Addendum 1.docx

Addendum #1 October 31, 2024

RFP 710627

University Consulting Alliance Pool This addendum #1 is issued to upload the answers for the questions received and to update the changes to the following sections that are highlighted in yellow.

SECTION 1.4 TIMETABLE

SECTION 2.8 PERFORMANCE PERIOD

It is the intent of the University to enter into an initial two (2) year term effective Date of Execution through June 30, 2026, and shall auto renew for additional two (2) years terms unless either party issues a written intent to terminate the contract not less than thirty (30) days prior to the contract term expiration. Contract renewals will be a request for confirmation of continued participation and an opportunity to propose new hourly rates. If a Vendor has not fulfilled a project agreement through POD for a period of two (2) years or more, POD reserves the right to remove the Vendor from the pool. New vendors added to the pool after the initial term period will align biannually on even years through June 30.

The University may elect to conduct a new RFQQ at any time, If a Scope of Work starts within the term of the contract but then goes over, the term will be extended to cover the job as specified in the SOW.

All other terms and conditions shall remain the same.

Sincerely, Silvia Andersen RFP Coordinator image1.emf

Questions and Answers Sheet1

RFP # 710627 University Consulting Alliance Pool

RFP Questions

Section # Section Title Paragraph Question UW Response

Our team specializes in developing digital, online training solutions for universities, focused on professional development. We would like to better understand what Customized Training refers to within this vendor pool. Specifically, we are curious if the University would request digital training solutions and consulting services such as those we offer, under this category. "Customized training" is a catch-all, delivery of which will depend on the need of the specific client group within the University (e.g. a school, a department, etc.). Although we have not seen any client group contract out for an entire digital training program through the Consulting Alliance, if a school, department, etc. reached out with that need, such work could be possible.

Attachment D Attachment D, what is the scope of "conflict resolution"? Are you looking for certified mediators? Typically, conflict resolution services through the Consulting Alliance involves one-on-one disputes between leaders or executives in two different areas of the University or, more commonly, between two members of the faculty or staff, or between supervisor and staff. Though the skills involved in resolving these conflicts are not dissimilar to meditation, we have not had the need to require certified mediators in these areas.

Attachment D Attachment D, what is the scope of work you would like vendors to support as it relates to Career Counseling? The full scope of work can and will depend on the needs of the individual client or group within the University, but may involve support for management career pathing, executive development, or staff coaching. We have not seen calls for support of job searches, interview coaching and the like, but it could be possible if a client determined there was a local need.

Attachment D Attachment D, within the "PM Retreat" area of work, what are you looking to accomplish? Are you looking for internal training curriculum to upskill team’s PM skill? Or is this a staff training event? What we meant here was more staff training events; a client has a need to host a retreat, and may need PM support to arrange / manage the details.

Attachment D Attachment D, do you allow suppliers to provide supplemental content around our service beyond what is outlined in Attachment D? We expect that you will provide a brief description of your work, services, and experience as outlined, especially in Attachment D points 1) and 3). If that is best done via supplemental content, that is allowed.

Do you have a specific proposal outline you're expecting? No. There is no specific proposal outline we have pre-determined as expected.

Is there a page limit to the proposal submitted? No, there is not as long as all the information provide is relevant.

Scope of Work I'm looking at the Organizational Development Categories under Scope of Work, do you require that the vendor be able to cover all areas of the scope? Is it okay if my company specializes in a subset of the categories to be considered for the alliance? A vendor is not required to cover all areas within the scope. A specialty or subset is both expected and a valid response.

Through the RFQQ itself (Section V of the RFQQ) the Confidentiality Statement is shown as Attachment C, but the download of the Confidentiality Statement through Workday shows it as Attachment B. Which is the correct Attachment reference? Confidentiality Statement is consider attachment C.

Section 1.13 Section 1.13 states that each proposal must be signed by the Contractor with the "usual signature" and dated. What do you mean by "usual signature?" We typically utilize Adobe Sign. A usual signature is a person's name written in their own style to indicate that they agree with or wrote a document.

Under bullet point 6 in the "Areas of Expertise and Preferred Specialties" section, "Project Management Retreat" is listed. Does this mean that we are expected to project manage a retreat, offer a retreat focused on project management, or is it referring to something else? The former. Sometimes a University group will need project management support in hosting a retreat.

For #2 on Org Development Application Form, it states the vendor should reflect your ability to meet the requirements outlined in RFQQ Section III. Are the referenced requirements the general and specific qualifications of the individuals & firm? What requirements are you looking for? it was a typo and it has been fixed; requirements are listed in Section II, not III.

On #3, “Describe your experience working with higher education and/or public sector clients”, should we describe experience of the firm, people employed at the firm, or both? Some of our consultants have prior experiences working in higher ed that I would like to include, but I also wanted to include the experience of our firm. Please respond in whatever way best reflects your firm's ability to meet the requirement and expectation; that may be past firm experience, specific consultant experience, or both.

What are examples of collateral materials for examples of work products? This will depend on the scope, service, and expertise, but slide decks from past presentations, sample client report-outs, retreat or meeting agendas, or any other artifact that can demonstrate the past and expected future quality of client-facing effort.

How many vendors in the POD receive work from UW during their time in the alliance? Over the past two years of the current Alliance RFQQ, 30 vendors have entered into contracts across the UW.

What is the average range of hourly rates for consultants in the POD? N/A

Does UW have a ceiling on the hourly cost proposed by vendors? No.

Section 2.3 ("Project Deliverables") of the University Consulting Alliance Application document states: "If selected to be a member of the University Consulting Alliance pool, Vendor will be expected to: Contract for all University of Washington engagements through POD. Vendor will be expected to refer any non-POD campus inquiries to PODn"

Vantage Technology Consulting Group provides a variety of services outside the scope of this RFQQ, including IT and data governance, information security program development, controls assessments, policy and process design and writing, security awareness programs, incident response planning, privacy program design, contingency planning, network modernizations, and more. Does the above provision mean that Vantage must go through POD for any engagement with the University of Washington, or just for the services for which we would bid this RFQQ? This RFQQ only governs the scope of the services listed. If any vendor supports the University of Washington with effort outside the scope of this RFQQ, those contracts will not be governed by its standards.

On Attachment D, under ‘Organizational Consulting’ there is a request to “Please indicate your areas of expertise and preferred specialties” followed by a chart. Are we simply indicating with a checkmark what our specialties are? Do we indicate our preferred vs expertise separately? Please do not mark a preference in which you do not have a speciality. However, if you have a specialty but do not want to provide that specialty area as a service to the University, please do not make a check mark for that area either.

Can we share representative profiles for each organizational specialty instead of including all relevant profiles (which can be over 400 resumes)? Yes. Representative profiles are acceptable.

Does ‘Change Management Facilitation’ refer to facilitating the preparation of change management or implementing the actual change? Both.

Can we leverage Canadian resources? The University is interested in receiving proposals from firms regardless of their location. Firms shall provide the resumes of the personnel providing work.

Can you expand further on what the Keynote Speaking specialty is requesting? A specific client group within the University (e.g. a school, a department, etc.) may, in the course of planning a retreat, conference, or other event may want a speaker to kick-off or anchor that event with content related to the RFQQ's scope of work. A Keynote Speaker will typically deliver an energizing and empowering address to attendees to serve as an entry point into the retreat, conference, or event.

Can you expand on what the ‘Project Management Retreat’ is? Is this a retreat for PMs? Is it to train others in PM skills? What support are you looking for with this category? This will help inform who we recommend. The full scope of work can and will depend on the needs of the individual client or group within the University, but for this service we see that a client has a need to host a retreat, and may need PM support to arrange / manage the details.

Do you have descriptions for each of the consulting category to expand on the expectations of each? We do not maintain specific descriptions of each consulting category of effort, instead relying on what might be called "industry standard" definitions with a knowledge that each firm, vendor, client, and contract will have specific nuance, expectations, and variations.

2.2 Scope of Work There appears to be two different lists of Organizational Consulting categories that we need to reference.

In the "RFQQ Consulting Alliance 2024" doc under 2.2 Scope of Work, the list includes things like 'Customized training' and 'The multigenerational workplace' (as a few examples), and in the "Attachment D - UW RFQQ Application Form" doc, under 'Organizational Consulting' the list does not include 'customized training' or 'the multigenerational workplace' as categories but does include 'Process Improvement', which isn't captured in the 2.2 Scope of Work.

Can you clarify how these two lists intersect with each other? And is there a finalized list that we can reference as well as definitions for the categories, so we understand what skillsets we need to focus on? "Process Improvement" should be listed in section 2.2, the core Scope of Work; this is an oversight.

"Customized Training" and "multigenerational workplace" are examples of efforts within the overall scope of work, sub-categories that represent some of the work that might be requested in any of the areas of expertise and specialty as listed in in Attachment D.

Just to clarify, is there a particular format for the actual Application, or is it just narrative? No, there is no pre-determined format for the application.

I would like to submit a question about the WIPHE participation form. The wording on the form is a little unclear. The form states "Supplier agrees to sell to WIPHE members and other public agencies, at same prices & discounts, with the following exceptions," then lists members of the WIPHE and a provides a place to sign at the bottom. By signing this form, are we stating that we, as the supplier, do not agree to sell to the list of WIPHE members provided? If we do agree to sell to any of the WIPHE members listed at the same prices and discounts, do we need to indicate somwhere on the form that there are no exceptions and that we do agree to sell to these members? Any clarity you could provide is helpful. Thank you for bringing this up. A new WIPHE participation form has been uploaded.

The RFQQ requests an org chart of the firm. Would it be acceptable to provide an org chart of the firm's team that would be proposed to work with the university on any project(s) Yes; a "sub-set" org chart is acceptable.

We are global firm who has capabilities and resources around the world that can provide cost effective solutions - are you open to working with resources who may be offshore? The University is interested in receiving proposals from firms regardless of their location. Firms shall provide the resumes of the personnel providing work.

Can you share with us your methodology for calculating the points on cost? All 10 points are given if the vendor providers their hourly rate AND it can be fixed for 1 year.

Is there a form that we should fill out for vendor references noted in the Minimum Qualifications section of the RFQQ? No, there is not.

Is it acceptable to provide links to example work products in the proposal or should they be included as attachments? We would prefer attachments for easy of reference.

Will all vendors in the pool be notified of all opportunities? No. Once a vendor is selected for participation in the Alliance, POD will determine on a case-by-case, client-by-client basis which vendor(s) are best fit for specific requests. This is part of POD’s commitment to serve the University of Washington.

Could the University provide the average annual spend for the previous contract? N/A

Could the University provide some insight about how this contract has been used in the past (i.e., which categories have been the most utilized)? The most frequent calls from clients across the past two years have included one-on-one leadership coaching and facilitation of organizational design or strategic planning workshops, but that history is no guarantee that the next few years will see the same or similar requests.

Would the University like our proposal to be submitted as one document, or should each attachment be uploaded to Workday separately? One document is preferred, for ease of our reference, but not necessary if this presents an undue burden on submittal.

How many awards does the University intend to make? We do not have a target number in mind; the goal is to cover the scope of effort included in the RFQQ, with enough volume and diversity in vendors to service multiple requests at a time.