24Q0055_QandA.pdf

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

19PM0724Q0055 – Media Monitoring & Press Clips

1. Question – What is DBA insurance?

Answer – DBA Insurance, or Defense Base Act Insurance, is a type of workers' compensation insurance required by the United States government for contractors and subcontractors providing services under government contracts outside of the United States.

2. Question - Which insurance companies could be suggested for contacting DBA insurance?

Answer – The offeror may obtain DBA insurance directly from any Department of Labor approved providers at the DOL website at:

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/owcp/dlhwc/lscarrier

The following are the POC of three companies that have shown interest in working with Embassies overseas to provide DBA insurance and have also Spanish capabilities.

ALLIED WORLD

3. Question – Is there a confirmed requirement for DBA insurance even though our proposal would use Independent Contractors and no military or U.S. facilities would be used by our staff?

Answer – Yes, DBA, as per FAR 28.305, requires U.S. Government contractors and subcontractors to, among other things, secure workers’ compensation insurance for their employees working overseas on service contracts.

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/owcp/dlhwc/lscarrier

4. Question - Who is the current incumbent vendor?

Answer - Current company providing the service is: Brain | Powered By Data.

5. Question - What is the current or most recent contract value?

Answer – We have managed contracts of similar scope and complexity with an estimated annual contract value around $27,000.00.

6. Question – the Company has representatives and analysts in several countries but not in Panama City. Does this eliminate us from consideration?

Answer - Refer to Section 3: Solicitation Provisions, A.2.7 (page 19).

7. Question - Is it possible to see a sample of the current or required product?

Answer – this is an image showing its current appearance; additionally refer to Section 1, page 5 - Statement of Work, subpart Daily Press Summary, where this service requires summaries of each story in English, with links to the original stories in Spanish.

8. Question - Would we have to establish a branch office in Panama City if we are only using Independent Contractors?

Answer – Refer to Section 3: Solicitation Provisions, A.2.7 (page 19).

9. Question - How long would you want the media stories to be archived?

Answer – For one year or the duration of the contract, whichever period is longer.

10. Question - Are daily press clip reports required on official Embassy holidays?

Answer – No.

11. Question - Is this the first time this project is running?

Answer - no, this is not the first time this project is performed. We have previously executed same projects.

12. Question – What is the expected maximum contract value?

Answer – The expected maximum contract value will be determined through a competitive evaluation process where the U.S. government will select the offer that provides the best overall value, considering both price and adherence to all technical requirements outlined in the solicitation statement of work.

13. Question - Can you share the expected word count or page length of the daily product?

Answer – Looking for a short, concise product that is easy for the user to scan quickly. Shorter is better, but it should be comprehensive and capture U.S.-related stories and the top stories in Panama. A likely range is 500-1,000 words.

14. Question – Is there an expected number of individuals to be performing the work in this contract?

Answer – No.

15. Question - How many individuals are currently performing the work?

Answer – Approximately three.

16. Question – Is any work performed on-site at the U.S. Embassy? If not, can you please clarify the relevance of DBA to this contract?

Answer – No work will be performed on-site at the U.S. Embassy under this contract. However, we anticipate scheduling meetings or in-person conversations at the embassy as needed by the requesting office. The relevance of DBA insurance is mandated by U.S. law for all service contracts performed overseas, including in Panama, where a waiver for DBA insurance is not currently available.

17. Question - Statement of Work - Media Monitoring: “The contractor should have the capability to send email alerts no later than six hours upon publication or broadcast of the selected keywords.”

- Is there a specific window of time for this service?

- Does the Embassy require 24/7 alerts?

Answer - - The specific window of time for the service is a maximum of six hours after any given report in which any of the pre-established keywords have been published or broadcast. The Embassy needs the service provider to have the capability of sending email alerts with the results of mentions of any of the keywords at any time of the day, any day of the week (24/7). The Embassy and the contractor should be able to set up exact dates and frequency of these alerts after the contract is awarded, but the service provider must have the capability of doing it at any time.

18. Question - Can you please explain the reasoning for this requirement in Section 3: Solicitation Provisions, A.2.7: “The offeror must provide operating business form, or a branch office located in Panama City. ”? We understand that all work can be performed remotely.

Answer - Yes, refer to Section 1, page 5 - Statement of Work, subpart Media Monitoring.

The Embassy requests for the offeror to be located in Panama City to be able to provide real-time customer service support and to ensure that the company is aware of the local media landscape and make adjustments to their coverage to capture any new news shows, that may emerge while the contract is running. A company based outside of Panama will most likely not have the on-the-ground knowledge about these types of developments. This is why it is important that the service provider is able to capture the information that is actually broadcast locally in media (vs online reports uploaded to the website of traditional media outlets).