RFQ0054-26 Meltwater Services Media Relations Software or Approved Equal

Location:	South Carolina
Posted:	Apr 23, 2026
Due:	May 20, 2026
Agency:	Horry-Georgetown Technical College
Type of Government:	State & Local
Category:	D - Automatic Data Processing and Telecommunication Services R - Professional, Administrative and Management Support Services
Solicitation No:	RFQ0054-26
Publication URL:	To access bid details, please log in.

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REQUEST FOR QUOTE

Solicitation Number:

Date Issued:

Procurement Officer:

Phone:

E-Mail Address:

RFQ0054-26

April 23, 2026

Toni Richardson

843-349-3680

toni.richardson@hgtc.edu

DESCRIPTION: Meltwater Services Media Relations Platform Software or Approved Equal

The Term "Offer" Means Your "Bid" or "Proposal"

SUBMIT OFFER BY (Opening Date/Time): May 20, 2026 at 3:00 P.M. (See "Deadline For Submission Of Offer" provision)

QUESTIONS MUST BE RECEIVED BY: May 7, 2026 by 4:00 P.M. (See "Questions From Offerors" provision)

NOTICE: This solicitation is being conducted under the small purchase procedures for “commercially available

off-the-shelf products” (COTS) within the authority of Section 11-35-1550 of the South Carolina Code of Laws.

I. SCOPE OF SOLICITATION

ACQUIRE SERVICES: The purpose of this solicitation is to acquire services complying with the description, specifications and conditions

listed in Section III. Scope of Work in this solicitation.

MAXIMUM CONTRACT PERIOD -– ESTIMATED: July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2029. Dates provided are estimates only. Any resulting

contract will begin on the date specified in the notice of award. See clause entitled "Term of Contract – Effective Date / Initial Contract

Period".

The three (3) year potential maximum contract period consists of a one (1) year initial term plus two (2) additional one (1) year options.

II. INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS – A. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

AMENDMENTS TO SOLICITATION (JAN 2004)

(a) The Solicitation may be amended at any time prior to opening. All actual and prospective Offerors should monitor the following web

site for the issuance of Amendments: www.hgtc.edu/purchasing (b) Offerors shall acknowledge receipt of any amendment to this

solicitation (1) by signing and returning the amendment, (2) by identifying the amendment number and date in the space provided for

this purpose on Page Two, (3) by letter, or (4) by submitting a bid that indicates in some way that the bidder received the amendment.

AUTHORIZED AGENT (FEB 2015)

All authority regarding this procurement is vested solely with the responsible Procurement Officer. Unless specifically

delegated in writing, the Procurement Officer is the only government official authorized to bind the government with

regard to this procurement or the resulting contract. [02-2A007-1]

BID/PROPOSAL AS OFFER TO CONTRACT (JAN 2004)

By submitting Your Bid or Proposal, you are offering to enter into a contract with the Using Governmental Unit(s).

Without further action by either party, a binding contract shall result upon final award. Any award issued will be issued

to, and the contract will be formed with, the entity identified as the Offeror on the Cover Page. An Offer may be

submitted by only one legal entity; "joint bids" are not allowed. [02-2A015-1]

CODE OF LAWS AVAILABLE: The South Carolina Code of Laws, including the Consolidated Procurement Code, is available at:

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/statmast.php.

The South Carolina Regulations are available at:

http://www.scstatehouse.gov/coderegs/statmast.php.

DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST OR UNFAIR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE (JUL 2023)

(“OCI FAQ for Contractors” is available at www.procurement.sc.gov)

(a) You certify that, after reasonable inquiry, to the best of your knowledge and belief: (1) your offer identifies any services that relate to

either this solicitation or the work and that have already been performed by you, a proposed subcontractor, or an affiliated business or

consultant of either; and (2) there are no relevant facts or circumstances that may give rise to an actual or potential organizational

conflict of interest, as defined in S.C. Code Ann. Reg. 19-445.2127, or that your offer identifies and explains any unfair competitive

advantage you may have in competing for the proposed contract and any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may arise from

your participation in this competition or your receipt of an award.

(b) If you, a proposed subcontractor, or an affiliated business or consultant of either, have an unfair competitive advantage or an actual

or potential conflict of interest, the State may withhold award. Before withholding award on these grounds, the State will notify you of

the concerns and provide a reasonable opportunity for you to respond. The State may consider efforts to avoid or mitigate such

concerns, including restrictions on future activities.

(c) The certification in paragraph (a) of this provision is a material representation of fact upon which the State will rely when considering

your offer for award. [02-2A047-3

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR BID / PROPOSAL and SUBMITTING CONFIDENTIAL DATA (FEB 2021)

(a) According to Section 11-35-410, any person submitting a document in response or with regard to any solicitation or other request

must "comply with instructions provided in the solicitation for marking information exempt from public disclosure. Information not marked

as required by the applicable instructions may be disclosed to the public." IF YOU IDENTIFY YOUR ENTIRE RESPONSE AS EXEMPT

FROM PUBLIC DISCLOSURE, OR IF YOU DO NOT SUBMIT A REDACTED COPY AS REQUIRED, THE STATE MAY, IN ITS SOLE

DISCRETION, DETERMINE YOUR BID OR PROPOSAL NONRESPONSIVE AND INELIGIBLE FOR AWARD. (b) By submitting a

response to this solicitation or request, Offeror (1) agrees to the public disclosure of every page, or portion thereof, of every document

regarding this solicitation or request that was submitted at any time prior to entering into a contract (including, but not limited to,

documents contained in a response, documents submitted to clarify a response, and documents submitted during negotiations), unless

the page, or portion thereof, was redacted and conspicuously marked "Trade Secret" or "Confidential" or "Protected", (2) agrees that

any information not redacted and marked, as required by these bidding instructions, as a "Trade Secret" is not a trade secret as defined

by the Trade Secrets Act, and (3) agrees that, notwithstanding any claims or markings otherwise, any prices, commissions, discounts,

or other financial figures used to determine the award, as well as the final contract amount, are subject to public disclosure. (c) If your

offer includes any information that you claim is exempt from public disclosure, you must submit one complete copy of your offer from

which you have removed or concealed such information (the redacted copy). Except for the information removed or concealed, the

redacted copy must be identical to your original offer. (d) Do not mark your entire response (bid, proposal, quote, etc.) as confidential,

trade secret, or protected. If only portions of a page are subject to some protection, do not redact the entire page. The redacted copy

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must reflect the same pagination as the original and show the empty space from which information was redacted. The Procurement

Officer must be able to view, search, copy and print the redacted copy without a password. If your response, or any part thereof, is

improperly marked as confidential or trade secret or protected, the State may, in its sole discretion, determine it nonresponsive. (e) On

the redacted copy, you must identify the basis of your claim by marking each redaction as follows: You must separately mark with the

word "CONFIDENTIAL" every page, or portion thereof, that you redacted and claim as exempt from public disclosure because it is

either (1) a trade secret as defined in Section 30-4-40(a)(1) of the Freedom of Information Act, or (2) privileged and confidential, as that

phrase is used in Section 11-35-410. You must separately mark with the words "TRADE SECRET" every page, or portion thereof, that

you redacted and claim as exempt from public disclosure as a trade secret pursuant to Section 39-8-20 of the Trade Secrets Act. You

must separately mark with the word "PROTECTED" every page, or portion thereof, that you redacted and claim as exempt from public

disclosure pursuant to Section 11-35- 1810. All markings must be conspicuous; use color, bold, underlining, or some other method in

order to conspicuously distinguish the mark from the other text. (f) In determining whether to release documents, the State will

detrimentally rely on your redaction and marking of documents, as required by these bidding instructions, as being either "Confidential"

or "Trade Secret" or "Protected". By submitting a response, you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the State of South

Carolina, its agencies, officers and employees, from every claim, demand, loss, expense, cost, damage or injury, including attorney's

fees, arising out of or resulting from withholding information by the State of South Carolina or any of its agencies, that you have

redacted or marked as "Confidential" or "Trade Secret" or "Protected". (All references to S.C. Code of Laws.) [02-2A125-3]

DUTY TO INQUIRE (FEB 2015)

Offeror, by submitting an Offer, represents that it has read and understands the Solicitation and that its Offer is made in compliance with

the Solicitation. Offerors are expected to examine the Solicitation thoroughly and should request an explanation of any ambiguities,

discrepancies, errors, omissions, or conflicting statements in the Solicitation. Failure to do so will be at the Offeror's risk. All ambiguities,

discrepancies, errors, omissions, or conflicting statements in the Solicitation shall be interpreted to require the better quality or greater

quantity of work and/or materials, unless otherwise directed by amendment. Offeror assumes responsibility for any patent ambiguity in

the Solicitation that Offeror does not bring to the State's attention. See clause entitled “Questions from Offerors.” [02-2A070-2]

OMIT TAXES FROM PRICE (JAN 2004)

Do not include any sales or use taxes in your price that the State may be required to pay. [02-2A080-1]

OPEN TRADE REPRESENTATION (JUN 2015)

By submitting an Offer, Offeror represents that Offeror is not currently engaged in the boycott of a person or an entity based in or doing

business with a jurisdiction with whom South Carolina can enjoy open trade, as defined in SC Code Section 11-35-5300. [02-2A083-1]

PROTESTS (MAY 2024)

(a) If you are aggrieved in connection with the solicitation or award of the contract, you may be entitled to protest, but only as provided in

Section 11-35-4210. To protest the solicitation or an amendment, your written protest must be received within fifteen Days of the date the

applicable solicitation document is issued. To protest an award, (i) written notice of your intent to protest must be received within seven

Business Days of the date the award notice is posted, and (ii) your actual written protest must be received within fifteen Days of the date

the award notice is posted. Time periods are computed in accordance with Section 11-35-310(13) and the definitions for Day and Business

Day. Both protests and notices of intent to protest must be received by the appropriate Chief Procurement Officer (CPO). See clause

entitled "Protest-CPO." (b) Pursuant to Section 11-35-410, documents directly connected to a procurement activity may be available

within five days after request. All document requests should be directed to the Procurement Officer listed on the front page of this

solicitation. If a protest is pending, the protestant’s lawyer may access otherwise unavailable information by applying to the CPO for the

issuance of a protective order. Additional information is available at www.procurement.sc.gov/legal [02-2A085-3]

PROHIBITED COMMUNICATIONS AND DONATIONS (FEB 2015)

Violation of these restrictions may result in disqualification of your offer, suspension or debarment, and may constitute a violation of law.

(a) During the period between publication of the solicitation and final award, you must not communicate, directly or indirectly, with the

Using Governmental Unit or its employees, agents or officials regarding any aspect of this procurement activity, unless otherwise

approved in writing by the Procurement Officer. All communications must be solely with the Procurement Officer. [R. 19-445.2010]

(b) You are advised to familiarize yourself with Regulation 19-445.2165, which restricts donations to a governmental entity with whom

you have or seek to have a contract. You represent that your offer discloses any gifts made, directly or through an intermediary, by you

or your named subcontractors to or for the benefit of the Using Governmental Unit during the period beginning eighteen months prior to

the Opening Date. [R. 19-445.2165] [02-2A087-1]

QUESTIONS FROM OFFERORS (FEB 2015)

(a) Any prospective offeror desiring an explanation or interpretation of the solicitation, drawings, specifications, etc., must request it in

writing. Questions regarding the original solicitation or any amendment must be received by the Procurement Officer via email, no later

than five (5) days prior to opening unless an earlier date is stated on the Cover Page. Label any communication regarding your questions

with the name of the procurement officer, and the solicitation's title and number. Oral explanations or instructions will not be binding. [See

R. 19-445.2042(B)] Any information given a prospective offeror concerning a solicitation will be furnished promptly to all other prospective

offerors as an Amendment to the solicitation, if that information is necessary for submitting offers or if the lack of it would be prejudicial to

other prospective offerors. See clause entitled “Duty to Inquire.” We will not identify you in our answer to your question. (b) The State

seeks to permit maximum practicable competition. Offerors are urged to advise the Procurement Officer -- as soon as possible -- regarding

any aspect of this procurement, including any aspect of the Solicitation that unnecessarily or inappropriately limits full and open

competition. [See R. 19-445.2140] [02-2A095-2]

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REJECTION/CANCELLATION (JAN 2004)

The State may cancel this solicitation in whole or in part. The State may reject any or all proposals in whole or in part. [SC Code Section

11-35-1710 & R.19-445.2065] [02-2A100-1]

PROTEST - CPO - ITMO ADDRESS (MAR 2024)

Any protest must be addressed to the Chief Procurement Officer, Information Technology Management Office, and submitted in writing

(a) by email to protest-itmo@itmo.sc.gov , or

(b) by post or delivery to 1333 Main Street, Suite 700, Columbia, SC 29201.

[02-2B120-2]

UNIT PRICES REQUIRED (JAN 2006)

Unit price to be shown for each item. [02-2B170-1]

III.

SCOPE OF WORK

Horry-Georgetown Technical College seeks a source to provide a subscription to the Meltwater Services Media Relations Software

Platform, or approved equal. The subscription is to include the Meltwater Services Media Relations platform, or equal, with full access

for a minimum of two (2) users.

In order to be considered as an approved equal, the following salient characteristics must be met:

A. General

1. A 100% web-based solution to include support to implement and maintain.

2. An unlimited, news monitoring service that delivers coverage electronically in real-time in all designated market areas (DMA)

including print, online, blog, TV broadcast outlets and mainstream social media channels.

3. Real-time news measurement and analysis tools that provide circulation, advertising equivalency value, prominence/impact

scoring, messaging momentum tracking, and share of voice.

4. Offer customizable online dashboards, electronic news forwards, clip books and coverage rosters news reporting.

5. A comprehensive media database at the local, regional, and national and international levels, which is updated on a daily

basis.

6. Distribution tools that allow personalized press releases to be sent directly from the online system to media lists created and

managed within the application.

7. The ability to automatically track which journalists have opened/read press releases and gauge interest levels based on their

click-through activity.

8. Custom reporting capabilities that enable fully printable and customizable analytics reports that can be incorporated into

digital presentations including graphs and charts providing real time data to be generated instantly at the department, project,

press release, publication, journalist, and individual-user levels.

9. Ability to archive news stories in their entirety for a number of years and access those stories on a regular basis for the purpose

of developing comparative reports and utilization on demand.

10. Provide a guaranteed minimum of 95% uptime policy.

B. Security

To the maximum extent possible, the following will be the minimum required for security purposes:

1. Provide a secure location for system which is monitored 24 hours by security personnel.

2. Provide a backup system on a regular and frequent basis.

3. Provide tape back-up at an offsite facility for additional security.

4. Email functions that adhere to industry regulations and best practices.

C. Technical Support / Installation

1. To include initial consultation, system setup and customization, private group training, and post-training follow-up for the

duration of the contract.

2. Unlimited access to customer support.

3. Customer support toll-free available normal business hours Monday through Friday.

4. Offeror shall provide a designated person who will work to configure the system and conduct training onsite.

ADDITIONAL CONDITION:

The College reserves the right to adjust the number of users and/or add additional software features or modules during the duration of the

contract, subject to mutual agreement by both parties and appropriate remuneration.

BRAND NAME OR EQUAL SPECIFICATION: The use of a “brand name or equal” specification, which lists one or more manufacturer’s

names or catalogue numbers, provides for the submission of equivalent products. Brand name or equal specifications are not intended

to limit or restrict competition; rather, they are used to describe the standard of quality, performance and other characteristics needed to

meet College requirements. An item shall be considered to be substantially equivalent, or “equal” to the specified brand if in the opinion

of the Procurement Officer, the College can reasonably anticipate sufficiently similar quality, capacity, durability, performance, utility and

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productivity as provided by the specified brand. Your offer must include documents providing specifications sufficient to satisfy the listed

salient characteristics. Failure to include such documents may be reason for rejection of your bid.

***To submit a quote on a software platform other than Meltwater that meets all of the salient characteristics specified above

you must submit a request for approval via email to the Procurement Officer on or before May 7, 2026 at 2:00 P.M.***

DELIVERY / PERFORMANCE LOCATION – PURCHASE ORDER (JAN 2006)

After award, all deliveries shall be made and all services provided to the location specified by the Using Governmental Unit in its

purchase order. [03-3015-1]

Horry Georgetown Technical College

2050 Highway 501 E.

Conway, SC 29526

DELIVERY – GENERAL: Subject to conditions beyond the control of the Contractor, delivery or completion must actually be affected

within the time stated on any order, if so stated. If, for any reasons whatsoever, including conditions beyond the control of Contractor,

completion is not timely, the College reserves the right to obtain the goods or services elsewhere and to charge Contractor with any

loss incurred as a result thereof or, as its option, to cancel the order.

IV. INFORMATION FOR OFFERORS TO SUBMIT

OFFEROR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND/OR SOFTWARE LICENSING AGREEMENT:

If required by you, you must provide a copy of all terms and conditions and/or agreements necessary to purchase any of the

products/services included in your quote. It is expected that the College will work in good faith in reaching a mutually

acceptable agreement when applicable. There are certain terms and conditions, however, that are unacceptable to the

College and must not be included in the offeror’s submission:

• Choice of law provisions applying the laws of any state other than the State of South Carolina [Reference S.C.

Code of Laws Section 11-35-2050].

• Clauses requiring the College to indemnify, defend, or hold harmless the Offeror or any other party [Reference S.C.

Code of Laws Section 11-35-2050].

• Clauses that require binding arbitration of disputes.

• Confidentiality requirements that conflict with disclosure requirements under South Carolina law, including under

the S.C. Freedom of Information Act [Reference S.C. Code of Laws, Title 30, Chapter4].

V. QUALIFICATIONS

QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFEROR:

(1) To be eligible for award, you must have the capability in all respects to perform fully the contract requirements and the integrity and

reliability which will assure good faith performance. We may also consider a documented commitment from a satisfactory source that

will provide you with a capability. We may consider information from any source at any time prior to award, including, but no limited to,

Google search, Dun and Bradstreet reports, business continuity plans, and internal control assessments. We may elect to consider (i)

key personnel, any predecessor business, and any key personnel of any predecessor business, including any facts arising prior to the

date a business was established, and/or (ii) any subcontractor you identify.

(2) You must promptly furnish satisfactory evidence of responsibility upon request. Unreasonable failure to supply requested information

is grounds for rejection.

(3) Corporate subsidiaries are cautioned that the financial capability of an affiliated or parent company will not be considered

in determining financial capability; however, we may elect to consider any security, e.g., letter of credit, performance bond, parent-

company corporate guaranty, that you offer to provide Instructions and forms to help assure acceptability are posted on

procurement.sc.gov, link to “Standard Clauses & Provisions.”

QUALIFICATIONS - SPECIAL STANDARDS OF RESPONSIBILITY (MAR 2015):

(a) This section establishes special standards of responsibility. UNLESS YOU POSSESS THE FOLLOWING MANDATORY MINIMUM

QUALIFICATIONS, DO NOT SUBMIT AN OFFER:

• Offeror must have provided similar software to at least three (3) schools/colleges/universities within the past

three (3) years.

(b) Provide a detailed, narrative statement with adequate information to establish that you meet all the requirements stated in

subparagraph (a) above. Include all appropriate documentation. If you intend for us to consider the qualifications of your key personnel,

predecessor business(es), or subcontractor(s), explain the relationship between you and such person or entity. [R. 19-445.2125(F)]

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This is the opportunity summary page. It provides an overview of this opportunity and a preview of the attached documentation.