20RFQLICBD2 - Bid - Final.docx

75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-4906 | Telephone: (781) 338-3000 | TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370 COMMBUYS BID Template (Updated March 1, 2019) To be completed by the Unit for All bids | Please complete all sections, submit to the Procurement Unit for approval, and posting:

|_| For use by another agency (City/Town/School/Districts) with execution of separate contract (approved by OSD)

Renewal Option: |_| Yes / |_| No If yes: # of Renewals (up to a maximum of 12 months for each renewal option) Renewal Dates: From: to

Anticipated Expenditures, Funding or Compensation for Expected Duration: (please select only 1 option)

1. |_| Contract will have a Maximum Obligation Amount (Initial Duration Amount Only): $750.00

2. |_| Contract will be based on Rates (For use with Departmental Master Agreements only):

Total Contract Amount (Initial Duration PLUS Renewal Amount): $750.00

Bid opening date: 2/6/2020 | Bid opening time: 11:00 (Eastern Time) |_| AM / |_| PM |_| Check here if this is a Departmental Master Agreement Rolling Enrollment Bid (If bid is being set up as a Master Agreement, bids will be accepted on an on-going basis from the Date the Bid is Posted to the Final Open Date:

Date: | Time: | Location: | Contact Person: | Any Additional Information:

The following sections contain mandatory language that is required to be posted with all BIDs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Please read for details.

Required Specifications - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

· The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reserves the right to reject any and all BIDs.

· The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education will award contracts based on the quality of the BIDs and the acceptability of the bids for services / products offered.

· The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education may request a personal interview prior to entering into a contractual agreement.

· The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education may request a bidder to modify specific aspects of their BID prior to being offered a contract.

· The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education may award one Bid to several vendors to ensure availability. Being awarded a contract from the MDESE not guarantee services to be used.

· By submitting a response to this bid you are indicating that you understand and will adhere to all specifications for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

· The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education complies with all Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ procurement laws and regulations as set forth and overseen by the Commonwealth’s Operational Services Division when awarding contracts as well as all the state’s grant award requirements as mandated and overseen by the Office of the State Comptroller when dispersing these funds. These state requirements are consistent with federal procedures for procurement under 34 CFR Part 74.40-8 and Part 80.36. If this project is funded through Federal sources, the vendor agrees to provide access to its books and records to both the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Federal Funding Sources, should such a request occur.

· By submitting a response to this bid, you are indicating that you will comply with the Commonwealth Accessibility Standards: http://www.mass.gov/anf/research-and-tech/policies-legal-and-technical-guidance/tech-guidance/accessibility-guidance/web-accessibility-standards.html

Title and Intellectual Property Rights [These terms will apply if [Vendor Abbreviation] will be developing or modifying software or will be developing Deliverables that contain other intellectual property. They are subject to negotiation. However, the approval of the General Counsel for MassIT is required for any changes to these terms.]

1. Definition of Property The term Property as used herein includes the following forms of property: (1) confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information; (2) trademarks, trade names, discoveries, inventions processes, methods and improvements, whether or not patentable or subject to copyright protection and whether or not reduced to tangible form or reduced to practice; and (3) works of authorship, wherein such forms of property are required by [Vendor Abbreviation] to complete its work under the SOW and may consist of computer programs (in object and source code form), scripts, data, documentation, the audio, visual and audiovisual content related to layout and graphic presentation, text, photographs, video, pictures, animation, sound recordings, training materials, images, techniques, methods, algorithms, program images, text visible on the Internet, HTML code and images, illustrations, graphics, pages, storyboards, writings, drawings, sketches, models, samples, data, other technical or business information, reports, and other works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium.

2. Source of Property [Vendor Abbreviation]’s work under this SOW may involve intellectual property derived from four different sources: (1) a third party such as …[this provision may not apply to all contracts, but it could apply if [Vendor Abbreviation] is using third party intellectual property to perform tasks or deliver Deliverables, e.g. configuring another entity’s COTS]; (2) that developed by [Vendor Abbreviation] for the open market (e.g. [Vendor Abbreviation]’s commercial off the shelf software); (3) that developed by [Vendor Abbreviation] for other individual clients, or for internal purposes prior to the Effective Date of this Statement of Work and not delivered to any other client of [Vendor Abbreviation]’s; and (4) developed by [Vendor Abbreviation] specifically for the purposes of fulfilling its obligations to [Agency Abbreviation] under the terms of this Agreement. Ownership of the first and second categories of intellectual property is addressed in separate agreements between [Agency Abbreviation] and the contractors and resellers of work product. This Section 11.3 of the Statement of Work addresses exclusively ownership rights in the third and fourth categories of intellectual property.

3. [Vendor Abbreviation] Property and License [Vendor Abbreviation] will retain all right, title and interest in and to all Property developed by it, i) for clients other than the Commonwealth, and ii) for internal purposes and not yet delivered to any client, including all copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark and other intellectual property rights created by [Vendor Abbreviation] in connection with such work (hereinafter the "[Vendor Abbreviation] Property"). [Agency Abbreviation] acknowledges that its possession, installation or use of [Vendor Abbreviation] Property will not transfer to it any title to such property.

[Agency Abbreviation] acknowledges that [Vendor Abbreviation] Property contains or constitutes commercially valuable and proprietary trade secrets of [Vendor Abbreviation], the development of which involved the expenditure of substantial time and money and the use of skilled development experts. [Agency Abbreviation] acknowledges that [Vendor Abbreviation] Property is being disclosed to [Agency Abbreviation] to be used only as expressly permitted under the terms herein. [Agency Abbreviation] will take no affirmative steps to disclose such information to third parties, and, if required to do so under the Commonwealth’s Public Records Law, M.G.L. c. 66 § 10, or by legal process, will promptly notify [Vendor Abbreviation] of the imminent disclosure so that [Vendor Abbreviation] can take steps to defend itself against such disclosure.

Except as expressly authorized herein, [Agency Abbreviation] will not copy, modify, distribute or transfer by any means, display, sublicense, rent, reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble [Vendor Abbreviation] Property.

[Vendor Abbreviation] grants to [Agency Abbreviation], a fully-paid, royalty-free, non-exclusive, non-transferable, worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual, assignable license to make, have made, use, reproduce, distribute, modify, publicly display, publicly perform, digitally perform, transmit, copy, sublicense to any [Agency Abbreviation] subcontractor for purposes of creating, implementing, maintaining or enhancing a Deliverable, and create derivative works based upon [Vendor Abbreviation] Property, in any media now known or hereafter known, to the extent the same are embodied in the Deliverables, or otherwise required to exploit the Deliverables. During the Term of this Agreement and immediately upon any expiration or termination thereof for any reason, [Vendor Abbreviation] will provide to [Agency Abbreviation] the most current copies of any [Vendor Abbreviation] Property to which [Agency Abbreviation] has rights pursuant to the foregoing, including any related documentation.

Notwithstanding anything contained herein to the contrary, and notwithstanding [Agency Abbreviation]’s use of [Vendor Abbreviation] Property under the license created herein, [Vendor Abbreviation] shall have all the rights and incidents of ownership with respect to [Vendor Abbreviation] Property, including the right to use such property for any purpose whatsoever and to grant licenses in the same to third parties. Vender shall not encumber or otherwise transfer any rights that would preclude a free and clear license grant to the Commonwealth.

4. Commonwealth Property In conformance with the Commonwealth’s Standard Terms and Conditions, all Deliverables created under this Agreement whether made by [Vendor Abbreviation], subcontractor or both are the property of [Agency Abbreviation], except for the [Vendor Abbreviation] Property embodied in the Deliverable. [Vendor Abbreviation] irrevocably and unconditionally sells, transfers and assigns to [Agency Abbreviation] or its designee(s), the entire right, title, and interest in and to all intellectual property rights that it may now or hereafter possess in said Deliverables, except for the [Vendor Abbreviation] Property embodied in the Deliverables, and all derivative works thereof. This sale, transfer and assignment shall be effective immediately upon creation of each Deliverable and shall include all copyright, patent, trade secret, trademark and other intellectual property rights created by [Vendor Abbreviation] or [Vendor Abbreviation]’s subcontractor in connection with such work (hereinafter the "Commonwealth Property").

All copyrightable material contained within a Deliverable and created under this Agreement are works made for hire. [Vendor Abbreviation] bears the burden to prove that a work within a Deliverable was not created under this Agreement. If work is determined to not be made for hire or that designation is not sufficient to secure rights, to the fullest extent allowable and for the full term of protection otherwise accorded to [Vendor Abbreviation] under such law, [Vendor Abbreviation] shall and hereby irrevocably does, assign and transfer to [Agency Abbreviation] free from all liens and other encumbrances or restrictions, all right, title and interest [Vendor Abbreviation] may have or come to have in and to such Deliverable. [Vendor Abbreviation] HEREBY WAIVES IN FAVOR OF [AGENCY ABBREVIATION] (AND SHALL CAUSE ITS PERSONNEL TO WAIVE IN FAVOR OF CLIENT IN WRITING SIGNED BY SUCH PERSONNEL) ANY AND ALL ARTIST’S OR MORAL RIGHTS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL RIGHTS OF INTEGRITY AND ATTRIBUTION) IT MAY HAVE PURSUANT TO ANY STATE OR FEDERAL LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES IN RESPECT TO ANY DELIVERABLE AND ALL SIMILAR RIGHTS UNDER THE LAWS OF ALL OTHER APPLICABLE JURISDICTIONS.

[Vendor Abbreviation] agrees to execute all documents and take all actions that may be reasonably requested by [Agency Abbreviation] to evidence the transfer of ownership of or license to intellectual property rights described in this Section 11, including providing any code used exclusively to develop such Deliverables for [Agency Abbreviation] and the documentation for such code. [Vendor Abbreviation] acknowledges that there are currently and that there may be future rights that the Commonwealth may otherwise become entitled to with respect to Commonwealth Property that does not yet exist, as well as new uses, media, means and forms of exploitation, current or future technology yet to be developed, and that [Vendor Abbreviation] specifically intends the foregoing ownership or rights by the Commonwealth to include all such now known or unknown uses, media and forms of exploitation.

The Commonwealth retains all right, title and interest in and to all derivative works of Commonwealth Property.

[Agency Abbreviation] hereby grants to [Vendor Abbreviation] a nonexclusive, revocable license to use, copy, modify and prepare derivative works of Commonwealth Property only during the Term and only for the purpose of performing services and developing Deliverables for the [Agency Abbreviation] under this Agreement.

With respect to web site development contracts, [Agency Abbreviation] will bear sole responsibility for registering the software or system domain name or URL, applying for any trademark registration relating to the software or system domain name or URL and applying for any copyright registration related to its copyright ownership with respect to any Commonwealth Property.

5. Third-party Intellectual Property If the Deliverables contain or will contain any third-party intellectual property to which [Vendor Abbreviation] intends to provide a sublicense, [Vendor Abbreviation] must provide copies of all such sublicense agreements as early in the process as possible. The sublicense agreements must be included in [Vendor Abbreviation]’s initial quotation to the [Agency Abbreviation], or, if the requirement to utilize sublicensed intellectual property is not known at the outset of the project, as soon as the requirement becomes known. Sublicenses to third-party intellectual property can ONLY be provided under RFR if they are provided at no charge to the Commonwealth.

EXHIBIT A

Intellectual Property and Work Effort Agreement for Vendor’s Employees, Consultants, and Agents Confidentiality, Assignment of Inventions and Representation of Non-Infringement Agreement; Other Representations

The undersigned hereby acknowledges that he or she is an employee or consultant to of the following vendor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:

Name of Vendor (“Vendor”):

and desires to be assigned by the Vendor to perform services for the Commonwealth, and that the Vendor desires to assign you to perform services on one or more projects for the Commonwealth, but only under the condition that you sign this Agreement and agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions.

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of your assignment to work for the Commonwealth, the access you have to the confidential information of the Commonwealth, and for other good and valuable consideration, the parties agree as follows:

1. Confidentiality of the Commonwealth’s Materials. You agree that both during your assignment at the Commonwealth and thereafter you will not use for your own benefit, or divulge or disclose to anyone except to persons within the Commonwealth whose positions require them to know it, any information not already lawfully available to the public concerning the Commonwealth (“Confidential Information”), including but not limited to information regarding any website of the Commonwealth, any e-commerce products or services, any web development strategy, any financial information or any information regarding users of or vendors to the Commonwealth’s websites. Confidential Information also includes, without limitation, any technical data, design, pattern, formula, computer program, source code, object code, algorithm, subroutine, manual, product specification, or plan for a new, revised or existing product or web site; any business, marketing, financial or sales information; and the present or future plans of the Commonwealth with respect to the development of its web sites and web services.

2. All Developments the Property of the Commonwealth. All confidential, proprietary or other trade secret information and all other works of authorship, trademarks, trade names, discoveries, inventions, processes, methods and improvements, conceived, developed, or otherwise made by you, alone or with others, and in any way relating to the Commonwealth or any of its web development projects, whether or not patentable or subject to copyright protection and whether or not reduced to tangible form or reduced to practice during the period of your assignment with the Commonwealth (“Developments”) shall be the sole property of the Vendor’s customer, the Commonwealth. All copyrightable material contained within a Development during the period of your assignment with the Commonwealth are works made for hire. You bear the burden to prove that a work was not made during the period of your assignment with the Commonwealth. If a work is determined to not be made for hire or that designation is not sufficient to secure rights, to the fullest extent allowable and for the full term of protection otherwise accorded to you under such law, you shall and hereby irrevocably do, assign and transfer to the Commonwealth free from all liens and other encumbrances or restrictions, all right, title and interest you may have or come to have in and to such Development. YOU HEREBY WAIVE IN FAVOR OF THE COMMONWEALTH ANY AND ALL ARTIST’S OR MORAL RIGHTS (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ALL RIGHTS OF INTEGRITY AND ATTRIBUTION) YOU MAY HAVE PURSUANT TO ANY STATE OR FEDERAL LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES IN RESPECT TO ANY DELIVERABLE AND ALL SIMILAR RIGHTS UNDER THE LAWS OF ALL OTHER APPLICABLE JURISDICTIONS. You agree to disclose all Developments promptly, fully and in writing to the Commonwealth promptly after development of the same, and at any time upon request. You agree to, and hereby do assign to the Commonwealth all your right, title and interest throughout the world in and to all Developments without any obligation on the part of the Commonwealth to pay royalties or any other consideration to you in respect of such Developments. You agree to assist the Vendor’s customer the Commonwealth, (without charge, but at no cost to you) to obtain and maintain for itself such rights.

3. Return of the Commonwealth’s Materials. At the time of the termination of your assignment with the Commonwealth, you agree to return to the Commonwealth all Commonwealth materials, documents and property, in your possession or control, including without limitation, all materials relating to work done while assigned by the Vendor to projects for Commonwealth or relating to the processes and materials of the Commonwealth. You also agree to return to the Commonwealth all materials concerning past, present and future or potential products and/or services of the Commonwealth. You also agree to return to the Commonwealth all materials provided by persons doing business with the Commonwealth and all teaching materials provided by the Commonwealth.

4. Representation of Non-Infringement. You hereby represent and warrant that, to your best knowledge, no software, no web content and no other intellectual property that you develop during your assignment to and deliver to the Commonwealth, and no Developments made by you and assigned to the Commonwealth pursuant to Section 2 above, shall infringe a patent, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary or intellectual property right of any third party.

5. No Conflicting Agreements. You represent and warrant that you are not a party to any agreement or arrangement which would constitute a conflict of interest with the obligations undertaken hereunder or would prevent you from carrying out your obligations hereunder.

6. Tax Payments. You hereby represent and warrant that you have paid all due state and federal taxes, or, if your tax status is in dispute or in the process of settlement, that you have responded as directed and within the required timeframes to all communications received from the state or federal government.

7. You acknowledge that you are not an employee of any Massachusetts state or municipal government agency, and are not entitled to any benefits, guarantees or other rights granted to state or municipal government agencies, including but not limited to group insurance, disability insurance, paid vacations, sick leave or other leave, retirements plans, health plans, or premium overtime pay. Should you be deemed to be entitled to receive any such benefits by operation of law or otherwise, you expressly waive any claim or entitlement to receiving such benefits from Massachusetts state or municipal government agencies.

8. Miscellaneous:

a. The Commonwealth is a third party beneficiary of this Agreement with full rights to enforce its terms directly

b. This Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, superseding any previous oral or written agreements.

c. Your obligations under this Agreement shall survive the termination of your assignment with the Commonwealth regardless of the manner of or reasons for such termination. Your obligations under this Agreement shall be binding upon and shall inure to the benefits of the heirs, assigns, executors, administrators and representatives of the parties.

d. You agree that the terms of this Agreement are reasonable and properly required for the adequate protection of our customer the Commonwealth’s legitimate business interests. You agree that in the event that any of the provisions of this Agreement are determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be contrary to any applicable statute, law, rule, or policy or for any reason unenforceable as written, then such court may modify any of such provisions so as to permit enforcement thereof to the maximum extent permissible as thus modified. Further, you agree that any finding by a court of competent jurisdiction that any provision of this Agreement is contrary to any applicable statute, law, or policy or for any reason unenforceable as written shall have no effect upon any other provisions and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

e. You agree that any breach of this Agreement will cause immediate and irreparable harm to the Vendor’s customer the Commonwealth not compensable by monetary damages and that the Commonwealth will be entitled to obtain injunctive relief, in addition to all other relief, in any court of competent jurisdiction, to enforce the terms of this Agreement, without having to prove or show any actual damage to the Commonwealth.

f. No failure to insist upon strict compliance with any of the terms, covenants, or conditions hereof, and no delay or omission in exercising any right under this Agreement, will operate as a waiver of such terms, covenants, conditions or rights. A waiver or consent given on any one occasion is effective only in that instance and will not be construed as a bar to or waiver of any right on any other occasion.

g. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to the doctrine of conflicts of law. This Agreement is executed under seal.

The undersigned believes that this Agreement imposes reasonable standards of conduct for all of the employees, consultants, and agents of the vendor on assignment at the Commonwealth, and that this Agreement will serve to best protect the interests of all involved parties. If you agree with the terms set forth herein, please sign and return this Agreement.

Agreed and Accepted:

Name of Employee, Consultant, or Agent:

Signature:

Date:

Name of Vendor:

Vendor Signature:

Vendor Signatory Name:

Vendor Signatory Title:

Vendor Signature Date:

RFR - REQUIRED SPECIFICATIONS FOR COMMODITIES AND SERVICES

Revision Date: June 6, 2016

In general, most of the required contractual stipulations are referenced in the Standard Contract Form and Instructions and the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions. However, the following RFR provisions must appear in all Commonwealth competitive procurements conducted under 801 CMR 21.00.

The terms of 801 CMR 21.00: Procurement of Commodities and Services are incorporated by reference into this RFR. Words used in this RFR shall have the meanings defined in 801 CMR 21.00. Additional definitions may also be identified in this RFR. Other terms not defined elsewhere in this document may be defined in OSD’s Glossary of Terms. Unless otherwise specified in this RFR, all communications, responses, and documentation must be in English, all measurements must be provided in feet, inches, and pounds and all cost proposals or figures in U.S. currency. All responses must be submitted in accordance with the specific terms of this RFR.

COMMBUYS Market Center. COMMBUYS is the official source of information for this Bid and is publicly accessible at no charge at www.commbuys.com. Information contained in this document and in COMMBUYS, including file attachments, and information contained in the related Bid Questions and Answers (Q&A), are all components of the Bid, as referenced in COMMBUYS, and are incorporated into the Bid and any resulting contract.

Bidders are solely responsible for obtaining all information distributed for this Bid via COMMBUYS. Bid Q&A supports Bidder submission of written questions associated with a Bid and publication of official answers.

It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for:

· Any amendments, addenda or modifications to this Bid, and

· Any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid.

The Commonwealth accepts no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

COMMBUYS Registration. Bidders may elect to obtain a free COMMBUYS Seller registration which provides value-added features, including automated email notification associated with postings and modifications to COMMBUYS records. However, in order to respond to a Bid, Bidders must register and maintain an active COMMBUYS Seller account.

All Bidders submitting a Quote (previously referred to as Response) in response to this Bid (previously referred to as Solicitation) agree that, if awarded a contract: (1) they will maintain an active seller account in COMMBUYS; (2) they will, when directed to do so by the procuring entity, activate and maintain a COMMBUYS-enabled catalog using Commonwealth Commodity Codes; (3) they will comply with all requests by the procuring entity to utilize COMMBUYS for the purposes of conducting all aspects of purchasing and invoicing with the Commonwealth, as added functionality for the COMMBUYS system is activated; (4) Bidder understands and acknowledges that all references to the Comm-PASS website or related requirements throughout this RFR, shall be superseded by comparable requirements pertaining to the COMMBUYS website; and (6) in the event the Commonwealth adopts an alternate market center system, successful Bidders will be required to utilize such system, as directed by the procuring entity. Commonwealth Commodity Codes are based on the United Nations Standard Products and Services Code (UNSPSC).

The COMMBUYS system introduces new terminology, which bidders must be familiar with in order to conduct business with the Commonwealth. To view this terminology and to learn more about the COMMBUYS system, please visit the COMMBUYS Resource Center.

Multiple Quotes. Bidders may not submit Multiple Quotes in response to a Bid unless the RFR authorizes them to do so. If a Bidder submits multiple quotes in response to an RFR that does not authorize multiple responses, only the latest dated quote submitted prior to the bid opening date will be evaluated.

Quote Content. Bid specifications for delivery, shipping, billing and payment will prevail over any proposed Bidder terms entered as part of the Quote, unless otherwise specified in the Bid.

Supplier Diversity Program (SDP). Massachusetts Executive Order 565 reaffirmed and expanded the Commonwealth’s policy to promote the award of state contracts in a manner that develops and strengthens certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), Women Business Enterprises (WBEs), Minority and Women Nonprofit Organizations (M/WNPOs), Veteran Business Enterprises (VBEs), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises (SDVOBEs), Disability-Owned Business Enterprises (DOBEs), and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Business Enterprises (LGBTBEs).

Partnerships with M/WBEs, M/WNPOs, VBEs and SDVOBEs: All bidders are required to make a significant financial commitment to partner with certified M/WBEs, M/WNPOs, VBEs and/or SDVOBEs certified or verified by the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO). Bidders must identify a commitment in the form of a specific percentage of sales made under the resulting contract that will be spent with an SDP Partner(s) on a Massachusetts fiscal year basis, using SDP Plan Form #1 – SDP Plan Commitment. This percentage commitment will extend for the life of any resulting contract.

This requirement extends to all bidders regardless of their certification status, and no bidder will be awarded a Contract unless and until the above requirement is met. Bidders may not list themselves or affiliates as SDP Partners. In order to ensure compliance with this section and encourage bidder participation, SDP Plans will be evaluated at 10% or more of the total evaluation score for all for Large Procurements (those with a total value of greater than $150,000). SDP Plan submission is encouraged but not required for Small Procurements (those with a total value equal to or less than $150,000).

Once an SDP commitment is approved, the agency will monitor the Contractor’s performance, and use the Contractor’s reported expenditures with M/WBEs, M/WNPOs, VBEs and SDVOBEs to fulfill their own SDP expenditure benchmarks. The Commonwealth reserves the right to contact SDP Partners at any time to request that they attest to the amounts reported to have been paid to them by the Contractor.

SDP Forms: Unless otherwise specified in the RFR, the following SDP forms are required to be submitted by the deadlines noted below in order to meet the mandatory participation requirements of the SDP:

In addition to the requirements above, all bidders must follow the requirements set forth in the Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Plan Section of the RFR. During the life of the contract, the Commonwealth reserves the right to expand the range of certified business categories available for SDP partnerships to all those mentioned above and/or request reports on the Contractors’ spending with such certified business categories.

Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Resources:

· Lists of M/WBEs, M/WNPOs, VBEs, SDVOBEs, DOBEs and LGBTBEs certified or verified by the Supplier Diversity Office (SDO) are located at www.mass.gov/sdo.

· Resources to assist Prime Bidders in finding potential Certified Partners can be found at www.mass.gov/sdp.

· The Operational Services Division offers trainings on compliance with the SDP Plan requirements. Registration information for upcoming trainings can be found on the Supplier Diversity Program Trainings webpage.

Agricultural Products Preference (only applicable if this is a procurement for Agricultural Products) - Chapter 123 of the Acts of 2006 directs the State Purchasing Agent to grant a preference to products of agriculture grown or produced using locally grown products. Such locally grown or produced products shall be purchased unless the price of the goods exceeds the price of products of agriculture from outside the Commonwealth by more than 10%. For purposes of this preference, products of agriculture are defined to include any agricultural, aquacultural, floricultural or horticultural commodities, the growing and harvesting of forest products, the raising of livestock, including horses, raising of domesticated animals, bees, fur-bearing animals and any forestry or lumbering operations.

Best Value Selection and Negotiation. The Strategic Sourcing Team or SST may select the response(s) which demonstrates the best value overall, including proposed alternatives that will achieve the procurement goals of the department. The SST and a selected bidder, or a contractor, may negotiate a change in any element of contract performance or cost identified in the original RFR or the selected bidder’s or contractor’s response which results in lower costs or a more cost effective or better value than was presented in the selected bidder’s or contractor’s original response.

Bidder Communication. Bidders are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the procuring department or any member of the SST regarding this RFR except as specified in this RFR, and no other individual Commonwealth employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry concerning this RFR. Bidders may contact the contact person for this RFR in the event this RFR is incomplete or the bidder is having trouble obtaining any required attachments electronically through COMMBUYS.

Contract Expansion. If additional funds become available during the contract duration period, the department reserves the right to increase the maximum obligation to some or all contracts executed as a result of this RFR or to execute contracts with contractors not funded in the initial selection process, subject to available funding, satisfactory contract performance and service or commodity need.

Costs. Costs which are not specifically identified in the bidder’s response, and accepted by a department as part of a contract, will not be compensated under any contract awarded pursuant to this RFR. The Commonwealth will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by bidders responding to this RFR.

Electronic Communication/Update of Bidder’s/Contractor’s Contact Information. It is the responsibility of the prospective bidder and awarded contractor to keep current on COMMBUYS the email address of the bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the SST, including requests for clarification. The SST and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective bidder’s/awarded contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective bidder’s/awarded contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective bidder/awarded contractor and the SST to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). All bidders responding to this RFR must agree to participate in the Commonwealth Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) program for receiving payments, unless the bidder can provide compelling proof that it would be unduly burdensome. EFT is a benefit to both contractors and the Commonwealth because it ensures fast, safe and reliable payment directly to contractors and saves both parties the cost of processing checks. Contractors are able to track and verify payments made electronically through the Comptroller’s Vendor Web system. A link to the EFT application can be found on the OSD Forms page (www.mass.gov/osd). Additional information about EFT is available on the VendorWeb site (www.mass.gov/osc). Click on MASSfinance.

Successful bidders, upon notification of contract award, will be required to enroll in EFT as a contract requirement by completing and submitting the Authorization for Electronic Funds Payment Form to this department for review, approval and forwarding to the Office of the Comptroller. If the bidder is already enrolled in the program, it may so indicate in its response. Because the Authorization for Electronic Funds Payment Form contains banking information, this form, and all information contained on this form, shall not be considered a public record and shall not be subject to public disclosure through a public records request.

The requirement to use EFT may be waived by the SST on a case-by-case basis if participation in the program would be unduly burdensome on the bidder. If a bidder is claiming that this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, the specific reason must be documented in its response. The SST will consider such requests on a case-by-case basis and communicate the findings with the bidder.

Executive Order 509, Establishing Nutrition Standards for Food Purchased and Served by State Agencies. Food purchased and served by state agencies must be in compliance with Executive Order 509, issued in January 2009. Under this Executive Order, all contracts resulting from procurements posted after July 1, 2009 that involve the purchase and provision of food must comply with nutrition guidelines established by the Department of Public Health (DPH). The nutrition guidelines are available at the Department’s website: Tools and Resources for Implementation of Executive Order 509.

HIPAA: Business Associate Contractual Obligations. Bidders are notified that any department meeting the definition of a Covered Entity under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) will include in the RFR and resulting contract sufficient language establishing the successful bidder’s contractual obligations, if any, that the department will require in order for the department to comply with HIPAA and the privacy and security regulations promulgated there under (45 CFR Parts 160, 162, and 164) (the Privacy and Security Rules). For example, if the department determines that the successful bidder is a business associate performing functions or activities involving protected health information, as such terms are used in the Privacy and Security Rules, then the department will include in the RFR and resulting contract a sufficient description of business associate’s contractual obligations regarding the privacy and security of the protected health information, as listed in 45 CFR 164.314 and 164.504 (e), including, but not limited to, the bidder's obligation to: implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that reasonably and appropriately protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the protected health information (in whatever form it is maintained or used, including verbal communications); provide individuals access to their records; and strictly limit use and disclosure of the protected health information for only those purposes approved by the department. Further, the department reserves the right to add any requirement during the course of the contract that it determines it must include in the contract in order for the department to comply with the Privacy and Security Rules. Please see other sections of the RFR for any further HIPAA details, if applicable.

Minimum Quote (Bid Response) Duration. Bidders Quotes made in response to this Bid must remain in effect for at least 90 days from the date of quote submission.

Prompt Payment Discounts (PPD). All bidders responding to this procurement must agree to offer discounts through participation in the Commonwealth Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) initiative for receiving early and/or on-time payments, unless the bidder can provide compelling proof that it would be unduly burdensome. PPD benefits both contractors and the Commonwealth. Contractors benefit by increased, usable cash flow as a result of fast and efficient payments for commodities or services rendered. Participation in the Electronic Funds Transfer initiative further maximizes the benefits with payments directed to designated accounts, thus eliminating the impact of check clearance policies and traditional mail lead time or delays. The Commonwealth benefits because contractors reduce the cost of products and services through the applied discount. Payments that are processed electronically can be tracked and verified through the Comptroller’s Vendor Web system. The PPD form can be found as an attachment for this Bid on COMMBUYS.

Bidders must submit agreeable terms for Prompt Payment Discount using the PPD form within their proposal, unless otherwise specified by the SST. The SST will review, negotiate or reject the offering as deemed in the best interest of the Commonwealth.

The requirement to use PPD offerings may be waived by the SST on a case-by-case basis if participation in the program would be unduly burdensome on the bidder. If a bidder is claiming that this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, the specific reason must be documented in or attached to the PPD form.

Public Records. All responses and information submitted in response to this RFR are subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L., c. 66, s. 10, and to c. 4, s. 7, ss. 26. Any statements in submitted responses that are inconsistent with these statutes, including marking by bidders of information as confidential during the quote submission process in COMMBUYS, shall be disregarded.

Reasonable Accommodation. Bidders with disabilities or hardships that seek reasonable accommodation, which may include the receipt of RFR information in an alternative format, must communicate such requests in writing to the contact person. Requests for accommodation will be addressed on a case by case basis. A bidder requesting accommodation must submit a written statement which describes the bidder’s disability and the requested accommodation to the contact person for the RFR. The SST reserves the right to reject unreasonable requests.

Restriction on the Use of the Commonwealth Seal. Bidders and contractors are not allowed to display the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Seal in their bid package or subsequent marketing materials if they are awarded a contract because use of the coat of arms and the Great Seal of the Commonwealth for advertising or commercial purposes is prohibited by law.

Subcontracting Policies. Prior approval of the department is required for any subcontracted service of the contract. Contractors are responsible for the satisfactory performance and adequate oversight of its subcontractors. Human and social service subcontractors are also required to meet the same state and federal financial and program reporting requirements and are held to the same reimbursable cost standards as contractors.

BID - Other Specifications – Operational Services Division

The following RFR provisions appear in this section at the department’s discretion. If a specification is selected by the department, it is required of the bidder.

Access to Security-Sensitive Information. This solicitation contains security-sensitive information which, pursuant to MGL c. 4, s. 7, cls. 26(n), is generally exempt from public disclosure under the Commonwealth’s public records laws and must, for public safety purposes, be safeguarded from widespread public disclosure. This security-sensitive information is in the form of blueprints, plans, policies, procedures, schematic drawings, which relate to internal layout and structural elements, security measures, emergency preparedness, threat or vulnerability assessments, and/or any other records relating to the security or safety of persons (pursuant to M.G.L. c. 66A) or buildings, structures, facilities, utilities, transportation, information technology or other infrastructure located within the commonwealth.

Qualified prospective bidders that are interested in accessing this information for the purpose of preparing a bid response must, before being allowed to access the information, sign a confidentiality agreement, thereby agreeing to:

1. restrict the use of these sensitive records for any other purpose than as authorized and for the purpose of putting together a bid proposal;

2. safeguard the information while it is in their possession (consistent with Section 6 of the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions); and

3. return such records and materials to the Commonwealth upon completion of the project.

Alternatives. A response which fails to meet any material term or condition of the RFR, including the submission of required attachments, may lose points or be deemed unresponsive and disqualified. Unless otherwise specified, bidders may submit responses proposing alternatives which provide equivalent, better or more cost effective performance than achievable under the stated RFR specifications. These alternatives may include related commodities or services that may be available to enhance performance during the period of the contract. The response should describe how any alternative achieves substantially equivalent or better performance to that of the RFR specifications.

The department will determine if a proposed alternative method of performance achieves substantially equivalent or better performance. The goal of this RFR is to provide the best value of commodities and services to achieve the procurement goals of the department. Bidders that propose discounts, uncharged commodities and services or other benefits in addition to the RFR specifications may receive a preference or additional points under this RFR as specified.

Contractors may also propose alternatives for equivalent, better or more cost effective performance than specified under the contractor’s original response to enable the department to take advantage of enhanced technologies, commodities or services which become available during the term of the contract.

Brand Name or Equal. Unless otherwise specified in this RFR, any reference to a particular trademark, trade name, patent, design, type, specification, producer or supplier is not intended to restrict this RFR to any manufacturer or proprietor or to constitute an endorsement of any commodity or service, and the department may consider clearly identified offers of substantially equivalent commodities and services submitted in response to such reference.

Debriefing. (This specification is at the department’s discretion for non-POS RFRs.) Non-successful bidders may request a debriefing from the department. Department debriefing procedures may be found in the RFR. "POS" refers to Purchase of Service (POS) human and social services procured under 801 CMR 21.00, Procurement of Commodities or Services, Including Human and Social Services and 808 CMR 1.00, Compliance, Auditing and Reporting and for Human and Social Services.

Emergency Standby Commodities and/or Services. Due to a declaration of a state of emergency where the safety and well-being of Commonwealth citizens are at risk, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may request specific commodities and/or services from its contractors. Contractors may be called upon to supply and/or deliver to the Commonwealth on a priority basis such commodities and/or services currently under contract.

Such accommodations may be requested from a contractor during an actual emergency. To accommodate such requests, contractors may be requested and must make every effort to service these requests from regular sources of supply at the rates set forth in any standard contract resulting from this RFR.

Environmentally Preferable Products and Services. The department and contractor(s) may negotiate during the contract term to permit the substitution or addition of Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) when such products are readily available at a competitive cost and satisfy the department’s performance needs.

Estimated Provisions. The Commonwealth makes no guarantee that any commodities or services will be purchased from any contract resulting from this RFR.