DS 171 250000000027 Operational Consulting Services Tier Two - Statewide Data Strategy Instructions.docx
DOCX document 64 KB Posted
- Attached to
- MCDA Statewide Data Strategy Pre-Qual Tier 2
- Solicitation number
- DS-171-250000000027-3
- Issued by
- Michigan
About this file
This document is a Direct Solicitation (DS) instruction set from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget for Statewide Operational Consulting Services, specifically a Tier-Two Bid Process for a Statewide Data Strategy (Solicitation No. 250000000027). The solicitation was issued on June 6, 2025, with a proposal deadline of June 30, 2025, and an anticipated contract start date of July 28, 2025. Bidders are required to submit electronic proposals through the Michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS system, with a technical evaluation process that weights prior experience at 25%, service capabilities at 50%, and staffing at 25%. Proposals receiving 80 or more technical evaluation points will have their pricing evaluated and be considered for award.
The evaluation will consider factors beyond pricing, including Michigan economic impact, such as the number of Michigan employees, wages, health insurance coverage, and potential job creation. The State reserves the right to award multiple optional-use contracts and will evaluate proposals based on best value, considering factors like principal place of performance, Michigan citizen employment, capital investments, and tax revenue implications. Bidders must complete a Confidential Treatment Form and are subject to potential Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) disclosure. The solicitation includes provisions for potential on-site visits, oral presentations, interviews, and reference checks as part of the evaluation process.
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Michigan.gov/MiProcurement
Schedule A – TIER-TWO instructions Statewide Operational Consulting Services Tier-two Bid Process Instructions Department of Technology, Management, and Budget Operational Consulting Services Tier-two: Statewide Data Strategy Direct Solicitation No. 250000000027 Solicitation Manager Name: Bethany Preston Email: PrestonB2@michigan.gov
Tier-two Direct Solicitation (DS) Timeline
| Event |
| Time |
| Date |
| DS issue date |
| N/A |
| Friday, June 6, 2025 |
| Deadline for bidders to submit questions about this DS |
| 3:00 PM |
| Friday, June 13, 2025 |
| Anticipated date the State will post answers to bidder questions on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS |
| 3:00 PM |
| Wednesday, June 18, 2025 |
| Proposal deadline* |
| 3:00 PM |
| Monday, June 30, 2025 |
| Anticipated contracts begin date |
| N/A |
| Monday, July 28, 2025 |
*A bidder’s proposal received at 3:01 PM Eastern is late and subject to disqualification.
This DS is subject to change. Check www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS for current information.
1. PROPOSAL PREPARATION. The State recommends reading all DS materials prior to preparing a proposal, particularly these Proposal Instructions. Bidders must follow these Proposal Instructions and provide a complete response to the items indicated in the table below. References and links to websites or external sources may not be used in lieu of providing the information requested in the DS within the proposal. Include the bidder’s company name in the header of all documents submitted with your proposal. Note that all documents and information submitted as part of a proposal will become public record immediately upon receipt by the State. Proposals received by the State may be posted on the State’s publicly available website after bidders are notified of the award recommendation.
DS Structure and Documentation
| Document |
| Description |
| Bidder Response Instructions |
| Cover Page |
| Provides DS title and number, important dates, and contact information for Solicitation Manager |
| Informational |
| Proposal Instructions |
| Provides DS instructions to bidders |
| Informational |
| Confidential Treatment Form |
| Required verification on whether bidder’s proposal contains confidential information |
| Bidder to complete and submit by proposal deadline |
| Schedule A – Statement of Work |
| Statement of work |
| Bidder to complete and submit by proposal deadline |
| Schedule B – Pricing |
| Pricing for goods and services sought by the State through this DS |
| Bidder to complete and submit by proposal deadline |
2. CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE STATE. The sole point of contact for the State concerning this DS is listed on the Cover Page. Contacting any other State personnel, agent, consultant, or representative about this DS may result in bidder disqualification.
3. MODIFICATIONS. The State may modify this DS at any time. Modifications will be posted on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS. This is the only method by which the DS may be modified.
4. QUESTIONS. Bidder questions about this DS must be emailed to the Solicitation Manager no later than the time and date specified on the Cover Page. In the interest of transparency, only written questions are accepted. Answers to questions will be posted on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS. Submit questions using the format below; a Microsoft Excel format or similar is suggested.
| Q # |
| Document and Section |
| Page # |
| Bidder Question |
5. DELIVERY OF PROPOSAL.
Electronic – The bidder must submit its proposal, all attachments, and any modifications or withdrawals electronically through www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS. The price proposal should be saved separately from all other proposal documents. The bidder should submit all documents in a modifiable (native) format (examples include but are not limited to Microsoft Word or Excel and Google Docs or Sheets). In addition to submitting documents in a modifiable format, the bidder may also submit copies of documents in PDF. Attachment file size is limited to 6 MB per document. Bidder’s failure to submit a proposal as required may result in disqualification. The proposal and attachments must be fully uploaded and submitted prior to the proposal deadline. Do not wait until the last minute to submit a proposal, as the SIGMA VSS system requires the creation of an account and entry of certain information, in addition to uploading and submitting the materials. The SIGMA VSS system will not allow a proposal to be submitted after the proposal deadline identified in the solicitation Closing On/Closing Date fields (Summary view/Detail view), even if a portion of the proposal has been uploaded.
Questions on how to submit information or how to navigate in the SIGMA VSS system can be answered by calling (517) 284-0540 or (888) 734-9749. The Solicitation Manager will not provide assistance related to the submittal of the proposal and all attachments on the day of the proposal deadline. Responsibility for a complete submission lies with the bidder.
6. EVALUATION PROCESS. The State will evaluate each proposal based on the following factors:
| Technical Evaluation Criteria |
| Weight |
| 1. |
| Prior Experience |
| 25 |
| 2. |
| Service Capabilities – Schedule A, Statement of Work, ALL SECTIONS, Except Section 5 Staffing |
| 50 |
| 3. |
| Staffing – Schedule A, Statement of Work, Section 5 |
| 25 |
| Total |
| 100 |
Proposals receiving 80 or more technical evaluation points will have pricing evaluated and considered for award.
The State may utilize all bidder information, without regard to a proposal’s technical score, to determine fair market value for goods or services sought. The State is not obligated to accept the lowest price proposal. If applicable, the State’s evaluation will include consideration of a bidder’s qualified disabled veterans/service-disabled veteran owned business(QDV/SDVOB) status under MCL 18.1261(8). Additional information on the SDVOB preference is available at: Michigan.gov/SDVOB.
The State may but is not required to conduct an on-site visit to tour and inspect the bidder’s facilities; require an oral presentation of the bidder's proposal; conduct interviews, research, reference checks, and background checks; and request additional price concessions at any point during the evaluation process.
7. CLARIFICATION REQUEST. The State reserves the right to issue a Clarification Request to a bidder to clarify its proposal if the State determines the proposal is not clear. Failure to respond to a Clarification Request timely may be cause for disqualification.
8. RESERVATIONS. The State reserves the right to:
a. Disqualify a bidder for failure to follow these instructions.
b. Discontinue the DS process at any time for any or no reason. The issuance of an DS, your preparation and submission of a proposal, and the State’s subsequent receipt and evaluation of your proposal does not commit the State to award a contract to you or anyone, even if all the requirements in the DS are met.
c. Consider late proposals if: (i) no other proposals are received; (ii) no complete proposals are received; (iii) the State received complete proposals, but the proposals did not meet mandatory minimum requirements or technical criteria; or (iv) the award process fails to result in an award.
d. Consider an otherwise disqualified proposal if no other proposals are received.
e. Disqualify a proposal based on: (i) information provided by the bidder in response to this DS; (2) the bidder’s failure to complete registration on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS ; or (3) if it is determined that a bidder purposely or willfully submitted false or misleading information in response to the DS.
f. Consider prior performance with the State in making its award decision.
g. Consider overall economic impact to the State when evaluating proposal pricing and in the final award recommendation. This includes but is not limited to: considering principal place of performance, number of Michigan citizens employed or potentially employed, dollars paid to Michigan residents, Michigan capital investments, job creation, tax revenue implications, and economically disadvantaged businesses.
h. Consider total-cost-of-ownership factors (e.g., transition and training costs) when evaluating proposal pricing and in the final award recommendation.
i. Refuse to award a contract to any bidder that has failed to pay State taxes or has outstanding debt with the State.
j. Enter into negotiations with one or more bidders on price, terms, technical requirements, or other deliverables.
k. Award multiple, optional-use contracts, or award by Contract Activity.
l. Evaluate the proposal outside the scope identified in the Evaluation Process section of this document if the State receives only one proposal.
9. DEBRIEF MEETING AND BID PROTEST. The State will publish an Award Recommendation and Evaluation Synopsis which will provide instructions on how to request a debrief meeting.
If you wish to initiate a protest of the award, you must submit your written protest to PrestonB2@michigan.gov no later than 3:00 PM, 5 business days after posting the Award Recommendation and Evaluation Synopsis.
10. AWARD RECOMMENDATION. The SOW will be awarded to responsive and responsible Contractor who offers the best value to the State, as determined by the State. Best value will be determined by the Contractor meeting the minimum point threshold and offering the best combination of factors stated in the Evaluation Process section of this document, and price as demonstrated by the proposal. The State will post an Award Recommendation and Evaluation Synopsis on www.michigan.gov/SIGMAVSS.
11. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM AND THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. As a public record, all portions of the bidder’s proposal and resulting contract are subject to disclosure as required under Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231, et seq. However, the State may exempt some information from disclosure as permitted by law. Under MCL 18.1261(13)(b), records containing “a trade secret as defined under section 2 of the uniform trade secrets act, 1998 PA 448, MCL 445.1902,” are exempt from disclosure under FOIA. In addition, “financial or proprietary information” submitted with a bidder’s proposal is exempt from disclosure under FOIA. A bidder’s failure to comply with this Section is grounds for rejecting a bidder’s proposal as non-responsive. As a part of its proposal, each bidder must follow the procedure below.
SUBMIT A COMPLETED “CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT FORM” (CT FORM) WITH YOUR BID. Completion and submission of the CT Form is required regardless of whether the bidder seeks confidential treatment of information. Failure to submit a completed CT Form may be cause for disqualification from the solicitation process. If a bidder fails to properly complete and submit the CT Form or otherwise fails to follow CT Form instructions, the proposal may be publicly disclosed in its entirety without redaction after an award recommendation.
Complete and sign Section 1 of the CT Form if the bidder does NOT request confidential treatment of information contained in its proposal; or
i. Complete and sign Section 2 of the CT Form if the bidder requests confidential treatment of certain information. Bidder must also submit a “Public Copy” of the proposal with the trade secret, financial, and proprietary information redacted and clearly labeled as the “Public Copy.”
ii. Failure to complete and sign a CT Form may result in disqualification of the bidder. If a bidder fails to properly complete and submit the CT Form or otherwise fails to follow the CT Form instructions, the proposal, in its entirety, will be treated as a “Public Copy” and may be publicly disclosed by the State without redaction after bidders have been notified of an award recommendation.
b. FOIA REQUESTS. If a FOIA request is made for a bidder’s proposal, the Public Copy may be distributed to the public along with the bidder’s CT Form. The CT Form is a public document and serves as an explanation for the redactions to the Public Copy. Do not put any trade secret, financial, or proprietary information in the CT Form. Do not redact the CT Form itself.
| c. | NO ADVICE. The State will not advise a bidder as to the nature or content of documents entitled to protection from disclosure under FOIA or other laws, as to the interpretation of such laws, or as to the definition of trade secret or financial or proprietary information. Nothing contained in this provision will modify or amend requirements and obligations imposed on the State by FOIA or other applicable law. |
| d. | FAILURE TO REQUEST CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT. Failure to request material be treated as confidential as specified herein relieves the State, its agencies, and personnel from any responsibility for maintaining material in confidence. |
| e. | Bids containing a request to maintain an entire proposal as confidential may be rejected as non-responsive. Bidders may not request confidential treatment with respect to resumes, pricing, and marketing materials. The State reserves the right to determine whether material designated as exempt by a bidder falls under MCL 18.1261 or other applicable FOIA exemptions. If a FOIA request is made for materials that the bidder has identified as trade secret, financial, or proprietary information, the State has the final authority to determine whether the materials are exempt from disclosure under FOIA. |
| f. | Bidder forever releases the State, its departments, subdivisions, officers, and employees from all claims, rights, actions, demands, damages, liabilities, expenses and fees, which arise out of or relate to the disclosure of all or a portion of bidder’s proposal submitted under this DS. Bidder must defend, indemnify and hold the State, its departments, subdivisions, officers, and employees harmless, without limitation, from and against all actions, claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, attorney fees, and expenses (including those required to establish the right to indemnification), arising out of or relating to any FOIA request, including potential litigation and appeals, related to the portion of bidder’s proposal submitted under this DS that bidder has identified as a trade secret, or financial or proprietary information. The State will notify bidder in writing if indemnification is sought. The State is entitled to: (i) regular updates on proceeding status; (ii) participate in the defense of the proceeding; (iii) employ its own counsel; and to (iv) retain control of the defense, or any portion thereof, if the State deems necessary. Bidder will not, without the State’s written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld), settle, compromise, or consent to the entry of any judgment in or otherwise seek to terminate any claim, action, or proceeding. If a State employee, official, or law is involved or challenged, the State may control the defense of that portion of the claim. Any litigation activity on behalf of the State, or any of its subdivisions under this Section, must be coordinated with the Department of Attorney General. An attorney designated to represent the State may not do so until approved by the Michigan Attorney General and appointed as a Special Assistant Attorney General. |
confidential treatment form INSTRUCTIONS. Bidder must complete either Section 1 or Section 2 of this CT Form and sign where indicated. Do not complete both sections. This CT Form must be signed by the individual who signed the bidder’s proposal. A completed CT Form must be submitted with your proposal, regardless of whether your proposal contains confidential information.
Failure to submit a completed CT Form with your bid is grounds for rejecting the proposal as non-responsive. If a bidder fails to properly complete and submit the CT Form or otherwise fails to follow CT Form Instructions, the proposal, in its entirety, will be treated as a “Public Copy” and may be publicly disclosed by the State without redaction after bidders have been notified of an award recommendation. See the Confidential Treatment Form and The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) sections of the Proposal Instructions for additional information.
Section 1. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT IS NOT REQUESTED This section must be completed, signed, and submitted with the proposal if the bidder does not request confidential treatment of any material contained in the proposal. If this section is completed, do not complete Section 2. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT IS REQUESTED.
By signing below, the bidder affirms that confidential treatment of material contained in their proposal is not requested.
DS Number
DS Title
Signature
Date
Printed Name, Title, Company
Section 2. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT IS REQUESTED This section must be completed, signed, and submitted with the proposal if bidder requests confidential treatment of any material contained in the proposal. Submission of a completed CT Form is required to request confidential treatment. If this section is completed, do not complete Section 1. CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT IS NOT REQUESTED.
Provide the information in the table below. Bidder may add rows or additional pages using the same format shown in the table. Bidder must specifically identify the information to be protected as confidential and state the reasons why protection is necessary.
The CT Form will not be considered fully complete unless, for each confidentiality request, the bidder: (1) identifies the Proposal Page #, Section #, and Paragraph #, (2) identifies whether the material is a Trade Secret (TS), Proprietary Financial Information (FI), or Proprietary Information (PI), and (3) explains the specific legal grounds that support treatment of the material as TS, FI, or PI. Bidders must provide a complete justification as to how the material falls within the scope of an applicable FOIA exemption or relevant case law. Bidders must not simply cite to an applicable exemption or case name. Bidders must also provide the contact information for the person at their organization authorized to respond to inquiries by the State concerning the material.
Bidder must also submit a “Public Copy” of the proposal with the trade secret, financial, and proprietary information redacted and clearly labeled as the “Public Copy”.
(1) Proposal Page #, Section #, Paragraph # (2) Material is Trade Secret (TS), Proprietary Financial Information (FI), Proprietary Information (PI) (3) Applicable FOIA Exemption with Written Justification (4) Bidder Contact Information
By signing below, the bidder affirms that confidential treatment of material contained in their proposal is requested and has attached to this form a redacted “Public Copy” of the bidder’s proposal.
DS Number
DS Title
Signature
Date
Printed Name, Title, Company
Prior Experience
| Information Sought |
| Bidder Response |
Experience 1
Company name.
Contact name. Contact phone. Contact email.
Contact role at time of project.
City. State. Zip.
1. Project name and description of the scope of the project.
2. What role did your company play?
3. How is this project experience relevant to the subject of this DS?
Dollar value.
Start and end date (mm/yy – mm/yy)
Status (completed, live, other – specify phase)
Results obtained.
Experience 2
Company name.
Contact name. Contact phone. Contact email.
Contact role at time of project.
City. State. Zip.
1. Project name and description of the scope of the project.
2. What role did your company play?
3. How is this project experience relevant to the subject of this DS?
Dollar value.
Start and end date (mm/yy – mm/yy)
Status (completed, live, other – specify phase)
Results obtained.
| Did your company, an employee, agent, or representative of your company, or any affiliated entity participate in developing any component of this solicitation? For purposes of this question, business concerns, organizations, or individuals are affiliates of each other if, directly or indirectly: (1) either one controls or has power to control the other or (2) a third-party controls or has the power to control both. Indicia of control include, but are not limited to, interlocking management or ownership, identity of interests among family members, shared facilities or equipment, and common use of employees. |
| Enter YES or NO. |
If you enter “YES”, you are not eligible for contract award or to work as a subcontractor for the awarded vendor.
Michigan Economic Impact
Number of employees currently employed at locations within the State of Michigan.
Number of additional employees to be employed at locations within the State of Michigan if awarded this Contract (if any)
Minimum wage paid to employees employed at locations within the State of Michigan.
Average wage paid to employees employed at locations within the State of Michigan.
Percentage of employees employed at locations within the State of Michigan that are covered by employer-provided health insurance.
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