2-02. Notice of Intended Sole Source.doc

STATE OF UTAH - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

UDOT Procurement NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT ENGAGING IN A STANDARD PROCUREMENT PROCESS UDOT Procurement is publishing this notice pursuant to the Utah Procurement Code. The Requesting Unit submitted this form to UDOT Procurement claiming that it intends to award a contract without competition if it is determined by UDOT Procurement, in writing, that:

· there is only one source for the procurement item.

· transitional costs are a significant consideration in selecting a procurement item; or

· the award of a contract is under circumstances, described in rules adopted by the applicable rulemaking authority, that make awarding the contract through a standard procurement process impractical and not in the best interest of the procurement unit.

In the subsequent pages the Requesting Unit has identified its justification for pursuing this process.

Determination of Other Interested Providers The intent of this notice is to determine if there are any other interested and qualified providers that meet the specifications of this notice. Any such providers must submit the following information:

· The name of the provider; and

· A detailed explanation of the challenge, including documentation showing that there are other competing sources for the procurement item.

In addition, a provider should include:

· Documentation that the provider can provide a comparable or better procurement item that meets or exceeds the specifications.

· Documentation that the provider can also provide the same proprietary procurement item or an equivalent procurement item; and

· If transitional costs are identified as the justification for this notice, submit a cost comparison of the identified transitional costs with the provider’s anticipated transitional costs.

Regardless of any prior communications with UDOT Procurement or the State, all providers interested in responding to this notice must submit a response to this posting containing complete responses to all of the information requested above.

DO NOT CONTACT THE REQUESTING UNIT. Any questions regarding this notice, including obtaining additional information, must be obtained through UDOT Procurement during the publication period. No action is required if you agree with this Notice.

If, after the public notice period has passed, UDOT Procurement determines that there are other interested and qualified providers that meet the specifications of this notice; UDOT Procurement will not award a contract pursuant to this notice.

If, after the public notice period has passed, no valid challenges have been received, then the UDOT Division of Procurement may award a contract to the identified vendor without competition.

Please read the entire form very carefully before responding to this notice.

It is anticipated that this procurement will result in a:

Contract

MOU

1. The term of this contract will be: 5 years and renewal options: none.

Coding for this Purchase Order: Unit 8115 Appr XCO Obj 6269 Activity 8U47 Function NA

Other

___ GAX

___ P Card

1. NOTICE: The GAX option is for EXTENUATING circumstances only. Requesting Unit may not make the procurement until after the solicitation process is completed and the method of payment has been approved by UDOT Procurement.

NOTICE: The Requesting Unit may not make the procurement until after the solicitation process is completed and the purchase order or contract is fully signed by and delivered to all required parties.

Explain in detail the service or product to be procured (additional information is found on any attached Scope of Work):

Ordering proprietary training materials for our internal facilitator and participants for the Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue program. This specialized curriculum teaches critical communication and conflict-resolution skills. Because the program utilizes copyrighted intellectual property and behavioral models exclusive to Crucial Learning, these specific required participant kits (learner guides, digital access, and behavioral assessments) and facilitator materials are only available directly from the publisher. We are procuring 25 participant kits per year at $318/each. See attached quote for line-item details.

CHECK THE THAT BOX IDENTIFIES WHY A CONTRACT SHOULD BE AWARDED WITHOUT ENGAGING IN A STANDARD PROCUREMENT PROCESS:

SECTION A: ONLY ONE SOURCE

This procurement qualifies for a sole source award because the materials are the exclusive intellectual property of Crucial Learning. The Crucial Conversations for Mastering Dialogue methodology, conceptual models, and associated training materials are copyrighted and trademarked. Crucial Learning is the sole developer, publisher, and distributor of these specific materials; they do not utilize third-party resellers or distributors. Furthermore, our internal training facilitator is specifically certified in the Crucial Learning methodology. Under the terms of this certification, the facilitator is strictly required to use the official, proprietary participant kits to deliver the training. Because no other vendor can legally provide these exact, required materials, a standard competitive bidding process is not possible.

No. The materials are copyrighted intellectual property that cannot be legally replicated or modified by third parties. Modifying the procurement to allow for a generic alternative would fundamentally change the nature of the training and fail to meet our specific needs. Furthermore, our organization has already invested in certifying an internal facilitator in this specific Crucial Learning methodology. Modifying the requirements to accept a different vendor's curriculum would render that existing certification useless and require additional time and funding to retrain our facilitator in a new program."

Market research consisted of verifying the intellectual property ownership and distribution channels for the Crucial Conversations curriculum. We confirmed that Crucial Learning holds the exclusive copyrights to the material and does not allow third-party vendors to resell their participant kits. We also evaluated alternative training vendors, but because our internal trainer is specifically certified in the Crucial Learning methodology, no alternative product can be used without incurring the cost of completely retraining and re-certifying our facilitator in a different program.

I verified that this request cannot be fulfilled by an existing state cooperative contract. A review of current statewide contracts and cooperative purchasing agreements confirmed that Crucial Learning (formerly VitalSmarts) does not utilize third-party distributors or resellers for their proprietary materials. Because the Crucial Conversations curriculum is protected intellectual property and distributed exclusively by the publisher, it is not available on any generic state cooperative contract. Any alternative communication training available on a state contract would fail to meet our requirement for materials compatible with our internally certified facilitator.

NA

None. The requestor has no personal, financial, or fiduciary relationship with Crucial Learning or its representatives.

SECTION B: TRANSITIONAL COSTS

SECTION C: STANDARD PROCUREMENT PROCESS IMPRACTICABLE

SECTION D: PROCUREMENT ITEM IS NEEDED FOR TRIAL USE OR TESTING

LEASING PERSONAL PROPERTY (Not Real Property)

Lease requests must include an approved FI 9 State of Utah Lease Obligation Record form from the Division of Finance. The FI 9 State of Utah Lease Obligation Record form can be found on the Division of Finance website finance.utah.gov under Forms. The Finance policy FIACCT 09-21.00 Fixed Assets – Leases can be found on the Division of Finance website under Accounting Policies and Procedures. Approved FI 9 attached.

revision date: 08-03-2023