JOURNALISM SERVICES REQUIRED
Professional, administrative, and management support services
NAICS Code:
711 -- Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries/711510 -- Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers
(i) THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR A COMMERCIAL ITEM PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN SUBPART 12.6 AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; PROPOSALS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED.
(ii) Solicitation No. BBG50-R-14-0048 is issued as a Request For Proposal (RFP) and a contract will be awarded using simplified acquisition procedures in FAR Part 13.
(iii) This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect from the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2005-074, dated July 1, 2014.
(iv) The North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 711510.
(v) The contractor shall provide the following Contract Line Item (CLIN): The contractor shall produce television packages in accordance with the Statement of Work for a base period of one year.
(vi) The Broadcasting Board of Governors requires a Contractor to produce television packages for Central News and all programmers within the Voice of America. The contractor will report, shoot, write scripts and produce the television script in Final Cut Pro. This includes research, shooting video of news events, conduct interview(s), write script(s) approved by the requesting office and video edit the story following VOA News television standards. All television pieces must be of network quality. The contractor shall provide a script, including details of all news sources. The contractor shall collaborate in preparation of video pieces for editing and posting on the Internet or adaptation for radio when suitable. The contractor’s complete TV packages may consist of any or all of the following: two to four minutes fully produced TV stories, transcribed sound bites if required, radio turn around pieces and still photographic imagines when requested by the editor. The contractor shall provide unvoiced raw or edited material – includes elements of video story, interview(s), B-rolls, stills for Internet use. This includes “FTPing” material to Washington. The Contractor shall perform the majority of work in the VOA facility in London, United Kingdom or off site in London. Contractor must be willing to travel to war zones and other locations for breaking news coverage. BBG will not relocate any contractor to the base location. See Attachment B entitled “Statement of Work” for more details.
(vii) The Start of Service (SOS) date is August 1, 2014. The Base Period of the contract will be from the SOS Date and continue for 365 days (366 days in the event of a leap year). The Contractor shall submit a monthly invoice electronically for services provided the preceding month in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act.
(viii) The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation. FAR provisions and clauses may be obtained from the Internet Web address at: http://acquisition.gov/far/index.html. Interested contractors who are capable of providing these services should submit a proposal identifying capabilities as noted below. The contractor shall demonstrate their ability and experience in providing the required services.
Offeror’s minimum qualifications shall include but not be limited to:
1) Offeror’s Qualifications - The Offeror shall provide their resume that includes work experience, education and specialized training necessary to provide the required services under this solicitation.
2) Experience – The Offeror shall demonstrate experience in providing the required services under this solicitation to Governmental and/or commercial customers.
3) Technical Knowledge - Knowledge of Final Cut Editing system to assure post production of programs and basic knowledge of Camera features to be able to request appropriate angles to camera expert.
4) News Experience - Offeror must have the experience to go on location and cover breaking news anywhere sent by Central News Division – war zones, areas of conflict or breaking news such as elections, etc.
5) The Offeror must have extensive experience in the basic concepts of broadcast production, writing, researching, voicing and overall production with knowledge of the appropriate elements in order to create complete television, radio and internet segments or series to be used in programs or news brief and to participate in such programs for all platforms to present research or writings.
INTERESTED OFFERORS RESPONDING TO THIS SOLICITATION SHALL SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING ITEMS TO THE CONTRACTING OFFICER: (1) a Technical Proposal which addresses the technical factors described below in (ix) and (2) and a Price Proposal in accordance with (ix). The Price Proposal must contain a copy of Attachment A entitled “Price Schedule” which must be filled out by the interested contractor as well as either a copy of FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items or a statement that FAR 52.212-3 has been completed in the System for Award Management website. The technical and price proposals must be submitted separately. No price information should be contained within the technical proposal.
(ix) The Government will award Commercial Items, Firm-Fixed-Price, Non-Personal Services Purchase Orders resulting from this RFP to the responsible offerors whose offer conforming to the RFP will provide the best value to the Government, based on technical, past performance, and price. When combined, technical evaluation factors are significantly more important than cost/price. THE FOLLOWING EVALUATION AND PAST PERFORMANCE FACTORS LISTED IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE MUST BE ADDRESSED IN THE INTERESTED OFFERORS’ TECHNICAL AND PRICE PROPOSALS AND THE GOVERNMENT WILL USE THESE FACTORS TO EVALUATE THE OFFERORS’ PROPOSALS: 1) A narrative detailing the approach that they will take to meet the requirement. The offeror must illustrate its understanding of the requirement and its ability to provide the required services stated herein. The offeror must submit a brief description of its company's business and provide a company point of contact including address, e-mail address, telephone number, fax number and if applicable, the company's web-page address. (Technical Approach); 2) Recent examples (within the past three (3) years) demonstrating its experience in providing the services required under this solicitation to Governmental and/or commercial customers. Examples provided should be of the same and/or similar services specified herein. The Offeror must have the ability to film and edit material for audiences of varying backgrounds and interests; extensive knowledge in target broadcast area; and broadcast news experience and knowledge of Central News programming and target audience. Editing experience is also required in Final Cut Pro. The Offeror must also be able to use a camera on both manual and automatic settings and be able to light the subjects adequately for broadcast. (Experience) 3) Detailed information on past performance and relevant contracts for same and/or similar services with a minimum of three (3) references including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and email addresses (i.e., the point of contact who can verify performance) Pursuant to FAR 15.305(a) (2) (iv), in the case of an offeror without a record of relevant past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available, the offeror may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past performance. Offerors shall use Attachment B – Past Performance References to submit their past performance references. (Past Performance) and 4) A Separate Price Proposal showing a price breakdown for the services under solicitation. The prices shall be provided in United States dollars. The Price Proposal must contain Attachment A entitled “Service and Price Schedule” which must be filled out by the offeror. Offerors are cautioned that failure to address each of the above evaluation factors may deem their proposal unacceptable.
(x) Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items which is completed by registering in the System for Award Management (SAM) Website at: https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Proposals must also include contractor's DUNS Number, prompt payment terms, and correct remittance address, if different from mailing address. OFFERORS MUST BE REGISTERED WITH SAM PRIOR TO AWARD.
(xi) The FAR clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition with addendum to the clause. The addendum is as follows:
STATEMENT OF WORK
Non-Personal Service
TV Journalist
1.0 Introduction
The Voice of America (VOA) Central News Division has a requirement for a TV Journalist (hereinafter referred to as “Contractor”) to provide non-personal services as described below. The work shall be performed and completed for the contractor to be paid. The Contractor’s rate shall include overhead (e.g., benefits), G&A, and profit. The Contractor shall be responsible for meeting all obligations under the term of purchase order. The contractor shall at all times adhere to the standards and principles in the VoA Journalistic Code and shall request pre-approval before engaging in outside speaking and writing that might give rise to an actual or perceived violation of the Code.
2.0 Scope of Work
The Contractor shall perform and provide the following work for VOA Central News Division:
a. a. The Contractor shall perform the majority of work in the VOA facility in London, United Kingdom or off site in London. Contractor must be willing to travel to war zones and other locations for breaking news coverage. Central News will not relocate any contractor to the base location.
b. b.An assignment is a complete television package. The contractor will report, shoot, write scripts and produce the television script in Final Cut Pro. This includes research, shooting video of news events, conduct interview(s), write script(s) approved by the requesting office and video edit the story following VOA Best Practices Guide. All television pieces must be of network quality. The contractor shall provide a script, including details of all news sources. The contractor shall collaborate in preparation of video pieces for editing and posting on the Internet or adaptation for radio when suitable. The contractor’s complete TV packages may consist of any or all of the following: two to four minutes fully produced TV stories, transcribed sound bites if required, radio turn around pieces and still photographic imagines when requested by the editor. The contractor shall provide unvoiced raw or edited material – includes elements of video story, interview(s), B-rolls, stills for Internet use. This includes “FTPing” material to Washington.
c. c.The Contractor must be able to go on location and cover breaking news anywhere sent by Central News Division – war zones, areas of conflict or breaking news such as elections, etc.
d. d. VOA Central News is a 24/7 news/program operation and the Contractor’s schedule will vary depending on the need of the government. Normal duty hours will be (Monday through Friday, subject to change). Weekends and United States Federal Government holidays may be required based on the needs of the government. The Contractor shall be available to work any day (including Saturdays, Sundays or United States Government Holidays).
e. e. Assignments will be given by a London or Washington editor based on the news of the day. During his/her “Assignment”, contractor writes a script for either TV, radio and/or web. The contractor will report the story by interviewing people on subjects related to the story for either TV or radio. They will then write the script and send it via email to editors in both Washington and London. Once edited, it will be sent back to contractor who will voice, produce and edit the video and/or audio. They then send the audio or video file using VOA’s File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or any other type of communication. All material created by the Contractor becomes property of the Voice of America.
f. f. All work performed under this contract shall be completed and delivered within requested deadlines. Deadlines may change according to breaking news.
g. g. Credits are given where appropriate and copyright laws and guidelines, as well as contractual usage rights agreements, are followed carefully. Contracting Officer Representative (COR) may reject assignment if completed work does not meet our requirements.
h. h. Holidays and days off are at the discretion of the Contractor. Contractor will inform COR of time off needed in due time at least 48 hours in advance unless an emergency arises and 48 hour advance notification can’t be given. If time off is more than one week contractor will need to inform VOA one month (30 days) in advance.
i. i. The Contractor shall perform the services upon direction of the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) to be identified at the time of award.
j. j. The quality and efficiency of the services performed by the Contractor shall be reviewed on a regular basis by the COR to ensure that the Contractor is meeting the requirements of the Government.
3.0 Government Furnished Property, Facilities Services or Information
The Government will furnish office space, expendable supplies, and equipment (e.g., PC with Lan connection or camera) if necessary solely for the Contractor’s use while performing the work prescribed herein.
4.0 Period of Performance
The period of performance is anticipated to start August 1, 2014 and end on July 31, 2015.
5.0 Submission of Deliverables
The contractor will deliver their video or audio via FTP or as an email attachment to Washington and London to the COR in accordance with VOA Best Practices Guide.
6.0 Submission of Invoices
(a) The Contractor shall submit an original monthly invoice to the COR.
(b) The Contractor’s monthly invoice shall list: (1) name and address of the contractor, (2) invoice date and invoice number, (3) purchase order number i.e. BBG50-P-14-0000 and (4) the number of assignments submitted and accepted, and (5) reimbursable expenses, if any.
(c) Pursuant to the Prompt Payment Act, BBG will pay the invoice within 30 days of either: (1) receipt of the invoice or (2) acceptance of services; whichever is later.
7.0 Reimbursable Items
(a) Travel and Per Diem – The terms and conditions of the Federal Travel Regulations (FTR) shall apply to all travel and travel related matters authorized herein. The Contractor shall be reimbursed at cost for travel related expenses upon submission of properly substantiated invoices. There shall be no profit allowed on these expenses. The Contractor, in connection with the authorized travel, shall be reimbursed for:
1. The cost of economy class (coach) air fare;
2. Per Diem at Government rates prevailing when travel is undertaken; and
3. Miscellaneous expenses incurred in connection with the travel, upon provision of appropriate justification.
(b) The Contracting Officer will ask the contractor to substantiate related travel expenses by supporting information (e.g., dates, purpose of travel, and per diem) and documentation including receipts for airline travel costs, lodging, parking fees, ground transportation, and other miscellaneous fees in excess of $25.
(c) If applicable, the BBG will reimburse the Contractor for costs associated with “Local Travel” to/from the Contractor’s office to/from locations to cover stories beyond a twenty-five (25) miles radius from the London area. This reimbursement will include mileage (at FTR rates), tolls, and hourly parking.
(d) The Contractor shall obtain prior written approval from the Contracting Officer (CO) identified in the Contract before incurring any of the above reimbursable expenses.
8.0 Registration & Security
The Contractor shall possess a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and register with System for Award Management (SAM) in order to be awarded a government contract and perform government work. Please note that Contracts with individuals for performance outside the United States and its outlying areas are excepted from registration in SAM. The Contractor shall also submit required security documents and pass security clearance.
- End of Statement of Work –
I. CONTRACTING OFFICER REPRESENTATIVE: The Contracting Officer will appoint by letter a Contracting Officer Representative (COR) who will have the responsibility of ensuring that the work conforms to the requirements of the contract and such other responsibilities and authorities as may be specified in the letter of authorization or this contract. It is understood and agreed, in particular, that the COR shall not have authority to make changes in the scope or terms and conditions of the contract unless and only to the extent that such authority is specified in the letter of authorization or the contract. THE RESULTANT CONTRACTOR IS HEREBY FOREWARNED THAT, ABSENT THE REQUISITE AUTHORITY OF THE COR TO MAKE ANY SUCH CHANGES, IT MAY BE HELD FULLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY CHANGES NOT AUTHORIZED IN ADVANCE, IN WRITING, BY THE CONTRACTING OFFICER, MAY BE DENIED COMPENSATION OR OTHER RELIEF FOR ANY ADDITIONAL WORK PERFORMED THAT IS NOT SO AUTHORIZED, AND MAY ALSO BE REQUIRED, AT NO ADDITIONAL COST TO THE GOVERNMENT, TO TAKE ALL CORRECTIVE ACTION NECESSITATED BY REASON OF THE UNAUTHORIZED CHANGES. (End of Clause)
(xii) FAR clause 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation by reference and proposed subsequent contract as well as the following clauses contained within FAR clause 52.212-5: 52.204-10 Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards; 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Veterans (38 U.S.C. 4212); 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (29 U.S.C. 793); 52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging while Driving; 52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases and 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (31 U.S.C. 3332)
(xiii) Additional FAR provisions and clauses incorporated by reference and applicable to this solicitation and the proposed subsequent contract are: Not applicable
(xiv) A Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) assigned rating is not applicable to this acquisition.
(xv) Proposals shall be in writing and must be signed by an official authorized to bind the organization. Oral, faxed or emailed proposals will not be accepted. Please note that questions must be submitted in writing to Myria Carpenter by email (proposalquestionMEDC@bbg.gov) or fax (202-382-7870) and received before the deadline of 12:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time on July 15, 2014. Technical Proposals shall be submitted as an original and three (3) copies and Price Proposals shall be submitted as an original and one (1) copy. All proposals must be sent via courier or overnight delivery and must be received before the deadline set forth above. Proposals should be sent to the Attn: Myria Carpenter, Broadcasting Board of Governors, Office of Contracts, 330 C Street, SW, Room 4007 F, Washington, DC 20237 before July 23, 2014, at 12:00PM, Eastern Daylight Time.
(xvi) Contact: Myria Carpenter, Contracting Officer, email: mecarpen@bbg.gov.
All responsible sources may submit an offer that will be considered by the Agency.
Please consult the list of document viewers if you cannot open a file.
Attachment B
Type: Other (Draft RFPs/RFIs, Responses to Questions, etc..)
Posted Date: July 8, 2014
BBG50-R-14-0048_Attachment_B.pdf (91.02 Kb)
Description: Attachment B - Statement of Work
Attachment C
Type: Other (Draft RFPs/RFIs, Responses to Questions, etc..)
Posted Date: July 8, 2014
Attachment_C_VOA_Journalistic_Code.pdf (191.00 Kb)
Description: Attachment C - VOA Journalistic Code
Attachment A
Type: Other (Draft RFPs/RFIs, Responses to Questions, etc..)
Posted Date: July 8, 2014
BBG50-R-14-0048_Attachment_A.pdf (196.18 Kb)
Description: Attachment A - Price Schedule
Attachment D
Type: Other (Draft RFPs/RFIs, Responses to Questions, etc..)
Posted Date: July 8, 2014
VOA_BEST_PRACTICES_GUIDE_(Revised_June_6_2014).pdf (1,817.59 Kb)
Description: Attachment D - VOA Best Practices Guide
Contracting Office Address:
330 C Street, SW, Room 4300
Washington, District of Columbia 20237
United States
Place of Performance:
London,
United Kingdom
Primary Point of Contact.:
Myria Carpenter
mecarpen@bbg.gov
Fax: 202-382-7870
Secondary Point of Contact:
Herman Shaw
hshaw@bbg.gov
Fax: 202-382-7870
