Mental Health Mobile Apps Design, Development, and Research Support

Background
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is seeking contractor support for the design, development, and research of mental health mobile applications. The goal of this contract is to provide project management, maintain and support existing mobile applications, and ensure their integration with the Vertical Design developed solution. This initiative aims to enhance the mental health resources available to veterans through effective mobile technology.

Work Details
The Contractor shall provide the following services:

1. Project management and ongoing support for the Vertical Design solution.

2. Maintenance of the existing portfolio of mobile apps and integration with the solution.

3. Development of new mobile apps and updates to existing ones.

4. Deliverables include:
A. Research-Enabled Build
B. Web Interface Administration Access

5. Optional tasks may include professional services such as major/minor code updates, graphic design changes, backend changes, and maintenance of data transmission frameworks for iOS and Android platforms.

6. Specific categories for professional services include major app updates for CPT Coach+, PTSD Coach+, PE Coach Explorer, and others as needed by NCPTSD.

7. Maintenance tasks may involve coding, user interface design, graphic design support, quality control of app builds, and reporting on active projects in monthly progress reports.

Period of Performance
The estimated level of effort is approximately 5203 hours per year for four years (Base Year plus three Option Periods).

Place of Performance
Department of Veterans Affairs Technology Acquisition Center, Eatontown NJ 07724.

Bidder Requirements
Bidders must demonstrate capability in project management and mobile application development specific to mental health solutions. Experience with similar contracts for the VA is preferred. Bidders should also be prepared to provide a detailed execution plan including labor categories and rates upon request.

Incumbent Analysis (see Incumbents section for more detail)
This opportunity appears to have a confirmed incumbent, as Vertical Design (36C10B23C0031) is awarded $6,999,336 for continued support of over 32 public-facing and research mobile apps for VA’s NCPTSD, including app maintenance, updates, and integration with a proprietary hosted SaaS solution in Amazon GovCloud. The prior work describes maintaining and supporting iOS/Android research-enabled and public app versions, providing development frameworks, and enabling secure data capture/transmission and web-based interfaces for researchers—capabilities that align closely with the current requirement to host/maintain/support the Vertical Design solution and continue integrating and updating the existing mental health mobile app portfolio.