76 -- Comic Book

This amendment makes changes and additions to the solicitation (see below), provides responses to contractor’s questions and changes the closing date. No changes to (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (viii), (x), (xi), (xii), (xiv), (xv) or (xvii). No change to (xvii) but it is reprinted for clarity. (v) A list of contract line item number(s) and items, quantities and units of measure, (including option(s), if applicable). CLIN 0001 – Develop the first comic book, 1 ea; CLIN 0002 – Follow on Comic Books, 11 ea – One per month; CLIN 0003 Option CLIN 12 ea. - One per month. (vi) Description of requirements for the items to be acquired. 1. GENERAL. The Contractor shall provide development of an original comic book series to include creation of character lines with supporting artwork, technical editorial support, storyboard development, and all required artwork. 1.1. BACKGROUND. In order to achieve long-term peace and stability in the Middle East, the youth need to be reached. One effective means of influencing youth is through the use of comic books. A series of comic books provides the opportunity for youth to learn lessons, develop role models and improve their education. 2. Qualifications, Experience and Requirements. 2.1. Contractor must demonstrate qualifications and experience in design and production of four-color comic books. 2.2. Knowledge of Arab language and cultures, law enforcement and small unit military operations is desired. 2.3. The comic books will be produced in Arabic so the boxes will have to follow a sequence of right to left and top to bottom. Although knowledge of Arabic is not required, the contractor must have the capability to incorporate Arabic text into the final product and also provide a copy with blank bubbles and void of all printed text “sound effects.” 2.4. The series will be based on the security forces, military and police, in the near future in the Middle East in cooperation with the Ministries of Interior of some of those countries. The comic series will be subject to change based on initial focus group testing of a prototype comic. If the subject matter for a specific comic does not do well in its intended focus group then it may be dropped and/or a new basis for the comic will be selected. There may be opportunities for this series to continue and additional comic series to be developed next year based on feedback from the first series. 2.5. The US Army retains all rights to the intellectual property contained in these comic books. Further, the Contractor shall not use or disclose any information concerning this product in any form whatsoever, to include advertising. 3. OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS 3.1. The comic book will be produced based on thematic guidance from representatives of the U.S. Army, who will also provide the Arabic translation. The contractor will provide an initial submission of each comic book for cultural review and approval. The first two comic book submissions will be pre-tested. Modifications resulting from pre-testing will be made by the contractor and resent to the Contracting Officer Representative (COR) with actual production being done by the U.S. Army. 3.2. The final proof shall be submitted via electronic means in both JPEG and COREL format to the COR for evaluation. The COR will approve comic book materials that meet the criteria specified in this Statement of Work within 72 hours. The basis for rejection shall be articulated by the COR and shall conform to one or more of the requirements of the Statement of Work. 3.3. If the COR determines that the comic book material is not being produced in accordance to the standards of this Statement of Work, the problem will be identified, discussed and resolved with the Contractor’s management. The representative will not try to rectify the problem directly with the comic book creators. 4. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED MATERIAL/SUPPORT 4.1. No material support will be provided by the U.S. Army to the contractor. 4.2. Costs for the printing and distribution of the comic will be Government’s responsibility and are not covered by this contract action. 4.3. The COR will provide thematic guidance, and cultural expertise to the contractor. Additionally, photos of regional architecture, vehicles, and people, which will serve as a basis for the artwork will be provided. 5. SECURITY CLEARANCE. The Contractor will not be required to handle classified material. 6. SCHEDULE: Delivery of one comic book per month is required, based on a proof of concept. This contract will be for the completion of 12 comics, 16 page sides (including covers), size A4, comic books and an option for 12 additional comic books. 7. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED MATERIAL/SUPPORT 7.1. Sufficient management personnel to oversee this effort, and ensure that work performed is in accordance with the Statement of Work. 7.2. Any necessary pre-service and in-service training. (vii) Date(s) and place(s) of delivery and acceptance are provided above, and the FOB point is DEST via electronic means. (ix) The provision at 52.212-2, Evaluation -- Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Evaluation Information: The Government will award the contract to the offeror whose offer represents the best value to the Government on the basis of (1) Technical (2) Past Performance and (3) PRICE, as explained below. 1. Technical. The Government will assess the technical capability of each offeror on the following areas. The Government will NOT assess capability on a pass/fail basis, but will use its assessments of capability as a basis for comparing offerors to determine best value. a. Approach to performance/completion of the Comic Books, to include time lines and discussions on the individuals or group that will be working on the effort. b. 2 Samples of previous work. c. Special Benefits. Discuss the company’s special benefits/resources that add value to their proposal. 2. Past Performance. Past performance is a measure of the degree to which an offeror satisfied its customers in the past and complied with Federal, state, and local laws and regulations. The Government will contact some of each offeror's customers to ask whether or not they believe: (1) that the offeror was capable, efficient, and effective; (2) that the offeror's performance conformed to the terms and conditions of its contract; (3) that the offeror was reasonable and cooperative during performance; and (4) that the offeror was committed to customer satisfaction. In evaluating past performance the Government will contact some of the references provided by the offeror and other sources of information, including, but not limited to: Federal, state and local government agencies, better business bureaus, published media, and electronic data bases. The Government will not evaluate an offeror's organizational past performance on the basis of the personal past performance of the offeror's key personnel. The Government may evaluate the organizational past performance of the offeror's proposed key subcontractors. 3. Price. The Government will evaluate the reasonableness of the price of each acceptable offer in relation to the offeror's relative capability. Price will be evaluated on the basis of price analysis if adequate competition is obtained. 4. Relative Importance of the Evaluation Factors. Nonprice evaluation factors, when combined, are significantly more important than price. The Government considers an offeror's Technical capability to be more important than Past Performance or Price. The elements of Technical are in descending order of importance. However, the Government will not select an offeror for award on the basis of a superior capability without consideration of the amount of its price. The relative influence that capability and price will have on the source selection will depend on the differences among the competing offerors. See Source Selection Decision, below. 5. Source Selection Decision. In order to select the winning offeror, the Government will rank the offerors from best to worst. If one offeror has both the better capability and the lower price, then that offeror will be the better value. If one offeror has the better capability and the higher price, then the source selection authority will decide whether the difference in capability is worth the difference in price. If the source selection authority considers the better capability to be worth the higher price, then the more capable, higher-priced offeror will be the better value. If not, then the less capable, lower-priced offeror will be the better value. The Source Selection Authority will continue to make paired comparisons until he or she has decided which offeror represents the best value. The following clauses are added via amendment to (xiii). 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract, (Mar 2000) (a) The Government may extend the term of this contract by written notice to the Contractor within 30 days of expiration, provided, that the Government gives the Contractor a preliminary written notice of its intent to extend at least 60 days before the contract expires. The preliminary notice does not commit the Government to an extension. (b) If the Government exercises this option, the extended contract shall be considered to include this option clause. (c) The total duration of this contract, including the exercise of any options under this clause, shall not exceed 2 years. (End of Clause) and 52.232-18 -- Availability of Funds. (xvi) Signed and dated quotes referencing the RFQ number H92239-05-T-0026 and includes sufficient technical information as outlined in the Evaluation Section above, Past performance information, and pricing, must be submitted, no later than 5:00 p.m. 12 April 2005, to Karen Glass at FAX (910) 432-9345 or email to [email protected]. An acknowledgement will be sent from the Contracting Officer upon receipt, the contractor is responsible for ensuring their email/fax has been received. (xvii). Karen Glass is the point of contact regarding this solicitation, (910) 432-6145. Responses to Contractor’s questions: 1. Deadline for the artwork, whether in color or black and white line art? Response: In color 2. Can you provide any additional information, even in general terms, on the theme and basic storyline already determined for this project? Response: Some Arab nations form a counter terrorism team to fight terrorists in the Middle East. All 12 issues will tie into each other. It's a building story that climaxes in the 12th issue. 3. Before we prep our response for next week, we wanted to ask if you had any idea when you anticipated getting this project underway? Obviously if there are any events you are looking forward to, we can be sure to reflect that in any production schedule we provide. Response: The Government’s desire is to initate work upon award of the contract. 4. Where can I find 52.212.3 Offeror Representations and Certifications as mentioned in Para 7.6? Response: You may view all clauses at the following web page – http://farsite.hill.af.mil/ Also, the first paragraph of 52.212-3 is provided for the web page reference to complete the certification on-line. 52.212-3 --Offeror Representations and Certifications -- Commercial Items. An offeror shall complete only paragraph (j) of this provision if the offeror has completed the annual representations and certificates electronically at http://orca.bpn.gov . If an offeror has not completed the annual representations and certifications electronically at the ORCA website, the offeror shall complete only paragraphs (b) through (i) of this provision. 5) Are proposals be e-mail only ? Or can Fed-ex be used? Response: Proposals may be submitted any method - i.e. regular mail, Fed-Ex, email or fax. The mailing address is: HQ USASOC, ATTN: AOCO (Karen Glass), Building E-2929 Desert Storm Dr., Fort Bragg, NC 28310. 6) Will there be Travel required to Ft. Bragg? If so how often? And should this be factored into our Bid ...or is it fully reimbursed? Response: Once for an initial meeting, should be added to the cost of the factored into bid. 7) Would a Canadian company be considered to produce the comic book? Response: All responses received from small businesses will be fully considered. 8) Is there a document with more specifics, such as how many pages in total or issues are planned. Etc. The contract is for 12 issues. Response: Each comic would have 16 sides. 9) Will the bid require printing costs or is that going to be handled by the military? Response: The contractor is not required to print it. 10). The number of pages is listed as "16 page sides (including covers)". Does this mean an outside front cover, inside front cover, inside back cover, and outside back cover with 12 inside pages? Response: Yes, just like a regular comic book. 11). What are the dimensions of "size A4"? Response: 81/2" by 11" 12). Will all of the pages including the covers be in color or will the covers only be in color and the inside pages be in black & white? Response: all color 13). Is FAR 52.212-3 an actual downloadable form or do I submit my own Offeror Representations and Certifications using 52.212-3 as an outline? Response: The clause allows for either on-line certification or submission of the completed clause, by filling in the blanks. 14). Is there a preferred format for my proposal or do I follow the outline listed in the solicitation? Response: Proposal format is up to the discretion of the contractor.