1.1.4 WX02361Y2023T SOW Media Monitoring Analytics (230421-0855).pdf

DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY

OFFICE OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW)

FOR

NEWS CLIPS SERVICES AND MEDIA MONITORING & ANALYTICS

21 April 2023

1.0 GENERAL

1.1 BACKGROUND

The Office of External Affairs (OEA) provides information to the American public to help them prepare for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate against disasters and other hazards. The division establishes and maintains effective, ongoing relationships with the media to promote the

Agency's programs, goals and core values. It provides messaging through traditional and new digital outreach methods (including social media) ensuring disaster survivors receive timely and accurate information for the most effective federal response to disasters. The Communications

Division works within OEA to directly engage with FEMA’s inter- and intra- agency partners, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the White House to coordinate and implement strategic messaging to stakeholders during times of crisis and day-to-day operations.

The OEA requires a support services contract that delivers current and continuous news clips, communication metrics reporting, and media monitoring that supports FEMA’s initiatives and enhances FEMA’s ability to share critical information with the American public, media, private industry sector, Congress, and other stakeholders.

1.2 SCOPE

The contract shall provide the following services:

(1) News Clips Subscription Services

(2) Media Monitoring & Analytics

(3) User Support

The contractor will provide media monitoring support to OEA through a couple different venues, including the production of daily media clip reports that include links to and summaries of media articles relevant to FEMA topics, and access to a subscription-based service that allows OEA media analysts to access an online tool that allows ad hoc searching of media articles through keywords. The contract should also include support to OEA users to help them understand how to use the media monitoring and news clips services.

1.3 OBJECTIVE

Establish a subscription service contract with a commercial broadcast/social media monitoring service that provides services in comprehensive gathering and publication of news pertaining to

FEMA. This service will provide the capability to efficiently monitor and measure the effectiveness of FEMA’s public outreach efforts in English and Spanish.

2.0 SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS/TASKS

2.1 NEWS CLIPS SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES

2.1.1 The service shall provide 75 accessible user accounts or individual passwords to access the media analysis and monitoring platform provided by the vendor.

2.1.2 The service shall provide a news clips service that accurately captures the breadth of national media coverage of FEMA issues and provides a daily report to OEA users and OEA-approved media analysts at FEMA headquarters, joint field offices and regional offices on a daily basis.

2.1.3 The service shall provide unlimited online access to print/online & broadcast news clips from all U.S. television networks and major Nielsen markets 24/7.

2.1.4 The service shall provide a list of all available broadcast news stations available for media monitoring from within continental U.S. and offshore

U.S. territory media markets, including English and Spanish language.

FEMA accountholders shall use this list to facilitate broadcast media news searches.

2.1.5 The service shall provide a newsfeed platform for use on the FEMA intranet site or that of the vendor that is customizable to FEMA specifications.

2.1.6 The service shall provide a daily news clips product featuring the FEMA and Ready branding and categories of content established by the OEA

(e.g., emergency preparedness, tornadoes, disaster recovery, FEMA grants, National Flood Insurance Program, Flood Maps/Floods, and others as identified by FEMA OEA).

2.1.7 The service shall allow recipients to view broadcast, online, and cable news clips by clicking an icon, thumbnail or URL link with the ability to save recorded broadcast news clips from radio or television outlets as an

MP4 file as well as URL link.

2.1.8 The service shall provide a means to download an unlimited number of clips in MP4 format as well as access an unlimited number of transcripts for internal FEMA distribution to key agency officials upon demand.

2.1.9 The service shall provide media statistics in the form of data widgets that include but are not limited to: the audience exposure, geographical distribution nationwide, coverage frequency, trending themes, media sentiment and top news outlets of interest.

2.1.10 The service shall allow FEMA accountholders to create an organized archive folder to store, tag and organize an unlimited number of articles and reports.

2.1.11 The service shall allow for unlimited digital clips, unlimited keyword searches, permanent archive, and ability to filter data on the vendor’s analysis platform.

2.1.12 The service shall have the capability to be archived and retrievable by

FEMA accountholders.

2.1.13 The service shall allow FEMA accountholders to create an organized archive folder to store, tag and organize an unlimited number of articles and reports.

2.1.14 The service shall not require FEMA to purchase additional equipment or software.

2.1.15 The service shall have the ability to access the full text of news articles from online news outlets, newspapers or news sources that implement a digital subscription paywall and not require FEMA to pay an additional fee to access said news outlets. Paywalled news outlets and broadcast stations of highest priority include: USA Today, Business Insider, Reuters, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, FOX Weather, Virgin Islands Consortium (U.S. Virgin Islands), New York Times and

Houston Chronicle. Other news outlets of importance include: Law 360, E&E News, Newsmax, POLITICO Pro, Property Casualty, Bloomberg and Bloomberg Government.

2.1.16 The contractor shall allow FEMA accountholders to create multiple news clip products for dissemination to multiple distribution lists. The news clips product shall incorporate mainstream, online, broadcast TV, cable

TV, radio, trade publications, and social media content in the product.

2.1.17 The contractor shall work in partnership with OEA users and OEA-approved stakeholders to develop an unlimited number of appropriate keyword searches designed to capture the maximum amount of coverage about issues identified by OEA users and OEA-approved stakeholders, while allowing FEMA accountholders to access and edit said keyword searches upon necessity.

2.1.18 The contractor shall allow a designated agency representative(s) to manually add or remove FEMA accountholders as determined necessary by OEA leadership.

2.1.19 The contractor must provide access to national media in English and

Spanish language formats.

2.2 MEDIA MONITORING AND ANALYTICS

2.2.1 The service shall provide a written, comprehensive recap of news stories pertaining to FEMA and FEMA-related program each weekday morning no later than 7:30am EST (except holidays) to a distribution list, which will consist of an executive section, summarizing the top national stories, followed by an extended section where the full texts of news clips of all relevant stories that occurred overnight. This written, comprehensive recap will consist of a categorized compilation of all stories, based on OEA-suggested topic areas, including but not limited to National Flood

Insurance Program (NFIP) /Flood Insurance, Wildfires, Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Preparedness Grants. The URL links to these stories shall be included in this recap each morning for FEMA users’ accessibility.

OEA will provide written notification to change the topic areas that the vendor is monitoring throughout the lifespan of the contract.

2.2.2 The service shall provide quantifiable data for keywords, topics or issues submitted by FEMA accountholders, including but not limited to media analysts at FEMA headquarters, joint field offices and regional offices, dating back to calendar year 2012.

2.2.3 The service shall provide the capability for FEMA accountholders to create breakdowns of the data (historical and current) by topic or keyword, and to develop graphic representations of the data including spread of coverage by geography, volume, growth, sentiment, key messages, key themes or by source or outlet.

2.2.4 The service shall provide FEMA accountholders with the ability to create multiple curated dashboards that is customizable by users and includes graphical representation of data and accessible to said FEMA accountholders.

2.2.5 The service shall include technology within the dashboard that give OEA users and OEA-approved users the ability to search for relevant journalists through keyword searches of articles published (authored or contributed).

2.2.6 The service shall provide media analysis including media sentiment, audience impressions, duplicate stories, social media echo, and audience reach.

2.2.7 The service shall include the ability to track, monitor, collect and analyze media coverage, and article pick-up through an analytical dashboard, containing data analytic filters.

2.2.8 The service shall provide the ability to capture news from virtually all

United States, English and Spanish-language newspapers within one hour of when each article first appears on the publisher’s website.

2.2.9 The service shall provide the ability to capture news from virtually all

United States, English and Spanish-language television broadcasts, including local, national and cable news, within one hour of when it was first broadcast. Continental U.S. and offshore broadcast news outlets of highest priority include: WAPA-TV (Puerto Rico), WTCV (Puerto Rico), WLII

(Puerto Rico), WKAQ Telemundo (Puerto Rico affiliate), WSVI-ABC

(U.S. Virgin Islands), WVGN-14 (U.S. Virgin Islands), WCVI-CBS (U.S.

Virgin Islands), Radio Caracol AM radio (Miami, FL). Other broadcast stations of high importance are: KTGM-ABC (Guam), KUAM-NBC

(Guam), KITV-CBS (Guam), KVZK 5-NBC (American Samoa), KVZK

4-CBS & ABC (American Samoa). Note: during routine periods, the vendor must have the capability to capture all television news broadcasts whether or not it is on the web during emergencies. If unavailable, the vendor must outline and prove the capacity to add these additional broadcast stations to list of available broadcast stations for FEMA end users’ access.

2.2.10 The service shall provide the ability to identify news stories that may have information of interest to FEMA officials, then perform an extensive, detailed review of those news items to determine not just which are of interest, but which specific parts of the items, if any, are of interest.

2.2.11 The service shall provide the ability to capture news clips of all U.S.-based print/online and broadcast news outlets nationwide including newspaper websites that require monthly subscriptions, allowing FEMA end users to read content behind paywalls.

2.2.12 The service shall provide the ability to activate data filters to isolate or organize news clip results from keyword searches to prepare a concise briefing that allows senior officials to focus on the most germane information without being forced to review redundant or irrelevant information.

2.2.13 The service shall provide the FEMA end users the ability to remove or hide irrelevant news stories from keyword search results using either

Boolean search or a remove function embedded into the contractor’s web-based platform.

2.2.14 The service shall provide the ability to accurately quantify the coverage of

FEMA in relation to various news topics.

2.2.15 The service shall provide the ability to accurately report to FEMA the following at a minimum:

2.2.15.1 Audience Reach (including online audience)

2.2.15.2 Prominence of FEMA in the news clip article

2.2.15.3 Breakdown of coverage by type of news media

2.2.15.4 Breakdown of news coverage by a specific news outlet

2.2.15.5 Breakdown of coverage by FEMA geographic regions

2.2.15.6 Display all quantitative data in widget graphics

2.2.15.7 Display data in mobile friendly dashboards

2.2.15.8 Select customizable date ranges exceeding one year in the past

2.2.15.9 Mix categories (prominence and media sentiment) and

trends

2.2.16 The service shall provide the ability to store deliverables to a secure, vendor-hosted website. Deliverables include but are not limited to the daily news clips report, training videos, individual data analysis reports that FEMA accountholders produce.

2.2.17 The contractor shall provide surge coverage, on a flexible basis, during emergencies. This may mean addition of weekend and/or holiday briefings, updates through the day or night, inclusion of new sources of information not in the normal service (all local TV in an area, social media from targeted sources, addition of Spanish-language sources, etc.).

2.2.18 The contractor must be immediately responsive during emergencies and additions/changes to the service must not be something that must be negotiated prior to delivery in each emergency.

2.2.19 The contractor shall maintain a distribution list of FEMA recipients as designated by the FEMA program manager and be responsible for all distribution and updates, as requested by a designated FEMA point of contact.

2.2.20 The contractor shall provide a site-license contract, in which all employees of FEMA may, at FEMA’s discretion, subscribe to be in the daily distribution.

2.2.21 The contractor shall provide means for FEMA to designate an official to add/remove FEMA employees from distribution on a near-immediate basis.

2.2.22 The contractor shall provide means for FEMA, at its sole discretion, to allow employees to self-subscribe and self-unsubscribe from the distribution on a near-immediate basis.

2.2.23 The contractor shall ensure distribution is to FEMA employees only unless there is written consent to expand the distribution to non-FEMA employees

2.3 END USER SUPPORT

2.3.1 The contractor shall provide OEA users and OEA-approved users with consultants to facilitate establishing searches in the system, creating customized reports, creating customized templates, and disseminating news to appropriate stakeholders.

2.3.2 The contractor shall provide ongoing consulting, unlimited training and support for FEMA accountholders for the entirety of the period of service.

2.3.3 The contractor shall provide consultants from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (ET), Monday through Friday.

2.3.4 The contractor shall provide an online help desk for OEA users and OEA-approved users.

2.3.5 The contractor shall include user guides (online and printable), virtual trainings, a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section, and a database where screen-recorded trainings or training PDF documents can be accessible to FEMA end users for training purposes.

3.0 CONTRACTOR PERSONNEL

3.1 Personnel

The Contractor shall provide personnel to perform all requirements specified in this SOW and based on evaluation criteria established by FEMA OEA.

3.2 Continuity of Support

The Contractor shall ensure that the contractually required level of support for this requirement is maintained at all times. The Contractor shall ensure that all contract support personnel are available to assist as needed during normal business hours

Monday-Friday 8:00am ET – 5:30pm ET, while the online help desk remain available to assist after normal business hours, upon FEMA’s request. If for any reason the

Contractor staffing levels are not maintained due to vacation, leave, appointments, etc., and replacement personnel will not be provided, the Contractor shall provide e-mail notification to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) prior to employee absence. Otherwise, the Contractor shall provide a fully qualified replacement.

3.3 Employee Citizenship

Each employee of the contractor working on the contract shall either be a citizen of the

United States of America or has lawful resident status.

3.4 Contractor Personnel Administration

The contractor shall be responsible for managing and overseeing the activities of all contractor personnel, as well as subcontractor efforts used in performance of this effort.

The contractor’s management responsibilities shall include all activities necessary to ensure the accomplishment of timely and effective support performed in accordance with the requirements contained in the statement of work.

3.5 Designated Personnel

The Contractor shall provide Designated Personnel who shall be responsible for all

Contractor work performed under this SOW. The Designated Personnel shall be a single point of contact for the Contracting Officer and the COR. The name of the Designated

Personnel, and the name(s) of any alternate(s) who shall act for the Contractor in the absence of the Designated Personnel, shall be provided to the Government as part of the

Contractor's proposal. The Designated Personnel is further designated as Key by the

Government with technical and program knowledge about the media analysis platform and services provided to the agency recipient. During any absence of the Designated

Personnel, only one alternate shall have full authority to act for the Contractor on all matters relating to work performed under this contract. The Designated Personnel and all designated alternates shall be able to read, write, speak and understand English. The

Designated Personnel shall possess institutional knowledge and proficiency regarding

FEMA as well as subjects related to the agency, including but not limited to natural disaster threats, key stakeholders, congressional legislation and administrative programs.

Additionally, the Contractor shall not replace the Designated Personnel without prior approval from the Contracting Officer Representative.

3.5.1 The Designated Personnel shall be available to the COR via telephone between the hours of 8:30AM and 5:30PM EST, Monday through Friday, and shall respond to a request for discussion or resolution of technical problems within 1 hour of notification.

4.0 OTHER APPLICABLE CONDITONS

All data and instruments such as back up, memory and archive tools, processes, studies/research, or other tools and deliverables developed under this contract (to include, without limitation, any survey questionnaires, sampling methodologies, participant lists and resulting analysis) shall be the sole property of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As such, these materials may be used by FEMA and, upon FEMA direction, its contractors, for future research studies, applicable product development and program and initiatives, creation and development.

4.1 SECURITY

Contractor employees shall safeguard all information gathered while supporting the SOW against unauthorized disclosure or dissemination.

4.2 PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this contract is a base period with four (4) one (1) year option periods as follows:

Base Period August 13, 2023 thru August 12, 2024

Option Period One August 13, 2024 thru August 12, 2025

Option Period Two August 13, 2025 thru August 12, 2026

Option Period Three August 13, 2026 thru August 12, 2027

Option Period Four August 13, 2027 thru August 12, 2028

4.3 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

The primary place of performance will be the Contractor’s facilities and performance evaluation may take place virtually.

4.4 TRAVEL

Contractor travel shall not be required for this requirement.

4.5 POST AWARD CONFERENCE

The Contractor shall attend a Post Award Conference with the Contracting Officer, COR and

Program Manager no later than 10 business days after the date of award. The purpose of the Post

Award Conference, which will be chaired by the Contracting Officer, is to discuss technical and contracting objectives of this contract and review the Contractor's draft project plan. The Post

Award Conference will be held via teleconference on Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

4.6 PROJECT PLAN

The Contractor shall provide a draft Project Plan at Post Award Conference that explains how the vendor will accomplish all daily news clips and media monitoring analysis-related tasks listed in the SOW. FEMA will provide a response within 15 days of receiving the draft Project

Plan. The Contractor shall provide a final Project Plan to the COR no later than 30 business days after the Post Award Conference.

4.7 BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN

The Contractor shall prepare and submit a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to the Government.

The BCP Plan shall be due 60 business days after the date of award, and will be updated on an annual basis. The BCP shall document Contractor plans and procedures to maintain support during an emergency, including natural disasters and acts of terrorism. The BCP, at a minimum, shall include the following:

• A description of the Contractor’s emergency management procedures and policy

• A description of how the Contractor will account for their employees during an emergency

• How the Contractor will communicate with the Government during emergencies

• A list of primary and alternate Contractor points of contact, each with primary and alternate:

• Telephone numbers

• E-mail addresses

4.7.1 Individual BCPs shall be activated immediately after determining that an emergency has occurred, shall be operational within 2 hours of activation or as directed by the

Government, and shall be sustainable until the emergency situation is resolved and normal conditions are restored or the contract is terminated, whichever comes first. In case of a life-threatening emergency, the COR shall immediately make contact with the Contractor

Designated Personnel to ascertain the status of any Contractor personnel who were located in

Government controlled space affected by the emergency and facilitate a means of continuity for the media analysis service. When any disruption of normal, daily operations occur, the

Contractor Designated Personnel and the COR shall promptly open an effective means of communication and verify:

• Key points of contact (Government and contractor)

• Temporary work locations (alternate office spaces, telework, virtual offices, etc.)

• Means of communication available under the circumstances (e.g. email, webmail, telephone, FAX, courier, etc.)

• Essential Contractor work products expected to be continued, by priority

4.7.2 The Government and Contractor Project Manager shall make use of the resources and tools available to continue contracted functions to the maximum extent possible under emergency circumstances. Contractors shall obtain approval from the Contracting Officer prior to incurring costs over and above those allowed for under the terms of this contract, including but not limited to additional news clips products during weekends and federal holidays.

4.8 PROGRESS REPORTS

The Designated Personnel shall be responsible for keeping the COR informed about Contractor progress throughout the performance period of this contract and ensure Contractor activities are aligned with FEMA objectives. At a minimum, the Designated Personnel shall review the status and results of Contractor performance with the COR on a quarterly basis via teleconference.

Following quarterly progress report meetings, the Contractor shall provide a written report in electronic format that includes a standard summary on the progress of the service as well as specific bullets detailing how the Contractor will rectify errors identified by FEMA accountholders and the COR during said meetings.

4.9 GENERAL REPORT REQUIREMENTS

The Contractor shall provide all written reports in electronic format with read/write capability using applications that are compatible with FEMA workstations (Windows and Microsoft Office

Applications).

5.0 GOVERNMENT FURNISHED RESOURCES

The Government will not furnish any resources to the Contractor in support of this contract.

6.0 CONTRACTOR FURNISHED PROPERTY

The Contractor shall furnish all facilities, materials, equipment, and services necessary to fulfill the requirements of this contract.

7.0 GOVERNMENT ACCEPTANCE PERIOD

The COR will review deliverables listed below in Section 8.0 prior to acceptance and provide the contractor with an e-mail that provides documented reasons for non-acceptance. If the deliverable is acceptable, the COR will send an e-mail to the Contractor notifying it that the deliverable has been accepted.

7.1 The COR will have the right to reject or require correction of any deficiencies found in the deliverables that are contrary to the information contained in the Contractor’s accepted proposal. In the event of a rejected deliverable, the Contractor will be notified in writing by the COR of the specific reasons for rejection. The Contractor may have an opportunity to correct the rejected deliverable and return it per delivery instructions.

7.2 The COR will have 10 business days to review deliverable expectations and make comments. The Contractor shall have 10 business days to make corrections and redeliver.

7.3 All other review times and schedules for deliverables shall be agreed upon by the parties based on the final approved Project Plan. The Contractor shall be responsible for timely delivery to Government personnel in the agreed upon review chain, at each stage of the review. The Contractor shall work with personnel reviewing the deliverables to assure that the established schedule is maintained.

8.0 DELIVERABLES

ITEM

SOW

REFERENCE

DELIVERABLE /

EVENT

DUE BY

DISTRIBUTION

1 4.5 Post Award Conference 10 Business Days after Award

N/A

2 4.6 Draft Contractor

Project Plan

10 Business Days after Award

COR, Contracting

Officer

3 4.6 Final Contractor

Project Plan

30 Business Days after Award

COR, Contracting

Officer

4 4.7 Original Business

Continuity Plan

60 Business Days after Award

COR, Contracting

Officer

5 4.7 Updated Business

Continuity Plan Annually

COR, Contracting

Officer

6 4.8 Progress Reports Quarterly COR, Contracting

Officer