D -- Media Production Services to Disseminate Information to Local Education Agencies

The United States Department of Education intends to award a purchase order to procure media services to create audiotapes and web casts for the dissemination of information to Local Education Agencies (LEAs). In the fall of 2003, the U.S. Department of Education began conducting monthly conference calls to State Education Agency (SEA) Title I Directors in an effort to provide them with an opportunity to learn about and respond to complex issues relating to the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The calls have provided a way for Federal officials to explain the details of the Department's non-regulatory guidance documents as well as the Department's expectations for SEAs. In addition, Title I Directors and other key SEA staff were given the opportunity to ask specific questions of Federal officials in order to gain a clearer understanding of the Department's expectations. Consequently, feedback from Local Education Agencies' (LEA) staff to the SEA and Federal officials has highlighted the need for LEAs to receive these same opportunities for communication, information sharing and dissemination. As a result, in January 2004, the Department completed the production of an audiotape and web cast for LEA Title I Directors and officials. Using two different vehicles for sharing the production with LEA staff, the Department attempted to reach more than 15,000 invited LEAs. In order to create a regular system and schedule for communicating with LEA staff, this procurement requests the services of a media production company to facilitate communication between the Department and LEAs. The contractor shall provide media production services that lead to the creation of up to eight audiotapes and web casts to be available during the months of March, April, May, June, September, October, November, and December. The tasks to be performed under this procurement include the following: 1) Film/shoot 6 separate productions at ED or another D.C. location. Videotape 6 productions at ED or another DC location. No taping session to last longer than 4 hours. Each production shoot must include two crews equipped with two industry standard electronic news gathering (ENG) kits and a minimum of two videographers. There should be sufficient lighting, mics, and backdrops for four participants. Matching cameras must shoot in professional Beta or DV formats. Audio production should meet industry standards with each participant fitted with an individual lavaliere microphone. Crews should have experience in producing multi-camera shoots. A/B switched field monitor for matching cameras is also required. The Department will be responsible for inviting LEA staff to participate. 2) Edit each videotape in order to create at least one 60-minute audiotape and web cast for each of the 6 shoots (and up to a total of 8 all together). Edit each production, in consultation with ED personnel, to create separate thematic audio-video segments for presentation on the web. A separate audio file of at least 60 minutes must be created from the same production session. 3) Encode each videotape for web streaming. Each production must be encoded for streaming in Real Media Surestream and Windows Intellistream files. Each file must contain at least three A/V streams ranging from the lowest bandwidth product of 32 kbps to the highest bandwidth product of 236 kbps. 4) Create an HTML page to host each web cast. The HTML page must include stills of participants drawn from video; links to the streaming media segments; and whatever other text information or links ED would like to include. 5) Host each web cast for up to 4 months each. The HTML page must be hosted on a separate http server. Hosting of streaming media files must be done on a dedicated streaming media server capable of streaming Windows Media or Real Media, utilizing the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). 6) Transcribe each web cast for 508 compliance. 7) Synchronize each transcription to media. Words from closed-captioning must synchronize with the speakers per 508 requirements. 8) Prepare quarterly reports for the Department of Education. 9) Prepare a final report. TIMELINE AND DELIVERABLES: 1) Within 5 days of each editing session, the contractor shall submit to the Department an audio only version of the production. 2) For each production, within 10 days of each editing session, the contractor shall prepare for the Department the web cast and its transcript, including a link to the streaming media and synchronized close captioning files. 3) The contractor shall submit quarterly reports within 10 calendar days after the end of each quarter. The reports should summarize the major activities and accomplishments during the reporting period and provide information for each project task regarding significant findings and events, problems encountered, suggested solutions, and staff utilization. The contractor shall specify in the reports the extent to which the project is on schedule. 4) The contractor shall submit the final report no later than 30 calendar days after the end date of the award. The final report should include details on the strengths and weaknesses in executing this procurement. PROPOSALS: Offerors will propose between 30-40 days of work. Proposals must contain: a) A statement outlining the procedural plan to perform each task (no more than 5 pages total); b) The number of days available to perform the work described in this requirement; c) A statement reflecting the vendor's most recent hourly or daily rate of pay; d) A resume showing relevant qualifications and previous related experience; e) A daily rate and total proposal price. Proposals should be faxed to +1 (555) 000-0000 by 5:00 PM EST on February 20, 2004, Attention: Britt Jung. The Department contemplates one award resulting from this notice. All responsible sources may submit a quotation, which if timely received, shall be considered by the Department. For more information, contact Anna Hinton, +1 (555) 000-0000.