Synopsis: THIS IS A REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI) ONLY. This is not an invitation for bids (IFB), request for quotations (RFQ), or request for proposals (RFP). This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes. Unsolicited proposals will not be accepted. Funding is not available at this time. The National Park Service has not made a commitment to procure any supplies or services described in this RFI. Additionally, the Government will not pay for any information or costs incurred in response to this RFI. All submissions become Government property and will not be returned. Not responding to this RFI does not preclude participation in any future RFP if any is issued. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in the Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOps) website. It is the responsibility of the potential responders to monitor this site for additional information pertaining to this subject. Description: The National Park Service (NPS) is seeking information regarding the attached draft Performance Work Statement. Specifically, the NPS is seeking information on 1) the types of graphic design, infographic, and formatting options available, 2) graphic design options for electronic-only publications 3) the estimated labor hour and cost requirements to produce an electronic-only publication, 4) the estimated labor hour and cost requirements to produce a written publication, and 5) the estimated amount of time required to complete the attached draft Performance Work Statement. The draft Performance Work Statement is for graphic design and editing services for the production of two business plan reports. These reports range from 40-60 pages and require editing and graphic design, including the development of original infographics, creation of visuals to display quantitative and financial data, and visually appealing placement of text and photos. The closing date for this RFI is October 13, 2014. The Government will not reimburse contractors or responders to this notice for any costs incurred in responding, or any subsequent exchange of information. All responses shall be transmitted electronically to
[email protected]. Point of Contact: Marian Gordon Contracting Officer National Park Service, Washington Contracting Office 303-969-2340
[email protected] Performance Work Statement (PWS) Graphic Design Services for Business Plan Production 1.0 Background The mission of the National Park Service (NPS) is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The Business Management Group (BMG) in the NPS Office of the Comptroller supports that mission through activities designed to assist park managers in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations. One such activity is the development and production of park business plans. NPS business plans are designed to communicate an overview of the park's or program's activities and financial situations, its goals and objectives over a five-year period, and a five-year financial plan with specific strategies for increased operational efficiency and effectiveness. 2.0 Scope The primary goal of this contract is to provide design and editing services for two business plans reports produced by the BMG for national park units - one report will be printed and the second business plan report will be an electronic-only format. The design of these plans will be loosely based on a previously developed business plan template, which will be provided. These published plans serve as a communication tool and are disseminated both internally to park staff and externally to stakeholder groups. The business plans run approximately 40-60 pages and include a table of contents, front matter, 5-8 chapters, and an acknowledgements section. The plans are a full-color publication with bleeds possible on multiple pages. Trim size is 8 ½" by 11" landscape. Binding is saddle-stitch. The final number of pages is divisible by four, so as to create a booklet. All plans are PDF accessible for the visually impaired and others with disabilities. 3.0 General Requirements All deliverables are to be submitted to the COR, who is responsible for tracking and acceptance. The contractor shall provide graphic design, writing, editing, cartography, illustration and infographic design, print-ready graphic production services, and electronic-only report design. A. Graphic Design Services (i) Design shall be loosely consistent with supplied design template. B. Writing and Editing Services (i) Draft text for each plan will be provided by the NPS. The contractor shall provide light editing (proofreading, checking for typographical errors, appropriate hyphenation, etc.) for the production of each plan. (ii) The contractor shall correct obvious spelling and usage errors and assure that abbreviations and acronyms are spelled consistently and defined as appropriate. All documents shall be reviewed to ensure that subjects and verbs are in agreement and that no punctuation is missing and that corrections have been made regarding scientific nomenclature, literature citations, or other content discrepancies. (Refer to HFC Editorial Style Guide 2011, www.nps.gov/hfc/pdf/hfcstyleguide2011.pdf). (iii) The contractor shall reconcile text references to figures, tables, maps, appendices, and other elements to ensure that the references are present and accurate. The contractor shall check copy to assure that website references and URLs are current and accurate. C. Cartographic Services The business plan shall include map(s) of the park or region. The contractor shall modify, if necessary, existing NPS Publications Program maps available at: www.nps.gov/carto. Modifications typically consist of color changes and resizing maps within reasonable limits. D. Original Illustration Services/Infographic Design The contractor shall create original pie charts, bar graphs, and tables from financial data provided in Microsoft Excel. Visually appealing infographics, which combine charts, graphs, and icons, that represent complex data or information in original or intriguing ways are preferred. Such data shall be unique to the goals of the park business plan and be presented in style and color compatible with similar NPS identity-produced informational materials. E. Print-Ready Graphic Production Services The NPS will complete the image acquisition process. F. Electronic-only Report Design One of the two reports will be an electronic-only business plan instead of a high resolution printable document. Electronic business plans should have a format and structure that facilitates an easy and user-friendly display of business plan content. G. Accessibility Upon final approval by the COR, the contractor shall produce low-resolution accessible PDFs as one of the final deliverables. Content must be accessible to the widest possible audience and comply with accessibility standards and regulations, such as Section 508 of the U.S. Government's Rehabilitation Act (http://www.section508.gov/). An "accessible" electronic document is one that is optimized for screen readers and other assistive devices used by persons with disabilities. Producing accessible content also plays a key role in optimizing PDF documents for successful indexing by Internet search engines. Achieving this kind of accessibility requires tagging all document content based on its hierarchical structure (headings, paragraphs, lists, tables, and so on) and ordering the content in a linear path from start to finish. An additional requirement for accessible documents is identifying non-text content, such as graphics and images, in context and describing what is shown. The contractor shall provide alternative text for all main graphics. Alternative text should describe the image in detail and not convey any other meaning than the description of the image and its purpose. The contractor shall include bookmarks and refine the reading order of all content (text and main graphics) for a screen reader to read the document out loud in logical order. A full accessibility check in Adobe Acrobat Reader should result in no errors and a logical "out loud" reading order. 4.0 Publication Development Process Work shall proceed as follows: A. Phase I: Concept The contractor shall first participate in a teleconference with the staff of the Business Management Group and COR from the Office of the Comptroller to discuss project details, design template, scheduling and deliverables. B. Phase II: Refinement and Production The contractor shall provide a high-resolution PDF file for completion review to be proofread by the BMG in advance of the actual print-ready files. 5.0 Guidelines and Additional Requirements Additional teleconferences and communication with NPS regional or park staff may take place in an ongoing manner as necessary to complete the work according to schedule. 6.0 Travel No travel will be necessary. 7.0 Government Furnished Documents The government will furnish the contractor with the following after the award: A. Sample business plan layout B. Examples of recent business plans C. Original text provided in Microsoft Word format D. Illustrations - Primarily NPS photographs as TIF or jpg files NOTE: Upon completion of the project, the contractor shall return all materials to the COR. 8.0 Special Requirements The contractor shall submit the following to the COR for review and approval for each business plan: A. High- and low-resolution PDF files. The COR will provide information on HFC or other FTP site for uploading large files for review. The low-resolution PDF should be suitable for posting to a park's website (less than 7 MB) and should be accessible for the visually impaired and others with disabilities. B. Two high-resolution full-sized digital printouts C. Two disks or other form of removable media with InDesign files and all linked graphics D. Completed GPO forms 9.0 Performance or Delivery Schedule -Kick-off meeting (7 calendar days after contract award) - Submission of plan first draft (10 calendar days after kick-off meeting) - Submission of second draft (10 calendar days after receipt of Government edits for first draft) - Submission of final report and all related files (5 days after Government edits for second draft) 10.0 Period of Performance 45 calendar days after award. 11.0 Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) The COR for this contract is: TBD 12.0 Location of Work The contractor shall send deliverables to the following destination: Washington D.C.