73000-00007888 (35775) RFP_Final~1.docx

State of Oregon

Oregon Department of Transportation Request for Proposal (“RFP”)

RFP TITLE: TOLL PROGRAM ENROLLMENT MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

RFP/Bid Solicitation Number: S-73000-00007888 (PCMS RFP #: 35775) Date of Issue: See “Available Date” for this RFP in OregonBuys Opening Date and Time: See “Bid Opening Date” and time for this RFP in OregonBuys.

Purchaser/Single Point of Contact: See “Purchaser” and “Info Contact” for this RFP in OregonBuys.

A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held. See Sections 1.2 and 4.2 for further information.

ASPIRATIONAL TARGETS: For state-funded Work Order Contracts ("WOC”s) that exceed $100,000 (including as may be amended), a Certified Small Business Aspirational Target of 12% will be assigned to ensure that contractors take reasonable steps to provide opportunities to Certified Firms. Refer to Exhibit H of the Sample Price Agreement (“PA”) (RFP Attachment A) for further explanation and description of these non-binding Aspirational Targets.

The utilization of federal funds is not anticipated in this PA and no Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) Participation goals will be assigned. In the event that federal funding becomes available and will be utilized, the PA may be amended to require DBE participation, compliance with the DBE provisions and any other applicable federal terms or conditions.

Notes:

· OregonBuys: This RFP is advertised as a “Bid Solicitation” in the OregonBuys web-based eProcurement system (https://oregonbuys.gov/bso/). See RFP section 1.3 – OregonBuys for information regarding vendor registration and terminology used in OregonBuys platform.

· Hyperlinks: This document must be viewed electronically to access files, forms, provisions or other documents provided via hyperlinks within this RFP.

· Accessibility: The Oregon Department of Transportation is committed to complying with all statutory requirements to ensure that it is providing information that is more accessible to people with disabilities, as required by Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. 794d), and 36 C.F.R. 1194 Appendix A. This includes information regarding the solicitation process. Please contact the Single Point of Contact (“SPC”) identified in OregonBuys (see “Purchaser” and “Info Contact”) to request reasonable accommodation for access, due to a disability, to information related to this solicitation, or the solicitation process, or both. Accommodation requests must be received by the SPC 3 business days prior to the Proposal Submission Deadline (see “Bid Opening Date” and time in OregonBuys).

· Non-Discrimination: Agency, in accordance with the Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 78 Stat. 252. 42 U.S.C. 2000d to 2000d-4 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the Secretary, Part 21, Nondiscrimination in Federally-Assisted programs of the Department of Transportation issued pursuant to such Act, hereby notifies all Proposers that it will affirmatively ensure that all business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit proposals in response to this solicitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, sex, or national origin in consideration for an award.

RFP/Bid Solicitation S-73000-00007888 – Toll Program Enrollment Marketing and Communications

Level 3 - Restricted

Level 3 - Restricted

DAS Version 4.5 –ODOT Form S011-G050823 Page 4 of 33Level 3 - Restricted

Table of Contents

GENERAL INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION

The State of Oregon, acting by and through the Department of Transportation, (“Agency” or “ODOT”), is issuing this Request for Proposal under the provisions of Oregon Revised Statute (“ORS”) 279B.060 for marketing and communication services.

Agency is seeking external support to successfully launch the Oregon Toll Program (“Program”), which will include all tolling in Oregon, to the public. The work advertised in this RFP will help Agency design and implement a public outreach, marketing and engagement effort to educate the public on the coming tolls, help them enroll smoothly in the Program (and any available discount programs), as well as prepare for any changes to travel patterns tolling may bring.

Additional details on the Scope of the Goods or Services or both are included in the Scope of Work /Specifications section.

Agency anticipates the award of one or more Price Agreement(s) from this RFP. Please refer to the Contractor Selection Methodology section for details. Agency, in its sole discretion, may select more or fewer Proposers based on the Proposals submitted, the results of the evaluation, and Agency’s capacity needs for the Services.

The initial term of the Price Agreement is anticipated to be 5 years with options to renew based on Contractor performance, need and available funding. ODOT reserves the right to re-open this RFP as it deems necessary for additional interested parties to compete.

The anticipated collective maximum Not to Exceed (“NTE”) amount for all of the PAs derived from this RFP is estimated to be) $15,000,000.00. Agency will use this collective maximum NTE amount for assignment of WOCs under all of the PAs.

Agency may issue purchase orders or work orders pursuant to this Price Agreement.

Any purchases under the Price Agreement must be authorized by purchase orders or Work Orders issued by Agency in accordance with the ordering procedures described in Attachment A – Sample Price Agreement. Proposers are advised that there is no guarantee of any specific amount of purchases under the Price Agreement. Notwithstanding the award of a Price Agreement, Agency may conduct separate solicitations or award project-specific contracts or purchase orders for Goods or Services similar to what is described within this RFP using any method allowed by law.

Proposers responding to the RFP do so solely at their expense and Agency is not responsible for any Proposer expenses associated with the RFP.

SCHEDULE

The table below represents a tentative schedule of events. All times are listed in Pacific Time. All dates listed are subject to change. N/A denotes that event is not applicable to this RFP.

OREGONBUYS

Registration Requirement; OregonBuys User Guides.

All vendors must be registered in OregonBuys to do business with the state. Registration is free. To create a vendor account, click the blue “Register” button in the top right corner of the OregonBuys website: https://oregonbuys.gov/bso. For registration assistance see vendor registration guidance (https://www.oregon.gov/das/ORBuys/Documents/SupplierRegistrationGuide.pdf). Vendors are responsible for ensuring that their vendor information is current and correct in OregonBuys. ODOT will accept no responsibility for incorrect vendor information.

See OregonBuys User Guides located on the Oregon Procurement Office’s Contracting with ODOT page (https://www.oregon.gov/odot/Business/Procurement/Pages/HowTo.aspx) for quick reference information regarding common questions from vendors when using OregonBuys.

Crosswalk of Terms used In OregonBuys

RFP ATTACHMENTS

In addition to the provisions set forth and linked within this RFP, this RFP incorporates by this reference the information published or linked on the OregonBuys Bid Solicitation page for this RFP, including but not limited to:

· Details entered in the Header Information section;

· All RFP attachments, “Amendments” (if any), and any other files linked in the File Attachments and Form Attachments subsections; and

· Information, if any, entered in the “Questions” and “Item Information” sections.

PURCHASER/SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT

The single point of contact for this RFP is identified as the “Purchaser” along with Purchaser’s “Info Contact” in OregonBuys.

AUTHORITY, OVERVIEW, AND SCOPE

AUTHORITY AND METHOD

Agency is issuing this RFP pursuant to its authority under ORS 279A.050 and Oregon Administrative Rule (“OAR”) 125-246-0170(2) and in conformance with OAR 731-146-0150.

Agency is using the Competitive Sealed Proposal method, pursuant to ORS 279B.060 and OAR 137-047-0260. Agency may use a combination of the methods for Competitive Sealed Proposals, including optional procedures: a) Competitive Range; b) Discussions and Revised Proposals; c) Revised Rounds of Negotiations; d) Negotiations; e) Best and Final Offers; and f) Multistep Sealed Proposals.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

For the purposes of this RFP, capitalized words are defined in OAR 125-246-0110 or as defined below and in RFP section 1.3.2 – Crosswalk of Terms used In OregonBuys.

“Agency” means Oregon Department of Transportation;

“Certified Firm” or “Certified Small Business” means a small business certified under ORS 200.055 by the Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity as “disadvantaged business enterprise”, “minority-owned business”, “woman-owned business”, “emerging small business” or “a business that a service-disabled veteran owns”;

“COBID” means Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity;

“COI” means Conflict of Interest;

“DBE” means Disadvantaged Business Enterprise;

“HB” means House Bill;

"Key Person" or "Key Staff" means the Project Manager and any person with special qualifications, powers and responsibilities who will be working on this project;

“Menu of Services” means the portion of the Price Agreement that establishes parameters, requirements and objectives for the scope of Services that may be needed. It provides a menu of the types of tasks and deliverables that may be included in Work Order Contracts;

“NTE” means Not to Exceed;

“OAR” means Oregon Administrative Rules;

“ODOT” means Oregon Department of Transportation;

"ORS” means Oregon Revised Statutes;

“OTC” means Oregon Transportation Commission;

“Price Agreement” or “PA” (referred to as “Master Blanket Purchase Order” or “MBPO” in OregonBuys) means the written document of understanding with no guarantee of a minimum or maximum purchase, negotiated between Agency and a consultant for the provision of services, which contains contract clauses and pricing information that will apply to potential future contracts during its term to be established through Work Order Contracts that will incorporate the required and applicable provisions of the Price Agreement;

“Program” means Oregon Toll Program;

“Proposal” (referred to as “Quote” in OregonBuys) means a written response to a Request for Proposals;

“Proposers” – (referred to as “Vendor” in OregonBuys) All firms submitting Proposals are referred to as Proposers in this document; after negotiations, an awarded Proposer will be designated as “Consultant”;

“RFP” means Request for Proposal (referred to as “Bid Solicitation” in OregonBuys);

“Services” means the services to be performed under an executed Work Order Contract;

“SOW” means Statement of Work;

“SPC” means the Single Point of Contact identified in OregonBuys; and

“Work Order Contract” or “WOC” (referred to as “Release Requisition” in OregonBuys) means the contract formed between Consultant and Agency by an executed work order. The executed WOC includes the Statement of Work (“SOW”) for a specific project, method of compensation, not-to-exceed dollar amount, and incorporates required and applicable provisions of the PA. A sample WOC form (as may be revised from time to time by Agency) is available on the Consultant Forms and Resources page (https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Business/Procurement/Pages/PSK.aspx).

Note: Though not defined, the terms “subconsultant” and “subcontractor” are used interchangeably in this document.

OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE

Agency Overview and Background The Oregon Department of Transportation was first established in 1969. It had been preceded by the Oregon State Highway Department which, along with the Oregon State Highway Commission, was created by an act of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1913. It works closely with the five-member Oregon Transportation Commission (“OTC”) in managing the State’s transportation systems.

In 2017, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill (“HB”) 2017. HB 2017 funded bottleneck relief highway projects, freight rail enhancements, improvements to transit, and upgrades to biking and walking facilities. In HB 2017, the Legislature also directed the OTC to implement tolls on I-5 and I-205 in the Portland Metro region to help manage traffic congestion and raise revenue for congestion relief projects.

Bridge tolls and roadway tolls have been used for centuries to pay for construction and maintenance of facilities. Historically, travelers had to stop and pay a fee in cash to use the bridge or road. With advances in technology, tolls can be implemented in a way that can both improve traffic flow and raise revenue to pay for transportation improvements.

Project Overview, Background and Purpose Agency is implementing variable rate tolls based on time of day as a tool to raise revenue for transportation improvements and manage traffic on the highway. This will result in predictable, faster and more reliable trips. A higher fee will be charged during peak periods, such as morning or evening rush hour, and a lower, or no, fee will be charged during off-peak periods. This strategy can help shift demand to less congested times of day as it provides an incentive for travelers to avoid the peak periods. Successful variable rate tolls, or pricing programs, also make limited highway space more available by encouraging the use of other modes of transportation. Charging different toll rates based on the volume of traffic is referred to by many names, including, but not limited to, the following: congestion pricing, value pricing, variable pricing, variable rate tolling, peak-period pricing, or market-based pricing.

Agency is preparing to implement tolls in different projects across the Portland metro area. These projects include, but are not limited to, the Interstate Bridge Replacement Project, the I-205 Abernethy Bridge Project and the Regional Mobility Pricing Program, which would toll a large portion of I-5 and I-205. While these projects are distinct from a project management and financial standpoint, the tolling experience will be similar to the traveling public.

Tolls are anticipated to be launched in 2026, starting with the I-205 Abernethy Bridge Project. Ongoing marketing and communications support will continue thereafter on an as-needed basis. There is also a possibility of more work if additional toll facilities are implemented.

SCOPE OF WORK/SPECIFICATIONS

See the Menu of Services in the Sample Price Agreement (Attachment A, Exhibit A, Section E).

Success will be measured by:

· Public awareness and understanding of the toll facilities coming online;

· Public understanding of how the toll facilities work;

· Public understanding of the purpose of tolling these facilities;

· Media coverage;

· Number of new accounts and passes sold; and

· Number of accounts enrolled in the low-income component of the Program

PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

To be considered for evaluation, Proposer must be a registered vendor in OregonBuys and Proposal must demonstrate how Proposer meets all requirements of this section:

Proposers must have completed a toll marketing project for a public agency within the last 5 years. This project must be described as one of the 3 projects required in response to Evaluation Item #3, Section 4.10.2.3.

Proposers must have completed a project with a total contract spend of at least $2,000,000.00 within the last 5 years. This project must be described as one of the 3 projects required in response to Evaluation Item #3, Section 4.10.2.3.

Please note that the same project may be used to meet the Minimum Qualifications if the project satisfies the requirements of Section 3.1.1 and 3.1.2. Please note that a total of 3 projects are required in response to Evaluation Item #3, Section 4.10.2.3.

MINIMUM SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

[ROUND 1] Proposal Submissions To be considered for evaluation, Proposal must contain each of the following elements (further detailed in the Proposal Requirements section below):

Disclosure Exemption Certification (Attachment B) – submit only 1 copy if applicable - see Proposal Format section below Proposer Information and Certification Sheet, including References (Attachment C) Price Proposal (Attachment E) Certified Disadvantaged Business Outreach Plan (Attachment F) - submit 1 copy only Responsibility Inquiry (Attachment G) Project Samples Executive Summary Company Overview Key Persons and Resumes Technical Proposal See RFP section 5.3 for submittal requirements of selected firm after award notice.

Proposal Page Limits Proposal is limited to 15 pages. Any pages exceeding this limit will not be provided to the evaluation committee or considered in the evaluation. The following items do not count toward the page limit:

Disclosure Exemption Certification (Attachment B) Proposer Information and Certification Sheet, including references (Attachment C) Price Proposal (Attachment E) Certified Disadvantaged Business Outreach Plan (Attachment F) Responsibility Inquiry (Attachment G) Project Samples Executive Summary Company Overview Key Persons and Resumes Proposal Format Proposal should follow the format and reference the sections listed in the Proposal Requirements section. Responses to each section and subsection should be labeled to indicate the item being addressed.

· Price information must be submitted via OregonBuys (see RFP section 3.3.3 for detailed format and submittal requirements).

· All other required submittal items must be submitted via OregonBuys in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) or Microsoft Word (docx) format.

If Proposer believes any of its Proposal is exempt from disclosure under Oregon Public Records Law (ORS 192.311 through 192.478), Proposer shall submit a completed and signed Disclosure Exemption Certification (Attachment B) and a fully redacted version of its Proposal, clearly identified as the redacted version. Identifying the Proposal in whole as trade secret, confidential or otherwise exempt from disclosure is not acceptable. In such circumstances, Agency will require Proposer to submit a memorandum citing the statutory justification for each specific area of the Proposal that Proposer claims to be exempt. In addition, if a Proposal contains any sensitive business, commercial or financial information, each individual page that contains such information must be clearly marked “Sensitive Business, Commercial or Financial Information”.

If Proposer fails to identify, on or with the Proposal, the portions of the Proposal Proposer claims are exempt from disclosure and the authority used to substantiate that claim, Proposer is deemed to have waived any later claim of an exemption or request for nondisclosure of that information.

Electronic Submittal Provisions

[ROUND 1] PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

Proposal must address each of the items listed in this section and all other requirements set forth in this RFP. Proposer shall describe the Goods to be provided or the Services to be performed or both. A Proposal that merely offers to provide the Goods or Services as stated in this RFP may be considered non-Responsive to this RFP and will not be considered further.

Proposal should not include extensive artwork, unusual printing or other materials not essential to the utility and clarity of the Proposal. Do not include marketing or advertising material in the Proposal, unless requested. Proposal should be straightforward and address the requests of the RFP. Proposal containing unsolicited marketing or advertising material may receive a lower evaluation score if required information is difficult to locate.

Proposer Information and Certification Sheet Proposer shall complete and submit the Proposer Information and Certification Sheet (Attachment C), with the “APPROVED” checkbox marked to certify approval of the Proposal and compliance with Oregon Tax Laws by a duly authorized representative empowered to bind the Proposer. Failure to demonstrate compliance with Oregon Tax Laws may result in a finding of non-Responsibility.

Also mark the appropriate box for item 10 regarding Conflict of Interest (“COI”) disclosures. If disclosures are required for Proposer or any subs, use COI Disclosure Form(s) linked on Attachment C to make the disclosures.

References Provide a reference for each of the 3 projects identified in Section 4.10.2.3 (Evaluation Criteria 3). List the reference contact information in Appendix 1 of RFP Attachment C. References must be able to verify the quality of previous, related Work. Proposer can expand fields, but may not exceed 1 page per reference. Any pages submitted beyond this limit will be discarded by Agency and will not be included in the evaluation.

Agency may check to determine if references provided support Proposer’s ability to comply with the requirements of this RFP. Agency may use references to obtain additional information, or verify any information needed. Agency may contact any reference (submitted or not) to verify Proposer’s qualifications.

Price Proposal Submit Attachment E – Price Proposal as a separate file uploaded via the Attachments tab for this RFP in OregonBuys. Provide the fully-burdened rates (inclusive of labor cost, overhead and profit) for each classification listed on Attachment E.

The total weighted rate calculated on Attachment E will be used for “Price Evaluation” scoring purposes only. Agency reserves the right to negotiate the final price and billing rates under this Price Agreement with the successful Proposer. Purchaser will score Price Proposals per Section 4.10.3.

Responsibility Inquiry Selected Proposer(s) shall submit a signed Responsibility Inquiry form (Attachment G).

Project Samples Provide Project Samples for each of the projects identified in Section 4.10.2.3 (e.g. links to videos, ad campaigns etc.).

Executive Summary Provide an Executive Summary including, but not limited to, an overview of the requested Services, recommended solution and conclusion. The Executive Summary must not exceed 1 page (any pages submitted beyond this limit will be discarded by Agency).

Company Overview Provide an overview of your firm including, but not limited to, history, location, staffing size and notable or key clients. The Company Overview must not exceed 1 page (any pages submitted beyond this limit will be discarded by Agency).

Key Persons and their Resumes See Section 4.10.2.5 – Project Team Qualifications.

Technical Proposal Proposal must include written responses to Evaluation Items 1 – 5 as shown in Section 4.10.2.

[ROUND 1] SOLICITATION PROCESS

PUBLIC NOTICE

The RFP and attachments are published in the OregonBuys eProcurement system (https://oregonbuys.gov/bso). RFP documents will not be mailed to prospective Proposers.

Modifications, if any, to this RFP will be made by written Addenda published in OregonBuys. Prospective Proposer is solely responsible for checking OregonBuys to determine whether or not any Addenda have been issued. Addenda are incorporated into the RFP by this reference.

PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE

A Pre-Proposal Conference will be held, in-person and virtually, at the date and time listed in the Schedule, RFP section 1.2. Prospective Proposers’ participation in this Conference is highly encouraged but not mandatory.

The purpose of the Pre-Proposal Conference is to:

Provide additional description of the project;

Explain the RFP process; and Answer any questions Proposers may have related to the project or the process.

Statements made at the Pre-Proposal Conference are not binding upon Agency. This RFP will not be modified by any discussions that occur at the Pre-Proposal Conference. Please see Section 4.1 for further information regarding modifications to this RFP.

Interested parties may participate in the Pre-Proposal Conference as follows:

Instructions for attending Pre-Proposal Conference:

1. Prior to the Conference:

a. RSVP: Email Holly Simpson at Holly.Simpson@odot.oregon.gov, no later than 24 business hours prior to the meeting date and time, to RSVP if you plan to attend in-person.

b. Questions: Submit any questions, per Section 4.3, you would like to discuss at the Conference, by January 3, 2024 at 10:00am.

2. Day of the Conference

a. In-person attendance will be held at:

Department of Transportation Building, 355 Capitol Street NE, Salem OR 97301. The meeting will be held on the first floor in the Gail L. Achterman Commission Room #103.

b. Virtual attendance is available at:

Microsoft Teams meeting Join on your computer, mobile app or room device Click here to join the meeting Meeting ID: 292 236 189 284 Passcode: MG8yvL Download Teams | Join on the web Or call in (audio only) +1 971-277-1965,,447856365# United States, Portland Phone Conference ID: 447 856 365# Find a local number | Reset PIN Learn More | Meeting options

c. If questions were not submitted per Section 1.b. above, questions submitted the day of the Conference must be typed into the TEAMS Chat box (for both virtual and in-person attendees) and, as time allows, will be discussed at the Conference.

QUESTIONS / REQUESTS FOR CLARIFICATIONS

All inquiries, whether relating to the RFP process, administration, deadline or method of award, the intent or technical aspects of the RFP, contractual requirements, or any other provision must:

Be submitted using the “Bid Q&A” button for this solicitation in OregonBuys;

Refer to the specific area of the RFP being questioned (i.e. page, section and paragraph number); and Be received by the due date and time for Questions/Requests for Clarification identified in the Schedule, RFP section 1.2.

SOLICITATION PROTESTS

Protests to RFP Prospective Proposer may submit a Written protest of anything contained in this RFP, including but not limited to, the RFP process, Specifications, Scope of Work, and the proposed Sample Price Agreement. This is prospective Proposer’s only opportunity to protest the provisions of the RFP, except that Proposer may protest Addenda as provided below and Proposer may take exception to the terms and conditions of the Sample Price Agreement marked as negotiable as set forth in the Negotiation Section.

Protests to Addenda Prospective Proposer may submit a Written protest of anything contained in the respective Addendum. Protests to Addenda, if issued, must be submitted by the date/time specified in the respective Addendum, or they will not be considered. Protests of matters not added or modified by the respective Addendum will not be considered.

Requirements for Protests All Protests must:

Be delivered via email to the Purchaser identified in OregonBuys for this RFP;

Reference the RFP number;

Identify prospective Proposer’s name and contact information;

Be sent by an authorized representative;

State the reason for the protest, including:

the grounds that demonstrate how the Procurement Process is contrary to law, Unnecessarily Restrictive, legally flawed, or improperly specifies a brand name; and evidence or documentation that supports the grounds on which the protest is based State the proposed changes to the RFP provisions or other relief sought;

Protests to the RFP must be received by the due date and time identified in the Schedule, RFP section 1.2;

Protests to Addenda must be received by the due date identified in the respective Addendum.

PROPOSAL SUBMITTAL VIA OREGONBUYS

Proposer is solely responsible for ensuring its Proposal and all required submittal items are submitted through OregonBuys in accordance with the RFP requirements before the Bid Opening Date. Proposals submitted by any other means will be rejected.

Agency is not responsible for any delays by transmission errors or delays, or for any misdelivery for any reason. Additional information may be found in the OregonBuys Terms of Use.

PROPOSAL MODIFICATION OR WITHDRAWAL

If a Proposer wishes to withdraw or modify a submitted Proposal, Proposer must do so using the “Withdraw Quote” button in OregonBuys prior to the Bid Opening Date and time for this RFP in OregonBuys. Proposal withdrawals and modifications must be in conformance with requirements set forth in OAR 137-047-0440.

PROPOSAL DUE

A Proposal (including all required submittal items) must be received in OregonBuys on or before the Bid Opening Date and time for this RFP specified in OregonBuys.

A Proposal received after the Bid Opening Date and time is considered LATE and will NOT be accepted for evaluation.

PUBLIC OPENING

There will be no public Opening of Proposals. Proposals received will not be available for inspection until after the evaluation process has been completed and the Notice of Intent to Award is issued pursuant to OAR 137-047-0630. However, Agency will record and make available the identity of all Proposers after Opening.

PROPOSAL REJECTION

Agency may reject a Proposal for any of the following reasons:

Proposer fails to substantially comply with all prescribed RFP procedures and requirements.

Proposer has liquidated and delinquent debt owed to the State or any department or agency of the State.

Proposer fails to meet the responsibility requirements of ORS 279B.110.

Proposer makes any contact regarding this RFP with State representatives such as State employees or officials other than the Purchaser or persons authorized by the Purchaser, or makes inappropriate contact with the Purchaser.

Proposer attempts to influence a member of the Evaluation Committee.

Proposal is conditioned on Agency’s acceptance of any other terms and conditions or rights to negotiate any alternative terms and conditions that are not reasonably related to those expressly authorized for negotiation in the RFP or Addenda.

[ROUND 1] EVALUATION PROCESS

Responsiveness and Responsibility Determination Responsiveness Determination A Proposal received prior to the Bid Opening Date for this RFP will be reviewed to determine if it is Responsive to all RFP requirements including compliance with Minimum Qualifications section and Minimum Submission Requirements section. If the Proposal is unclear, the Purchaser may request clarification from Proposer. However, clarifications may not be used to rehabilitate a non-Responsive proposal. If the Purchaser finds the Proposal non-Responsive, the Proposal may be rejected; however, Agency may waive mistakes in accordance with OAR 137-047-0470.

Responsibility determination Agency will determine if an apparent successful Proposer is Responsible prior to award and execution of the Price Agreement.

At any time prior to award, Agency may reject a Proposer found to be not Responsible.

Evaluation Criteria Each Proposal meeting all Responsiveness requirements will be independently evaluated by members of an Evaluation Committee. Evaluation Committee members may change and Agency may have additional or fewer evaluators for optional rounds of competition. Evaluators will assign a score for each evaluation criterion listed below in this section up to the maximum points available listed for each scored item.

Purchaser may request further clarification to assist the Evaluation Committee in gaining additional understanding of a Proposal. A response to a clarification request may only clarify or explain portions of the already submitted Proposal and may not contain new information not included in the original Proposal.

Evaluation Item 1 - Brand and Marketing Strategy Max Points: 100 Demonstrate Proposer’s strategy to develop multifaceted, multi-phase marketing strategies that will deliver results for this project, complement ODOT’s existing brands, and integrate with ODOT’s market research, public engagement, and public relations programs. Describe how your firm will include disadvantaged and small businesses in performing the services within this project.

Evaluation Item 2 - Program Launch Experience Max Points: 60 Describe Proposer’s marketing and communications experience in regard to launching a new toll program or a component of a toll program. If your firm does not have experience handling marketing and communications for the launch of a toll program, describe Proposers experience conducting the marketing and communications effort for the launch of a different program, or component of a program, for a public agency. The program or component should be of roughly equivalent complexity or have similar impact.

Evaluation Item 3 - Experience on Similar Projects Max Points: 60 Describe 3 projects your firm has been involved in during the last 5 years that demonstrate your experience with similar projects. Each project identified may not exceed 2 pages (Project Samples are not included in the page limit). Any pages submitted beyond this limit will be discarded by Agency and will not be included in the evaluation. Per Section 3.1, at least one of the 3 projects described must have been for a toll marketing project for a public agency and at least one of the projects described must have been completed with a total contract spend of at least $2,000,000.00. Point values will be awarded cumulatively across all 3 projects for a combined maximum value of 60 points (as opposed to each project having a maximum value of 60 points).

For each project:

· (10 points) Describe their relevance to the project and Services included in this solicitation, including descriptions of how any outstanding issues and project constraints were addressed and resolved.

· (10 points) Describe how your firm was able to use an innovative and creative approach.

· (10 points) Include a brief description of project type, location, size, duration, objectives, and overarching strategies used to meet objectives; a list of key project staff and their roles; tasks performed by the Proposer to fulfill the project objectives; the project budget, and whether the schedule and budget were met.

· (30 points) Lessons learned that could be applied to this project. Include a description of how the campaign was able to address public concern, overcome any dissenting opinions and build support for the project and related outcomes.

Evaluation Item 4 - Equity Max Points: 60

· (20 points) Describe your experience and strategy for engaging underserved communities, including those with language barriers, low income and communities of color.

· (20 points) Describe how you would ensure equitable public outreach and engagement for this project?

· (20 points) Provide a narrative description of your experience in promoting, and subcontracting with, small and disadvantaged business enterprise firms on previous projects. Include any innovative or successful measures Proposer has taken to include small business participation on projects.

Evaluation Item 5 – Project Team Qualifications Max Points: 60 Describe the experience of the Project Manager for the prime Consulting firm, and two additional key staff members who will be working on this project using the “Key Staff Resumes” form available at http://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Business/Procurement/Pages/PSK.aspx (under “Miscellaneous Procurement Forms)” as a starting point. Proposer can adjust the formatting as desired and expand or add fields, but may not exceed 1 page per resume. Include whether the key staff members worked together on past projects and in what capacity. Indicate roles including which staff are responsible for overall strategy, quality assurance, implementation, etc. Proposers are strongly encouraged to partner with and include key staff from an Oregon small or disadvantaged business.

Key Staff Resumes are NOT included in the Proposal page limit identified for this RFP. A maximum of 4 Key Staff Resumes may be submitted. Any resumes submitted beyond this limit will be discarded by Agency and will not be included in the evaluation.

Evaluation Item 6 – Clarity of Proposal and Conformity with Requirements Max Points: 60 Proposers do not need to provide a written response to this criterion.

The Proposal must be organized in accordance with the list of Evaluation Criteria categories in this Section 4.10.2. Proposals will be scored by evaluators on the following factors: Proposal format; ease of finding clear, concise responses that correlate with the order of evaluation criteria in this RFP and Proposers ability to follow instructions.

PRICE EVALUATION Max Points: 60 The Purchaser will conduct the price evaluation separately from the scoring and ranking of Proposals based on the qualifications-based criteria listed in Section 4.10.2. The Purchaser will award a price score to each Price Proposal (Attachment E) based upon the percentage of the proposed average billing rate as compared to the lowest Proposer’s proposed average billing rate using the following formula:

average billing rate being scored

PREFERENCES

Oregon Supplies and Services Agency prefers Oregon Goods and Services, and for evaluation purposes, per ORS 279A.128, Agency shall subtract 5% from the price for any Proposer proposing all Goods fabricated or processed or all Services performed entirely in Oregon before calculating the price score.

Tiebreakers If Agency receives Proposals identical in price, fitness, availability and quality and chooses to award a Price Agreement, Agency shall award the Price Agreement in accordance with the procedures outlined in OAR 137-046-0300.

[ROUND 1] POINT AND SCORE CALCULATIONS

Scores are the points assigned by each evaluator.

The maximum points possible for each evaluation item are listed in the table below.

The Purchaser will average all scores for each evaluation criterion.

The price score for each Proposal is calculated by the Purchaser as stated in section 4.10.3 - Price Evaluation. Applicable preferences in section 4.10.4 are applied to the price score as appropriate to determine the final price score.

[ROUND 1] TOTAL POINTS POSSIBLE: 460

[ROUND 1] RANKING OF PROPOSERS

The Purchaser will average the scores for each Proposal in a given round of competition (calculated by totaling the points awarded by each Evaluation Committee member and dividing by the number of members).

The Purchaser will combine the average score for each Proposal with Proposer’s price score.

After any applicable preference has been applied, the SPC will determine the rank of each Proposal, with the highest score receiving the highest rank, and successive rank order determined by the next highest score.

Agency may, in Agency’s sole discretion, determine an apparent successful Proposer with no additional rounds of competition. If additional rounds are conducted, Agency will rank advancing Proposers at the conclusion of each subsequent round and may determine an apparent successful Proposer at any time during the solicitation process.

NEXT STEP DETERMINATION

At the conclusion of a round of competition, Agency may choose to conduct additional round(s) of competition if, in Agency’s sole discretion, it is in the best interest of the State. Additional rounds of competition may consist of, but will not be limited to:

Interviews Presentations/Demonstrations/Additional Submittal Items Discussions and submittal of revised Proposals Serial or simultaneous negotiations Best and Final Offers Competitive Range Determination If Agency, in its sole discretion, determines that one or more additional rounds of competition is necessary, it will select a Competitive Range to indicate the Proposers that will be invited to participate in a subsequent round. The Competitive Range may include all or, at Agency’s sole discretion, some (based primarily on a natural break in the distribution of scores), of the Proposers from a previous round. Agency will post a notice in OregonBuys of its Competitive Range Determination and provide details about the process and schedule for the subsequent round.

Competitive Range Protest Proposers excluded from a round may submit a Written protest of Competitive Range. Protests must:

Be emailed to the Purchaser;

Reference the RFP number;

Identify Proposer’s name and contact information;

Be sent by an authorized representative;

State the reason for the protest; and Be received within 7 calendar days after issuance of the Notice of the Competitive Range unless a different due date and time is specified in such notice.

Agency will address all protests within a reasonable time and will issue a Written decision to the respective Proposer. Protests that do not include the required information may not be considered by Agency.

ADDITIONAL ROUNDS (Optional at Agency’s discretion) Interviews/Follow-up Questions If Agency determines interviews or follow-up questions are necessary, Proposers in the Competitive Range will be invited to participate and the following will apply:

A minimum of 3 evaluators will score the interviews/follow-up questions.

The interviews/follow-up questions will have a maximum score of 100 points.

Interviews may be in person at a location determined by Agency; however, Agency may elect to conduct interviews via teleconference or video conference;

As an alternative to interviews, Agency may elect to send follow-up questions via email to Proposers in the Competitive Range. Agency must receive Proposers’ responses to the follow-up questions by the deadline set forth in the email to Proposers. Agency may conduct face-to-face interviews if determined necessary after conducting written follow-up questions.

· Further details regarding interviews or follow-up questions will be included with Notice of Competitive Range.

Best and Final Offers Proposers in the Competitive Range may be invited by the Purchaser to submit Best and Final Offers. The written Best and Final Offer (“Revised Proposal”) must be submitted on or before the due date and time set forth in the notice of Competitive Range. LATE REVISED PROPOSALS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

If Proposer elects not to submit a Revised Proposal, Proposer’s initial Proposal will be accepted as the Best and Final Offer and evaluated accordingly.

Best and Final Offer Requirements Best and Final Offers must be submitted in Writing in the form of an amendment to the Proposer’s initial Proposal. Best and Final Offers must comply with the following requirements and specifications:

Identify Proposer’s business name and reference the RFP number for this solicitation; and Submit an electronic copy of the revised Proposal signed by Proposer’s authorized representative; and Clearly identify the information included in Proposer’s initial Proposal that Proposer intends to amend or replace in terms of the page, section and paragraph of Proposer’s initial Administrative, Technical or Price Proposal; and Include the replacement information, which shall comply with the requirements of Section 3 and each of the Items listed below; and Include a redlined version of the Sample Price Agreement (attached to the RFP as Attachment A) and any and all other documents applicable to the requests set forth in the RFP or applicable Addendum number; and Include a Best and Final Offer letter, signed by Proposer’s authorized representative, which summarizes the Proposal aspects amended by the Best and Final Offer and states that the information included in the Best and Final Offer supersedes the corresponding information included in Proposer’s Proposal submitted on or before the Bid Opening Date and time; and Include all information requested in the Best and Final Offer letter.

SCORING AND RANKING OF PROPOSERS FOR SUBSEQUENT ROUNDS

If Agency conducts two or more rounds of competition, the rounds will be scored independently. Once the ranking from a previous round is complete and a Competitive Range has been determined, Proposers participating in a subsequent round will compete on an equal basis – scores from the previous round will be set aside and will not carry over. The Proposer with the highest score from the final round will receive the highest final ranking.

[ADDITIONAL ROUNDS] POINTS POSSIBLE (if applicable)

SECTION 1: AWARD AND NEGOTIATION

1.1 AWARD NOTIFICATION PROCESS

Awar…