PRESOL | T | The Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE),Public Affaires Office,(PAO) Fort Benning, GA is conducting market research on the availability of a Photographer/Photography Company to provide photography services at Fort Benning, GA.

FBO DAILY ISSUE OF NOVEMBER 25, 2011 FBO #3653
SOLICITATION NOTICE

T -- The Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE),Public Affaires Office,(PAO) Fort Benning, GA is conducting market research on the availability of a Photographer/Photography Company to provide photography services at Fort Benning, GA.

Notice Date: 11/23/2011
Notice Type: Presolicitation
NAICS: 541922 — Commercial Photography
Contracting Office: MICC - Fort Benning, Directorate of Contracting, Building 6, Meloy Hall, Room 207, Fort Benning, GA 31905-5000
ZIP Code: 31905-5000
Solicitation Number: W911SFPHOTOGRAPHY
Response Due: 12/2/2011
Archive Date: 1/31/2012
Point of Contact: EDSON HARRINGTON, 706-545-0350
E-Mail Address: MICC - Fort Benning
(edson.harringtonjr@us.army.mil)
Small Business Set-Aside: Total Small Business
Description: THIS IS A SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY AND PART OF DUE DILIGENCE FOR MARKET RESEARCH. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. A response to this request will not be considered a proposal and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. This is not a guarantee of a future RFP or an award. This document should not be construed as a commitment of any kind by the U.S. Government. Any information provided to the Government in response to this document will become Mission and Installation Contracting Command (MICC) Fort Benning property and will not be returned. The Government will not reimburse contractors for any cost associated with responding to this document. Your responses to this sources sought will be treated as information only. The results of the market research will be used to determine the best overall acquisition strategy. SITUATION: Fort Benning Georgia, located near the city of Columbus, GA is seeking a qualified Photographer/Photography company to provide photography services at Fort Benning, GA. Work will be performed at Fort Benning, GA. Please read attached statement of work to determine if you may respond to this announcement. Submission Requirements: Responses to this announcement must be received no later than 2:00 p.m. eastern standard time, Friday, December 2, 2011. Interested firms may submit financial and technical capability statements via email only to edson.harringtonjr@us.army.mil. Responses shall not exceed 10 pages when printed and should be transmitted with attachments in Microsoft Word or PDF format. No zipped files. No telephone requests will be honored. Any questions regarding this notice should be directed to Edson Harrington, via email at edson.harringtonjr@us.army.mil. As part of the capability package, firms must include the following: (1) Your willingness and interest to provide the service. (2) Financial capability statement demonstrating you have or can obtain all resources to perform the work the service requested. Capability statements must be sufficient to demonstrate performance directly related to the performance of the requirement and that you can meet the delivery requirements for all receivables. (3) Business Size and socioeconomic status (4) Contact information, name, title, telephone number, and e-mail address of designated corporate point of contact. (5) Describe your recent and relevant experience in providing the same or similar service as noted in the requirement and how you would meet the delivery requirements. Herman L Rentfrow. Contracting Officer PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT MCoE PUBLIC AFFAIRS PHOTOGRAPHY SERVICES CONTRACT C.1 Scope of work. GENERAL. The Contractor shall provide photography services for the coverage of simultaneous events on Fort Benning or wherever Fort Benning units or personnel are assigned for duty either permanently or temporarily. The work includes a wide scope of photography services that communicate the Fort Benning and U.S. Army Maneuver Center of Excellence command messages and objectives via the medium of photography throughout Fort Benning, the World Wide Web and any print or broadcast products produced in support of the mission of the MCoE. Contract duties include, but are not limited to, photography, knowledge of proper photography protocols - including technical expertise with equipment and professional bearing - writing cutlines, digital image organization and archiving, integration of photography into Website and social networking site design, photo-finishing, field and flight photography, photo editing and using images and software to produce photo graphics to support command messages. As part of field and flight photography, the contractor will provide photo coverage of training to include units on or associated with Fort Benning. This is not a personal services contract. C.1.2 Personnel. The contractor shall provide a contractor representative to act as his or her representative with the government for all matters pertaining to the contract. The Contractor shall provide the name and telephone number of this individual for scheduling and coordination of services. The name and telephone number of the designated individual will be provided to the contracting officer and the contracting officer's representative at the start of the contract period. The contractor must provide the necessary personnel and services to accomplish the requirements specified herein, if the event calls for more than one photographer. C.1.3 Operating/Work Hours. Work hours will vary due to covering different events; they may include weekends, holidays and unusual hours, and may include coverage for multiple events occurring simultaneously and multi-day events requiring extensive photo coverage. The services outlined in this contract shall be provided for an average of 80 hours per week, not to exceed 120 hours per week. The contractor shall be required to provide a representative to maintain office hours during the normal duty day, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., in the event that a last-minute photo assignment occurs during business hours. All pre- and post-production work should be performed in the Public Affairs Office during normal business hours M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., unless a project requires immediate, on-site post-production, like tournaments and special events. C.1.4 Quality Control. The Contractor shall maintain a quality control system that will ensure the quality of services and materials provided meets or exceeds the contract requirement. The Public Affairs Office will manage the quality control system that will ensure the quality of service and materials provided meets or exceeds the contract requirement and all programs will be approved by the Contracting Officer's Representative or the Public Affairs Officer. C.1.5 Quality Assurance. The Government will monitor and inspect services performed under this contract pursuant to the INSPECTION OF SERVICES - FIXED PRICE clause. DEFINITIONS Cutline - an in-depth written explanation or description accompanying an illustration or a photograph. A cutline includes information like names of individuals, the date the photograph was taken, where it was taken and describes any action taking place in the photograph. Cutlines must be written for all photographs that are published on behalf of Fort Benning and the MCoE, whether online or in a print or broadcast medium, and they should adhere to AP Style guidelines. Pre-production - any planning and coordination that goes into the preparation of a photography assignment including, but not limited to, phone calls, range coordination and communication with other stakeholders. Post-production - processing the images that are photographed and preparing/editing them for publishing including, but not limited to, cropping, color correction, dodging, burning, resizing, embedding/uploading cutline/byline information, making duplication/printing, organizing and updating archives and uploading finished and approved images and cutlines to the Internet. Field photography - photography assignments where the subject may be military training located on any range where a Fort Benning unit is conducting operations. May require the photographer to shoot fast-action sequences, low-light situations, move from location to location quickly traversing uneven terrain, wear personal protective equipment and shooting from heights. Flight photography - photos taken from inside a military aircraft during flight operations to include any type of helicopter, airplane or any other aircraft supporting military operations. Personal Services Contract - A personal services contract is one that, by its express terms or as administered, makes the contractor personnel appear to be, in effect, government employees. If an employer/employee relationship exists between the government and the contractor employee, the government risks entering into an improper personal services contract. Personal services contracts are prohibited, unless authorized by statute. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED PROPERTY C.3.1 Government Furnished Property (GFP) and Services. The government can provide for use as available and at the Contractor's risk, limited equipment including the following: a Nikon D5000 or a Nikon D90 digital SLR camera, various zoom lenses, Photoshop editing software and personal working space including a desk and desk phone and computer access. C.3.2 The Contractor will have the knowledge to perform technical troubleshooting and maintenance on all Contractor-owned equipment and any assigned government-owned equipment. CONTRACTOR FURNISHED ITEMS C.4 Contractor Furnished Items. The Contractor shall provide all transportation to and from assignments, any personal storage devices including discs and drives and cell phones. The use of contractor photography equipment is encouraged and allowed as long as it is compatible with current government equipment. The Government will not be held liable for the loss or damage of contractor equipment; it is done at the contractor's risk. The Contractor shall secure, and maintain at its expense, but for the benefit of the Government, the exclusive use of the domain name www.FortBenningPhotos.com. The Contractor is authorized to use the domain name during the life of the contract. The Contractor also understands the use of the domain name shall no longer be authorized upon the termination or expiration of the contract, whichever occurs first. The Contractor agrees to transfer the domain name to any subsequent Contractor at the onset of the new contract period. The Government shall have the right to establish hyperlinks to www.FortBenningPhotos.com from any of its own Websites, as permitted by law and regulation. The Contractor may create hyperlinks to www.FortBenningPhotos.com from its own Web page, at its discretion. SPECIFIC TASKS C.5.1. SPECIFIC TASKS. The Contractor shall perform the following tasks independently, but under Public Affairs supervision, direction, and control: a.The contractor must provide photographers who can immediately undertake the management, administration, and technical services of the photography required for performance within the MCoE Public Affairs Office at Fort Benning. b.All photographers employed by the Contractor to perform services under this contract agreement, should have at least three (3) years of professional photography experience and should be knowledgeable in the use and application of Adobe for photographers, Photo Shop, and Freehand. Photographers would have such assigned tasks as taking group photos of visiting dignitaries and adding the command logo and visit information to the image before printing copies for presentation, or going up in a helicopter to photograph the commanding general or other VIPs and capturing the best images from the Maneuver Conference or the Best Ranger Competition, where time is of the essence and he/she must move from place to place quickly. The photographer will be relied on at times to help out with selection, in capturing the correct shot for publication. 1. VIP visits can require total coverage from the beginning to the end of the visit. On average, there are between 4 and 6 of these events each month. During these events, not only will the contractor be required to provide dedicated photo coverage for the visiting dignitary, he/she will also be required to cover mission-related events of a routine and special nature simultaneously. 2. Often, the contractor will be required to print a selection of images for VIPs prior to their departure. Photo coverage must be able to continue while these office duties are taking place. The contractor is required to keep a professional archive of all images produced on the online photo site, www.FortBenningPhotos.com - which includes the appropriate cutline information for each photograph. c.The contractor will photograph installation events with high command priority including, but not limited to, presentations, meetings with news-makers, general officer visits, training events, environmental and other activities that support command priorities and mission. 1. The contractor is required to cover between 18 and 22 events of this nature per month. These events can be scheduled or last-minute in nature, so the contractor must be prepared to provide simultaneous coverage in the event of multiple activities conflicting. The contractor is required to archive all photos from events covered online, including a detailed cutline for each image uploaded to the photo site. 2. The contractor is required to take group photos, which will often involve set up of lights and other photographic equipment. There are between 8 and 12 requirements for group photos per month and the contractor must maintain the ability to cover events that may be scheduled during these group photos. d.The Contractor must be responsible for providing management and guidance related to capturing critical photographs in various environments and situations while also organizing and archiving past/present and future photographs. During assignments, photographers must work independently of any direct supervision and with extreme discretion due the sensitive nature of the events to be captured. e.The contractor will provide cutline information for each photo taken including, but not limited to, name and contact information of any photographed individuals, locations and event information, including date and a detailed description of what's taking place in the photograph. AP Style cutlines (minus the contact info) will be uploaded to the online archive with their corresponding image. f.The contractor is required to keep a professional archive of all images produced on the online photo site, www.FortBenningPhotos.com. The contractor will make digital duplication of photographs for distribution as necessary and deliver to appropriate outlets/individuals in a timely manner. g.The contractor is charged with increasing positive awareness and appreciation of Fort Benning by seamlessly integrating and promoting command photography with various websites and social media outlets. The contractor will provide photo support including, but not limited to, photo searches, photo editing and photo graphics to all Public Affairs products including The Bayonet, Fort Benning TV, Tip of the Bayonet Newsletter, www.FortBenningPhotos.com, the Fort Benning Social Media network and any Strategic Communication project including, but not limited to, posters and brochures. h.The contractor will serve as technical engineer for all assigned equipment and maintain equipment as needed. i.The contractor shall provide a 24-hour, 7-day-a-week emergency telephone number to provide immediate photography coverage or assistance as needed. j.The contractor, at no cost to the government, shall replace any equipment due to loss, negligence, or damage. k.The contractor must be able to work in various environments to include wooded areas, uneven terrains, and heights and may be required to shoot photos and video from a military aircraft. Strenuous physical activity is often involved in covering Fort Benning events. Contractor must be able to wear a military helmet and body armor that can weigh up to 40 pounds while covering some training events. Hearing protection will be provided by the government during activities involving gunfire. l.The contractor must provide uninterrupted performance of the designated services which are known for such a position within the department of labor guidelines, however, due to the diversity of events, assignments, and command schedules, he/she will stand ready to support, regardless of location (in or out of state), weather (cold and hot outdoor/indoor temperatures), or complexity (possibly the need to pull additional photographers in to support special events). REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION OF INVOICES C.6.1 Invoicing Schedule. Contractor shall establish billing cycle for all services provided under this contract, which runs from the 1st through the last day of the month. The contactor shall submit a monthly invoice for services used during the previous month's billing cycle, listing hours worked, services provided, mileage driven to assignments and products produced using the procedures indicated below to reach the Public Affairs Sub-Account no later than ten business days after the 1st day of the month. C.7 REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. a.Contractor shall receive all assignments through the Public Affairs Officer or Contracting Officer's Representative and will be responsible for completing work by directed deadlines. Contractor shall not deviate from these reporting requirements. Production meetings will be held weekly to discuss upcoming events, ideas and concerns. b.Oral reports as required by the Public Affairs Officer. c.A monthly report summarizing the work performed, the results and conclusions derived shall be submitted to the Public Affairs Officer within thirty days after the end of the contract period of performance. C.8 PHASE-IN/PHASE-OUT OF CONTRACTOR EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES C.8.1 Pretest. The Government will evaluate proposals in response to this request and award a purchase order/contract to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to this request, will be most advantageous to the Government considering price and other factors (i.e. past performance, delivery, and/or quality). Award will be made based upon the best value to the Government in accordance with procedures in FAR 13.106-2(b). NOTES TO OFFERS 1. AWARD TO SINGLE OFFEROR: Subject to the provisions contained herein, award of this contract shall be made to a single offeror. Offers must include information for each item listed in order that offers may be properly evaluated. Failure to do this may cause the offer to not be accepted. Offers shall be evaluated on the basis of all items shown. Award will be made to that responsible offeror whose offer is most technically acceptable. 2. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT a. The overall proposal shall consist of two (2) separate and detachable parts: PART I - Management and Technical Proposal PART II - Professional Resume and Portfolio of works b. To aid in evaluation, proposal shall be clearly and concisely written as well as being neat, indexed (cross-indexed as appropriate), and logically assembled. All pages of each part shall be appropriately numbered and identified with the date and Request for Proposal number to the extent practicable. c.All offerors shall submit proposals with the minimum content as specified herein. Proposals without the minimum specified content may be rejected as unacceptable. 1) Proposal PartNumber of copies PART I Management & Technical Proposal 6 PART II Resume and Portfolio 6 2) Copy of the proposal requires the original signature by offeror 3. PREPARATION OF PART I - MANAGEMENT AND TECHNICAL PROPOSAL: a.General - Management and Technical Proposal should be practical and be prepared simply and economically, providing straightforward, concise delineation of what offeror will do to satisfy the requirements of the solicitation. 1) Management portion shall define the policies and procedures for the overall management of the requirements of the solicitation. This plan shall contain a clearly defined set of management objectives, which are requirements of the solicitation. This plan shall contain a clearly defined set of management objectives which are consist with the mission. The management approach must encompass all areas of the specifications to ensure quality, efficiency, and timeliness. 2) Technical portion shall address the technical aspects of the solicitation, offeror's capabilities and plan/proposal to satisfy the requirements of the specifications. Since the Technical proposal will be evaluated to determine such matters as understanding of the work to be performed, technical approach, and potential for completing the desired work, it should be very specific and complete in every detail. b.Contents: Proposals will be evaluated to determine which offers the BEST means of providing photography services for Fort Benning and the MCoE. Offerors shall offer examples of comparable work to demonstrate their ability to provide photography services according to the specifications detailed in the proposed contract. Proposals shall cover the following broad categories and demonstrate SERVICES OFFERED the photographer's qualifications in the various factors addressed. Factors are listed in order of importance for evaluation with technical and Past Performance being most important followed in importance by all other factors. 1)TECHNICAL ABILITY AND PRODUCTION CAPABILITY Proposals shall discuss the photographer's technical excellence in areas associated with photography including, but not limited to, knowledge of proper photography protocols - including technical expertise with equipment and professional bearing - writing AP Style cutlines, digital image organization and archiving, integration of photography into Website and social networking site design, photo-finishing, field and flight photography, photo editing and using images and software to produce photo graphics to support command messages. 2)PAST PERFORMANCE, COMPETENCE AND RELIABILITY Proposals must demonstrate the technical quality of the offer's other photographs, explain the equipment capability; attest to financial and management capabilities, show printing experience and employee qualifications and overall track record in the photography industry. The proposal must also address the offeror's ability to sustain the requested services, material and equipment. 3)SERVICES OFFERED Proposals shall detail all services offered (e.g. hardware, software capabilities, courier services, mailing services, photographic services, printing services, photo-editing services). 4)BUSINESS CAPABILITY Proposals must show that the Photographer's company is established and has excellent past performance. Items to be considered will be financial and management capability qualifications of key employees. 5)ACCESSIBILITY Proposals shall discuss proximity of the Photographer's company to Fort Benning and how services will be provided timely and efficiently in view of the location of the Photographer's company. Proposals shall also discuss the Photographer's hours of operation and state the priority Fort Benning and MCoE photography would receive from the photographer in relation to other jobs. 4. PREPARATION OF PART II - RESUMES AND BUSINESS PORTFOLIO: a.Complete professional resumes for the photographers who will fulfill the requirements of the contract should be provided. b.Contractor shall provide a minimum of six (6) samples of complete, self-produced and edited photo products with cutlines, to include at least: 1. One (1) product showing the photo(s) integrated with graphics - such as a group photo with business logo and headline font incorporated into the image; 2. Two (2) products showing high-speed action coverage - such as Soldiers in a field training scenario or a sporting event; 3. One (1) product showing the photographer's ability to produce quality images during flight operations 4. One (1) product showing the photographer's ability to edit/manipulate an image to improve its quality or meet a certain intent. The unedited image should accompany the final product for this category. 5. All products must showcase photography, photo editing capabilities and cutline writing ability. Please include a photo/graphic credit and a description of how the work was used for each. 6. The image portfolio may be submitted either digitally - on a photo CD - or in hard copy. If submitted digitally, samples should be numbered or slugged and the image information should be submitted on a separate document. If hard copy, samples should be no larger than 8 x 10 and their corresponding information should be printed on the back of the image. C.8.2. General. The Contractor shall be required to assume total responsibility for all operations required by this contract as of 12:01 AM on the first day of the contract period and end at midnight of the last day of the contract period unless extended by exercise of option. Therefore, on the initial day of performance, the Contractor shall provide all labor, supplies, services and equipment necessary for the performance of work required under this contract. C.8.3. Phase-In. In the event an incumbent is not selected, the Contractor will be phased-in during the first twenty-five (25) calendar days of the contract period. C.8.4. Phase-Out. Should any subsequent contracts be awarded to a contractor other than the incumbent, the outgoing Contractor agrees to fully cooperate with subsequent Contractor and/or Government personnel with respect to priorities in replacing and returning any Government furnished equipment. The phase-out schedule will be structured as designated by the Contracting Officer, or their designated representative. C.9. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. a.The contractor shall provide proof of a minimum of three (3) years professional experience in the photography industry. The contractor selected for the performance of this statement of work must have specific experience in all aspects of digital photography. Photojournalism experience is a plus, but a basic knowledge of AP Style cutline writing is a must. b.The contractor shall have a well-based knowledge of Fort Benning's mission, installation mapping, Army equipment, rank structure, training and directorates. c.Extensive knowledge in computerized photo editing and post-production software systems, including a thorough working knowledge of Adobe Photo Shop or Illustrator is required. d.The contractor will have a complete understanding and experience in maintaining photo archives. Organizational skills are a must. e.The contractor who fills this position must be knowledgeable of and follow the guidance of Army Regulation 640-30, "Photographs for Military Human Resources Records," Army Regulation 360-1, "The Army Public Affairs Program," Army Regulation 25-1, "Army Knowledge Management and Information Technology," and the AP Style Guide. C.10. Emergency equipment. The contractor will provide full back-up equipment that includes: digital cameras, shoe-mount/bracket-mount flash, a variety of lenses, applicable media cards, editing software and computer. C.11. PLACE OF PERFORMANCE, WORK DAYS AND TRAVEL. a.Place of Performance: Primary, place of performance will be at the MCoE Public Affairs Office Building 4 or other offices or locations that become assigned to the MCoE Public Affairs Office. b.Work Days: Work will be performed mostly during normal duty hours, M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with an hour for lunch breaks. There will be frequent after-hour, weekend and holiday events that will require photographer coverage. c. Travel: Travel mostly includes in and around Fort Benning. Travel to other locations home to Fort Benning units is roughly 10 percent. Travel can include, but is not limited to, locations like Dahlonega, Ga., and Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. All travel is at the contractor's expense. C.13. SECURITY CLEARANCE. The contractor needs to have the ability to supply personnel with appropriate clearance. The effort is mostly unclassified, however, there are times that the nature of events covered may at times require the need for a secret clearance. All contractor employees may be required to purchase and procure a background check to obtain a Department of Defense Identification Card. The contractor will wear a badge identifying him/herself at all times during the performance of this contract.
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Place of Performance: Address: MICC - Fort Benning Directorate of Contracting, Building 6, Meloy Hall, Room 207 Fort Benning GA; Zip Code: 31905-5000
Record: SN02628872-W 20111125/111123234643-f9eea8892562f23d2bc44b4c13bd97c7 (fbodaily.com)
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T -- The Maneuver Center of Excellence (MCoE),Public Affaires Office,(PAO) Fort Benning, GA is conducting market research on the availability of a Photographer/Photography Company to provide photography services at Fort Benning, GA.