2._Pre-Solicitation_RFP_25-4-002-1_SMARA-4.pdf

CDT STP Request For Proposal

Request For Proposal (RFP)

RFP 25-4-002-1

PART 1 – BIDDER INSTRUCTIONS

FOR

RFP 25-4-002-1 Division of Mine Reclamation SMARA-4

Month XX, 2025

Issued by:

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

Department of Conservation 715 P Street, Sacramento, CA 95814

Part 1 of the solicitation template contains the bidder and bidding instructions, Proposal form instructions, solution requirements and instructions, and all other instructional/compliance information that the Bidder must meet in order to be considered responsive and responsible to the solicitation.

Part 2 of the solicitation template contains the Statement of Work and all forms a Bidder must complete and return with its Final Proposal, including administrative forms, qualification forms, requirement responses, and applicable exhibits/attachments discussed in Part 1.

Disclaimer: The original version and any subsequent solicitation addenda released by the Procurement Officer of this solicitation remain the official version. In the event of any inconsistency between the bidder’s versions, articles, attachments, specifications or provisions (which constitute the Contract), the official State version of the solicitation in its entirety shall take precedence.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. PURPOSE

1.2. BACKGROUND

1.3. TERM OF CONTRACT

1.4. CURRENT AND PROPOSED ENVIRONMENT

1.4.1. CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

1.4.2. PROPOSED ENVIRONMENT

1.5. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)

2. BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS

2.1. BIDDER ADMONITION

2.2. COMMUNICATIONS AND CONTACTS

2.2.1. PROCUREMENT OFFICERS

2.2.2. QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENT

2.2.3. INTENT TO BID

2.2.4. CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICES

2.3. KEY ACTION DATES

2.4. RULES GOVERNING COMPETITION

2.4.1. IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF SOLICITATION

REQUIREMENTS

2.4.2. SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS

2.4.3. EXAMINATION OF THE WORK

2.4.4. EXCLUSION FOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST

2.4.5. CONFIDENTIALITY

2.4.6. ADDENDA

2.4.7. COST FOR DEVELOPING PROPOSALS

2.4.8. DISCOUNTS

2.4.9. SIGNATURE OF PROPOSAL

2.4.10. IRREVOCABLE OFFER

2.4.11. FALSE OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS

2.4.12. BONDS

2.5. BIDDING STEPS

2.5.1. PHASE 1 - ADMINSTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, COST

REQUIREMENTS, AND LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS

2.5.2. PHASE 2 - NEGOTIATIONS

2.5.3. WITHDRAWAL AND RESUBMISSION/MODIFICATION OF

PROPOSALS

2.5.4. DISPOSITION OF PROPOSALS

2.6. PROTESTS

2.7. NEGOTIATIONS

3. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

3.1. ELECTRONIC VENDOR APPLICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS (eVAQ)

3.2. ABILITY TO PERFORM

3.3. PRIMARY BIDDER

3.4. SUBCONTRACTORS

3.4.1. BIDDER DECLARATION FORM (M)

3.5. AMENDMENT

3.6. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY INFORMATION

3.6.1. FINANCIAL STABILITY

3.7. INCORPORATION OF EVAQ REQUIREMENTS

3.8. GENERAL PROVISIONS

3.8.1. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - GENERAL PROVISIONS CLOUD -

COMPUTING SERVICES, DGS PD 402-ITGP

3.9. INSURANCE COVERAGE (M)

3.10. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT (M)

3.11. COVER LETTER (M)

3.12. STATEMENT OF WORK (M)

3.13. CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT (M)

3.14. SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS

3.14.1. BIDDER'S PREFERENCE AND INCENTIVE DECLARATION

3.14.2. DISABLED VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (DVBE)

PROGRAM

3.14.2.1. DVBE PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT (M)

3.14.2.2. DVBE INCENTIVE (O)

3.14.3. SMALL BUSINESS PREFERENCE (O)

3.14.4. NON-SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTOR PREFERENCE (O)

3.14.5. COMMERCIALLY USEFUL FUNCTION (M)

3.14.6. TARGET AREA CONTRACT PREFERENCE ACT (TACPA) (O) . 34

3.15. PRODUCTIVE USE REQUIREMENTS

3.15.1. CUSTOMER IN-USE

3.15.2. HARDWARE/EQUIPMENT

3.16. GENAI DISCLOSURE

4. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

4.1. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

4.1.1. BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS (M and DS)

4.1.2. BIDDER REFERENCES (M)

4.1.3. KEY STAFF QUALIFICATIONS (M and DS)

4.1.4. KEY STAFF REFERENCES (M)

4.2. SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS

4.2.1. FUNCTIONAL AND NON FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS (MS/DS/

MO)

4.2.2. NARRATIVE RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS (MS)

4.2.3. DEMONSTRATIONS

4.2.3.1. CONDUCT OF DEMONSTRATION

4.2.3.2. DEMONSTRATION CONTENT

5. COST

5.1. COST WORKBOOK (M)

5.2. COST WORKBOOK INSTRUCTIONS

5.2.1. UNANTICIPATED TASKS

5.3. PROJECT PAYMENT TERMS

5.4. SALES TAX

6. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

6.1. PREPARATION

6.2. COMPLETION OF PROPOSALS

6.3. DELIVERY OF SUBMITTALS

6.3.1. ELECTRONIC UPLOAD

6.4. FORMATTING

6.4.1. SOFT COPY

6.5. FINAL PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

6.5.1. VOLUME 1, RESPONSE TO ADMINISTRATIVE AND TECHNICAL

REQUIREMENTS

6.5.2. VOLUME 2 COST

7. EVALUATION

7.1. EVALUATION TEAM

7.2. EVALUATION STEPS

7.2.1. EVALUATION OF REQUIRED INFORMATION AND

REQUIREMENTS

7.2.2. RECEIPT AND PRELIMINARY REVIEW

7.2.3. MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS EVALUATION

7.2.4. VALIDATION AGAINST REQUIREMENTS

7.3. FINAL PROPOSAL EVALUATION

7.3.1. ERRORS IN THE FINAL PROPOSAL

7.3.2. REJECTION OF PROPOSALS

7.3.3. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS EVALUATION

7.3.4. QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS EVALUATION

7.3.4.1. BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

7.3.4.2. BIDDER REFERENCES

7.3.4.3. KEY STAFF QUALIFICATIONS

7.3.4.4. KEY STAFF REFERENCES

7.3.4.5. BIDDER AND STAFF REFERENCE CHECKS

7.3.5. SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS EVALUATION

7.3.5.1. FUNCTIONAL AND NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

7.3.5.2. DELIVERABLE EVALUATION (PASS/FAIL)

7.3.5.3. NARRATIVE RESPONSE(S) REQUIREMENTS

7.3.6. DEMONSTRATIONS

7.3.7. CALCULATE BIDDER PROPOSAL NON-COST SCORE

7.3.8. COST EVALUATION

7.3.9. SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS

7.3.9.1. TACPA PREFERENCE

7.3.9.2. SMALL BUSINESS PREFERENCE

7.3.9.3. DVBE INCENTIVE

7.3.10. BIDDER FINAL SCORE CALCULATION AND RANK

DETERMINATION

7.3.11. SUBMISSION OF AMENDED FINAL PROPOSAL(S)

7.4. NEGOTIATIONS

7.4.1. PROCEEDING TO NEGOTIATIONS

7.4.2. NEGOTIATION INVITATION

7.4.3. BEST AND FINAL OFFER SUBMISSION (BAFO)

7.4.4. EVALUATION OF BAFO SUBMISSION

7.4.5. SELECTION

7.4.6. DEBRIEFING

8. INFORMATIONAL ATTACHMENTS

ATTACHMENT 1: APPENDIX A - STATEMENT OF WORK

ATTACHMENT 2: INTENT TO BID

ATTACHMENT 3: CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT

ATTACHMENT 4: COVER LETTER

ATTACHMENT 5: RESPONSE TO ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS

ATTACHMENT 6: BIDDER DECLARATION GSPD 05-105

ATTACHMENT 7: WORKERS' COMPENSATION CERTIFICATION

ATTACHMENT 8: DVBE DECLARATIONS

ATTACHMENT 9: BIDDING PREFERENCES AND INCENTIVES

ATTACHMENT 10: COMMERCIALLY USEFUL FUNCTION (CUF)

CERTIFICATION

ATTACHMENT 11: TACPA PREFERENCE REQUEST FORMS

ATTACHMENT 12: BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS WORKBOOK

ATTACHMENT 13: BIDDER REFERENCE FORM

ATTACHMENT 14: KEY STAFF QUALIFICATIONS WORKBOOK

ATTACHMENT 15: KEY STAFF REFERENCES FORM

1. KEY STAFF - REFERENCE FORM

ATTACHMENT 16: NARRATIVE RESPONSE REQUIREMENTS

ATTACHMENT 17: DEMONSTRATION REQUIREMENTS

ATTACHMENT 18: TEMPLATE FOR QUESTION SUBMITTAL

ATTACHMENT 19: SOLICITATION SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

EXHIBIT A: FUNCTIONAL AND NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

EXHIBIT B: DELIVERABLES TABLE

EXHIBIT C: COST WORKBOOK

EXHIBIT D: CHANGE ORDER REQUEST

1. Change Order Request Template

EXHIBIT E: WORK ORDER AUTHORIZATION DOCUMENT TEMPLATE

1. Work Order Authorization Template

EXHIBIT F: KEY STAFF CHANGE ORDER REQUEST FORM

1. Key Staff Change Order Request Form

EXHIBIT G: TO-BE PROCESS DIAGRAMS

1. TO-BE PROCESS DIAGRAMS

EXHIBIT H: DELIVERABLES ACCEPTANCE DOCUMENT TEMPLATE

1. DELIVERABLES ACCEPTANCE DOCUMENT TEMPLATE

EXHIBIT I: DELIVERABLES EXPECTATION DOCUMENT TEMPLATE

1. DELIVERABLES EXPECTATION DOCUMENT TEMPLATE

EXHIBIT J: DELIVERABLES TRACKING LOG

1. DELIVERABLES TRACKING LOG

EXHIBIT K: DELIVERABLES COMMENT LOG

1. DELIVERABLES COMMENT LOG

RFP

PART 1 – BIDDER INSTRUCTIONS

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

Month XX, 2025

1. INTRODUCTION

This solicitation is being conducted under the authority of California Department of Technology (CDT), Office of Statewide Technology Procurement (OSTP) pursuant to Public Contract Code (PCC) §6611 et seq. The format that Proposal information is to be submitted and the material to be included therein follows. This solicitation also addresses the requirements that Bidders must meet to be eligible for consideration, as well as addressing Bidders’ responsibilities before and after award.

1.1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this Request For Proposal (hereafter referred to as "RFP" or “solicitation”) is to obtain Proposals from qualified Bidders to provide the Department of Conservation (hereafter referred to as the “State” or "DOC") with Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) Case Management Software as a Service (SaaS) Solution (hereafter referred to as "DMR SMARA-4").

The Contract Award, if made, will be to the single Bidder in accordance with the methodology defined in

SECTION 7. EVALUATION.

The state is seeking Proposals from qualified Bidders that must address and be able to perform all services described in ATTACHMENT 1: APPENDIX A - STATEMENT OF WORK.

1.2. BACKGROUND

The California Department of Conservation Division of Mine Reclamation SMARA-4 Project (SMARA-4), in collaboration with the California Department of Technology (CDT), will procure and implement a new integrated system that will support State of California oversight of mine reclamation. It will allow mine operators and lead agencies secure access to submit required data and documents to the Division of Mine Reclamation (DMR) as required by statute via a web interface. Information collected will be stored in an integrated system that allows the DMR to effectively implement statutory responsibilities, provide technical assistance, and perform the oversight required under the statutes for Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) related to public contracting code (PCC) 10295.5 & 20676, known as the Purchase Preference List (PPL), real estate disclosure (CA CIV § 1103.4), and transparency policies.

Data and documents will be made available to the public through a Geographic Information System (GIS) Interface.

The objective of this project is to acquire a new, unified, enterprise Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution to replace all core DMR systems. The new system will be a uniform, secure, integrated solution with external-facing portals for external stakeholder document submission/retrieval. It will offer self-service portals to the regulated community (mine operators), DMR partners (SMARA Lead Agencies such as cities, counties, and State agencies and departments), and other stakeholders, improving public access to documents and data. It will alleviate significant manual data entry and cross-system work, thereby

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions improving efficacy, efficiency, and data integrity. The new system will benefit both internal and external stakeholders with improved data completion and quality, will provide the ability to securely submit required documentation, reporting, and fee collection, and will enable external stakeholders to oversee, manage and monitor their SMARA compliance across the state.

1.3. TERM OF CONTRACT

Effective upon approval of CDT, Office of Statewide Technology Procurement (OSTP), the term of the Contract is for three (3) years with an estimated contract start date of April 15, 2026, or upon the contract execution date, whichever is later.

The State, at its sole discretion, may exercise its option to execute three (3), two-year extensions to perform maintenance and operations and on-going support, for a maximum contract term of nine (9) years.

The Contractor shall not be authorized to deliver or commence the performance of services as described in this ATTACHMENT 1: APPENDIX A - STATEMENT OF WORK until written approval has been obtained from all required entities. Any delivery or performance that is commenced prior to the signing of the Contract shall be considered voluntary on the part of the Contractor and non-compensable.

1.4. CURRENT AND PROPOSED ENVIRONMENT

1.4.1. CURRENT ENVIRONMENT

The DMR is responsible for the administration of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) of 1975, Sections 2207 and 1103.4 of the Public Resources Code and CA Civil Code in coordination with SMARA Lead Agencies (cities and counties, the California Geological Survey (CGS), and the State Mining and Geology Board (SMGB). The California Legislature enacted SMARA to address the need for a continuing supply of mineral and industrial material resources and to enable a safe and useful post-mining condition for these disturbed lands that minimizes environmental impacts. This is achieved by preparing for the reclamation of the land in advance, including developing a Reclamation Plan and establishing Financial Assurances. In this way, the DMR and it's partners confirm surface mine operators have the plans and means to reclaim the mines or have equipped the DMR or lead agencies with the funds to reclaim in the event an operator cannot. The DMR provides ongoing geologic, environmental, ecological, and regulatory technical assistance to both Lead Agencies and operators, maintains a statewide database of mine locations and operational information, performs certain oversight functions, and collects reports and fees to administer programs within the DMR, SMGB, and CGS, among other things.

The DMR processes hundreds of reports with thousands of data points every year, much of it manually. In accordance with statute, operators submit some documents and data to the DMR directly, while others are submitted to the Lead Agency. This information is then shared with the DMR to provide technical

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions assistance and to support the uniform application of SMARA statewide. During the life of a mine, several reports must be submitted to the DMR by operators or Lead Agencies:

• A Reclamation Plan and associated Amendments when mines are established or significantly altered, which are the engineering, geologic, landscape, etc. designs needed to ensure a safe and useful post-mining condition that minimizes environmental impacts.

• An Annual Report, data from which are necessary for effective oversight of SMARA and in quantifying State’s mineral reserves.

• Annual Financial Assurance Cost Estimates (FACEs), which are anticipated costs to reclaim the mine based on current conditions.

• Financial Assurance Mechanisms (FAMs), to demonstrate adequate funds are available to reclaim the mine at any time, such as bonds or other securities.

• Inspection Reports and enforcement documentation annually, for DMR tracking and public transparency.

Throughout this process, the DMR engages in correspondence with the Lead Agencies and operators, which is included in records. If an operator is out of compliance with SMARA, the DMR and/or Lead Agencies may pursue enforcement which requires an accurate administrative record (record of documents, data, and communications). In addition, the DMR collects fees for state SMARA program administration for DMR, the SMGB, and the CGS, and tracks and reports statewide data to support government contract decisions and State public transparency goals.

To track these documents, communications, and data for more than 1,100 operating mines used by multiple programs within the State, local governments, and the public, the DMR currently relies on four disparate systems: SMARA-3, Mines Online System (MOL), Mines Online Document System (MODS), and Mines Online Annual Reporting System (MOARS). Several of these systems require manual data entry and can introduce errors and duplication. Most also limit external stakeholder submittal/retrieval of information. The principal legacy systems were built on antiquated technology and therefore are technologically unsupportable in the long term. They also lack critical functionality for which DMR must compensate by using external tools such as Microsoft Outlook and Excel for tracking document submission and review, workflows, and deadlines.

The lack of integration, required manual data entry, and antiquated technology pose a number of significant challenges, the primary of which include data security and integrity, reducing efficacy and efficiency, and limiting partner and public access to documents and data.

1.4.2. PROPOSED ENVIRONMENT

This section is intended to present an overview of the proposed system and as such will not specify any detailed technical requirements. The bidder requirements and solution requirements supporting this overview are to be included in SECTION 4. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS .

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

In the event a discrepancy or ambiguity between the requirements described in this section, and the requirements set forth in SECTION 4. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS is detected after the opening of proposals, SECTION 4. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS and the bidder’s response thereto shall have priority over this section.

The purpose of the DMR SMARA-4 project is to establish a new unified, integrated, enterprise system that will help the DMR manage its multi-faceted administration of the Surface Mining and Reclamation Act (SMARA) and address many of the challenges described above. The specific needs of the system are enumerated in EXHIBIT A: FUNCTIONAL AND NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS. At a high level, the envisioned system includes the following:

a. Internal workflow management In the administration of SMARA, the DMR receives a wide variety of documents and reports that each have their own unique processing cycles with distinct deadlines across multiple teams. The SMARA-4 system will establish an internal workflow/case management functionality to help manage the processing of these documents through their respective lifecycles and coordinate team members’ work to ensure critical due dates are met and all necessary aspects of processing are complete. This workflow management capability will be tightly integrated with the entity and document management aspects of the SMARA-4 system described below to provide efficient referential context to the documents and associated mine entities (Lead Agencies and Mine Operators) related to the processing of the given SMARA document. Additionally, this workflow management will help initiate and track violations and other compliance-related issues, so the DMR can more readily track issues and enforce SMARA.

b. Entity Management and Entity Profiles The DMR works with external stakeholders from Lead Agencies, as well as with Mine Operators themselves (in combination, referred to hereafter as entities). The SMARA-4 system will maintain essential entity-specific data and attributes for all SMARA-related mine entities so that DMR users can quickly and easily reference information about Mines, Mine Operators, and their associated Lead Agencies on centralized pages. These centralized pages (or “entity profiles”) will contain not only entity-specific data, but quick access to associated documents, a history of user and system activities associated to these entities, and quick-reference compliance statuses to maintain a complete administrative record.

c. Document Management As previously mentioned, the DMR receives a wide variety of documents from Lead Agencies and Mine Operators, in varying states of approval. Managing these documents – where they are in processing, what mines and entities they are associated with, what state of review or approval they are in, and whether there have been previous versions – can be incredibly cumbersome. Document management will be a critical component of the SMARA-4 system and will be tightly integrated with the aforementioned internal

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions workflow management and entity management, as well as external-facing functionalities.

From a DMR perspective, the internal workflow management will help guide documents through their respective administrative processes while coordinating the work effort across teams in order to ensure all aspects of processing are completed and timely. Part of this process will also include making sure that the document being processed is associated to the correct mine entities. This not only eliminates the redundancy of data entry regarding mine entity and attributes, but also ensures documents are referenceable from each entity’s context. DMR users will be able to view the profile for a Mine, Mine Operator, or Lead Agency and see the history of documents associated to the given entity to easily find needed documents. Additionally, this internal functionality will integrate with, and provide a mechanism to manage, the documents that DMR is statutorily required to make publicly available, as described in the Public Data section.

From an external perspective, the SMARA-4 system aims to integrate the internal workflow, document, and entity management with entity-specific external portals available to Lead Agencies and Mine Operators. These portals will serve as a means for Lead Agencies and Mine Operators to submit essential documents to the DMR in a way that seamlessly integrates with the internal functions of the SMARA-4 system. It will also provide the DMR an additional method for communicating with Lead Agencies and Mine Operators, to ensure both entities have a clear understanding of which documents have been provided.

d. External Stakeholder Portals As described above in the Document Management section, the DMR receives a wide array of documents and information from Lead Agencies and Mine Operators. The SMARA-4 system will streamline submittals by providing secure portals through which Lead Agencies and Mine Operators can submit required documents for the administration of SMARA. For Mine Operators, this will include an improved equivalent to the Mines Online Annual Reporting System (MOARS) which is currently used to submit Annual Reports. For Lead Agencies, documents will be submitted directly to the DMR in a way that seamlessly integrates with the internal workflow management functionality – rather than by email or mailing documents, which introduces administrative friction and manual labor.

e. Enhanced Reporting Capabilities Enabled by its improved data-gathering capacity, the SMARA-4 system will incorporate enhanced reporting capabilities to serve a variety of the DMR’s needs. This includes the critical, statutorily required PPL (PCC 10295.5 & 20676), which will incorporate the latest compliance statuses of mine-related entities in the SMARA-4 system, and producing a public-facing dashboard indicating mine’s compliance status (eligibility for a government contract). The SMARA-4 system will also support organization and recall of existing reports that are critical to DMR business processes, as well as State Mining and Geology Board (SMGB) and California Geological Survey (CGS) processes. The SMARA-4 system must also enable backend data access for appropriate DOC users so that ad-hoc reports and queries can be run to

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions support the frequent and variable requests from the Governor’s office and other agencies. Finally, the DMR looks forward to improved insight into their workflow processing with general workload management reports made possible by leveraging the metadata of the internal workflow management function.

f. Public Data - GIS Integration and Document Availability The SMARA-4 system will also support the DMR’s responsibilities under the statutes for SMARA, public resources code (PRC 2774.2.5), and real estate disclosure (CA CIV § 1103.4) to provide the public with specific mine data and documentation on a geographic information system (GIS) interface. A GIS interface must reflect the location of SMARA mines, along with particular mine and operator information.

Additionally, this interface needs to integrate mine-related documents that are statutorily required to be made publicly available. This should all tightly integrate with the internal DMR workflow, entity, and document management functions of the SMARA-4 system so that the publicly available information and documentation updates automatically based on business rules.

1.5. AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA)

To comply with the nondiscrimination requirements of ADA, it is the policy of the State of California to make every effort to ensure that its programs, activities, and services are available to all persons, including persons with disabilities.

For persons with a disability needing reasonable accommodation to participate in the procurement process or for persons having questions regarding reasonable accommodations of the procurement process, you may contact the Procurement Officials identified in SECTION 2.2.1. PROCUREMENT OFFICERS. You may also contact the State of California at the numbers listed below.

Important: To ensure that we can meet your needs, it is best that we receive your request for reasonable accommodations at least ten (10) business days before the scheduled event, e.g., meeting, conference, workshop, etc., or deadline due-date for procurement documents.

The California Relay Service Telephone Numbers are:

TTY/VCO/HCO to Voice

English

Spanish

1-800-735-2929

1-800-855-3000

Voice to TTY/VCO/HCO

English

Spanish

1-800-735-2922

1-800-855-3000

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

From or to Speech-to-Speech English & Spanish 1-800-854-7784

2. BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS

2.1. BIDDER ADMONITION

This procurement will follow an approach designed to increase the likelihood of a successful Final Proposal and Bidder eligibility for an invitation to negotiations. The approach will:

1. Ensure that the Bidder clearly understands the State’s requirements before attempting to develop its Final Proposal;

2. Ensure that the State clearly understands what each Bidder intends to propose before Proposals are finalized;

3. Provide an opportunity for the State and each Bidder to discuss weaknesses or potentially unacceptable elements of a Bidder’s Proposal and give the Bidder an opportunity to modify its Proposal to correct such problems

Specific information regarding such steps is found in SECTION 2.5. BIDDING STEPS and SECTION 7.

EVALUATION of the solicitation. It is the Bidder's responsibility to:

1. Carefully read the entire solicitation.

2. Submit questions in a timely manner, if clarification is necessary.

3. Submit all required responses by the required dates and times specified in SECTION 2.3. KEY

ACTION DATES .

4. Make sure that all procedures and requirements of the solicitation are accurately followed and appropriately addressed.

5. Refrain from adding conditional statements, assumptions, or exception language with Proposals.

Conditional statements and exceptions will be considered a deviation in accordance with

SECTION 2.4.1. IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF SOLICITATION

REQUIREMENTS.

6. Carefully review the entire solicitation before submitting a Final Proposal.

2.2. COMMUNICATIONS AND CONTACTS

The State uses an online procurement system known as Cal eProcure to communicate with prospective Bidders and suppliers. Information and ongoing communications for this solicitation will be posted by the State on the Cal eProcure website, www.caleprocure.com.

Oral communications by Agency/state entity officers and employees concerning this solicitation shall not be binding on the State and shall in no way excuse the Bidder of any obligations set forth in this

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

Month XX, 2025 http://www.caleprocure.com/ solicitation.

2.2.1. PROCUREMENT OFFICERS

The Procurement Officers are the State’s designated authorized representative regarding this procurement.

Bidders are directed to communicate all correspondence regarding this procurement to the Procurement Officers at the contact information below.

Procurement Officer: Saagar Patel, Saagar.Patel@state.ca.gov, (916) 291-0597

Procurement Officer: Ashley Koewler, Ashley.Koewler@state.ca.gov, (916) 628-1863

2.2.2. QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENT

Bidders requiring clarification of the intent, terms and conditions, content of this solicitation, or on procedural matters regarding the competitive procurement process may request clarification by submitting questions using ATTACHMENT 18: TEMPLATE FOR QUESTION SUBMITTAL in an email (using the solicitation identification information from the solicitation title page) to the Procurement Officers listed in SECTION 2.2.1. PROCUREMENT OFFICERS. To ensure a response, questions must be received in writing by the scheduled date(s) specified in +SECTION 2.3. KEY ACTION DATES. Question and answer sets will be provided to all Bidders without identifying the submitters. At the sole discretion of the State, questions may be paraphrased by the State for clarity.

Only questions submitted in writing and answered in writing by the Procurement Officers shall be binding and official. Written questions must be submitted by email to the Procurement Officers identified in SECTION 2.2.1. PROCUREMENT OFFICERS, using ATTACHMENT 18: TEMPLATE FOR QUESTION SUBMITTAL. All written questions submitted by the deadline specified in +SECTION 2.3. KEY ACTION DATES, will be responded to at the same time with all questions and answers posted to Cal eProcure in the form of a question and answer set.

If a Bidder who desires clarification or further information on the content of the solicitation, but whose questions relate to the proprietary aspect of its Proposal and disclosure exposes its Proposal to other Bidders, the question may be submitted using the same criteria above with the notation, “CONFIDENTIAL.” The Bidder must explain why the question is sensitive in nature. If the State concurs that the disclosure of the question or answer would expose the proprietary nature of the Proposal, the question will be answered and both the question and answer will be confidentially maintained. If the State does not concur with the proprietary aspect of the question, the question and answer will not be confidentially maintained and the Bidder will be so notified.

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

Month XX, 2025 mailto:Saagar.Patel@state.ca.gov mailto:Tien.Le@state.ca.gov

2.2.3. INTENT TO BID

Bidders that participate in the solicitation should submit a completed ATTACHMENT 2: INTENT TO BID by the date specified in SECTION 2.3. KEY ACTION DATES .

This document shall be emailed to the Procurement Officers identified in SECTION 2.2.1.

PROCUREMENT OFFICERS. Only those Bidders acknowledging interest in this solicitation will receive correspondence applicable to the solicitation (e.g., scheduling dates for confidential discussions, meetings, etc.) throughout this procurement. Correspondence to a Bidder regarding this solicitation will only be given to the Bidder’s designated contact person.

It shall be the Bidder’s responsibility to immediately notify the Procurement Officers identified in SECTION

2.2.1. PROCUREMENT OFFICERS, in writing, regarding any changes to its Intent to Bid or the contact person's information. The State shall not be responsible for Proposal correspondence not received by the Bidder if the Bidder fails to notify the State, in writing, about any change pertaining to the designated contact person.

2.2.4. CLOUD COMPUTING SERVICES

Per the State’s Cloud Computing Policy, whenever feasible, Agencies/state entities will utilize the CalCloud services provided by CDT. These service options include Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). For this RFP, CalCloud services provided by CDT are not a viable option due to various requirements identified in EXHIBIT A:

FUNCTIONAL AND NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS. Vendors are required to host their proposed solution in a manner that complies with the requirements identified in EXHIBIT A: FUNCTIONAL AND NON-FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS and if applicable, the Department of General Services, Information Technology - General Provisions Cloud - Computing Services, DGS PD 402 -ITGP (Cloud), revised and effective 02/20/25.

2.3. KEY ACTION DATES

Table 2-1: Key Action Dates (KAD) provides the key action dates and times by which actions must be taken or completed. If the State finds it necessary to change these dates or times, it will be accomplished via an addendum to this solicitation except for dates listed after the Bidder’s submission of a Final Proposal. All times listed are for California Pacific time/Pacific Standard time.

Table 2-1: Key Action Dates

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

Month XX, 2025 https://www.dgs.ca.gov/-/media/Divisions/PD/Acquisitions/Solicitation-Document-Attachments/IT-General-Provisions-Cloud-DGS-PD-402ITGP-Revised-02202025.pdf

KEY ACTION DATES

Item Action Date and Time

1. Release of Pre-Solicitation October 1, 2025

2. Bidder's written feedback and request to meet with the State October 15, 2025

3.

Confidential meetings with potential Bidders1

(Meetings will be conducted via video conference) October 22, 2025 - October 28,

4. Release of Solicitation November 14, 2025

5.

Last day to submit written questions using ATTACHMENT

18: TEMPLATE FOR QUESTION SUBMITTAL

December 1, 2025

6. Last day to submit ATTACHMENT 2: INTENT TO BID and ATTACHMENT 3: CONFIDENTIALITY STATEMENT (signed)

December 19, 2025

7.

Last day to email Procurement Officers (SECTION 2.2.1.

PROCUREMENT OFFICERS) for Proposal uploading instructions (Refer to SECTION 6. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS) for further information).

January 13, 2026

8. Last day to submit Final Proposal and last day to be deemed eVAQ approved2

January 20, 2026 10:00AM

PST

9. State's Evaluation of Proposals and Invitation to Demonstrations

January 20 - February 17, 2026

10. Demonstrations and Evaluation of Demonstrations February 17 - March 10, 2026

11. State's Evaluation of Costs and Release Notification of March 10 - March 17, 2026

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

KEY ACTION DATES

Item Action Date and Time

Invitation to Negotiate

12. Confidential Negotiations with Bidder(s) March 17 - April 14, 2026

13. Notification of Contract Award April 22, 2026

14. Estimated Project Start Date May 1, 2026

1 This key action is an optional step in the solicitation process. The interested Bidder shall confirm participation to the Procurement Officer in SECTION 2.2.1. PROCUREMENT OFFICERS, via e-mail.

2 All dates after submission of Final Proposal are approximate and may be adjusted as conditions indicate without addendum to this solicitation.

2.4. RULES GOVERNING COMPETITION

This solicitation, the evaluation of responses, and the award of any resultant Contract shall be made in conformance with the provisions set forth in Public Contract Code (PCC) 6611 as they relate to the procurement of IT goods and services by public bodies in the State of California.

2.4.1. IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF SOLICITATION

REQUIREMENTS

The State has established certain requirements with respect to Proposals to be submitted by prospective Contractors. The use of “shall,” “must,” or “will” (except to indicate simple futurity) in the solicitation indicates a requirement or condition which is mandatory.

A deviation of any non-negotiable requirement identified in SECTION 2.5. BIDDING STEPS, will disqualify a vendor from participating in Evaluation, Negotiations, and Contract Award.

A deviation of other requirements must be resolved to the State’s satisfaction prior to or during evaluations or negotiations, as requested by the State, and corrected, prior to or in the Bidder’s Best and

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

Final Offer (BAFO).

The words “should” or “may” in the solicitation indicate desirable attributes or conditions, but are non-mandatory in nature.

2.4.2. SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS

This solicitation document includes, in addition to an explanation of the State’s requirements which must be met, instructions which prescribe the format and content of Proposals to be submitted and the model of the Contract to be executed between the State and the successful Bidder.

If a Bidder discovers any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other error in this solicitation document, the Bidder shall immediately notify the Procurement Officer identified in SECTION 2.2.1.

PROCUREMENT OFFICERS, of such error in writing and request clarification or modification of the document.

Modifications will be made by addenda issued pursuant to SECTION 2.4.6. ADDENDA . Such modifications shall be given by written notice to all parties who have identified themselves as Bidders to the Procurement Officer without divulging the source of the request. Insofar as practicable, the State will give such notices to other interested parties, but the State shall not be responsible therefore.

If the solicitation document contains an error known to the Bidder, or an error that reasonably should have been known, the Bidder shall bid at its own risk. If the Bidder fails to notify the State of the error prior to the date fixed for submission of Proposals, and is awarded the Contract, the Bidder shall not be entitled to additional compensation or time by reason of the error or its later correction.

2.4.3. EXAMINATION OF THE WORK

The Bidder should carefully examine the entire solicitation document and any addenda thereto, and all related materials and data referenced in the solicitation document or otherwise available to the Bidder, and should become fully aware of the nature and location of the work, the quantities of the work, and the conditions to be encountered in performing the work.

2.4.4. EXCLUSION FOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST

No consultant shall be paid out of State funds for developing recommendations on the acquisition of information technology (IT) products or services or assisting in the preparation of the project approval lifecycle documents (stages 2, 3, or 4) or feasibility study, while in effect, if that consultant is to be a source of such acquisition or could otherwise directly and/or materially benefit from State adoption of such recommendations or the course of action recommended in the project approval lifecycle documents (stages 2, 3, or 4) or feasibility study. Further, no consultant shall be paid out of State funds for

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions developing recommendations on the disposal of State surplus IT products if that consultant would directly and/or materially benefit from State adoption of such recommendations.

A consultant shall not be eligible to serve as the Prime Contractor or subcontractor pursuant to this solicitation if the Contractor/subcontractor is currently working on the solicitation in an Independent Verification and Validation (IV & V) role.

2.4.5. CONFIDENTIALITY

Bidder material becomes public only after the Notification of Award is released. If material marked “confidential,” “proprietary,” or “trade secret” is requested pursuant to the Public Records Act, the State will make an independent assessment whether it is exempt from disclosure. If the State disagrees with the Bidder, the State will notify the Bidder and give them a reasonable opportunity to justify their position or obtain a court order protecting the material from disclosure.

The Bidder should be aware that marking a document “confidential” or “proprietary” in a Final Proposal may exclude it from consideration for award and will not keep that document from being released after notification of award as part of the public record, unless a court has ordered the State not to release the document. The content of all working papers and discussions relating to the Bidder’s Proposal shall be held in confidence indefinitely, unless the public interest is best served by an item’s disclosure because of its direct pertinence to a decision, agreement or the evaluation of the Proposal.

Any disclosure of confidential information by the Bidder is a basis for rejecting the Bidder’s Proposal and ruling the Bidder ineligible to further participate. Any disclosure of confidential information by a State employee is a basis for disciplinary action, including dismissal from State employment, as provided by Government Code §19570 et seq. Total confidentiality is paramount; it cannot be over emphasized.

2.4.6. ADDENDA

The State may modify the solicitation at any time prior to submission of Final Proposal by issuing an addendum. Addenda will be numbered consecutively.

If a Bidder determines that an addendum unnecessarily restricts its ability to bid, the Bidder is allowed five

(5) business days to submit written questions regarding the addendum according to the instructions contained in SECTION 2.2.2. QUESTIONS REGARDING THE SOLICITATION DOCUMENT .

2.4.7. COST FOR DEVELOPING PROPOSALS

Costs for developing Proposals are the responsibility entirely of the Bidder and shall not be chargeable to the State.

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

2.4.8. DISCOUNTS

In connection with any discount offered, except when a provision is made for a testing period preceding acceptance by the State, time will be computed from the date of delivery of the supplies or equipment as specified, or from date correct invoices are received in the office specified by the State if the latter date is later than the date of delivery. When a provision is made for a testing period preceding acceptance by the State, the date of delivery shall mean the date the supplies or equipment are accepted by the State during the specified testing period. Payment is deemed made, for the purpose of earning the discount, on the date of mailing the State warrant or check.

Cash discounts offered by Bidders for the prompt payment of invoices will not be considered in evaluating offers for award purposes; however, all offered discounts will be taken if the payment is made within the discount period, even though not considered in the evaluation of offers.

2.4.9. SIGNATURE OF PROPOSAL

ATTACHMENT 4: COVER LETTER shall be considered an integral part of the Final Proposal and any Proposal form requiring signature, must be signed by an individual who is authorized to bind the bidding firm contractually. The signature block must indicate the title or position that the individual holds in the firm. An unsigned Final Proposal may be rejected.

2.4.10. IRREVOCABLE OFFER

A Bidder’s Final Proposal is an irrevocable offer for 180 calendar days following the scheduled date for submission of Final Proposal specified in SECTION 2.3. KEY ACTION DATES . A Bidder may extend the offer in the event of a delay of Contract award.

2.4.11. FALSE OR MISLEADING STATEMENTS

Proposals which contain false or misleading statements, or which provide references that do not support an attribute or condition claimed by the Bidder, may be rejected. If, in the opinion of the State, such information was intended to mislead the State in its evaluation of the Proposal, and the attribute, condition, or capability is a requirement of this solicitation document, it will be the basis for rejection of the Bidder’s Proposal.

2.4.12. BONDS

The State reserves the right to require a performance bond or other security document as specified in the solicitation from the Bidder in an amount not to exceed the amount of the Contract. In the event the State

State of California Department of Conservation

RFP 25-4-002-1

Part 1 - Bidder Instructions requires a surety bond that has not been expressly required by the solicitation, the State will reimburse the Bidder as an addition to the purchase price in an amount not exceeding the standard premium on such bond.

2.5. BIDDING STEPS

The following instructions provide the steps to submit a response to this solicitation by interested Bidders.

Details surrounding Proposals are described further in SECTION 4. PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS .

The Bidder is expected to follow the format requirements and utilize all forms included in this solicitation necessary for its response. This solicitation also addresses the Bidder responsibilities and requirements it must meet to be eligible for consideration. If the Bidder fails to follow the provided instructions, the Bidder may be disqualified from the solicitation process.

This solicitation will follow an approach as indicated below to ensure contract award. Refer to SECTION

2.3. KEY ACTION DATES to determine which phases and mandatory steps are included in this solicitation. SECTION 2.3. KEY ACTION DATES list milestones, mandatory steps, and due dates for deliverables in this solicitation. Prior to submitting a response, Bidders should submit an SECTION 2.2.3.

INTENT TO BID. Bidders must also submit a pre-qualified Electronic Vendor Application of Qualifications (eVAQ) as detailed in SECTION 3.1. ELECTRONIC VENDOR APPLICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS (eVAQ).

The State will use the following non-negotiable item(s) to determine if a Bidder’s Proposal response is eligible to proceed further in Evaluations and Negotiations in accordance with SECTION 7. EVALUATION.

1. The Bidder must be deemed eVAQ approved by the Last day to submit Proposal submission due date, specified in SECTION 2.3. KEY ACTION DATES .

A Proposal received from a Bidder that is deemed non-responsive to the non-negotiable item above shall not be opened or evaluated further.

2.5.1. PHASE 1 - ADMINSTRATIVE, TECHNICAL, COST REQUIREMENTS, AND

LIVE DEMONSTRATIONS

The purpose of Phase 1 is to obtain Proposals that are responsive in every aspect. Phase 1 is a mandatory step for all Bidders. The Proposal must be complete, and include all cost information, required signatures, contract changes issued by the State via addendum, and corrections made to those defects noted by the State in its review of the draft proposal, if any. Cost, as identified in SECTION 6.

State of California Department of Conservation

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Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

PROPOSAL FORMAT AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS, must be submitted under a separate folder. Up to three (3) Bidders who submit a Proposal that meets the criteria identified in SECTION 2.5.

BIDDING STEPS will be eligible to receive an invitation to negotiate with the State.

Bidders must complete and obtain approval of the eVAQ online application by the Proposal due date.

Note - it is recommended that Bidders allow a minimum of two (2) weeks before Proposal due date for the State to process the application approval.

a. Bidder submits an application to the eVAQ site detailed in SECTION 3.1. ELECTRONIC VENDOR APPLICATION OF QUALIFICATIONS (eVAQ).

b. Bidder submits Proposal response to SECTION 3. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS , SECTION 4.

PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS , and SECTION 5. COST.

c. The State evaluates SECTION 3. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS and SECTION 4. PROPOSAL

REQUIREMENTS .*

d. Bidder participates in Demonstrations in accordance with SECTION 7.3.6. DEMONSTRATIONS.

e. The State evaluates the Live Demonstrations and Cost responses based on the evaluation criteria detailed in SECTION 7. EVALUATION.

f. Following the evaluation, the State will invite up to three (3) highest scoring compliant Bidders to proceed to SECTION 2.5.2. PHASE 2 - NEGOTIATIONS.

*A proposal received from a Bidder that is deemed non-responsive to the mandatory requirements prior to Live Demonstrations shall not be evaluated further.

2.5.2. PHASE 2 - NEGOTIATIONS

The State will conduct negotiations under PCC §6611 and as detailed in SECTION 7.4. NEGOTIATIONS.

The purpose of the negotiation process is to maximize the State’s ability to obtain a value effective solution.

In addition to the non-negotiable items in SECTION 2.5. BIDDING STEPS and following Proposal Rank Determination, described in SECTION 7.3.10. BIDDER FINAL SCORE CALCULATION AND RANK DETERMINATION, the State may invite and proceed to negotiations with up to three (3) compliant Phase 2 Bidders that may result in a Contract Award.

Phase 2 may include a request by the State for the Bidder(s) to submit a Best and Final Offer (BAFO).

State of California Department of Conservation

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Part 1 - Bidder Instructions

Any deviation of any requirement that is not defined as a non-negotiable must be resolved to the State’s satisfaction prior to or during Evaluations or Negotiations, as requested by the State, and corrected prior to or in the Bidder’s BAFO, if requested.

2.5.3. WITHDRAWAL AND RESUBMISSION/MODIFICATION OF PROPOSALS

A Bidder may withdraw its Final Proposal at any time prior to the Final Proposal submission date and time specified in SECTION 2.3. KEY ACTION DATES , by submitting a written notification of withdrawal signed by an authorized representative of the Bidder in accordance with SECTION 2.4.9. SIGNATURE OF PROPOSAL. The Bidder may thereafter submit a new or modified Proposal prior to the respective Proposal submission date and time specified in SECTION 2.3. KEY ACTION DATES . Modification offered in any other manner, oral or written, will not be considered. Other than as allowed by law, Final Proposals cannot be changed or withdrawn after the deadline date and time designated for receipt, except as provided in the solicitation.

2.5.4. DISPOSITION OF PROPOSALS

All materials submitted in response to this solicitation will become the property of the State of California and will be returned only at the State’s option and at the Bidder’s expense. At a minimum, the master copy of the Final Proposal shall be retained for official files and will become a public record after the Notification of Award is posted. However, materials the State considers as confidential information (such as confidential financial information submitted to show Bidder responsibility) will be returned upon request of the Bidder.

2.6. PROTESTS

This procurement process does not include any provisions to protest either the process or resulting contract award(s). However, pursuant to PCC §6611 (d), an unsuccessful Bidder may file a petition for a writ of mandate in accordance with Section 1085 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The venue for the petition for a writ of mandate will be Sacramento, California.

2.7. NEGOTIATIONS

The State will conduct negotiations under PCC §6611. The purpose of the negotiation process is to maximize the State’s ability to obtain a value effective solution.