Amendment 1 - USAGM - Adobe Cloud Video Editing RFP.pdf

U.S. Agency for Global Media

SOLICITATION for

CONTRACTUAL ENGAGEMENT TO DELIVER ADOBE CLOUD

VIDEO EDITING - VIRTUAL MANAGED SERVICES SUPPORT

TO USAGM

U.S. AGENCY FOR GLOBAL MEDIA

330 INDEPENDENCE AVENUE S.W.

WASHINGTON D.C. 20237

Amendment No. 1

JULY 12, 2023

Document Number: 951700-23-R-0017 Page 1 of 4

SOLICITATION/CONTRACT/ORDER FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS

OFFEROR TO COMPLETE BLOCKS 12, 17, 23, 24 & 30

1. REQUISITION NUMBER PAGE 1 OF

5. SOLICITATION NUMBER

951700-23-R-0017

2. CONTRACT NO. 3. AWARD/EFFECTIVE DATE 4. ORDER NUMBER 6. SOLICITATION ISSUE

DATE

07/03/2023

7. FOR SOLICITATION

INFORMATION CALL:

a. NAME See Text

b. TELEPHONE NUMBER (No collect calls) 8. OFFER DUE DATE / LOCAL

TIME

07/14/2023

12:00 ET

CODE 951700

United States Agency for Global Media Office Of Contracts 330 Independence Avenue SW Cohen Building, Room 4360 Washington, DC 20237

9. ISSUED BY X UNRESTRICTED OR SET ASIDE: % FOR

SMALL BUSINESS

HUBZONE SMALL

BUSINESS

SERVICE-DISABLED

VETERAN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS

WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS (WOSB)

ELIGIBLE UNDER THE WOMEN-OWNED

SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM

EDWOSB

8(A)

NAICS:

SIZE STANDARD:

10. THE ACQUISITION IS

SEE

SCHEDULE

11. DELIVERY FOR FOB DESTINATION

UNLESS BLOCK IS MARKED 0 Days: 0.00 %

0 Days: 0.00 % 0 Days: 0.00 % 0 Days: 0.00 %

12. DISCOUNT TERMS

13a. THIS CONTRACT IS

RATED ORDER UNDER DPAS

(15 CFR 700)

13b. RATING

RFQ IFB X RFP

14. METHOD OF SOLICITATION

CODE15. DELIVER TO CODE 95170016. ADMINISTERED BY

United States Agency for Global Media Office Of Contracts 330 Independence Avenue SW Cohen Building, Room 4360 Washington, DC 20237

FACILITY

CODE

CODE

Telephone No.

17a. CONTRACTOR/

OFFEROR

951700CODE18a. PAYMENT WILL BE MADE BY

17b. CHECK IF REMITTANCE IS DIFFERENT AND PUT SUCH ADDRESS IN

OFFER SEE ADDENDUM

18b. SUBMIT INVOICES TO ADDRESS SHOWN IN BLOCK 18a UNLESS BLOCK BELOW IS

CHECKED

19. ITEM NO. 20. SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

(Use Reverse and/or Attach Additional Sheets as Necessary)

21. QUANTITY 22. UNIT 23. UNIT PRICE 24. AMOUNT

See Lines

25. ACCOUNTING AND APPROPRIATION DATA

See Line Item Detail

26. TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT (For Govt. Use Only)

X 27a. SOLICITATION INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-1, 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-3 AND 52.212-5 ARE ATTACHED. ADDENDA ARE X ARE NOT ATTACHED

27b. CONTRACT/PURCHASE ORDER INCORPORATES BY REFERENCE FAR 52.212-4. FAR 52.212-5 IS ATTACHED. ADDENDA ARE ARE NOT ATTACHED

28. CONTRACTOR IS REQUIRED TO SIGN THIS DOCUMENT AND RETURN ____ COPIES TO

ISSUING OFFICE. CONTRACTOR AGREES TO FURNISH AND DELIVER ALL ITEMS SET FORTH

OR OTHERWISE IDENTIFIED ABOVE AND ON ANY ADDITIONAL SHEETS SUBJECT TO THE

TERMS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED.

29. AWARD OF CONTRACT: REF. _____________________________ OFFER

DATED _________________ . YOUR OFFER ON SOLICITATION (BLOCK 5)

INCLUDING ANY ADDITIONS OR CHANGES WHICH ARE SET FORTH HEREIN,

IS ACCEPTED AS TO ITEMS:

30a. SIGNATURE OF OFFEROR/CONTRACTOR 31a. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (SIGNATURE OF CONTRACTING OFFICER)

30b. NAME AND TITLE OF SIGNER (TYPE OR PRINT) 30c. DATE SIGNED 31b. NAME OF THE CONTRACTING OFFICER (TYPE OR PRINT) David Wallace

31c. DATE SIGNED

AUTHORIZED FOR LOCAL REPRODUCTION

PREVIOUS EDITION IS NOT USABLE

STANDARD FORM 1449 (REV. 02/2012)

Prescribed by GSA - FAR (48 CFR) 53.212

Document Number: 951700-23-R-0017 Page 2 of 4

19.

ITEM NO.

20.

SCHEDULE OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES

21.

QUANTITY

22.

UNIT

23.

UNIT PRICE

24.

AMOUNT

32a. QUANTITY IN COLUMN 21 HAS BEEN

RECEIVED INSPECTED ACCEPTED, AND CONFORMS TO THE CONTRACT, EXCEPT AS NOTED: _________________________________

32b. SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT

REPRESENTATIVE

32c. DATE 32d. PRINTED NAME AND TITLE OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT

REPRESENTATIVE

32e. MAILING ADDRESS OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE 32f. TELEPHONE NUMBER OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT

REPRESENTATIVE

32g. E-MAIL OF AUTHORIZED GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVE

PARTIAL FINAL

33. SHIP NUMBER 34. VOUCHER NUMBER 35. AMOUNT VERIFIED

CORRECT FOR

COMPLETE PARTIAL FINAL

36. PAYMENT 37. CHECK NUMBER

38. S/R ACCOUNT NUMBER 39. S/R VOUCHER NUMBER 40. PAID BY

41a. I CERTIFY THIS ACCOUNT IS CORRECT AND PROPER FOR PAYMENT 42a. RECEIVED BY (Print) 41b. SIGNATURE AND TITLE OF CERTIFYING OFFICER 41c. DATE

42b. RECEIVED AT (Location)

42c. DATE REC'D (YY/MM/DD) 42d. TOTAL CONTAINERS

STANDARD FORM 1449 (REV. 02/2012) BACK

Document Number: 951700-23-R-0017 Page 3 of 4

Table of Contents

Section Description Page Number

1 Continuation Sheet

Document Number: 951700-23-R-0017 Page 4 of 4

Section 1 - Continuation Sheet

Number Supplies or Services Qty Unit Unit Price Total (Inc. disc., tax, and fees)

1 Services

Firm Fixed Price

PSC:

0.000000 MO

Description: Services -

Virtual Managed Services- CORE Platform Support 12 Month Base Period Support for Studio Platform Infrastructure

Pricing Options: Base

Number Supplies or Services Qty Unit Unit Price Total (Inc. disc., tax, and fees)

2 Services

Firm Fixed Price

PSC:

0.000000 LT

Description: Services -

Virtual Managed Service - Virtual Workstation Support 12 Month Base Period Creative Cloud Virtual Workstation

Pricing Options: Base

Number Supplies or Services Qty Unit Unit Price Total (Inc. disc., tax, and fees)

3 Services

Firm Fixed Price

PSC:

0.000000 LT

Description: Services -

Virtual Managed Service - Creative Production Support 12 Month Base Period Creative Cloud Virtual Workstation

Pricing Options: Base

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Table of Contents

B Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs

B.1 Inclusive Pricing of Services B.2 Pricing Spreadsheet B.3 Service References

C Requirements C.1 Project Title C.2 Project Background and Purpose C.3 Project Objective C.4 Services Sought C.5 Mandatory Requirements

C.5.1 Service Features - Monitoring and Alerting C.5.2 Problem Management C.5.3 Incident/Event Management C.5.4 User Request Fulfillment C.5.5 Change Management C.5.6 Patch Management C.5.7 Capacity Management C.5.8 Back-up Management C.5.9 SSL Certification Management C.5.10 Anti-Virus Management C.5.11 Microsoft Azure Platform Support Escalation C.5.12 Service Availability C.5.13 Dependencies C.5.14 Exclusions - General C.5.15 Media Management

D Packaging and Marking E Inspection and Acceptance F Deliveries or Performance

F.1 List of Deliverables F.2 Performance Monitoring

G Contract Administration Data G.1 Requirements for Billing

G.1.1 Invoice Submission

G.1.2 SAM.GOV

G.2 Government Personnel

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G.3 Requirements for Deliverables and Data Exchange H Special Contract Requirements

H.1 Acquisition Selected H.2 Period of Performance H.3 Place of Performance H.4 Standard Work Hours H.5 Security Clearances

I Contract Clauses J List of Attachments

J.1 Pricing Spreadsheet K Representations, Certifications, and Other Statements of Offerors or Respondents 30 L Instructions, Conditions, and Notices to Offerors or Respondents

L.1 Solicitation Closing Date and Time L.2 Preparation and Delivery Instructions L.3 Exceptions L.4 Authorized Official and Submission of Proposal L.5 Assumptions and Conditions L.6 Award L.7 Detailed Instructions – Price Proposal L.8 Detailed Instructions – Technical Proposal

L.8.1 Factor 1: Technical L.8.1.1 Technical Approach/Technical Solution L.8.1.2 Management Approach

L.8.2 Factor 2: Past Experience/Past Performance L.8.3 Factor 3: Cost/Price

L.9 Protests M Evaluation Factors for Award

M.1 Evaluation Type M.2 Technical Evaluation Criteria

M.2.1 Factor 1: Technical (Subfactors are listed in descending order of importance) M.2.1.1 Technical Approach/Technical Solution M.2.1.2 Management Approach

M.2.2 Factor 2: Past Experience/Past Performance M.2.3 Factor 3: Cost/Price

M.3 Price Evaluation Criteria

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B Supplies or Services and Prices/Costs

B.1 Inclusive Pricing of Services

Any equipment, material, facility, site preparation, or service required in the performance of this award for which a price is not specifically identified in the price proposal shall be considered to be included in the price of another item or provided at no cost to the government, except as otherwise provided for in this fair opportunity solicitation.

B.2 Pricing Spreadsheet

The contractor shall enter prices using the Pricing spreadsheet provided in Section J.1 of this solicitation.

B.3 Service References

The following table provides a list of section references for the services being sought by this

Service Agency Solicitation

References Mandatory or Optional Sec C

Service Features Monitoring and Alerting C.5.1 Mandatory Problem Management C.5.2 Mandatory Incident/Event Management C.5.3 Mandatory User Request Fulfillment C.5.4 Mandatory Change Management C.5.5 Mandatory Patch Management C.5.6 Mandatory Capacity Management C.5.7 Mandatory Back-up Management C.5.8 Mandatory SSL Certification Management C.5.9 Mandatory Anti-Virus Management C.5.10 Mandatory Microsoft Azure Platform Support Escalation

C.5.11 Mandatory

Service Availability C.5.12 Mandatory Dependencies C.5.13 Mandatory Exclusions - General C.5.14 Mandatory Media Management C.5.15 Mandatory

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C Requirements

C.1 Project Title

Virtual Managed Services Support

C.2 Project Background and Purpose

The U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has a requirement to provide virtual managed services support for USAGM’s cloud editing platform that enable users to perform remote production workflows and virtually collaborate with different business units within VOA from anywhere. There is a current contract in place for the deployment of the video editing platform and it is the intention of USAGM to procure professional managed support services to maintain the virtual platform.

The USAGM has specific requirements described in this solicitation and proposals will be reviewed and assessed as part of the technical evaluation process defined in Section M Evaluation Factors for Award of this solicitation. This solicitation describes the full range of services required.

C.3 Project Objective

The Contractor shall directly or via a subcontractor relationship provide support for USAGM’s creative cloud edit platform.

It is anticipated that the scope of work for virtual managed services will include, at a minimum, the following:

Core Creative Cloud Edit Platform Up to 50 workstations in the East US Region Support from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday EST excluding federal holidays Creative production support Virtual Management Services for the infrastructure deployed on Microsoft Azure

The contractor will provide technical support for the core creative cloud edit platform and/or event teams promoting first contact resolution. This should be delivered using a combination of workflow improvement strategies, business process optimization with application troubleshooting and resolution recommendations.

The new cloud infrastructure being developed by the vendor personnel, is going to become a mission essential part of VOA’s content production workflow. As such, it is critical to VOA and USAGM’s core mission. Since the vendor personnel will have root administrative access to this new cloud infrastructure, which hostile actors could cause harm to the USAGM’s critical infrastructure and impact the integrity and availability of VOA’s news products, the contractor personnel must be able to pass Non-Critical Sensitive position clearance, FIS investigation at a Tier3. Throughout the lifecycle of the contract, the contractor shall immediately notify the COR upon discovery of any inadvertent disclosures of information or unauthorized access. The contractor shall not retain any information regarding vulnerabilities, to include summaries, the actual vulnerability report, or any other data/information, at the end of the contract. All information arising from this contract, both hard copy and electronic, will be returned to the

Source-Selection-Sensitive Page 6 of 41 government at contract conclusion. The contractor personnel shall not disclose sensitive or proprietary information of, or in the possession of, the USAGM or any of its principal office components, contractors, or business partners to unauthorized persons. The contractor will be subject to any and all penalties imposed by law for unlawful disclosure of USAGM information.

USAGM intends to award a single firm-fixed price contract to a single contractor. The period of performance is for one (12 month) base period.

The contractor shall provide, at no additional cost, all service-related labor, transportation, tools, and test necessary to implement the services and perform all tasks defined in this solicitation.

The contractor shall propose any Service-Related Equipment (SRE) necessary to implement and manage the service.

C.4 Services Sought

USAGM seeks to acquire the following service(s):

Core Creative Cloud Edit Platform Up to 50 workstations in the East US Region Support from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday EST excluding federal holidays Creative production support Virtual Management Services for the infrastructure deployed on Microsoft Azure

Service Base Period

Monitoring and Alerting X Problem Management X Incident/Event Management X User Request Fulfillment X Change Management X Patch Management X Capacity Management X Back-up Management X SSL Certification Management X Anti-Virus Management X Microsoft Azure Platform Support Escalation

X

Service Availability X Dependencies X Exclusions – General X Media Management X

C.5 Mandatory Requirements

The contractor shall deliver the following mandatory requirements.

C.5.1 Service Features - Monitoring and Alerting

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Azure service health monitoring that tracks the health of the Azure services in East US Region

Azure log analytics performance data capture Azure configuration items, including the rule sets for monitoring and alerting.

C.5.2 Problem Management

All problem management will be held by contractor. From 1st line to 4th line support including escalations to Microsoft for any Azure platform related issues that come to contractor’s attention either via alerts or when a ticket is logged. The triage of issues directly relating to the functionality of the 3rd party application.

Problem tickets will be logged as a priority 1 ticket and triaged in line with contractors’ standard operating procedures as described in the contractors’ operations manual. The assigned engineer will re-assign the ticket to the relevant priority level depending on the severity of the problem.

Triage issues relating to USAGM’s applications when not performing or working as they should.

If a performance issue is diagnosed and relates to the underlying platform the application is hosted on, contractor will escalate the ticket to the relevant party who is managing the platform services. If escalation is required, the contractor will escalate the issue to the relevant team internally and continue to resolve the issue in line with the standard operational procedures as described in the contractor’s operations manual.

C.5.3 Incident/Event Management

Incidents or events refer to an instance of something happening; an event or occurrence that cause applications to degrade in performance or stop working. Approved users can follow the standard support process by logging an incident through the relevant channels provided to each member as part of the onboarding process.

Incidents will be logged as a Priority 1 ticket and triaged in line with contractor’s standard operating procedures. Once incident has been logged contractor will make every effort to triage and resolve the issue within a reasonable timeframe.

Triage and resolution depended on collective and extensive knowledge of the 3rd party applications. This knowledge is based on the experience the members of the team have working with these applications and therefore cannot be tied to SLA timeframes.

If the incident and/or event is related to the Azure platform or services, contractor will revert the ticket to align with contractor’s Virtual Managed Service triage process and the SLA will fall within that specific described service agreement

C.5.4 User Request Fulfillment

For all applications the contractor will endeavor to fulfil the approved users’ request within the scope describe below:

Application Issues Triage and resolution for features and functionality related issues to all deployed creative applications and accelerators accessed by the end user.

File Transfer Troubleshooting issues and errors with incomplete files during the transfer process and providing best practice methods for moving assets from one location to another. Issues

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Media Management Specialist advice and support with media management best practice.

Media management is specific to application related issues that the user might experience such as files that are offline/unlinked and more.

Specific install requests User specific installs relating to creative applications such as the installation of Fonts, plugins, export pre-sets and additional items.

User installation requests that have an associated cost are to be agreed and signed off by the key business stakeholder or manager prior to actioning. In the event of such a request, contractor will follow the standard change management process outlined in our operations manual.

Workflow advice and support – specialist advice around best practice production and/or event workflows, from file and codec compatibility to media optimization for editing and more.

C.5.5 Change Management

A request is defined as a move, addition, change and/or deletion (MACD) of an existing service or item hosted on the Azure Platform and forms part of the original scope of work. A request that forms any two or more items which is needed as part of a new service will be considered a new solution and will be charged as a professional services engagement and billed on a time and materials basis.

C.5.6 Patch Management

Critical and security patches for: Windows Operating System (OS), VMware ESXI, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

Patching windows are within a rolling 30-day period and is rolled over within USAGM’s chosen period and will be considered within scope if a patch has been updated within this period.

Install the latest available patch roll ups for your patching period that will contain security updates.

Patching days exclude UK and USA bank/public holidays, unless agreed otherwise and specified. This will be at an additional charge.

Contractor is not responsible for any security breaches within USAGM’S environment/server relating to any patching or lack thereof.

Contractor is not responsible for any patching related to the Microsoft Azure Platform and services that they have ownership of.

Contactor is not responsible for any effect that the patch updates might have on USAGM’s applications hosted on your server/s or the server itself.

If an update affects USAGM's server/data, the contractor will endeavor to resolve the issue and/or roll back if needed, then inform USAGM of the issue.

Database transactions might be affected if updates need to be rolled back.

All Microsoft applications that sit on top of the operating system are included and defined in the 3rd Party Application Management section.

Contractor will perform emergency patching will be done for all customers when contractor receives an alert from Microsoft that there is a severity level 1 patch required

Source-Selection-Sensitive Page 9 of 41 for security reasons. You will be contacted by one of our support engineers to arrange a date and time for the emergency work required.

USAGM can request that contractor amend the patching policy to meet compliance needs.

C.5.7 Capacity Management Network Capacity – VPN gateways and express routes.

Storage accounts – File storage and blob storage.

Virtual Machines – RAM, CPU, Storage Backup – storage Proactively monitor usage, and alerts to an impending capacity constraint. However, demand and the rate of change will depend on USAGM’s usage profile, forecasting and factors within USAGM’s control, which may limit the amount of notice the contractor receives and so this is provided on a best-efforts basis.

Contractor will notify you within a reasonable time after the contractor has become aware of a potential capacity constraint, with a recommendation on capacity upgrades available.

Contractor will not upgrade the capacity on your services without your prior approval.

This could result in service degradation pending the upgrade, for which the contractor is not responsible. Contractor may switch off further alerting and stop notifications that are repeated when USAGM reach a capacity threshold, pending USAGM’s approval to the upgrade.

C.5.8 Back-up Management

The contractor will implement an automated backup schedule as per the below standard deployment policy unless otherwise agreed.

Incremental: Daily incremental backups; Full-Weekly full Backup; File Restore-5 x file restore requests per month; Full Restore-1 x full restore request per month per service item.

Data will be backed up to preferred target storage, unless otherwise defined, and retained for a period of seven (7) days as a standard. Longer retention periods can be implemented as part of your automated schedule.

Contractor will do a quarterly bubble test and send USAGM a report.

Contractor will perform daily checks for all backup failures and ensure that the backups are re-run and successful.

If a backup fails 3 times in a row, contractor support engineers will contact USAGM to inform USAGM of the failures and work toward a resolution.

C.5.9 SSL Certification Management Contractor will monitor you SSL Certificates managed by us and send you a reminder 28 days before the renewal of the certificate.

Contractor will send USAGM the reminder that USAGM’s Certificate needs to be renewed, USAGM will follow the contractor’s standard change management process for approval of renewal.

There might be charges accrued for the renewal depending on the certificate of choice.

USAGM will receive confirmation of the renewal once it has been implemented.

C.5.10 Anti-Virus Management

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Contractor will implement Microsoft Defender for all the endpoints that the contractor implements as part of USAGM’s solution in Microsoft Azure.

Contractor will ensure that the Anti-Virus software is up to date and our standard policies are implemented and up to date.

Contractor will monitor the Anti-Virus and alert USAGM once notified of any breaches in USAGM’s environment.

C.5.11 Microsoft Azure Platform Support Escalation

For incidents relating to Microsoft Azure service health, USAGM will raise an incident with the contractor.

USAGM may need to give the contractor permission with Microsoft for the contractor to log incidents on USAGM’s behalf.

All patching for the underlying Azure platform and Azure PaaS services are managed and maintained by Microsoft.

Contractor will support any public region of Microsoft Azure as long as the intended deployment of the Azure resources are available in the respective region(s).

The contractor is not responsible for managing nor maintaining the security posture of the Azure Platform and therefore cannot be held liable for any security breaches related to the platform.

All Azure billing will be managed by USAGM. The contractor is not responsible for any deactivation of the service due to unpaid invoices. The contractor will continue to bill and invoice USAGM for the Azure management charges on a monthly basis, unless agreed otherwise as set out in your Order Form.

C.5.12 Service Availability

Web Ticketing Support

09:00 to 18:00 (EST) Monday – Friday Tickets received through the online portal that are outside of office hours will be logged and monitored, however no action can be guaranteed until the next working day at 9am.

Telephone Support

09:00 to 18:00 (EST) Monday – Friday Calls received out of office hours will be forwarded to a mobile phone and best efforts will be made to answer / action the call, however there will be a backup answer phone service. Emergency contact number is available to identified managers to escalate calls that are outside of normal business hours. This would be used in Priority 1 cases.

Email Support

09:00 to 18:00 (EST) Monday – Friday Emails received outside of office hours will be collected, however no action can be guaranteed until the next working day at 8am.

On-call Remote Support

Respond and actively work on issues within 2 hours Response to calls outside of business hours. Time starts from call being logged within our systems

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C.5.13 Dependencies

Prerequisites – Only persons that have been identified to contractor via the correct channels will be supported.

Support – Turnaround times for resolution is dependent on the related issue and the contractor may from time to time have to escalate the issue to the relevant 3rd party. In these cases, the contractor’s resolution times are strictly dependent on the relevant 3rd party’s SLA timeframes.

C.5.14 Exclusions - General

This document applies only to the support of creative production applications and does not entitle USAGM to end-user support of for any devices and applications outside of the defined list.

Any platform, resource or usage cost that underpins this management is charged separately as part of USAGM’s Azure consumption charges and will be billed directly to USAGM under your Azure agreement with Microsoft.

Contractor is not responsible for any additional applications or services USAGM’s procures after the defined list within scope as defined.

As USAGM is directly contracted with Microsoft Azure, any SLA credits relating to platform failures must be directly addressed to Microsoft.

New or additional platform / infrastructure resource deployments are excluded from the five (5) day turnaround time for the implementation of this support service. If the production and/or event requires additional infrastructure or resources to be deployed outside of the original Statement of Work (SOW), the contractor will assess the scope and the request may be treated as a professional services engagement.

C.5.15 Media Management

The following is excluded from the support scope: data deletions, physical movement of client assets outside of agreed SOW and renaming of production assets.

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D Packaging and Marking

The contractor shall ensure the Contractor name and contract number are clearly visible on all information submitted to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) or Contracting Officer

(CO).

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E Inspection and Acceptance

The contractor is responsible for performing or having performed all inspections and tests necessary to substantiate that the equipment or services furnished under this award conform to requirements, including any applicable technical requirements. Inspection and acceptance will be conducted in coordination and collaboration with and be verified by the Contracting Officer’s Representative.

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F Deliveries or Performance

The contractor shall include all proposed Deliverables identified directly or by reference in Section B of this solicitation.

F.1 List of Deliverables

The contractor shall provide all deliverables required by contract award based on this solicitation to the agency.

F.2 Performance Monitoring

The contractor shall continuously monitor and report on performance objectives specified in Section C of this solicitation that are outside of the acceptable range for all services.

The contractor shall provide contact information for senior staff associated with this contract, including address, telephone number, and email address for the Key Contractor Personnel.

Since the vendor personnel will have root administrative access to this new cloud infrastructure, which hostile actors could cause harm to the USAGM’s critical infrastructure and impact the integrity and availability of VOA’s news products, the contractor personnel must be able to pass Non-Critical Sensitive position clearance, FIS investigation at a Tier3. The contractor shall keep Key Contractor Personnel information current and submit changes to the USAGM COR via email.

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G Contract Administration Data

The roles and responsibilities of the contractor shall commence upon award. The requirements for contract administration, management and operational support shall be met at no additional cost to the agency and shall apply throughout the life of the contract for all services. The contractor shall also support and assist the USAGM in transitioning services to the next contract.

The contractor shall meet and comply with the requirements for contract administration and operational support for subscribed services in accordance with Section G Contract Administration Data. The contractor shall support and comply with the following:

G.1 – Billing G.2 – Government Personnel G.3 – Deliverables and Data Exchange

G.1 Requirements for Billing

The contractor shall bill the agency directly for all charges incurred by the agency and its sub-agencies. The contractor will be paid directly by the USAGM.

G.1.1 Invoice Submission

The government intends to use electronic invoicing for this Award. The Contractor shall submit payment requests electronically using the Invoice Processing Platform (IPP). Information regarding IPP, including IPP Customer Support is available at www.ipp.gov or any successor site and send a copy of the invoice to the CO and COR. The contractor shall not submit and the government will not accept paper invoices except as authorized by the CO.

Any invoice that does not include the required information listed below will be sent back to the contractor for revision.

An invoice shall include the following information to be considered a proper invoice:

-item number and, if applicable, the order number unit of measure, unit price and extended price of the items delivered shipment if shipped on government bill of lading payment offered

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G.1.2 SAM.GOV

The Contractor shall be responsible for maintaining their current registration with the US Government’s System for Award Management (SAM.gov).

G.2 Government Personnel

The CO is the sole and exclusive government official with authority to take actions that may bind the government. The contractor shall not accept or bill the government for orders from an unauthorized person.

The following individuals are authorized personnel on behalf of the agency under this Solicitation:

USAGM Office of Contracts

Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR): TBD

G.3 Requirements for Deliverables and Data Exchange

1. Monthly Report once per calendar month

2. Monthly Invoice once per calendar month

3. Service Disruption Report within 12 hours of the Service Disruption

4. Escalation Charts when staff changes occur

5. Key Personnel Information when staff changes occur

6. Ongoing technical advice when requested

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H Special Contract Requirements

H.1 Acquisition Selected

A Fixed Price Contract will be issued to the successful contractor.

The contractor shall adhere to the terms and conditions specified in this solicitation.

H.2 Period of Performance

The contract period of performance will be from the date of award through a base period (for example, one year. The overall period of performance is specified in the following table:

Start Date End Date Base Period 08/01/2023 07/31/2024

H.3 Place of Performance

The contractor shall work remotely offsite.

H.4 Standard Work Hours

Monday through Friday – 9AM – 6PM EST

H.5 Security Clearances

Must be able to pass Non-Critical Sensitive position clearance, FIS investigation at a Tier3.

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I Contract Clauses

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 the current period of performance.

(End of clause)

52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract (Mar 2000)

(a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor prior to contract expiration, provided that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 15 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension.

(b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause.

(c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed the duration of the 6 years.

(End of clause)

52.232-18 Availability of Funds (Apr 1984)

Funds are not presently available for this contract. The Government’s obligation under this contract is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds from which payment for contract purposes can be made. No legal liability on the part of the Government for any payment may arise until funds are made available to the Contracting Officer for this contract and until the Contractor receives notice of such availability, to be confirmed in writing by the Contracting Officer.

CONTRACTING OFFICER’S REPRESENTATIVE (COR) APPOINTMENT AND AUTHORITY

(APR 2015)

(a) The COR(s) are named on the award form. Should a change to the COR(s) be necessary in the future, they will be named on the modification SF-30.

(b) Performance of work under this contract is subject to the technical direction of the COR identified above, or a representative designated in writing. The term “technical direction” includes, without limitation, direction to the contractor that directs or redirects the labor effort, shifts the work between work areas or locations, and/or fills in details and otherwise serves to ensure that tasks outlined in the work statement are accomplished satisfactorily.

(c) Technical direction must be within the scope of the contract specification(s)/work statement. The COR does not have authority to issue technical direction that:

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(1) Constitutes a change of assignment or additional work outside the contract specification(s)/work statement;

(2) Constitutes a change as defined in the clause entitled “Changes”;

(3) In any manner causes an increase or decrease in the contract price, or the time required for contract performance;

(4) Changes any of the terms, conditions, or specification(s)/work statement of the contract;

(5) Interferes with the contractor's right to perform under the terms and conditions of the contract; or

(6) Directs, supervises, or otherwise controls the actions of the contractor's employees.

(d) Technical direction may be oral or in writing. The COR must confirm oral direction in writing within five workdays, with a copy to the Contracting Officer.

(e) The Contractor shall proceed promptly with performance resulting from the technical direction issued by the COR. If, in the opinion of the contractor, any direction of the COR or the designated representative falls within the limitations of (c) above, the contractor shall immediately notify the Contracting Officer no later than the beginning of the next Government workday.

(f) Failure of the Contractor and the Contracting Officer to agree that technical direction is within the scope of the contract shall be subject to the terms of the clause entitled “Disputes.”

52.203-17 Contractor Employee Whistleblower Rights and Requirement to Inform Employees of Whistleblower Rights (Jun 2020)

(a) This contract and employees working on this contract will be subject to the whistleblower rights and remedies in the pilot program on Contractor employee whistleblower protections established at 41 U.S.C. 4712 by section 828 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Pub. L. 112-239) and Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 3.908.

(b) The Contractor shall inform its employees in writing, in the predominant language of the workforce, of employee whistleblower rights and protections under 41 U.S.C. 4712, as described in FAR 3.908.

(c) The Contractor shall insert the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (c), in all subcontracts over the simplified acquisition threshold, as defined in FAR 2.101 on the date of subcontract award.

52.204-23 PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING FOR HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND

SERVICES DEVELOPED OR PROVIDED BY KASPERSKY LAB AND OTHER COVERED

ENTITIES (Nov 2021)

(a) Definitions. As used in this clause—

Covered article means any hardware, software, or service that–

(1) Is developed or provided by a covered entity;

(2) Includes any hardware, software, or service developed or provided in whole or in part by a covered entity; or

(3) Contains components using any hardware or software developed in whole or in part by a covered entity.

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Covered entity means–

(1) Kaspersky Lab;

(2) Any successor entity to Kaspersky Lab;

(3) Any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with Kaspersky Lab; or

(4) Any entity of which Kaspersky Lab has a majority ownership.

(b) Prohibition. Section 1634 of Division A of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018 (Pub. L. 115-91) prohibits Government use of any covered article. The Contractor is prohibited from—

(1) Providing any covered article that the Government will use on or after October 1, 2018; and

(2) Using any covered article on or after October 1, 2018, in the development of data or deliverables first produced in the performance of the contract.

(c) Reporting requirement.

(1) In the event the Contractor identifies a covered article provided to the Government during contract performance, or the Contractor is notified of such by a subcontractor at any tier or any other source, the Contractor shall report, in writing, to the Contracting Officer or, in the case of the Department of Defense, to the website at https://dibnet.dod.mil

. For indefinite delivery contracts, the Contractor shall report to the Contracting Officer for the indefinite delivery contract and the Contracting Officer(s) for any affected order or, in the case of the Department of Defense, identify both the indefinite delivery contract and any affected orders in the report provided at https://dibnet.dod.mil.

(2) The Contractor shall report the following information pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this clause:

(i) Within 1 business day from the date of such identification or notification: the contract number;

the order number(s), if applicable; supplier name; brand; model number (Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number); item description; and any readily available information about mitigation actions undertaken or recommended.

(ii) Within 10 business days of submitting the report pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this clause:

any further available information about mitigation actions undertaken or recommended. In addition, the Contractor shall describe the efforts it undertook to prevent use or submission of a covered article, any reasons that led to the use or submission of the covered article, and any additional efforts that will be incorporated to prevent future use or submission of covered articles.

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(d) Subcontracts. The Contractor shall insert the substance of this clause, including this paragraph (d), in all subcontracts including subcontracts for the acquisition of commercial products or commercial services.

52.204-24 REPRESENTATION REGARDING CERTAIN TELECOMMMUNICATIONS AND

VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT (Nov 2021)

The Offeror shall not complete the representation at paragraph (d)(1) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it "does not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services as a part of its offered products or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract, or other contractual instrument" in paragraph (c)(1) in the provision at 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services—Representation, or in paragraph (v)(2)(i) of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications- Commercial Products or Commercial Services. The Offeror shall not complete the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision if the Offeror has represented that it "does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services" in paragraph (c)(2) of the provision at 52.204-26, or in paragraph (v)(2)(ii) of the provision at 52.212-3.

(a) Definitions. As used in this provision—

Backhaul, covered telecommunications equipment or services, critical technology, interconnection arrangements, reasonable inquiry, roaming, and substantial or essential component have the meanings provided in the clause 52.204-25, Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment.

(b) Prohibition.

(1) Section 889(a)(1)(A) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) prohibits the head of an executive agency on or after August 13, 2019, from procuring or obtaining, or extending or renewing a contract to procure or obtain, any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. Nothing in the prohibition shall be construed to—

(i) Prohibit the head of an executive agency from procuring with an entity to provide a service that connects to the facilities of a third-party, such as backhaul, roaming, or interconnection arrangements; or

(ii) Cover telecommunications equipment that cannot route or redirect user data traffic or cannot permit visibility into any user data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.

(2) Section 889(a)(1)(B) of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 (Pub. L. 115-232) prohibits the head of an executive agency on or after August 13, 2020, from entering into a contract or extending or renewing a contract with an entity that uses any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services as a substantial or essential component of any system, or as critical technology as part of any system. This prohibition applies to the use of covered telecommunications equipment or

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Nothing in the prohibition shall be construed to—

(i) Prohibit the head of an executive agency from procuring with an entity to provide a service that connects to the facilities of a third-party, such as backhaul, roaming, or interconnection arrangements; or

(ii) Cover telecommunications equipment that cannot route or redirect user data traffic or cannot permit visibility into any user data or packets that such equipment transmits or otherwise handles.

(c) Procedures. The Offeror shall review the list of excluded parties in the System for Award Management (SAM) ( https://www.sam.gov) for entities excluded from receiving federal awards for "covered telecommunications equipment or services".

(d) Representation. The Offeror represents that—

(1) It will, will not provide covered telecommunications equipment or services to the Government in the performance of any contract, subcontract or other contractual instrument resulting from this solicitation. The Offeror shall provide the additional disclosure information required at paragraph (e)(1) of this section if the Offeror responds "will" in paragraph (d)(1) of this section; and

(2) After conducting a reasonable inquiry, for purposes of this representation, the Offeror represents that—

It does, does not use covered telecommunications equipment or services, or use any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services.

The Offeror shall provide the additional disclosure information required at paragraph (e)(2) of this section if the Offeror responds "does" in paragraph (d)(2) of this section.

(e) Disclosures.

(1) Disclosure for the representation in paragraph (d)(1) of this provision. If the Offeror has responded "will" in the representation in paragraph (d)(1) of this provision, the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(i) For covered equipment—

(A) The entity that produced the covered telecommunications equipment (include entity name, unique entity identifier, CAGE code, and whether the entity was the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a distributor, if known);

(B) A description of all covered telecommunications equipment offered (include brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); and

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(C) Explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications equipment and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.

(ii) For covered services—

(A) If the service is related to item maintenance: A description of all covered telecommunications services offered (include on the item being maintained: Brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); or

(B) If not associated with maintenance, the Product Service Code (PSC) of the service being provided; and explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications services and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(1) of this provision.

(2) Disclosure for the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision. If the Offeror has responded "does" in the representation in paragraph (d)(2) of this provision, the Offeror shall provide the following information as part of the offer:

(i) For covered equipment—

(A) The entity that produced the covered telecommunications equipment (include entity name, unique entity identifier, CAGE code, and whether the entity was the OEM or a distributor, if known);

(B) A description of all covered telecommunications equipment offered (include brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); and

(C) Explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications equipment and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision.

(ii) For covered services—

(A) If the service is related to item maintenance: A description of all covered telecommunications services offered (include on the item being maintained: Brand; model number, such as OEM number, manufacturer part number, or wholesaler number; and item description, as applicable); or

(B) If not associated with maintenance, the PSC of the service being provided; and explanation of the proposed use of covered telecommunications services and any factors relevant to determining if such use would be permissible under the prohibition in paragraph (b)(2) of this provision.

52.204-25 PROHIBITION ON CONTRACTING FOR CERTAIN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

AND VIDEO SURVEILLANCE SERVICES OR EQUIPMENT (Nov 2021)

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(a) Definitions. As used in this clause--

Backhaul means intermediate links between the core network, or backbone network, and the small subnetworks at the edge of the network (e.g., connecting cell phones/towers to the core telephone network). Backhaul can be wireless (e.g., microwave) or wired (e.g., fiber optic, coaxial cable, Ethernet).

Covered foreign country means The People's Republic of China.

Covered telecommunications equipment or services means--

(1) Telecommunications equipment produced by Huawei Technologies Company or ZTE Corporation (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities);

(2) For the purpose of public safety, security of Government facilities, physical security surveillance of critical infrastructure, and other national security purposes, video surveillance and telecommunications equipment produced by Hytera Communications Corporation, Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company, or Dahua Technology Company (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities);

(3) Telecommunications or video surveillance services provided by such entities or using such equipment; or

(4) Telecommunications or video surveillance equipment or services produced or provided by an entity that the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence or the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, reasonably believes to be an entity owned or controlled by, or otherwise connected to, the government of a covered foreign country.

Critical technology means--

(1) Defense articles or defense services included on the United States Munitions List set forth in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations under subchapter M of chapter I of title 22, Code of Federal Regulations;

(2) Items included on the Commerce Control List set forth in Supplement No. 1 to part 774 of the Export Administration Regulations under subchapter C of chapter VII of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations, and controlled--

(i) Pursuant to multilateral regimes, including for reasons relating to national security, chemical and biological weapons proliferation, nuclear nonproliferation, or missile technology; or

(ii) For reasons relating to regional stability or surreptitious listening;

(3) Specially designed and prepared nuclear equipment, parts and components,…