Attachment_1_-_Statement_of_Work.docx

811 Poster and Video Contests

Statement of Work

REVISED FEBRUARY 5, 2016

U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS)

Table of Contents

I. PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE…………………………………………………………………….1

II. BACKGROUND………………………………………………………………………………..1

III. SCOPE OF WORK…………………………………………………………………………….2

IV. TASKS/DELIVERABLES…………………………………………………………………..2

V. REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS………………………………………………………….3

VI. REPORTING DELIVERABLES…………………………………………………………..4

VII. INVOICING…………………………………………...………………………………………...4

VIII. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS……………………………………………………………….4

IX. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE…………………………………………………………….…5

X. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE……………………………………………………………5

XI. SUPPLEMENTARY GUIDANCE…………………………………………………………5

XII. POINT OF CONTACT……………………………………………………………………….5

I. PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an agency within the Department of Transportation (DOT), seeks the services of a firm to develop and execute a national poster contest aimed at school children in grades 4 through 6 and a pilot video contest for high school students in grades 9 – 12. The purpose of this initiative is to raise awareness among students and their families and friends about the importance of calling 811 before any digging project.

II. BACKGROUND

PHMSA has responsibility for the regulation of hazardous materials transportation by highway, rail, air, water, and pipeline. PHMSA is the primary federal regulatory agency responsible for ensuring that the Nation's 2.6 million miles of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines are safe, reliable, and environmentally sound. From the federal level, we oversee the development, implementation, and enforcement of regulations concerning pipeline construction, maintenance, and operation, and we share these responsibilities with our state regulatory partners. The rules governing pipeline safety are included in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 190-199. Individual states may have additional or more stringent pipeline safety regulations.

Over the past several years, PHMSA has strengthened its role in ensuring the safety of the Nation’s pipeline system in numerous ways. Data shows that one of the leading causes of serious pipeline accidents that result in injury or fatalities is excavation damage. These accidents are largely preventable if all parties involved in the excavation process follow a few simple steps. The first step in the process is to call 811. The 811 number is a national “Call Before You Dig” phone number designated by the Federal Communications Commission in 2007. One phone call to 811 quickly begins the process of getting underground utility lines marked. Local One Call Center personnel then notify affected utility companies who send crews to mark underground lines for free so that people can dig safely around those underground facilities.

Since the establishment of 811 as the national call-before-you-dig number, a campaign to raise awareness of this issue has been underway. The lead organization in developing the campaign tools is the Common Ground Alliance (see www.commongroundalliance.com). The Common Ground Alliance (CGA) was created in 2000 after the U.S. DOT released a study addressing the best practices relating to damage prevention. The study, released in 1999, was never intended to be a fixed model, but rather to evolve as experts learn more and technology advances. The CGA was formed to continue the development of best practices for damage prevention and to develop other tools for improving damage prevention. The CGA is a member-driven organization with more than 1,600 individual members, member organizations, and sponsors in 16 stakeholder groups that comprise the underground utility and damage prevention industry.

The CGA developed the 811 logo and campaign tools ( see www.call811.com), which are used by stakeholders across the country to promote the use of 811 through a variety of methods, including paid advertising, public relations events, etc. Because the use of 811 is critical to improving pipeline safety by preventing excavation-related accidents, the U.S. DOT promotes 811 through a campaign that makes use of the 811 logos and complements existing efforts to improve damage prevention.

III. SCOPE OF WORK

The scope of work under this agreement is intended to foster creative approaches to raise awareness about the importance of calling 811 before digging. By engaging students, PHMSA hopes that the 811 message will be retained as well as shared with family members who dig or intend to dig.

The poster and video contest will be national in scope for the purpose of sharing and promoting the Call 811 message. The contest will be designed to combine a student’s originality and artistic talent with their ability to share the important message of calling 811 before beginning any digging project. The service provider should submit a proposal that includes a timeline that includes the announcement and promotion of the poster and video contests no later than 21 days after award is executed, and awards announced no later than June 1, 2016, unless an alternative timeline is approved by PHMSA.

Proposals should include a plan for promoting the contests to maximize participation. The plan should also present cost estimates/ranges for each recommended action. Proposed prices must include amounts reserved for prizes. Prize values for both competitions combined may not exceed $15,000. The proposer determines how prizes are distributed.

The contest should be promoted to teachers and students in grades 4 – 6 for the poster contest and grades 9 – 12 for the video contest through any appropriate methods for promotion. Outreach materials used in the contest must be available to PHMSA and any other stakeholders who wish to promote participation in schools in their areas.

The contractor MUST be available to meet on an as-needed basis with PHMSA representatives, and provide all support in accomplishing the Tasks outlined in the contract in a timely manner. The contractor must provide a designated lead, and where appropriate, additional staff for each subtask. The subtask leader and additional staff must have the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities to bring the specified PHMSA program to satisfactory completion. The contractor must submit invoices in accordance with requirements and must prepare and submit reports in accordance with the reporting requirements.

Information about PHMSA’s damage prevention efforts, including state-specific data, can be found at http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/DamagePrevention.htm?nocache=1732.

IV. TASKS/DELIVERABLES

Each of these desired campaign components are further described below.

Task 1: National Poster Contest:

The contractor will develop a fully-integrated poster contest for all fourth through sixth grade students living in all 50 states; Washington, DC; and all American territories. The contest can be promoted electronically, via mail, or any other means.

· The work to be performed includes the design and marketing of the contests, including eligibility criteria, entry requirements and methods for submitting entries, evaluation criteria, timeline, categories and prize information.

· The work to be performed includes the management and coordination of all entries, to include obtaining proper signatures and permissions for the use of the posters.

· When possible, the contest should be tied to the school safety and/or STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculums.

· The work to be performed also includes the judging of poster contest entries. Final judging will be completed jointly with the selected service provider and PHMSA staff.

· The work to be performed includes coordination, purchase and distribution of awards. Proposed awards will ultimately require approval from PHMSA staff.

Task 2: Video Contest:

The contractors will develop and execute PHMSA’s first fully-integrated video contest for high school students in grades 9 – 12 (a pilot contest). Contestants will be encouraged to submit videos no longer than five minutes in length. The contest will be promoted to a minimum of 2500 teachers in at least five states (to include California, Illinois, and Colorado) but will be open to students from any school in any state. The final target states will be determined jointly by the selected service provider and PHMSA. The contest can be promoted electronically, via mail, or any other means.

· The work to be performed includes the design and marketing of the contests, including eligibility criteria, entry requirements, methods for submitting entries, evaluation criteria, timeline, categories and prize information.

· The work to be performed includes the management and coordination of all entries, to include obtaining proper signatures and permissions for the use of the videos.

· When possible, the contest should be tied to the school safety and/or STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Math) curriculums.

· The work to be performed also includes the judging of video contest entries. Final judging will be completed jointly with the selected service provider and PHMSA staff.

· The work to be performed includes coordination, purchase and distribution of awards. Proposed awards will ultimately require approval from PHMSA staff.

Task 3: Measurement:

The respondent must provide a plan for measuring the campaign’s effectiveness. At a minimum, the number of schools/students to which the contests are promoted, the number of requests for information FROM schools/teachers/other stakeholders and the number of entries should be provided.

V. RECOMMENDED QUALIFICATIONS

Qualifications include a full service marketing and/or public relations communications agency (flexibility to mix in-house capabilities with use of hired contractors, DOT resources as needed). Other qualifications include:

· Experience developing and implementing national student safety contests

· Experience with building and sustaining national partnerships with educational and/or school entities that can help disseminate marketing materials

· Experience developing marketing and communication materials for poster and video contests

· Demonstrated experience in developing and documenting plans, deliverables, costs, and measured results Past performance with organizing contests.

VI. REPORTING DELIVERABLES

The contractor must submit Quarterly Progress Reports (every three months) to the COR with a copy to the contract administrator. These documents must include an executive summary for each active initiative (the poster contest and the video contest) describing project statuses and documenting amounts spent/invoiced from obligated amounts at the time of the report and include the following sections: Accomplishments, Planned Activities, and Additional Comments/Concerns or Problems. The contractor should also provide an oral briefing to the COR and any other appropriate officials with each report.

VII. INVOICING

Upon completion of the tasks listed below, the corresponding percentage of the award may be invoiced upon the completion of the following milestones:

Invoices must be mailed to the following address:

US DOT/PHMSA/Financial Operations, AMK-316

P.O. Box 269039 Oklahoma City, OK 73126-9039

VIII. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

PHMSA considers knowledge management a critical aspect of its ongoing ability to service its end-users. Thus, PHMSA will retain ownership of all data and other related information collected, analyzed, developed, and reported in connection with providing services in connection with this statement of work. The contractor MUST provide its procedures for turning over this data to PHMSA before the end of the contract.

IX. SUSTAINABILITY CLAUSE

The Department of Transportation (DOT) developed a Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) which is designed to enhance the mission of sustainability through cost effective acquisitions. Our goal is to achieve compliance by reducing resource consumption and solid and hazardous waste generation. This SSPP applies to all acquisitions and contracting mechanisms used by PHMSA. Contractors are highly encouraged to supply or use products and services that are environmentally preferable, energy efficient, contain recycled content or bio-based materials.

X. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE

DOT Headquarters 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590

Off-site work is also acceptable.

XI. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

PHMSA anticipates the period of performance to be six months from the effective date of award.

XII. SUPPLEMENTARY GUIDANCE

Additional information about existing 811 campaign materials and strategies can be found by visiting:

1. www.call811.com

2. www.commongroundalliance.com

Additional information about existing PHMSA damage prevention efforts can be found by visiting:

1. http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/comm/DamagePrevention.htm?nocache=7002

XIII. POINT OF CONTACT

Brandon P. Beyer Contract Specialist Acquisition Services Division (PHA-30) U.S. Department of Transportation / PHMSA 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington, DC 20590 Email: brandon.beyer@dot.gov Phone: (202) 366-5513; Fax: (202) 366-7974 image1.png