PWS_World Poll.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

GLOBAL OMNIBUS SURVEY SERVICES

1. INTRODUCTION

The United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) is an independent Federal entity that is responsible for U.S.-funded non-military international broadcasting. It derives its authority from The International Broadcasting Act of 1994, 22 U.S.C 6201 et seq., The Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act of 1998, Pub. 105-277 §§ 1301 et seq., the Smith-Mundt Act of 1948, Pub. L. 80- 402, as well as other statutes and executive orders. Based in Washington, DC, the USAGM oversees a combination of federal and private broadcast entities. On the federal side, USAGM oversees the Voice of America (VOA), and Radio and TV Marti (referred to collectively as the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB)). VOA is headquartered in Washington, DC. OCB is located in Miami, FL.

USAGM also issues and supervises grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL, Inc.)

located in Prague, Czech Republic, Radio Free Asia (RFA, Inc.) located in Washington, DC, and the Middle East Broadcasting Network, Inc. (MBN), headquartered in Springfield, Virginia. While consistent with USAGM’s overall mission to inform, engage, and connect people around the world in support of freedom and democracy, each of these networks has its own unique mission under the law, and collectively they account for over 345 million regular listeners and viewers around the world weekly. Broadcasts take place in 61 languages, and programs are delivered via an increasingly complex array of multi-media platforms in more than 100 countries, including AM and FM radio, shortwave, satellite and terrestrial TV, wired and mobile Internet and multiple avenues of digital distribution.

In order to meet the continuing needs of the agency, USAGM is seeking a single or multiple award Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA) for global omnibus research surveys. An omnibus survey is a single questionnaire administered to a large number of respondents that ask about a variety of unrelated topics.

Omnibus surveys serve an important role in USAGM’s research portfolio. The agency commissions omnibus surveys in order to obtain audience estimates in markets where it is not cost-effective to implement full-scale media surveys. The agency also relies on omnibus surveys to obtain routine audience estimates where program offerings must rapidly adapt to world events. Finally, the agency also values data that can better inform its research into the attitudes and lifestyles of foreign audiences.

The omnibus survey service offered by bidders will include instrument customization to accommodate the list of questions required by USAGM in order to measure its audience, known hereafter as “USAGM module”, survey implementation, fieldwork management and extensive data quality control

Proposals will be evaluated for the breadth of services, data quality controls, project management, transparency in research methods, flexibility in ensuring fielded modules contain up-to-date programming, and competitive pricing.

An USAGM Contracting Officer Representative (COR) and a USAGM Project Manager (PM) will be assigned after the BPA awarded.

2. OBJECTIVE

The Contractor will provide access to and oversee a network of locally-based, research sub-vendors positioned to implement the USAGM module in as many countries as possible. The choice of an single or multiple award BPA is intended to offer USAGM flexibility in ordering omnibus surveys when there is rapidly change news coverage, as well as reliability in coordinated, harmonized omnibus research services across all countries.

If possible, USAGM also seeks access to other public opinion data, such as values, health, socioeconomic status, and lifestyle available on client-based omnibus surveys. These data points, when cross tabulated with data about international media users, can provide powerful power audience insights.

• Period of performance: The period of performance will be from the date of award to 2027, for five years. A base year of (12 months) and four option years (12 months).

• Contract Type: The government will use Firm-fixed-price (FFP). Thus, each BPA call will be a Firm-fixed-price (FFP).

3. TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

a. Omnibus Survey Service The Contractor will provide a CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview) omnibus survey service that implements questionnaire modules in countries where USAGM and its networks offer programming (See Appendix A below). The minimal sample size in each country should be n=1000. The agency will accept Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI) omnibus data where circumstances dictate that the CATI is more feasible and has limited mode effect.

• In proposals, Contractors should detail projected population coverage for each country in which they are able to provide omnibus research. USAGM generally accepts data where survey coverage no lower than 80%. Depending on circumstances, the agency may consider markets where population coverage is lower than 80%, and these circumstances should be outlined in the proposal—as should any countries and circumstances where CATI is more feasible.

• Furthermore, the Contractor should detail in which countries they would be facilitating the inclusion of the USAGM module onto an already existing omnibus and in which countries they would organize and oversee the full omnibus survey themselves.

• The typical average module length will be four minutes, but in select markets with multiple networks and sub-brands, USAGM may request an additional minute or two. The Contractor should prepare pricing for a four-minute module, as well as the price for each additional minute.

• The USAGM module will query respondents on international media use for news, awareness of USAGM brands; consumption of USAGM brands, sub-brands and programs; languages in which USAGM brands are consumed; trust of USAGM brands; and changes in understanding or perception of current events.

• For each commissioned survey, USAGM will provide an English-language module that is based on the agency’s core media questionnaire. Under no circumstances can any questions be altered in any manner, including, but not limited to, adding questions or removing or relocating questions, without the prior written permission of USAGM.

• The Contractor shall translate the module into languages relevant to collecting nationally representative data in any country. The complete list of languages in which USAGM offers content—also the most comprehensive list of potential languages required for translation—appear in Appendix A.

• For each commissioned module, USAGM will provide market-specific customizations, including brands, sub-brands, programs and languages. The Contractor shall integrate inputs into country-specific modules.

• The Contractor shall work with the USAGM to develop, refine, and implement a centralized system for documenting market-specific customizations, which can be maintained as a reference for future module development.

• The Contractor will be responsible for monitoring conditions in the country that impact research, including, but not limited to, updated census data and security risks.

• The Contractor shall discuss design, mode, and implementation effects that influence survey results with whom USAGM. Although USAGM does not expect survey results to support or reject any specific outcomes, the agency is interested in obtaining as accurate an estimate of its media consumers as possible. If results appear to be unrealistic or unsupported by other media research, the agency expects the Contractor to engage in a transparent discussion with USAGM about possible design, mode, and implementation effects. This may include, but not be limited to, sharing information with USAGM about interviewer oversight, placement of the USAGM module on omnibus surveys, quality of interviews, and information about survey backchecks.

• The Contractor shall review inputs and suggest translations that might be more appropriate, based on local vendor feedback.

• The Contractor must make it possible for omnibus modules to be updated as close to fieldwork as possible, to ensure that programs offered in the questionnaire are accurate. The agency seeks the ability to revise brands, program names, and hosts in a country-specific module up to one month before survey fielding. If setting up a global survey operation restricts the ability to update program names, the Contractor shall provide details about l those limitations in its proposal, including the cut-off timeframe.

• The Contractor shall train all local sub-vendors to implement the USAGM module. This training includes concepts around media consumption, platforms, content, and devices, to ensure that interviewers understand the terminology and behavior referenced in the questionnaire.

Contractors shall describe in detail in its proposal how it intend to ensure that sub-vendors field teams accurately understand and communicate media consumption to survey respondents.

• The Contractor shall ensure that translations of the USAGM module from English are effective.

The USAGM module is English-centric, but we know that terminology such as “use,” and “content” are understood differently by survey respondents hearing different languages. The Contractor’s proposal shall describe quality-control measures on module translations, such as back-checking and local vendor input. USAGM reserves the right to review all translations completed by the Contractor.

• The Contractor shall script the module for CAPI administration. USAGM reserves the right to request scripting access.

• The delivered data must contain the same variables (except where brands and sub-brands differ), standardized variable labels that accurately reflect the questions asked in the survey, including correct brand, sub-brand and program names, uniform file formats, etc.

• The Contractor will use best efforts to place the USAGM module in roughly the same location on each omnibus survey across all countries. The agency requires its module not be at the front of a survey, nor at the end when respondent fatigue is greatest. Contractors will share the placement of the USAGM module on their omnibus vehicles with the agency. Exceptions from standardized placement of the USAGM module must be approved by the agency.

• The Contractor’s survey practices shall conform to accepted industry standards, as codified by organizations such as Council of American Survey Research Organizations (CASRO), European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR), American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and Conference of International Broadcast Audience Researchers

(CIBAR).

• USAGM distributes content in close to 140 countries; however, the agency knows that omnibus research is neither possible, nor optimal, in all those markets. A list of potential countries for omnibus surveys appears in Appendix A. Contractor’s Proposals shall include, a sortable chart or spreadsheet clearly indicating which of the countries can be covered in the Contractor’s service, population coverage, mode, timing or frequency of omnibus (if available), whether the omnibus is existing or stood up by the Contractor, pricing for a four-minute module, and each additional minute. Please note that Contractors that fail to cover every market listed in the Appendix A will not be automatically disqualified the competition.

b. 1A Data Management, Quality, and Assurance

Every survey will result in a full, cleaned, and complete dataset, preferably compatible with SPSS Statistics, or other statistical software package. All shall include:

i. Respondent ID, date of interview, length of interview, relevant geographic data, demographic data for each respondent;

ii. Variables covering all questions included in the USAGM module with a complete data dictionary of variable names and value labels;

iii. Fully labeled descriptions of variables, indices and indicators contained in non-USAGM questions, if applicable; and

iv. Post-stratification weights required to bring the sample into conformity with the demographic profile of the population, as well as any additional weighting factors required to correct for disproportionate allocation, if required.

When delivering data, the Contractor shall provide a technical report for each country addressing each of the following points:

i. A basic description of the sampling methodology employed, source of data for sampling plan, percent of covered population, brief description of size of excluded population and reason (if any);

ii. Listing of interview method (e.g., F2F paper and pencil, CAPI, CATI etc.);

iii. Listing practical difficulties (if any) encountered in carrying out the survey;

iv. Basic explanation of the weighting scheme including details on the source of the weighting scheme data and the demographic data on which weights were based (i.e., age, gender, and education distributions in the population);

v. Margin of error;

vi. Description of Quality Control/Quality Assurance Plan as implemented; and

vii. Any unique field conditions that may have influenced the survey results.

The Contractor shall provide data and data set codebooks in SPSS format or other csv format, and conform to file naming conventions established by USAGM.

The Contractor shall send all final data sets via FTP, file transfer protocol, to the COR on a continuous, rolling basis as soon as data is available.

USAGM will review survey data to ensure it conforms to USAGM’s technical requirements, making certain there is no apparent evidence of flawed survey administration, and check the weighting scheme.

If survey data is deemed flawed or unreliable by USAGM, USAGM will not accept it.

c. 1B Project Management and Communication

• The Contractor shall meet regularly with USAGM Research staff and other agency stakeholders to update on omnibus survey progress.

• The Contractor shall oversee fieldwork related to data collection, quality control, data processing and analysis of research findings.

• The Contractor shall ensure all intellectual property rights clauses and mandatory federal clauses flow down to contracts with locally-based sub-vendors.

• The Contractor will provide transparency about the sub-vendors utilized in each country, upon request.

4. DELIVERABLES

A. Market-specific module questionnaire, finalized with country-specific brands, sub-brands, programs and languages;

B. Translations of modules in all requisite languages for a market;

C. Access to CAPI administration scripts;

D. Cleaned SPSS data set; and E. Technical report/overview for each module.

5. PAYMENT MILESTONES

USAGM module (per country):

Payment is due per survey requested by USAGM

Amount Milestone

50% Accepted market modules and translations (Deliverables A and B)

50% Accepted survey data sets

(Deliverables C, D, E)

APPENDIX A: Markets for potential omnibus modules

Balkans Albania Albanian, English Balkans Bosnia Bosnian, Serbian, Russian Balkans Kosovo Albanian, Serbian Balkans North Macedonia Macedonian, Albanian Balkans Montenegro Montenegrin, Serbian, Russian

Balkans Serbia Serbian, Russian Baltics Estonia Russian Baltics Latvia Russian Baltics Lithuania Russian Caucasus Armenia Armenian, Russian Caucasus Azerbaijan Azerbaijani, Russian Caucasus Georgia Georgian, Russian Central Asia Kazakhstan Kazakh, Russian Central Asia Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyz, Russian, Uzbek Central Asia Tajikistan Tajik, Russian, Uzbek Central Asia Turkmenistan Turkmen, Russian Central Asia Uzbekistan Uzbek, Russian Central Europe Bulgaria Bulgarian Central Europe Hungary Hungarian Central Europe Moldova Romanian, Russian Central Europe Romania Romanian, Russian East Asia China Mandarin, Cantonese, English East Asia Hong Kong Cantonese, Mandarin, English East Asia Mongolia English East Asia South Korea Korean, English East Asia Taiwan Mandarin, English Eastern Europe Belarus Belarusian, Russian Eastern Europe Ukraine Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar, Russian, English Latin America & Caribbean Argentina Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Bolivia Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Chile Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Colombia Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Costa Rica Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Cuba Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Dominican Republic Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Ecuador Spanish Latin America & Caribbean El Salvador Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Guatemala Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Haiti Creole, English Latin America & Caribbean Honduras Spanish

Latin America & Caribbean Mexico Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Nicaragua Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Panama Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Paraguay Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Peru Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Uruguay Spanish Latin America & Caribbean Venezuela Spanish MENA Algeria Arabic, English MENA Bahrain Arabic, English MENA Egypt Arabic, English MENA Iraq Arabic, English, Kurdish MENA Israel Russian, Arabic, English MENA Jordan Arabic, English MENA Kuwait Arabic, English MENA Lebanon Arabic, English MENA Libya Arabic, English MENA Morocco Arabic, English MENA Oman Arabic, English MENA Palestinian Territories Arabic, English MENA Qatar Arabic, English MENA Saudi Arabia Arabic, English MENA Sudan Arabic, English MENA Syria Arabic, English, Kurdish MENA Tunisia Arabic, English MENA United Arab Emirates Arabic, English MENA Yemen Arabic, English South and West Asia Afghanistan Dari, Pashto, Uzbek South and West Asia Bangladesh Bangla, English South and West Asia Bhutan English South and West Asia India English, Bangla, Tibetan South and West Asia Maldives English South and West Asia Nepal English South and West Asia Pakistan Urdu, Pashto, English South and West Asia Sri Lanka English South and West Asia Iran Persian, Azeri, Kurdish

South and West Asia Turkey Turkish, Kurdish, Russian Southeast Asia Myanmar Burmese Southeast Asia Cambodia Khmer, English Southeast Asia Indonesia Indonesian, English Southeast Asia Laos Lao Southeast Asia Malaysia English, Indonesian Southeast Asia Philippines English Southeast Asia Singapore English, Mandarin, Cantonese Southeast Asia Thailand Thai, English Southeast Asia Vietnam Vietnamese, English Sub-Saharan Africa Angola Portuguese Sub-Saharan Africa Benin French, Hausa Sub-Saharan Africa Botswana English Sub-Saharan Africa Burkina Faso French

Sub-Saharan Africa Burundi Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, French, Swahili, English

Sub-Saharan Africa Cameroon French, English, Hausa Sub-Saharan Africa Cape Verde Portuguese Sub-Saharan Africa Central African Republic English, French, Swahili, Sango Sub-Saharan Africa Chad French, Arabic, Hausa, English Sub-Saharan Africa Comoros French, Arabic Sub-Saharan Africa Cote d'Ivoire French, English, Hausa

Sub-Saharan Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo French, Swahili, English, Lingala

Sub-Saharan Africa Djibouti French, Arabic Sub-Saharan Africa Equatorial Guinea Spanish, French, Portuguese Sub-Saharan Africa Eritrea Amharic, Tigrigna, Afan Oromo

Sub-Saharan Africa Ethiopia Amharic, Tigrigna, Afan Oromo, Somali, English

Sub-Saharan Africa Gabon French, Hausa Sub-Saharan Africa Gambia English Sub-Saharan Africa Ghana English, Hausa Sub-Saharan Africa Guinea French Sub-Saharan Africa Guinea-Bissau Portuguese Sub-Saharan Africa Kenya Swahili, English, Somali Sub-Saharan Africa Lesotho English

Sub-Saharan Africa Liberia English Sub-Saharan Africa Madagascar French, English Sub-Saharan Africa Malawi English Sub-Saharan Africa Mali French, Bambara, English Sub-Saharan Africa Mauritania French, Arabic Sub-Saharan Africa Mauritius French, English Sub-Saharan Africa Mozambique Portuguese Sub-Saharan Africa Namibia English Sub-Saharan Africa Niger Hausa, English, French Sub-Saharan Africa Nigeria Hausa, English Sub-Saharan Africa Republic of the Congo French, Lingala

Sub-Saharan Africa Rwanda Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, French, Swahili, English

Sub-Saharan Africa Sao Tome and Principe Portuguese Sub-Saharan Africa Senegal French, English, Wolof Sub-Saharan Africa Seychelles French, English Sub-Saharan Africa Sierra Leone English Sub-Saharan Africa Somalia Somali, English Sub-Saharan Africa South Africa English, Ndebele, Shona Sub-Saharan Africa South Sudan English Sub-Saharan Africa Swaziland English Sub-Saharan Africa Tanzania Swahili, English Sub-Saharan Africa Togo French Sub-Saharan Africa Uganda Swahili, English Sub-Saharan Africa Zambia English Sub-Saharan Africa Zimbabwe English, Shona, Ndebele