Answers.pdf

693JK426R500002 for News Clip Services Questions and Answers Sheet

Questions Answers

Is there any incumbent/recompete or this is a brand-new project? If yes, could you please provide us with their award number or even if the customer bought similar services in the past.

This is a recompete, and the current contract ends on Jun 30, 2026. The old award number

693JK421C500010.

Apologies for the separate follow-up email. We wanted to submit one additional clarification question regarding the required deliverable referenced in the solicitation.

Regarding the required Analyst Written Daily

News Briefing sample submission, can the

Government clarify whether Offerors are expected to provide a live production sample specifically reflecting news coverage from the 24-hour period immediately preceding June 11, 2026, and whether the sample must be delivered at 6:30 AM ET on the proposal due date? Alternatively, would the

Government accept a representative sample briefing submitted as part of the technical proposal package that demonstrates compliance with the briefing requirements outlined in the solicitation?

The Government will accept a representative sample briefing submitted as part of the technical proposal package that demonstrates compliance with the briefing requirements outlined in the solicitation.

Regarding the Analyst Written Daily News

Briefings requirement, can the Government clarify the expected delivery cadence for both the 4:45 AM and 6:30 AM briefings? Specifically, should

Offerors assume delivery is required Monday–

Friday/business days only, or seven (7) days per week including weekends?

Daily news briefings delivery is required seven days per week, including weekends.

Regarding the North American Media Database requirements, can the Government clarify whether

Offerors are expected to provide both:

a. A media database and outreach platform for targeted press release and media advisory distribution to curated media lists; and

b. A separate wire service web distribution capability for public newswire dissemination?

Offerors are expected to provide both an outreach platform, including a media contact database, and unlimited distribution/wire service capabilities. Estimated annual press release/media advisory volumes >1,000.

Questions Answers

If wire distribution services are required, can the

Government provide estimated annual press release/media advisory volumes anticipated under the contract to support accurate pricing assumptions?

Can the Government provide updated estimates regarding the anticipated number of:

o platform users, o briefing recipients, o distribution lists, o and social media monitoring seats/licenses expected across OST and the modal administrations?

The anticipated number of platform users/seats is 15. The requirement also includes at least five dedicated social media trackers/licenses.

Allow to create at least 1,000 distribution lists within the account.

Can the Government clarify whether the

Department anticipates primarily self-service platform usage by internal users, or whether ongoing analyst-supported reporting, dashboard management, and managed services support are expected as part of the requirement?

Ongoing analyst-supported services are expected as part of the requirement, including daily monitoring, curation, and briefing delivery by an analyst team, and a dedicated account manager.

Can the Government clarify whether Single Sign-

On (SSO), federated identity management, or integration with existing DOT authentication environments is required or preferred?

There is no preference, either SSO or federated identity management will suffice.

Can the Government clarify whether transition support or migration services will be required for existing: archived reporting, historical searches, media lists, dashboards, alerts, or briefing templates from the current contract environment?

Transition support and ongoing training will be required. The new service needs to begin no later than July 1. We will provide the contract awardee the migration information.

Regarding the evaluation criteria and best-value determination, can the Government provide additional clarification regarding how technical differentiation will be assessed relative to price?

The evaluation criteria will assess technical differentiation relative to the price in regards to enhanced analytics, integrated workflows, modernization capabilities, and scalability to

Offerors are expected to provide both an outreach platform, including a media contact database, and unlimited distribution/wire service capabilities. Estimated annual press release/media advisory volumes >1,000.

Questions Answers

For example, will additional value associated with enhanced analytics, full text, integrated workflows, scalability, modernization capabilities, or future platform enhancements be considered during evaluation?

best align with the Secretary and administration’s needs to successfully communicate to the public.

Can the Government clarify whether Offerors may propose optional enhancements or future-state capabilities, provided such capabilities are clearly separated from the required scope?

Offerors may propose optional enhancements or future-state capabilities that will be separated from the required scope.

Can the Government clarify whether oral presentations, product demonstrations, discussions, or a competitive range / Final Proposal Revision

(FPR) process are anticipated as part of the evaluation process?

Product demonstrations and discussions will need to be part of the evaluation process.

Can the Government clarify whether there are any anticipated onboarding, implementation, training, or transition milestones expected during the initial post-award period?

There will be training, onboarding for all groups, and the service is expected to begin no later than July 1.

Can the Government clarify whether integrated analytics capabilities such as sentiment analysis, influencer identification, narrative trend analysis, and cross-channel reporting between earned, broadcast, and social media are considered within scope of the evaluation?

Analytics capabilities, press/media contacts and identification, narrative trend analysis, and cross-channel reporting between earned, broadcast, and social media are highly considered within the scope of the evaluation

Given the upcoming federal holiday and the possibility that Government responses to vendor questions may further clarify or modify elements of the scope of work, would the Government consider a reasonable extension to the proposal due date to allow Offerors adequate time to review responses and incorporate any resulting updates into their technical and pricing submissions?

The current contract ends on June 30, 2026 and

OPA requires this service to continue without any disruption so a reasonable extension cannont be considered.