Audience Research Engagement Survey Platform

                                                                                    Global Public Affairs

                                                                                 U.S. Department of State

                                                              Audience Research Engagement Survey Platform

                                                                                 Request for Information

Background

The Bureau of Global Public Affairs Research and Analytics (GPA/RA) offices of the United States Department of State (DoS) are the primary sources responsible for providing situational communicative awareness to DoS shareholders to effectively disseminate the United States Government (USG) views to mass audiences domestically and internationally. The Research and Analytics Team brings social and information science expertise to plan, monitor, course-correct, and evaluate GPA-led communications projects. GPA researchers study issue awareness and biases of target audiences by leveraging existing research from the interagency, the private sector, and the academic community, as well as through commissioned polls or focus groups. GPA analysts observe and report on foreign information environments and monitor Department-owned messaging platforms to enhance USG communicators’ situational awareness.

GPA’s Office of Research has been tasked with surveying foreign audiences on a variety of topics including content and message testing in order to better advise U.S. Department of State public diplomacy and public affairs stakeholders in Washington, D.C. and abroad on messaging tactics. The Office currently has the capability to carry out audience research or content tests, perform statistical analysis, and provide recommendations for said stakeholders; it is thus well positioned to advise Departmental stakeholders on how to message based on research performed in the online survey environment.

These platforms are used to enrich GPA and the Department’s understanding of target audiences that are relevant to policy goals as well as testing content and messaging on those target audiences. These tests will help GPA’s Office of Research deliver insights to stakeholders informing them of messaging and content strategies in order to best communicate with target audiences.

Introduction

GPA/RA is seeking to continue supporting their U.S. Department of State public diplomacy and public affairs stakeholders further through a platform can that deliver customized surveys/polling through a web-based platform designed to solicit expedient feedback from international audiences in order to heighten the success of the sender/receiver relationship stemming from messaging and content tests designed around the survey/polling results. GPA/RA’s analysts would design surveys based off prior successful data points targeting segments located across a geographically diverse international population in order to gather large samples of data that would allow for messaging and content to be delivered as effectively as possible throughout the globe. GPA/RA would typically utilize this service in high frequency stemming from multiple ad-hoc requests initiated from high level policy makers for messaging and content to occur in rapid fashion to educate foreign audiences on current U.S. policies. Seeking information on accessing on-line survey platform, through which GPA/RA may conduct surveys.

NAICS CODE: 541910: Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling

Task Requirements include but not limited to the following:

• Information on on-line survey platform access that will provide GPA/RA with the capabilities to create survey questionnaires and address the survey questionnaires to specific audience segments to allow for a vendor to distribute the surveys to the audience segments which meet the targeting criteria set by GPA/RA.
• Information on the Platform required that would enable GPA/RA to target specific Demographics; Age, Gender, Country, Region, State, City, Marital Status, Number of Children, Education, Employment, Race, Income.
• Information on Platform capabilities that provide the following:
• •  Rapid surveys conducted through a web-based portal.
  •  Enable GPA/Research to change audience targets or add respondents during  the duration of the       survey and the availability of raw data upon survey completion.
• Specific number of questions per survey.
• A survey platform that delivers surveys online and mobile apps globally.
• Customer service to ensure that survey quotas are met in a timely manner in regard to sampling sizes and requested demographics.  Customer service may also be required in the event the survey platform is malfunctioning and/or not yielding a desired sample size in a timely manner that would allow for GPA to effectively utilize data for research outputs.
• Customer service support that provides supporting documentation in the form of budget reports showing costs incurred from survey usage.

Deliverables:

• Potential Offeror will require the capabilities to distribute the surveys created by GPA/RA, collect the survey responses of respondents who have agreed to take the survey and provide GPA/RA with reports consisting of the GPA/RA’s survey questions and the responses to the questions, and anonymous statistical and socio-demographic data pertaining to the statistical and socio-demographic profile of anonymous survey respondents who have participated successfully in the survey process. (Daily Requirement)
• Non-labor-based customer service providing itemized budgetary platform spending statements to supplement GPA/RA’s ability to keep track of available funding pertaining to individual GPA/RA personnel accounts set up on the vendor’s platform weekly.

The Responses must include the firm name or company, point of contact information, Socio-Economic Status (HUBZone, WOSB, SDVOSM, etc.)  NAICS code, and Information on Digital marketing and advertisement services, products, and other direct costs associated with the direct use of a web-based platform..

This information to this announcement will be used by the Government to make appropriate acquisition planning decisions.  No contract will be awarded as a result of this RFI or to otherwise pay for the information requested.  The deadline to respond to this notice is May 3, 2022, 10:00 AM Eastern Standard Time (EST). Interested firms are instructed to submit written responses by email to:

Crystal Brooks, Contracting Officer 

Email:  BrooksCC@state.gov

Office of Global Programs Branch

 U.S. Department of State