International Broadcasting Bureau Research Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)
Added: May 26, 2017 4:10 pm COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATIONFORBROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORSInternational Broadcasting Bureau Research Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA)B. GENERALTHIS 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. Solicitation No. BBG50-R-17-00044 is issued as a Request For Proposal (RFP) for a Firm-Fixed -Price Commercial Item Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) that will be awarded using the contracting procedures in FAR Subpart 13.5.This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect from the Federal Acquisition Regulations FAC 2005-94, 2005-95, dated January 19, 2017.This acquisition is unrestricted (full and open competition), and will be awarded using a phased evaluation process.The North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) code for this acquisition is 541910 (Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling) with a small business size standard of $15 million.B. BACKGROUND, HISTORY AND SCOPE OF EFFORTB.1 INTRODUCTIONIn the spirit of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) intends to enter into multiple Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPAs) pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 13.303 to further reduce the administrative costs of acquiring comprehensive audience research services from multiple sources.Blanket Purchase Agreements reduce contracting costs such as searching for sources, the development of technical documents, drafting complex solicitations, and the evaluation of multiple bids and offers. This BPA will further decrease costs, reduce paperwork, and save time by eliminating the need to conduct repetitive, individual procurements. The end result is to create a purchasing mechanism for the Government that works better and costs less.B.2 AGENCY BACKGROUNDThe Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) is an independent Federal entity that is responsible for U.S.-funded non-military international broadcasting of news and information to audiences around the world. It derives its authority from The International Broadcasting Act of 1994, 22 U.S.C 6201 et seq., The Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, Pub. 105-277 §§ 1301 et seq., The Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, Pub. L. 80-402, as well as other statutes and executive orders. Based in Washington, DC, the BBG oversees a combination of federal and private broadcast entities. On the federal side, BBG oversees, tough an umbrella organization called the International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), the Voice of America (VOA), and Radio and TV Marti (referred to collectively as the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB). VOA is headquartered in Washington, DC. OCB is located in Miami, FL. The BBG also issues and supervises grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL, Inc.) located in Prague, Czech Republic; Radio Free Asia (RFA, Inc.) located in Washington, D.C.; Alhurra and Radio Sawa, which are part of the Middle East Broadcasting Network (MBN), headquartered in Springfield, Virginia. While consistent with the BBG‘s overall mission to promote freedom and democracy tough accurate, objective and balanced news and information‖, each of these entities has its own unique mission under the law, and collectively they account for over 278 million regular listeners, viewers, and online content users around the world. Broadcasts take place in over 60 languages, and programs are delivered via an increasingly complex array of multi-media platforms, including Amplitude Modulation (AM) and Frequency Modulation (FM) radio, shortwave, satellite and terrestrial Television (TV), Internet (including social media), Short Message Service (SMS), and even face-to-face events. In coming years, the BBG expects to accelerate its market driven shift to digital platforms, which will have important implications for the BBG's research program and will require new approaches to traditional research methods. Offerors are strongly encouraged to study the "Performance Information" section of the BBG's most recent Performance and Accountability Reports (available on www.bbg.gov ) to gain a better understanding of some of the data points required from the International Audience Research Project (IARP).B.3 PROGRAM BACKGROUNDThe BBG, like all federal agencies, is required to show evidence of performance and effectiveness, including its impact. Common measures such as audience reach and reliability of programming have long served the BBG in assessing the impact of our media on populations, and future studies under the IARP Multiple BPA Awards (qualitative) will have an increased focus on impact assessment, as defined by achieving the BBG mission. Research is also used to drive strategic and program planning within the agency. Information about media markets, trends in technology adoption and audience demographics and preferences inform these efforts. Since 2001, the International Audience Research Program (IARP) has supplied the agency with the business intelligence required for both performance measurement and planning tough intensive study of broadcaster markets and audiences. Yet another element of the IARP research program is the evaluation of individual programs and audiences' content and format preferences in order bring actionable intelligence to BBG content producer to plan new or to fine-tune current programming.In order to meet the continuing needs of the agency, the Government intends to award a multiple award BPA during Fiscal Year 2017. The choice of a BPA, in which a group of Contractors will respond to Request for Proposals (RFP) for call orders issued by the BBG for individual studies, the number and value of which have yet to be determined, is intended to offer the agency the flexibility it requires in a global research program that must be responsive to fast-changing environments. The Contractors selected will provide the BBG with regular, current and accurate audience and market research from approximately 30-70 countries per year tough a combination omnibus surveys, qualitative research and other analysis studies. The BBG will engage third-parties (who cannot perform any IARP-related tasks for BPA holders) to perform additional data quality control (including recodes), and to maintain a master survey questionnaire.While current measures will continue to be vital to the research program, the goal is to further evolve beyond them in ways that will help the agency and its broadcasters understand more about how sub-national markets are functioning, motivations behind the media behavior of target (in addition to existing) audiences, the impact of media beyond the individual consumer, creating compelling content that is market-appropriate, extending reach across target markets, and responding to the increasing and changing requirements for performance measures by Federal oversight authorities.BBG anticipates several changes to the IARP. They include the need for: 1) a closer correlation between research questions and broadcaster mission, 2) a deeper understanding of target audiences beyond standard demographics, 3) more frequent reviews of appropriate performance measures, and 4) increased media and program consulting services to ensure research directly supports program improvement. The factors that will drive these changes include the digital revolution, enhanced Congressional and Executive Oversight of performance and impact, greater data access and integration across government, and the need for transparency in performance measurement. Statutory Requirements for Audience ResearchApplicable law requires that the BBG conduct audience research. These laws include:The International Broadcasting Act of 1994, 22 U.S.C 6201 et seq., which requires the BBG to:• Review language services and make decisions to add or delete language services at least annually;• Ensure that the quality of broadcasts conforms to applicable statutory standards;• Ensure that the broadcasts reach significant audiences; and• Use audience research as the basis for its decision-making.The Government and Performance Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), Pub. L. 103-62 mandates that all federal entities set goals and establish performance measures to indicate progress or lack of progress in meeting these goals. These results must be reported to Congress annually. At this time, the majority of GPRA performance measures for BBG depend at least in part on in- country surveys; for all measures currently used in the Performance Accountability Report (PAR) see https://www.bbg.gov/strategy-and-performance/performance-accountability/ The Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) is required to satisfy the reporting requirements of six pieces of legislation enacted from 1986-2002, including GPRA and the Reports Consolidation Act. It combines performance and audited financial information intended to assist Congress, the President and the public in assessing the BBG‘s performance relative to its mission and stewardship of the resources entrusted to it.The PAR features BBG performance indicators required by GPRA. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), who frequently audits implementation of GPRA, requires that these measures be generated by means of a bona fide sample with all appropriate documentation as to sampling error and design effects, if clustering is used, where feasible. With the nature of broadcasting and media consumption changing so rapidly, the fragmentation of media audiences is now a reality in nearly all but the most undeveloped markets, and the increasing interest in demonstrating effectiveness in support of BBG and broadcaster missions, the agency foresees the possibility of amending GPRA performance measures during the life of a new research contract. BBG plans to award contract(s) that will be flexible enough to allow for the design of new methods of measuring and reporting performance.The combined impact of these legislative and other forces affecting U.S. International Broadcasting has greatly enhanced the importance of audience research. While such research should always be structured flexibly enough to respond to a changing marketplace, performance reporting requires that research findings be available on time and in BBG specified formats, since the results must meet certain predetermined milestones every year. These milestones include:• Mandated annual deadlines for delivery of GPRA and PAR documents to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congress;• At least annual Language Service Review and annual Strategic Process.• At least one program review for each language service each year by some of the BBG broadcasters;Alternatively, in other countries that are increasingly closed to outside researchers, methods for estimating critical broadcast research variables require continuous development and ingenuity.More information on the structure of U.S. International Broadcasting can be found at the following websites:BBG - www.bbg.govVOA - www.voanews.comRadio/TV Marti - www.martinoticias.comRFE/RL - www.rferl.orgRFA -www.rfa.orgRadio Sawa - www.radiosawa.comAlhurra TV - www.alhurra.comB.4 SCOPE OF WORKThe scope of the BPA includes the conduct of all required audience and market research for the BBG, its entities - both federal and grantee - including all broadcasting organizations that the BBG supervises, to include a total of over 60 language services broadcasting worldwide. The BBG and its entities will require varying combinations of qualitative and other research.B.5 OBJECTIVESThe objective of this procurement is to award BPAs to multiple vendors under multiple task areas in support of developing a program of regular, current, accurate audience research to be conducted by contractors. The objectives of the desired research program are:• To satisfy the requirements of the agency‘s statutory framework, which stipulates that BBG use audience research as a basis for decision-making. (This decision-making includes general oversight, as well as annual reports on performance to OMB and Congress and an annual review of broadcast languages to consider additions and deletions of programming and language services, as described above.);• To meet the needs of professional broadcasting management. (The BBG recognizes that current, accurate, comprehensive audience research is essential to professional broadcasting, and that the language services of all the broadcasting entities must have access to a wide range of audience and market research to, among other things: discern media habits and how they are changing, identify and/or describe target audiences, understand content preferences, provide input to format changes, transmission requirements, and distribution opportunities, including local FM/AM, television, and digital affiliations);• To enable BBG to have consistent, accurate, reliable measurements of broadcast effectiveness, impact, and quality so that the components of a GPRA mandated Strategic Plan and Performance Plan can be enacted and applied at all levels of management in all the entities;,• To support the BBG in its collaborative relationships with other international broadcasters and U.S. Government agencies in the field of shared research;• To provide objective research on issues such as program quality and relevance in a timely manner in the direct support of approximately 75 individual program reviews conducted by several of the BBG's entities annually.B.6 TASK AREASThe IARP will require contractors to perform a host of research, analysis and reporting tasks that fall into five (5) Task Areas. Call orders may consist of activities from one or multiple Task Areas. The following provides a short description of each Task Area. Detailed Task Area information and descriptions will be provided during phase two of the solicitation process, as described in section F.1 Phased Solicitation-Evaluation Procedure of this document.The Task Areas under which prospective Offerors may compete and receive one or more awards are:Task Area 1: Omnibus Surveys: Vetting of potential omnibus vendors and their procedures, Basic Instrument Customization, Acquisition of Data, basic data Quality ControlTask Area 2: Qualitative Studies: Instrument Review, Insights Collection/Fieldwork, Insights Processing, Quality Control, Insights Analysis, Reporting, EditingTask Area 3: Other Analytic Research Studies: Analysis, Reporting, EditingTask Area 4: Non-Representative Surveys: Sampling/Recruitment Plan, Survey Instrument Customization, Data Collection/Fieldwork, Data Processing, Quality Control, Data Analysis, Reporting, Editing. This Task Area covers non-representative surveys for markets where representative BBG surveys are not possible to conduct or where detailed information cannot be obtained in a nationally-representative surveyTask Area 5: Online Audio-Visual Panels: Panel Instrument Review, Formatting and Translation; Formatting Audio-Visual Content; Participant Recruitment/Fieldwork; Data Collection/Fieldwork, Data Entry and Processing, Quality Control. This Task Area covers large sample online panels to assess audience preferences for audio visual content including TV, radio, or digital news and information or music broadcasts.B.7 BPA CALL ORDER WORKa. The Contractor shall provide all necessary direct and indirect labor, materials, equipment, supervision, management, travel, subcontracts, and any other items, personnel or material resources or miscellaneous items that are necessary for the Contractor to perform all work under BPA Call Orders that are issued to the Contractor by an authorized Ordering Official (i.e., Contracting Officer (CO), Contracting Officer Representative (COR).b. The BPA individual Call Orders performed by the Contractor will be in the five (5) Task Areas described in Section B.6 herein. The ordering procedure and required documentation for individual Call Orders are stated in section C.7 ORDER PLACEMENT AND FUNDING of this document.c. Individual Call Orders shall be competed amongst the multiple BPA awardees to determine fair and reasonable pricing.d. In addition, fair and reasonable pricing may be determined by use of historical pricing data on same and/or similar requirements. Also, to provide competition to the maximum practical extent possible the BBG encourages all interested Contractors to minimize and avoid any exclusive subcontract agreements.e. BBG reserves the right to include option periods in the Call Orders, when deemed necessary. Also, BBG may request cost or pricing data for any period to determine fair and reasonable pricing.f. Whenever Call Order work necessitates the use of a subcontractor(s) for any required fieldwork or other work, the Contractor's proposed price for the Call Order should include the price such subcontracting work.g. Offerors must provide Firm-Fixed-Priced proposals for each Call Order on which they bid. The quoted price must include all costs, including direct labor, fringe benefits, overheads and profit. If specified in the Call Order, Offerors may include multiple pricing options (for example with travel and/or without travel, etc.) h. All Deliverables under all call orders shall become Federal Government property.B.8 TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTSThe Contractor shall implement audience and market research for the BBG and its entities and all the broadcasting organizations that it supervises, to include a total of over 60 language services broadcasting worldwide. The BBG and its entities will require varying combinations of quantitative, qualitative and other research. These combinations will be specified in Task and Delivery Orders issued under the contract. The Contractors will in every case be responsible for quality control and for delivery of the resulting research findings in specified formats and by the dates specified in the Task and Delivery Order.Precise project milestones, deliverable formats and deliverable deadlines will be outlined in each Call Order. Specifically, the Contractors are required to:• Conduct, directly or tough subcontract arrangements, fieldwork related to data collection, quality control, data processing and analysis of research findings in accordance with schedules outlined in the Call Orders;• Ensure all intellectual property rights clauses as well as mandatory federal clauses flow- down to subcontracts.• Provide expert consultation on turning research findings into actionable program improvements to broadcasters of a selection of specified language services;• Comply with BBG document naming conventions, which are:• All study related documents will be have AAA-BB-CCC at the beginning of the file name, with AAA standing for the first tee letters of the country name (with some exceptions such as IRN for Iran and IRQ for Iraq), BB for the project type (e.g. OM for omnibus survey, FG for focus groups etc.), CC standing for the FY in which the study was commissioned, and DDD standing for the BBG entity serving as the project technical lead (e.g. VOA, RFE, RFA, OCB, MBN, IBB)• After the AAA-BB-CC-DDD introduction, the document type will be listed, e.g. Discussion Guide, Screener, Questionnaire, Dataset, Technical Report, Analytical Report etc.• If the document has been accepted as final by the BBG's technical representative, the word FINAL will be added • The last point of information in the document name will show the date the document was prepared, e.g. 23Jan17.• Examples:• LAO-MP-17-RFA Analytical Report 3Jun17• IRQ-FG-18-MBN Home Exercise 15Dec18• RUS-FG-18-VOA Transcripts FINAL 8Aug18• Report research findings according to report templates provided by the BBG and upload all deliverables to a password protected SharePoint site administered by the BBGAdditional detail on the above items is provided in Section B.6 of the SOW (additional detail will be provided during phase two of the solicitation tough additional solicitation information).B.8 RESEARCH MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTSManagement CapacityIn order to effectively support this Contract and the key and program staff assigned to it, the Contractor(s) is required to provide experienced back-room management, using robust and tested financial and accounting software, contract tracking and IT systems. Experienced Contract specialists must be able to create and enforce subcontracts across the globe with proper flow-down of Contract terms. Support staff must have back-up personnel when unable to perform tasks related to Contract and subcontract management.Aside from finance, accounting, contracts and administrative functions, the Contractor(s) shall also have available the following expertise available to its project staff working on this Contract, whether as employees or contractors:• Demographers/statisticians• Survey methodologists• Qualitative research specialists• Writers/editors• Subject Matter Experts• Expert Analysts Although not a requirement, the Government expects and encourages the Offerors to enter into business arrangements that will adequately support the requirements of this Contract. If two or more firms form a business arrangement and receive Task Orders under this Contract, the agency staff working on the Contract expects to have access to staff with specialized expertise, whether they are associated with the prime or subordinate firm.The Government's intent is to issue Call Orders that reflect a Performance oriented Contracting approach. In a Performance-Based Contract, the Government will specify requirements in terms of performance objectives and the Contractor(s) shall propose 'how to' best satisfy those objectives. Call Orders will be primarily negotiated and issued at the level of specific project in a specific market in one of the task areas outlined above. In totality, the agency expects all Call Orders under this BPA to produce about 20 BBG surveys, 30 omnibus surveys, 25 qualitative and 2 other analytic research projects annually.C. BPA TERMS AND CONDITIONSThe Contractor agrees to the following terms of a BPA with the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors. The Contractor shall furnish all the necessary personnel and materials required to perform the individual orders placed under this BPA within the terms specified, and at the price(s) stated in each order.C.1 BPA TermThe ordering period of this BPA is five years. There are no optional periods of performance. The initial term begins on the Date of Award and ends on June 28, 2022.Call Orders issued during the effective period of his BPA may extend beyond the effective period of this BPA. However, no new Orders may be issued once the period of performance of the BPA has expired.Orders issued under this BPA may contain optional periods of performance that the Government can exercise, subject to the terms of FAR 52.217-9. The Government may extend this BPA or orders placed under it subject to the terms of FAR 52.217-8.C.2 PLACE OF PERFORMANCEThe place of Performance for services ordered under this BPA is at the Contractor's facilities.Place of Delivery is Office of Research and Assessment, 330 Independence Ave., S.W., Room 3600, Washington, D.C. 20237Place of Acceptance and FOB point is also Office of Research and Assessment located in Washington, D.C.C.3 ESTIMATED VALUE OF ORDERS AND EXTENT OF OBLIGATIONAlthough the Government does not guarantee, nor does it commit itself to placing a minimum amount of orders, the Government estimates that over the ordering period of this BPA, it will place orders with a cumulative value that does not exceed $7,000,000. The United States Government is obligated under this BPA only to the extent of authorized call orders placed by authorized acquisition personnel who are dully warranted contracting officers.C.4 PRICING ARRANGEMENTSOrders for services requiring an SOW/PWS will be placed using one or a combination of the following pricing arrangements: Firm Fixed Price (FFP) Labor Hour (LH) Time and Materials (T&M)C.5 PAYMENTS FOR ORDERSFor orders issued on a labor hour (LH) or time-and-materials (T&M) basis: All T&M and LH orders issued under this BPA will include a ceiling price that the Contractor shall not exceed, except at its own risk. FAR 16.601 requires that T&M and LH labor rates be quoted at a fixed rate amount, using fully burdened hourly rates. FAR 16.601 requires that T&M material quotes must include the at-cost rate and any related shipping and handling costs. In other words, contractors shall not add profit or fee to charges for materials.For orders issued on a Firm Fixed Price basis, the following payment schedule will apply for each respective Task Area:The Contractor shall only invoice in accordance with the following payment schedules: Task Area 1: Omnibus SurveysMilestone Payment:Translation(s) of questionnaire module 20%Final deliverables submitted and approved 80%Task Area 2: Qualitative StudiesMilestones for FGs/IDIs/Ethnographies Payment:Translation(s) of instrument and recruitment list submitted and approved 30%Initial summary report and recordings submitted and approved 30%Final deliverables submitted and approved 40%Milestones for Monitoring Panels Payment:Translation(s) of instrument and recruitment list submitted and approved 30%Receipt of draft report (and translated completed questionnaires if required) 30%Final deliverables submitted and approved 40%Task Area 3: Other Analytic Research StudiesPayment schedule will vary according to the nature of the project, it will be detailed in call order Statement of Work (SOW). THIS SECTION LEFT BLANK INTENTIONALLYTask Area 4: Non-Representative SurveysThe BBG recognizes that preparation for and conducting surveys in Non-Representative is a lengthy process, which is reflected in the payment schedule below:Milestone Payment:Translation(s) of questionnaire and recruitment plan submitted and approved 25%Proof of 50% of interviews completed (either partial dataset or other means) and approved 25%Dataset and technical report submitted and approved 25%Final deliverables submitted and approved 25%Task Area 5: Online Audio-Visual PanelsMilestone Payment:Questionnaire finalized and formatted 20%Completed mock-up of online panel with audio-visual materials incorporated 30%Completed pre-test report 20%Receipt of final data 30%C.6 PREFERRED CUSTOMER PRICINGThe Contractor shall extend to the Government prices and rates that are as low as or lower than those prices and rates charged the Contractor's most favored customers. The Contractor shall extend to the Government any quantity and prompt payment discount it normally gives its most favored customers. The Contractor shall show on invoices any discounts that it extended during the invoice period.C.7 ORDER PLACEMENT AND FUNDINGIn order to meet the research needs of the BBG, the Government intends to issue multiple award Blanket Purchase Agreements (BPA), implemented primarily tough Firm-Fixed-Priced (FFP) Call Orders. The Government will issue a call order RFP for each individual call order, which will clearly specify the research parameters. Call Orders involving field research, other significant activities, or subcontracts will be issued on a FFP basis in order to control costs. BPA awards will be based on the Government's evaluation of all Offerors' written proposals. For each Call Order, the Government will select the offer(s) that represent best value to the Government.Orders exceeding the micro-purchase teshold will be placed in writing tough the use of standard form (SF1449, Optional Form (OF) 347 or other suitable form. This BPA does not obligate any funds. The Government will obligate funds at the time it places orders.C.8 CANCELLATION AND RENEWALa. Either party may modify or cancel this BPA, in its entirety upon sixty (60) days written notice to the other party. The Government may cancel this BPA at any time if the parties fail to agree upon any deletion, amendment or addition to this BPA when statute, Executive order, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and/or this Supplement requires. No deletion, modification, addition to, or cancellation of this BPA shall affect any contracts entered into between the parties in which this BPA or portion thereof has been incorporated by referenceb. This BPA will be reviewed annually before the anniversary of its effective date and prior to exercising an optional period of performance, should there be any options.C.9 BPA AND ORDER MANAGEMENTNotwithstanding the Contractor's responsibility for total management responsibility during the performance of orders issued under the agreement, the administration of the agreement will require maximum coordination between the Government and the Contractor during performance.C.10 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S AUTHORITYThe Contracting Officer (CO) will perform all contract administration. The CO is the only person with the authority to act as an agent of the U.S. Government under this BPA and its orders and is the only person authorized to make or approve any changes in any of the requirements of this BPA and its orders. Notwithstanding any provisions contained elsewhere in this BPA, the said authority remains solely in the Contracting Officer.In the event the Contractor makes any changes at the direction of any person other than the CO, the change will be considered to have been made without authority and no adjustment will be made to the order price to cover any increase in costs incurred as a result thereof. Only the CO has the authority to: (1) direct or negotiate any changes in the SOW or PWS; (2) modify or extend the period of performance; (3) change the delivery schedule, (4) authorize reimbursement to the Contractor for any costs incurred during the performance of orders issued under this agreement; or (5) otherwise change any terms and conditions of this agreement and/or its orders. Communications pertaining to contract administration matters shall be addressed to the CO. No changes in or deviation from the scope of the work shall be effected without a Supplemental Agreement (contract modification) executed by the CO authorizing such changes.C.11 CONTRACTING OFFICER'S REPRESENTATIVE (COR)Sonja Gloeckle is hereby designated as the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR). The Government may change the COR at any time without prior notice to the Contractor by a unilateral modification to the Contract.The Contracting Officer's Representative's contact information is:Sonja GloeckleBroadcasting Board of Governors330 Independence Ave, SW Room 3258Washington, D.C. 20237Phone: 202-382-7246E-mail: sgloeckle@bbg.govThe responsibilities and limitations of the COR are as follows: (1) The COR is responsible for the technical aspects of the project and serves as technical liaison with the Contractor. The COR is also responsible for the final inspection and acceptance of all reports, and such other responsibilities as may be specified in the call order contract.(2) The COR is not authorized to make any commitments or otherwise obligate the Government or authorize any changes, which affect the Contract price, terms or conditions. Any Contractor request for changes shall be referred to the Contracting Officer directly or tough the COR. No such changes shall be made without the expressed prior authorization of the Contracting Officer. The COR may designate assistant COR(s) to act for the COR by naming such assistant(s) in writing and transmitting a copy of such designation tough the Contracting Officer to the Contractor.D. SPECIAL CONTRACT REQUIREMENTSD.1 KEY PERSONNELContractor personnel assigned to the following key positions are considered Key Personnel and are subject to paragraphs b and c of this section: a. The following positions are considered key positions:Project Manager (and others to be determined at call order level)b. The Contractor shall obtain the consent of the Contracting Officer prior to making Key Personnel Substitutions. Replacement for Key Personnel must possess qualifications equal to or exceeding the qualifications of the key personnel being replaced specified. The Contractor shall make no substitutions of key personnel unless the substitution is necessitated by illness, death, or termination of employment. c. Requests for changes shall be submitted to the Contracting Officer at least 15 working days prior to making any permanent substitutions. The request should contain a detailed explanation of the circumstances necessitating the proposed substitutions, complete resumes for the proposed substitutes, and any additional information requested by the Contracting Officer. The Contracting Officer will notify the Contractor within 10 working days after receipt of all required information of the decision on substitutions. The contract will be modified to reflect any approved changes. D.2 NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO SUBCONTRACTAs required in FAR 44.201-1, the contractor shall notify the Contracting Officer of its intent to subcontract any portion of the contract requirements. The Government reserves the right to recommend potential sources for subcontracts to whom solicitations must be mailed during the performance of this contractD.3 RESTRICTIONS AGAINST DISCLOSURE1. The Contractor agrees, in the performance of this contract, to keep in strict confidence the information furnished by the Government and designated by the Contracting Officer or Contracting Officer's Representative as non-public BBG materials and information. The Contractor also agrees not to publish or otherwise divulge such information in whole or in part, in any manner or form, nor to authorize or permit others to do so, taking such reasonable measures as are necessary to restrict access to such information while in the Contractor's possession, to those employees needing such information to perform the work provided herein, i.e., on a need to know basis. The Contractor agrees to immediately notify the Contracting Officer in writing in the event that the Contractor determines or has reason to suspect a breach of this requirement.2. The Contractor agrees that it will not disclose any information described in paragraph 1 of this section to any persons or individual unless prior written approval is obtained from the Contracting Officer. The Contractor agrees to insert the substance of this clause in any consultant agreement or subcontract hereunder.D.4 REQUIREMENT FOR USE OF NON-DISCLUSURE AGREEMENTThe Contractor shall deliver to the COR a signed nondisclosure agreement (NDA) for all Contractor personnel for whom there exists the possibility of coming into contact with "BBG materials and information", as defined in the NDA. All such Contractor personnel must sign and submit to the COR the Non-disclosure agreement located in Appendix A (agency will provide with Phase II additional solicitation information). The contractor shall provide the signed nondisclosure agreements to the COR prior to the Contractor's staff commencing their assigned duties with the Broadcasting Board of Governors.D.5 ORGANIZATIONAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST(a) The Contractor warrants that, to the best of the Contractor's knowledge belief, there are no relevant facts or circumstances which would give rise to an organizational conflict of interest, as defined in FAR Subpart 9.5, or that the Contractor has disclosed all such relevant information. (b) The Contractor agrees that if an actual or potential organizational conflict of interest is discovered after award, the Contractor make will a full disclosure in writing to the Contracting Officer. This disclosure shall include a description of actions, which the Contractor has taken or proposes to take, after consultation with the Contracting Officer, to avoid, mitigate, or neutralize the actual or potential conflict. (c) Remedies - The Contracting Officer may terminate this contract for convenience, in whole or in part, if it deems such termination necessary to avoid an organizational conflict of interest. If the Contractor was aware of a potential organizational conflict of interest prior to award or discovered an actual or potential conflict after award and did not disclose or misrepresented relevant information to the Contracting Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, debar the Contractor for Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract. (d) The Contractor further agrees to insert provisions, which shall conform substantially to the language of this clause, including the paragraph (d), in any subcontract of consultant agreement hereunder.D.6 COMPLIANCE WITH THE LAWSThe Contractor shall comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations having the force of law, which deal with or relate to performance hereunder or the employment by the Contractor of employees.D.7 PRINTINGUnless otherwise specified in this contract, the Contractor shall not engage in, or subcontract for, any printing (as that term is defined in Title I of the Government Printing and Binding Regulations in effect on the effective date of this contract) in connection with performing under this contract. Provided, however, that performing a requirement under this contract involving the duplicating of less than 5,000 units of only one page, or less than 25,000 units in the aggregate of multiple pages, such pages are not exceeding a maximum image size of 10 and 3/4 inches by 14 and 1/4 inches, will not be deemed printing.D.8 HARMLESS FROM LIABILITYThe Contractor shall hold and save the Government, its officers, agents, and employees harmless from liability of any nature or kind, including costs and expenses to which they may be subject, for or on account of any or all suits or damages of any character whatsoever resulting from injuries or damages sustained by any person or persons or property by virtue of performance of this contract, arising or resulting in whole or in part from the fault, negligence, wrongful act or wrongful omission of the contractor, or any subcontractor, their employees, and agents.D.9 SECURITYThe contractor shall comply will all contractual and Federal information security, privacy and confidentiality requirements applicable to the operation, maintenance or support of a Federal information system. The contractor shall be required to prevent and remedy data breaches and to provide the BBG with all necessary information and cooperation, and to take all other reasonable and necessary steps and precautions, to enable the BBG to satisfy its data breach reporting duties under applicable law, regulation, or policy in the event, if any, that a breach occurs.D.10 DUPLICATION OF EFFORTThe Contractor hereby certifies that costs for work to be performed under this contract and any subcontract hereunder are not duplicative of any cost charged against any other Government contract, subcontract, or other Government source. The Contractor agrees to advise the Contracting Officer, in writing, of any other Government contract or subcontract it has performed or is performing which involves work directly related to the purpose of this contract. The Contractor also certifies and agrees that any and all work performed under this contract shall be directly and exclusively for the use and benefit of the Government, and not incidental to any other work, pursuit, research, or purpose of the Contractor, whose responsibility it will be to account for it accordingly.D.11 CONTRACT ADMINISTRATIONThe Contractor shall designate below a company official whom the BBG may contact during the period of performance of this contract for prompt contract administration:NAME:TITLE:ADDRESS:E-MAIL:PHONE:FACSIMILE:The Contractor shall also designate below a company official responsible for reviewing performance evaluation entered into the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS).NAME:TITLE:ADDRESS:E-MAIL:PHONE:FACSIMILE:D.12 INVOICE SUBMISSION(a) The Contractor shall submit an invoice to the COR via Invoicing Payment Platform (IPP) below. The COR is listed in Section C.11 above. (b) The Contractor's invoice shall list: (1) name and address of Contractor, (2) invoice date and invoice number, (3) BBG contract number (e.g., BBG50-C-17-0000) and (4) services provided.(c) Pursuant to the Prompt Payment Act, the BBG will pay the invoice within 30 days of either: (1) receipt of the invoice or (2) acceptance of deliverables; whichever is later.Note No. 1: The BBG invoicing procedures are listed below under 1952.232-91. Any costs associated with complying with these procedures will be at the Contractor's expense. Note No. 2: The invoice date must be after the period being billed. For example if the contract period of performance is 1/1/17 - 12/31/17, then the first invoice for the first quarter cannot be dated earlier than 1/1/17. In this example, the invoice cannot be dated earlier than 2/1/17.1952.232-91 Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements - Invoicing Payment Platform (IPP)(April 2016).Payment requests for all new awards must be submitted electronically tough the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Invoice Payment Platform System (IPP)."Payment request" means any request for contract financing payment or invoice payment by the Contractor. To constitute a proper invoice, the payment request must comply with the requirements identified in FAR 32.905(b). "Payment documentation and process" and the applicable Prompt Payment clause included in this contract. The IPP website address is: https://www.ipp.gov.Under this contract, the following documents are required to be submitted as an attachment to the IPP invoice (CO to edit and include the documentation required under this contract): The Contractor must follow the instruction on the attached Electronic Invoicing Advisory to enroll, access and use IPP for submitting requests for payment.If the Contractor is unable to comply with the requirement to use IPP for submitting invoices for payment, the Contractor must submit a waiver request in writing to the contracting officer.(End of clause)D.13 NOTICE OF DELAYNotice of Delay - In the event the Contractor becomes aware of a potential delay, the Contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer and COR by via email. Such email shall include the nature of the delay and whether it will have any impact (positive or negative) on the Contract.(End of clause)D.14 RELEASE OF INFORMATIONNo BBG data shall be divulged to any unauthorized person for any purpose. The contractor shall clear with the Contracting Officer any public release of information on this contract/order, to include news stories, articles, sales literature, advertisements, radio-tv spots, etc. Any request for public release of information should be addressed to:Broadcasting Board of GovernorsOffice of Public Affairs (OPA)330 Independence Avenue, SWWashington, D.C. 20237(202) 203-4400(End of clauses)E. CLAUSES AND SPECIAL PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO THIS ORDERFull text of all FAR clauses and provisions are available electronically at the following Internet address: (http://www.acquisition.gov/far). The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.212-1 Instruction to Offerors-Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation.The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation-Commercial Items, applies to this solicitation.Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provision FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items with its offer which is completed by registering in the System for Award Management (SAM) website at: HTTPS://WWW.SAM.GOV/PORTAL.Proposals must also include contractor name and address, contractor's DUNS Number, prompt payment terms, and correct remittance address, if different from mailing address. THE SUCCESSFUL CONTRACTOR MUST BE REGISTERED ONLINE IN THE SAM WEB SITE PRIOR TO CONTRACT AWARD.The FAR clause 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, is incorporated by reference and applies to this acquisition.FAR Clause 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (Jan 2017), applies to this solicitation by reference and proposed subsequent contract, as well as the following clauses contained within FAR clause 52.212-5: 52.202-1 Definitions (Nov 2013; 52.203-3 Gratuities (Apr 1984);52.203-6 Restrictions on Subcontractor Sales to the Government (Sept 2006) with Alternate I (Oct. 1995);52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement To Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights (Apr 2014);52.203-19 Prohibition on Requiring Certain Internal Confidentiality Agreements or Statements(Jan 2017)52.204-10 Reporting Executive compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Oct 2016); 52.204-19 Incorporated by Reference of Representations and Certifications (Dec 2014);52.209-6 Protecting the Government's Interest When Subcontracting with Contractors Debarred, Suspended, or Proposed for Debarment (Oct 2015);52.209-9 Updates of Publicly Available Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (Jul 2013);52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns (Nov 2016); 52.219-28 Post Award Small Business Program Representation (Jul 2013); 52.222-3 Convict Labor (June 2003); 52.222-19 Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Oct 2016); 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015); 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity (Sep 2016) (E.O. 11246); 52.222-35 Equal Opportunity for Veterans (Oct 2015); 52.222-36 Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014); 52.222-37 Employment Reports on Veterans (Feb 2016); 52.222-40 Notification of Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act (Dec 2010);52.222-50 Combating Trafficking in Persons (Mar 2015); 52.223-18 Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging while Driving (Aug 2011); 52.225-13 Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (June 2008); 52.227-18 Existing Works (Dec 2007) and 52.232-33 Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (Jul 2013).Additional FAR provisions and clauses incorporated by reference and applicable to this solicitation and the proposed subsequent contract are: 52.232-18 Availability of Funds (Apr 1984).52.204-7 System for Award Management (Oct 2016);52.209-2 Prohibition on Contracting with Inverted Domestic Corporations-Representation (Nov 2015);52.209-7 Information Regarding Responsibility Matters (Jul 2013);(End of clause)EXERCISING OF OPTIONS UNDER THIS CONTRACTThe Government reserves the right to exercise unilaterally any option included in call orders issued under this BPA, subject to the availability of funding. The parties agree that the Government may partially exercise and fund any options in the contract and may do so multiple times up to the point that the option has been fully exercised and funded. The Contractor, however, will not be entitled to any additional compensation beyond that associated with the amount of the option exercise.In the event that BBG does not give written notice to exercise an option, the contract will expire at the end of the existing period of performance (the Base Period or Option Period) as applicable. Additionally, the parties agree that, in the event the BBG decides not to exercise any options, BBG will have no further obligation to the Contractor under this contract other than to pay for services the Contractor actually rendered to BBG hereunder.(End of clause)52.217-8 OPTION TO EXTEND SERVICES (NOV 1999)The Government may require continued performance of any services within the limits and at the rates specified in the contract. These rates may be adjusted only as a result of revisions to prevailing labor rates provided by the Secretary of Labor. The option provision may be exercised more than once, but the total extension of performance hereunder shall not exceed 6 months. The Contracting Officer may exercise the option by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days of the end of the ordering period.(End of clause)F. EVALUTION PROCEDURE and BASIS FOR AWARDF.1. Phased Solicitation-Evaluation ProcedureThe Government will use the following procedure to select multiple BPA awardees. The Government will evaluate proposals in accordance with the criteria outlined in this section, including an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, and risks of each proposal. The results of the evaluation of each proposal will be provided to the Contracting Officer (CO) to support the award decision.Due to the number of proposals that the BBG anticipates receiving in response to this solicitation, in order to relieve prospective offerors and the agency of the administrative cost and burden of offeror-drafting and submission, and agency evaluation of numerous and voluminous proposal submissions and information, the agency will conduct evaluations for this procurement using a phased evaluation approach by which the agency will solicit and evaluate proposal information in two phases.The agency will solicit and evaluate proposal information in two phases to progressively reduce the number of offers being considered for contract award. The agency will execute the procedure as follows:1. The agency will not determine technical acceptability or conduct a price analysis during the first phase of the evaluation procedure. This is a FAR Part 13 procurement; the decision to eliminate any offeror tough this procedure will not constitute the establishment of a competitive range, as described in FAR 15.306[c], and it will not obligate the agency to conduct discussions or to solicit or entertain proposal revisions.2. First we will evaluate on a pass/fail basis Offerors' capability (knowledge, experience and expertise) based on Offerors' responses to the solicitation's tee (3) assessment questions using the following criteria:a. Pass - Offeror response provides us with moderate to high degree of confidence in the offeror's capability to perform the required work successfully.b. Fail - Offeror response provides us with a no to low degree of confidence in the offeror's capability to perform the required work successfully.3. We will eliminate from further consideration offerors whose proposals receive a Fail rating during the first phase - the agency will not consider for award any offeror whose proposal provides the agency with no to low degree of confidence in the offeror's capability to perform the required work successfully, regardless of price or past performance considerations.4. For the second phase of the evaluation, the agency will provide additional solicitation information directly to all offerors not otherwise excluded from the competition during the first phase of the evaluation procedure. We will evaluate offers for technical acceptability during this phase and we will evaluate past performance.a. The additional solicitation information will include a corresponding request for additional proposal information, which the agency will evaluate against additional technical factors, such as the Offeror's management plan, its QA/QC plan, and its experience on contracts of similar scope and complexity.b. The additional solicitation information will also include sample call orders that are representative of the type of work that the agency will order, for which Offerors will be required to submit responses that we will evaluate to assess the contractor's understanding of the work, its labor/resource mix effectiveness, and to conduct the required price analysis.5. First we will conduct a price analysis of Offeror responses to sample call orders to determine whether prices are fair and reasonable, and realistic for the described work. After we perform the price analysis, we will eliminate Offerors whose prices we consider to be too low to be realistic, or too high to be considered reasonable or competitive in light of the prices offered by other Offerors and our independent estimate of price.6. Second we will evaluate Offerors' past performance. The agency will evaluate past performance references to the maximum extent practicable. Past performance considerations shall include, but not be limited to, a Contractor's performance in terms of timeliness, quality of deliverables, and cost control on previous contracts.7. The agency will use the results of the past performance evaluation to determine its level of confidence in Offerors' ability to successfully perform the requirements of the contract. We will not give further consideration to any Offeror whose proposal gives the agency low confidence in the Offeror's ability to perform the contract successfully.8. Lastly we will evaluate the remaining Offerors' management plans, QA/QC plans, and experience on contracts of similar scope and complexity and will eliminate any that are not sufficiently competitive to be selected for contract award.9. Once we have reduced the number of offerors to what we consider to be an appropriate number the agency may negotiate with none, some or all of the remaining Offerors, schedule oral presentations by the remaining Offerors, or proceed to select for award a reasonable number of Offerors for each technical task area by comparing those Offerors on the basis of their management plans, experience, past performance, understanding of the work, and price, and make an award without discussions.F.2. Phase One (I) Assessment Questions and Submission InstructionsFor the first phase of the agency's phased evaluation procedure, interested Offerors are required to respond to the assessment questions in this section to allow the Government to assess each Offeror's capability (knowledge, experience and expertise) in the relevant subject matter.Written inquiries must be received by BBG/IBB, no later than May 31, 2017, 12:00 PM., Eastern Daylight Savings Time (DST), to Seneca Belinfontie, Contract Specialist, at CONSOL@bbg.gov.Phase One (I) written response to assessment questions below are due June 5, 2017 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Savings Time.The BBG/IBB, will only accept written communications; no verbal communications will be accepted. Please submit all written information, including questions and responses to questions, via e-mail to Seneca Belinfontie, Contract Specialist, at CONQ&A@bbg.gov and include solicitation number BBG50-PS-17-00044, IBB Research Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA). Phase 1 Response Contact - Submissions in response to the assessment questions shall include designation of a primary and one alternate point of contact within the company (Name, Address, Email, and Telephone Number).ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS:1.) Demonstrate international media and audience research experience by citing relevant studies (qualitative research, omnibus surveys, non-representative surveys, other analytic research) undertaken in the past five years in any of the following countries or regions: Afghanistan, Cuba, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, Ukraine, Vietnam, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Baain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Estonia, Georgia, Ghana, Haiti, Hong Kong, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Macedonia, Mali, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, North Korea, Palestinian Territories, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Somalia, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tibet, Turkey, Turkmenistan, UAE, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Specify if a subcontractor was used or not for each project. 2.) Explain your global research experience, including in difficult to access areas or with difficult to access populations (1 page)3.) Explain in-depth expertise in the political, social, linguistic and cultural fields in markets targeted by the BBG. (1 page)To be considered, responses to assessment questions shall be submitted electronically via email to Seneca Belinfontie, Contract Specialist, at CONSOL@bbg.gov. All questions must be received by June 5, 2017, 12:00PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time.F.3. Phase Two (II) Solicitation-Evaluation PlanOfferors are advised not to proceed with this section until the agency notifies it that the Offeror has remained in the competition and has provided it with additional solicitation information.For the second phase of the evaluation process, the agency will provide additional solicitation information directly to all offerors not otherwise excluded from the competition during the first phase of the evaluation procedure. Offerors competing in the second phase will be required to submit responses to the additional solicitation information if they wish to remain under consideration for award. The Government will evaluate the proposals in against the following five (5) criteria.a) Management Plan, organization and staffing structure: Offerors' proposed plan to successfully manage the tasks and as many of the activities within the five (5) Contract Task Areas as Offeror's wish to bid on, including a full description of the corporate capabilities it will bring to bear specifically in support of same, the nature of any teaming arrangements, the organizational and staffing structure proposed, including roles, lines of authority and the identification of individuals proposed to work full-time on the contract and those proposed asKey Personnel. Offerors must demonstrate that proposed personnel has the requisite professional experience as evidenced by resumes/Curriculum Vitaes (CVs) for those in key and senior roles and/or a skills matrix for junior roles. Experience includes both the technical skills relevant to the five (5) Contract Task Areas Offerors wish to bid on, and expertise in the languages, cultures and markets in which the agency broadcasts. If Offerors constitutes a team of multiple organizations, then their proposals must identify the organizational affiliation in each element of the Management Plan.b) Offerors' Experience: Offeror's verifiable past experience in conducting media and audiences related social science research and analysis, which must include description of tasks, methodologies used, deliverables, value of contract, and client contact information. The Offeror's demonstrated ability to deliver services to the Federal Government in Task Areas on which they wish to bid. Experience could be evidenced by samples of past work, such as analytic reports, research instruments and/or protocols, links to public-facing web portals, etc., which may or may not be media-related. Experience should be clearly evidenced across all key aspects of BBG requirements including research design, presentation and an analysis of findings, data management, etc. If Offerors constitutes a team of multiple organizations their proposals must identify experience by organization. Offeror's Knowledge of Best Practices - Offeror's understanding of the challenges of conducting qualitative and quantitative media research in target markets and quality of solutions to address these challenges.International experience including difficult to access areas: Offerors' verifiable ability and experience in conducting research in BBG target markets (in particular the countries listed for Task Areas 1 and 2) with a focus on a) accessing difficult to research populations and b) experience in applying creative approaches to challenging research environments. Difficulty can be defined by geographical remoteness, socio-linguistic or political factors. Offerors must graphically display countries in which it can operate, clearly distinguishing among own capabilities and working tough subcontractors. This includes in-depth expertise in the political, social, linguistic and cultural fields in regions targeted by the BBG. If Offerors constitutes a team of multiple organizations, then their proposals must identify global reach by organization.c) Past Performance: The Offeror's Technical proposal shall contain detailed information on past performance and relevant contracts for same or similar services with a minimum of tee (3) reference including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and email addresses (i.e., the point of contact who can verify the Offeror's past performance). The agency will evaluate the Offeror's past performance pursuant to FAR 15.305(a)(2). 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 will be evaluated as neutral. d) QA/QC Plan: Offerors' quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) plan it proposes to implement on the Contract, based on QA/QC policies it has used in past research adapted to the rigors of agency requirements as described in the SOW. The Offerors must demonstrate a thorough understanding of the factors that contribute to high quality research, including the elements of sampling (from frame development tough selection protocols in surveys and respondent recruitment in qualitative research), field training and oversight, data/insights, capture and processing, data/insights cleaning and verification checks and accuracy of analysis and reporting.e) Technical Approach and Price for Sample Call Orders: Offerors' proposed technical and managerial approach required to complete the sample call orders under which the offeror wishes to be considered. Interested offerors shall also provide a Price Proposal showing a price breakdown for performance of the sample call orders for the Task Areas under which they wish to be considered for award. The prices shall be provided in English and United States dollars. The agency will evaluate the total price for completeness and reasonableness prior to making an award.Offerors are advised that offers that fail to address each of the above evaluation factors may deem their proposal non-responsive and therefore unacceptable.G. PHASE TWO (II) PROPOSAL ARRANGEMENT, INSTRUCTIONS, BASIS FOR AWARDOfferors who remain in the competition for the second phase shall create and submit their proposals in accordance with this section.G.1 ARRANGEMENT OF PROPOSALOfferors shall submit their proposals in tee (3) volumes:Volume 1 - Introduction - Includes the Offeror's business information and introductionVolume 2 - Technical and Past Performance - Includes four (4) parts:Part 1 - Management Plan, organization and staffing structurePart 2 - ExperiencePart 3 - Past Performance InformationPart 4 - QA/QC PlanVolume 3 - Technical Approach and Price for Sample Call Orders - Includes Offerors' Technical approach for completing the described work and price proposal for each sample task order under which the Offeror wishes to compete.G.4. INQUIRIESQuestions concerning this solicitation must be submitted in writing and must be received by Seneca Belinfontie, Contract Specialist, no later than May 31, 2017, 12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time via email at CONQ&A@bbg.gov. Offerors are cautioned not to direct questions concerning this solicitation to anyone but the Contracting Specialist. No questions will be accepted after the established deadline date. The Government will respond to all questions in writing and may amend the solicitation to include the responses.G.5 POST AWARD CONFERENCEA post award conference with the successful Offeror may be required. If required, the Contracting Officer will contact the successful Contractor within 10 days of contract award to arrange the conference. The conference will be held at:Broadcasting Board of Governors, 330 Independence Ave, SW, Washington, D.C. 20237.G.6 SUBMISSION OF PROPOSAL (Phase II)Proposals shall be in writing and must be signed by an official who is authorized to bind the organization. Fax or oral proposals will not be accepted. Proposals shall be submitted electronically via email to Seneca Belinfontie, Contract Specialist, at CONSOL@bbg.gov. All proposals must be received by June 29, 2017, 12:00PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time.Offerors are reminded to submit tee separate attachments as outlined in section G.1 herein. Offerors may send one email with both attachments. ALL ATTACHMENTS MUST BE SENT IN "PDF FORMAT" AND THE TOTAL SIZE OF ALL ATTACHMENTS MUST NOT EXCEED 23MB. ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST INCLUDE THE SOLICITATION NUMBER (BBG50-R-17-00044) IN THE SUBJECT LINE.The agency will consider responses to assessment questions from all responsible sources, and will consider Phase II proposal submissions from all responsible sources not otherwise excluded from the competition during Phase I of the process.This request shall not be construed as an award or a promise to award a contract for the subject effort. Additionally, Offerors are advised that an award resulting from this RFP may be subject to the availability of funds in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) clause 52.232-18, Availability of Funds.G.7 BASIS FOR AWARDAfter evaluating all responsive offers and considering proposed prices, technical information, and past performance information, the Broadcasting Board of Governors will make its award decision based on a process of trade-offs to identify the proposals that represent the best value to the Government. In doing so, the Government is more concerned with obtaining superior technical and management capabilities than with making an award at the lowest overall cost to Government. Accordingly, an award will be made to the offeror(s) whose proposal(s) is/are responsive to the Government's requirements and is/are technically superior to the other offers received, the price or cost of which may or may not be the lowest. Notwithstanding the aforementioned, the Government reserves the right to accept other than the technically superior offer if the price of the technically superior offer is so great that the additional cost to the Government is considered to outweigh the benefit the Government could potentially receive from the offer's technical superiority; i.e., the Government will not make an award at a significantly higher overall price to the Government to achieve slightly superior technical skills. In the eventuality that such an offer is received, the Government will consider the next technically superior offer for award and will continue to repeat this process until it identifies the proposal that provides the greatest overall value to the Government, technical, price and other factors considered.Offers which are unrealistic in terms of technical approach or unrealistically low or high in cost(s) or price will be deemed reflective of an inherent lack of technical competency or indicative of failure to comprehend the complexity of the contract requirements and may be eliminated from further consideration. Offerors are reminded to include their best technical and price terms in their initial offer and not to automatically assume that they will have an opportunity to submit a revised offer. BBG50-17-R-00044 US Agency for Global Media
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