Strategic Deception Study RFP FINAL DRAFT.doc

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

May 16th, 2008

PERIOD OF PROPOSAL SUBMISSION ENDS: 5:30 PM Friday, June 6th, 2008 The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission (hereafter “the Commission”) invites submission of proposals to provide a report on the use of perception management and strategic deception by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) within the context of its conduct of foreign policy and national security affairs.

ABOUT THE COMMISSION. The Commission was established by Congress in 2000 to monitor and report to Congress on the economic and national security dimensions of the United States’ trade and economic ties with the PRC. Further details about the Commission are available on its website at: www.uscc.gov .

ABOUT PROPOSALS. The Commission solicits proposals from contractors capable of providing a one-time report investigating the significance of influence operations, perception management, and intentional strategic misdirection on the part of PRC state entities within the context of Chinese foreign and security policy. The study should also examine the institutional actors and methods by which such operations are implemented.

Key issues and questions to be addressed by the report are:

· Examine the extent to which the Chinese government employs strategic-level deception in the course of its relations with the U.S. government. Address the Chinese motivations for such deceptive behavior, and address the major policy areas which would be most affected by such strategic deception.

· Address the question of whether or not U.S. perceptions of active Chinese deception efforts could in some cases reflect an incomplete understanding of Chinese policy-making in certain areas. If this were to be the case, identify the gaps in U.S. understanding of the opaque Chinese decision-making process which need to be addressed.

· Examine and explicate whether or not there are identifiable strains within historical Chinese political and strategic culture, or within the political culture of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which would incline Chinese decision-makers to consciously mislead U.S. leaders regarding the nature and intent of Chinese policies, and/or future Chinese courses of action.

· Determine whether or not there might exist identifiable historical case studies involving significant U.S. decisions in the military, foreign policy, or national security decision-making realms, in which U.S. officials have been affected by intentional Chinese deception. If so, one or more of these case studies should be examined and explicated.

· Determine whether or not there is sufficient evidence to suggest that PRC officials may have conscious intent to mislead U.S. business and political leaders regarding the ultimate intent behind purchases of dual-use technology, and/or investment in U.S. high-tech firms.

· If identifiable deception operations exist, describe whether they appear to be piecemeal efforts by individual government entities, or whether they appear to be centrally coordinated. If centrally coordinated, identify the leading institution(s) involved in these efforts, and describe the specific means, methods and institutional actors by which the PRC government implements efforts at strategic deception.

· Address efforts by PRC state entities to influence the perceptions and opinions of those who help to shape public policy in the government, business, academic, media, and think tank communities of the United States. Explicate perception management efforts which have been made by PRC entities, and the means by which this been accomplished – particularly, the specific methods and institutional actors which the PRC government employed in these influence operations. In such cases, examine whether or not the decisions of targeted individuals and/or institutions may have been significantly affected, and whether this might have distorted U.S. understanding of China or otherwise affected U.S. policy-making.

· Determine whether there might be any adjustments to U.S. government policy which would be recommended in order to counter PRC strategic deception and influence operations.

· Include, as an appendix, a summary literature review of prior relevant studies and academic articles published within the last ten years on the topics of PRC strategic deception and influence operations.

Additional Requirements of the Commission:

· Once a contractor has been selected by the Commission, a draft of the report must be submitted to the Commission for review no later than 120 days from the date of contract confirmation. The Commission will then endeavor to provide comments and requests for adjustments within 30 days; subsequently, the final report must be submitted within 30 days of formal receipt of the Commission’s comments.

· As work on the report progresses, the Commission’s Research Coordinator shall act as a representative of the Commission in monitoring the progress, quality, and relevance of the report to the identified major issues of concern. The Research Coordinator shall, on request to the contractor, be entitled to informal briefings on the status of the research work and to readings of the draft in progress.

· The contract shall be subject to termination if the Commission deems that the work is of unsatisfactory quality.

· At the Commission’s discretion, the report procured via this Request for Proposal may be posted on the Commission’s website.

· Each organization or individual responding to this request must warrant that it/he/she will perform this work solely for the Commission, and that the resulting report will not be shared with other parties without the prior written consent of the Commission.

· The Commission expects contractors to identify all personnel working on the contract, and that there not be any delegation of responsibilities to other parties without prior approval of the Commission.

Primary Selection Criteria:

· The Commission will determine which organization or individual responding to this request will be awarded the contract based on a comprehensive “best value” analysis of the proposals received, to include costs, technical value, and ability to complete the work satisfactorily and on time.

· The primary weighting criterion in selection shall the assessed qualifications and ability of an organization or individual to address the fundamental points enunciated above (“issues and questions to be addressed by the report”), with the most important points as follows: (1) identification of the entity (or entities) within the PRC government most responsible for strategic deception and influence operations, and (2) explication of the means and methods employed in these operations. The cost and amount of time necessary to complete the report will also be considered as criteria in the selection process.

Proposal submissions should include:

· A statement of the applicant’s relevant qualifications to satisfy the terms of this request for proposals (RFP);

· An description of the research methodology the applicant proposes to employ;

· An estimate of the time the applicant will need to complete the required work;

· The price the applicant will charge to the Commission to complete the work set forth in this RFP.

Firms and individuals wishing to submit a proposal in response to this Request for Proposal must ensure that the response arrives at the following location by 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 6th, 2008, or it will not be accepted or considered.

Electronic submissions are acceptable.

Proposals, as well as any other correspondence related to this matter, should be directed to:

John Dotson Research Coordinator

U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Hall of the States, Suite 602 444 North Capitol Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20001 phone: 202-624-1482 jdotson@uscc.gov

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