U.S. Information Agency, International Broadcasting Bureau, Office of Personnel and Administration, Contracts and Procurement Division, B/PA/AC, Room 1645, 330 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, DC 20547

U -- SPECIAL TRAINING FOR IBB'S OFFICE OF CUBA BROADCASTING "RADIO MARTI" PERSONNEL SOL B/PA-99-31 DUE 082799 POC Contact Point/Contracting Officer: Gloria Sweetney, Contracting Officer, Telephone: (202) 619-1623; Facsimile: (202) 205-1921 The USIA's International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), Contracts and Procurement Division (B/PA/AC), intends to solicit, negotiate, and award a firm-fixed-price Purchase Order contract on a non-competitive basis, using FAR Part 13, Simplified Acquisition Procedures, to Florida International University's (FIU) International Media Center (IMC) of North Miami, Florida to develop, coordinate, and provide the following special training, primarily in Spanish, for IBB's Office of Cuba Broadcasting "Radio Marti" personnel: 1) "Radio Broadcasting Production Techniques" that emphasize the skills, roles, and needs of newsroom producers of Radio Marti programs focusing on "soft news, round-table discussions, and on-air interviews"; and 2) a "Continuing Education Program" of radio broadcasting news journalism theories and techniques for all Radio Marti news and on-air employees, and other appropriate Radio Marti staff and possibly contractors. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition that is applicable to this proposed procurement is FAR Subpart 6.302-1(a)(2), 41 U.S.C. 253 (c)(1), which states: "When the supplies or services required by the agency are available from only one responsible source, and no other type of supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements, full and open competition need not be provided for." This special training is determined to be available from only FIU/IMC on the basis of: a) their ability to uniquely satisfy IBB's training requirements as a follow-on effort to previous work performed by FIU/IMC on how to implement Government recommendations for specific improvements in Radio Marti's production and programming operations to fully meet IBB's worldwide broadcasting standards; b) FIU/IMC's existing detailed knowledge of and experience with Radio Marti's broadcasting operations and personnel that can enable them to develop and provide (in Spanish) the required training to achieve the above-cited improvements as soon as possible; and c) FIU/IMC's international reputation and experience in developing and teaching "graduate-level" broadcast journalism programs in Spanish. This Notice of Intent is not a request for competitive price quotations or proposals. However, other interested firms or persons may express to the Government their interest in and technical capabilities/experience to respond to the above-stated training requirements. Any such written expressions of interest and statements of technical capabilities/experience must be received by the Government by 12 noon (EST), Friday, August 27, 1999 in order to be considered. Oral submissions will not be accepted. A final determination by the Government not to compete this proposed procurement, based upon any responses to this Notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Any information received from interested firms or persons responding to this Notice will be considered by the Government solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. Any submissions or questions regarding this Notice or any requests for additional information shall be submitted in writing directly and only to the Contracting Officer, Ms. Gloria Sweetney, via facsimile at (202) 205-1921. Any written expressions of interest or other information shall specifically reference this CBD Notice by its publication date. This Notice is not a RFQ, RFP, or IFB. Posted 08/16/99 (W-SN368113). (0228)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0093 19990818\U-0001.SOL)