Notice_of_Intent_to_Award_Sole_Source_1.pdf

Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source

Project Title: National Media Services Contract

NAICS Code: 513210, Software Publishers

Small Business: Yes

Contract Type: Firm-Fixed Price

Sole Source Contractor: Cision US Inc.

Description of Requirement: See Attached Statement of Work

Authority: 41.U.S.C. 253 (c), FAR 6.302-1 “Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy Agency Requirements”

Notice Closing Date: 10/01/2025 by 11:00 AM Eastern Time

The Government hereby submits a notice of intent to award a sole source fixed price Contract.

Responses to this notice must demonstrate clear and convincing evidence of technical expertise.

In addition, demonstrate a clear cost and time advantage to the proposed sole source contractor.

Firms that believe they’re capable of performing this requirement shall submit a capability statement and supporting documents that demonstrate technical expertise, cost and time advantages.

The determination not to compete this proposed contract action is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. The Government will not be responsible for any costs incurred in response to this notice.

This is NOT a request for quotes or proposals.

Questions or comments to this Notice of Intent should be directed to Evangelina Langett, Contracting Specialist, at Langett.evangelina@epa.gov. Email shall be the only means of communication, no responses shall be made via phone. Email Subject line should start with, “Response to Notice of Intent: ‘your company name ‘and this solicitation number.”

mailto:Langett.evangelina@epa.gov

Statement of Work (SOW)

1. PROJECT TITLE: National Media Services Contract

The purpose of this contract is to provide EPA’s headquarters and its 10 regional offices with professional services and a system to disseminate news releases, media advisories and other media communications, with access to a real-time updated media outlets and contact database, to the media and the public.

2. BACKGROUND: EPA’s Office of Public Affairs, along with its 10 regional public affairs offices, is responsible for communicating Agency activities, initiatives, and regulatory updates to media and the public through press releases and media advisories, and responding to press inquiries. EPA’s Office of Public Affairs reliable, secure, and responsive access to media members through Cision’s media contact database platform and a press release dissemination platform to ensure timely communication with the media and the public. Additionally, the service provider will provide the EPA with technical support and assist in triaging any issues as they arise.

3. SCOPE: The goal of this procurement is to secure a vendor that can provide EPA with a cloud-based news release distribution platform and access to the platform’s media contact database, as well as associated services to EPA Headquarters and all 10 Regional Public Affairs Offices.

4. SPECIFIC TASKS:

- News release dissemination system: The contractor will provide a system for the agency to send out electronic press release/media advisories and any other media related documents. The system will provide editorial calendars and the ability to pitch to reporters. The system will provide templates and allow for the upload of templates that adhere to the agency’s press release/media advisory specifications. The system will also have standalone tutorials and dedicated training staff.

- Media contacts tracking system: The contractor will provide the agency with a real-time updated media outlets and contact database. Additionally, the contractor will notify the Agency of regular database updates. The database will also have the option to add media contacts. The platform will have the ability to add notes related to each media contact.

- 24/7 user support: The contractor will provide the agency with 24/7 customer support and assist in triaging issues as they arise. This support should be available by phone, e-mail, and chat.

Onsite trainings should be available if requested.

5. DELIVERABLES AND DELIVERY SCHEDULE:

All of the above services will begin immediately on the start date of the contract.

6. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE:

EPA’s Washington D.C. Office of Public Affairs and the 10 regional public affairs offices.

7. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE:

Base 11/01/2025 -10/31/2026 Option 1 11/01/2026 -10/31/2027 Option 2 Option 3 Option 4

11/01/2027 -10/31/2028 11/01/2028 -10/31/2029 11/01/2029-10/31/2030

8. SECURITY CLAUSES

The contractor will work with EPA to become complaint with all OMB and NIST security standards.

Task A - Personally Identifiable Information Contract Closeout

(a) Definition. Personally Identifiable Information (PII) - as defined in OMB Memorandum M-07-16, Safeguarding Against and Responding to the Breach of Personally Identifiable Information, PII refers to sensitive information that can be used to distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either aloneor when combined with other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific individual.

(b) Certification of Sanitization of EPA-provided and EPA-Activity-Related Files and Information (including but not limited to all records, files, and metadata in electronic or hardcopy format). As part of contract closeout, the Contractor shall submit a Certification of Sanitization of EPA-provided and EPA-Activity-Related Files and Information to the Contracting Officer and the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) following the template provided in Appendix G of National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-88, Guidelines for Media Sanitization Revision 1, which assesses risk associated with Personally Identifiable Information (PII) that was generated, maintained, transmitted, stored or processed by the Contractor. The Senior Agency Official for Privacy (SAOP) shall review the Certification and coordinate with the Contracting Officer and the COR.

(c) The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder, provisions which shall conform substantially to the language of this requirement, including this paragraph, unless otherwise authorized by the Contracting Officer.

Task F - Security Monitoring and Alerting Requirements

(a) All Contractor-operated systems that use or store EPA information must meet or exceed EPA policy requirements pertaining to security monitoring and alerting. All systems are subject to the requirements of existing federal law, policy, regulation and guidance (e.g., Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002). The Contractor must comply with the EPA-used Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation (CDM) policy for security monitoring and alerting, which includes requirements not limited to:

(1) System and Network Visibility and Policy Enforcement at the following levels:

Edge Server / Host Workstation / Laptop / Client Network Application Database Storage User

(2) Alerting and Monitoring

(3) System, User, and Data Segmentation

(b) The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder, Task P - Compliance with IT Security Policies

(a) Information systems and system services provided to EPA by the Contractor must comply with current EPA information technology (IT), IT security, physical and personnel security and privacy policies and guidance, and EPA Acquisition Regulation 1552.211-79, Compliance with EPA Policies for Information Resources Management.

(b) Contractors are also required to comply with current Federal regulations and guidance found in the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) of 2014, Privacy Act of 1974, E-Government Act of 2002, Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS), the 500- and SP500- and 800-Series Special Publications (SP), Office of Management and Budget (OMB) memoranda and other relevant Federal laws and regulations that are applicable to EPA.

(c) The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder, Task S - Cloud Service Computing

(a) The Contractor handling EPA information or operating information systems on behalf of EPA must protect EPA information and information systems against unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction per the Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) and EPA policy.

(b) EPA information stored in a cloud environment remains the property of EPA, and not the Contractor or cloud service provider (CSP). The Contractor may also be the CSP. EPA retains ownership of the information and any media type that stores Government information.

(c) In the event the Contractor is the CSP or can control the CSP through a subcontracting or other business relationship then the following requirements will apply:

(1) The CSP does not have rights to use the EPA information for any purposes other than those explicitly stated in the contract or applicable “Rights in Data” contract requirements.

(2) The CSP must protect EPA information from all unauthorized access.

(3) The CSP must allow EPA access to EPA information including data schemas, metadata, and other associated data artifacts that are required to ensure EPA can fully and appropriately retrieve EPA information from the cloud environment that can be stored, read, and processed.

(4) The CSP must have been evaluated by a Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO) certified under the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The Contractor must provide the most current, and any subsequent, Security Assessment Reports to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR) for consideration by the Information Security Officer (ISO) as part of the Contractor’s overall Systems Security Plan.

(5) The Contractor must require the CSP to follow cloud computing contract best practices identified in “Creating Effective Cloud Computing Contracts for the Federal Government” produced by the Federal Chief Information Officer (CIO) Council and Federal Chief Acquisition Officers Council.

(d) The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder, Task V - Termination for Default - Failure to Report Information Security Incident

(a) Definition. Information Security Incident is an occurrence that results in actual or potential jeopardy to the confidentiality, integrity, or availability of an information system or the information the system processes, stores or transmits, or that constitutes a violation or imminent threat of violation of security policies, security procedures, or acceptable use policies.

(b) If the Contractor was aware of an Information Security Incident and did not disclose it in accordance with the requirements specified in this contract or misrepresented relevant information to the Contracting Officer, the Government may terminate the contract for default, debar the Contractor from Government contracting, or pursue such other remedies as may be permitted by law or this contract.

(c) The Contractor agrees to insert in each subcontract or consultant agreement placed hereunder,