SOLICITATION NOTICE
R -- Placement of advertising, layout, printing and mailing of a Chinese-language business magazine
- Notice Date
- 7/22/2003
- Notice Type
- Solicitation Notice
- Contracting Office
- Broadcasting Board of Governors, Associate Director for Management, Office of Contracts (M/CON), 330 C Street, SW, Room 2500, Washington, DC, 20237
- ZIP Code
- 20237
- Solicitation Number
- BBGCON2203S5356-BJS-1
- Response Due
- 8/15/2003
- Archive Date
- 8/30/2003
- Point of Contact
- Barbara Sesky, Contracting Officer, Phone 202-205-8597, Fax 202-260-0855, - Herman Shaw, Contracting Officer , Phone 202-205--8412, Fax 202-260-0855,
- E-Mail Address
-
bsesky@ibb.gov, hshaw@ibb.gov
- Description
- (i) THIS IS A COMBINED SYNOPSIS/SOLICITATION FOR COMMERCIAL ITEMS PREPARED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FORMAT IN SUBPART 12.6, AS SUPPLEMENTED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION INCLUDED IN THIS NOTICE. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSTITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION; PROPOSALS ARE BEING REQUESTED AND A WRITTEN SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. (ii) SOLICITATION NO. BBGCON2203S5356-BJS IS ISSUED AS A REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) AND A CONTRACT WILL BE AWARDED USING THE CONTRACTING BY NEGOTIATION PROCEDURES. (iii) This solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2001-12. (iv) This is a full and open procurement for Management Support Services under NAICS 541810. (v) The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), Voice of America (VOA) Chinese Branch has a requirement, contingent upon availability of funding, for the following CONTRACT LINE ITEM (CLIN) 1 (Base Year): Solicitation for, and placement of advertising, layout, printing and mailing of a Chinese-language business magazine, Business Scene, on a per piece basis. Initial printing will start at 15,000 copies per month. The maximum number of copies Contractor will print each month will be contingent upon demand that shall be determined by subscriptions managed by the BBG/VOA. There shall be no less than twelve issues in any calendar year. CLIN 2: Option Year One (Same requirement as CLIN 1). CLIN 3: Option Year Two (Same requirement as CLIN 1). CLIN 4: Option Year Three (Same requirement as CLIN 1). CLIN 5: Option Year Four (Same requirement as CLIN 1). (vi) Description: The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), International Broadcasting Bureau (IBB), an agency of the U.S. Government, oversees the mission and operation of the Voice of America (VOA). The VOA's Chinese Branch is responsible for communicating news and information directly to the people of the world, in particular Chinese. One of the methods of communication is via publications. These publications contain scripts in Chinese or English, as well as information about web sites, and radio and television schedules where the reader can get more in-depth coverage of news stories. To print and distribute by mail such publications requires funding not currently available. This Statement of Work (SOW) defines those duties the Contractor shall perform to enable the VOA to meet its goals of program distribution using publications while providing the Contractor with advertising or promotional opportunities in the Chinese market. The requirement is for a contractor to provide for publication and distribution of a business magazine, Business Scene, targeting Chinese readers in the People's Republic of China. Hard copies and electronic mail (email)-based versions of the magazine are distributed free of charge. Services provided by the Contractor shall cover the cost of layout, solicitations for and placement of advertising, printing and distributing by mail of a monthly business magazine for readers in the People's Republic of China. VOA seeks to benefit from obtaining professional publishing services at no cost. In return, VOA believes the Contractor should benefit financially from retention of 100% of income derived from advertising sales. The VOA Chinese Branch will provide, at no cost to the Contractor, all editorial content for the magazine and will develop, maintain and control the addresses to which the Business Scene should be sent. The Government will provide and be responsible for all content of a monthly magazine with the exception of the advertisements that shall be oriented toward business, cultural or economic matters. The Government reserves the right to reject advertising deemed unsuitable for the market and magazine content. The editorial content will be business or economics related for readers in China. The magazine will be printed in simplified Chinese characters and will be available for worldwide distribution. Under no circumstance shall the Contractor use or cause the use of the publication or the publication's materials to be distributed within the United States. Any violation shall be grounds for termination. The Government will use its best endeavors to increase the number of names on the subscription list. The list of these subscribers shall belong to the Government. The Contractor shall solicit and place advertising in the magazine. The Contractor shall be responsible for the layout and printing of the magazine as well as obtaining all necessary publishing permits and registrations. The Contractor shall be responsible for distributing the magazine by mail. The Contractor shall coordinate work with the Authorized Representative of the Contracting Officer (AR/CO). Any Contractor problems associated with the advertising, printing and delivery methods, etc., shall be brought to the immediate attention of the AR/CO. The Contractor shall ensure that adequate copies are available based on the monthly figure provided by the Government, with an additional 100 copies a month delivered to VOA. The Government will provide the Contractor with the names and addresses of subscribers at the beginning of each month. The Government will allow for the Contractor to provide one advertising credit to be placed in the magazine's electronic (email) version made available to subscribers in China. Additional Terms: Under no circumstances shall the Contractor sell, lease, or otherwise provide the subscription list, or any portion thereof, to a third party. The Contractor may not insert any editorial content in the magazine that has not been expressly approved in writing by the AR/CO. Any violation of the above conditions by the Contractor will result in termination of the contract by the Government. Neither the Government nor the Contractor shall attempt to solicit paid subscriptions or to sell the magazine on newsstands or other commercial channels. (vii) Delivery: The Offeror's proposal shall state their estimated delivery time for providing Contract Line Item 1 in calendar days after receipt of a contract award. (viii) Solicitation provision at FAR 52.212-1, Instruction to Offerors--Commercial Items is hereby incorporated by reference. Offerors are reminded to identify and submit their DUNS Number with their proposal. Offerors responding to this solicitation shall submit the following items to the contracting office: [1] A technical proposal with a narrative of the offeror's understanding of the requirement and their capability to perform the services as stated above; a description of their organization; and key personnel including their qualifications and experience. [2] A description of American citizens, if any, who are associated with ownership of the Offeror's corporation. Priority will be given to Offerors with partial or whole American ownership. [3] A detailed description of the types of advertisements they may be placing in the magazine. [4] Detailed information on past performance and relevant contracts for similar services and a minimum of three references including contract numbers, points of contact with telephone numbers and other relevant information. [5] Samples of currently printed publications and of any Chinese-language or other foreign language publications. [6] Price for the above listed CLIN 1, CLIN 2, CLIN 3, CLIN 4 and CLIN 5. (ix) FAR provision 52.212-2, Evaluation of Commercial Items applies to this acquisition. The Government will award a firm-fixed price (FFP) contract resulting from this RFP to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the RFP will be most advantageous to the Government, based on past performance and price. Technical proposal and price proposal will be approximately equal. In reviewing proposals received in response to this Request for Proposals, the BBG/VOA will be seeking the Contractor who will best offer to provide at no cost to VOA the non-editorial expenses of publishing Business Scene magazine in Chinese. (x) Offerors shall include a completed copy of the provisions at FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications--Commercial Items. Proposals must also include prompt payment terms and correct remittance address if different from mailing address. Full text of all FAR clauses and provisions are available electronically at the following Internet address (http://www.arnet.gov/far). (xi) The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions--Commercial Items applies to this acquisition-with no addenda to the clause. (xii) FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders--Commercial Items, including subparagraphs (b) (3, 6, 7, 8, and 9) applies to this acquisition as well as the following clauses contained within FAR Clause 52.212-5: 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (E.O. 11246); 52.222-35, Equal Opportunity for Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (38 U.S.C. 4212); 52.222-36, Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities (29 U.S.C. 793); 52.222-37, Employment Reports on Special Disabled Veterans, Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans (38 U.S.C. 4212); 52.225-1, Buy American Act--Supplies (41 U.S.C. 10a-10d); 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Central Contractor Registration (31 U.S.C. 3332). FAR 52.232-18, Availability of Funds applies to this procurement. (xiii) The term of the contract will be for a one-year period from date of contract award with four additional optional one-year periods, which may be exercised at the Government's discretion subject to availability of funding for the intended purpose. Interested contractors who are capable of providing these services shall submit Items [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6] described in above paragraph (viii). Failure to provide any of the above-required items may result in the rejection of your proposal. (xiv) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) and assigned rating is not applicable to this acquisition. (xv) There are no FBO numbered notes that apply to this procurement. (xvi) Proposals are due at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, International Broadcasting Bureau, Office of Contracts, Attention: Barbara Sesky, 330 C Street, SW, Room 2515, Washington, DC 20237 on August 15, 2003 at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Standard Time. Proposals shall be in writing and must be signed by an official authorized to bind the organization. Oral proposals will not be accepted. Questions must be submitted in writing to the Contracting Officer at the Email address or facsimile number provided at the end of this notice. Please note that the deadline for submission of questions is 2:00 p.m., Eastern Daylight Time, on July 31, 2003. Proposals may be faxed to (202) 260-0855. (xvii) Contact Barbara Sesky, Contracting Officer, Telephone: (202) 205-8597, Facsimile: (202) 260-0855, E-Mail: bsesky@ibb.gov. All responsible sources may submit an offer, which shall be considered by the Agency.
- Record
- SN00377095-W 20030724/030722213034 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
FedBizOpps.gov Link to This Notice
(may not be valid after Archive Date)
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