9-RFP Prerequisites Document.pdf

UTAH STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION

Request for Proposals Prerequisites

PART 1: RFP REQUIREMENTS AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Submitting Proposals: Proposals must be submitted electronically through Utah Public Procurement Place (“U3P”) by the close date and time published. Proposals not submitted through U3P will not be considered. Any exceptions to the content of this RFP, including the specifications and minimum requirements, must be addressed prior to the Q&A Submission Close Date. A proposal may be modified or withdrawn prior to the established closing date and time. All materials submitted with Offeror proposals become the property of USBE.

When submitting a proposal or modification electronically, Offerors must allow sufficient time to complete the online forms and upload documents. If an Offeror is in the middle of uploading a proposal when the closing time arrives, U3P will stop the process, and the proposal or modification will not be accepted. The issuing procurement unit may not accept a proposal after the solicitation closes.

It is the Offerors' responsibility to ensure that they have completed all requirements, read and reviewed all documents, submitted all required information, uploaded all required forms, and submitted their proposals prior to the closing time.

Mandatory Minimum Requirements: The mandatory minimum requirements are non-negotiable, objective criteria that must be met for a proposal to be considered responsive. If at any time it is determined that a proposal does not meet these requirements, the proposal will be deemed non-responsive and disqualified. Offerors must demonstrate the ability to meet or exceed the mandatory minimum requirements by providing a response to each requirement.

NOTE: Any Offeror selected for an award of a contract MUST agree to be paid a flat rate of $100 per hour.

Document Submission: Submit the required documentation under the designated sections that can be found in Requested Information.

Costs of Submitting Proposal: All costs incurred by an Offeror in the preparation and submission of a proposal, including any costs incurred during interviews, oral presentations, and/or product demonstrations are the responsibility of the Offeror and will not be reimbursed.

Addenda: Offerors are encouraged to check U3P for addenda. Any modification to this RFP will be made by addendum published on U3P. Addenda to this RFP may change the Scope of Work, the schedule, the qualification requirements, the criteria, or other requirements of this RFP. After the due date and time for submitting a proposal to this RFP, at the discretion of the issuing procurement unit, addenda to this RFP may be limited to Offerors that have submitted proposals, provided the addenda does not make a substantial change to this RFP.

Best and Final Offers: Best and final offers may be allowed, as provided in Utah Procurement Code and Administrative Rule, from responsible Offerors who submit responsive proposals that meet minimum qualifications, evaluation criteria, or applicable score thresholds identified in this RFP.

Restrictions on Communications: Offerors shall direct all communications regarding this RFP to the Procurement Officer overseeing the RFP. Offerors are prohibited from communicating about this RFP with the conducting procurement unit’s staff, evaluation committee members, or other associated individuals until a contract is awarded and the award is published. Failure to comply with this requirement may result in the Offeror’s disqualification.

PART 2: PREREQUISITES

Governing Law: All purchases made under this RFP are subject to the Utah Procurement Code and the applicable State of Utah Administrative Code. By submitting a proposal, the Offeror warrants that it and the procurement items purchased under this RFP comply fully with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, including applicable licensure and certification requirements.

Price Guarantee Period: Offeror must guarantee its pricing for the period described in this RFP.

If price adjustments are allowable under this RFP, a request for a price adjustment must be made at least thirty (30) days prior to the adjustment's effective date. A request for a price adjustment must include sufficient documentation (market analysis) supporting the request.

Any price adjustment will not be effective unless approved by USBE's Director of Purchasing. A price adjustment will be guaranteed for the same length of time as the original price guarantee.

The conducting procurement unit will be given the immediate benefit of any decrease in the market, or allowable discount.

Protected Information: An Offeror may request that part of its proposal be protected by submitting a Claim of Business Confidentiality Form. See the Files section for a blank copy of the form. Pricing may not be classified as confidential or protected and will be considered public.

Process for Requesting Non-Disclosure: To protect information under a Claim of Business Confidentiality, an Offeror must complete the Claim of Business Confidentiality form, submit the form with the Offeror's proposal, and include the following information:

A concise statement of reasons supporting the claim of business confidentiality (see UCA § 63G- 2-309). An electronic, “redacted” (excluding protected information) copy of the proposal (in addition to the non-redacted original). The copy must be clearly marked “Redacted Version.”

The Claim of Business Confidentiality form may be accessed at:

https://purchasing.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Claim-of-Business-Confidentiality-Updated.pdf OR attached in the Files section of this solicitation.

An entire proposal cannot be identified as “PROTECTED”, “CONFIDENTIAL” or “PROPRIETARY”.

Redacted Copy: If an Offeror submits a proposal that contains information claimed to be confidential or protected, the Offeror MUST submit two separate proposals: one redacted version for public release, with all protected business confidential information either blacked-out or removed, clearly marked as "Redacted Version"; and one non-redacted version for evaluation purposes clearly marked as "Protected Business Confidential."

All materials submitted become the property of USBE. Materials may be reviewed by anyone designated by USBE as part of the evaluation committee or a consultant to the evaluation committee. Materials submitted may be returned only at the USBE's option.

Question and Answer Period: The Question and Answer period closes on the date and time specified in U3P. All questions must be submitted through U3P during the Question and Answer period. Answers from USBE will be posted on U3P. Questions may be submitted to notify USBE of any ambiguity, inconsistency, scope exception, excessively restrictive requirement, or other errors in this RFP. Questions are encouraged. Questions may be answered individually or may be compiled into one document.

Questions may also be answered via an addendum. An answered question or an addendum may modify the specifications or requirements of this RFP. Answered questions and addenda will be posted on U3P. Offerors should periodically check U3P for answered questions and addenda before the closing date. It is the responsibility of the Offerors to submit their proposals as required by this RFP, including any requirements contained in an answered question and/or addenda.

Ambiguity, inconsistency, scope exception, excessively restrictive requirement or other error: All notifications of an ambiguous, confusing, contradictory, or otherwise clearly erroneous solicitation provision must be submitted before the close of the RFP.

By failing to notify USBE of an ambiguous, confusing, contradictory, or otherwise clearly erroneous solicitation provision in this RFP before the close of the RFP Offeror waives the ability to notify USBE after close of this RFP or to protest the RFP based on an ambiguous, confusing, contradictory, or otherwise clearly erroneous solicitation provision.

Offerors must provide notice of an ambiguous, confusing, contradictory, or otherwise clearly erroneous solicitation provision during the Question and Answer period through asking a question in the Question and Answer board for this RFP. Offerors can notify the procurement https://purchasing.utah.gov/wp-content/uploads/Claim-of-Business-Confidentiality-Updated.pdf official after the Question and Answer period has ended by emailing the procurement officer;

however, the email must be sent before the close of the RFP.

Time Zone: You must ensure you have selected the appropriate time zone for your vendor profile.

It is the responsibility of each Offeror to ensure their response is submitted by the closing date and time indicated in U3P. In order for dates and times to display correctly in U3P, you must select the appropriate time zone for your region in your profile. It is your responsibility to make sure you submit your response by the date and time indicated in this solicitation.

Technical Evaluation Criteria: To determine which proposal provides the best value to USBE, the evaluation committee will evaluate each responsive and responsible proposal that has not been disqualified or rejected using the subjective technical criteria detailed in the "Technical Evaluation Criteria" document attached to the Requested Information section of this RFP. For further information and instructions for uploading your responses, see the Requested Information section of this RFP.

Standard Terms and Conditions (Exceptions and Negotiations) Exceptions and/or additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions are strongly discouraged; however, Offeror may take exception and/or propose additional language to the Standard Terms and Conditions that have been attached to this RFP. Any contract resulting from this RFP will include but not be limited to the attached Standard Terms and Conditions.

Exceptions and/or additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions are strongly discouraged.

Offerors requesting exceptions and/or additions to the Standard Terms and Conditions must submit them with the proposal. Exceptions and/or additions submitted after the date and time for receipt of proposals will not be considered. Offerors may not submit requests for exceptions and/or additions by reference to a vendor's website or URL. URLs provided with a proposal may result in that proposal being rejected as non-responsive. Offerors may submit questions regarding the Standard Terms and Conditions during the Question and Answer period.

USBE may refuse to negotiate exceptions and/or additions that are determined to be excessive;

that are inconsistent with similar contracts of the procurement unit; that, after consultation with the Attorney General's Office or other appropriate legal counsel, are deemed to affect warranties, insurance, or indemnification provisions that are necessary to protect the procurement unit; that attempt to make changes where the solicitation specifically prohibits exceptions and/or additions; or that are not in the best interest of the procurement unit.

In a multiple award, the State reserves the right to negotiate exceptions and/or additions to terms and conditions in a manner resulting in expeditious resolutions. This process may include beginning negotiations with the Offeror having the fewest number of exceptions and/or additions and concluding with the Offeror submitting the greatest number of exceptions and/or additions. Contracts may be executed and become effective as negotiations are completed.

For any proposed change(s), Offerors must provide the Standard Terms and Conditions for this solicitation in Microsoft Word format with redline edits. Additional terms or agreements (including service level agreements and licensing agreements) must be submitted separately in Microsoft Word format, and any term that is included in a separate document and contradicts or attempts to modify a term in the Standard Terms and Conditions must be incorporated into the Standard Terms and Conditions via redline edits. Offerors must also provide the name, contact information, and access to the person(s) that will be directly involved in legal negotiations.

Any mandatory required acceptance of an Offeror’s terms and conditions may result in the proposal being determined to be non-responsive.

Given the time sensitive nature of implementation, any negotiations to the Standard Terms and Conditions MUST be completed within 7 days of awarding a contract. Offerors are therefore encouraged to be selective and judicious in the quantity and scope of their requested changes.

Contract Modifications for New Technology and Technological Upgrades: Any contract resulting from this solicitation may be modified to include new technology or technological upgrades associated with the procurement item.

Pursuant to Utah Administrative Rule R33-112-502, any contract resulting from this solicitation may be modified to include new technology or technological upgrades associated with the procurement item, including new or upgraded:

1. Systems;

2. Apparatuses;

3. Modules;

4. Components; and

5. Other supplementary items;

A maintenance or service agreement associated with the procurement item under contract may be modified to include any new technology or technological upgrades.

Any contract modification incorporating new technology or technological upgrades must be specific to the procurement item being solicited and substantially within the scope of the original procurement or contract.

Any contract modification incorporating new technology or technological upgrades must be agreed upon by all parties and executed using the process set forth in the contract for other contract modifications.

A contract modification for new technology or technology upgrades may not extend the term of the contract except as provided in the Utah Procurement Code.

Unlawful Conduct Prohibited and Reportable: Offerors shall not engage in unlawful conduct.

UCA § 63G-6a-2407 requires a procurement professional with actual knowledge that a person has engaged in unlawful conduct to report the person’s unlawful conduct to the state auditor or the attorney general or other appropriate prosecuting attorney.

Unlawful conduct includes bid rigging, improperly steering a contract to a favored vendor, exercising undue influence on an individual involved in the procurement process, or participating in collusion or other anticompetitive practices made unlawful under other applicable law.

Utah Administrative Rule R33-101-101 defines "bid rigging" as an agreement among potential competitors to manipulate the competitive bidding process, for example, by agreeing not to bid, to bid a specific price, to rotate bidding, or to give kickbacks, and defines "collusion" as two or more persons act together to achieve a fraudulent or unlawful act. Collusion inhibits free and open competition in violation of law.

The proposal of any Offeror found to have participated in any of the unlawful conduct described above is subject to immediate rejection, and such conduct shall, as required by law, be reported to the appropriate authorities.

Cancellation Before Award: The Utah State Board of Education may cancel this solicitation before award. In accordance with USBE Administrative Rule R277-122-7, this solicitation may be cancelled prior to a contract award if: (a) the Board does not receive any responsive responses to the solicitation; or (b) the head of the procurement unit determines the cancellation is: (i) in the best interest of the Board; and (ii) supported by a reasonable and good faith justification.

PART 3: PROPOSAL EVALUATION & AWARD

Evaluation of Proposals: All proposals in response to this RFP will be evaluated in a manner consistent with the Utah Procurement Code, Administrative Rules, policies and the evaluation criteria in this RFP. Offerors bear sole responsibility for the items included or not included within the proposal submitted by the Offeror. Each area of the evaluation criteria must be addressed in detail in the proposal.

Stage 1: Initial Review: The conducting procurement unit will review all proposals timely received.

Non-responsive proposals not conforming to RFP requirements or unable to meet the mandatory minimum requirements will be eliminated from further consideration and will not proceed to Stage 2.

Stage 2: Technical Proposal Evaluation: Responsive proposals will be evaluated by an evaluation committee against the evaluation criteria provided in the Files section. Proposals that achieve any minimum score thresholds stated on the score sheet will proceed to the next stage. Offerors with a score of less than the minimum required technical points will be deemed non-responsive and ineligible for further consideration.

The Evaluation Score Sheet has been attached to this RFP and states the relative weight that will be given to each evaluation criterion. The evaluation committee will average the sum of the committee members' individual scores for each criterion to arrive at a final consensus score for each criterion.

If interviews/presentations are not requested by USBE, those Offerors that achieve the minimum score threshold for each criterion for which a minimum threshold has been identified (if applicable) and achieve the minimum total technical score threshold identified in the Evaluation Score Sheet will be eligible for an award of a contract, provided the award is justified in accordance with the Utah Procurement Code and applicable administrative rules.

Offerors with technical scores that are below the minimum score threshold for each criterion for which a minimum threshold has been identified (if applicable), or below the minimum total score threshold, will be deemed non-responsive and ineligible for further consideration.

If interviews/presentations are requested by USBE, Offerors will proceed to Stage 3:

Interview/Presentation Evaluation.

Stage 3: Interview/Presentation Evaluation, if applicable: If requested by USBE, following Stage 2, the Offerors may be invited to interview or give a presentation to the evaluation committee. If held, USBE will set a date and time for the interviews or presentations and notify eligible Offerors of the procedures. These interviews and presentations may be held in person or virtually but will be mandatory, and Offerors who decline or fail to participate will be deemed non-responsive and ineligible for further consideration.

Representations made by an Offeror during interviews or presentations shall become an addendum to the Offeror's original proposal. Representations must be consistent with the Offeror's original proposal and may only be used to explain, illustrate, or interpret the contents of the Offeror’s original solicitation response. Interviews or presentations shall be evaluated in accordance with the requirements and criteria included in this RFP.

Offerors with scores that are below the minimum score threshold will be deemed non-responsive and ineligible for further consideration.

After calculation of interview/presentation points, all remaining Offerors' points will be added together to obtain a Total Combined Score for each Offeror. Any Offeror with a Total Combined Score that meets or exceeds the threshold identified in the Evaluation Score Sheet will be eligible for an award of a contract, provided the award is justified in accordance with the Utah Procurement Code and applicable administrative rules.

Service Selection: The award of a contract under this RFP is not a guarantee that the Offeror(s) will be requested to provide any services.

PART 4: COMPANIES WITH MULTIPLE APPLICANTS

Companies wishing to submit a proposal that includes multiple individuals MUST include information about EACH individual in its response to each question. Each individual must be able to be evaluated by the evaluation committee as if the individual had submitted a complete proposal on his or her own behalf.

Multiple individuals from the same company will be evaluated as a group and the group collectively must meet all requirements, including achievement of applicable minimum score thresholds. If any one individual within the group submitted by the company fails to meet any requirement of this RFP, the company's entire proposal will be rejected, and no one in the group will be eligible for a contract award. Furthermore, after contract award, any change in the individuals utilized by a company to provide services under its contract must be pre-approved by USBE to ensure all individuals are compliant with the requirements of this RFP.

If you are a company with multiple applicants, you are required to have a process for screening individuals in your company in order to preserve the objectivity and neutrality of all other individuals not working on a matter, in case of the others' future participation in the matter (in the same or different capacity as the originally assigned individual) or future interaction with the parties involved in the matter. "Screening" means the isolation of all individuals in a company who are non-essential to addressing or resolving a matter from any participation in, or access to information about, the matter through the consistent imposition of procedures within the company that are reasonably adequate under the circumstances to protect such information from being accessed by the other individuals. Your process must demonstrably preserve objectivity and neutrality toward all matters and all parties.