Attachment J-3 - 030ADV23Q0209 - QA - Podcast - 06232023 - pp. 4.pdf

Attachment J-3 - 030ADV23Q0209 – 6/23/2023 - 4 pages Responses to Questions – Podcast Production Services

6/23/2023 Page 1 of 4

# Question Answer 1 Is this a new contract, or is (was) an incumbent performing these services?

This is a new contract.

2 What is a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and where can I find it?

A Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) is a number that is issued to offerors who are registered with the System for Award Management (SAM) at SAM.gov. The Library is not involved in the process of registering for a UEI with SAM and cannot advise on the process.

3 Who is the primary point of contact for the proposal?

The proposal should be addressed to the Contracting Officer who is identified in the solicitation.

4 For past performance, do you need a narrative in addition to the part performance questionnaires? Or will the questionnaires suffice for past performance?

To satisfy the past performance requirements, the offeror’s references will complete the questionnaire and submit it to the points of contact in the solicitation. Offerors are not required to submit a narrative. See Section L of the solicitation for detailed requirements.

5 To clarify, offerors must submit a price estimate for each deliverable on Attachment J-1?

Offerors must submit a firm fixed price for each item in Attachment J-1. This is a firm fixed price contract. Prices cannot be estimates. Prices must reflect the offeror’s firm price to complete each deliverable. After the contract is awarded, prices cannot change.

6 Can you define ‘oversee and participate’ in the Podcast Series Pilot in C.3.5, p. 7?

Is the contractor responsible for recording, interviewing, editing, sourcing music/effects, and producing the pilot?

The contractor will be responsible for all aspects of producing the pilot episode, with the assistance of staff in the Office of Communications.

7 Do customers who complete the past performance questionnaire need to include any specific information in their email/subject lines (i.e. the solicitation number) when they submit it to you?

To ensure that questionnaires are not mixed up with questionnaires for other solicitations, it is preferable for references to include the solicitation number in the email subject line.

8 Do we complete page 1 of the RFQ as part of our RFQ submission?

Per Section L of the solicitation, offerors must submit a signed copy of the first page of the solicitation and signed copies of the first page of amendments. Please see Section L.

9 Section K.1 (p. 27) says 'The Offeror shall complete only paragraph (b) of this provision if the Offeror has completed the annual representations and certification electronically in the System for Award Management (SAM)..." To confirm/clarify, does this mean if our information is updated in SAM we do

Offerors whose registration information is current in the SAM system do not need to complete the rest of Section K.

6/23/2023 Page 2 of 4 not need to complete the other subsection questions in that section?

10 For the technical expertise section, would the team like to exclusively see experience developing podcasts or would other similar communications projects be considered relevant experience?

The Library would very much prefer to see experience developing podcasts as a part of the offeror’s technical expertise.

11 Is the goal of the project to conceptualize a podcast that the Library of Congress could produce in house or to connect the Library of Congress with ongoing podcast studio services?

The Library would expect the offeror to provide professional insights on both options as part of the contract.

12 For the development of this podcast, how often does the Library wish to capture content for the podcast? Will this be twice a month?

The Library anticipates that the successful offeror will provide professional advice and guidance on on episode length and frequency based on current industry best practices.

13 How many email and RSS subscribers do you have currently signed up to receive communications from the Library of Congress?

While we are unable to determine RSS feed subscribers, we currently have more than 515,000 subscribers signed up for various feeds from the Library.

(https://www.loc.gov/subscribe/)

14 How does the Library currently measure the success or impact of the OC's outbound comms or in-person events?

This information is not relevant to the execution of this contract.

15 How does the Library envision the selected offeror approaching audience segmentation as part of the scope of this project?

The Library anticipates that the successful offeror will provide professional advice and guidance for promoting the Podcast Series to broad public audiences.

16 How integrated are email sign-ups? Where and when does the Library ask visitors (web and in- person) to sign up to receive email notifications?

We encourage sign-ups for email bulletins from both a centralized website (loc.gov/subscribe) and from several individual website locations (individual blogs for blog subscriptions, for instance.) We use a service that allows new subscribers to review all of our bulletin offerings to subscribe to a number of topics.

17 How interested is the Library in engaging younger generations and potential visitors?

The Library is highly interested in engaging younger generations and potential visitors.

18 How effective has the Office of Communications been in engaging, capturing or acquiring new subscribers online or in-person?

This information is not relevant to the execution of this contract.

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19 Can the Library share the following metrics for the Library of Congress Office of Communications blog site?

1. Page views, sessions or visits (annually)

2. Time on page

3. Top viewed blogs

4. Traffic sources

5. Comments & social shares for top posts

This information is not relevant to the execution of this contract.

20 Can the Library share the following metrics for the Library's digital collections accessible online?

1. Page views, sessions or visits (annually)

2. Time on page

3. Top viewed blogs

4. Traffic sources

5. Comments & social shares for top posts

This information is not relevant to the execution of this contract.

21 How does the Library currently track in-person or on-site utilization of collections?

This information is not relevant to the execution of this contract.

22 What percentage of the Office of Communications' budget has been carved out for this initiative? Historically, what percentage of the budget has gone towards content distribution?

This information is not relevant to the execution of this contract.

23 What other Library teams will be involved in helping the Office of Communications accomplish this project?

The Office of Communications will work with several Library offices and staff that have specific subject matter expertise, content familiarity or experience speaking with the public.

24 What is the expected approval process for podcast content, including timeline and number of approvers?

The Library’s Chief Communication Officer (CCO) will provide final approval for timeline and content. Legal, congressional relations and subject matter will be asked to weigh in at key points, but the final approval will remain with the CCO.

25 What factors, events or milestones are driving the timeline for this project? (i.e., annual National Book Festival, bandwidth, lack of internal subject matter expertise, etc)

This is a proof-of-concept contract and designed to help the Library determine the feasibility of a continuing podcast production series.

26 How are the four evaluation criteria weighted?

Per Section M.1 of the solicitation: “Technical Approach, Corporate Experience and Past Performance are of approximately equal importance.”

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27 Could the Library share a few podcasts or examples of storytelling (government or commercial) that inspired the Office of Communications to explore and prioritize podcasting?

This information is not relevant to the execution of this contract.

28 What is the expectation around providing transcripts for each podcast episode?

The Library contracts for transcription services separately, so this will not be a part of the offeror’s responsibilities.

29 Are there any current expectations around average length of an episode, and frequency of publishing individual episodes?

The Library anticipates that the successful offeror will provide professional advice and guidance on episode length and frequency based on current industry best practices.

30 Will this be an English-only project? Yes.

31 Can offerors include CPARS reference instead of the past performance questionnaire (Section L. 3)? Section M Evaluation references that CPARS may be assessed.

The Library will evaluate CPARS records in addition to Past Performance Questionnaires.

32 Can the Library specify key staff that would be used for the government’s evaluation purposes in the technical approach?

The Library cannot provide this information.

33 Can the Library provide further clarification regarding the expected audience segments you want to reach, and if so which ones?

The Library seeks to reach existing consumers of popular podcast content.

34 Can the Library provide further clarification regarding clearances and approvals?

See response to Question 24, above.

35 Can the government provide further clarification regarding the potential distribution channels the Library of Congress expects to use?

The Library anticipates that the successful offeror will provide professional advice and guidance on potential distribution channels based on current industry best practices.

36 Can the government provide further clarification regarding a preference for audio versus video podcast?

Solicitation section C.3.3.2 states that this contract is for an audio-only podcast.

37 Can the government provide further clarification regarding the page limits for the technical section?

There is not a page limit for the technical proposal.