A11 Request for Information FINAL.docx

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ACQUISITION DIRECTORATE

Request for Information

1.0 General Information

Document Type: Request for Information Title: Audio Visual Support Services Request for Information Post Date: 06/22/2022 Request for Information Response Date: 07/15/2022 NAICS Code: 512290 – Other Sound Recording Industries Services Product Service Code: Z1PZ, Facility Related Services

2.0 Background

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA)/George C. Marshall Center (GCMC) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, is sponsoring this Request for Information (RFI). The Government intends to issue a single award contract for this requirement.

3.0 Introduction

The mission of the GCMC, as a vital instrument of German-American cooperation, is to create a more stable security environment by advancing democratic institutions and relationships; promoting active, peaceful, whole-of-government approaches to address transnational and regional security challenges; and creating and enhancing enduring partnerships worldwide.

4.0 Request for Information

To facilitate market research, the Government is looking to identify qualified sources under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) 512290 – Other Sound Recording Industries.

Responses are requested from “all” sources including Other than Small Businesses. However, please note that FAR 19 does not apply to this requirement as the entirety of the place of performance is OCONUS.

This RFI Notice is for information and planning purposes only and shall NOT be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the Government. This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in the response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any concern responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the concern’s qualifications to perform the work.

Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received, or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation MAY be published in Contract Opportunities on SAM.gov/wawf.eb.mil. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

The Government will NOT accept requests for meetings or briefings. No phone solicitations or email with regards to the status of the Request for Proposal (RFP) will be accepted prior to its release. Information and materials submitted in response to this notice WILL NOT be returned.

As a result of this notice, the Government MAY issue a RFP. There is no solicitation available at this time. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the Government will arise as a result of a response to this RFI, nor the Government’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process, nor in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.

Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation.

5.0 Program Details

The Washington Headquarters Services/Acquisition Directorate (WHS/AD) is issuing this notice to obtain information to assist DSCA/GCMC in providing Audio Visual Support Services in order to successfully execute the mission of the GCMC. The potential scope of this requirement includes technical expertise to perform Onsite Audio/Visual Support and Maintenance for GCMC. GCMC maintains three lecture/conference halls and 14 seminar rooms located in buildings 105 and 109 of Sheridan Kaserne. The west wing of Building 105 houses 10 tri-lingual seminar rooms. The east wing of Building 105 is a 234-person tri-lingual lecture/conference hall. Building 106 is a 100-person tri-lingual lecture/conference hall. Building 109 contains a 75-person tri-lingual lecture/conference hall and four tri-lingual seminar rooms, as well as one single-language seminar room. All facilities are used by the College of International and Security Studies (CISS), the Outreach Programs Directorate (OPD), and other internal and external organizations for both short and extended conferences and academic programs, and as such require a 100% operational readiness rate. The main conference hall in Building 105 contains a manned control room on the first floor. The conference halls in Building 106 and 109 contain a manned control booth. All three facilities are used approximately 30 hours per week for classroom and briefing activities, and must be manned and operating no later than 30 minutes before the beginning of each event. All additional work time during the week is spent performing setup, cleanup, rehearsals, equipment installation, or repair and maintenance services. In addition, CISS utilizes six legacy seminar rooms throughout GCMC. There are two GCMC executive conference rooms, as well as two smaller conference facilities used by various directorates and the Partner Language Training Center Europe (PLTCE). There are also several dozen offices scattered throughout the GCMC with flat screen monitors, projectors and other minor audio/video components where end user support is required by a contracted maintenance staff.

The purpose of this RFI is to identify a pool of potentially qualified contractors to provide the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) with these support services to support and to engage the contractor community in a discussion regarding this requirement. Please note: the prior solicitation for this effort was solicited under HQ084719R0002. The following service requirements may be critical task areas required in support of this follow-on effort:

6.0 Service Requirement Critical Task Areas/Elements

(Contractors are encouraged to include *verifiable* information about their firm’s ability to comply with German law, installation access, and task area requirements for this effort.)

1) Compliance with German Law. Contractors performing services in Germany shall comply with German law to include but not limited to Section 613a of the German Civil Code. Additionally, the Contractor shall determine whether performance requires registration with German authorities or authorization to do business in Germany and, if so, shall comply with all requirements. Whether or not registration or authorization to do business is required, the Contractor also shall determine what documents or authorization its employees and any subcontractor employees must possess to work in Germany. The Contractor shall ensure affirmatively that its employees and subcontractor employees possess such documents or authorizations. Contractor employees who:

(a) are not nationals of Germany or other European Union countries, and,

(b) are not members of the force, the civilian component or their dependents, and,

(c) do not have assimilated status under Articles 71, 72, or 73 of the Supplementary Agreement to the NATO SOFA, shall possess work and residence permits.

2) Installation Access. Access to U.S. installations and controlled areas is limited to personnel who meet security criteria and are authorized by Host Nation law to work in that country. Failure to submit required information/data and obtain required documentation or clearances IAW AE Regulation 190-16, Installation Access Control, will be grounds for denying access to U.S. installations and controlled areas. The Contractor shall ensure that any Sub-contractor used in performance of this contract complies with these requirements and that all employees, of both the Contractor and any Subcontractor utilized by the contractor, are made aware of and comply with these requirements.

3) Computer Network Access for Performance. Contractor personnel shall be required to acquire a CAC in order to access the Government computer network domain. In order to acquire a CAC, contractor personnel shall complete the following:

· All non-US citizen Contractor personnel with 12 months’ minimum residence in Germany shall complete background vetting in the Local National Screening Program (LNSP).

· All US Citizens, and those non-US Contractor personnel who completed 3 of the past 5 years’ minimum residence in the US, shall complete background vetting with a Tier 1 (T1) investigation, or a US DOD-determined equivalent investigation (see US DOD Directive-Type Memorandum (DTM) 08-003 for an authoritative list of US DOD-determined equivalents).

· Contractor personnel shall be registered in the Trusted Associate Sponsorship System (TASS). In order to do so, the Contractor shall coordinate with a Government TASS Trusted Agent (TA).

4) Task Areas.

· On Site AV Technical Support: Provide all labor and supervision necessary to provide total support of all AV equipment for the entire GCMC, with a primary emphasis (approximately 80%) regarding buildings 105, 106, 109, seminar rooms, and editing and graphic workstations, providing secondary AV support to conference rooms in offices and conference rooms within the GCMC. Provide support to GCMC faculty and guest speakers with presentation and operation support in all the facilities. Perform routine maintenance and upgrades on all equipment at least once every six months, with special emphasis on the Crestron, audio hardware and software components, and will provide the Government with open copies of all programming and software modifications of the aforementioned systems. Configure seminar room table, chairs, and conference facilities for increased/decreased student participation; set up furniture for receptions and other events; install, repair, or re-configure cabling for all AV systems within the GCMC; position equipment and furniture necessary to accommodate all events. Monitor the spare parts inventory, which includes, but is not limited to equipment designated as mission critical, cables, adapters, and spare parts for conference seminar rooms. Advise the COR on when to procure or replace worn or defective items as required, and provide expertise for the replacement of primary AV hardware and support equipment. Provide inventory requests for minor components, e.g. cables, battery units, which are not covered by a manufacturer’s warranty and notify the COR of the need for any replacements for the government to restock. Troubleshoot and repair all AV systems located within the GCMC, and notify the COR after repairs have been attempted, to what degree, and what actions were taken to rectify/remedy the problem or failure. Provide technical liaison and escort duties for repair technicians. Format and save digital media for archive and web delivery using GCMC provided materials and follow VID archiving procedures. Assist staff and faculty with operation of equipment in plenaries and seminar rooms, and will troubleshoot, repair or upgrade equipment as necessary or as directed by the Contracting Officer or designated representative. Assist with troubleshooting, maintenance, installation, repair and upgrades of all AV components and equipment throughout the GCMC, and provide recommendations for any necessary replacements of AV systems or support equipment. Ensure operational readiness for all lectures, classes and other special events scheduled in the three lecture/conference halls and 14 seminar rooms located in buildings 105, 106 and 109, and ensure there are no technical problems that will delay or prevent classes, courses or events from being conducted as scheduled. Provide AV support for other GCMC conference rooms on Artillery and Sheridan Kasernes. Provide a technical support hotline (phone number). This service shall be available to the COR or ACOR, and Contractor’s on-site technician to obtain technical assistance relating to minor problems, or to determine if on-call emergency services is required. Update and maintain all technical drawings and schematics of all plenaries, seminar room (including interpretation booths) audio and video electronic configurations, cable connects, signal flow, and interconnectivity, using a computer-aided design and drafting (CADD), AUTOCAD or Visio program to produce detailed, technical schematics, and obtain Government approval prior to installation or replacement of any equipment. Maintain one master and two copies of all technical drawings and schematics and provide a digital or hard copy to the COR within 30 calendar days of contract award, and upon request thereafter.

· Social Media Specialist Three (3) years of digital corporate messaging and social media management experience. Proven ability to implement a program with multiple details and to follow an established schedule. Proficiency in digital marketing tools such as Hootsuite, Google Analytics, Adobe Creative Cloud Suite, Sprout Social, Linktree, Constant Contact, and similar tools. Experience with social media platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, Flickr, Twitter, etc. Experience in news writing, web content writing, and editing. Excellent written and communication skills. Ability to work independently and as part of a team. Strong understanding of Associated Press style. Fluent in English speaking, reading and writing.

· Scheduled Maintenance: Provide all labor and supervision necessary to perform maintenance, repairs and services for all AV systems located within the GCMC. Develop a maintenance schedule in accordance with required maintenance as stated below and as required for each piece of equipment, and shall submit the maintenance schedule to the COR for approval within 30 calendar days of contract award, and upon request thereafter. Conduct the cleaning, dusting, and visual inspection of AV equipment for normal electrical, mechanical and optical functions; inspecting wiring and cable connection serviceability and alignment to approved manufacturer technical specifications; performing corrective service to cables and systems; inventory and recording of system components; testing AV equipment power supplies; testing cables and cable connections; failure determination and elimination. List failures in detail and provide this listing to the COR. Calibrate equipment to technical specifications as required. Calibrate video monitors and projectors during the approved maintenance cycle. Perform any maintenance, repairs or installation of cables or equipment unique to that cycle. Perform maintenance, updates or upgrades to Crestron programming. Install replacements of naturally worn out parts not covered by manufacturer warranty. Perform software/hardware upgrades to all GCMC AV systems in order to continue or enhance functionality. Work may include irregular hours, to include but not limited to U.S. or German holidays, weekends, or before/after normal duty hours to complete scheduled maintenance.

· On-Call (Emergency) Services: Provide all labor and supervision necessary to perform On-Call (Emergency) repairs and services for all GCMC AV systems. Accept, via e-mail, telephone call or text, requests for emergency repairs from the COR or designated representative. Have the technical knowledge to be able to identify the problem and the authority to designate Contractor personnel to conduct the repairs. Commence emergency repairs within three (3) hours after notification, regardless of the day or time during non-duty hours, for failures that render the facility unusable. Commence emergency repairs within one (1) hour after notification during duty hours for any system or equipment failure that impede normal operations and cannot wait until the next scheduled maintenance period, or otherwise provide a hazard to personnel or the facility in the government’s determination. Provide the 24-hour emergency telephone numbers of the primary and alternate points of contact in order to facilitate on-call (emergency) services. These telephone numbers are used as a first step to provide telephonic support to correct any malfunctions or system failures. However, if the problem cannot be corrected by telephone, the three (3) hour response time begins at initial notification, not at the conclusion of the telephonic assistance. Provide expert technicians for specific hardware/software systems to rectify any problems with the system that cannot be corrected by the contractor or his staff. Remove and replace defective parts, track all serial numbers, coordinate warranty repair/replacement, and advise the Government.

· On-Site Production Support Services: Provide the following Audiovisual Production and Editing (AP/E) services onsite at GCMC, which includes producing on-line and off-line video productions, and plenary event products. Perform production and editing services on Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) applications, specifically Adobe Premiere (or similar non-linear editing platforms). Create graphics and animation products using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, and similar graphic software programs used in video productions. Work with Government to assess needs, making recommendations as to the most effective way to creatively achieve objective; and then shall carry project through to finished product. The finished product may be a webcast, training/information digital video, videoconference, uploaded video, or broadcast depending on the requirements of the Government. Conduct the technical and creative operation of EFP (Electronic Field Production) cameras and camcorders. Monitor and adjust audio levels during live recordings resulting in a final professional product. Provide Technical Director services for live events, which include: operating sophisticated New Tek TriCaster (or equivalent) digital video switchers, audio hardware and software systems, Adobe Creative Cloud, interpretation systems and software, remote Panasonic pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) video cameras; recording plenary events onto digital disk recorders and Windows-based computers; recording live multi-camera events; operating VTC systems and computer and Crestron controlled AV systems. All plenary recordings will incorporate the production values of utilizing camera sequences. Compose, frame, and creatively and logically mix various camera shots (long, wide, medium wide, medium, medium close up, close up, extreme close-up) as well as various camera movements (pan, tilt, zoom, rack focus) that result in a professionally produced end product from start to finish. Monitor and adjust audio levels during live recordings to ensure a professional product. Review and perform quality control on all video products, before submittal to the COR for final review and approval before releasing the product to the customer.

Estimated Government FTEs:

Services

Scheduled Maintenance Services

On-Call Emergency Repair Services

Onsite Production Support Services

Personnel

* All contractor personnel shall possess Level 3 (Fluent) English language written and oral communication skills.

· The personnel performing Program Management functions shall have a minimum three (3) years’ experience related to management of multimedia activities and have a comprehensive knowledge of the services required.

· The Lead Technician hall have a minimum three (3) years’ experience with Crestron systems to the level of possessing the skills necessary to maintain, troubleshoot and update Crestron systems used in all GCMC AV operations.

· Contractor personnel performing technical support, maintenance, repair services shall possess a minimum of three (3) years’ experience in performing maintenance operations, analyzing and identifying AV hardware and AV connectivity problems, and performing immediate repair and maintenance of AV support systems, similar to GCMC AV systems as indicated above.

· Contractor personnel performing production and editing services shall possess a minimum of two (2) years’ experience and possess the knowledge, skills, and expertise to produce on-line, off-line video productions, and plenary event products. Contractor personnel performing AP/E services shall: have non-linear hands-on editing skills using Adobe Creative Cloud (CC) applications, specifically Adobe Premiere (or similar non-linear editing platforms); have proficient skills in creating graphics and animation products using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe After Effects, and similar graphic software programs used in video productions; and shall have experience working with clients, assessing needs, making recommendations as to the most effective way to creatively achieve objective, then carry project through to finished product. The finished product may be a webcast, training/information digital video, videoconference, uploaded video, or broadcast depending on the requirements of the Government. Contractor personnel performing AP/E services shall also be proficient in the technical and creative operation of EFP (Electronic Field Production) cameras and camcorders. Contractor personnel performing AP/E services shall possess the knowledge and skills to monitor and adjust audio levels during live recordings resulting in a final professional product.

· Contractor personnel performing production and editing services have at least two (2) years’ experience performing as a Technical Director for live events, operating sophisticated New Tek TriCaster (or equivalent) digital video switchers, audio hardware and software systems, Adobe Creative Cloud, interpretation systems and software, remote Panasonic pan/tilt/zoom (PTZ) video cameras, recording plenary events onto digital disk recorders and Windows-based computers, recording live multi-camera events, operating VTC systems and computer and Crestron controlled AV systems. As stated previously, all plenary recordings will incorporate the production values of utilizing camera sequences. Contractor personnel shall possess the knowledge and skill to compose, frame, and creatively and logically mix various camera shots (long, wide, medium wide, medium, medium close up, close up, extreme close-up) as well as various camera movements (pan, tilt, zoom, rack focus) that result in a professionally produced end product from start to finish.

Place of Performance: The services provided under this contract will be performed at George C Marshall Center, Sheridan Kaserne and Artillery Kaserne Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The primary place of performance is the George C Marshall Center, Gernackerstrasse 2, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. Working spaces and all necessary office equipment will be provided by the Government.

Period of Performance: The Government is considering a five-year period of performance (PoP) not-to-exceed 66 months. This PoP would consist of a base year, four option years and an optional six-month extension per FAR 52.217-8. The base year may include a one-month transition period from February 1 –February 28, 2023:

Option Extension up to six (6) months: February 1, 2028 – July 31, 2028

7.0 Capability Statements & RFI Questions and Answer Matrix

We are requesting that Contractors fill in responses to the questions listed on the RFI Question and Answer Matrix spreadsheet. PLEASE SUBMIT A COPY OF THIS SPREADSHEET IN RESPONSE TO THIS RFI AS AN UNLOCKED, EXCEL SPREADSHEET. There is no page limit to the RFI Question and Answer Matrix. Contractor information provided in response to these questions will not be shared externally with the public. This feedback is solely for the purpose of the Government.

In addition to the RFI Question and Answer Matrix, contractors are encouraged to submit a separate Capability Statement as a Word or PDF document. Please limit your Capability Statements to ten (10) pages.

Contractors interested in submitting a Capability Statement are encouraged to include the following information:

1) Company name, address, point of contact name, telephone, and email address.

2) CAGE Code and DUNS Number.

3) Business size status (business size/socio-economic category must be submitted to be used).

4) Contractor acknowledgement and capability to provide personnel that will need to successfully meet the security requirements and compliance with German Law.

5) Contracts your company has been awarded under NAICS code 512290 – Other Sound Recording Industries or similar NAICS code.

6) List of contracts and their contract numbers historically and currently held with the Government to include any Federal Supply Schedules (or other Government ordering vehicles/contracts) providing similar services as outlined in the RFI.

7) Documentation that addresses each of the potential Service Requirement Critical Tasks/Elements.

8) A description of Corporate Experience & Past Performance Information for similar contracts and/or projects accomplished within the last three years. The description must include where, when, and for whom each similar contract and/or project was performed and a brief description of each contract and/or project, including the size, scope, dollar value, and period of performance.

8.0 Submission Instructions

All responses to this RFI must be submitted via e-mail to Tara Murphy, Contracting Officer, at tara.k.murphy.civ@mail.mil. The subject of the email must be titled “Request for Information: IT/IM.” Facsimile responses will not be accepted. Please note there is a 10MB limit on emails.

To facilitate a timely and comprehensive review of all submitted responses, contractors must respond using the format requested on the RFI Question and Answer Matrix. This must be submitted as an unlocked, Excel document to be considered. Any deviation from this format for this document may lead to the rejection of the response.

9.0 Common Cut-off Time/Date

Responses to the information above are due no later than midnight EST, July 15, 2022.

Responses received after this date and time may not be considered.