MODIFICATION
R -- Professional, Administrative, and Management Support Services
- Notice Date
- 7/24/2003
- Notice Type
- Modification
- Contracting Office
- DHS - Direct Reports, United States Coast Guard (USCG), Commandant (G-ACS), U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, 2100 Second St., SW, Washington, DC, 20593-0001
- ZIP Code
- 20593-0001
- Solicitation Number
- DTCGHS-03-R-FCG650
- Response Due
- 7/23/2003
- Archive Date
- 8/7/2003
- Point of Contact
- Catherine Baskin, Contract Specialist, Phone (202) 267-2014, Fax (202) 267-4475,
- E-Mail Address
-
cbaskin@comdt.uscg.mil
- Description
- The following is the Government?s response to questions regarding the above referenced solicitation (Amendment 0003): Question 1. Will the service use information sources: a) Already licensed by the DHS, and if so what sources, and specifically do these sources include subscriptions to library services such as Lexis Nexis, Dialog, ProQuest and Factiva? b) Not already licensed by the DHS, and if so, are there specific sources the DHS believes are critical? If it will use sources not already licensed by the DHS, for licensing purposes, how many potential users of the service are there within the DHS and its agencies? Government?s Response: a) No b) As indicated in the solicitation, the sources are major news services, major and local newspapers and magazines for top-level coverage of DHS and it?s mission area described in the requirement. Question 2. Are there specific ?Publications? or types of ?Publications? the DHS would like covered, e.g., books, newsletters, etc.? Government?s Response: As stated in the requirement, it includes all articles concerning the Department of Homeland Security from all major newspapers, local area coverage, the wire services, international newspapers such as the financial times, and national and local television coverage. Question 3. What is the total estimated audience for the work products: a) In Print, b) Electronically and Via the Web site/archive. How many users are within the IP to be protected? How often will these users be expected to access the site? Government?s Response: As indicated in the requirement, the estimated audience is unlimited for access for the work product and within the IP to be protected. The requirement states that the final hard copy shall contain the summary, clips and the index and be in a printable format for unlimited distribution. The summary brief shall be sent electronically in a compatible format (MS Word) Monday through Friday (except Federal holidays), by 7 a.m., to five DHS personnel. DHS retains the right to further make unlimited distribution of the final product electronically for internal use only. The IP protected web site will allow unlimited DHS employees to obtain access anytime without requiring usernames or passwords. Question 4. Would it be beneficial to provide an archive deeper than 30 days (yes), and if so: a) Is there an ideal size? b) Is there an upper limit? Government?s Response: The minimum requirement is 30 days. However, there is no stipulation on the maximum days of the archive. Question 5. Should the information archived on the Web site include only the information referenced in the work products or all of the information contemplated in creating the work products. Government?s Response: The requirement is for the Web site to include the information provided in the daily briefings only. Question 6. Does the need for archiving of MS Word and Acrobat files extend beyond the work products provided by the vendor, for example, to source material or other intellectual property belonging to third parties? Government?s Response: The response is no. Question 7. Has a more detailed specification for the commercial items requested in the solicitation been created, and is it available? Government?s Response: The response is no. Question 8. Should coverage of electronic media include audio and video or only transcripts? Government?s Response: The requirement is for only transcripts. Question 9: Within an order of magnitude, is there a preferred number of news and information items will be summarized for each subject/mission area and overall? If there is no preference, then what is the least, most and average time DHS personnel will have to review the work products on a daily basis? Government?s Response: As stated again, the requirement is for a professional company capable of reviewing a wide range scope of news outlets, apply understanding of the complex national security environment, edit out duplicate or non critical information to increase information for efficiency of DHS employees, and respond to evolving news and issues relating to DHS and its agencies (The news summary and clips shall include, but not be limited to, the following topics Department of Homeland Security and the mission areas of the Department including Border and Transportation Security, Science and Technology, Emergency Preparedness and Response, Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, Secret Service and national security). Human editing, coverage from television, extracting of critical information, and the indication of where stories run is crucial. News briefings shall be timely, relevant, and focused on the latest development of DHS, including coverage of all of the agencies within DHS. The contractor shall provide a complete and comprehensive review and summary/analysis of all news stories for ?top-level? coverage on a daily basis from national and local television, newspapers, news wires, internet, publications, magazines, legal journals, radio and specialty press, in electronic form, in accordance with the requirements and deliverables indicated in the solicitation requirement. The response to the second question is that the information is not available. Question 10. Will the daily work products be a ?final? report or will staff of the DHS and its agencies enhance the work products before wider distribution. If the reports will be enhanced, would it be beneficial to provide the DHS with tools that enable it to incorporate its own information into the IP protected Web site? Government?s Response. No. The daily work product delivered every morning will not be enhanced, it will be the final product. Question 11: Would it be possible to locate the primary editorial office for the service or several analysts in a DHS office? Government?s Response: No. All questions were to be directed to the Contract Officer by 23 July 2003. Question 12. After a contract is awarded, is there a formal or informal process for the DHS to enhance technical capabilities of the requirement. Government?s Response: There is a formal process in place utilizing regulations, agency?s policies and procedures to make changes to any contract. However, there are no foreseeable technical enhancements that will be made under this requirement after a contract has been awarded. Question 13. Will there be any specific reporting requirements? Government?s Response: The response is no. Question 14. What is the normal term of payment for invoices submitted. Invoices are processed in accordance with FAR 52.232-25, Prompt Payment Act (net 30 days after receipt of invoice). Question 15. What security measures will be required of the web site in addition to IP protection? Government?s Response: The response is none. Question 16. Will the contractor be advised on the whereabouts of key DHS personnel in order that the contractor might determine what ?local? news to cover? Government?s Response: No. This requirement is for only ?top-level? coverage which includes all articles concerning the Department of Homeland Security and its mission areas. This includes all major newspapers, local area coverage, the wire services, international newspapers such as the Financial Times, and national and local television coverage. Question 17. What security clearance will be required of the contractor employee?s? Government?s Response. The response is none. Question 18. Is it permissible to co-locate the web servers for this contract? As long as the requirements of the RFP are meet, co-location is acceptable. Note: Question 19 through 25 are inquires for responses that address features exceeding the minimum requirement. Government Response: Award will be based on the proposal offering the best value to the Government. Offerors are welcome to propose any features which exceed the minimum requirement for consideration. Question 19. Would it be beneficial to provide (in addition to, or instead of, individual summaries of source material) a daily work product for each subject/mission area that summarizes coverage in an integrated or narrative fashion and highlights and analyzes the impact on specific DHS initiatives and potential responses, opportunities and threats? If so, would it also be beneficial to provide the same type of analysis across all subject/mission areas? Question 20: Would it be beneficial to provide the some or all of staff of the DHS and its agencies desktop tools that enable them to: a) Filter, search and personalize information included in the work products? b) Filter, search and personalize the broader selection of information contemplated in creating the work products? Question 21: Would it be beneficial to provide interim updates to selected users of the work products by e-mail some other alerting method? Question 22: Would it be beneficial to provide the DHS with tools that allow it to publish the work products to: a) Other Federal Agencies b) State and Local Governments c) International Entities d) First Responder Community, e.g., law enforcement, fire fighters, EMTs e) The Private Sector (Primary Infrastructure Owners) and f) If yes to any of the above can the DHS provide an estimate of the possible total audience size (for licensing of source material)? Question 23: Should information on the Web site be searchable in addition to being indexed? Question 24. Would it be beneficial for the service to incorporate non-English or foreign sources (other than FBIS) sources in either: a) Translated form? b) Un-translated form? Question 25: With respect to coverage of the DHS and its agencies would it be beneficial to for the DHS to understand and be informed of: a) Total number and names of all media outlets (print and electronic) that included (syndicated) articles or reports? b) The total audience exposed to the articles or reports (based on circulation of media outlets)? c) Geographic concentration?
- Record
- SN00380679-W 20030726/030724213115 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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