Attachment A _Administrative Information_ RFP 2025-013.pdf

Request for Proposal RFP, EGBA 202500013

RFP Attachment A - Administrative Information

All questions and inquiries regarding this solicitation must be sent to:

Sole Point of Contact:

Brandon Brasfield

Brandon.Brasfield@state.co.us

RFP 2025000013

Section 1. General Information

1.1. Accessibility

The awarded vendor(s) and solutions must comply with all applicable provisions of §§24-85-101, et seq., C.R.S., [1] and the Accessibility Standards for Individuals with a Disability, as established by the Office Of Information

Technology pursuant to Section §24-85-103(2.5). Vendors must also comply with the latest version of Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines

(WCAG), currently version 2.2, as described in State of Colorado Technical

Standard TS-OEA-002, Technology Accessibility for Web Content and

Applications when developing solutions for the state. To confirm that the proposed solution will meet these standards, vendors may be required to do a demonstration as a part of the evaluation of their proposal.

The awarded vendor(s) shall indemnify, save, and hold harmless the state, its employees, agents and assignees (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”), against any and all costs, expenses, claims, damages, liabilities, court awards and other amounts (including attorneys’ fees and related costs) incurred by any of the Indemnified Parties in relation to the Contractor’s failure to comply with

§§24-85-101, et seq., C.R.S., or the Accessibility Standards for Individuals with a Disability as established by the Office of Information Technology pursuant to

Section §24-85-103(2.5).

The selected vendor(s) compliance may be determined by a third party vendor acceptable to the State that shall attest that the Contractor’s Work

Product and software is in compliance with §§24-85-101, et seq., C.R.S., and the Accessibility Standards for Individuals with a Disability as established by the

Office of Information Technology pursuant to Section §24-85-103(2.5), possibly at the vendor’s expense.

To the extent applicable to the Proposal, Offeror agrees that the Price

Proposal includes all costs and expenses associated with compliance with these accessibility requirements. Any additional costs to add accessibility features will be the obligation of the Awarded Offeror, and any addition or change to the Price Proposal will be disallowed.

1.2. Colorado Vendor Self Service

This solicitation is being published on the Colorado Vendor Self Service page

(Colorado VSS) at www.colorado.gov/vss, so that Offerors who have an interest may submit a proposal in accordance with the terms of this solicitation.

1.3. Pre-Proposal meeting - virtual

The State will hold a pre-proposal meeting as indicated in the Schedule of

Activities. This meeting will be held virtually, and its purpose is to provide an informal overview of the RFP requirements, clarify general questions vendors may have regarding the solicitation, and offer vendors an opportunity to seek a better understanding of the State's needs and objectives. While the State will make reasonable efforts to address questions raised during the meeting, vendors should understand that this is an informal session. The meeting will be conducted via Google Meet. Vendors are strongly encouraged to attend this meeting, although attendance may not be mandatory. The meeting link is:

meet.google.com/wbk-iovs-xfm. Formal, official responses to any questions or requests for clarification of the RFP must be submitted through the RFP's

Written Inquiry process, as outlined in Section 1.4.

1.4. Offeror’s Inquiries

a. Offerors may submit written inquiries via email concerning this solicitation to obtain clarifications. The State may not accept inquiries after the date and time indicated in the Schedule of Activities. Send all inquiries to the

Sole point of Contact (Detailed on the cover page). Inquiries must be clearly marked with the RFP number and title. Where appropriate, inquiries should include references to any relevant Section/paragraph of the solicitation.

b. Responses to Offeror’s inquiries will be published collectively, as an addendum on Colorado VSS and Bidnet. Offerors shall not rely on any verbal statements that alter any specification or other term or condition of the http://meet.google.com/wbk-iovs-xfm solicitation. Such changes are valid only if provided in writing by the

Procurement Contact.

1.5. Modification and/Or Supplemental Information to the Solicitation

a. Any modifications, amendments or supplemental information to the solicitation will be published on Colorado VSS and BidNet.

b. It is the Offeror’s sole responsibility to check Colorado VSS and BidNet on a regular basis, prior to the proposal submission deadline, as this is the primary means for communicating any clarifications or changes to solicitation content, timeline and/or requirements.

1.6. Pricing

a. Proposed pricing must remain firm during the initial term of the Contract.

b. Pricing must include any fees associated with the delivery of the goods or services, including, but not limited to, shipping and installation.

1.7. Documents after award

Prior to Contract execution, the awarded Offeror must provide the State with

Proof of Good Standing with the Colorado Secretary of State and an insurance certificate documenting coverage according to Section Insert appropriate insurance Section number from Model Contract of Appendix B. Offerors do not need to submit these documents unless they are awarded this solicitation.

1.8. Incurring Costs

Offerors are solely responsible for all costs incurred as a result of responding to this solicitation, which may include, but is not limited to, meetings, presentations, or negotiations.

1.9. Confidentiality of Solicitation Process

a. Following the proposal submission deadline, individuals/entities may request from the Procurement Contact a list of the names of the responding

Offerors. All other information related to the solicitation process will remain confidential until award.

b. Following the Notice of Intent to Award, all Offeror proposals will be open to public inspection with the exception of information determined by the

State to be a trade secret or confidential or proprietary. Reference

§24-72-200.1 et seq., C.R.S., as amended, Colorado Open Records Act.

1.10. Solicitation Cancellation/Rejection of Offerors Proposals

a. In accordance with §24-103-301, C.R.S., and the related Procurement Rules, the State may cancel this solicitation, or any and all proposals may be rejected in whole or in part, without penalty, at any time before a Contract is executed, when it is in the best interest of the State. The reason and documentation supporting the decision to cancel the solicitation or reject proposal(s) shall remain confidential for the lesser of six months or until a

Contract(s) is awarded by the State. Reference Procurement Rule

R-24-101-401-05.

b. If the solicitation is canceled after proposals are received, the proposals that have been opened shall be retained in the procurement record, or if unopened, they will be disposed of, or returned to the Offerors upon request, at the Offerors’ expense.

1.11. News Releases And Announcements

Offerors shall not issue any news releases, communications or announcements of any kind pertaining to this solicitation, without prior written approval by the

State.

1.12. Protested Solicitation And Awards

An aggrieved party may file a protest concerning a material issue(s), at any phase of solicitation, including but not limited to, specifications, award or a disclosure of information marked confidential in the proposal. The protest shall be submitted to the Insert Agency Name Procurement Official within ten (10) business days after such aggrieved person knows, or should have known, of the facts giving rise thereto. Reference §24-109-102, C.R.S., as amended, and

Procurement Rule R-24-109-102-01, et seq. Protests should be submitted in writing to the following:

Brandon Brasfield; Brandon.Brasfield@state.co.us

Section 2 Offeror Proposal Information

2.1. General Information for the Proposal Response

a. Offerors are encouraged to review the solicitation and any related appendices and attachments in their entirety to assure understanding of and compliance with the requirements that may be included in these documents.

b. A proposal should be thorough, but not exhaustive, and it should address the requirements set forth in this solicitation and should provide sufficient details to allow the Evaluation Committee to determine whether the proposal demonstrates an understanding of the State’s requirements and contracting terms and conditions; the ability to meet the State’s needs, including the experience and resources necessary to carry out the work; and costs that are reasonable and consistent with the industry.

c. The Offeror’s proposal and all attachments shall Comply with the standards of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, (29 USC § 794). The

Offeror may not have an opportunity to re-draft their proposal and attachments to make them accessible to persons with vision impairments after the proposal submission deadline and in the event that the

Department has evaluator(s) serving on an Evaluation Committee requiring accessibility, the Department may disqualify an Offeror’s proposal from evaluation.

2.2. Timeliness of proposal submission

This public proposal opening will be held virtually. So that the State can plan for attendance, if an Offeror wishes to attend the public proposal opening, please send an email to the Procurement Contact to RSVP at least one day prior to the date of the public proposal opening, and include the name and email for the person who will attend.

a. Proposals received after the submission deadline shall not be opened and shall be rejected as a late proposal, unless otherwise permitted by the

Procurement Official in accordance with Procurement Rule R-24-103-201-10.

b. Responsibility for ensuring that an Offeror’s proposal is received on time rests with the Offeror. Reasonably foreseeable problems inherent in the delivery of proposals are not extraordinary circumstances permitting acceptance of late proposals.

2.3. Offeror Acceptance of Solicitation Terms/Offerers Proposal Content

a. An Offeror’s proposal submitted in response to this solicitation shall constitute a binding offer. The signature of the Offeror shall indicate acknowledgment of this condition. Signature shall be that of a person legally authorized to execute contractual obligations. The proposal, including pricing, shall allow for a minimum of 180 calendar days for acceptance by the State, unless otherwise specified in this solicitation.

Reference Procurement Rule R- 24-103-201-11(d).

b. The contents of the proposal of the awarded Offeror will become contractual obligations under the awarded Contract. Failure of the awarded Offeror to accept these obligations may result in cancellation of the award to that Offeror.

2.4. Certification of Independent Price Determination

By its signature on the cover page, the Offeror certifies that the prices and other terms in the proposal have been arrived at independently without any consultation, communication, agreement with, or knowledge of the contents of the proposal by any other competing Offerors. For purposes of this paragraph, "consultation, communication, agreement with, or knowledge" does not include knowledge of prices or terms gained through availability of established price lists or catalogs made available to the public by the competing Offerors. No attempt has been made or will be made by the Offeror to induce any other person or firm to submit or not to submit a proposal for restricting competition. Reference §6-4-101, C.R.S., et seq., (Colorado Antitrust Act of

1992) as amended.

2.5. Proposal Response Material Ownership

All material submitted in response to this solicitation becomes the property of the State.

2.6. Submission of Confidential or Proprietary Information

a. The State of Colorado is subject to the requirements of §24-72-200.1, C.R.S., et seq., Colorado Open Records Act.

b. An Offeror may submit, as a part of its proposal, a written request for classification of certain portions of the proposal as a trade secret or other confidential or proprietary information. Material for which the Offeror is requesting confidentiality shall be readily identifiable and separated from other portions of the proposal to facilitate public inspection of the non-confidential portion of the proposal. Commingling of confidential and non-confidential information is not acceptable. Neither price information nor any information that will be included in a resulting Contract will be considered confidential.

c. The Offeror must include the rationale for any request to classify portions as a trade secret or confidential or proprietary, including references to the authority that allows for such treatment.

d. In no event shall an entire proposal be classified as confidential. The

Procurement Official or his or her designee shall determine if the information identified in the Offeror’s request is exempt from disclosure in accordance with §24-72-204, C.R.S., and shall inform the Offeror in writing of his or her determination. If the Offeror does not agree with the determination, the Offeror may protest the determination in accordance with article 109 of the Colorado Procurement Code and the terms of this solicitation. Reference Procurement Rule R-24-101-401-03.

e. Any additional Offeror information, which may be part of the evaluation/negotiation process and for which an Offeror claims confidentiality, is subject to the same requirements and processes identified above.

2.7. Online Proposal Submission Instructions

For this solicitation, proposals will be accepted using an online submission application. Hard copy submissions will not be accepted. To use the online submission application, please upload your proposal to the appropriate solicitation on “https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/oit”. The solicitation submission application is only for proposal submission. All inquiries, questions, comments, or concerns should be submitted to the Procurement Contact via email and not through the solicitation submission application.

2.8. Modifications or withdrawal of Proposals

An Offeror may modify or withdraw its proposal by written notice to the

Procurement Contact prior to the established proposal submission deadline.

Withdrawal of an Offeror’s proposal following the proposal submission deadline and prior to award, may be allowed at the State’s discretion. Withdrawal of an

Offeror’s proposal after award is not allowed. Reference Procurement Rules

R-24-103-201-08 and R-24-103-201-09.

2.9. Mistakes and minor informalities in Offeror Proposals

In certain circumstances, an Offeror may correct a mistake(s) in its proposal and/or the State may waive minor informalities. Reference Procurement Rule

R-24-103-201-08.

2.10. Modifications to State Contract

a. A draft Contract is included in Appendix B to this solicitation.

b. Offerors are instructed to review the attached draft Contract and submit any proposed modifications or redlines with their proposal. The decision to reject, accept, or further negotiate any requested changes will be at State’s https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/oit discretion. If an Offeror normally seeks counsel on Contract terms, they are advised to do so before submitting a proposal in response to this solicitation.

c. In the event an Offeror's requested modifications violate State law, regulation, or policy, or would otherwise not be justifiable as being in the best interest of the State, the State may make a determination that an

Offeror’s proposal is no longer responsive and therefore ineligible for award.

2.11. Conflicts of Interest/Ethics

a. The Offeror must disclose in its proposal any potential or actual conflict of interest in connection with a response to this solicitation. A conflict of interest may include, but is not limited to, access to any non-public information by the Offeror regarding the solicitation or its subject matter.

b. The Offeror acknowledges that even the appearance of a conflict of interest may be harmful to the State’s interests. The Offeror shall disclose in its proposal whether there currently is, or potentially could be, the appearance of a conflict of interest regarding this solicitation, its staff, any proposed subcontractors or partners, or any related business with the State.

c. Requirements set forth in this Section are continuing requirements throughout the solicitation process and, for the awarded Offeror, the

Contract term, including any extensions. Reference §24-18-201, C.R.S., et seq. (Proscribed Acts Related to Contracts and Claims); §24-50-507, C.R.S.(Conflict of Interest); §18-8-301, C.R.S., et seq. (Bribery and Corrupt

Influence); §18-8-401, C.R.S., et seq. (Abuse of Public Office); §6-4-101, C.R.S., et seq., (Colorado Antitrust Act of 1992); §24-109-105, C.R.S

.(Debarment and Suspension); and Procurement Rule R-24-101-107-01

(Ethics).

2.12. Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB).

SDVOSB Offerors must submit documentation of certification issued through the

U.S. Department of Veteran's affairs in their proposal. §24-103-905 C.R.S. sets a

SDVOSB goal of at least 3% of all contracts by dollar value be awarded to

SDVOSBs who must be incorporated or organized in Colorado or they must maintain a place of business or have an office in Colorado and must be officially registered and verified as a SDVOSB by the Center for Verification and

Evaluation within the United States department of veteran’s affairs. See www.vip.vetbiz.va.gov

2.13. Performance Outside of Colorado

Awarded Offeror, per Section 24-102-206, C.R.S., prior to contracting shall disclose in a written statement whether it anticipates performing or subcontracting any services under the contract, where such subcontracted services will be performed under the contract, including any subcontracts, and whether any subcontracted services under the contract or any subcontracts are anticipated to be performed outside the United States or the state. If the prospective vendor anticipates services under the contract or any subcontracts will be performed outside the United States or the state, the vendor shall provide in its written statement a provision setting forth why it is necessary or advantageous to go outside the United States or the state to perform the contract or any subcontracts.