By Greg Hazley
The public affairs office for the U.S. force in Afghanistan has given a six-month extension to its foreign media monitoring and analysis vendor SOSi International.
“Disruption or loss of this service will directly affect the war effort in Afghanistan,”
said a document justifying the move to add six months to the pact without putting it out for bids. The value of the extension to March 31, 2011 was redacted in the document.
SOSi won the contract in an open competition in 2006, a process which outlined a contract with options through 2010 worth up to $67M. Its latest assignment was set to expire on Sept. 30.
The federal government said in July that it intended to extend the contract by six months and it received no response from other vendors, making the move effective Oct. 1.
SOSi’s media operation is based in Kabul. Its analysts track reporting and identify media trends related to the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan.
The federal government said it plans to review the pact in a competitive process in the near future, possibly two to four months, but cited delays caused by the review of the U.S. mission in Afghanistan completed in May that may affect an RFP process.
The Rendon Group previously handled the media analysis work for the U.S. Strategic Operations Command before the 2006 review.
|