Request for Study Examining the Critical Information Needs of the American Public

The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Communications Business Opportunities (OCBO) and the Media Bureau (Bureau) issued a Request for Quotation (RFQ) for a study to examine the critical information needs of the American public so that the FCC can more effectively meet its statutory and judicially mandated obligations. OCBO and the Bureau are now commissioning a study to examine:

• how Americans meet their critical information needs;
• how the media ecosystem operates to address critical information needs; and
• what barriers exist in providing content and services to address critical information needs.

The report, to be delivered at the conclusion of the study, will be a literature review, summarizing and discussing the published research, analysis, and information on how Americans meet their critical information needs. It will also examine how the media ecosystem operates to address critical information needs and what barriers exist in providing content and services to address those needs. Finally, the study will provide an analysis of the relevant published materials and will include recommendations for definitions and performance metrics, including an explicit definition for “critical information needs.”

Separately, OCBO and the Bureau also are soliciting suggestions for additional studies, such suggestions to be submitted not later than February 27, 2012. The FCC invites parties to submit specific descriptions of proposed studies, including well-defined performance metrics that relate to one or more of the following: (1) how Americans meet their critical information needs; (2) how the media ecosystem operates to address critical information needs; and (3) what barriers exist in providing content and services to address critical information needs.