City of Portland RFP 00002658 for DNA Testing Addendum 3.pdf

Procurement Services City Operations City of Portland, Oregon

@PortlandGov portlandgov

PortlandORGov

December 15, 2025

ADDENDUM NO. 3

RFP No. 00002658

FOR

DNA Testing and Analysis Services

Proposals Due: December 16, 2025 December 19, 2025

By: 4:00 pm

This Addendum provides changes to the specifications for the above-entitled project to be considered by each respondent. This Addendum shall be included within the proposal. Any changes made by this Addendum to said specifications offset only the portion of the words or paragraphs specifically mentioned herein, and the balance of the specifications remain in full force. It is the responsibility of all respondents to conform to this addendum.

This Addendum shall respond to inquiries received, modify the language in the RFP Project Information Packet (page 2 and page 5), the RFP Proposal Response Packet (page 2, page 3, page 4, and page 6), and extend the RFP Proposal Due date to December 19, 2025 by 4:00pm.

Section 1: Language Modification

The following language is added to/deleted from the solicitation. New language is in bold AND underline and deleted language is in strikethrough:

1. City of Portland RFP 00002658 Project Information Packet language modification (page 2)

Proposals Due:

December 16, 2025 by 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time

December 19, 2025 by 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time

2. City of Portland RFP 00002658 Project Information Packet language modification (page 5)

1.4 Estimated RFP Timeline

The timeline below is an estimate for the RFP and Contracting process.

Event Date

Pre-Proposal Meeting 1 December 5, 2025

Deadline for RFP Questions December 9, 2025

Sylvester Donelson, Jr. Sara Morrissey Michael Jordan

Chief Procurement Officer Deputy City Administrator Chief Administrative Officer https://twitter.com/PortlandGov https://www.instagram.com/PortlandGov/ https://www.facebook.com/PortlandORGov

PortlandORGov

3. City of Portland RFP 00002658 Proposal Response Packet language modification (page 2).

Proposals Due:

December 16, 2025 by 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time December 19, 2025 by 4:00pm Pacific Time

4. City of Portland RFP 00002658 Proposal Response Packet language modification (page 3).

Send questions, requests for clarification, or requests for assistance by November 14, December 9, 2025, by 4:00p.m. Pacific Time. Any questions received after November 14, December 9, 2025, by 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time may not be answered.

5. City of Portland RFP 00002658 Proposal Response Packet language modification (page 4).

Proposals are Due November 21, 2025 by 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time

Proposals are Due December 19, 2025 by 4:00 p.m. Pacific Time

6. City of Portland RFP 00002658 Proposal Response Packet language modification (page 4).

Proposal Page Limit is 20 Pages

Proposal Page Limit is 25 Pages

7. City of Portland RFP 00002658 Proposal Response Packet language modification (page 6)

Proposal Component Required/Optional Included in page limit?

Proposer Information Form Required N □

Response to City’s Specifications, Functional & Technical Requirements

Required N □

Proposer Capabilities Required Y □

Project Team Required Y □

Project Approach Required Y □

Pricing Proposal Required N □

Equal Employment Opportunity and Access in Subcontracting

Required Y □

Written proposals due at 4:00 p.m. (for Phase 1) December 16, December 19, Short list posted and Phase 2 instructions shared [if applicable] January 5, 2026 January 23, 2026

Notice of Intent to Award Posted January 9, 2026 January 30, 2026 https://twitter.com/PortlandGov

PortlandORGov

Equal Opportunity Employer and Community Involvement Required Y □

Sustainable Business Practices Required Y □

Civil Rights Data Collection Required N □

Exceptions and Deviations to the Contract Form Optional N □

Redacted for Public Disclosure Copy Optional N □

Redaction Summary Form Required if Redacted for Public Disclosure

Copy is provided.

N □

8. City of Portland RFP 00002658 Proposal Response Packet language modification (page 9).

6. General Firm Description

Firm’s areas of expertise

Firm’s length of time in business

Number of employees

Does your firm have the minimum required two (2) years of experience providing Forensic DNA Analysis services comparable to those required under this RFP?

Section 2: Response to Inquiries Received

The following inquiries were received by the deadline of December 9, 2025 at 4:00pm, and the responses are provided below.

1. Under evaluation criteria related to skills and proficiency, technical experience, and technical qualifications, can the County confirm whether the following vendor capabilities would be evaluated more favorably and strengthen a proposer’s technical standing under the County’s evaluation criteria:

a. Analysts with extensive hands-on SNP laboratory experience (e.g., development of 100+ SNP profiles).

b. A data-driven QC process for assessing evidence suitability for SNP profiling.

c. A substantial record of publicly verifiable case resolutions (e.g., 50+ SNP/FGG-supported outcomes).

d. Use of SNP testing methods that have been validated in an accredited forensic laboratory and publicly published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

e. Authorship or co-authorship of at least five peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts demonstrating competency in forensic SNP testing.

Answer: Yes. A vendor’s demonstrated professional and technical experience, qualifications, methods and QC processes will be considered and weighted in the assessment and selection.

2. Can the County confirm that reference SNP testing for forensic genetic genealogy must be performed in-house in an accredited facility, without uploading profiles to external databases or using online tools, in order to protect the privacy of reference testers? Using public databases and online resources for https://twitter.com/PortlandGov

PortlandORGov reference testing can create unnecessary risks to the privacy and security of individuals who are not the subject of the investigation.

Answer: To address the privacy concerns, we have used Consent Forms signed by the provider of a refence sample that state their sample would not be uploaded to compared with any criminal database. Further the form states the sample would not be retained by law enforcement and would be removed from any consumer/online database upon conclusion of the investigation.

3. Can the County confirm that the vendor should utilize BCG Certified Genetic Genealogists with at least five years of experience to conduct forensic genetic genealogy research in casework who are Contractor employees, and not volunteers or students?

Answer: No. There are no current certification requirements to conduct general genealogy work. However, personnel/vendors who will be conducting FGG/IGG analysis shall be accredited by ANSI, ANAB to ISO/IEC

17025:2017 standards.

4. Can the County confirm that the Contractor should be able to demonstrate courtroom experience in which both SNP testing and forensic genetic genealogy were admitted as evidence and successfully defended under cross-examination in front of a jury during a criminal trial?

Answer: Yes. Having prior court experience as a Subject Matter Expert (SME), providing court testimony and being able to defend the processes and conclusions of their work is essential.

5. Can the County clarify whether the line item for “Forensic DNA Analysis” is intended to include all standard upstream laboratory processes, including DNA sampling, extraction, quantification (qPCR), and amplification? Or should any of these components be priced separately?

Answer: Line-item pricing proposals for services should be provided.

6. Can the County confirm whether bidders are permitted to submit their own pricing structure or price list in addition to the required Pricing Proposal form?

Answer: Yes.

7. To ensure alignment with the County’s expectations, can the County clarify whether bidders may propose a more detailed STR pricing structure that includes the following elements:

· DNA extraction (item-specific, as applicable)

· Quality verification

· STR analysis, including qPCR and interpretation

· CODIS upload

· STR testing of known reference samples

· Any applicable STRMix surcharge

Additionally, can the County confirm whether Y-STR testing is required under this contract?

Answer: Yes. Detailed pricing structure will aid in the review and selection process.

Answer: Yes, Y-STR testing should be among the services that can be provided.

PortlandORGov

8. To ensure accurate pricing and consistency across bidders, can the County confirm whether a comprehensive, bundled FGG service may be proposed? A bundled service would include:

· DNA extraction

· Suitability/QC analysis

· SNP development (inclusive of genomic refinement)

· FTDNA database search

· GEDmatch PRO search

· Genealogical research and family-tree construction

· Reference testing (as applicable)

· Testing of known reference samples

· Elimination samples

· Mixture mitigation

If bundling is not preferred, please advise on how the County would like these components priced.

Answer: For purposes of accuracy and consistency in evaluating competing pricing proposals, we request and separate line-item estimates for each service. Specific scope of work is dependent on the nature of each case.

As such, we believe line-item pricing proposals provide a more accurate estimate of the necessary work.

9. Can the County confirm whether bidders may propose rush-processing fees as a surcharge, applied as appropriate to specific services?

Answer: Yes, the city understands the burden of an expedited service request and therefore would like the ability to review potential surcharges.

10. Can the County provide an estimate of the anticipated annual casework volume for STR testing? Similarly, can the County provide an estimate of the anticipated annual casework volume for forensic genetic genealogy (FGG) services?

Answer: The City is unable to provide an estimate on annual casework volume for services because case work estimate is wholly dependent on ongoing case reviews.

11. Can the County clarify whether the line item for “Forensic DNA Analysis” is intended to include all standard upstream laboratory processes, including DNA sampling, extraction, quantification (qPCR), and amplification? Or should any of these components be priced separately?

Answer: Line-item pricing is preferred

12. Can the County confirm whether bidders are permitted to submit their own pricing structure or price list in addition to the required Pricing Proposal form?

Answer: Yes.

13. Can the sections “Proposer Capabilities,” “Project Team,” and “Project Approach” refer to material or page numbers already included in the “Response to City’s Specifications, Functional & Technical Requirements” in order to avoid exceeding the 20-page limit?

PortlandORGov

Answer: The sections “Proposer Capabilities,” “Project Team,” and “Project Approach” refers to responses provided to the questions listed on page numbers 9-16 within the City of Portland RFP 00002658 for DNA Analysis

Proposal Response packet and is within the 20 page limit for proposals.

The response to the City’s Specifications, Functional & Technical Requirements is not included in the page limit.

To eliminate confusion the following changes have been made to the City of Portland RFP 00002658 for DNA

Analysis Proposal Response packet.

The following language is added to/deleted from the solicitation in response to this inquiry. New language is in bold AND underline and deleted language is in strikethrough:

A. Page 4 of the City of Portland RFP 00002658 for DNA Analysis Proposal Response Packet

Proposal Page Limit is 20 Pages

Proposal Page Limit is 25 Pages

B. Page 6 of the City of Portland RFP 00002658 for DNA Analysis Proposal Response

Proposal Component Required/Optional Included in page limit?

Proposer Information Form Required N □

Response to City’s Specifications, Functional & Technical Requirements

Required N □

Proposer Capabilities Required Y □

Project Team Required Y □

Project Approach Required Y □

Pricing Proposal Required N □

Equal Employment Opportunity and Access in Subcontracting

Required Y □

Equal Opportunity Employer and Community Involvement Required Y □

Sustainable Business Practices Required Y □

Civil Rights Data Collection Required N □

Exceptions and Deviations to the Contract Form Optional N □

Redacted for Public Disclosure Copy Optional N □

Redaction Summary Form Required if Redacted for Public Disclosure

Copy is provided.

N □

C. Page 9 of the City of Portland RFP 00002658 for DNA Analysis Proposal Response

7. General Firm Description

Firm’s areas of expertise https://twitter.com/PortlandGov

PortlandORGov

Firm’s length of time in business

Number of employees

Does your firm have the minimum required two (2) years of experience providing Forensic DNA Analysis services comparable to those required under this RFP?

14. Corporate Responsibilities: Due to our FBI QAS and ISO compliance requirements, along with proprietary laboratory requirements, we are limited in our abilities for Subcontracting and Sustainable Business Practices. Can section be removed from the evaluation or lowered in total percentage of score?

Answer: The 20% minimum for Corporate Responsibility is mandatory and cannot be removed or adjusted. Our

Corporate responsibility does not prevent a vendor from subcontracting to whomever they want, it does however, provide vendors with additional points if they subcontract in accordance with the City of Portland’s Corporate

Responsibility Requirements.

Please direct all questions and concerns to Paris McCall-Johnson, Procurement Specialist at paris.mccall-johnson@portlandoregon.gov.

End of Addendum bt :PMJ