REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) The Department of the Army (the Government) is seeking industry review and comment on a draft PWS prior to issuance of any formal solicitation. The Government may incorporate into the final version of the PWS any information or comment resulting from this request that is determined to be useful. Please DO NOT send capability statements or company literature, the Government is seeking feedback to the draft PWS ONLY. The Government will only respond, if necessary to comments or questions in regards to this PWS and no other comments or questions. IMPORTANT NOTE: Interested industry respondents must have a valid SECRET facility clearance from the Defense Security Service. The draft PWS is labeled as RESTRICTED DISTRIBUTION and includes sensitive information which will be released only to interested industry respondents possessing the appropriate clearance. BACKGROUND This is a non-personnel services contract to provide detailed social media research and analysis on-the-ground native research and analysis, and customized social media website development and execution. The intent of this acquisition is to extend and expand the social media research and analysis as a critical support activity to Headquarters United States European Command (HQ USEUCOM) and Special Operations Command, Europe (SOCEUR), associated DoD elements, and interagency partners as needed. The scope of this effort will support HQ USEUCOM and SOCEUR with research and analysis, target audience analysis, market research, and support to operations. Activities under this contract will support HQ USEUCOM, SOCEUR, and strategic communications, operations to engage local populations, build interagency partnerships, and identify violent extremist influences within EUCOM AOR emanating from Africa Command (AFRICOM), Central Command (CENTCOM), Pacific Command (PACOM), or Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) AORs. The contractor shall provide research, assessments, and plans support, as needed. These activities shall entail customizing strategic marketing and communications plans; target market identification and analysis; establishing measurable marketing objectives; determining market trends and conditions; identifying and implementing appropriate strategies; conducting focus groups, telemarketing, individual interviews, preparing/distributing surveys, and compiling/analyzing results. Tasks to be perform include: Open Source Research (to include a network of researchers consisting of indigenous people (native researchers) that can obtain local perspectives from others that are native to the research areas); Detailed Social Media Data-Mining, Social Media Monitoring and Analysis, Target Audience Analysis, Media Kit Development, and Social Media Platform Operations. A Sources Sought notice for this requirement was previously posted on FedBizOpps.gov on June 3, 2013 under the solicitation number quote mark SOCIALINTELLIGENCE-TRENDANALYSIS. quote mark OBJECTIVE The Government is soliciting industry feedback relative to a future contract effort and its draft performance work statement. The purpose of this RFI is to: 1.Improve the understanding of Government requirements and industry capabilities, 2.Allow potential offerors to judge whether or how they can satisfy the Government's requirements, 3.Enhance the Government's ability to obtain quality services at reasonable prices, and 4.Increase efficiency in proposal preparation, proposal evaluation, negotiation, and contract award. INFORMATION SOUGHT The Government considers this draft PWS to be a major element for successful execution of the future requirement. While, the Government is not constraining interested parties on which aspects of the Draft PWS that they may provide comments on, the Government is requesting that interested parties pay particular attention to the following items: 1.Based on industry experience of similar contracts are the required tasks and performance objectives consistent with this type of requirement or are there additional objectives that the Government could address to ensure optimal performance of the contract? 2.Can contractors perceive any of the requirements for Social Media Research and Analysis as asking for a service that exceeds or will significantly drive price beyond what contractors normally provide in the commercial market? 3.Are there any areas where interested parties believe a potential risk exists or will present itself by fulfilling the terms of the PWS? 4.Is there any area within the PWS where interested parties believe the Government has failed to adequately set forth the stated requirements in a clear and unambiguous manner? 5.Is there any area within the PWS that appears unduly burdensome to either the Government or the Contractor towards the goal of achieving superior contractor performance? 6.Would a firm-fixed price contract type be feasible based on industry experience of similar contracts? 7.Would a 60 day phase in period be considered reasonable for this requirement? HOW TO RESPOND To obtain a copy of the draft PWS, please provide proof of valid SECRET facility clearance from the Defense Security Service to Jodi Van Slyke at
[email protected] . Submit your draft PWS comments to Jodi Van Slyke at
[email protected] no later than midnight Central European Time/1800 Eastern Standard Time on 2 March 2014. Point of Contact: Jodi Van Slyke (Contract Specialist) at 00 49 631 411 5051 or
[email protected] No classified or proprietary information should be included in the RFI response. DISCLAIMER This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes and does not constitute a formal Solicitation for proposals. Responses to this RFI notice will be treated as information only; they do not constitute offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Respondents are solely responsible for all expenses associated with responding to this RFI. RFI responses will not be returned; neither will Respondents be notified of the Government's evaluation of the information received. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted under this RFI.