Revised_Multi-Media_SOW_11-18-2013_(3).pdf

Attachment 1

NIEHS Multi-Media Services

STATEMENT OF WORK

November 18, 2013

Background NIEHS, located in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, is one of 27 research Institutes and Centers that comprise the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

NIEHS was deeded the South Campus location on June 26, 1967, by the Research Triangle Foundation.

NIEHS has only a proprietary interest in this land. This in effect means that although the Federal government (NIEHS) has acquired title to this land in North Carolina, it has not obtained any measure of the state's authority over the area. This finding mandates that all contractors operating on NIEHS property, leased or owned, in Durham County must adhere to all state and local requirements (i.e., building permits, etc.).

NIEHS traces its roots to 1966, when the U.S. Surgeon General announced the establishment of the Division of Environmental Health Sciences within NIH. In 1969, the division was elevated to full NIH institute status. Since then, NIEHS has evolved to its present status as a world leader in environmental health sciences. Today, NIEHS is expanding and accelerating its contributions to scientific knowledge of human health and the environment, and to the health and well-being of people everywhere.

The mission of NIEHS is to discover how the environment affects people in order to promote healthier lives.

NIEHS achieves its mission through:

Extramural research and training, funded by grants and contracts to scientists, environmental health professionals, and other groups worldwide.

Intramural research conducted by scientists at the NIEHS facility, and in partnership with scientists at universities and hospitals.

Toxicological testing and research literature-based analysis activities, and test method development and validation by the National Toxicology Program (NTP).

Outreach and communications programs that provide reliable health information to the public and scientific resources to researchers.

Objective This contract enables the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), through the Office of Communications and Public Liaison (OCPL), to achieve and maintain high quality performance multi-media services in the areas of graphic arts, desktop publishing, photography, videography, and audio/video event planning.

Independently and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish all management, administration, staffing, planning, scheduling, assembling, tracking, and reporting for all items and services described in this Statement of Work.

The contractor shall communicate scientific concepts and biomedical research methods, processes, and results through print, electronic, audio, and video mediums, using a variety of artistic methods, from simple line art illustration to the most current digital techniques using 2-D and 3-D computer software programs.

Principal Tasks and Services

General Information

a) The contractor shall provide a wide range of services, consultation, and technical advice to assist scientists and administrators in effectively communicating and promoting NIEHS research efforts.

b) A critical component of an effective NIEHS research effort hinges on an in-depth understanding and demonstrated ability, by the contractor, for producing professionally developed, cutting-edge products, to client specifications, that successfully communicate highly technical science and public health programs to both scientific and lay public audiences. See Services below for a list of products and services supported under this contract.

c) The contractor will be expected to develop concepts; plan, manage, and execute production; and set priorities, often with guidance from the OCPL director, NIEHS program managers, or COR.

d) The contractor must be capable of managing multiple projects, fluctuating workloads, and urgent or last-minute requests, while continuing to provide a consistently high-quality product that meets the client’s requirements.

e) The contractor shall ensure a system for direct electronic communication and file transfer between the contractor’s place of business and NIEHS staff.

f) The contractor shall provide all materials and supplies, equipment, software, personnel, supervision, and management necessary to produce NIEHS products. No government-furnished equipment will be supplied.

g) NIEHS multi-media needs and workload will vary from day to day. NIEHS is not able to provide an accurate estimate of the type or number of jobs that may come in on a daily basis. Therefore, the contractor must have sufficient staff on hand, at all times, to provide the full range of services, as well as urgent or last-minute requests and jobs with same-day deadlines, or must have staff or subcontractors that can be called upon, at any time, to fulfill urgent requests or assist in meeting deadlines.

Services

The contractor shall provide NIEHS with the following multi-media services for a science-based organization, including, but not limited to:

Customer Service Window Consultation Graphic Design/Illustration Scientific/Medical Illustration Document Layout and Design (Desktop Publishing) PowerPoint Creation and Editing Quality Control/Proofreading/Copy Editing Purchase of Images Scientific Poster Layout Printing and Binding Exhibit and Display Design and Production Photography Video Production and Editing Audio Production and Editing Audiovisual Meeting Planning and Event Support

a) Customer Service Window

The contractor shall provide one staff person, with graphic design experience, to be available to operate a customer service window located within the NIEHS facility at 111 T.W. Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The customer service window must be staffed during agreed to hours, but not more than forty (40) hours per week, eight (8) hours per day, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., excluding federal holidays, to provide consultation, graphic design revisions, and to serve as a drop-off and pick-up site for work products.

It is highly unlikely that there will be a need to staff this window for more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week, as a majority of the work shall be performed at the contractor’s place of business, not at the customer service window.

NIEHS will provide the space and Web access for the customer service window at no cost to the contractor. NIEHS may, at is discretion, choose to move the customer service window to other rooms at its facility, or choose to discontinue the customer service window altogether. At the end of each month, the contractor shall report the number of hours the customer service window was staffed.

b) Consultation

1. The contractor shall provide consultation, if requested, on any provided service.

2. Consultations may take place at the contractor’s place of business or at NIEHS, whichever is preferred by the client.

3. Work orders shall include itemization for consultation time.

4. Travel time may also be added to consultation time, if a meeting is held at NIEHS and the contractor staff providing consultation is normally located at the contractor’s local area office.

c) Graphic Design/Illustration and Medical/Scientific Illustration

The contractor shall create a majority of the graphic design and illustration products at the contractor’s place of business. These services include, but are not limited to:

1. Production of graphic design products and illustrations, on an as-needed and often urgent or last-minute basis, with many tasks having same-day deadlines.

2. Superior quality graphic design of scientific posters, event posters, fact sheets, brochures, flyers, meeting booklets, trade show exhibit graphics and banners, name tags and table tents for meetings, and other graphic materials required by clients.

3. High quality anatomical, surgical, medical, scientific, and conceptual illustrations, in digital 2-D and 3-D, for publication in scientific journals or books, and for use in research posters presented at scientific meetings, PowerPoint presentations, and other products.

4. Graphing/charting of scientific data and determining best method for displaying results.

5. Web page graphics, as needed, working with OCPL Web staff to ensure graphics meet specifications. The contractor shall not provide Web page development services – only graphic design products for use on the Web.

6. Electronic transmission of print files to internal or external printer.

7. Electronic filing system, accessible by all contractor staff, with a standardized file naming system, for easy retrieval of past and current jobs. File name shall be specific and simple enough (e.g., name of event, document title, etc.) to allow all contractor personnel to search for and find a file(s) when creator is unavailable.

8. Master file of printer proofs for all current fact sheets, brochures, and other materials that are printed on a regular basis, so that recreating a new proof is not required each time a reprint request is submitted. Down-level versions of products shall be archived in a separate master file for future reference and to avoid updating or sending the wrong product to print.

9. Products must be usable across multiple platforms (PC and Mac) and be Section 508 compliant.

All key personnel must be fully trained in how to make products Section 508 compliant, prior to contract award.

d) Document Layout and Design (Desktop Publishing)

1. Efficient desktop publishing (including layout, indexing, and creation of Table of Contents) of large, text-heavy technical documents and reports, supplied in Microsoft Word, Excel, and graphic formats, which often contain multiple figures, large multipage tables, bookmarks, and links.

2. The contractor shall work closely with client throughout the process, to ensure format of evolving document is to the client’s satisfaction.

3. The contractor shall send the final document to client for review, completing all revisions necessary for obtaining client approval.

4. The contractor shall prepare Section 508 compliant electronic files of the final document for posting to the Web, if applicable, ensuring all links work properly and that all bookmarks go to the proper place within the document.

5. Contractor shall provide all necessary electronic files to the printer for print copies, if applicable.

e) PowerPoint Creation and Editing

1. Creation and/or editing of PowerPoint presentations and slides from Microsoft Word, Excel, and

PowerPoint documents, as well as graphic files, per client needs.

2. All contractor staff responsible for PowerPoint creation and editing must be proficient in

Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

f) Quality Control/Proofreading/Copy Editing

1. The contractor shall review all products for content accuracy against information provided, prior to returning finished product to client.

2. The contractor shall copy edit products supplied by client, questioning all potential misspellings or obvious grammatical errors or inconsistencies, to ensure that the finished product is correct and as desired.

3. The contractor may suggest text edits to improve readability or organization of information.

4. If after submission to the client, errors are found that were introduced by contractor, product will be returned and corrections will be made at the contractor’s expense.

5. All contractor-introduced errors are to be tracked and provided to COR on a monthly basis.

g) Purchase of Images

1. With approval of the client and COR, the contractor may purchase commercially available photos and images, and pay royalty fees for the use of such images, if the images are necessary to fulfill a work request.

2. The contractor shall attempt to find and use royalty-free images when possible and appropriate to the project.

3. The contractor shall report the actual cost of images purchased and provide receipt(s) with invoice.

4. Time to search for and purchase images shall be reported as consultation time.

h) Scientific Posters

1. The contractor will receive scientific poster information from NIEHS clients in PowerPoint, Excel, Word, and graphic formats.

2. The contractor shall format the poster according to client needs, as well as NIEHS template and logo requirements, and provide a PDF version via email, or a color-correct, one-fourth-size proof sheet to client for approval.

3. The contractor must be capable of printing posters up to 96” wide and 48” high, per client specifications.

4. The contractor shall print posters using color-fast paper or fabric, and ink that does not fade when exposed to light, so that laminating is unnecessary.

5. Final printing shall not be done until written approval is obtained from the client.

6. Delivery of a completed poster, with the same color rendition as the approved proof, shall be made within 24 hours of receipt of approval to print from the client.

7. Reprinting due to font-mapping, image-order, and color-rendition errors on the part of the contractor shall be done at no cost to the government.

i) Printing and Binding

1. Requests for printing and binding vary significantly in number, size, and format from day to day.

Printing (at contractor location or local print house), binding, and delivery of products to NIEHS staff is required on a daily and often quick turnaround basis, in both small and large quantities, as well as varying sizes.

2. Quick turnaround printing may include, but is not limited to, scientific posters up to 48”x96”, event posters on backing board, trade show exhibit graphics and banners, name tags, tent cards, letter-sized and legal-sized prints, cover stock prints, fact sheets, and brochures.

3. All printing done outside of contractor location shall be supplied by the contractor through subcontracts and purchase arrangements. Quotations from three competitive sources must be obtained by contractor when a print job will exceed $3,000.00. The source representing best value, as determined by the COR, shall be utilized.

4. The contractor shall report the actual cost for subcontracted printing and provide receipt(s) with invoice. The time required to make printing arrangements shall be reported as consultation.

5. Proof approval is required, prior to submitting all large publications or documents for print. The contractor shall submit proofs to the client within (3) workdays after approval of the final layout.

6. If any contractor errors are found during review, that warrant revised proofs, the revised proofs are to be provided by the contractor at no additional cost to the government.

7. If errors are made by the government, and corrections to the layout are required, the government will be responsible for the added expense, and additional time will be allowed for the contractor to make the necessary corrections.

8. The contractor must not print any product prior to receipt of an approval to print, in writing, from the client, whether a proof has been requested or not.

9. The contractor must complete printing and delivery to the client by agreed upon delivery date. If delivery date is considered unreasonable by contractor, COR is to be notified.

10. Final printed documents shall not include identification markings such as register marks, ring folios, rubber stamped jacket numbers, or commercial identification marks of any kind. Only COR approved imprints shall be used.

11. All paper furnished must be in accordance with specifications listed in the government Paper Specification Standards, Volume 11, dated February 1999, or in accordance with specifications provided by the client and approved by the COR.

12. All paper used in each copy of the publication/document must be of uniform shade.

j) Exhibits and Displays

1. The contractor shall print, laminate, and/or mount artwork up to 96”x48” for exhibits and displays. Exhibit and display structures shall be supplied by the contractor.

2. The contractor shall make recommendations on design options, exhibit and display structures, and associated equipment needed to represent NIEHS at national science and recruiting events.

3. Requests for design, printing, laminating, and/or mounting of exhibits or displays must receive prior approval from the COR.

k) Photography

The contractor shall provide NIEHS with the following photography services, including, but not limited to:

1. Digital photography services, on an as-needed and often urgent or last-minute basis, including photographing NIEHS employees and groups, events at NIEHS and local venues, facilities and grounds, scientific experiments, specimens (including animals, alive or dead, whole or dissected; whole organs and tissues; and laboratory products and samples, both biological and non-biological), and other client needs.

2. Obtaining appropriate permissions or releases.

3. Copying, correcting, cropping, enlarging, or reducing photographs, slides, or old prints, as needed.

4. A plan for identifying individuals in photos taken during events.

5. Uploading photos for posting to the NIEHS Web pages.

6. Sorting, digitizing, and cataloging of historical print photos.

7. Use and maintenance of NIEHS electronic database (Extensis Portfolio) for cataloging, organizing, and archiving past and current photos, for quick retrieval by person’s name, event, group, or other parameters determined by the COR. Archiving must be done as photographs are taken.

8. Photographer must be available on an on-call basis to handle last-minute requests and jobs with same-day deadlines. Therefore, the availability of a photographer, within a 20-mile radius of NIEHS, is required.

l) Video Production and Editing

The contractor shall provide NIEHS with the following video production and editing services, including, but not limited to:

1. Staging, recording, and production of quality, high data rate video segments, on an as-needed and often last-minute basis, both at NIEHS and local venues. Videos will be required in various formats, such as QuickTime and Windows Media, for posting on Web pages and social media sites. Video projects may be complex in nature.

2. Operating teleprompter, as needed.

3. Editing videos to the satisfaction of the client. The contractor shall consult with the client on video projects from concept development to completion of quality video, and from production to post production.

4. Quick turnaround on production of videos, often within a few days or a week, viewable across platforms (PC and Mac) and Section 508 compliant. Production includes captioning of videos and compression for posting to a QuickTime streaming server. May be multiple videos, requiring quick turnaround, at one time.

5. Delivery of finished videos to client and Web group, via DVD, FTP site, etc., in the requested format.

6. Recording of TV news programs for archive purposes.

7. Video format conversion, as needed.

8. Duplication of CDs and DVDs.

9. Establishing and maintaining an electronic filing system, with a standardized filing naming system, for quick retrieval of videos, both raw and finished, for possible future use.

10. Videographer must be available on an on-call basis to handle last-minute requests and jobs with same-day deadlines. Therefore, the availability of a videographer, within a 20-mile radius of NIEHS, is required.

m) Audio Production and Editing

The contractor shall provide NIEHS with the following audio production and editing services, including, but not limited to:

1. Digital audio recordings and track logging of NIEHS meetings.

2. Digital audio recordings and track logging of talks or interviews for podcasts.

3. Editing recordings to the satisfaction of the client. The contractor shall consult with the client on audio projects from concept to completion of audio recording.

4. Quick turnaround on editing of audio recordings, often within a day or week.

5. Multi-channel audio for video.

6. Duplication of CDs and DVDs.

7. Format conversion, as needed.

8. Establishing and maintaining an electronic filing system, with a standardized filing naming system, for quick retrieval of audio recordings, both raw and finished, for possible future use.

n) Audiovisual Meeting Planning and Event Support

Meeting planning and event support for NIEHS meetings, both at NIEHS and local venues, including, but not limited to, the following:

1. Audiovisual and meeting support. The contractor shall interface with NIEHS program officials, meeting planners, and presenters to educate client(s) on potential audiovisual options.

Meetings at NIEHS and other venues vary and, therefore, the needs vary. It is critical that the meeting support personnel work closely with the NIEHS meeting planner, in order to provide all needed support.

2. Audiovisual equipment setup prior to meeting. The contractor shall provide audiovisual equipment for meetings to supplement equipment available at NIEHS facilities or other venues.

If equipment is supplied by the contractor through a rental agreement, associated rental fees shall be reported at actual cost and receipt(s) shall be provided with invoice. Audiovisual equipment shall only be rented after providing the COR with rental fee estimates, and subsequent approval by COR.

3. Audio recording and editing, per client requirements.

4. Assistance with running PowerPoint presentations.

5. Setting up Internet connectivity.

6. Coordinating with webcast personnel.

7. If meeting is not being held at NIEHS facilities, other services may include conducting a pre-event site visit; scheduling labor for equipment set-up and removal; setting up or supervising setup of audiovisual equipment in all meeting rooms; providing stage management and supervision of staff; coordinating conference call, videoconference, and webcast setup; audio or video recording of meetings; providing sound system; and other audiovisual services required by client.

8. In the event of equipment malfunction, the contractor shall make every effort to correct the problem immediately, or make alternate arrangements for the meeting planner and patrons.

9. When event support services are required outside a 50-mile radius of NIEHS, travel reimbursement for contractor personnel shall follow the GSA Travel Schedule for the appropriate fiscal year, and must be approved in writing by the COR, before making any travel arrangements.

10. All other audiovisual needs not provided by NIEHS staff or others.

o) Service Area

1. Services shall primarily be performed at the contractor’s own premises.

2. Some services will be performed within and around various NIEHS laboratories, offices, and public spaces (e.g., lobbies, conference rooms, etc.), or at local venues (e.g., conference centers, hotels, etc.) within a 20-mile radius of NIEHS.

3. Occasionally, services will be required for venues outside the 20-mile radius.

4. Some services may require wearing government-furnished special or protective clothing.

p) Subcontracting

If work required for the performance of this contract is supplied by the contractor through a subcontractor or purchase or rental agreement, the contractor shall be responsible for review of subcontractor’s product quality, prior to submission to NIEHS; timely delivery of the subcontracted work product(s); coordination of any and all revisions required by the client; management of all discrepancies and complaints with the subcontractor; completion of all required paperwork; and payment to the subcontractor.

q) Work Orders

In providing support under this contract, the contractor shall initiate a work order only when work is requested by an NIEHS client. The contractor shall provide a system for generating a work order for each service and/or work product requested.

Generating a work order will involve obtaining and recording the requestor’s name, supervisor, division and group, services/work products ordered, date and time ordered, and projected delivery date. It will be the responsibility of contractor’s personnel to ask for all of this information, every time, when accepting a work order from a client. The accuracy of this information is critical to the reporting required by NIEHS.

The contractor shall plan, monitor, and control completion of each work order, to ensure timely delivery of services, quality of work products, and accurate accounting of final costs.

The contractor shall provide an electronic system for tracking all work orders. All effort involved in work order processing shall be considered part of General and Administrative (G&A) costs to the contractor.

r) Reporting Requirements

The contractor shall provide a system for tracking final quantities and hours for each work order.

Monthly, an invoice, as well as a report of all billed line items, shall be sent to the COR in both PDF and Excel format, for review and approval. After approval, the final invoice shall be sent to the COR for processing.

The monthly Excel report shall include a listing of all completed work orders, broken out by work order number, receipt date, description of the service or supply provided, quantity of each service or supply provided, unit cost, final cost, requestor, requestor’s supervisor, division and group, and description of job performed (e.g., event name, products produced, etc.).

Ad hoc reports may be required on a weekly, monthly, or as-needed basis.

s) Deliverables/Delivery Schedule

a) It is anticipated that a majority of the work orders (approximately 90%) will require a (3) workday turnaround, including time for revisions.

b) The contractor shall supply NIEHS staff with services, as needed, and by deadlines specified.

c) The contractor shall maintain a workload tracking database and reporting system, to aid in workload management.

d) The contractor shall supply reports on an as-needed basis (e.g., historical data).

e) The contractor must notify the COR when turnaround times are unrealistic, impossible, or will impact the contractor’s ability to provide other routine work on time or at the usual level of quality. In these cases, the delivery periods of other affected outstanding work may be adjusted, as mutually agreed to by the client, contractor, and COR. Such changes shall be documented on the work order(s) affected.

t) Travel

If event support services is required outside a 50-mile radius of NIEHS, travel reimbursement for contractor personnel shall follow the GSA Travel Schedule for the appropriate fiscal year, and must be approved in writing by the COR, before making any travel arrangements.

Place of Performance

Services must be performed within a 20-mile radius of the NIEHS main campus located at 111 T.W.

Alexander Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.

If the contractor is currently outside of the 20-mile radius, they must establish a local office prior to contract award.

The contractor shall staff a customer support window within the main NIEHS building during agreed to hours, but not more than forty (40) hours per week, eight (8) hours per day, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., each operating day.