Countywide_Broadband_Investment_Strategy_Consultant.pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

COUNTYWIDE BROADBAND INVESTMENT STRATEGY

CONSULTANT

(NO. 2022.009-RFP)

FOR

Washington County, Oregon

RELEASE DATE: January 12, 2022 DEADLINE FOR QUESTIONS: January 28, 2022

RESPONSE DEADLINE: February 3, 2022, 3:00 pm

RESPONSES MUST BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY TO:

https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/washington-county-or

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

I. Request for Proposal (RFP) w/Pre-Prop II. Introduction

III. Overview and Purpose IV. Proposal Response Content V. Evaluation Phases

VI. Evaluation and Award Process VII. Instructions to Proposers

VIII. Terms and Conditions IX. Vendor Submissions

Attachments:

A - Scope of Work Broadband Investment Consultant

B - 2020 PP SERVICES CONTRACT SAMPLE

C - Attachment C - INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS SUMMARY FORM PP

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

I. REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) W/PRE-PROP

Washington County, Oregon is requesting proposals from qualified firms to perform as a Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant.

A pre-proposal conference will be held on Tuesday, January 18, 2022 at 1:00 pm. More information can be found in the Introduction Section of the Procurement Portal posting under Timeline.

Proposals must be received by 3:00 pm Thursday, February 3, 2022.

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.

Suzi Fulcher, Procurement Manager

Published: Wednesday, January 12, 2022 OregonBuys

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

II. INTRODUCTION

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

II.A Summary

Washington County seeks a consultant team to assist with the creation of a countywide Broadband Investment Strategy. The purpose of the strategy is to develop a shared vision and collaborative plan for potential future investments in broadband infrastructure to ensure fast, reliable, and affordable internet access to all residents and businesses within the county.

II.B 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 600,000 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 fifty 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 2200 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.

II.C Contact Information

Suzi Fulcher Procurement Manager 155 N First Ave MS 28 Hillsboro, OR 97124 Email: suzi_fulcher@co.washington.or.us Phone: (503) 846-8734 Department:

CAO

mailto:suzi_fulcher@co.washington.or.us tel:(503)846-8734

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

II.D 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 January 12, 2022

Pre-Proposal Meeting (Non-Mandatory) January 18, 2022, 1:00pm This meeting will held via Zoom and will be recorded. The recording will be posted as a Notice to this solicitation. Copy and paste the URL below into your browser to attend the meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83874624015

Meeting ID: 838 7462 4015 One tap mobile +12532158782,,83874624015# US (Tacoma) +13462487799,,83874624015# US (Houston)

Dial by your location +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose) +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC) +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 646 876 9923 US (New York) Meeting ID: 838 7462 4015 Find your local number:

https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdG1JrtEjz

Question Submission Deadline January 28, 2022, 5:00pm

Submittals Due February 3, 2022, 3:00pm https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83874624015 https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdG1JrtEjz

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

III. OVERVIEW AND PURPOSE

III.A Purpose/Scope of Project

Washington County recognizes the crucial importance of broadband connection for households and businesses. In acknowledging the complex, interconnected social and economic factors that impact broadband access, the Washington County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) directed staff to conduct a detailed analysis of broadband infrastructure, access, and affordability countywide and to develop a countywide broadband investment strategy. At the highest level, the purpose of this work is to help the County and its local government partners prepare for potential broadband investments through the development of a comprehensive countywide Broadband Investment Stategy

See the Attachment A titled: Scope of Work Broadband Investment Strategy for the complete scope for this Request for Proposal.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

IV. PROPOSAL RESPONSE CONTENT

Please provide the following items in your proposal. See the Attachment A titled: Scope of Work Broadband Investment Strategy for the complete scope for this Request for Proposal.

IV.A Proposal Format

Follow the minimum proposal requirements listed in this section. These requirements must be strictly observed. Incomplete proposals or those that vary clearly and substantially from these requirements will result in rejection of the proposal as unresponsive.

Refer to the County's Scope of Work included as Attachment A for more details to inform your proposal.

A consultant or consultant team interested in performing the Services must submit a proposal to the County containing the following information:

1. Contact Information. Consultant's name, address, contact information, and the name of the primary contact in reference to the proposal.

2. Firm Information. Brief information concerning the consultant (e.g., background, size, types of services provided, experience, and types of similar governmental engagements). Please also identify no less than two references. Please also identify availability to perform the Services.

3. Experience and Availability of Key Project Staff. Identification of the person(s) who will be assigned and responsible to perform the Services and who will serve as the project manager.

Identification of key staff roles, their availability to perform the Services, and experience with the following:

a. Broadband planning and studies, program development and implementation, and related public/private partnership development.

b. Facilitation of multi-jurisdictional initiatives, including equitable strategy development, multi-organizational planning, multiple-method and equity-centered community engagement efforts, and project prioritization exercises.

c. Supporting initiatives to attract external grant funding or other forms of investment opportunities.

4. Budget and Rates. Identification of the proposed hourly rate(s) the consultant desires to receive for performance of the Services, including, without limitation, a not-to-exceed amount for all services performed. The County budget for this project is $150,000. If the proposed budget exceeds the County budget note items that could be removed or reduced to assist in aligning the budgets.

5. Project Approach and Proposed Work Plan. Describe the consultant team's approach to meeting the goal's stated in the provided Scope of Work document. In your description, incorporate how the approach will advance equity, describe anticipated project challenges, ways

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant to mitigate those challenges, and why your team is uniquely qualified to make this initiative a success.

In addition, consider and link the Scope elements described in the Scope of Work Document into a summary-level Work Plan. Address the concepts and proposed deliverables, noting the most critical elements, and ways to cost-effectively modify or enhance proposed tasks and deliverables. Consultant team recommended additions to the Scope of Work may be provided;

their justification and corresponding budget should be clearly stated.

6. Work Samples. Provide actual pages, images, or graphics from no more than three consultant team deliverables that demonstrate the team's ability to communicate key information and inform decisions from one or more projects of similar scope and scale. Pages should be marked only to call out a specific section (circle or highlight a particular area of a page) and should not contain any confidential information. The projects must be those performed by the team’s project manager and key staff in the same or similar roles as proposed in the Proposal. The work samples will be reviewed and evaluated on applicability to the Project as well as professionalism, including, without limitation, formatting, appropriate use of tables and graphics, clear, concise text that is free from errors (including misspellings, grammatical, and typographic). No more than four pages may be submitted under this criterion.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

V. EVALUATION PHASES

See the Attachment A titled: Scope of Work Broadband Investment Strategy for the complete scope for this Request for Proposal.

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Staff Qualifications, Experience, and Availability Description of staff qualifications, including technical skills and experience performing equity-centered initiatives. Description of experience with similar projects, either by the three components of broadband infrastructure, access, and affordability, or, experience using similar methods in projects of comparable scope. Please also describe each project team members availability to perform the services.

0-5 Points 25 (25% of Total)

2. Similar Project Experience Summary of similar and recent project experience. Please describe project deliverables and project outcomes, including how technical and social data were used to assess outcomes.

Work samples will also be evaluated under this criterion. Evaluation will be based on experience relevancy, project outcomes, and work samples.

0-5 Points 25 (25% of Total)

3. Project Approach and Work Plan Describe the consultant team's approach to meeting the goals stated in the provided Scope of Work document. Incorporate how the approach will advance equity, including racial equity in particular, across the three components of infrastructure, access, and affordability.

Please also include a summary-level description of your proposed Work Plan that includes the County's Scope elements. If applicable, describe how your team proposes to modify or enhance the project elements to best meet the project goals. Evaluation will be based on strength and clarity of the team’s proposal.

0-5 Points 40 (40% of Total)

4. Proposed Cost Please provide a description of proposed project costs to fully complete the services listed in your team’s Work Plan. The description should include a total project cost and a cost for each major task. Evaluation will be based on total project cost and alignment of task budgets with Work Plan items.

0-5 Points 10 (10% of Total)

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

VI. EVALUATION AND AWARD PROCESS

VI.A 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, demonstrations, and or interviews have occurred, a single firm will be identified that is best able to provide the services to the County. The County reserves the sole right to determine the best Proposal. A notice of intent to award will be published and a recommendation will be presented to the County Administrator or Board of Commissioners for their consideration.

VI.B 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.

VI.C 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.

VI.D Period Proposal Validity*

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

VI.E 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

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant proposal process, interviews, contract negotiations, and related expenses are the responsibility of the proposer.

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

VI.F 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.

VI.G 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.

VI.H 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

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant 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.

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.

VI.I 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.

VI.J Contract Term

The term of the contract will be effective for the period through and including December 31, 2023, with an option to renew for an additional two – one year periods.

The maximum possible term of the contract is five years.

VI.K 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.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

VII. INSTRUCTIONS TO PROPOSERS

VII.A 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

VII.B 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.

VII.C 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.

VII.D 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.

VII.E 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.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

VII.F 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#: 2022.009-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.

VII.G 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.

VII.H Interpretations and Addenda

If necessary, interpretations or clarifications in response to questions will be issued by addenda.

Questions received after Friday, January 28, 2022 may not be answered unless the County determines, in its sole discretion, that it is in its best interests to do so. Oral and other interpretations or clarifications will be without legal effect.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

Any amendment(s) to or error(s) in the RFP called to the attention of the County will be added to or corrected by written addendum and posted to the County's Procurement Portal. The County may also issue addenda to modify the proposal documents, as it deems advisable.

Receipt of addenda must be acknowledged.

Proposers shall be solely responsible to check for addenda, if any, from the County's Procurement Portal prior to submitting their proposals.

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.

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.

VII.I 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 3:00 pm Thursday, February 3, 2022. 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.

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 https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/washington-county-or https://secure.procurenow.com/portal/washington-county-or/projects/15498?section=110137

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

VIII. TERMS AND CONDITIONS

VIII.A 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.

VIII.B 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.

VIII.C 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.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

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.

VIII.D 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.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

VIII.E Qualifications/References/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.

VIII.F 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.

VIII.G County Rights

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.

VIII.H 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.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

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.

VIII.I 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.

VIII.J Insurance Requirements

The insurance requirements for this contract are outlined in the Insurance Requirements Summary Form.

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

IX. VENDOR SUBMISSIONS

IX.A 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

IX.B Solicitation Requirements*

Proposer read through and confirm that you met all of the Solicitation requirements?

☐ Yes

☐ No *Response required

IX.C 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

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

IX.D Oregon Secretary of State Business Registry*

Enter your registry number without spaces or dashes

*Response required

IX.E 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

IX.F Proposal Content

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 25 8.5" x 11", pages of written material, including work samples, describing the ability of the proposer to perform the work described. The minimum font shall be twelve (12) point single spaced.

IX.F.1 Proposal Response Content*

Upload all information requested in Section 4 Proposal Response Content. A single document is preferred, but multiple documents are acceptable.

*Response required

IX.F.2 Confidential Information

Upload all pages or documents containing information exempt from disclosure per the Proprietary Information, Ownership and Use of Documents article of the Terms and Conditions Section.

IX.F.3 Changes Requested to County Contract Standard Terms and Conditions

Upload any alterations requested to Washington County's contract standard terms and conditions per the Form of Contract article of the Terms and Conditions Section.

IX.F.4 Solicitation Awareness*

How did you hear about this opportunity?

Select all that apply

☐ Oregon Buys

☐ Link was emailed directly to me

☐ Washington County Website

☐ DJC Oregon, Portland Tribune or other printed media

Countywide Broadband Investment Strategy Consultant

☐ Twitter, Facebook or other social media

☐ Project Center, Plan room, etc?

*Response required