Communications_-_Public_Relations,_Public_Opinion_Research_and_Marketing_Consulting_(Addendum_#2_Revision).pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

COMMUNICATIONS - PUBLIC RELATIONS, PUBLIC OPINION

RESEARCH AND MARKETING CONSULTING

(NO. 2024.028-RFP)

FOR

Washington County, Oregon

RELEASE DATE: February 9, 2024 DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS: March 1, 2024

RESPONSE DEADLINE: March 8, 2024, 5:00 pm

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/washington-county-or

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

1. Request for Proposal (RFP) w/Pre-Prop

2. Introduction

3. Overview and Purpose

4. Evaluation Phases

5. Evaluation and Award Process

6. Instructions to Proposers

7. Terms and Conditions

8. Vendor Submissions

Attachments:

A - 2022-PP-SERVICES-SAMPLE

B - Attachment C - INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY FORM PP C - Housing Services Comms Scope of Work

D - 2023-ATTACHMENT-J-CONTRACTOR

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

1. Request for Proposal (RFP) w/Pre-Prop

Washington County, Oregon is requesting proposals from qualified firms to provide Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting.

A pre-proposal conference will be held on Friday, February 23, 2024 at 2:00 pm. More information can be found in the Introduction Section of the Procurement Portal posting under Timeline.

Proposals must be received by 5:00 pm Friday, March 8, 2024.

The County may reject any proposal not in compliance with all prescribed public bidding procedures and requirements and may reject for good cause any or all proposals upon a finding by the County it is in the public interest to do so.

A copy of the Request for Proposal document is posted on https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/washington-county-or. Proposal documents can be viewed and downloaded from the site. The County’s electronic solicitation portal can also be accessed at www.washcopurch.com/biz. Proposer is responsible for checking the site for any addendums before submitting their proposals.

The Washington County Board of Commissioners reserves the right to reject any and all proposals and to waive any and all informalities in the best interest of the County.

Kiersten Vanderhoof, Procurement Analyst II

Posted to: Friday, February 9, 2024 OregonBuys https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/washington-county-or

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

2. Introduction

The following instructions, terms, and conditions apply to all solicitations to provide either goods or services to Washington County.

1. Summary

The County desires to pre-qualify outside organizations and obtain services to support the County with communications and public relations related to county operations, with an immediate focus on the needs of the Department of Housing Services and needs related to the Supportive Housing Services measure. Additional service needs anticipated immediately include policy initiatives and projects affecting the Public Safety and Justice System, Elections and internal support services. Services will include, but not be limited to: material and content development (presentations, talking points, press releases, etc), media relations, graphic design, storytelling support, and more. The County's usage of the Consultant's services are on an as-needed basis such that if the demand is not there, then the services will not be requested.

Proposers are encouraged to focus on their areas of strength and are not required to team with a large number of sub-consultants to cover potential types of projects.

Selected organizations will be placed on an availability list for a period up to five (5) years from the date the list is established and may support a broad range of county activities. Selected and contracted firms will be used to provide services in the areas of communications/public relations, public opinion research, and marketing and advertising. Multiple qualified firms will be selected for a singular or combination of services depending on in-house capabilities. If the availability list drops below the required number of firms, the County reserves the right to invite the next highest ranked proposer to be added to the list upon their approval.

2. Background

Washington County is a suburban county located on the western edge of Portland, Oregon. Its boundaries extend from the City of Portland to the coast range. The current population is approximately 610,000 people. There is a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas. The eastern half of the County is composed of service industries, light manufacturing, residential and commercial activity. It is relatively densely populated. The western half is primarily farms and private forest lands across rural settings, together with several smaller incorporated and unincorporated communities.

The County seat of government is located in Hillsboro, Oregon. The County has experienced substantial growth over the last 50 years principally in the electronics and high-tech industries.

Twenty percent of the entire state's population growth in the last five years has occurred in Washington County.

The County is a home-rule county, governed by five elected Commissioners who appoint a County Administrator as the chief executive of the County. There are currently approximately

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

2,400 employees in all areas of County government who are engaged in providing the multitude of services required by its member cities, businesses and general population.

3. Contact Information

Kiersten Vanderhoof Procurement Analyst II 155 North First Ave, Ste 270, MS 28 Hillsboro, OR 97124 Email: kiersten_vanderhoof@washingtoncountyor.gov Phone: (503) 846-3585 Department:

CAO

4. Timeline

The County reserves the right to modify this schedule at the County's discretion. Proper notification of changes to the due date will be made to all parties that have received the proposal from the County's Procurement Portal.

Date of Legal Advertisement February 9, 2024

Pre-Proposal Meeting (Non-Mandatory) February 23, 2024, 2:00pm Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82503194707?pwd =RkhNSWZKOHpvS3BzL1dGVHYxWm5Bdz09

Meeting ID: 825 0319 4707 Passcode: 520599

Question Submission Deadline March 1, 2024, 5:00pm

Submittals Due March 8, 2024, 5:00pm

Contractor Selection Date March 22, 2024 mailto:kiersten_vanderhoof@washingtoncountyor.gov tel:(503)846-3585 https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/washington-county-or https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82503194707?pwd=RkhNSWZKOHpvS3BzL1dGVHYxWm5Bdz09 https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82503194707?pwd=RkhNSWZKOHpvS3BzL1dGVHYxWm5Bdz09

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

3. Overview and Purpose

1. Types of Services Requested

1. Services may include, but not be limited to the listing in this section.

2. The services the County is soliciting in this RFQ are:

a. Communication/Public Relations Services – Up to five (5) firms will be selected for on-call services.

b. Public Opinion Research Services – Up to five (5) firms will be selected for on-call services.

c. Marketing and Advertising Services – Up to five (5) firms will be selected for on-call services.

3. In addition, the County will qualify up to five (5) consultants in any category certified by the State of Oregon Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID), or suppliers certified by the Federal Government or other public agencies as women owned, disadvantaged business enterprise, emerging small business, minority business enterprise, or service-disabled veteran business enterprise across the thirteen disciplines.

4. Contracts will be executed with all selected firms. The County makes no obligation or guarantee of purchase(s) of services under contract(s) resulting from this RFQ. The County reserves the right to solicit and select services other than from the established list to meet business needs.

Proposers shall submit a separate proposal for each Category to which they are responding. Thus if proposer is responding to all Categories, there would be three (3) submittals. Each submittal will be entered through one of the links above.

2. Project Assignments, Proposal Requests and Negotiations

1. As specific projects arise and funding is available, the County will develop a scope of work, select the appropriate category, and review the awarded firms in that category to determine the most qualified to meet the defined scope of work. Note that the County may request additional information, client work history (specific to the project) or conduct interviews with firms awarded in the category to assist in this determination.

2. The County will then request a written proposal and price proposal from the most qualified firm and enter into negotiations with the Firm. In the event that the County cannot successfully complete the negotiations, the Firm will be formally set aside and negotiations will resume with the next most qualified Firm.

3. Upon successful negotiations, a Work Assignment (WA) will be issued. The WA will contain the scope of work, the Firm’s proposal, timeline and fees to be applied from the schedule response to this RFQ, as well as any other required documents. Contingent upon the appropriate approval by the County the WA will be executed by both parties.

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

4. Should the County declare an emergency as defined in Oregon law and County ordinance, the County may negotiate a Work Assignment with any contracted Consultant under the terms arrived at through this RFQ but regardless of the “most qualified” determination above that would have been applied without and emergency declaration.

3. Required Services for All Services

The following is a list that all selected consultants will provide or accept for every project they are assigned:

1. The selected Consultant will provide a project representative who will act as the firm’s designated representative for all contractual issues and administration.

2. Communicate freely with designated County contact(s), including County Administrative Office and assigned Department(s), meeting as necessary to successfully address all issues.

3. The County understands that some projects may need outside assistance and, with written authorization from the County, the Consultant may subcontract appropriate to the project scope. Any associates or subcontractors will be required to comply with insurance requirements.

a. Consultant will be the principal-in-charge and will outline the details of who will be hired (subcontracted firm name and list of personnel) along with the hourly rate and a list of deliverables to be provided to the County as part of the project.

b. Consultant is responsible for making sure all deadlines by subcontracted staff are timely to avoid delays in the overall project outcome.

c. Consultant is held responsible for all outside work products and if County is not satisfied with the outcome of the project, the Consultant is responsible for the remedy at their own expense.

4. Ownership and Rights in Data

Ownership: The County has ownership of, and rights to, materials created or used to in achieving scope of work. The County may make use of these materials following any deliverable. Work product and other data may be disclosable under Oregon public records law.

5. General Notations

1. After-hours work may be required at times.

2. Contractor shall provide written notice of staff changes within fifteen (15) days prior to effective date of change.

3. If needed, the County shall determine who shall attend meetings and where meetings shall be held. County will not reimburse mileage for firms attending meetings.

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

6. Payment and Payment Terms

1. The County shall pay the consultant for services performed according to the terms and amounts specified in the proposal received and approved by the County for a specific project.

These payments shall be billable per hour and in accordance with allowable reimbursables.

Billing instructions will be provided to each firm awarded on a Work-Assignment-by-Work- Assignment basis.

2. Payment for work accomplished under Personal Services Contract shall not exceed the consultant’s cost proposal for a specific project without written approval of a modification by the County.

3. The County is only under obligation to expend money for those services requested and provided on either a unit or lump sum basis.

4. The County will make final payment of any balance due to the consultant promptly upon verification of completion and acceptance of the work.

5. Upon request, the Consultant shall provide supporting documents like payroll hours for the period.

6. Invoices and other claims for payment must be submitted in a County-approved format.

a. All invoices shall have a unique Invoice Number.

b. All invoices shall include the County’s Project Number, if applicable, and Project Manager’s name for internal payment processing.

7. Communication - Public Relations Services

1. The County seeks seasoned professionals to augment staff capacity and support strategic discussions, planning, and initiatives. The County desires to obtain the services of up to five (5) consulting firms to assist with Communications/Public Relations Services for various Department activities.

2. Scope of Services may include:

a. Material and content drafting and review, including synthesizing provided information into one-pagers, presentations, talking points, press releases, social media content and more.

b. Staff and partner training and coaching to meet defined goals.

c. Crisis communications support may be requested, including media relations and reputation management.

d. Message development, which may require collaboration or integration with Public Option Research Services.

3. Contracted firms will be used to provide services for various County Departments and projects. As projects are identified, the County will provide the retained firms with a definition of the project and request the firms with experience in the relevant specialty areas to confirm

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting availability of staff to work on the project, a schedule and to provide the County with a cost estimate.

8. Public Opinion Research Services

1. The County seeks seasoned professionals to augment staff capacity and support strategic discussions, planning, and initiatives. The County desires to obtain the services of five (5) consulting firms to assist with Public Opinion Research Services for various Department activities.

2. Scope of Services may include:

a. Focus group evaluation of content, comprehension of County programs or initiatives, reputation or other related matters.

b. Public opinion surveys and polling using agreed-upon methods.

c. Message development and guidance, which may require collaboration or integration with Communication Services, including synthesizing provided information into messaging options.

3. Contracted firms will be used to provide services for various County Departments and projects. As projects are identified the County will provide the retained firms with a definition of the project and request the firms with experience in the relevant specialty areas to confirm availability of staff to work on the project, a schedule and to provide the County with a cost estimate.

9. Marketing and Advertising Services

1. The County seeks seasoned professionals to augment staff capacity and support strategic discussions, planning, and initiatives. The County desires to obtain the services of five (5) consulting firms to assist with Marketing and Advertising Services for various Department activities.

2. Scope of Services may include:

a. Material and content drafting and review, including synthesizing provided information into video, graphics, copy, and more.

b. Ad buys and placements in TV, radio, websites and social media.

c. Development of marketing plans, including collaboration or integration with Communication Services or service providers.

3. Contracted firms will be used to provide services for various County Departments and projects. As projects are identified the County will provide the retained firms with a definition of the project and request the firms with experience in the relevant specialty areas to confirm availability of staff to work on the project, a schedule and to provide the County with a cost estimate.

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

4. Evaluation Phases

Proposal not to exceed eleven (11) pages.

1. Phase 1

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Page Count Proposal was within the page count and conformed to all instruction in regards to submittal.

Points Based 10 (100% of Total)

2. Phase 2

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Firm Overview (1 page) Provide an overview of the firm, including:

A. The size of the firm

B. A summary of the corporate organization

C. Location and size of the headquarters

D. Location and size of the branch offices at which work may be performed

E. As appropriate, current and past clients that may overlap with county needs

F. If necessary, clearly indicate which office will have the primary responsibility for providing these services and/or execution of the work

0-10 Points 10 (10.5% of Total)

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

2. Team, Experience, Qualifications & Past Performance (3 pages)

A. Identify the key team members who may be assigned to projects through this contract (including working titles, degrees, certificates, and technical expertise). Describe the roles and responsibilities of each team member and why each team member is critical to the success of the overall contract.

B. Describe the team’s experience in providing the detailed services that satisfy the response category.

C. Provide an organizational chart demonstrating the relationships and hierarchy of the team described above. Identify team members by name, position, discipline and Consultant. If necessary, also identify key back-up personnel.

D. Include resumes of key team members. Resumes will not be included in the page count and are to be uploaded separately.

Points Based 25 (26.3% of Total)

3. Project Management Approach (less than 1 page) Describe your approach to managing projects.

Include in your description a brief discussion on your standard project delivery and/or project management methods and how you will ensure completion of project work packages within agreed upon schedules and budget.

0-5 Points 20 (21.1% of Total)

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

4. Workforce Diversity and Approach to Equity (less than 3 pages)

A. Does your firm hold State of Oregon COBID Certification, or a comparable Emerging Small Business, Minority Owned Business, Women Owned Business, Veteran Owned Business, or Disadvantaged Business certification from another State or Entity? If yes, indicate the state of certification, all certification types and your firm’s certification number. (5 points)

B. Describe the diversity in demographics of the proposal team (yourself, your firm and/or any proposed subcontractors). Include race, gender, veteran status, disability, and LGBTQIA+. You may also include other measures of diversity. (5 points)

C. Explain how your demonstrated actions, structure and approach reflect a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion. Include examples of how diversity and language capabilities of your agency’s personnel or subcontractors are reflected in your work product. (5 points)

D. Describe specific examples of how you and/or your firm support equity and workforce diversity within your firm and/or your local community. (5 points)

Points Based 20

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

5. Example Projects Which Best Illustrate Proposed Team's Qualifications (3 pages) Provide two or three projects examples that demonstrate the firm’s capability to perform work similar to that required for this contract.

Provide:

A. Name of client, include client type (government agency or installation, an institution, a corporation or private individual)

B. Area of services (national, statewide, county, city, special district)

C. The length of the project

D. Provide name of a person associated with the project or the organization who is very familiar with the project and the firm's (or firms') performance. Provide email and telephone number.

E. Brief Description of Project and Relevance to this Contract, including but not limited to at least on project demonstrating the ability to support the Department of Housing Services.

Discuss the relevance of the example project to this contract.

0-5 Points 20

Communications - Public Relations, Public Opinion Research and Marketing Consulting

5. Evaluation and Award Process

1. Clarifications

The County reserves the right to obtain clarification at any point in regards to a proposal or to obtain additional information necessary to properly evaluate a proposal. Failure of a Proposer to respond to such a request for additional information or clarification could result in rejection of their proposal.

After evaluation has occurred multiple firms will be identified that are best able to provide the services to the County. The County reserves the sole right to determine the best Proposals. A notice of intent to award will be published.

2. Interviews

Top scoring proposers may be selected for interviews. If oral interviews are determined to be necessary, the scores from the written proposals will be considered preliminary. Final scores will be determined based on the points assigned to the interview process.

3. References

The County reserves the right to check references only on the highest scoring proposers or depending on the scoring differential just the highest proposer.

Questionnaires may be sent to customer references by Washington County or contacted by telephone. Secondary references may also be contacted.

4. Period Proposal Validity

All proposals shall remain firm for a period of 180 calendar-days after date specified for receipt of proposals.

5. Acceptance, Rejection and Cancellation of Award

Washington County reserves the right to accept or reject any or all proposals received as a result of this RFP and to negotiate with any qualified proposer(s) for all or part of the requested goods and services. All proposals become the property of the County.

This RFP does not commit the County to award a contract or to pay any costs incurred by respondents. Washington County reserves the right to cancel award of this contract at any time before execution of the contract if cancellation is deemed to be in the County's best interests. In no event shall the County have any liability for the cancellation of the award. All costs of the proposal process, interviews, contract negotiations, and related expenses are the responsibility of the proposer.

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Acceptance of a proposal is subject to budget approval, appropriation and budgetary constraints.

6. Award Recommendation

The notice of intent to award will be posted on the County's Procurement Portal website at least seven (7) days before the award of the contract. See PROTESTS AND JUDICIAL REVIEW OF CONTRACT AWARD below for protest of award.

The decision by the Board or the County Administrator to award the contract shall constitute the final decision of the County to award the contract.

7. Inspection of Proposals

Subject to the provisions of the Oregon Public Records Law, all proposals received will be available for public inspection after the notice of intent to award has been published. Proposals will be provided via an electronic link.

Copies of material from proposal files may be obtained from the Washington County Procurement Division upon payment of a charges based upon the current County Fee Schedule.

Prepayment is required for providing materials from the proposal files.

8. Protests and Judicial Review of Contract Award

Purpose. The award by the Washington County Board of Commissioners of the contract shall constitute a final decision of the County to award the contract if no written protest of the award is filed. A proposer may protest the award of a contract, or the intent to award of a contract, whichever occurs first, if the conditions set forth in ORS 279B.410(1) are satisfied. A proposer must file a written protest with the County and exhaust all administrative remedies before seeking judicial review of the County's contract award decision.

Delivery. A proposer must deliver a written protest to the Washington County Procurement Manager within seven (7) days after issuance of the notice of intent to award the contract.

Content of Protest. A proposer’s written protest shall specify the grounds for the protest to be considered pursuant to ORS 279B.410(2). Proposer may not protest the content of specifications in an award protest. Proposers may protest only deviations from laws rules, regulations, or procedures including procedures set out in this RFP. Disagreement with the scoring by the Selection Committee is not a basis for protest. Protests must specify the grounds for the appeal including the specific citation of law, rule, regulation, or procedure upon which the protest is based.

County Response.The County shall not consider a proposer’s contract award protest submitted after the timeline established for submitting such protest. The County shall issue a written disposition of the protest in a timely manner as set forth in ORS 279B.410(4). If the County upholds the protest, in whole or in part, the County may in its sole discretion either award the contract to the successful protestor or cancel the procurement or solicitation. The County shall not consider any protest against award based on the content of specifications.

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Judicial Review. Judicial review of the Board’s or its designee’s decision relating to a contract award protest shall be in accordance with ORS 279B.415.

9. Negotiation with Awarded Contractor(s)

The County reserves the right to negotiate final contract terms with the awarded contractor to the fullest extent allowed by law and as in the best interest of the County.

10. Contract Term

The term of the contract will be Contract will be for a five year period.

The maximum term of the contract will be five years.

The estimated expenditure for the contract is approximately NO VALUE. Actual expenditures may be more or less depending on actual requirements.

11. Contractor's Responsibility

It is understood that the specifications and other contract documents do not purport to control the method of performing the work, but only the requirements as to the nature of the completed work. The contractor assumes the entire responsibility for the method of performing the work. Suggestions as to the method included in the contract documents shall be deemed advisory only and the feasibility of such methods, or the lack thereof, shall not affect the contractor’s liability, or status as independent contractor, and contractor will remain responsible for the cost of all permits unless otherwise specified.

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6. Instructions to Proposers

1. Deadline Disclaimer

It is the responsibility of the responder to upload and submit their electronic response before the deadline date and time approaches as posted on the County's Procurement Portal. Allow for a sufficient amount of time for the bid entry/document upload process in order to ensure timely submission.

Make sure that all documents are uploaded as soon as possible well in advance of the deadline.

The County's Procurement Portal will close promptly at the deadline date and time. All responses must be submitted, not in process, by that time…no exceptions are allowed.

Please note the system will accept Google Docs or Google Pages, but they are not readable by the County. DO NOT upload your response using a Google product.

2. Precedence of Proposal Documents

The order of precedence of documents is as follows:

A. Instructions to Proposers

B. Contract Terms & Conditions (from attached sample contract)

C. Terms and Conditions

D. Project Details/Scope of Work

3. Communication

Communication regarding this solicitation between a potential or actual Proposer and any Washington County staff, other than Procurement Division staff, is prohibited from the time the Request for Proposals (RFP) is advertised until the award of a contract to the proposer selected.

4. Copies of Proposal Documents

Documents obtained from sources (such as directly from other contractors) other than the County's Procurement Portal are not valid proposal documents. It is the proposer's responsibility to ensure they are following a particular project on the County's Procurement Portal in order to receive notification of all addenda as well as additional relevant information.

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5. Pre-Proposal Conference

1. Statements made by County’s representative(s) at the pre-proposal conference are not binding upon the County unless confirmed by written addendum.

2. The purpose of the pre-proposal conference is to offer the prospective proposers an opportunity to ask questions and clarify RFP contract and instructions to ensure proposals submitted meet the criteria.

3. To guarantee the most appropriate use of time, proposers are expected to review the RFP before the pre-proposal conference. Questions regarding the project/proposal information will be discussed at the pre-proposal conference.

6. Questions and Answers

Enter all questions regarding the meaning or intent of the solicitation into the questions area of the solicitation in the County's Procurement Portal.

7. Specification Protest Process

Delivery:A proposer must deliver a protest of specifications to the County in writing no later than seven (7) calendar days prior to the proposal due date as follows:

Specification Protest Proposal#: 2024.028-RFP Washington County Procurement Division ATTN: Procurement Manager 155 North First Avenue, Suite 270 MS 28 Hillsboro, Oregon 97124-3072

Content:A proposer’s written protest must include:

A detailed statement of the legal and factual grounds for the protest; description of the resulting prejudice to the proposer; and a statement of the form of relief requested or any proposed changes to the specifications.

County Response: The County may reject without consideration a proposer’s protest received after the deadline established for submitting protest. The County shall provide notice to the applicable proposer if it entirely rejects a protest. If the County agrees with the proposer’s protest, in whole or in part, the County shall either issue an addendum reflecting its determination or cancel the solicitation.

Extension of Closing: If the County receives a written protest from a proposer in accordance with this rule, the County may extend closing if the County determines an extension is necessary to consider the protest and to issue addenda, if any, to the solicitation document.

Judicial review of the County’s decision relating to a specification protest shall be in accordance with ORS 279B.405.

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8. Phone Proposals, Late Proposals or Modifications

Late proposals or modifications of proposals will be handled in the following manner:

It is the sole responsibility of the Proposer to ensure the proposals are uploaded to the system by the specified time. The system will not allow Proposers to upload after this time and the proposal will not be considered.

Any modification of a proposal is subject to the same conditions set forth above.

Proposals will not be accepted via Phone, E-mail or FAX.

9. Interpretations and Addenda

Enter all questions regarding the meaning or intent of the solicitation into the questions area of the solicitation

A. Interpretations or clarifications considered necessary in response to such questions will be posted as addenda or in Questions and Answers in the County's Procurement Portal.

Bidders will be solely responsible to check for all addenda or questions and answers, if any, from the Procurement Portal prior to submitting their response.

B. Questions received after Friday, March 1, 2024 will not be answered unless the County determines, in its sole discretion, it is in the public’s best interest to do so.

C. Formal addenda and answers to questions posted in the Question and Answer section are made part of this solicitation and will be binding. Oral and other interpretations or clarifications will be without legal effect.

D. Written addenda may also be issued to modify the bid documents at the discretion of the County.

E. Receipt of addenda must be acknowledged on the County's Procurement Portal.

F. All questions pertaining to this bid shall be addressed only through the County's Procurement Portal. Do not contact any other Washington County staff, employee or official regarding this bid. Communication between bidder and any County staff is prohibited from the time the bid is advertised until the award of a contract to the bidder selected by the County.

G. After opening proposals, the County may issue or electronically post an addendum to the request for proposals that modifies the criteria, rating process and procedure for any tier of competition before the start of the tier to which the addendum applies.

H. The County shall send an addendum that is issued by a method other than electronic posting to all proposers who are eligible to compete under the addendum. The County shall issue or post the addendum at least five days before the start of the subject tier of competition or as the County otherwise determines is adequate to allow eligible proposers to prepare for the competition in accordance with County rules.

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10. Guidelines for Proposal Submittal and Receipt

To be considered for this contract, each proposer must enter its complete proposal per the Vendor Submission Section to the County's Procurement Portal.

Proposals must be uploaded by 5:00 pm Friday, March 8, 2024. The system will not allow late uploads. Allow plenty of time to ensure your upload is successful. Slow or malfunctioning internet shall not be an acceptable reason for late submissions. After uploading documents responders are encouraged to open and review uploaded documents to verify that they can be opened and are the correct documents before submitting. If the County cannot open any of the documents submitted the entire proposal will be disqualified.

Proposers are required to submit any proposal forms furnished in this RFP document. Please retain a copy for your records.

Each submittal shall contain the following:

• Any proposal response forms listed in the Attachment Section.

• Responses, Certifications, or Agreements required in this solicitation.

• Proposers shall provide a copy of any contracts, licensing agreements, or other documents that the County will be asked to sign if they are the chosen contractor. These do not count against the page limit.

• Failure to submit any of the required items may be grounds for rejection of the proposal.

https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/washington-county-or/projects/79009?section=703733

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7. Terms and Conditions

1. Laws and Regulations

1. The proposer is assumed to be familiar with all Federal, State, County or City laws or regulations, which in any manner affect those engaged or employed in the work or the materials or equipment used or which in any way affect the conduct of the work, and no pleas of misunderstanding will be considered on account of ignorance thereof. If the proposer shall discover any provision in these specifications or project information, plans or contract documents which is contrary to or inconsistent with any law or regulations, they shall report it to County in writing.

2. All work performed by the contractor shall be in compliance with all Federal, State, County and local laws, regulations and ordinances. Unless otherwise specified, the contractor shall be responsible for obtaining applicable permits and licenses.

2. Recycled Materials and Sustainable Products and Processes

1. Contractor is encouraged to use recycled and recyclable products to the maximum extent economically feasible during the performance of the Contract.

2. Washington County prefers materials or supplies manufactured from recycled materials if the recycled product is available, and it meets the requirements set forth in the Specifications.

3. Washington County supports and encourages the use of sustainable products by the Contractor. To contribute to a clean environment for present and future generations, Contractor shall utilize sustainable products to the maximum extent feasible during the performance of this Contract.

3. Proprietary Information, Ownership and Use of Documents

1. All documents submitted to the County shall become public records, subject to disclosure, unless otherwise protected pursuant to the Oregon Public Records Law.

2. The County is subject to the Oregon Public Records Law (ORS 192.410 to 192.505), which requires the County to disclose all records generated or received in the transaction of County business, except as expressly exempted in ORS 192.501, 192.502, or other applicable law.

Examples of exemptions that could be relevant include trade secrets (ORS 192.501 (2)) and computer programs (ORS 192.501(15)). The County will not disclose records submitted by a Proposer that are exempt from disclosure under the Public Records Law, subject to the following procedures and limitations:

3. The entire RFP cannot be marked confidential, nor, shall any pricing be marked confidential.

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4. All pages containing the records exempt from disclosure shall be marked “confidential” and segregated in the following manner:

• It shall be clearly marked in bold and on each page of the confidential document.

• It shall be kept separate from the other RFP documents in a separate file upload.

• Where this specification conflicts with other formatting and response instruction specifications, this specification shall prevail.

5. Where such conflict occurs, the Proposer is instructed to respond with the following: “Refer to confidential information enclosed.” This statement shall be inserted in the place where the requested information was to have been placed.

6. Proposers who desire that additional information be treated as confidential must mark those pages as “confidential”, cite a specific statutory basis for the exemption, and the reasons why the public interest would be served by the confidentiality. Should a proposal be submitted as described in this section no portion of it can be held as confidential unless that portion is segregated as described above.

7. Notwithstanding the above procedures, the County reserves the right to disclose information that the County determines, in its sole discretion, is not exempt from disclosure or that the County is directed to disclose by the County’s Attorney, the District Attorney or a court of competent jurisdiction. Prior to disclosing such information, the County will notify the Proposer.

If the Proposer disagrees with the County’s decision, the County may, but is not required to enter into an agreement not to disclose the information so long as the Proposer bears the entire cost, including reasonable attorney’s fees, of any legal action, including any appeals, necessary to defend or support a no-disclosure decision.

4. Rights of the County

The County expressly reserves the following rights:

• To waive irregularities in the proposals submitted.

• To cancel the procurement or reject any proposals or portions thereof in accordance with ORS 279B.100.

• To base awards with due regard to quality of services, experience, compliance with specifications, proposal response, and other such factors as necessary in the circumstances.

• To make the award to any proposer whose proposal, in the opinion of management and the Board, is in the best interest of the County.

• To negotiate contract terms and conditions.

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5. Subcontractor Payment Reporting

Contractor shall report payment information and utilization data for subcontractors that perform any services, using a County-designated online reporting system. As of the effective date of this contract, such system is accessible at: https://washcopurch.mwdbe.com/?TN=washcopurch.

Contractor must log in to an account in the system in order to submit reporting information.

Reporting information must be submitted at least once monthly, concurrent with Contractor’s invoice submission, or on such other frequency as the Project Manager may require. Contractor must designate a representative to administer the reporting function and be a point of contact for the County.

Progress payment requests, except the first request, shall include the Contractor’s verification that Subcontractor payment data and workforce data (if applicable) for all tiers have been entered into the County’s online reporting systems

6. Qualifications, References and Responsible Proposer

1. Qualifications of proposers will be evaluated when determining the award. Proposers may be required to produce acceptable personal, business, and credit references and completed examples of previous work of a similar nature.

2. The County reserves the right to investigate references and to consider the past performance of any proposer with respect to its performance of similar projects, compliance with specifications and contractual obligations, its completion or delivery of services on schedule, and its lawful payment of employees and workers whether or not specifically listed by the proposer.

3. Before awarding a contract, the County shall determine that the apparent successful proposer has met the requirements of responsibility outlined in ORS 279B.110.

7. Social Equity

1. In order to promote economic growth, the County seeks to maximize the participation of diverse consultants, partners, contractors, and suppliers throughout the duration of the project.

2. Working in a way that promotes the empowerment of individuals, organizations, and communities most affected by inequities is a practical method of achieving equity. The County wants to integrate empowering equity strategies that allow for authentic voice to be heard and ultimately represented in decisions from this delivery of service.

3. The County values the community as a whole and calls out those providing and receiving services should have a positive economic impact from the delivery of services that is long term and positively changes our hierarchical systems to incorporate those who are most affected by inequities.

4. It is the County’s desire to create full and equal access to opportunities for all people that enable them to attain their full potential. We pay particular attention to the development of income and wealth for communities most affected by inequities.

https://washcopurch.mwdbe.com/?TN=washcopurch

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8. Cooperative Purchasing

1. Pursuant to the intent of Oregon Revised Statutes, Chapter 279A.200, any publicly funded city, county, district, agency or similar entity shall have the authority to purchase specified goods/services directly from contractor under the terms and conditions of this contract.

2. The proposer agrees to extend identical pricing and services to other public agencies for the same terms.

3. Each contracting agency will execute a separate contract with the successful proposer for its requirements. Any ordering and billing shall take place directly between the proposer and such entity.

4. Any proposer, by written notification at the time of the proposal due date and time, may decline to extend the prices, services and terms of this proposal to any, and/or all other public agencies. There is no penalty for declining cooperative procurements.

9. Form of Contract

A copy of the standard personal service contract that the County expects the successful firm or individual to execute is attached. The contract will incorporate the terms and conditions from this RFP document and the successful proposer's response documents.

Firms taking exception to any of the contract terms should indicate the same by uploading in the Vendor Submission or their exceptions will be deemed waived.

10. Insurance Requirements

The insurance requirements for this contract are outlined in the attached Attachment C.

11. Oregon Corporate Activity Tax (“CAT”)

In 2019 Oregon adopted a Corporate Activity Tax (“CAT”) applicable to all types of business entities. The legislation accomplishes the following:

a. Establishes a "Fund for Student Success" that is separate and distinct from the state's general fund

b. Adopts a new Corporate Activity Tax (CAT) imposed on all types of business entities

The CAT is in addition to the state's current corporate income tax. The CAT is imposed on businesses for the privilege of doing business in this state. It is measured on a business's commercial activity, which is the total amount a business realizes from transactions and activity in Oregon. The CAT is applied to taxable Oregon commercial activity in excess of $1 million. Any costs relating to Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax will not be reimbursable under Cost of the Work.

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8. Vendor Submissions

Please note the system will accept Google Docs or Google Pages, but they are not readable by the County. DO NOT upload your response using a Google product.

1. Electronic Submittal* By electronically submitting this response the Supplier attests and certifies that:

1. Person completing this response represents that I am either authorized to bind the Supplier, or that I am submitting the Response on behalf of and at the direction of the Supplier's representative authorized to contractually bind the Supplier.

2. I represent that the Supplier or its applicable representative(s) has reviewed the information contained in this Solicitation Package and that the information submitted is accurate.

3. Respondent agrees that the action of electronically submitting its response constitutes:

a. an electronic signature on the responses, generally,

b. an agreement to conduct business electronically,

c. an electronic signature on any form or section specifically calling for a signature, and

d. an affirmative agreement to any statement contained in the solicitation that requires a definite confirmation or acknowledgement.

☐ Yes

☐ No *Response required

2. Solicitation Requirements* Proposer read through and confirm that you met all of the Solicitation requirements?

☐ Yes

☐ No *Response required

3. Cooperative Purchasing* Will the proposer extend pricing and terms to other public agencies?(there is no penalty for not agreeing to extend pricing)

☐ Yes

☐ No *Response required

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4. Past Employment* Have you or a member of your staff been an employee of Washington County in the last six months?

☐ Yes

☐ No *Response required

5. Oregon Secretary of State Business Registry* Enter your registry number without spaces or dashes. If you are not currently registered enter N/A. If you are the successful proposer you will be required the register with the Secretary of State in order to contract with the County.

*Response required

6. Tax* The proposer hereby certifies that they have complied with the tax laws of Oregon and all political subdivision of the State of Oregon, including ORS 305.620 and ORS chapters 316, 317 and 318. Washington County may terminate the contract if contractor fails to comply with any tax laws during the term of the contract.

☐ Yes

☐ No *Response required

7. Contact Name, Email, and Phone Number* Provide the name, email, and phone number for the contact in case of questions, or interview or demonstration arrangements.

*Response required

8. Proposal Content In this section you will identify the Service Category or Categories for which you are responding.

You will use the link to access the portal for the specific Category you are responding to and upload the response in that portal.

The proposal shall be prepared succinctly, providing a straight forward, concise description of the proposer’s ability to meet the requirements of the RFP. There should be no unnecessary attachments or exhibits.

Proposal should contain no more than eleven (11) 8.5" x 11", pages of written material (excluding biographies and brochures which may be included in an appendix) describing the ability of the proposer to perform the work described. The minimum font shall be twelve (12) point single spaced and the minimum margins shall be one (1) inch on all sides.

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1. Service Category - Communication - Public Relations Services Confirm that the uploaded proposal is to provide Communication - Public Relations Services. Use this LINK to upload response.

☐ Please confirm

2. Service Category - Public Opinion Research Services Confirm that the uploaded proposal is to provide Public Opinion Research Services. Use this LINK to upload response.

☐ Please confirm

3. Service Category - Marketing and Advertising Services Confirm that the uploaded proposal is to provide Marketing and Advertising Services.