itemized expenditure report covering all
        services and materials furnished during the preceding month.

    b.  The expenditure report shall be prepared and grouped in such a
        manner that separate accounting is maintained for each Principal
        Office and include, but not be limited to costs for each
        Principal Office for the following:

        -   Storage costs

        -   Bulk and individual requests distribution costs

        -   Postage costs

        -   Aggregate total

    c.  The Contractor shall prepare and submit required Postal Service
        Forms and shall make a full accounting of all postage and
        shipping charges.

3.  **Invoice Details**

    a.  The Contractor shall submit detailed information with the
        monthly invoices.

    b.  The Schedule A invoice shall contain one-twelfth of the annual
        fixed price. It shall itemize separately BPOS maintenance, NIFL
        hotline, any future optional items or contract modifications,
        and any other fixed price CLINS designated by the COR. It shall
        also display a credit for any monies earned by the Contractor
        for recycling of items.

    c.  The Schedule B invoice shall provide separate invoices for
        Office of Student Financial Aid, Partnership for Reading, the
        National Institute for Literacy, and all other ED Pubs activity.

    d.  The Schedule B monthly invoice shall contain the following:

        -   a breakdown of the quantity and unit rate for each Sub CLIN,
            with a subtotal for each category. For example, the invoice
            detail for bulk distribution should reflect the following:

+---------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| # Bulk Distribution                   | Q       | Unit    | Total   |
|                                       | uantity | Rate    |         |
+---------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| Distribute materials in bulk, up to   |         |         |         |
| one box                               |         |         |         |
+---------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| Distribute materials in bulk, 2 to 15 |         |         |         |
| boxes                                 |         |         |         |
+---------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| Distribute materials in bulk, 16 to   |         |         |         |
| 49 boxes                              |         |         |         |
+---------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| Distribute materials in bulk, 50 or   |         |         |         |
| more boxes                            |         |         |         |
+---------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| Assemble kits (e.g. binders for       |         |         |         |
| conferences)                          |         |         |         |
+---------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+
| Subtotal                              |         |         |         |
+---------------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+

-   a separate section summarizing each rush job, including the
    quantity, unit rate, total, and ED Principal Office requesting the
    rush job.

-   Total shipping and handling costs

-   Any credits or adjustments

In addition, the Contractor shall create and submit any ad hoc reports
requested by the COR.