1._Request_for_Proposal_College_Corps_Evaluation.pdf

State of California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research 1400 10th Street. Sacramento, California, 95814 info@opr.ca.gov | opr.ca.gov

Governor Gavin Newsom

Director Sam Assefa

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL – (SECONDARY METHOD)

Notice to Bidders

Date: March

15, 2024

RFP

Solicitation #:

CV23-119 Project Name:

College Corps Evaluation

The Office of Planning and Research invites you to review and respond to this solicitation. In submitting your proposal, you must comply with the instructions found herein.

Term Dates: July 1, 2024 – December 31, 2026

Total Contract Amount:

$750,000

Scope of Work Summary:

The purpose of this RFP is to identify a Lead Evaluator for the #CaliforniansForAll College Corps program. The Lead Evaluator will develop and implement a comprehensive evaluation to study the program outcomes for Fellows who participate in College Corps. The goal of the evaluation is to understand the program outcomes and use this data to inform funding decisions and determine which elements of the College Corps model are critical to successful implementation and achievement of desired outcomes.

For a complete detailed description of the scope of work, see Exhibit A – Scope of Work.

Deadline for Receipt of Proposals:

Date: April 26, 2024 Time: 5:00:00 PM PST

Any proposals received after the deadline will not be accepted. Proposals must have the solicitation number in the subject line and be submitted to the following e-mail address:

CV.Procurement@californiavolunteers.ca.gov

KEY DATES

Below is the time schedule for this solicitation. The State reserves the right to modify or cancel this solicitation and/or change dates and times at its sole discretion, prior to the date fixed for the receipt deadline of proposals, by the issuance of an addendum that will be posted in the California eProcure system of the State of California at: Cal eProcure.

KEY ACTION DATE TIME (Pacific Standard Time)

Solicitation Available to Prospective Proposers March 15, 2024 - Written Questions Deadline March 29, 2024 5:00:00 PM PST Webinar April 4, 2024 2:00:00 PM PST mailto:info@opr.ca.gov http://www.opr.ca.gov/ https://caleprocure.ca.gov/

Office of Planning and Research Solicitation # CV23-119

KEY ACTION DATE TIME (Pacific Standard Time)

Posting of Questions & Answers April 10 - Letter of Commitment Deadline April 19, 2024 5:00:00 PM PST Deadline for Proposal Receipt by OPR April 26, 2024 5:00:00 PM PST Estimated Evaluation of Proposals April 29 – May 9 - Estimated Notice of Intent to Award posting (posted for 5 business days) May 10 -

Estimated submission to DGS for Review/Approval (avg. 10-20 business days turnaround)

May 20 -

Start Date (upon DGS approval) July 1, 2024 - Project End Date December 31, 2026 -

It is the opinion of the OPR, that this solicitation is complete and without need of explanation.

However, if you have questions, notice any discrepancies or inconsistencies, or need any clarifying information, please submit your inquiries via e-mail to:

CV.Procurement@californiavolunteers.ca.gov

This solicitation is published online on the California State Government Marketplace (Cal eProcure) website. To view and ensure receipt of any addenda to this solicitation that may be issued, interested parties are encouraged to register online by clicking the following link Cal eProcure.

No work shall begin until approval by the Department of General Services, Office of Legal Services (DGS/OLS) is obtained, if required, and continue through the project end date identified above.

NOTE: The date and time for the Deadline for Proposal Receipt by OPR is strict. One second past the deadline will deem the proposal as late and will automatically be rejected.

SB/DVBE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS

Is this solicitation waiving the required minimum of 3% participation by a Disabled Veteran Business-Owned Enterprise (DVBE) that is certified with the California Department of General Services?

☒ Not Waived ☐ Waived http://www.caleprocure.ca.gov/ http://www.caleprocure.ca.gov/

Is this solicitation waiving the DVBE Incentive valued from 1% to 5%?

☒ Not Waived ☐ Waived

Is this solicitation waiving the required minimum of 25% participation by a Small Business (SB) that is certified with the California Department of General Services?

☒ Not Waived ☐ Waived

DVBE

If the 3% DVBE participation is not waived above, then proposers must have a minimum of 3% participation as a part of their proposal. An incentive valued between 3% and 5% may be added to their scores.

If the 3% DVBE participation is waived above, then a 1% to 5% incentive may be added to the proposer’s score that do have DVBE participation.

If both the 3% DVBE Participation and the DVBE Incentive are waived, then no DVBE incentive points will be added to scores.

Proposals that have at least 3% participation by certified DVBE or is subbing out at least 3% of the work to a certified DVBE, would fulfill the 3% DVBE participation requirement may receive a 5% preference increase to their scores.

SMALL BUSINESS

If the 25% Small Business participation is not waived above, then proposers must have a minimum of 25% participation as a part of their proposal.

If the 25% Small Business participation is waived above, then a 5% preference may be added to the proposer’s scores that do have a minimum of 25% Small Business participation.

Proposals that have at least 25% participation by certified SB or is subbing out at least 25% of the work to a certified SB, would fulfill the 25% SB participation requirement.

For more information on this requirement, see the State Contracting Manual Volume 1, Section

8.12 located at this online directory: https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List-Folder/State-Contracting.

See the Socio-Economic Preference And Incentive Programs in Section Q of the Solicitation Guidelines & Instructions for more information on these programs.

You can search for Small Business (SB) and/or Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (DVBE) entities by visiting the search engine at the Cal eProcure directory here:

https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/PublicSearch/supplier-search.aspx?psNewWin=true https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List-Folder/State-Contracting https://www.dgs.ca.gov/OLS/Resources/Page-Content/Office-of-Legal-Services-Resources-List-Folder/State-Contracting https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/index.aspx https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/PublicSearch/supplier-search.aspx?psNewWin=true

You can narrow your search of potential contractors by using specific keywords that may have been used throughout the Scope of Work section of this solicitation.

See the Exhibit A Scope of Work section in the Solicitation Guidelines & Instructions to help with your keyword search.

Keywords used in your search may include but is not limited to: facilitation; event planning;

communication; interpreting; printing; translation; technical assistance; planning.

We appreciate your interest in this project and hope that you respond to this solicitation.

THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE WAS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Refer to the requirements identified in Section C of the Solicitation Guidelines & Instructions to determine if you or your entity meets the minimum qualifications for this project.

Experience: Proposer must demonstrate collective experience of their team meeting the minimum qualifications:

• At least five (5) years of experience in research in higher education, national service, civic engagement, or leadership development. Please include a description of your experience and any examples of research focused on first generation and/or low to moderate income college students’ participation in service-learning programs or high impact practices.

• At least five (5) years of experience designing culturally competent evaluation tools.

• At least five (5) years of experience coordinating public, private, and non-profit organizations or serving as a project manager with such entities.

• At least five (5) years of experience communicating research findings and recommendations to multiple audiences. Please include examples of previous reports or publications that demonstrate your ability to clearly communicate evaluation findings and recommendations to multiple audiences.

Knowledge: Members of the team must demonstrate technical knowledge and experience in the following areas:

• Higher education systems in California

• National service

• Civic engagement

• Leadership development

• Low-income and/or first-generation college students and undocumented student populations Proof of Minimum Qualifications: The proposer must provide a detailed response, outlining information as to how the proposer meets each of the minimum qualifications listed, and to what extent if any, the minimum qualifications have been exceeded. Submit all applicable documentation and work samples, as appropriate.

Personnel / Team Resumes: The proposer shall list all key personnel (i.e., Project Manager) and other personnel who will be working on the project. Include their titles, qualifications, a summary of similar work or studies performed, a resume for each professional, a statement indicating how many hours each professional will be assigned to the technical assistance project and what tasks each professional will perform. The proposer should create a table that shows how the minimum qualifications are met with assigned key personnel to each category of minimum qualification.

QUESTIONS / WEBINAR

Refer to Section L of the Solicitation Guidelines & Instructions for questions and webinar instructions.

Any verbal communication with an OPR employee concerning this solicitation is not binding on the State and shall in no way alter a specification, term, or condition of the solicitation. Therefore, all communication should be directed in writing to the e-mail address identified on page 1 of this solicitation.

Webinar (Optional Attendance) Webinar Date: 04/04/2024 Webinar Time: 2:00 PM PST Webinar Registration Link:

https://governorca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BY0CzZcLRPWa5AT4JKQF9g https://governorca.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_BY0CzZcLRPWa5AT4JKQF9g

EVALUATION FOR AWARD

This RFP Secondary solicitation has four phases of evaluation for proposals:

• Phase 1: Administrative Evaluation (Pass/Fail)

• Phase 2: Reference Check/Minimum Qualifications Evaluations (16; based on MQs Points)

• Phase 3: Technical Score Evaluation (100 Possible Points)

• Phase 4: Cost Score Evaluation (50 Possible Points)

Refer to Section P in the Solicitation Guidelines & Instructions for additional information.

PHASE 1: ADMINISTRATIVE EVALUATION (Pass/Fail) Phase 1 of the Evaluation will assess that the proposer completed all of the required administrative tasks identified in the Attachment 1 Checklist, and throughout this solicitation. This is based on a pass/fail determination.

For more information see the Solicitation Guidelines and Instructions.

PHASE 2: REFERENCE CHECK/MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS EVALUATION (16 Possible Points) Phase 2 of the Evaluation will assess that the proposer meets the minimum qualifications in order to proceed as a potential candidate. This first consists of conducting reference checks, and then measuring the level of experience. This phase will use whole points only; no half or decimal points will be allowed.

Only the top 3 proposers will proceed to Phase 3 of the evaluation.

For more information see the Solicitation Guidelines and Instructions.

The Reference Check will be conducted to confirm the validity of the experience of the candidate. This will not be evaluated on a point scale, but rather a measure of the quality of feedback from the references based on Poor, Good, and Excellent ratings.

Reference Check Rating

Using the following choices, Poor, Good, Excellent, how would you rate the Proposer on: Time Management

Proposer on: Professionalism

Proposer on: Performance

Proposer on: Communication

Proposer on: Project Completion

Minimum Qualifications Points Available

Points Awarded

At least five (5) years of experience in research in higher education, national service, civic engagement, or leadership development.

At least five (5) years of experience designing culturally competent evaluation tools.

At least five (5) years of experience coordinating public, private, and non-profit organizations or serving as a project manager with such entities.

At least five (5) years of experience communicating research findings and recommendations to multiple audiences.

PHASE 3: TECHNICAL EVALUATION (100 Possible Points) Phase 3 of the Evaluation will assess the technical components of the proposal. This Technical Scoring phase will use whole points only; no half or decimal points will be allowed.

For more information see the Solicitation Guidelines and Instructions.

Item/Description Points Available

Points Awarded

A. Clarity and Organization of Proposal – This criterion will assess whether the proposal is presented in a clear, concise, and organized manner.

Proposer used the required Attachment A1 Contractor Scope of Work Response Template.

B. Approach to Scope of Work – This criterion provides proposers the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge in the subject of the RFP and to lay the groundwork for the actual work to be performed for this project.

1) Proposer has outlined a detailed project management plan consistent with the goals and objective of this project, and project organization that names a qualified Project Manager whose experience and skill set aligns with program objectives.

2) Proposer has described the methodology and approach to the scope of work, including the proposed approach to: evaluation of the College Corps program, answering the evaluation questions, developing and utilizing appropriate metrics and data collection instruments, providing technical assistance, and coordination with CV external partners.

3) Proposer has identified potential challenges to carrying out the proposed work and strategies to address these challenges.

4) Provides 1-2 samples of previous reports that demonstrate ability to clearly communicate findings and provide recommendations, particularly as they relate to higher education, national service, civic engagement, or leadership development.

C. Budget Justification – For this criterion, reviewers will consider the allocation of budget to the tasks outlined in the Scope of Work and evaluate the cost breakdown’s effectiveness in reaching outlined goals and objectives.

D. Work Plan, Schedule, and Budget Justification – This criterion will consider the schedule of activities and budget justification and evaluate their effectiveness in reaching outlined goals and objectives. Project schedule, budget, estimated dates of completion, and proposed methods for measuring project progress are feasible when measured against the work plan.

E. Proposer & Team Experience – This criterion will assess whether the Proposer Team possesses the expertise and competencies needed to carry out the TA services.

1) Experience conducting research and/or evaluation focused on higher education, national service, civic engagement, leadership development, and/or high impact practices

2) Proven track record of successfully designing and implementing culturally competent, comprehensive evaluations of diverse student populations

3) Experience providing technical assistance, particularly program staff at institutions of higher education

4) Experience working directly with stakeholders in disadvantaged and low-income communities in California

5) Experience presenting findings and providing recommendations to diverse audiences and key stakeholders, including government agencies, college and universities, and funders

6) Sufficient proficiency and/or demonstrated ability to integrate data collection tools with new software.

PHASE 4: COST EVALUATION (50 Possible Points) Phase 4 of the Evaluation will assess the total cost of the proposal. This Cost Scoring phase will use decimal points up to two values after the decimal.

The formula that is used to calculate a proposer’s cost score is outlined below.

For more information see the Solicitation Guidelines and Instructions.

COST SCORE FORMULA:

(Lowest Total Cost Proposal) x (50 Total Cost Points Possible) ÷ Proposer Total Cost