Forensic Proficiency Testing Program-Final IFB.docxForensic Proficiency Testing Program-Final IFB.docx

Bureau of Criminal Investigations 750 N College Drive Bowling Green, OH 43402

Invitation for Bid (IFB) Forensic Proficiency Testing Program

SRC0000041749

1.0. Overview and Purpose

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office (“AGO”) is seeking quote submissions in response to this Invitation for Bids (IFB) to secure an accredited vendor capable of providing forensic proficiency tests as defined below.

Ohio Attorney General is an elected official who is the Chief Law Officer for the State of Ohio and its agencies, boards and commissions, pursuant to Ohio Revised Code Chapter 109[footnoteRef:1]. The office consists of about 1,600 employees in nearly 40 distinct sections that advocate for consumers and victims of crime, assist the criminal justice community, provide legal counsel for state offices and agencies, and enforce certain state laws. [1: Chapter 109 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

The AGO Bureau of Criminal Investigation (“BCI”) Laboratory seeks an accredited vendor capable of providing forensic proficiency tests across multiple laboratory disciplines for State of Ohio Fiscal Year 2027 (SFY27), in alignment with the proficiency testing requirements outlined in our accreditation program. BCI is required to participate in at least one external proficiency test every year for each accredited laboratory discipline, including Drug Chemistry, Firearms, Latent Prints, DNA, Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), Questioned Documents, Trace-Impressions, and Trace-Gunshot Residue (GSR). This requirement is mandated under BCI’s accreditation through the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB), a wholly owned subsidiary of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

Each laboratory discipline performs a wide variety of testing methods across different substrates. Therefore, across the four-year ANAB accreditation cycle, the external proficiency test types obtained through this IFB must be representative of the full scope of testing performed within each discipline. This ensures that competency evaluation is comprehensive and reflective of actual forensic casework.

The selected vendor must demonstrate the ability to deliver accredited, discipline-relevant, diverse proficiency tests that support BCI’s continued compliance with ANAB standards and protect essential forensic database operations.

Responders to this IFB are referred to herein as “bidders,” “offerors,” “supplier,” or “vendors” and these references may be used interchangeably throughout this IFB and have the same meaning.

2.0. Qualifications, Requirements and Specifications

2.1. Vendor Qualifications and Requirements

· Possess active accreditation to International Organization for Standardization/ International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC) 17043 with each required test type included in their scope of accreditation.

· Test designs must include blind elements preventing information sharing among participants and administrators.

· Have capacity to deliver all quantities listed in Section 2.0, including the required biannual distribution (January and July) for DNA Forensic Biology (FB) Screening / Short Tandem (STR) / Y-Chromosome Short Tandem Report (YSTR).

2.2. Item Specifications

Vendor shall provide proficiency tests, materials, documentation, reporting templates, and summary reports for the following test types (Quantities reflect anticipated SFY27 needs):

(QD)

· Examination across QD domains; 5‑point scale reporting

Delivery must include:

All required test kits, materials, and instructions;

Chain-of-custody documentation;

Reporting templates and conclusion scales; and Final performance reports and aggregate summaries.

2.3. Term and Renewals

The initial term begins upon contract execution and runs through the end of the fiscal biennium (June 30, 2027). The AGO will have the option to renew additional annual terms through June 30, 2029.

3.0. Offeror Quote Content and Submission

Offerors must provide information and responses as directed within the Ohio Buys Questionnaire and Item Grid. All responses to this IFB must include the information listed below to ensure the quote submission is considered for this opportunity. Any material deviation from the format or information below or within Ohio Buys may result in rejection of a response.

The responses to the information requested will allow for a well-defined comparison of the offers received. Quotes must be valid for no less than 60 days from the quote due date.

Vendor quotes will be reviewed based on the verifiable capabilities to provide BCI with qualified products meeting the stated requirements. All quotes submitted by the deadline will be evaluated based upon information provided by the vendor. Consideration will be given to all quotes meeting the requirements of the IFB. Contracts will only be awarded to those vendors that offer the features, functionality, and support requested. Contracts will not necessarily be awarded to the lowest price quote.

1. Item Grid. The vendor must complete the Item Grid, by entering:

The cost of the items and services in Section 2.0.

1. Terms and Conditions. Vendors must review the IFB and the Terms and Conditions and within the Questionnaire must identify and attach any vendor assumptions or exceptions to the AGO Terms and Conditions in vendor’s response and/or state if the vendor holds a current contract with the AGO and include that AGO contract number. If the selected vendor currently holds a contract with the AGO, it is within the AGO’s discretion to amend that contract to include the items solicited in this document, at the prices bid. All other terms and conditions of the existing contract will remain the same.

All responses must be submitted online via Ohio Buys no later than the date listed in the Calendar of Events.

When submitting bid files, offerors should note the following:

All attachments should be in a searchable PDF format, unless directed differently by this document.

When directed, other file types may be attached but only the following extensions will be allowed: .docx, .xlsx, .zip.

The AGO has the discretion to select offeror(s) and to reject responses that are not in the best interest of the AGO, or to cancel this solicitation. The AGO may waive minor defects and/or request clarifications in the responses if doing so does not materially deviate from the specifications or otherwise create an unfair competitive advantage. Any response, revision, improper marking, or amendment to a response or submission may be disqualified The AGO will not be liable for any costs incurred by an offeror in responding to this solicitation, regardless of whether the AGO awards any contract(s) through this process, decides to cancel this solicitation for any reason, or issue another solicitation if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the AGO to do so.

The AGO reserves the right to negotiate all terms associated with this solicitation. It is entirely within the discretion of the AGO to permit negotiations. An offeror must not submit a response assuming that there will be an opportunity to negotiate any aspect of the response. The AGO is free to limit the negotiations to particular aspects of any response. Offerors should not base their pricing on the assumption of long-term financing by the AGO that extends beyond the upcoming biennium, which ends June 30, 2027.

4.0. Calendar of Events

The official schedule for this IFB is maintained in View Public Solicitations: Ohio Buys page. Dates listed in Ohio Buys may be adjusted at the discretion of the Ohio Attorney General’s Office, and any changes will be communicated through Ohio Buys.

5.0. Communication and Inquiries

Unless the AGO advises differently, all contact is to be in writing using the Ohio Buys website. Ohio Buys provides the primary platform for Supplier partners to engage in procurement activities with the State of Ohio. For additional information on using Ohio Buys follow the link provided below:

Ohio Buys for Suppliers All inquiries and responses will be posted to the Ohio Buys website. The due date for any inquiry within the intent and scope of this solicitation must be received by the date listed in the Calendar of Events.

Offerors may make inquiries regarding this solicitation any time during the inquiry period listed in the Calendar of Events and Deadlines. To make an inquiry, offerors must login to Ohio Buys, 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 Ohio Buys Public Solicitations page by opening the Solicitation Overview and navigating to the inquiries section of that page.

If Offerors experience technical difficulties accessing the Ohio Buys website where the solicitation and its related documents are published, they may contact the Ohio Shared Services Help Desk through one of the options listed here:

Email OBM.ContactCenter@obm.ohio.gov and put "Ohio Buys" in the subject line.

Phone 614-338-4781 or 1-877-644-6771.

6.0. Terms and Conditions

The selected vendor may not ship any items to the AGO, and no work may commence until the selected vendor receives an AGO purchase order and, if determined by the AGO, an AGO contract as well as all other applicable agreements are executed.

The AGO Attachment –Terms and Conditions is included with this IFB. The IFB and the Attachment, unless otherwise determined by the AGO, constitute the terms and conditions for this AGO purchase. Vendors must review the IFB and Sample Contract and must identify any exceptions to the Terms and Conditions and/or state if the vendor holds a current contract with the AGO and the AGO contract number in the vendor’s response.

If exceptions are not noted in the quote, the vendor stipulates vendor’s acceptance of the AGO Terms and Conditions.

Additionally, the selected offeror(s) may be required to sign various AGO forms and/or agree to comply with certain requirements prior to commencement of work.

Once the selected offeror(s) report to the AGO, all work will be conducted in accordance with AGO policies, procedures, coding standards, and best practices as instructed by the AGO.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Office is subject to Ohio Revised Code Chapter 149, known as the Ohio Public Records Act. Consequently, the Offeror understands that all documents submitted in response to this IFB are considered public records and will be released when a public records request is made by anyone, including news media, competitors, or other interested parties, in accordance with the law. If you contend that certain clearly marked portions of your response constitute an exception to Ohio's public records law, you must submit your legal basis in support of that assertion with your response. The legal basis must include the Ohio statute that applies to exempt that specific information and a description of why that specific information is covered by the cited statute.

If a public records request is made for any portion of the documents that you have submitted and you have not clearly marked such documents as information constituting an exception to Ohio's public records law, your information will be released immediately. If a public records request is made for such information and you have clearly marked portions of your response as information constituting an exception to Ohio's public records law, and you have submitted the legal basis supporting such claim, the AGO will release a redacted version of your information to the requester and notify you that a request was made and that a redacted version of your response was released. Should the requester indicate that the redacted version is not sufficient for their purposes, you then will be immediately responsible for obtaining an order from a Franklin County, Ohio Court of Common Pleas enjoining release of your clearly marked information constituting an exception to Ohio's public records law.

If a public records request is made for such information and you have clearly marked portions of your response as information constituting an exception to Ohio's public records law, but you have not submitted the legal basis supporting such claim, the AGO will release your information to the requester and notify you that a request was made and that your response was released. Do not mark your entire response/submittal as information constituting an exception to Ohio's public records law. If your entire response/submittal is so marked, the AGO will not consider your offer.

The terms and conditions of this solicitation are subject to Ohio Revised Code Section 9.27 - State Contracts - Invalid Terms and Conditions. Under Ohio Revised Code Section 9.27, the AGO is prohibited, among other things, from including provisions by which the AGO agrees to indemnify and hold harmless an offeror. These provisions, if added to an agreement, are immediately unenforceable. Offerors must not include prohibited terms subject to Ohio Revised Code Section 9.27 in their standard terms and conditions, manufacturer warranties, and applicable warranty services.

The selected offeror(s) shall be engaged by the AGO solely on an independent contractor basis, and the offeror shall therefore be responsible for all the offeror’s business expenses, including, but not limited to, employees’ wages and salaries, insurance of every type and description, and all business and personal taxes, including income and Social Security taxes and contributions for Workers’ Compensation and Unemployment Compensation coverage, if any.

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