Educational Planning Guide RFP - updated.pdf

Ohio Facilities Construction Commission Multimedia Services RFP – SFC-250991 Page 1

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

PROJECT NUMBER: SFC-250991

The State of Ohio, through the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission, is issuing the following Request for Proposals (RFP):

Multimedia Services RFP

Proposals received after the due date and time will not be evaluated.

This RFP consists of 65 consecutively numbered pages. Please verify that you have a complete copy of all documents.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

RFP Details

Section 1 Overview of Work

Section 2 Procurement Authority, RFP Overview, and Schedule of Events

Section 3 Instructions to Offeror

Section 4 Requirements for Proposals

Section 5 Evaluation Process

Section 6 Evaluation Metrics

Section 7 Contract Award

Contract

Part 1 Scope of Work

Part 2 Reserved

Part 3 Reserved

Part 4 Standard Terms and Conditions

Part 5 Cost Proposal

Part 6 Mutually Agreed Upon Changes

Part 7 Required Forms

Part 8 Sample Contract

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RFP DETAILS

Section 1 - Overview of Work

A. Term of Contract

Once awarded, the term of the Contract will be from the effective date stated in the Contract through June 30, 2027. The State may solely renew this Contract at its discretion for a period of one month. Any further renewals will be by mutual agreement between the Contractor and the State. The cumulative time of all mutual renewals may not exceed five years, and each renewal is subject to and contingent upon the discretionary decision of the Ohio General Assembly to appropriate funds for this Contract in each new biennium. The State may renew all or part of this Contract subject to the satisfactory performance of the Contractor and the needs of the OFCC.

B. Purpose and Background

The purpose of this RFP is to secure an experienced Contractor for the development of creative materials for the various needs of the OFCC. The expected services are described in “Part 1 – Scope of Work” .

The Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) oversees capital projects undertaken by state agencies and state-supported institutions of higher education; manages Ohio's school facility programs which provide support for the construction and renovation of public K-12 schools; and administers the funding for community-based cultural and sports facilities projects.

C. Scope of Work Overview

An overview of the Work is provided below. The scope of work and requirements are provided in greater detail within Part 1, Scope of Work.

The OFCC maintains the Educational Planning Guide to guide Ohio school districts in the planning of new school facilities. The Educational Planning Guide illustrates this mission by helping key stakeholders navigate a K-12 construction project from an initial concept to substantial completion. The OFCC is looking for a media company to create 27 promotional and educational videos at locations throughout the state and take photos. Additionally, to create up to 20 graphics or charts to accompany the videos. The videos, photos, graphics, and charts will be incorporated in the Educational Planning Guide on the OFCC website to educate and inspire a broad audience across Ohio.

D. Objectives

The State has the following objectives that it wants this Work to fulfill, and it will be the Contractor’s obligation to ensure that the personnel the Contractor provides are qualified to perform their portions of the Work.

The OFCC is seeking to secure an experienced Contractor to create communications, videos, graphics and over the life of the Contract.

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Section 2 – Procurement Authority, RFP Overview, and Schedule of Events

A. Procurement Authority and RFP Overview

This is a request for competitive sealed proposals (RFP) under Section 125.071 of the Ohio Revised Code (R.C.) and Section 123:5-1-08 of the Ohio Administrative Code (OAC). The State of Ohio, through the Ohio Facilities Commission (OFCC), is soliciting competitive sealed proposals (Proposals) for this Marketing and Communication Services RFP.

If a suitable Proposal is made by an offeror (Offeror) in response to this RFP, the State of Ohio (State), through OFCC, may enter into a contract (Contract). The selected Offeror (the Contractor) will perform all or part of the scope of work described in this RFP (the Work). This RFP provides details on what is required to submit a Proposal for the Work, how the State will evaluate the Proposals, and what will be required of the Contractor in performing the Work.

B. Schedule of Events

The schedule of events for the RFP process and Work is provided in the solicitation general information section in OhioBuys for this RFP. The State may change this schedule at any time. If the State changes the schedule before the Proposal due date, it will post an amendment to this RFP in the OhioBuys public portal. It is each Offeror’s responsibility to monitor the OhioBuys public portal for current information regarding this RFP. Offerors must not contact OFCC staff until the Contract award is announced.

There are references in this RFP to the Proposal due date. Unless it is clearly stated to the contrary, any such reference means the date and time that the Proposals are due.

Proposals received after 1:00 p.m. on the Proposal due date will not be evaluated. Any failure to meet a deadline or any objection to the dates for performance of the Work may result in the State refusing to consider a Proposal.

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Section 3 – Instructions to Offeror

A. Introduction to General Instructions

The following sections provide details on how to get more information about this RFP and how to respond to this RFP. All responses must be complete and in the prescribed format.

B. Contacts

The following person will represent the State:

Hayley Carducci Chief of Ext Affairs/Outreach OFCC hayley.carducci@ofcc.ohio.gov

During the performance of the Work, a State representative (OFCC Representative) will represent the OFCC and be the primary contact for matters relating to the Work. The OFCC Representative will be designated in writing after the Contract award.

C. Inquiries

Offerors may not contact the State directly at any time during the solicitation process, however Offerors may make inquiries regarding this RFP any time during the inquiry period listed in the Calendar of Events.

To make an inquiry, Offerors must login to OhioBuys, navigate to the solicitation, open the Inquiry tab and submit their inquiry. Offerors will not receive a personalized e-mail response to their question, nor will they receive notification when the question has been answered. Offerors may view inquiries and responses on the OhioBuys Public Solicitations page by opening the Solicitation Overview and navigating to the inquiries section of that page.

Offerors are to base their proposal responses, and the details and costs of their proposed projects, on the requirements and performance expectations established in this RFP.

The State is under no obligation to acknowledge questions submitted through the Q&A process if those questions are not in accordance with these instructions or deadlines. The State does not consider questions asked during the inquiry period through the inquiry process as exceptions to the requirements or the terms and conditions of this RFP.

The State will try to respond to all inquiries within three business days of receipt, excluding State holidays.

The State will not respond to any inquiries received after 8:00 a.m. on the inquiry end date. The State will use its discretion in deciding whether to provide responses as part of this RFP process. Responses to inquiries are not considered changes to the RFP.

D. Restrictions on Communication

Other than the communication options described in this RFP, Offerors must not make unsolicited contact with any elected official or office of the State, any staff member the OFCC, or any agent or representative of the OFCC, regarding this RFP. Offerors must not represent themselves to anyone as having the endorsement of the OFCC or the State, nor as the OFCC’s next supplier of the Work. For contractors currently doing business with the OFCC, any communication regarding this RFP is prohibited except as provided for in this RFP. Any such unauthorized contact may result in an Offeror being disqualified from further consideration under this RFP. The State will not discuss the particulars of this RFP process with external parties.

E. Reserved

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F. Reserved

G. Amendments to this RFP

If the State decides to revise this RFP before the Proposal due date, an amendment will be issued in OhioBuys as a new round. If an offeror has submitted a Proposal prior to an amendment being issued and wishes to be considered, the offeror must resubmit their Proposal in response to the latest round of the RFP. Proposals submitted in response to amended RFPs prior to the most recent amendment will not be opened or evaluated. The State may issue amendments any time before Proposals are due, and it is each prospective offeror’s responsibility to check for amendments and other current information regarding this

RFP.

Unless otherwise stated in the notice by the State, modifications and withdrawals must be submitted within OhioBuys prior to the end date of the amendment response period. If this RFP provides for a negotiation phase, this procedure will not apply to changes negotiated during that phase. Any modification that is broader in scope than the State has authorized may be rejected and treated as a withdrawal of the Offeror’s Proposal.

H. Proposal Submittal

Each Offeror must submit a technical proposal and a cost proposal as separate sections of its Proposal before the opening time on the Proposal due date and pursuant to the instructions in Section 4.

Each section must be submitted in its own separate, electronic submission as indicated by the solicitation questionnaire. The submission with the technical proposal will be electronically sealed (the electronic envelope), and the submission with the cost proposal will be separately electronically sealed (the electronic envelope).

Each requirement of a Proposal represents only a part of the total basis for a decision to award the Contract, and a failure by an Offeror to make a required submission or meet a Mandatory Requirement normally will result in a rejection of that Proposal. The value assigned to each requirement is used to determine which Proposal is the most advantageous to the State in relation to the other Proposals received. It is not a basis for determining the importance of meeting that requirement.

Offerors must submit their Proposals electronically in OhioBuys before the noted time on the Proposal due date. OhioBuys will not allow submission or modification to a submission after the deadline. An Offeror submitting an electronic Proposal must allow for adequate time for uploading a Proposal prior to the due date and time. Technical difficulties experienced by the Offeror will not be an exception.

Each Offeror must carefully review the requirements of this RFP and the contents of its Proposal. Once opened, Proposals cannot be altered or withdrawn, except as allowed by this RFP.

The State is not responsible for the accuracy of any information regarding this RFP that was gathered through a source other than the inquiry process described in the RFP.

The State may reject any Proposal if the Offeror takes exception to the terms and conditions of this RFP, includes unacceptable assumptions or conditions in its Proposal, fails to comply with the procedure for participating in the RFP process, or fails to meet any requirement of this RFP. The State also may reject any Proposal it believes is not in its interest to accept, cancel this RFP, or decide not to award a Contract to any or all of the Offerors responding to this RFP.

Offerors may not prepare or modify their Proposals on State premises.

All Proposals and other material that Offerors submit will become the property of the State and may be returned only at the State's option. All Proposals will be open to the public after the State has awarded the Contract.

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The State will retain all Proposals, or a copy of them, as part of the Contract file for at least 3 years. After the three-year retention period, the State may return, destroy, or otherwise dispose of the Proposals and any copies of them.

The State is not responsible for any costs an Offeror incurs in responding to this RFP or from participating in the evaluation process or negotiations process (if any), regardless of whether the State awards the Contract through this process, decides not to go forward with the Contract award, cancels this RFP for any reason, or contracts for the Work through some other process or through another RFP.

I. Rejection of Proposals Generally

The State may reject any Proposal for the reasons listed in this RFP, that fails to comply with the procedure for participating in the RFP process, that fails to meet the RFP requirements, or that is not in the State’s interest to consider or to accept. In addition, the State may cancel this RFP, reject all Proposals, and seek to do the Work through a new RFP or by other means.

J. Exceptions

The State may reject any Proposal if the Offeror takes exception to the terms and conditions of the Contract or includes unacceptable assumptions or conditions in its Proposal.

K. Proprietary Information

As set forth in Ohio Administrative Code 123:5-1-07 and 123:5-1-08, if an Offeror includes in its Proposal information it considers exempt from disclosure in a public records request, it must submit a redacted version of any document containing such information, as further described in this paragraph. Offerors must only redact (black out) the specific language that is exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Ohio Public Records Act. Examples of actions that are not acceptable for the protection of information in a Proposal include: (a) redaction of sections in their entirety simply because they may contain some information exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Ohio Public Records Act; (b) inclusion of a blanket confidentiality or copyright notice anywhere in the Proposal; and (c) redaction of the cost proposal in its entirety. Prices, makes, models, catalog numbers of the items offered, deliveries, and terms of payment will be available for public inspection regardless of any designation to the contrary.

In addition to the redacted document(s), Offerors must submit a list of each redaction, using the Offeror Redaction Justification Form (Form 7j) in Part 7, with a detailed legal explanation for each redaction to demonstrate that the redacted information is protected under the Ohio Public Records Act. A blanket statement that all redactions are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the Ohio Public Records Act and/or the Uniform Trade Secrets Act is not a sufficient explanation. The redacted version(s) must be submitted as an electronic copy in a searchable PDF format. The redacted version(s) and accompanying explanation, as submitted, will be available for inspection and released in response to public records requests.

The Offeror agrees to indemnify the State, DAS, and the OFCC for any court costs, statutory damages, attorney fees, or other award issued against the State, DAS, or the OFCC for any violation of the Ohio Public Records Act resulting from the State, DAS, or the OFCC providing the Offeror’s redacted version of its Proposal in response to a public records request.

By not submitting a redacted version of the Proposal with accompanying explanation, an Offeror consents to the release of the original Proposal submission in response to a public records request.

If redacted version(s) with the accompanying explanation are not submitted, or if an improperly redacted version or insufficient explanation is submitted, the State may advise the Offeror in writing what portions of the Proposal are subject to disclosure in response to public records requests.

L. Changes to Proposals

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The State will allow modifications of Proposals only if the State receives them before the Proposal due date.

No modifications will be permitted after the Proposal due date, except as authorized by this RFP.

M. Offeror Warranties

By submitting a Proposal, the Offeror acknowledges it has read this RFP, understands it, and agrees to be bound by the requirements of this RFP.

Ohio Revised Code 9.24 prohibits the State from awarding a contract to any entity against whom the Auditor of State has issued a finding for recovery (a "Finding") if the Finding is unresolved at the time of the award.

This also applies to renewals of contracts. By submitting a Proposal, the Offeror warrants it is not subject to an unresolved Finding under R.C. 9.24 at the time of its submission. Additionally, the Offeror warrants it will notify the OFCC in writing immediately upon becoming subject to such an unresolved Finding after submitting its Proposal and before the award of a Contract under this RFP. Further, the State may treat any unresolved Finding against the Contractor that prevents a renewal of the Contract as a breach in accordance with the provisions of the Contract.

N. Notice on Use of Social Security Numbers as Federal Tax Identification Numbers

If an Offeror uses its Social Security Number as its Federal Taxpayer Identification Number, please be aware that the information submitted is a public record, and the State may be compelled by Ohio law to release Federal Taxpayer Identification Numbers as a public record. If an Offeror does not want to have its Social Security Number potentially disclosed as a Federal Taxpayer Identification Number, the State encourages Offerors to use a separate Employee Identification Number (EIN) obtained from the United States Internal Revenue Service to serve as the Federal Taxpayer Identification Number.

O. Supplier Registration

Offerors must provide evidence that they are registered with Ohio Shared Services to do business in the State of Ohio. To register to do business in Ohio and to access supplier forms, see Form 7b.

P. Multiple or Alternate Proposals

The State will accept multiple Proposals from a single Offeror, but the State requires each such Proposal be submitted separately from every other Proposal the Offeror makes. Additionally, the Offeror must treat every Proposal submitted as a separate and distinct submission and include in each Proposal all materials, information, documentation, and other items this RFP requires for a Proposal to be complete and acceptable. No alternate Proposal may incorporate materials by reference from another Proposal made by the Offeror or refer to another Proposal. The State will judge each alternate Proposal on its own merit.

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Q. Debriefing

The State maintains a policy that debriefing of the evaluation process will not be conducted. Offerors should not contact the State either during or after the solicitation process to request a debriefing. In lieu of a debriefing, Offerors may file a public records request with the State.

R. Disclosure of Proposal Contents

The State will seek to open the Proposals in a manner that avoids disclosing their contents. Additionally, the State will seek to keep the contents of all Proposals confidential until the Contract is awarded; however, the State will prepare a registry of Proposals that contains the name of each Offeror. The public may inspect that registry after the State opens the Proposals and before the Contract award.

S. Unfair Competitive Advantage

Any and all prior work performed by the Offeror or its proposed subcontractor(s) that the State determines results in an unfair competitive advantage to that Offeror, including but not limited to the development of specifications for this RFP, may result in the Offeror’s Proposal being precluded due to a conflict of interest.

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Section 4 – Requirements for Proposals

A. Proposal Format

These instructions describe the required format for a responsive Proposal.

Each Proposal must include sufficient data to allow the State to verify the total cost for the Work and all of the Offeror's claims of meeting the RFP's requirements. Each Proposal must respond to every request for information in this RFP, whether the request requires a simple "yes" or "no" or requires a detailed explanation. Simply repeating the RFP's requirement and agreeing to comply may be an unacceptable response and may cause the Proposal to be rejected.

Proposals should use a consistent contrasting font and color so that the responses are readily distinguishable to the State; using the color blue to provide responses is suggested to contrast with the black text of this document. Formats are acceptable that use different typefaces, styles, or shaded backgrounds, so long as the use of these formats is consistent throughout the Offeror’s Proposal and readily distinguishable from the original RFP. Below is an example of the required format for responding to the RFP requirements. Alterations to the State-provided RFP language are strictly prohibited. The State will electronically compare Offeror Proposals to the posted RFP, and deviations or alterations to the State’s RFP requirements may result in a rejection of the Proposal.

Illustrative Example: Customers Served in the Widget Space

Instructions: The Offeror is to describe the customers (i.e., companies, agencies, entities, etc.) served in the Widget domain and the nature of the services provided, as well as the duration of the service.

Offeror Response: The Acme Corporation has been in business for over 20 years. Acme is a leading supplier of Widget and Widget-based services with clients in a variety of sectors, including public (23 states) and private (125 companies).

Offerors are advised to limit Offeror marketing statements and pre-printed technical inserts to the area(s) of the Proposal applicable to those statement(s) and not include duplicative or otherwise repetitive statements throughout its Proposal.

Any additional links or documents incorporated by reference by the Offeror will not become part of the Contract unless expressly accepted by the State.

The Offeror may include any additional information it believes is relevant. All pages, except pre-printed technical inserts, must be sequentially numbered. Any material deviation from the format outlined in this RFP may result in a rejection of the non-conforming Proposal.

Technical Proposal: The Offeror’s technical proposal must be submitted in Microsoft Word® through OhioBuys as instructed in the technical questionnaire in OhioBuys. The technical proposal shall consist of all questionnaire responses and documents submitted in response to this RFP excluding the cost proposal.

Cost Proposal: The Offeror’s cost proposal must be submitted through OhioBuys as instructed in the cost questionnaire in OhioBuys. The cost proposal shall consist of a separate cost section as described in subsection B(2) below and in the required format of Part 5.

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B. Proposal Specifics

Each Proposal must contain the following components.

1. Technical proposal components

a. Required Forms. Each Proposal must include the completed forms listed below. All required forms are included in Part 7 unless otherwise indicated.

i. Offeror Certification Form (Form 7a). The Offeror must complete the Offeror Certification Form.

ii. Independent Contractor Acknowledgement Form (Form 7c). Unless the Offeror is a “business entity” as that term is defined in R.C. 145.037 (“an entity with five or more employees that is a corporation, association, firm, limited liability company, partnership, sole proprietorship, or other entity engaged in business”), the Offeror must have any individual performing services under the Contract complete the Independent Contractor Acknowledgement Form

iii. Subcontractor Utilization Form (Form 7d). For each proposed subcontractor, the Offeror must submit a completed Subcontractor Utilization Form signed by someone authorized to legally bind the subcontractor.

iv. Offeror Prior Project Experience and Qualifications Form (Form 7e). The Offeror must utilize the Offeror Prior Project Experience and Qualifications Form to document the Offeror’s previous experience and expertise by completing a form for a minimum of three previous projects in the previous five years. These projects must be of similar size, scope, and nature to the Work in this RFP. Details of the similarities must be included.

The form(s) must be filled out completely for each of the projects required. The form(s) contained in this RFP have been customized for the applicable Offeror requirements. Each page of the form(s) may contain minor variations. If an Offeror elects to duplicate the form electronically, the Offeror must carefully review each page of the form to ensure that it has been copied accurately. Failure to duplicate the form exactly may lead to the rejection of the Proposal.

When contacted, each reference provided must be willing to discuss the Offeror’s previous performance on projects detailed on the form(s).

If this RFP allows qualifications and experience to be met through a subcontractor, the Offeror must identify the subcontractor by name in the appropriate part of the form(s) for each reference.

v. Affirmation and Disclosure Form (Form 7f). The Offeror must complete, sign, and submit the

Affirmation and Disclosure Form by uploading the signed document with its Proposal.

vi. Candidate Information Education and Training Form (Form 7h). The Offeror must complete a Candidate Information Education and Training Form for each candidate named in this RFP.

vii. Candidate Experience Requirement Form (Form 7i). The Offeror must complete a Candidate Experience Requirement Form for each candidate named in this RFP.

viii. Offeror Redaction Justification Form (Form 7j). The Offeror must complete the Offeror

Redaction Justification Form pursuant to the instructions in Section 3(K) and Form 7j if the Offeror includes in its Proposal information it considers exempt from disclosure in a public records request.

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ix. Proposed Pre-Existing Materials and Commercial Software Form (Form 7k). The Offeror must complete the Proposed Pre-Existing Materials and Commercial Software Form pursuant to the instructions below.

b. Scope of Work Response. The Offeror must provide a response to Part 1 – Scope of Work in this section of its Proposal. The content of Part 1 must not be modified. If the content of Part 1 is modified in any way, the applicable Proposal may be disqualified. The Offeror must provide complete and coherent responses to Part 1 and demonstrate the ability to quickly undertake and successfully complete the Work under the Contract.

c. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions. The Offeror must include the entire content of Parts 2 through 4 as a single section in its Proposal. The Offeror must include a statement at the beginning of this section indicating that the Offeror read, understands, and agrees to all of the terms and conditions contained in Parts 2 through 4.

d. Assumptions. The Offeror must provide a comprehensive list of all the assumptions the Offeror made in preparing the Proposal in Part 6. If any assumption is unacceptable to the State, the State may, in its sole discretion, request that the Offeror remove the assumption or choose to reject the Proposal entirely. No assumptions may be included regarding the outcomes of negotiation, terms and conditions, or requirements. Assumptions should be provided as part of the Proposal as a stand-alone response section that is inclusive of all assumptions with reference(s) to the section(s) of the RFP to which the assumption is applicable. Offerors should not include assumptions elsewhere in their Proposals.

e. Proof of Insurance. The Offeror must provide the certificate of insurance required by Part 2 - Contract-Specific Terms and Conditions and Part 4 – Standard Terms and Conditions. The policy may be written on an occurrence or claims made basis.

f. Payment Address. The Offeror must provide the address to which the State should send payments under the Contract.

g. Affirmative Action. An Offeror must supply as part of its Proposal either a copy of its Affirmative Action plan that has been approved by the State of Ohio or an attestation to the fact that the Offeror has completed the Affirmative Action Program Verification application that is pending approval by the State of Ohio.

h. Legal Notice Address. The Offeror must provide the name, title, and address to which the State should send legal notices under the Contract.

i. Work Plan. The Offeror must submit a Work Plan that will be the basis of a later-created detailed comprehensive plan of action used to guide the Work. In this plan, the Offeror must demonstrate a thorough understanding of the nature of the Work and what the Contractor must do to complete the Work properly. In addition, the Offeror must fully describe its current capacity, approach, methods, and specific processes and procedures for doing the Work. The elements of the Work Plan must include, at a minimum, all tasks and dependencies related to scope definition, requirements gathering, design, development, conversion, testing, benchmarking, implementation, training, and transition, as applicable.

The specifics of the Work Plan must include sufficient detail for the State to understand the Offeror’s knowledge and approach to the following: managing the Work; documenting planning assumptions and decisions; facilitating communication among stakeholders; defining key management review as to content, scope, and schedule; and providing a baseline for progress measurement and Work control.

At a minimum, the Work Plan must include the following:

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i. A description of the project management approach; and

ii. A high-level overview of the following subsidiary project management plans:

• Integration management,

• Scope management,

• Schedule management,

• Cost management,

• Quality management,

• Staffing management,

• Communications management, and

• Risk management (including constraints and assumptions, planned responses, and contingencies).

The Offeror must identify all proposed equipment needed for the Work during the installation, customization (as applicable), implementation, and ongoing operations phases. The Proposal must include the proposed manufacturer's name and model for all equipment. Additionally, the Offeror must identify any equipment that the State will require for the implementation and ongoing operation of the Work that is not otherwise specified in this RFP.

The State seeks insightful responses that describe proven state-of-the-art methods.

Recommended solutions should demonstrate that the Offeror would be prepared to immediately undertake and successfully complete the Work. The Work Plan should clearly and specifically identify key Work personnel assignments. (NOTE: The Staffing Plan described below should be consistent with the Work Plan).

Additionally, in the Work Plan, the Offeror should address potential and known risks, risk mitigation strategies, and the assumptions used in developing those risk mitigation strategies.

j. Staffing Plan and Time Commitment. The Offeror must provide a Staffing Plan identifying all proposed personnel by position that the Offeror proposes and that are required to do the Work.

The Staffing Plan must show each individual’s responsibilities for the Work. The State also requires that the Staffing Plan match the proposed personnel and their qualifications to the activities and tasks set forth in the RFP for the Work. At a minimum, the Staffing Plan must identify a Project Manager.

In addition, the Staffing Plan must include the following information:

i. An organizational chart, including any subcontractors and key management and administrative personnel assigned to the Work.

ii. A contingency plan showing the ability to add more staff if needed to ensure meeting the Work due date(s).

iii. The number of people onsite at the State location at any given time to allow the State to plan for the appropriate meeting space.

iv. A statement and a chart that clearly indicate the time commitment of the proposed Project

Manager, and other proposed personnel for this Work during each of its phases.

v. A statement indicating to what extent, if any, the proposed personnel may work on other projects or assignments that are not State related during the term of the Contract. The State may reject any Proposal that commits the proposed Project Manager or any personnel to other projects during the term of the Work, if the State believes that any such commitment may be detrimental to the Offeror’s performance.

vi. The Offeror must propose a Work team that collectively meets all the requirements in this RFP.

Each team member may have specific mandatory requirements listed in this RFP that the team member must individually meet.

vii. All proposed personnel must be named and meet the technical experience for the position.

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k. Support Requirements from the State. The Offeror must describe the support it requests from the State in addition to any support the State has offered in this RFP. Specifically, the Offeror should address the following in this section of the Proposal:

i. The nature and extent of State support required in terms of staff roles, percentage of time available, etc.;

ii. The specific required assistance from State staff and the experience and/or qualification level required for such assistance; and

iii. Other support requirements.

The State may not be able or willing to provide the additional support the Offeror lists in this part of its Proposal. The Offeror must therefore indicate whether its request for additional support is a requirement for its performance. If any part of the list is a requirement, the State may reject the Proposal if the State is unwilling or unable to meet the requirements.

l. Additional Innovation or Value-Added Services. The Offeror may propose additional innovation or value-added services that are outside of the scope of Work that it perceives to be valuable to the State but have not been defined in Part 1 – Scope of Work. In this section, the Offeror must describe in detail any value-added services included in its Proposal above the minimum requirements. The Offeror should also include additional innovation or value-added services that are provided at no additional charge to the State.

m. Offeror Best Practices. The Offeror may propose alternative processing approaches, new tools, services, methodologies, business processes, or any other best practices that demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement that are not included in Part 1 – Scope of Work for the State’s consideration. In this section, the Offeror must describe in detail any best practices included in its Proposal.

n. Pre-Existing Materials. The Offeror must list any Pre-Existing Materials (defined in Part 2, Section

C(1)) that will be included in a Deliverable in the Form 7k in Part 7. The State may reject any Proposal that includes Pre-Existing Materials for a custom solution if the State believes that such is not appropriate or desirable for the Work.

o. Commercial Material. The Offeror must list any Commercial Material (defined in Part 2, Section

C(3)), including Commercial Software (defined in Part 2, Section C(4)), that the Offeror will deliver in which the State will have less than full ownership in Form 7k in Part 7. Generally, these will be from third parties. The Offeror need not list patented parts of equipment.

The Offeror must attach the applicable license agreement(s) for all Commercial Material for the State to review.

2. Cost Proposal components

a. Cost Proposal Form. The Offeror’s total cost for the Work must include all one time and ongoing costs and be represented as a firm fixed price.

Contractor will be paid according to the fee structure within the Cost Proposal Form.

The Offeror must ensure its cost proposals are submitted separately from the technical proposals as indicated in the Proposal Submittal paragraph of RFP Section 4. Cost information must not be included in the technical proposal.

The Offeror may not modify or reformat the Cost Proposal Form. The Offeror must complete the required portions of the Cost Proposal Form. Additionally, all portions of the Cost Proposal Form must be completed in the exact format provided. The Offeror must not include exceptions, additional terms and conditions, or assumptions in the submitted Cost Proposal Form. The State

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The State will not be liable for any costs the Offeror does not identify in its cost proposal. There will be no additional reimbursement for travel or other related expenses.

b. Alternate Funding. All proposed costs must be based on providing a solution that would be fully funded by the State and independent of any Offeror-recommended alternative funding models.

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Section 5 – Evaluation Process

A. Evaluation of Proposals Generally

To maintain fairness in the evaluation process, all information sought by the State will be obtained in a manner such that no Offeror is provided an unfair competitive advantage.

The evaluation process may consist of up to seven distinct phases:

1. Initial review;

2. Mandatory requirements evaluation, if applicable;

3. Technical evaluation;

4. Requests for more information;

5. Cost evaluation;

6. Determination of responsibility; and

7. Contract negotiations.

The State may decide whether phases four and seven are necessary, and the State may reorder the sequence of phases. The State also may add or remove sub-phases to any phase at any time if the State believes doing so will improve the evaluation process. The phases and some sub-phases are described below.

B. Initial Review

The State will review all Proposals for formatting and completeness. The State may reject incomplete or incorrectly formatted Proposals. The State may also waive any defects or allow an Offeror to submit a correction as described in subsections I, Waiver of Defects, and J, Clarifications and Corrections, below.

After the initial review, the State will forward all timely, complete, and properly formatted Proposals to an evaluation team for review, led by a representative from the Office of Procurement Services.

C. Reserved

D. Technical Evaluation

The State will evaluate each Proposal that it has determined is timely, complete, properly formatted, and meets all of the Mandatory Requirements. The evaluation will be scored according to the requirements identified in this RFP.

All Offerors, including current contract holders, if applicable, must provide detailed and complete responses.

Proposal evaluations and subsequent scores are based solely on the content of the Proposal. No assumptions will be made or values assigned for the competency of the Offeror who is a current or previous contract holder.

The State may have the Proposals or portions of them reviewed and evaluated by independent third parties.

Additionally, the State may seek reviews from end users of the Work or State personnel who have subject matter expertise or an interest in the Work. The State may adopt or reject any recommendations it receives from such reviews and evaluations, or the State may give them such weight as the State believes is appropriate.

During the technical evaluation, the State will calculate a point total for each Proposal evaluated. The State maintains sole discretion to reject any Proposal receiving a significant number of zeros for sections in the technical proposal evaluation. Additionally, the State reserves the right to reject any Proposal failing to meet an average of three out of five of the maximum available points for the Proposal's technical requirements. The State may select any number of the higher-ranking Proposals for the next phase. The number of Proposals advancing to the next phase is within the State’s sole discretion.

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The State may consider one or more higher-ranking Proposals, but the State may not consider any lower-ranking Proposals unless all higher ranked Proposals are also considered, except as provided herein.

E. Requests for More Information

The State may request some Offerors to interview, make presentations about their Proposals, or demonstrate the products or services. If the interviews, presentations, or demonstrations are held as part of the technical proposal evaluation, all Offerors having Proposals under evaluation may participate. The State may then use the information gathered from this process in evaluating the merits of the Proposals.

The demonstrations, presentations, and interviews may also result in an adjustment of a Proposal’s evaluation. The State may evaluate the demonstrations, presentations, and interviews as a separate scoring criterion.

Alternatively, if the interviews, presentations, or demonstrations are held after the technical proposal evaluation, the State may limit them to one or more of the higher-ranking Offerors. The State may limit such interviews, presentations, and demonstrations to areas in which it seeks further information from the Offerors.

Typically, these discussions provide an Offeror with the opportunity to do one or more of the following:

• Clarify its Proposal and ensure a mutual understanding of the Proposal content;

• Showcase its approach to the Work; and/or

• Demonstrate the professionalism, qualifications, skills, and knowledge of its proposed candidates.

The State will schedule the interviews, presentations, and demonstrations at its convenience and discretion.

The State will determine the scope and format of any such interviews, presentations, or demonstrations and may record them. Additionally, if the State moves more than one Offeror to this phase, the scope and format of these interviews, presentations, or demonstrations may vary from one Offeror to the next, depending on the issues or concerns the State may have.

F. Cost Evaluation

Before review of the technical proposals or at any time during the evaluation process, the State may review the cost proposals to determine whether any Proposals should be rejected because of excessive cost. After evaluating the technical proposals, or after any interviews, presentations, and demonstrations have occurred, the State may consider the costs of one or more of the higher-ranking Proposals.

The State may select one or more of the Proposals for further consideration in the next phase of the evaluation process based on the formulas contained in Section 6, Evaluation Metrics. The Proposal(s) selected for consideration in the next phase will be the higher-ranking Proposal(s) based on this analysis, excluding any Proposals that the State disqualifies because of excessive cost or other reasons described in this RFP. Alternatively, the State may choose to bypass any or all subsequent phases and award the Contract based solely on its scoring of the preceding phases, subject only to its review of the highest-ranking Offeror’s responsibility described in subsection G below.

G. Determination of Responsibility

The State will review the highest-ranking Offeror and proposed subcontractors to ensure that the Offeror is responsible prior to Contract award. The State may reject any Proposal if an Offeror or a subcontractor is determined not to be responsible. The State’s determination of an Offeror’s responsibility may include the following factors: (i) experience, (ii) financial condition, (iii) facilities, (iv) past conduct and performance on previous contracts, (v) ability to execute the Contract properly, and (vi) management skills. The State will make such determination of responsibility based on the Proposal, reference evaluations, and any other information the State requests or determines is relevant.

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Part of State’s determination of an Offeror’s responsibility may include the Offeror's financial ability to perform the Contract. While the RFP may expressly require including audited financial statements in the Proposal, in the absence of such requirement, the State still may require an Offeror to submit audited financial statements for up to three prior years. The State may consider financial information other than the information that the RFP requires as part of the Offeror’s Proposal, such as credit reports from third-party reporting agencies.

H. Contract Negotiations

The final phase of the evaluation process may be Contract negotiations. The State may limit negotiations to specific aspects of the RFP, the Contract, or the Proposal. The State may also limit the Offerors with whom the State negotiates. The State maintains discretion whether to permit or dispense with negotiations.

An Offeror must not submit a Proposal assuming that there will be an opportunity to negotiate any aspect of the Proposal; any Proposal that is contingent upon the State negotiating with the Offeror may be rejected.

If negotiations are held, they will be scheduled at the convenience of the State, and the selected Offeror or Offerors must negotiate in good faith and without unreasonable delay.

If negotiations are unsuccessful with an Offeror, the State may negotiate with the next highest-ranking Offeror.

If the State engages in simultaneous negotiations with multiple Offerors or decides to negotiate with lower-ranking Offerors after finding negotiations with the highest-ranking Offeror unsatisfactory, the State may subsequently adjust the ranking of the Offerors involved in the negotiations based on the negotiations. Any resulting Contract award would then be based on the final, adjusted ranking of Offerors.

The State will seek to prevent disclosure of a Proposal to other Offerors, and the State may not disclose to an Offeror the contents of another Proposal to gain a negotiating advantage. Negotiation techniques that reveal one Offeror’s price to another or disclose any other material information derived from competing Proposals are prohibited. Any oral modification of a Proposal will be reduced to writing by the Offeror as described below. Before the award of the Contract or cancellation of the RFP, as applicable, any Offeror attempting to gain access to the content of another Proposal may be disqualified from further consideration.

From the opening of the Proposals to the award of the Contract, everyone involved in the procurement process on behalf of the State will seek to limit access to information contained in the Proposals solely to those people with a need to know the information.

I. Waiver of Defects

The State may waive any defects in any Proposal or errors in the submission process by an Offeror, but the State will only do so when it is in the State's interest and will not cause any material unfairness to another Offeror.

J. Clarifications, Corrections, and Changes

During the evaluation process, the State maintains discretion to request clarifications from any Offeror or give any Offeror the opportunity to correct defects in its Proposal if doing so would not result in an unfair advantage for any Offeror. The State may reject any clarification that is non-responsive or broader in scope than what the State requested. If the State rejects the clarification, or if the Offeror fails to respond to the request for clarification, the State may request additional clarification, consider the Proposal without the clarification, or disqualify the Proposal.

After the Proposal due date, the State may change the requirements or terms and conditions of this RFP and request updated Proposals from those Offerors whose Proposals are under active consideration. In such cases, the State will permit Offerors to withdraw their Proposals if they are unable to meet the changed requirements or terms and conditions.

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Clarifications and corrections must be completed off State premises.

K. Failure to Negotiate

If an Offeror fails to provide the necessary information for negotiations in a timely manner or fails to negotiate in good faith, the State may terminate negotiations with that Offeror and remove the Proposal from further consideration.

L. Best and Final Offer

The State may request best and final offers (BAFOs) from Offerors. Following negotiations, the State may set a date and time for the submission of BAFOs by the remaining Offeror(s) with which the State conducted negotiations. If negotiations were limited and all changes were reduced to signed writings during negotiations, the State need not require the submissions of BAFOs.

If BAFOs are requested, they may be submitted only once unless the State determines that it is in the State's interest to conduct additional negotiations.