R--SUPPORT- MANAGEMENT: PUBLIC RELATIONS

INTRODUCTION The Army Contracting Command, Reachback Division, Rock Island, Illinois is issuing this sources sought synopsis as a means of conducting market research to identify parties having an interest in and the resources to support the requirement for Resolute Support (RS) providing the Deputy Chief of Staff communication services in support of United States Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) to support the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA). The mission is to plan, conduct, and synchronize communication activities to proactively inform local, regional and international media, and counter misinformation in the media leveraging all available means and platforms. The intention is to procure these services on a competitive basis. Performance for this effort will be in Kabul, Afghanistan. BASED ON THE RESPONSES TO THIS SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE/MARKET RESEARCH, THIS REQUIREMENT MAY BE SET-ASIDE FOR SMALL BUSINESSES (IN FULL OR IN PART) OR PROCURED THROUGH FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION, and multiple awards MAY be made. All Small Business Set-Aside categories will be considered. Telephone inquiries will not be accepted or acknowledged, and no feedback or evaluations will be provided to companies regarding their submissions. DISCLAIMER "THIS SOURCES SOUGHT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. THIS IS NOT A "REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)" TO BE SUBMITTED. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE A SOLICITATION AND SHALL NOT BE CONSTRUED AS A COMMITMENT BY THE GOVERNMENT. RESPONSES IN ANY FORM ARE NOT OFFERS AND THE GOVERNMENT IS UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT AS A RESULT OF THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. NO FUNDS ARE AVAILABLE TO PAY FOR PREPARATION OF RESPONSES TO THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. ANY INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY RESPONDENTS TO THIS TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION IS STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. RESPPONSES WILL NOT BE RETURNED TO THE RESPONDER. NOT RESPONDING TO THIS NOTICE DOES NOT PRECLUDE PARTICIPATION IN ANY FUTURE REQUEST FOR QUOTE (RFQ) OR INVITATION FOR BID (IFB) OR RFP, IF ANY ISSUED. IF A SOLICITATION IS RELEASED, IT WILL BE SYNOPSIZED ON THE GOVERNMENT-WIDE POINT OF ENTRY (GPE). IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF POTENTIAL OFFERORS TO MONITOR THE GPE FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMMATION PERTAINING TO THIS REQUIREMENT." PROGRAM BACKGROUND Communications efforts and in particular Public Affairs (PA) make a vital contribution to the overall effort, and more specifically, to the operational center of gravity: the continued support of the Afghan population. To date, the Insurgents (INS) have undermined the credibility of USFOR-A, the International Community (IC), and GIRoA through effective use of the information environment. This is a critical problem for USFOR- A, but the consequences for GIRoA are even greater. GIRoA and the IC need to wrest the information initiative from the INS. The main effort of all communications activities is to maintain and strengthen the Afghan population's positive perception of, and support for, GIRoA institutions and the constructive supporting role played by USFOR-A and the IC. REQUIRED CAPABILITIES The Resolute Support Mission (RSM), USFOR-A is designated as the requiring activity for which the contractor shall provide all personnel, equipment, tools, materials, and other items and non-personal services necessary to perform strategic communications advisement and support services as defined in the Draft Performance Work Statement (PWS), except as specified in section 10.2.4. as government furnished property and services at USFOR-A Headquarters. Kabul, Afghanistan. The contractor shall perform to the standards in the Draft PWS attached to this announcement (Attachment 1). Please review the PWS carefully and if your organization has the potential capacity to perform these services, please provide the following information: 1) Organization Information; a. Company Name, b. Address, c. Email address, d. Web site address, e. Telephone number, and f. Size and type of ownership for the organization. 2) Tailored capability statements addressing the particulars of this effort, with appropriate documentation supporting claims of organizational and staff capability. If significant subcontracting or teaming is anticipated in order to deliver technical capability, organizations should address the administrative and management structure of such arrangements. The Government will evaluate market information to ascertain potential market capacity to: 1) provide services consistent, in scope and scale, with those described in this notice and otherwise anticipated; 2) secure and apply the full range of corporate financial, human capital, and technical resources required to successfully perform similar requirements; 3) implement a successful project management plan that includes compliance with tight program schedules; cost containment; meeting and tracking performance; hiring and retention of key personnel and risk mitigation. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: - Personnel and Facility Security Clearances. A DD Form 254 Contract Security Classification Specification shall apply to this requirement and the prime contractor shall have or demonstrate ability to obtain a Secret Facility Clearance prior to beginning performance. - Government Furnished Property plan. ELIGIBILITY The applicable NAICS code for this requirement is 541820 with a Small Business Size Standard of $15,000,000.00. The Product Service Code is R708. Businesses of all sizes are encouraged to respond; however, each respondent must clearly identify their business size in their capabilities statement. Interested parties are requested to submit a capabilities statement of no more than ten (10) pages in length in Times New Roman font of not less than 10 pitch. The deadline for response to this request is no later than 5:00 pm, Central Time, 17 October 2016. Your response to this Sources Sought, including any capabilities statement, shall be electronically submitted to the Contract Specialist, Nancy DeBo, in either Microsoft Word or Portable Document Format (PDF), via email contact@example.gov. This documentation must address at a minimum the following items: 1) What type of work has your company performed in the past in support of the same or similar requirement? 2) What specific technical skills does your company possess which ensure capability to perform the tasks? 3) Provide a statement including current small/large business status and company profile to include number of employees, annual revenue history, office locations, DUNs number, etc. 4) Include in your response your ability to meet the requirements in the Personnel and Facility Security Clearances. The estimated period of performance consists of base year plus four (4) option years with performance commencing in April 2017. Specifics regarding the number of option periods will be provided in the solicitation. The contract type is anticipated to be Firm Fixed Price. The proposed contract is anticipated to include tasking that would be accomplished by labor categories that are subject to the Service Contract Act or a collective bargaining agreement. All data received in response to this Sources Sought that is marked or designated as corporate or proprietary will be fully protected from any release outside the Government. No phone calls will be accepted. All questions must be submitted to the contract specialist identified above. The Government is not committed nor obligated to pay for the information provided, and no basis for claims against the Government shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought.