updated 20APRIL2021 RFP -AFN360 AoIP App Develpoment and Hosting.docx.pdf

Classification

Original Set Aside:

PSC Code: D308 – IT and Telecom - Programming

SIC Code: 7371 - Custom Computer Programming Services

NAICS Code: 541511 - Custom Computer Programming Services

Place of Performance: Contractor site

Description

The Defense Media Activity (DMA) has a requirement for the development of, and subsequent hosting and support for, a multiplatform AoIP App to support the American Forces Network

(AFN) mission. The responses provided may be used by AFN to assist in budgetary planning and developing an acquisition strategy, Performance Work Statement, salient characteristics, and performance specifications.

Interested parties are responsible for adequately marking proprietary or competition sensitive information contained in their response. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation;

proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. The solicitation is a request for a proposal (RFP). The NAICS code is 541511.

Description of requirements to be coordinated with American Forces Network AFN360 App development team (see PWS for complete description):

CLIN 0001AA Develop a multiplatform AoIP app with functions, features and security measures

IAW the PWS.

Period of performance: 2021 - 2022

CLIN 0002AA Provide App Hosting and availability on the major app stores

Period of performance: 2021-2022

CLIN 0003AA Provide Service, Support, and necessary software upgrades/ updates

Period of performance: 2021-2022

CLIN 0004AB Provide App Hosting, Service, and Support IAW the PWS

Period of performance: 2022-2023

CLIN 0005AC Provide App Hosting, Service, and Support IAW the PWS

Period of performance: 2023-2024

CLIN 0005AD Provide App Hosting, Service, and Support IAW the PWS

Period of performance: 2024-2025

CLIN 0005AE Provide App Hosting, Service, and Support IAW the PWS

Period of performance: 2025-2026

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

AFN360 AOIP APP DEVELOPMENT, HOSTING, AND SUPPORT

HQ0516-21-

Contract Number: HQ0516-21-

Task Order Number:

Tracking Number:

Follow-on to Previous Contract and Task Order Number:

1. Contracting Officer Representative (COR).

a. Primary COR.

Name: Thomas R. Arnholt

Organization: DMA-R/ AFN-BC/ Radio

Department of Defense Activity

Address Code (DODAAC):

Address: 23755 Z Street

Riverside, CA 92518

Phone Number: Desk: 951-413-2207

Cell: 951-237-8226

Fax Number:

E-Mail Address: thomas.r.arnholt.civ@mail.mil

2. Contract or Task Order Title. AFN360 AoIP App Development, Hosting, and Support

3. Background. Defense Media Activity (DMA) is responsible for the design, development and management of all public access digital communications platforms for the Department of Defense (DOD).

DMA provides comprehensive internal and external information to the entire Department of Defense through all available media. DMA communicates messages and themes from the Secretary of Defense, Service Secretaries, and other DOD and US government services through the medium of print, the worldwide web, radio, and television in order to support and improve quality of life and morale, situational awareness, force protection, and to sustain readiness. The American Forces Network (AFN) provides U.S. radio and television news, information and entertainment programming to military service members, DOD civilians and their families overseas, and aboard U.S.

Navy ships. The effective implementation of the AFN360 multi-platform digital audio streaming mobile and web app will support the DMA and AFN mission by contributing to the fulfillment of several objectives and initiatives found in the DMA Performance Plan Strategic Goal 3: Enhance our support to Joint Forces and DoD Components. The DMA Contracting Office has purchased services of a similar nature in the past.

4. Objectives: Defense Media Activity, American Forces Network requires the development, and subsequent hosting and technical support, of a modern, multiplatform, Audio over IP (AoIP) APP to efficiently and effectively engage its core demographics, which include US military and government service members, family members and military retirees living and working outside the continental United States (OCONUS). The app’s primary focus is to provide an engaging, user friendly audio experience comparable with commercial digital audio apps available in the U.S.

5. Scope. The scope of this contract is to provide the Government all necessary services and resources for the development and maintenance of a multiplatform AoIP application. The tasks under this contract include the areas of multiplatform app development, hosting, push notifications, technical support and services, programming updates and maintenance, and access to user metrics, reports and analytics.

5.1. This work shall be performed in accordance and consistent with the objectives of this contract and Performance Work Statement (PWS).

5.2. The period of performance is one year, with four additional option years for hosting and technical support, for a total possible period of performance of five years.

5.3. The Contractor shall work in conjunction with the Government’s schedule to minimize disruptions and delays.

5.4. The Contractor is not responsible for providing content. The government will provide all content for the app either through the form of RSS feeds the app consumes and displays, web views within the app or via text files given to the Contractor for use in native code of the application.

6. Performance Requirements.

6.1 Contractor shall provide a multiplatform AoIP app that meets the following capabilities:

6.1.1 Correlative multiplatform app available on iOS, Android, Microsoft, and Amazon devices, smart speakers, modern web browsers, smart TVs, and PlayStation and XBOX game consoles.

6.1.1.1 Proposal should provide for a tiered/ phased development and deployment schedule, and include itemized pricing options for each platform.

6.1.2 Shall support on-demand streaming, radio streaming, admin curated playlist streaming.

6.1.3 Shall provide capability for content search, and

recommendations based on user profile and preferences.

6.1.4 Shall support user registration.

6.1.5 Shall provide customized user profiles for sponsor & dependents, and provide for parental controls.

6.1.6 User interface shall provide for “favorites” and “recently played”.

6.1.7 Media player should contain no less than the standard media player controls.

6.1.8 Shall provide mechanism for push notifications.

6.1.9 Shall provide mechanism for targeted image/banner advertising.

6.1.10 Shall provide capability to display rich metadata, and “now playing” information.

6.1.11 Mobile app shall be accessible via hands-free/ voice assist.

6.1.12 Mobile app shall pause for phone call, navigation, or

notification.

6.1.13 Shall provide media CMS for simple display and layout

editing.

6.1.14 Shall provide mechanism to gather, organize and report user metrics and analytics.

6.1.15 Shall provide and/or support geo-blocking, and capabilities to whitelist specific IP addresses and/or ranges.

6.1.16 Shall provide capability for audience interaction services – polls, surveys, etc.

6.1.17 The app shall be section 508 compliant.

6.1.18 Shall meet DISA and DOD Cyber Security requirements for download and use on government devices.

6.1.18.1 Contractor shall ensure services provided are compliant with the

"U.S. Government Approved Protection Profile - Protection Profile for Application Software Version 1.3" - https://www.niap-ccevs.org/Profile/Info.cfm?PPID=429&id=429.

6.1.18.2 Contractor may be required to submit documentation for approval through DISA DoD Application Vetting Environment (DAVE) -https://disa.deps.mil/ext/cop/dod_mobility/DAVE/SitePages/DAV

E_Home.aspx.

6.1.19 The Contractor shall participate in no less than three design reviews, preliminary, intermediate and final, with AFN and associated parties to ensure clear understanding of project requirements, expectations, risks, and timelines.

6.1.19.1 It is expected that status meetings and progress reviews will be conducted regularly and as needed.

6.2 APP Hosting

6.2.1 The Contractor shall provide for the mobile application to run, without compromise, on the two latest versions of the iOS and Android operating systems.

6.2.2 The Contractor shall maintain the mobile application availability on popular marketplaces, to include Apple (iOS) and Google https://www.niap-ccevs.org/Profile/Info.cfm?PPID=429&id=429 https://www.niap-ccevs.org/Profile/Info.cfm?PPID=429&id=429 https://disa.deps.mil/ext/cop/dod_mobility/DAVE/SitePages/DAVE_Home.aspx https://disa.deps.mil/ext/cop/dod_mobility/DAVE/SitePages/DAVE_Home.aspx

(Android).

6.2.3 The app shall be a hybrid of content packaged into the app’s native code as well as content that is piped in from the web using both RSS feeds and web views of externally hosted html pages.

6.2.4 The app shall leverage push notification capabilities to alert end-users of new and/or featured content. DMA will manage these push notifications via the Contractor provided/ developed CMS, or similar mechanism.

6.2.5 The app shall allow users to easily share the content they consume to various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

6.2.6 The app shall be a responsive high performance mobile

application that delivers screen load times of sub 1 second.

6.2.7 The app will have a contemporary mobile application design that is professional in nature.

6.3 Support

6.3.1 The contractor will have personnel on-call to support the app.

Personnel will be utilized to diagnose and correct any application failures encountered during normal use. Personnel should be available to provide support with-in 2 hours of notification by AFN support personnel of a failure. Contractor’s support personnel are required to remain engaged, and to assist the government until the failure is resolved.

7. Performance Standards.

Performance Standard Acceptable Quality Level

(AQL)

Method of Surveillance

Task 6.1 Project completion within given timeline.

App features and functions

IAW PWS

Periodic Routine inspection of deliverable products and services.

Task 6.2 99.9% uptime Periodic Routine inspection of deliverable products and services.

Task 6.3 99.9% uptime Periodic inspection of deliverable products and services.

8. Incentives. N/A

9. Place of Performance. Contractor’s site

10. Period of Performance. TBD

11. Delivery Schedule. Not to exceed 12 months from date of award.

PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT FOR SUBMISSION

1. All offerors shall submit via email, separate documents for the cost proposal, and the technical proposal and past performance (to satisfy Part III mentioned below). Each set of documents shall clearly indicate the offeror’s name and address. All proposals shall be meet the following format requirements:

8.5 x 11 inch

Single-spaced typed lines

1 inch margins

12 – point Times New Roman Font text

Microsoft Office and/or Adobe Acrobat compatible

2. Offerors shall confine their submissions to providing information in sufficient detail to define their proposal and to provide an adequate basis for evaluation. All written material in the proposals shall not exceed 50 pages. Part I documents do not impact the page limitation. Partial submissions will result in an unacceptable determination, disqualifying the proposal for an award. In evaluating an offeror’s submissions, the Government will consider how well the offeror complied with these instructions and will view any variance adversely. The Government evaluation team will not assume any information not provided. Material submitted by the offerors will not be returned.

3. Proposals shall be in three (3) separate parts and consist of the following items:

(a) Part I – Price Proposal – Solicitation, Offer and Award Document, SF 1449, and any amendments shall be completed by the Contractor. Part I shall also contain the completed FAR and DFARS clauses 52.212-3, “Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items” and 252.212-7000 “Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items”.

(b) Part II – Technical Proposal – Comprehension of the Performance Work Statement (PWS).

The technical portion of the proposal shall consist of narrative and supporting data that address

ALL requirements contained in the PWS. The proposal shall provide evidence that the offeror recognizes the scope of services that will be required under the proposed contract and the offeror’s method of performing these services. Technical responses should provide clear and detailed answers, and/or viable alternative solutions, to each requirement outlined in the

PWS. Merely stating comply to a requirement may result in an unfavorable rating.

(c) Part III - Past Performance Information: Offerors must provide recent (last 5 years) and relevant information on three (3) customers concerning contracts and subcontracts (including

Federal, State, and local government; and private) that demonstrate their ability to perform the proposed effort. Source selection teams may want to limit the information requested to a summary of the offeror’s performance for each contract or subcontract. The summary should include contract numbers, contract type, description and relevancy of the work, dollar value, and contract award and completion dates; and names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses for references in contracting and technical areas.

3. EVALUATION (GO/NO GO): Proposals will initially be reviewed and evaluated to determine that they meet the government's minimum requirements (GO/NO GO factors). Offers that do not meet the minimum requirements will be excluded from further participation in the acquisition. The minimum requirements (GO/NO GO factors) are as follows:

A. The proposed solution provides a multiplatform AoIP app complete with all features, as detailed in the PWS.

B. The proposed solution meets the DISA and DOD Cyber Security requirements for download and use on government devices as described ni the PWS.

C. The proposed solution seamlessly integrates with Triton Digital products and services.

D. The proposal provides for design reviews, commissioning, integration, acceptance testing, training, and support services that satisfy the requirements of the PWS.

E. The vendors past performance response provides clear evidence of recent app development of similar size and scope to that of the American Forces Network where integrated streaming audio content comparable to what is detailed in the PWS have been successfully deployed and are currently in use.

5. EVALUATION (FACTORS): Award will be made to the offeror who is deemed responsible in accordance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and whose proposal conforms to solicitation requirements and is judged, by an integrated assessment of the non-price evaluation factors and price listed below, to provide the “Best Value” to the Government, based on a Best

Value – Tradeoff Source Selection Process. In determining the "Best Value", offerors will be evaluated using the following four factors:

A. System Functionality and Design

The Government will do an analysis of the proposed system to ensure that at a minimum it meets or exceeds the PWS requirements for the design, functionality, testing, training, hosting, and support services for a modern multiplatform AoIP app. In rating this factor evaluators will consider the following elements:

1. Extent to which the proposed solution provides a multiplatform AoIP app, and meets the operational and design requirements as described in the PWS.

2. Extent to which the proposed solution provides capability to comply with DOD

Cybersecurity and DISA requirements for use on government devices and networks as described in the PWS.

3. Extent to which the proposed solution provides app hosting per the requirements detailed in the PWS.

4. Extent to which the proposed solution provides service and support per the requirements detailed in the PWS.

5. Extent to which the proposed solution provides an acceptable usage gathering and reporting system per the requirements detailed in the PWS.

6. Extent to which the proposed solution provides an acceptable mechanism for AFN admins to edit display and layout.

7. Extent to which the proposal demonstrates a proven ability to utilize emerging technologies.

8. Extent to which the proposal offers an online knowledge base.

B. Past Performance

1. The Government will review the Offeror’s three Past Performance submittals and score recent and relevant experiences as they relate to the Offeror successfully completing projects similar in nature to the system detailed in the PWS. Past performance experiences that are not within the past five years and relevant to this project will not receive consideration.

2. The Government will contact three of the offeror’s customers to ask them whether or not they believe

(a) that the offeror is capable, efficient, and effective;

(b) the offeror’s performance conformed to the terms and conditions of the contract;

(c) that the offeror was reasonable and cooperative and committed to customer service.

(d) the offeror has effectively supported emergency off-air conditions.

3. Past performance is one indicator of an offeror’s ability to successfully perform the contract. Past and current contract experience should be as closely related, or highly similar, to the current project as possible in size, complexity, and scope. The evaluation will include any relevant past performance to fulfill the requirements of the PWS. An offeror without a record of past performance or for whom information on past performance is not available will receive a neutral rating

4. In evaluating this factor, the Government will consider the following four elements:

a) Age of the Information: Whether the Offeror’s examples occurred within in the past five years.

b) Relevance of the Information: Whether the Offeror’s examples provided evidence of successfully developing multiplatform AoIP applications as described in the PWS.

c) Relatedness of the information: Whether the Offerors examples were in use in a

24x7x365 Broadcast Radio environment like that of the AFN mission.

C. Cost/Price

All prices will be evaluated for reasonableness and realism in meeting the requirements of the

PWS. In selecting the best overall proposal, the government will consider the value of each proposal in relationship to the proposed price. The importance of price as a factor in the selection will increase as the merit differences between proposals decrease.

The aggregate of the non-price factors are significantly more important than cost/price in this solicitation.

Offerers must be prepared to show a fair and reasonable price charged to government by comparing proposed price with price charged commercially for similar product/ service of a similar size, scope and complexity.