Draft_BPA_Solicitation_for_Streaming_services-_RFI_edit.doc

Table of Contents

Section 1 – Performance Work Statement / Blanket Purchase Agreement

Section 2 – Objectives / Sample Task Order

Section 3 – Terms and Conditions

Section 4 – Instructions to Quoters

Attachment 1 – Past Performance Questionnaire

Section 1 – Performance Work Statement / Blanket Purchase Agreement

Performance Work Statement (PWS)

SB/SE Outreach and Education Delivery SB/SE Communications Webinars and Web Conferencing for FY 2016-2019

(1) Introduction:

The office of the Communications Broadcast Media Center wants to provide outreach and education to our agency customers in the most efficient and effective way possible. We are interested in exploring new technology that will help communicate effective messages to employees, and the general public in a more dynamic and innovative format. Outreach and education is currently delivered in the form of Webcast, live and pre-recorded webinars, web conferencing and town hall meetings.

Background:

CMBC tasks the vendor to deliver several Webcast, Webinars and Web Conferencing events. The term webinar refers to a presentation delivered over the web. The webinars can be a live event consisting of a live presentation or a pre-recorded presentation or a combination of the two such as a pre-recorded presentation with live question and answer at the end. Another type of webinar would be a pre-recorded presentation that is hosted on the internet and is available on demand. The webinars may also be video produced by the CMBC TV studio that is then streamed by the vendor, or may consist of a video produced by the vendor which is not streamed, but is provided to USDA. This also includes the ability to conduct web conferences using the vendor’s web conferencing software and related services. The contractor will deliver the webinars using the content and presentation given by the USDA. Specifics of the task requirement are below.

(2) Period of Performance:

The base period of performance will be one calendar year. There are 4 option years subsequent to the base year.

(3) Objectives for this work request:

This work request consists of the following tasks:

a) Holding an orientation meeting.

b) Recorded on demand webinars.

c) Producing live webinars and web conferences.

The USDA will provide the content and scripts for an outreach presentation and task the vendor to deliver it over the internet as a live webcast or pre-recorded on demand webinar.

The presentations should be able to accommodate power points, audio and/or video recording of the presenter, information about the presenters, and the ability for live correspondence between the presenter and listeners, and a help desk phone number for use during the presentation for problem solving. The webcast should also provide the ability for the participants to send email questions to an USDA email address.

In addition to the delivery of the webcast or webinar presentation, the vendor must provide for the invitation and registration of participants, issuance and delivery of CPE attendance certificate, and follow up after the presentation (thank you or reporting on resolution of problems encountered by participants). The participant registration and CPE data shall be provided to the USDA in a usable (able to be manipulated) format, such as an excel spreadsheet (in electronic form). An automatic test of the users system to ensure that it meets minimum requirements shall be included as part of the registration function.

Each webcast or webinar is expected to be approximately 60 minutes in duration but not limited to. However, events may sometimes exceed 60 minutes. Live events may sometimes be presented more than once. Web audience size should accommodate a scalable size to an unlimited worldwide network of servers. All services must have mobile device capability on all platforms.

We want to deliver the very highest quality outreach and education and all outreach products must be professional in appearance and operation. Delivery of these products must be smooth and problem free in operation, as measured by industry standards, and should be accessible to all who choose to receive them, including internal USDA personnel. A listing of all problems encountered by the participants and the resolution or responses shall be provided to the USDA.

The USDA/CMBC will own all content and products developed.

(4) Task Requirements:

1. Orientation Meeting:

· The orientation meeting is expected to last between 1 – 3 hours.

· The meeting shall take place on at a time agreed upon between the COR and the vendor.

· As part of the orientation meeting, it is may be required for the vendor provide a tour of their studio facilities, if this is proposed as an option.

· The COR will provide a tentative schedule for the webinars and webcasts for FY 2016 after award.

· The vendor shall use this time to familiarize the USDA personnel with their operation and procedures for delivering webcasts and webinars.

· The USDA personnel will answer any questions the vendor may have in order to further define what is expected.

2. Webcasts The vendor will deliver webinars that can be any of the following types:

· Totally live webcast in HTML5

· This includes a half day rehearsal the day before and full day on the event date

· Producer module where external clients can control slides and question and answer period.

· Pre-recorded Presentation presented as a live streamed event with USDA produced video

· The presentation is recorded in advance and edited by USDA

· Usually includes live questions and answer

· Pre-recorded presentation presented as live streamed event using an produced video

· Produces and edits a video which is provided to the vendor

· The vendor or encodes the video as a live event

· May include interactive features such as; question and answer period

· Fully customized web player, landing page and web portal for repository for all USDA streaming videos and webinars.

The vendor will provide the following for all webinar products as required:

· Ability to view webinars on smartphones, tablets and IPad and like communication products

· Ability to stream webinar from the Auditorium/ studio

· Ability to dynamically upload videos and other content to push out to audience at any time during the webcast

· Provide a detailed timeline/delivery schedule for each event on the FY16 schedule of presentations.

· Provide a registration page that includes the title, abstract, presenter info, a link to download materials (if available) and the ability to register for a specific session.

· Automatically test the viewers’ system when they register.

· Display a confirmation screen upon successful registration.

· Send a confirmation email upon successful registration that contains a link to the event, title and abstract for event, and the session of the live event they are registered for.

· Provide the ability to automatically download the event into their Outlook calendar for live events.

· Provide a reminder email with the date, title, time and description with a link to the event or presentation for live events.

· Provide a list of registrants at the end of the registration period and as needed. Provide a separate listing for each session for the live events.

· Track usage by viewer for live events to ensure they are present using login and logout time. Provide a listing within 1 business day for total time logged in for each participant, beginning at the start of each session. Do not count any time logged in prior to the beginning of the session, or any time after conclusion of the session.

· Email a certificate of continuing education for each participant that qualifies, using the list above, after approval of the list by the Email the CE certificate to all approved participants within 1 business day of approval by the

· Presentations will include video, while others may be audio only.

· Some presentations will be pre-recorded. Provide a phone number for the presenter to call in and do the recording for audio only events for Q&A session.

· Do a dry run of the recording with the presenter(s), if requested.

· Provide live help desk assistance 24/7 during the presentation via Toll-free phone lines and email for resolution of technical problems.

· Include polling question(s), when provided by host client

· Display PowerPoint type slides, the presenter picture(s) and bios, a link to a email box for questions, links to reference materials and resources, and help desk information at a minimum.

· Borderless Video Player

· Provide a link to a email address for questions, with the subject line pre-populated.

· Provide a transcript of the event within 1 business day.

· Provide an archived version, and host it. Edit it prior to hosting.

· User interface shall include custom graphics, 508 compliant video player and captioning, presenter information, presentation download, help features and troubleshooting information and additional resource links as provided.

· Provide a follow up email after event.

· Send out survey questions (either right after the webinar or in the follow up email) if provided by the

· Provide a listing of all help desk contacts and problems encountered and their resolution.

3. Web Conferencing Functionality

In addition to the webinar events, the vendor will provide web conferencing software or web based access to functionality that will meet the following requirements:

· Technical Support/Ease of Use/Training–The vendor shall provide easily available training and technical support for all employees across all time zones as well as presenters and participants outside to help with using the system.

· The vendor shall provide technical assistance with network, admin rights, access, or other issues that may come up.

· Vendor shall provide staff to conduct initial training, as well as provide a technical expert to be on the USDA few web conferences to assist presenters and participants with technical problems. Vendor should also provide staff to quickly respond to technical issues we may occasionally encounter with web conferencing system, answer questions and provide guidance.

Availability

The vendor must ensure that the product maintains consistent availability.

Access

· Easy access for all participants - internal and external users must be able to access the system and registration page without having to load plug-ins that requires admin rights.

· Access for all systems - Access must be available from a variety of computer systems (Mac, PC, but also a variety of levels of systems – i.e. older systems, various internet browsers, etc.).

· Host and Presenter Access – employees (as well as employees from other federal and state agencies) must be able to host and present via the system without having to get admin rights to download any applications.

· No plug-in should be required for participants or presenters (beyond the common things that most systems have, such as Java).

Event Management

· Must be intuitive and easy to learn for employees who will be setting up and hosting web conferences, who may have little or no web conferencing experience.

· Must be intuitive and easy to use for participants throughout the process – from registering to getting handouts downloaded to logging on and participating in the web conference.

· Follow up emails – The vendor must provide the ability to create these from within the system.

· Attendance reports – The system must provide attendance reports which can be sorted according to how much time participants were on,

· Continuing Education certificates – The vendor system must send qualifying participants a CE certificate.

Registration

· Registration Link – The vendor system must provide the ability to set up registration so hosts can send out a link/URL for participants to use to register (and not have to invite via outlook appointment, as we will not have the email addresses of everyone that can attend).

· Customizable Registration Fields – The vendor system must provide the ability to set up/customize registration – for example, requiring practitioners to provide their PTIN. Ideally the registration would allow us to require a field to be completed in a particular way – i.e. for a PTIN; we would want to set it to only accept the PTIN format of “P” and 8 numbers.

· Limitation on Number of Registrants – ability to cut off registration at a certain number.

· Number of participants – 90% of the time a system that accommodates 150-200 participants at a time is sufficient, however, the vendor must provide the ability (on a case by case basis) to expand to several hundred (possibly up to 1,000 or more).

· Registration confirmation, reminder and follow up emails – The vendor must provide the ability to set these to automatically generate from the system; and provide the ability to edit text of each of these emails, add hyperlinks, use a variety of fonts, colors, etc.

Presentation Materials

· Handouts/attachments - ability to attach/include downloadable files with reminder and other emails within the web conferencing registration system, and in a commonly available format (such as PDF) which allows participants to save the files to their own computers.

· Presentation materials – ability to load these onto the system ahead of time (not just at start of session); ability to easily make changes to slide order, etc. after materials are loaded.

· Housing Presentations - Ability to have multiple presentations or documents loaded onto the system simultaneously.

Presentation

· Multiple presenters - ability to have multiple presenters, preferably at the same time and an easy way to promote them to co-presenter (i.e. without having to give and take floor back such that only one at a time can really be a presenter). This feature not only helps when we have more than one presenter, but must be available so that the facilitator can see all the same information (text chat between presenters only, ability to change slides, etc.) that the host can see.

· Sharing applications – ability to share applications, particularly IE, for example: to demo USDA.gov and other agency web sites during web conferences.

· Host controls remain visible on screen at all times (with some products they disappear in full screen mode, and it is not obvious that you need to mouse over the top edge of your screen to make them re-appear)

Video

· Ability to play pre-recorded video clips during web conferences

· Ability to use webcams for presenters – preferably for multiple presenters at once. No webcam limit (some products do not allow you to use the webcam once 150 people have entered the session).

Text Chat

· Text chat participants – ability to restrict the text chat to presenters only, or to all participants, or to restrict visibility of other participants.

· Text chat – ability to use text chat as primary method of taking questions, as well as save text chat (with names of participant asking the question) so we can follow up on questions that did not get answered during the session.

Audio

· Audio Quality & Access to it - using VoIP does not seem to produce acceptable audio in many cases. There is a demand from our customers to hear conference audio via their computer speakers, so this must be an available option. Reliable, quality 2-way audio via the computer would be a nice added feature. However, we still need the ability to use phone lines for audio (preferably without adding substantially to cost). This is also important for our rural areas, where some participants may not be able to access the web portion very easily/consistently. We also have many participants (rural and otherwise) who will not have a microphone or speakers on their computer.

· Audio Control– ability to mute all participants; ability to selectively unmute presenters, facilitator, etc.

Recording

· Recordings, Create and Edit – ability to create and edit recordings, and to pause and restart during web conference. Must be able to cut out the Q&A portion, or be able to easily edit that out later).

· Recordings, Viewing and Navigating – must be easy for participants to load, view, and navigate within the recording (even with older computers).

Surveys

· The vendor must provide the ability to deliver and collect data from surveys, either as the event closes out, or as a post event email.

Polling

· The vendor must provide the ability to deliver, collect data from, and display results of poll questions during the event.

CE Credits

The vendor must provide the ability to email CE credits to participants via the web conferencing system. (Optional, but would like to have this).

Reports

· Accessing Reports – The vendor system must provide the ability to retrieve our own reports on registration, surveys, and attendance.

· Attendance reports - must show the fields we required during registration and must show the number of minutes each participant was on the phone and on the web, the time they started and time they left the session. It would also be helpful to have reports that show who registered but did not attend.

· Report Format and File Type – must provide the ability to pull reports off and save as Excel files (particularly attendance) so we can save, sort, or use for mail merge .

Use Case Scenarios

The web conferencing software must be able to be used in the following types of scenarios:

1. On-line Collaboration Only (Internal)

· Multi-party on-line collaboration via sharing of desktops, and review and annotation of documents

· Internal across the USDA enterprise

· Can become a part of any video use cases discussed below

2. On-line Collaboration External (static known entity and location) vs. dynamic

· Multi-party on-line collaboration via sharing of desktops, and review and annotation of documents

· Within context of USDA security requirements

· Can become a part of any video use cases discussed below

3. Scheduled Video Conference (internal)

· Conference room-based

· Scheduled in advance via Outlook

· Participation by two or more video conference rooms (or individual executive video conference stations) across the USDA enterprise

· Multi-party on-line collaboration

4. Scheduled Video Conference (internal) with Desktop participation

· Same as Use Case #2 above

· Addition of individual desktop video users joining and participating interactively, including on-line collaboration

5. Ad-hoc Addition of Participants to an On-going Conference

· Addition of individual desktop video users joining and participating interactively, including on-line collaboration

· Addition of video conference rooms joining and participating interactively, including on-line collaboration

6. Person-to-person Desktop Video Call

· Two desktop video users participating in a video call

· Ad-hoc or Scheduled meeting

· Escalating (from IM to voice to video)

· On-line collaboration

7. Desktop Video Conference

· Three or more desktop video users participating in a conference

· Ad-hoc or Scheduled meeting

· Multi-party on-line collaboration

· Escalating (from IM to voice to video, add other users)

8. Video Conference with Trusted/Federated External Partners (e.g., banks, other federal agencies, etc., incl. International entities)

· Conference room-based, and/or individual desktop video users

· Scheduled in advance via Outlook (by USDA or external party), or Ad-Hoc

· Participation by two or more video conference rooms (or individual executive video conference stations) across the USDA enterprise

· Multi-party on-line collaboration

9. Large meeting, Unicast video (streaming live video)

· Live streaming of a meeting (e.g., town hall meeting) or an executive speech/address to a mass audience across the USDA enterprise

· Geographically dispersed, multiple presenters, using different end-points (e.g., desktop vs. room-based)

· One-way, non-interactive

· Ability to share documents and materials

10. Interactive Video Training (internal); (≤ 40 people)

· Live streaming of a training session from a designated USDA location to a targeted audience across the USDA enterprise

· Geographically dispersed, multiple presenters, using different end-points (e.g., desktop vs. room-based)

· Interactive with active video participation from the audience

· Ability to share documents and materials (two-way)

· Provide the following USDA-specific training functionality

· Provide closed captioning (CC) or a live interpreter

· View recordings via the server and make those recordings portable for placement in ELMS or on a web server or conversion to HTML for addition of CC

· Provides attendance rosters showing time spent in live events and/or playing back recordings as needed for CPA certification.

· Map answers to registered attendees.

· Show a questionnaire and pull results via a report which are also used for CPA certification

· Import content that has screen reader (JAWS) ability as needed

· Re-use events as needed and Create reusable content for each instance of delivery

· Provide Recording Studio for editing recordings or creating recordings out of bits and pieces of other recordings or for creating standalone recordings.

· Control how many speakers to allow at the same time

· Ability for each participant to download specific content in its native format as needed

· Ability to for the presenter to mark up the presented content during a live presentation.

· Limit enrollment based on pre-set thresholds

11. Unicast Video Training (internal); (≥ 40 people)

· Live streaming of a training session from a designated USDA location to a targeted audience across the USDA enterprise

· Geographically dispersed, multiple presenters, using different end-points (e.g., desktop vs. room-based)

· Limited interactive participation via text chat and features such as “raise hand”

· Ability to share documents and materials (one-way)

· Includes the USDA-specific training functionality discussed above in use case #10

12. Interactive Video Training (Trusted/Federated external)

· Live streaming of a training session from a designated USDA location to a targeted external audience (e.g., SB/SE outreach)

· Geographically dispersed, multiple presenters, using different end-points (e.g., desktop vs. room-based)

· Interactive with active participation from the audience

· Ability to share documents and materials

13. Unicast Video Training (external)

· Live streaming of a training session from a designated USDA location to an external targeted audience

· Non-interactive, one-way

· Ability to share documents and materials

14. Inbound Video Training conducted by External Trusted Entity (e.g., Colleges);

· Content delivery

15. Training Content Development and Delivery

· Creation of on-line, multi-media training materials (voice, video, documents, screen shots, etc.)

· Storage and management of training material content

· Live instructor-led delivery of training materials to internal and external parties (as in Use Cases 9, 10, 11, and 12 above)

· Recording of live training events for later playback on demand

· Search and retrieval of recorded sessions

· On demand playback of recorded sessions

16. Virtual Service Delivery at Designated Sites

· Interactive video sessions between a USDA Partners and Lenders (customer) at a designated TAC or partner or 3rd party site and an USDA trainers assistor/specialist at an USDA site

· Two-way communication

· Scheduled or walk-up

· Simple Routing based on touch screen buttons Sessions controlled by USDA assistor/specialist

· Document and content sharing

· Communication over TNet or ISP-CCG

17. Virtual Service Delivery from Trainers Location

· Interactive video sessions between a Trainers (customer) at their location and an USDA assistor/specialist at an USDA site

· Two-way communication

· Scheduled or ad-hoc

· Sessions controlled by USDA assistor/specialist

· Document and content sharing

· Communication over Internet through the CCGs

18. VRS (Tandberg-based)

· Tandberg end-points

· USDA/Forest Services employees communicating with external entities via a sign language interpreter/translator service

· Using current, established infrastructure using Tandberg and video conferencing bridge/management applications

19. Unicast Pre-recorded Video (USDA TV, etc.)

· Internal on-demand streaming of pre-recorded and stored video content from a designated USDA location to a mass audience across the USDA enterprise

· Conducted based on a USDA-come-USDA-served basis as resources allow

20. Unicast Pre-recorded Video (USDA TV, etc.) External

· External on-demand streaming of pre-recorded and stored video content from a designated USDA location to a mass audience across the USDA enterprise

· Conducted based on a USDA-come-USDA-served basis as resources allow

21. Mobile-device participation in any of the above scenarios

· USDA-provided devices or BYOD

· Support for any iOS, Android, or Microsoft device

· Participate in any of the video use cases presented above

· Participate in any multi-party on-line collaboration described in the above use cases

508 Compliance

IR1052.239-9008 Section 508 Information, Documentation and Support

(SEP 2006)

In accordance with 36 CFR 1194, Subpart D, the electronic information technology (EIT) products and product support services furnished in performance of this contract shall be documented to indicate the current conformance level with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, per the 1998 Amendments, and the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board’s Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards. At no time during the performance of the award shall the level of conformance go below the level of conformance in place at the time of award. At no additional cost, the contractor shall provide information, documentation, and support relative to the supplies and services as described in Section J, Attachment [Fill in]. The contractor shall maintain this detailed listing of compliant products for the full contract term, including forms of extensions, and shall ensure that it is current within five calendar days after award and within three calendar days of changes in products being utilized as follows:

(a) Product support documentation provided to end-users shall be made available in alternate formats upon request, at no additional charge.

(b) End-users shall have access to a description of the accessibility and compatibility features of products in alternate formats or alternate methods upon request, at no additional charge.

(c) Support services for products shall accommodate the communication needs of end-users with disabilities.

(End of clause)

IR1052.239-9011 Section 508 Accessibility of Electronic and Information

Technology (100% Compliance) (SEP 2006)

Each electronic and information technology (EIT) product or service furnished under this contract shall comply with the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards (36 CFR 1194). If the Contracting Officer determines any furnished product or services is not in compliance with the contract, the Contracting Officer will apply the remedies described under FAR 52.246-2, Inspection of Supplies – Fixed Price.

The following technical standards and provisions have been determined to be applicable to this contract:

___ 1194.21, Software applications and operating systems.

x_(a) x_(b) _x_(c) _x_(d) _x_(e) x_(f) x_(g) x_(h) x_(i) x_(j) x_(k) x_(l)

___ 1194.22, Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.

_x_(a) x_(b) x_(c) x_(d) x_(e) x_(f) x_(g) _x (h) x_(i) x_(j) x_(k) x_(l) x_(m) _x_(n) _x_(o) x_(p)

___ 1194.23, Telecommunications products.

__(a) __(b) __(c) __(d) __(e) __(f) __(g) __(h) __(i)

__(j) __(k) - __(k:1) __(k:2) __(k:3) __(k:4)

___ 1194.24, Video and multimedia products.

_x_(a) x _(b) x_(c) x_(d) x_(e)

___ 1194.25, Self contained, closed products.

__(a) __(b) __(c) __(d) __(e) __(f) __(g) __(h) __(i) __(j)

___ 194.26, Desktop and portable computers.

__(a) __(b) __(c) __(d)

The standards do not require the installation of specific accessibility-related software or the attachment of an assistive technology device, but merely require that the EIT be compatible with such software and devices so that it can be made accessible if so required by the agency in the future.

Functional Performance Criteria

NOTE: Functional Performance Criteria provides overall Custom EIT end product evaluation and for technologies or components for which there is no specific requirement under other section. These criteria are also intended to ensure that the individual accessible components work together to create an accessible Custom EIT end product.

Information, Documentation, and Support

NOTE: In order for a Custom EIT End Product to be fully usable by person with disabilities, the information about the Custom EIT End Product and Custom EIT End Product support services must also be usable by person with disabilities.

Required product(s), due date(s):

(5) Acceptance Criteria

· Accuracy – Work Products shall be accurate in presentation, technical content, and adherence to accepted elements of style including grammar and spelling.

· Clarity – Work Products shall be clear and concise and easy to understand.

· Specifications Validity – All work products shall satisfy the requirements of the Government including Modernization, Enterprise Architecture and Enterprise Life Cycle.

· File Editing – All text and diagrammatic files shall be editable by the Government.

· Format- Work Products shall be submitted in electronic copy and in media defined herein. Work Product format may change at the convenience of the government with 10 calendar days notice.

· Timeliness – Work Products shall be submitted on or before the due date specified.

· All web products must be 508 compliant and must be tested by the vendor to ensure compliance.

(6) Travel:

In general no travel is expected for the contractor, however travel may occasionally be required but is expected to be minimal. External presenters and a moderator chosen by the USDA will need to have their travel expenses compensated when necessary. The contractor will need to compensate these parties for their travel expenses and then will bill the USDA for these expenses. Detailed receipts from the travel are required and all travel must be done in accordance with the FAR.

(7) Performance Site(s):

The work shall be performed at the contractor’s site but may occasionally be performed at the USDA site.

(8) Technical Points of Contact

TBD

(9) Additional Government Furnished Property Needed

None Section 2 – Objectives / Sample Task Order

SB/SE Communications Webinars and Webcasts

(1) Background:

The USDA tasks the vendor to deliver several webinars and web conferencing. The term webinar refers to a presentation delivered over the web. The webinars can be a live event consisting of a live presentation or a pre-recorded presentation or a combination of the two such as a pre-recorded presentation with live question and answer at the end. Another type of webinar would be a pre-recorded presentation that is hosted on the internet and is available on demand. This task also includes totally live shows which are referred to as USDA Live. The webinars may also be video produced by the USDA studio that is then streamed by the vendor, or may consist of a video produced by the vendor which is not streamed, but is provided to USDA. This also includes the ability to conduct web conferences using the vendor’s web conferencing software and related services. Town Hall events for USDA employees are also needed, including signal acquisition from the USDA studio and other USDA facilities. The contractor will deliver the webinars using the content and presentation given by the USDA. Specifics of the task requirement are below.

(5) Period of Performance:

The period of performance will be one year from the date of award.

(6) Objectives for this work request:

This work request consists of 1 task for outreach and education which will include webinars in any combination of the types listed above.

The USDA will provide the content for an outreach presentation and the vendor will produce it and deliver it over the internet for us as a live webcast (such as USDA Live), a pre-recorded live streamed webinar, or a pre-recorded on demand webinar. Vendor must provide full customization of webcast player and event landing page and all user interfaces. Webcast resolution must be scalable to HD format and 4K.

Each webcast or webinar is expected to be approximately 60 minutes in duration in most cases. Live events may be presented in different sessions on the given date.

At a minimum, the presentation must accommodate power points, audio and/or video recording of the presenter, information about the presenters, links to reference materials and a live help desk phone number and email for use during the presentation for problem solving. The webcast must also provide the ability for the participants to engage in live question and answer sessions and/or to send email questions to an USDA email address.

In addition to the delivery of the webcast or webinar presentation, the vendor must provide for the invitation and registration of participants, issuance and delivery of CPE attendance certificate, problem resolution or trouble shooting and follow up after the presentation (thank you or reporting on resolution of problems encountered by participants). The participant registration and CPE data shall be provided to the USDA in a usable (able to be manipulated) format, such as an excel spreadsheet (in electronic form). An automatic test of the users system to ensure that it meets minimum requirements shall be included as part of the registration function.

The USDA wants to deliver the very highest quality outreach and education and all outreach products must be professional in appearance and operation. Delivery of these products must be smooth and problem free in operation, as measured by industry standards, and should be accessible to all who choose to receive them, including internal USDA personnel.

A listing of all problems encountered by the participants and the resolution or responses shall be provided to the USDA. The vendor shall also provide reports on the number of registrants, participants, and the time each participant spent watching the webinar.

The vendor shall also provide access to web conferencing software, which will provide the ability for USDA to conduct presentations over the internet with both internal and external audiences. Access must be available behind the USDA firewall, which prohibits downloading of plug ins. The web conferencing software must provide PowerPoint slides, audio, video, video clips, web cams and application sharing. For the purposes of this task order, we estimate that we will need multiple licenses for various clients. The web conferencing software must also provide access to telephone bridge lines for audio conferencing, captioning, and the ability to record presentations. For costing purposes for audio, captioning and recording, please see the section on optional costs.

The USDA will own all content and products developed.

The vendor shall ensure that all products are 508 compliant.

(7) Task Requirements:

The vendor will deliver webinars that can be any of the following types:

· Totally live webcast (estimate for multiple costing purposes)

· This includes a half day rehearsal the day before and full day on the event date

· Usually requires multiple cameras and crew

· Pre-recorded Presentation presented as a live streamed event with vendor produced video (estimate 1 for costing purposes)

· The presentation is recorded in advance and edited by this vendor

· Usually includes live questions and answer

· Pre-recorded presentation presented as live streamed event using an USDA produced video (estimate 1 for costing purposes)

· USDA produces and edits a video which is provided to the vendor

· The vendor streams the video as a live event

· May include question and answer period

· Pre-recorded video only (USDA studio overflow) (estimate 1 for costing purposes)

· The vendor will produce a video, including editing and captions, and will provide to USDA in the format specified

· This accommodates video requirements that the USDA studio is unable to full fill

· Webcast presentation that is delivered live and then posted for on demand viewing

· The is streamed live to an USDA audience such as a town hall event, or to any external audience

· Video signal acquisition is generally facilitated via video conference unit (VCU), but can be delivered through other methods such as satellite downlink, broadcast fiber and an on-site encoded stream feed

· Webcast presentation that is delivered live and then posted for on demand viewing

· This is streamed live to an USDA audience such as a town hall event, or to any external audience.

· Video signal acquisition will include, full broadcast production from studio or off site multi camera setups but is not limited to a user’s webcam or Skype.

· All USDA current archive files must not be disconnected from current URL server location provided by current vendor. These files point back to various USDA Websites and cannot be re-encoded and hosted or redirected on alternative servers.

The vendor will provide the following for all webinar products as required:

· Ability to view webinars on smartphones, tablets and IPad and like communication products

· Ability to stream webinar from the USDA TV studio

· Ability to dynamically upload videos and other content to push out to audience at any time during the webinar

· Provide a registration page that includes the title, abstract, presenter info, a link to download materials (if available) and the ability to register for a specific session.

· Automatically test the viewers’ system when they register.

· Display a confirmation screen upon successful registration.

· Send a confirmation email upon successful registration that contains a link to the event, title and abstract for event, and the session of the live event they are registered for.

· Provide the ability to automatically download the event into their Outlook calendar for live events.

· Provide a reminder email with the date, title, time and description with a link to the event or presentation for live events.

· Provide a list of registrants at the end of the registration period and as needed. Provide a separate listing for each session for the live events.

· Track usage by viewer for live events to ensure they are present using login and logout time. Provide a listing within 1 business day for total time logged in for each participant, beginning at the start of each session. Do not count any time logged in prior to the beginning of the session, or any time after conclusion of the session.

· Email a certificate of continuing education for each participant that qualifies, using the list above, after approval of the list by the USDA. Email the CE certificate to all approved participants within 1 business day of approval by the USDA.

· Presentations will include video, while others may be audio only.

· Some presentations will be pre-recorded. Provide a phone number for the presenter to call in and do the recording for audio only events.

· For video presentations, when required, provide the studio facilities, camera crew, production manager and make up person for presenters.

· Do a dry run of the recording with the presenter(s), if requested.

· Provide a professional moderator when requested by the USDA. The vendor must obtain approval of the moderator by USDA well in advance of the event.

· Provide live help desk assistance during the presentation via Toll-free phone lines and email for resolution of technical problems.

· Include polling question(s), when provided by USDA.

· Display PowerPoint type slides, the presenter picture(s) and bios, a link to an USDA email box for questions, links to reference materials and resources, and help desk information at a minimum.

· Provide a link to an USDA email address for questions, with the subject line pre-populated.

· Provide a transcript of the event within 1 business day.

· Provide an archived version, and host it. Edit it prior to hosting.

· Also, provide archive files that we can use to host it on our own server. Archive files are to be provided within 5 business days from the date of the product approval by USDA.

· User interface shall include custom graphics, 508 compliant video player and captioning, presenter information, presentation download, help features and troubleshooting information and additional resource links as provided.

· Provide a follow up email after event.

· Send out survey questions (either right after the webinar or in the follow up email) if provided by the USDA.

· Provide a listing of all help desk contacts and problems encountered and their resolution.

· For shows that have external presenters or moderators the contractor shall compensate the presenter(s) or moderator for their travel expenses, and will then bill the USDA for reimbursement of these expenses. Detailed receipts must be included in the invoice requesting reimbursement for travel expenses. All travel expenses must be in accordance with the FAR.

In addition to the webinar events, the vendor will provide web conferencing software or web based access to functionality that will meet the following requirements:

· Technical Support/Ease of Use/Training–The vendor shall provide easily available training and technical support for all USDA employees across all time zones as well as presenters and participants outside USDA to help with using the system.

· The vendor shall provide technical assistance with network, admin rights, access, or other issues that may come up.

· Vendor shall provide staff to conduct initial training, as well as provide a technical expert to be on the USDA few web conferences to assist presenters and participants with technical problems. Vendor should also provide staff to quickly respond to technical issues we may occasionally encounter with web conferencing system, answer questions and provide guidance.

Availability

The vendor must ensure that the product maintains consistent availability.

Access

· Easy access for all participants - internal and external users must be able to access the system and registration page without having to load plug-ins that requires admin rights.

· Access for all systems - Access must be available from a variety of computer systems (Mac, PC, but also a variety of levels of systems – i.e. older systems, various internet browsers, etc.).

· Host and Presenter Access – USDA employees (as well as employees from other federal and state agencies) must be able to host and present via the system without having to get admin rights to download any applications.

· No plug-in should be required for participants or presenters (beyond the common things that most systems have, such as Java).

Event Management

· Must be intuitive and easy to learn for USDA employees who will be setting up and hosting web conferences, who may have little or no web conferencing experience.

· Must be intuitive and easy to use for participants throughout the process – from registering to getting handouts downloaded to logging on and participating in the web conference.

· Follow up emails – The vendor must provide the ability to create these from within the system.

· Attendance reports – The system must provide attendance reports which can be sorted according to how much time participants were on,

· Continuing Education Certificates – The vendor system must send qualifying participants a CE certificate.

Registration

· Registration Link – The vendor system must provide the ability to set up registration so hosts can send out a link/URL for participants to use to register (and not have to invite via outlook appointment, as we will not have the email addresses of everyone that can attend).

· Customizable Registration Fields – The vendor system must provide the ability to set up/customize registration – for example, requiring practitioners to provide their PTIN. Ideally the registration would allow us to require a field to be completed in a particular way – i.e. for a PTIN; we would want to set it to only accept the PTIN format of “P” and 8 numbers.

· Limitation on Number of Registrants – ability to cut off registration at a certain number.

· Number of participants – 90% of the time a system that accommodates 150-200 participants at a time is sufficient, however, the vendor must provide the ability (on a case by case basis) to expand to several hundred (possibly up to 1,000).

· Registration confirmation, reminder and follow up emails – The vendor must provide the ability to set these to automatically generate from the system; and provide the ability to edit text of each of these emails, add hyperlinks, use a variety of fonts, colors, etc.

Presentation Materials

· Handouts/attachments - ability to attach/include downloadable files with reminder and other emails within the web conferencing registration system, and in a commonly available format (such as PDF) which allows participants to save the files to their own computers.

· Presentation materials – ability to load these onto the system ahead of time (not just at start of session); ability to easily make changes to slide order, etc. after materials are loaded.

· Housing Presentations - Ability to have multiple presentations or documents loaded onto the system simultaneously.

Presentation

· Multiple presenters - ability to have multiple presenters, preferably at the same time and an easy way to promote them to co-presenter (i.e. without having to give and take floor back such that only one at a time can really be a presenter). This feature not only helps when we have more than one presenter, but must be available so that the facilitator can see all the same information (text chat between presenters only, ability to change slides, etc.) that the host can see.

· Sharing applications – ability to share applications, particularly IE, for example: to demo USDA.gov and other agency web sites during web conferences.

· Host controls remain visible on screen at all times (with some products they disappear in full screen mode, and it is not obvious that you need to mouse over the top edge of your screen to make them re-appear)

Video

· Ability to play pre-recorded video clips during web conferences

· Ability to use webcams for presenters – preferably for multiple presenters at once. No webcam limit (some products do not allow you to use the webcam once 150 people have entered the session).

Text Chat

· Text chat participants – ability to restrict the text chat to presenters only, or to all participants, or to restrict visibility of other participants.

· Text chat – ability to use text chat as primary method of taking questions, as well as save text chat (with names of participant asking the question) so we can follow up on questions that did not get answered during the session.

Audio

· Audio Quality & Access to it - using VoIP does not seem to produce acceptable audio in many cases. There is a demand from our customers to hear conference audio via their computer speakers, so this must be an available option. Reliable, quality 2-way audio via the computer would be a nice added feature. However, we still need the ability to use phone lines for audio (preferably without adding substantially to cost). This is also important for our rural areas, where some participants may not be able to access the web portion very easily/consistently. We also have many participants (rural and otherwise) who will not have a microphone or speakers on their computer.

· Audio Control– ability to mute all participants; ability to selectively unmute presenters, facilitator, etc.

Recording

· Recordings, Create and Edit – ability to create and edit recordings, and to pause and restart during web conference. Must be able to cut out the Q&A portion, or be able to easily edit that out later).

· Recordings, Viewing and Navigating – must be easy for participants to load, view, and navigate within the recording (even with older computers).

Surveys

· The vendor must provide the ability to deliver and collect data from surveys, either as the event closes out, or as a post event email.

Polling

· The vendor must provide the ability to deliver, collect data from, and display results of poll questions during the event.

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