DQ EGBA 2027000083 Community Engagement &Qualitative Research Services - Draft.docx

Documented Quote (DQ)

DQ1 EGBA 2027000083

Community Engagement and Qualitative Research Services

All questions and inquiries regarding this solicitation must be sent to the sole point of contact:

Michelle Parker, OIT Senior Purchasing Agent michelle.parker@state.co.us

Schedule of Activities (All times listed are Mountain Time)

Written Inquiry Deadline 5:00 pm 8/31/26

State Response to Written Inquiries (estimated) 9/1/26

Vendor Response Submission Deadline 11:00 am 9/4/26

Please submit responses to the following address: http://www.bidnetdirect.com//oit

Table of Contents

Attachments Attachment A – Vendor Questions Form Attachment B – Colorado State Purchase Order Terms and Conditions Attachment C – Cost Structure (Firm Fixed Price) Form

Section 1 Solicitation Information

1.1. Introduction

On behalf of the State of Colorado, the Office of Information Technology (OIT) is issuing this Documented Quote (DQ) for community engagement and qualitative research services with incentive payment management.

1.2. Background, Overview and Goals

OIT is seeking services to support state of Colorado digital initiatives. Services include planning, recruitment, facilitation, and data collection of community insight sessions with Colorado residents, to inform product design, service delivery, and policy development.

Award amount is anticipated to be open-ended and utilized on an ad hoc basis, depending upon the State’s needs and budget, with a maximum potential encumbrance amount of up to $349,000.00. Spending amounts stated in this solicitation are estimates only, and no volume of goods or services to be purchased can be guaranteed. OIT does not guarantee any minimum amount of work under this DQ.

Awarded vendor(s) must be able to provide all of the required services listed below in 2.5.1 through 2.5.7.

Project due dates, deliverable increments and timetables, types and frequency of operational reports and meetings, acceptance criteria, milestones, assessments, decision points, performance metrics, and budget amounts will be determined by the State for each separate engagement, via statements of work for future research and operations.

1.3. Anticipated Term

a. The anticipated duration of the Purchase Order(s) resulting from the award of this solicitation is an initial term of one (1) year with the option to extend for up to another one (1) year term, at the State’s sole discretion.

b. The State is not responsible for any goods delivered or services performed by the awarded Respondent without a State issued Contract, Purchase Order or related commitment voucher.

1.4. Respondent Inquiries

a. Respondents may submit written inquiries concerning this solicitation, using Attachment A - Vendor Questions Form, via email to obtain clarifications. The State, in its sole discretion, may not accept inquiries received after the date and time indicated in the Schedule of Activities. Send all inquiries, using the attachment form, to the Procurement Contact identified above. Inquiries should be clearly marked with the DQ number and title. Where appropriate, inquiries should include references to any relevant Section/paragraph of the solicitation.

b. Responses to Respondent inquiries will be published on Colorado Vendor Self Service (VSS) collectively, as an amendment to the solicitation. Respondents shall not rely on any verbal statements that alter any specification or other term or condition of the solicitation. Such changes are valid only if provided in writing by the Procurement Contact.

Section 2 Scope of Work/Specification and Requirements

2.1. Mandatory Accessibility Requirements

All work performed as a result of this solicitation must comply with all applicable provisions of §§24-85-101, C.R.S., et seq., and the Accessibility Standards for Individuals with a Disability, as established by the Office Of Information Technology pursuant to §24-85-103 (2.5), C.R.S. and 3) all State of Colorado technology standards related to technology accessibility and with Level AA of the most current version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), incorporated in the State of Colorado technology standards.

2.1.1 Please include a statement with your submission verifying that the services you are offering comply with the Mandatory Accessibility Requirements listed above, or the reasons why you believe the requirements are inapplicable.

2.2. Insurance Requirements

The awarded Respondent will be required to submit a certificate(s) of insurance evidencing insurance coverage for the types and amounts of insurance as required by the Insurance provision in the Contract or Purchase Order Terms and Conditions, included in this solicitation as Attachment B – Purchase Order Terms and Conditions, prior to execution of the Contract or Purchase Order.

2.2.1 Due to a very brief timeline, and because it may involve additional insurance costs at vendors’ sole expense, please review Attachment B and include a statement with your submission verifying that you agree to comply with all of the insurance requirements and obtain all applicable coverages listed in the Colorado State Purchase Order Terms and Conditions, and that you will provide proof of same if your company is awarded, within 2 business days after receiving notification of award.

2.3. Video Surveillance and Telecommunications Prohibition

Per FAR 52.204-24 through 26, FAR 4.2105(a), and Policy Alert # 20-124 “Section 2 – Merchant Representation”: Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment: Video surveillance and Telecommunications equipment produced by (or any subsidiary or affiliate of such entities) below, is strictly prohibited:

· Huawei Technologies Company

· ZTE Corporation

· Hytera Communications Corporation

· Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Company

· Dahua Technology Company Agencies shall not solicit offers from, award contracts to renew, place new orders with, or otherwise extend the duration of current contracts, or consent to subcontracts. Moreover, any proposals including commodities or services from the above mentioned vendors (or subsidiaries) will be eliminated from consideration.

2.3.1 Please include a statement with your submission verifying that the services you are offering will comply with the prohibition listed above.

2.4. Location Requirements

Vendor(s) will be providing recruitment and incentive services for Colorado-specific populations and conducting interviews with Colorado residents; therefore, awarded vendor(s) must be based in the State of Colorado and all work performed must be within the State of Colorado.

2.4.1 Please include a statement with your submission to certify that your company is based in the State of Colorado and all work will be performed in the State of Colorado.

2.5. Scope of Work/Specifications

OIT is seeking vendors who have experience with recruitment and incentive interview services for Colorado-specific populations. The State will provide guidance, resources and a scope or statement of work (SOW) to the awarded vendor(s) for selected service engagements, as needed. Overall project management and governance for all engagements shall be maintained by a designated State employee.

The Scopes or Statements of Work provided by OIT may also detail more specific project performance metrics, deliverable and milestone assessment criteria, decision points, timelines, due dates, meeting schedules, along with acceptance standards for the requested engagement. General requirements include:

1. 95% of project milestones and deliverables should be submitted on or before the due date.

2. All deliverables are subject to formal written review and approval by the State within ten (10) business days of submission. Automatic or implicit acceptance shall not apply.

3. All key project decisions and meeting summaries are to be distributed within two (2) business days.

4. Key personnel are to maintain 100% operational availability during standard Mountain Time business hours.

5. Twenty-four (24) hour vendor resolution response time for escalations (operational breakdowns, shortfalls, etc.), to achieve rapid remediation.

6. Recruitment Fulfillment: 90%+ of contracted participant quota recruited and confirmed per engagement.

7. Session Completion: 90%+ of scheduled sessions completed as scheduled (excluding no-shows or other occurrences defined by the State as outside vendor control).

8. Summary Turnaround: insight summaries delivered within 10 business days of engagement close.

9. State Review Window: summaries reviewed/approved within 10 business days of submission.

10. Incentive Accuracy: 100% of verified participant incentives distributed within 15 business days of session completion.

11. Lifecycle-based Check-ins (kickoff, mid-engagement, close-out)

12. Vendor to provide written attestation of key personnel’s trauma-informed training upon SOW execution.

As needed and as allowed by OIT, vendor resources will be given access to any products they are working on (and may be subjected to background checks, security reviews, and non-disclosure agreements prior to gaining access to any technical or work environment).

Required Services Include:

2.5.1. Project Planning & Design

· Collaborative scoping with partners to define goals, audiences, and learning objectives

· Development or refinement of interview guides, usability tasks, or survey questions

· Guidance on question clarity, accessibility, and cultural responsiveness

2.5.2. Community Recruitment & Coordination

· Recruitment of eligible participants from the Colorado Digital Inquiry Group (CDIG) community

· Participant screening and confirmation

· Scheduling, reminders, and session logistics

· Ongoing participant communication and support

2.5.3. Facilitation & Engagement

· Facilitation or hosting of virtual interviews, user testing sessions, or group conversations

· Trauma-informed, community-centered facilitation practices

· English and Spanish facilitation, as applicable

· Supportive environment that encourages honest, candid feedback

2.5.4. Survey Administration

· Survey setup and coordination

· Distribution to CDIG members

· Participation tracking and completion monitoring

2.5.5. Recording & Reference Materials

· Session recording when approved and appropriate deemed by state personnel

· Provision of auto-generated or lightly reviewed transcripts for reference purposes

· Transcripts are intended to support synthesis and internal review, not formal analysis or publication

2.5.6. Participant Incentives & Administration

· Incentive management and distribution

· Attendance verification and participation tracking

· Administrative coordination related to participant payments

2.5.7. Insight Synthesis & Summaries

· Review of session notes, recordings, and transcripts

· Identification of high-level themes, patterns, and key takeaways

· Written summaries or slide-based recaps of insights

· Highlighting participant quotes and illustrative examples (non-analytical)

2.5.8 Responses Requested

2.5.8.1 Keeping in mind the services that are NOT included (see list in 2.6.1 – 2.6.7 below), please describe how your company intends to deliver each of the services listed above (2.5.1 – 2.5.7) and disclose any of these tasks or deliverables that you will not be able to provide.

2.5.8.2 Please share your company’s qualifications, key personnel, prior project experience and training, relevant to this scope of work, and detail your previous involvement with recruitment and incentive services for Colorado-specific populations.

2.5.8.3 Please detail the methods you employ to recruit representative populations for surveys and research.

2.5.8.4 Do you practice trauma-informed research and design practices, and have all practitioners being used for these projects undergone trauma informed research training?

2.6. Services NOT Included:

2.6.1. Transcription & Data Processing

· Verbatim transcription of audio or video recordings

· Editing, cleaning, or formatting of transcripts

· Translation or back-translation of transcripts

2.6.2 Data Analysis & Research

· Advanced qualitative coding or thematic analysis

· Quantitative or statistical analysis

· Data modeling, forecasting, or evaluation studies

· Validation or verification of third-party data

2.6.3 Reporting & Deliverables

· Long-form research reports beyond agreed summary deliverables

· Custom dashboards, data visualizations, or analytic tools

· Policy recommendations or implementation roadmaps

· Copywriting, marketing, or communications deliverables

2.6.4 Technology & Platforms

· Survey platform licensing or software fees (e.g., Qualtrics, Typeform)

· Data hosting, database management, or system integrations

· Al model training, fine-tuning, or deployment

2.6.5 Recruitment & Fieldwork

· Recruitment outside of the CDIG community

· In-person facilitation, fieldwork, or site visits

· Travel, lodging, meals, or venue costs

2.6.6 Media & Production

· Audio or video recording, production, or editing

· Graphic design or multimedia content creation

2.6.7 Project Management & Staffing

· Dedicated project management beyond session coordination

· Ongoing staffing, embedded team support, or staff augmentation

Section 3 Quote Submission Information

3.1. Email Quote Submission Instruction

a. Respondents shall submit Quotes via the aforementioned Bidnet’s location http://www.bidnetdirect.com//oit to the Procurement Point of Contact, identified above. The Quote submission should include the Subject line:

[Insert Respondent Company Name] for [Insert DQ number], [Insert DQ title]

b. Quotes should be included as one or more attachments of commonly accessible file types.

c. Please include your company’s Federal Tax Identification Number, Colorado Vendor Self Service (VSS) Customer Number, point of contact’s name, email address and telephone number on the first page of your solicitation response.

d. Responses must follow and notate the headers, numbering and order of this DQ. The State reserves the right to consider any required information as non-responsive, if each response in the proposal does not follow the headers, numbering and order of the DQ, and is not clearly or correctly labeled with the appropriate section heading, letter or number of the DQ

3.2. Timeliness Of Quote Submission

a. A Quote received after the submission deadline may, at the sole discretion of the State, be rejected without further consideration.

3.3. Pricing

a. Proposed pricing must remain firm during the term of the Contract or Purchase Order.

b. Flat rates, cost per participant and hourly pricing must be inclusive of any fees associated with the provision of goods or services, including, but not limited to, travel expenses, insurance, surcharges, shipping, installation, etc., and these charges are not permitted to be broken out or billed separately. All related equipment, equipment maintenance, travel costs, etc. shall be included within the flat rates, cost per participant and hourly pricing in your submitted quote. Any costs not included as part of the Respondent’s quote, will be disallowed.

c. Please use Attachment C - Cost Structure (Firm Fixed Price) Form to submit all of your quoted rates. The form may not be altered.

Section 4 Award

4.1. Award (See Procurement Rule R-24-103-204-01)

a. This solicitation and the resulting Contract or Purchase Order will be awarded to the responsible Respondent whose acceptable Quote is determined to be the most advantageous to the State, with price/cost being the primary consideration.

b. “Acceptable” means that the goods or services submitted in the Respondent’s Quote will meet the state’s needs, and that the price is fair and reasonable. The determination of whether a Respondent’s Quote is acceptable is solely within the State’s discretion.

c. Neither this solicitation nor a Respondent’s Quote constitutes a legally binding offer.

4.2. Negotiations

The State may negotiate with any Respondent to clarify the Respondent’s Quote or to effect modifications that will make the Quote Acceptable or more advantageous to the State; however, any requirements identified in this solicitation may not be negotiated. Reference Procurement Rule R-24-103-204-01(d).

4.3. Single Quote

If only one Quote is received in response to this solicitation, an award may be made to the single Respondent, if the procurement official finds that the price submitted is fair and reasonable and that other prospective Respondents had reasonable opportunity to respond to the solicitation. If the price submitted is not fair and reasonable and there is not adequate time for re-solicitation, the procurement official may enter into competitive negotiations in accordance with Procurement Rule R-24-103-208-02.

4.4. Colorado Business Registration

Within ten (10) business days of the notification of the award of a contract under this solicitation, the awarded Offeror must be properly registered with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office to do business in Colorado. The State may request that the awarded Offeror provide evidence of such registration, as well as other organizing documents such as Articles of Incorporation or By-laws.

4.5. Notice of Award

A Notice of Intent to Award will be sent to the selected vendor(s).

4.6. Documents After Awards

Prior to Contract or Purchase Order execution, the awarded Respondent must provide the State with proof of Good Standing with the Colorado Secretary of State and an insurance certificate documenting coverage as required by the Contract or Purchase Order.

Section 5 General Administrative Information

5.1. Terms and Conditions of agreement

The terms and conditions of the resulting agreement shall be a Purchase Order and the associated terms and conditions in Attachment B - Colorado State Purchase Order Terms and Conditions will apply, including net 45-day payment terms after receipt of an approved invoice for acceptable, completed work.

5.2. Colorado Offeror Self Service and Registration

The State uses the Colorado Operations Resource Engine (CORE), Vendor Self Service (VSS) and BIDNET to publicly post solicitations. https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/oit https://www.colorado.gov/vss

Solicitation details for goods and services, as well as construction notices, are publicly available without registration on VSS. Any addendum or modification to this DQ will be published using Colorado VSS and BIDNET. Offerors should check VSS on a regular basis. Vendors that are registered on VSS may choose to receive notifications of any new information regarding this DQ.

An Offeror must have a current registration on BidNet and VSS in order to be awarded under this DQ. There is no cost to register on Colorado VSS. To become a registered supplier on VSS, please visit www.colorado.gov/vss

To become a registered supplier on BidNet, please visit: https://www.bidnetdirect.com/colorado/oit

5.3. Colorado Vendor Self Service

This DQ is being published on the Colorado Vendor Self Service page (Colorado VSS) at www.colorado.gov/vss so that Respondents who have an interest may submit a response in accordance with the terms of this DQ.

5.4. Modifications and/or Supplemental Information To The Solicitation

a. Any modifications, amendments or supplemental information to the solicitation will be published on Colorado VSS. A modification notice will be published on Colorado VSS in the event that it becomes necessary to revise any part of this solicitation.

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

5.5. News Releases and Announcements

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

5.6. Response Material Ownership

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

5.7. Submission of Pricing information

Please use Attachment C - Cost Structure (Firm Fixed Price) Form to submit all your quoted rates. The form may not be altered.

5.8. Submission of Confidential or Proprietary Information

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

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

c. A complete redacted response should also be included along with an unredacted Response and confidentiality justification.

d. Except as provided in Section 1.2 above, in no event shall an entire response be classified as confidential. The Procurement Official or his or her designee shall determine if the information identified in the Respondent’s request is exempt from disclosure in accordance with §24-72-204, C.R.S., and shall inform the Respondent in writing of his or her determination. If the Respondent does not agree with the determination, the Respondent may protest the determination in accordance with article 109 of the Colorado Procurement Code and the terms of this solicitation. Reference Procurement Rule R-24-101-401-03.

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