Attachment D QA Responses to Potential Vendor Questions (Final).xlsx
XLSX spreadsheet 26 KB Posted
- Attached to
- FRTIB/TSP Brand Monitoring and Enforcement
- Solicitation number
- FRTIB1-25-Q-0003
About this file
This file is a Questions and Answers document containing 20 questions from potential vendors and government responses regarding solicitation FRTIB1-25-Q-0003 for brand monitoring and enforcement services for the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB).
Key details revealed include: The incumbent is The Winvale Group (contract TIB-2020-F-0008, performance period 01-01-2020 to 12-31-2024). The requirement will exceed $250,000 over the full contract period. The work will be primarily remote using the contractor's brand protection/monitoring platform, with FRTIB currently using OpSec Security platform. The scope includes monitoring approximately 114 domains, with historical volumes of up to 100 new domains per year plus renewals. Recent quarterly activity included review of 6,921 domains/URLs resulting in 93 enforcement actions. The contractor will not provide direct legal services but will support FRTIB's Office of General Counsel and Department of Justice. FRTIB will allow Times New Roman 11-point font for proposals, with 10-point minimum for graphics and tables.
View the file
Other files
| File | Type | Posted |
|---|---|---|
| RFQ-FRTIB1-25-Q-0003_ Amendment_0001.pdf | ||
| Attachment C-Self-Attestation Form.pdf | ||
| Attachment B- Pricing Schedule (Final).xlsx | XLSX spreadsheet | |
| RFQ-FRTIB1-25-Q-0003-Final.pdf |
On GovTribe
Work with this file
- Download the original file
- Contacts named in this file
- Similar government files
- Ask GovTribe AI about this file
Text version
Brand Monitoring Program Office
| Question Number | Date Submitted | RFQ Section | Reference Text | Question | Government Response |
| 1 | 11/08/2024 at 3:00pm | N/A | N/A | I would like to confirm if the project mentioned above is considered as a potential new requirement or is there an incumbent contract currently performing these services? | The services solicited are not considered a new requirement and there is an incumbent contractor. |
| 2 | 11/08/2024 at 3:00pm | N/A | N/A | If there are incumbent vendor(s), would you be able to provide the contract details (such as: Vendor Name, Contract Number, Award and end dates, total contract value)? | 1) The Winvale Group 2) Contract Number: TIB-2020-F-0008 3) Period of Performance: 01-01-2020 to 12-31-2024 |
4) FRTIB will not disclose the current contract value as this is still an active contract.
| 3 | 11/08/2024 at 3:00pm | N/A | N/A | Is their an estimated value available for this potential requirement? Is the estimated value greater than $250,000? | No, there is no estimated value for this potential requirement. However, the government anticipates that this requirement will exceed $250,000 over the full contract period. | |
| 4 | 11/15/2024 at 11:43am | N/A | N/A | Will the contractor follow the FRTIB's current procedures, or also assist with design and implementation? | FRTIB has internal procedures. Once the award is made, the COR will work with the awardee to establish working procedures, consistent with the Statement of Work, such as search parameters, enforcement actions, etc. The proposal should define the parameters of what is being offered if there are specific limitations. However, offerors are encouraged to propose any unique services or capabilities that demonstrate how they will complete the task areas in the Statement of Work. Each proposal will be evaluated in accordance with the Evaluation Criteria outlined the solicitation. | |
| 5 | 11/15/2024 at 11:43am | N/A | N/A | Please confirm the FRTIB will make the enforcement determination and the contractor will take the pertinent steps for the specific FRTIB decision. | FRTIB will work with the vendor upon award on defining which enforcement actions the vendor can make the enforcement determination without further consultation with FRTIB and which types of actions require FRTIB to make the enforcement determination. Offerors are encouraged to propose any unique services or capabilities that demonstrate how they will complete the task areas in the Statement of Work. Each proposal will be evaluated in accordance with the Evaluation Criteria outlined the solicitation. | |
| 6 | 11/15/2024 at 11:43am | N/A | N/A | Does the FRTIB currently have a system/platform in place? | The FRTIB uses the current contractor's platform. | |
| 7 | 11/15/2024 at 11:43am | N/A | N/A | What is the current process for the vendor to purchase the domains, including expected volume and reimbursable costs? | The FRTIB directs the purchase of domains based on contractor recommendations, internal determinations, and new/periodic trademarks/service marks obtained through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Volumes vary but have not exceeded 100 new domains per year. Renewals will also need to be executed each year. Currently, costs are paid at a reimburseable price. | |
| 8 | 11/15/2024 at 11:43am | N/A | N/A | Will the FRTIB please provide additional information on the current incumbent contract, including the scope and dollar value? | Please see Question #2 Response. | |
| 9 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | N/A | N/A | We understand that Winvale Group is the incumbent. Will the Government provide detail on the current brand monitoring platform used by the incumbent and FRTIB? | The FRTIB uses the incumbent contractor's OpSec Security platform and an internal database. The FRTIB does not have a preference for a specific brand monitoring platform as long as the requirements of the Statement of Work can be met. Offerors should consider that FRTIB's ability to have full access to their proposed platform may be impacted by Zero Trust architecture and federal IT laws. The vendor will be required to work with FRTIB on any workarounds to ensure that the requirements of the Statement of Work can be met. For example, a platform that links to websites - those websites may not be accessible to FRTIB staff. A 100% self service tool is not ideal. The FRTIB is interested in unique services and capabilities that can best meet the requirements of the Statement of Work. | |
| 10 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | N/A | "The contractor shall provide FRTIB access, a minimum of three FRTIB employees, to an online brand protection and monitoring portal (“tool”) which shall meet the requirements described below." | Does the Government anticipate any additional FTE's needed to access the tool? | At this time, no additional FTE's other than as stated in the Statement of Work are expected to access the tool. | |
| 11 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | 4.1.1 | Task 1: Online Brand Protection and Monitoring Access | Is the Government requesting development of a new online brand protection / monitoring tool or to run an existing tool? | The FRTIB expects to use the awarded contractor's brand protection/monitoring tool. The Contractor has discretion on utilizing subcontractor partnerships to meet any of the requirements of the Statement of Work or provide an online brand protection/monitoring tool they have in-house. | |
| 12 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | 4.1 | Task 6: Reporting | Does the FRTIB anticipate the support described under Task 3 will include the provision of any type of legal services to the agency? Or is the contractor’s role purely administrative? | For legal services, the FRTIB has an internal Office of General Counsel (OGC) which is involved in the review of Task Area 3 written notices/materials. Additionally, the Department of Justice (DOJ) may support FRTIB as filing counsel when necessary. However, offerors are encouraged to propose any unique services or capabilities that demonstrate how they will complete the task areas in the Statement of Work which can support the legal efforts of OGC and DOJ. Each proposal will be evaluated in accordance with the Evaluation Criteria outlined the solicitation. | |
| 13 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | 4.3 | Task 4: Domain Registration, Management, and Recovery | |||
| Task 4 description states, in part, “The selected contractor shall . . . recover domains from infringing parties and transfer to the FRTIB.” | Will the FRTIB please elaborate on the kinds of domain recovery activities expected of the contractor? The contractor will not have standing on its own to initiate an arbitration or litigation against the infringer, and paying an infringer to surrender a domain could set an unwelcome precedent. | For legal services, the FRTIB has an internal Office of General Counsel and, as needed, the Department of Justice for legal assistance. The offeror will not initiate arbitration or litigation against an infringer. Historically, FRTIB has not paid an infringer to surrender a domain. However, offerors are encouraged to propose any unique services or capabilities that demonstrate how they will complete the task areas in the Statement of Work. Each proposal will be evaluated in accordance with the Evaluation Criteria outlined the solicitation. | ||||
| 14 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | 4.4 | Task 6: Reporting | We understand reports are submitted to FRTIB Enterprise Risk and Internal Control Division on monthly, quarterly, and ad hoc basis. Will the Government share details on volume of submitted reports, enforcement actions, and domain actions within these timeframes (monthly, quarterly, and ad hoc basis)? | The FRTIB has current reports that will be shared with the awarded contractor. These may be used as the basis for new reports to meet the Reporting requirements. For domains, volumes vary but have not exceeded 100 new domains per year. Renewals will also need to be executed each year. A recent quarterly report has resulted in 6,921 domains and URLs reviewed with a breakdown of 1279 domains and 5642 URLs. Out of that review, a number were determined benign or informational. Out of all of those domains/URLs, 93 enforcements with 34 of them being URLs. | |
| 15 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | 4.6 | Place of Performance |
"Should the need for on-site visits arise, upon entering the FRTIB Headquarters building, the Contractor’s staff shall provide proper identification and be escorted to the COR’s office to deliver deliverables or
| participate in meetings." | Will the Government confirm that work will be performed primarily remotely? | Yes, the work will be performed primarily remotely and if the need for on-site visits arise, instructions for onsite visitor protocol will be provided. | ||||
| 16 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | 8 | Task 4 Domain Registration, Management, and Recovery | |||
| "The contractor shall alert and assist the FRTIB Enterprise Risk and Internal Control Division in the identification of domain names for pre-emptive purchase by the FRTIB. The selected contractor shall register domains and/or domain blocks at the direction of the FRTIB and manage the non .gov domain portfolio and renewals. The selected contractor shall also recover domains from infringing parties and transfer to the FRTIB." | Based on historical experience, how many domains or how often, does FRTIB anticipate this occurring in a given year? | The FRTIB directs the purchase of domains based on contractor recommendations, internal determinations, and new/periodic trademarks/service marks obtained through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Volumes vary but have not historically exceeded 100 new domains per year. Renewals will also need to be executed each year. FRTIB currently owns 114 domains. | ||||
| 17 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | 4.4 | Task 2: Expert Online Brand Monitoring and Analysis | |||
| "The contractor shall provide the ability to inspect the potential infringing websites and any links or content including but not limited to downloads, files, scripts, etc. that is isolated and does not pose any risk to Agency information technology resources." | Can this use of sandbox environment to support malicious link/file assessment be maintained outside the monitoring "portal" and included as part of standard reporting? | This is at Offeror's discretion, but offerors should ensure their proposed solution meets the requirements of the statement of work. Offerors should be aware that zero trust architecture requirements and federal IT requirements may impact FRTIB's FTE access to the portal offering. Offerors are encouraged to propose unique solutions and write a proposal that best supports their solution with the understanding that the proposals will all be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria in the solicitation. | ||||
| 18 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | 4.2 | N/A | Please confirm Thrift Savings Plan (TSP/TSP.gov) and Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board (FRTIB/FRTIB.gov) are the core two brands/domains to monitor? If not, please provide the number of additional brands/domains? | The FRTIB's .gov sites are currently monitored by the Department of Justice. This contract solicitation is to monitor and enforce on infringements of FRTIB owned brands/trademarks/service marks/logos/vanity domains as required in the Statement of Work. | |
| 19 | 11/15/2024 at 11:37am | N/A | Proposal text size and font style. | Will the Government allow Times New Roman font, size 11-point for standard proposal text, and Times New Roman, no smaller than size 10-point for graphics and tables? | Yes, the government will allow Times New Roman font, size 11-point for standard proposal text, and Times New Roman, no smaller than size 10-point for graphics and tables | |
| 20 | 11/15/2024 at 10:31am | N/A | N/A | Is there a preferred vendor you are looking for? Meltwater, Hootsuite, Brandwatch or Zerofox? | The FRTIB is not requiring the awardee to partner with any specific subcontractor as part of their solution. The FRTIB does not require a duplication of services used by the incumbent. All proposals will be evaluated against the evaluation factors in the solicitation. |
File details come from the government source that posted it. Updated .