MTC Catering Conference Space and Hotels RFR 20250827~1.docx

MTC CATERING, CONFERENCE SPACE, & HOTEL ACCOMODATIONS - REQUEST FOR RESPONSE - 2026

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

TRIAL COURT

Office of Court Management

Two Center Plaza, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02108

Request for Response (RFR)

Catering, Conference Space, & Hotel Accommodations

Document Number: BD-26-1107-1107T-TRC01-120387

Please Note: This is a single document associated with a complete Solicitation that can be found on COMMBUYS. All Bidders are responsible for reviewing and adhering to all information, forms and requirements found in all tabs and related forum records for the entire Solicitation. To locate the Solicitation associated with this document, go to www.commbuys.com, select the “Search for solicitations” link, enter the above Document Number in the “Document Number” field, and select the “Search” button. Bidders who need help regarding COMMBUYS navigation may refer to the COMMBUYS Resource Center at www.mass.gov/osd for documents and guides. Bidders may also contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at commbuys@state.ma.us or the COMMBUYS Helpline at 1-888-627-8283. The Helpline is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal and state holidays.

Published: August 27, 2025

SUMMARY SHEET

Purchasing Entity:

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Trial Court Office of Court Management

Address:

2 Center Plaza, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02108

Telephone:

(617) 878-0280

Email:

procurement@jud.state.ma.us

RFR File Name/Title:

Catering, Conference Space & Hotel Accommodations – Request for Response - 2026

Contact Person:

Christine Guerin-Lampila, Procurement Coordinator

RFR Summary:

The purpose of this bid is to identify a list of qualified vendors who can provide the Massachusetts Trial Court, along with other members of the Judicial Branch, with Catering, Conference Space and/or Hotel Accommodations in Massachusetts.

UNSPSC Codes:

90-10-00 Restaurants and Catering Services and 90-11-00 Hotels and Lodging and Meeting Facilities

Official Publication Solicitation and Related Documents:

The Commonwealth’s sole official online procurement record site is “COMMBUYS”, http://www.commbuys.com. All clarifications, notifications, addenda or other documents or information related to this solicitation are officially published through the COMMBUYS website. Hardcopy communications from the Massachusetts Trial Court to any vendor are provided as a courtesy. Vendors should access the COMMBUYS website frequently for official communications related to this solicitation from the MTC.

***BID SUBMISSION DEADLINE***

This is a Rolling Enrollment Posting. Responses may be submitted at any time. Initial qualification period deadline is Wednesday, September 17th, 2025 at 12:00PM EST. See Procurement Calendar for information on subsequent qualification opportunities.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION DESCRIPTION PAGE

SECTION 1.0 RFR DEFINITIONS 5

SECTION 2.0 GENERAL SUMMARY, PURPOSE & SCOPE 5

SECTION 3.0 BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS 8

SECTION 4.0 PROCUREMENT PROCESS 10

SECTION 5.0 SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES 13

SECTION 6.0 BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD 15

SECTION 7.0 CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS 16

SECTION 8.0 MISCELLANEOUS 17

SECTION 9.0 ATTACHMENTS 20

SECTION 1.0 – DEFINITIONS

Ordering Department - Refers to the division or department or other entity of the judicial branch that is using this master agreement contract for a specific event or engagement.

Trial Court Department - The Trial Court consists of seven distinct Court Departments: the Boston Municipal Court Department, the District Court Department, the Housing Court Department, the Juvenile Court Department, the Land Court Department, the Probate and Family Court Department and the Superior Court Department.

Trial Court Division - A Trial Court Division is a court location within a Trial Court Department for a specific geographic region. The Boston Municipal Court has 8 divisions. The District Court has 62 divisions. The Housing Court has 6 divisions. The Juvenile Court has 11 divisions. The Land Court has state-wide jurisdiction and no divisions. The Probate and Family Court has 14 divisions. The Superior Court has 14 divisions.

SECTION 2.0 – GENERAL SUMMARY, PURPOSE & SCOPE

The purpose of this Request for Response is for the Massachusetts Trial Court (“MTC”) to enter into contracts with multiple vendors for Catering Services, Conference Space, and/or Hotel Accommodations in Massachusetts. The resulting contract with each qualified vendor will also be available for use by other Judicial Branch entities including, but not limited to, the Supreme Judicial Court, the Appeals Court, the Massachusetts Probation Service, Office of the Jury Commissioner, Departments and Divisions of the Trial Court.

MTC is procuring this as a master agreement contract, a process that creates a qualified list of vendors. Vendors who qualify and are added to the master agreement contract are not guaranteed any work from the Trial Court or other eligible entities. As needed, members of the Judicial Branch (“Ordering Departments”) will engage vendors for specific events and negotiate and execute a Purchase Order Engagement for Services Agreement that describes the specific services and compensation with the selected vendor. Engagements can be executed by the Trial Court and other eligible entities throughout the life of the contract.

For engagements with an expected value of $10,000 or greater, eligible entities are required to seek a minimum of 3 written quotes from the list of qualified vendors. Request for Quotes (RFQ) may be issued via email or posted in COMMBUYS against the master agreement contract. Each Ordering Department is responsible for executing its own encumbrance on MMARS, Purchase Order, and paying its own invoices for services acquired from this bid.

Section 2.1 – Purchasing Entity

a) This RFR is issued by the Office of Court Management (OCM), which is the administrative office for the Executive Office of the Trial Court (EOTC) of the Judicial Branch of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

b) This RFR is issued under laws, rules, procedures, and practices applicable to the Judicial Branch of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Judicial Branch is not subject to 801 Code Mass. Regs. § 21.00 et seq., which governs the procurement process of the Executive Branch of the Massachusetts government. Vendors responding to this RFR should not assume that Judicial Branch procurement practices correspond directly to the procurement practices of other branches, agencies, departments, or divisions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Additional terms and conditions may be introduced at the vendor selection and contract negotiation phases.

Section 2.2 – Purpose and Scope

The MTC seeks to award contracts for general catering services, (including on-site office meetings, on-site meals for detainees, on-site meals for juries, training sessions, conferences and other events), conference space/centers (e.g. convention centers, colleges, universities etc., which may require the use of their in-house or subcontracted catering services) and conference centers (e.g. hotels, which provide the use of their overnight room accommodations, conference space and in-house or subcontracted catering services).

This procurement will be broken up into three (3) categories and will include, but not be limited to, (in general terms) Catering Services, Conference Space, and Hotel Accommodations.

Categories are as follows:

· Category 1 - General Catering and Food Delivery Services which allows bidders to bid on general catering services only (breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.).

· Category 2 - Conference Space with catering services available which allows bidders to bid on conference center/space availability with the option of catering service (e.g. convention centers, halls, etc.). Departments will be able to use catering services with their in-house or subcontracted caterers and/or conference space if required by the department. Conference Space may include A/V services.

· Category 3 - Hotel Room Accommodation Rates with Conference Space and Catering Services available (e.g. hotels). This allows bidders to bid on Catering Services and Conference Spaces with the added value option to provide special hotel room rates as it applies to the eligible entity’s needs and requirements.

Section 2.3 – Entities Eligible to Use this Procurement

This procurement is intended to secure Catering, Conference Space, and Hotel Accommodations services for the Judicial Branch entities identified in Section 2.1 of this RFR.

Section 2.4 – Acquisition Method

The acquisition method to acquire goods and services from this bid are outright purchase.

Section 2.5 – Number of Awards

The maximum number of awards has not been determined. MTC, in its sole discretion, will determine the appropriate number of awards necessary to satisfy the needs of the RFR. This procurement will remain open for the duration stated in Section 2.6 to allow new bidders to be added as the need arises.

Section 2.6 – Anticipated Duration of the Contract

The initial duration of the contract will be for three (3) years, with no options available for renewal. Vendors awarded and added after the contract begins will join the existing Vendors for the remainder of the contract term. All contracts will expire October 31, 2028 (regardless of when the individual contract began).

Section 2.7– Estimated Value of the Contract/Budget

· The Estimated Value is $1M. The Trial Court makes no guarantee that any commodities or services will be purchased from any Contract resulting from this Bid.

· The Commonwealth agencies are tax exempt. A copy of the ST-5 and ST-2 will be provided to all awarded vendors, for their files.

· Administrative fees, if approved, must be identified at the time of submission and must clearly indicate the purpose of the fee.

· Not all events will allow the ordering of food / beverages. Please include a room fee chart for events that are ONLY reserving rooms.

· Vendors who underestimate their costs for an engagement may not request additional compensation.

SECTION 3.0 – BIDDER QUALIFICATIONS

Section 3.1–Bidder Qualifications

· Company Experience:

· Years of Experience: Bidders MUST have a minimum of two (2) years experience in the category they are bidding.

· Possess a current license from your municipal board of health to serve food.

· Offer invoicing as a means of payment.

· Ability to communicate via email.

· Geographic Service and Delivery areas:

· For purposes of this bid, the Commonwealth has been divided into regions, in anticipation of the local nature of catering businesses. Bidders responding to Category 1 may indicate on the Bid Response Form whether they choose to be qualified in a single region or in multiple regions.

· Bidders In-house Contract:

· Bidders requiring a contract from their establishment to be signed by the procuring agency (MTC) must submit a copy of the contract with the bid for approval. All Commonwealth documentation and forms will always supersede any contract an establishment may submit. The contract cannot include gratuity fees of any kind or any penalty fees of any kind (unless beyond the cancellation dates as noted in this bid). All contracts are subject to approval and/or negotiations by MTC. Once a contract has been approved it will be locked in for the duration of the master agreement contract. Any request for change will require approval of the Procurement Director and is not guaranteed.

Section 3.2 - Requirements for Doing Business After a Contract has been Awarded:

Security and Confidentiality:

· The Contractor shall comply fully with all security procedures of the Commonwealth and MTC in performance of this Contract. The Contractor shall not divulge to third parties any confidential information obtained by the Contractor or its agents, distributors, resellers, subcontractors, officers or employees in the course of performing Contract work, including, but not limited to, security procedures, business operations information, or commercial proprietary information in the possession of the MTC.

Contract Management (Contractor’s interface with the MTC’s contract manager:

· Changes to the Vendor’s contact information, company name, legal name, payment address, tax id number, authorized signatories or EFT information, must be promptly reported, via email, to the contract manager. In some cases, additional paperwork will be required and requested to proceed with the change.

· Single Point of contact: Contract Manager must be identified in the bid response a single point of contract to address ordering, delivery and any other issues. (see Bid Response Form).

· Replacement of contract manager must be reported immediately.

Cancellations:

· Category 1 – General Catering and Food Delivery Services: Seven (7) calendar days notice

· Category 2 – Conference Space with Catering Services Available: Fourteen (14) calendar days notice

· Category 3 – Overnight accommodations with Conference Space and Catering services available: Fourteen (14) calendar days notice Invoicing & EFT

· Vendors must offer invoicing and be able to accept payment via EFT.

Pricing

· Pricing submitted in response to this bid shall be considered a ceiling. Ordering Departments may negotiate lower costs for individual engagements.

Shipping, Delivery and Acceptance:

· Delivery must be made at no extra cost to the Commonwealth with all deliveries being FOB destination.

· All orders will be processed, confirmed and delivered based on established delivery schedules with the Ordering Department.

· The Ordering Department will establish a mutually agreed upon delivery schedule with the contractor(s). The contractor(s) will make delivery of items as requested by the Ordering Department.

· Any change in the specified delivery schedule is subject to approval by the Ordering Department.

· Any item not delivered during an established delivery period may be canceled at no cost to the Commonwealth.

· Any additional costs incurred by the vendor as a result of the vendor’s failure to deliver is the responsibility of the vendor.

· Any product delivered that does not conform to the agreed requirements will be returned at the contractor’s expense.

· “Will Call” orders are orders that are to be picked up by the Ordering Department within 24 hours of request and the contractor(s) will provide for “will call” orders if immediate delivery is necessary and the Ordering Department is willing to pick up the order.

· Any bidder(s) awarded a contract as a result of this RFR will not charge any additional fuel surcharges on any order received from an Ordering Department. Ordering Departments will NOT be required to pay any additional fuel surcharges upon receipt of contractor invoicing.

· The contractor(s) may be asked to provide emergency delivery and may charge a compensation rate for such deliveries if agreed to in advance by the ordering entity.

Failure to perform contractual obligations:

· Termination/Suspension:

· The MTC reserves the right to Terminate or suspend any contract as allowed by Section 4 of the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions. it is determined the contractor(s) is not performing the contractual obligations as stated within this bid.

Indemnification: Any indemnification by the Trial Court, a part of the Judicial Branch of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, shall be subject to the appropriating and applicable law including without limitation, Section 11 of the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions.

Taxes: The Parties acknowledge that the Trial Court is a government entity and is exempt from sales tax and meals tax and that documentation confirming same has been provided.

Self-Insured: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is prohibited from purchasing insurance as per Massachusetts General Law Chapter 29 Section 30 which states in part:

“No officer or board shall insure any property of the commonwealth without special authority of law. Damages for insurance claims are paid by funding appropriated through the Legislature.”

The Trial Court does not provide certificates of insurance or proof of self-insurance because it is codified in law. Massachusetts General Law Chapter 258 covers personal and property damage. Details of the liability covered is located in Section 2: Liability; exclusiveness of remedy; cooperation of public employee; subsequent actions; representation by public attorney and more general information is located throughout Massachusetts General Law Chapter 258.

Default Interest in the Event of Late Payments: All Payments to the Vendor by the MTC must be made in accordance with the Commonwealth’s Bill Paying Policy. Vendor may request interest only if payments are not made in accordance with the Massachusetts Comptroller’s Late Penalty Interest Regulations laid out in 815 C.M.R 4 and statutorily M.G.L C. 29 §§ 20C and 29C and M.G.L. c. 7A, § 5A.

SECTION 4.0 – PROCUREMENT PROCESS

Section 4.1 – Procurement Timetable

This is a rolling enrollment bid. Responses may be submitted at any time during the contract term. Responses submitted by 12:00 PM EST on September 17, 2025, will be considered for the initial qualification period with an estimated October 15, 2025 start date. There will be subsequent quarterly qualification periods over the three (3) year duration of the contract.

The following schedule of events for this RFR identifies the key events and deadlines for this process, some of which are set forth in more detail in the sections that follow:

@ 12:00pm EST

@12:00pm EST

Initial Deadline for Responses This is a rolling enrollment procurement which means that a response may be submitted at any time up to the RFR Close Date.

Wednesday, September 17, 2025 @12:00pm EST

Subsequent Qualification Periods: Responses can be filed at any time after initial contracts are awarded and up to end of the life of the contract. Responses received after the 2nd year and 9th month duration of the contract may be rejected. Any responses received during any calendar quarter (January-March, April-June, July-September and October-December) will be reviewed during the subsequent calendar quarter; provided, however, that MTC may elect to review any response earlier at its sole discretion.

Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as displayed on the COMMBUYS system clock displayed to Bidders after logging in. If there is a conflict between the dates in this Procurement Calendar and dates in the Bid’s Header, the dates in the Bid’s Header on COMMBUYS shall prevail. Bidders are responsible for checking the Bid record, including Bid Q&A, on COMMBUYS for Procurement Calendar updates.

Section 4.2 - Written Questions Via the Bid Q&A on COMMBUYS.

The “Bid Q&A” provides the opportunity for Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers from MTC regarding this Bid. All Bidders’ questions must be submitted through the Bid Q&A found on COMMBUYS. Questions may be asked only prior to the Deadline for Submission of Questions stated in the Procurement Timetable. MTC reserves the right not to respond to any questions asked, and/or submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

Please note that any questions submitted to MTC using any other medium (including those that are sent by mail, fax, email or voicemail) will not be answered. To reduce the number of redundant or duplicate questions, Bidders are asked to review all questions previously submitted to determine whether the Bidder’s question has already been posted.

Bidders are responsible for entering content suitable for public viewing, since all of the questions are accessible to the public. Bidders must not include any information that could be considered personal, security sensitive, inflammatory, incorrect, collusory, or otherwise objectionable, including information about the Bidder’s company or other companies. MTC reserves the right to edit or delete any submitted questions that raise any of these issues or that are not in the best interest of the Commonwealth or this Bid. Inquiries should NOT include proposed or actual price information. The inclusion of any proposed or actual costs in any inquiry may result in the Vendor’s disqualification.

All answers are final when posted. Any subsequent revisions to previously provided answers will be dated.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder/Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the prospective Bidder’s contact person and prospective Contract Manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the MTC or if applicable, other Purchasing Department(s), including requests for clarification. MTC and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder/Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder/Contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Contractor and MTC to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Section 4.3 - Locating Bid Q&A

Log into COMMBUYS, locate the Bid, acknowledge receipt of the Bid, and scroll down to the bottom of the Bid Header page. The “Bid Q&A” button allows Bidders access to the Bid Q&A page.

Section 4.4 - Bid Amendments, Withdrawal, Cancellation.

MTC reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication. It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any amendments, addenda or modifications to this Bid, and any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid. MTC and the Commonwealth accepts no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

This RFR does not commit MTC to award a Contract or to pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a Bidder’s response. MTC reserves the right to accept or reject any and all responses received as a result of this RFR, to negotiate with any or all qualified Bidders and to cancel in part or in its entirety the RFR if it is in the best interest of MTC to do so.

Prior to the Bid opening Date, a bid may be withdrawn via COMMBUYS.

Section 4.5 - Bidders’ Conference (in person)

No Bidder’s Conference will be offered.

Section 4.6 – Restrictions on Contact with Court Personnel

From the issuance of this RFR until a contract resulting from this RFR is executed by the selected Vendor, any contact regarding this RFR (other than as permitted in this RFR) with personnel employed by or contracted to the Trial Court is prohibited. During this time period, no Vendor shall approach any Trial Court personnel or contractor concerning this bidding and contracting process or their proposal.

Vendors currently under contract with the Trial Court, or that are otherwise already providing goods or services to the Trial Court for other engagements, shall not make any contact with the MTC regarding this RFR as part of any communications related to their pre-existing obligation(s). Any attempts at communication regarding the current RFR process will be considered a failure on the Vendor’s part to conform to the provisions of this RFR and may result in the Vendor’s disqualification.

Violation of these conditions will be considered as sufficient cause to reject a Vendor’s proposal and/or selection irrespective of any other consideration.

A copy of the No Contact Policy is attached to this Bid in COMMBUYS. It must be signed by the Vendor and included in the Vendor’s submission.

Should the need arise; the EOTC may contact Vendors for clarifications pertaining to that particular Vendor’s proposal at any time during the solicitation process.

Section 4.7– COMMBUYS

The Commonwealth’s sole online procurement record site is “COMMBUYS” at http://www.commbuys.com. All communications, clarifications, notifications, addenda or other documents or information related to this solicitation are made through the COMMBUYS website.

The MTC, as a courtesy, may notify Vendors directly of any clarifications, notifications, addenda, or other documents or information related to this solicitation; however, the official publication source for any information provided is the COMMBUYS website. For this reason, Vendors should access the COMMBUYS website frequently for official communications related to this solicitation from the MTC. Access to the COMMBUYS website is free and Vendors must enroll and register per the instructions on the website: http://www.commbuys.com.

Section 4.8 – Sample Mandatory Contract Documents

Selected Vendors will be required to execute and/or submit the following documents as part of any contracts resulting from this solicitation:

a.) Commonwealth of Massachusetts Terms and Conditions Form (“T&C”);

b.) Commonwealth of Massachusetts Standard Contract Form;

c.) Verification of Taxation Reporting Information (W-9) – Massachusetts Substitute W-9 Form;

d.) Electronic Funds Transfer Payment Signup Form;

e.) Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing (“CASL”) Form

Samples of these forms can be accessed via the Sample Mandatory Contract Forms document which has been uploaded as an attachment to this RFR. These sample documents are provided only for review and reference and are not to be completed or submitted as part of the RFR response. In addition, a sample Purchase Order for Engagement of Services Form has been uploaded for informational purposes.

SECTION 5 – SUBMISSION OF RESPONSES

Section 5.1 – Submission Checklist The following items must be submitted to respond to this bid:

a.) Bidder Response Form - The form, including Section A and E and either Section B, C or D, as well as all the items listed in the form. (i.e. menu pricing, AV pricing, Floor Plans, Room pricing, reference letters, certifications, etc.)

b.) If applicable, proposed hotel contract and/or event licensing agreement terms between the vendor and the MTC. A contract meeting the requirements of this bid must be included in the response at the time of submission. Do not send your standard hotel contract or event licensing agreement. The terms must match up to the terms listed in this document. (See non-exhaustive list in Section 3.2 – Requirements for Doing Business After a Contract Has Been Awarded, as well as subsections of Section 7.0 and Section 8.0, as applicable.)

c.) No Contact Policy Acknowledgement Form d.) Vendor Acceptance Form e.) Non-Collusion Form f.) Prompt Pay Discount Form

Section 5.2 – Submission Instructions

· In order to respond to this bid, please register on the COMMBUYS website. If you need assistance with registering please contact the COMMBUYS helpdesk at: COMMBUYS@state.ma.us or (888) 627-8283 or (617) 720-3197. NOTE: Be sure that “No Bid” is unchecked when submitting your response on COMMBUYS. Failure to do so may result in disqualification.

· Responses MUST be uploaded (preferably as one single .pdf document) to COMMBUYS no later than September 17, 2025 at 12:00pm to be considered for a October 15, 2025 Start Date. See Section 4.1 Procurement Timetable for information about subsequent submissions. Responses containing several files to download may be deemed non-responsive and rejected by the review team for evaluation. Responses not posted to COMMBUYS will not be considered for evaluation. Do not email and/or mail responses to the department. Detailed instructions on how to submit a bid on COMMBUYS are located in COMMBUYS on the attachment tab of this bid.

· Responses to this RFR must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the requirements outlined in this RFR.

· Any proposal submitted with material deviations from the prescribed format, as determined at the sole discretion of the MTC, may be considered non-responsive and excluded from further consideration or evaluation at the sole discretion of the MTC. Caution: Vendors are cautioned to carefully read and conform to the requirements of this specific RFR. Please do not assume that recollections regarding previous procurements by any Trial Court or another Commonwealth entity are or were correct, complete, or relevant to this RFR.

· Responses must be signed by an official authorized to bind the Vendor. Each response shall also provide the name(s), title(s), address(es), and telephone number(s) and email address(es) of the individual(s) with authority to negotiate and contractually bind the vendor and who may be contacted during the period of response evaluation for the purpose of submitting additional information if and as necessary.

· Bidders must not, as part of their bid responses, propose additional contractual terms, or supplemental or clarifying language pertaining to contractual terms, even if the proposed additions/clarifications are not in conflict with the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, the Standard Contract Form, or other documents comprising this bid.

· It is essential for Contracting Departments that all Vendors Contracts can be depended upon to incorporate the same terms and only those terms. Contractors, who wish to propose additional non-conflicting contractual terms, or supplemental or clarifying language, may do so ONLY on a case-by-case basis, negotiated for each specific engagement and memorialized in the Purchase Order Engagement for Service Agreement. This must be done at the time of review and not after an agreement has been executed.

Section 5.3 - Mandatory Requirements:

· Mandatory Specifications must be met in order for a Bid to be evaluated. In addition, certain mandatory specifications have desirable components to them that may be evaluated by the team. The team reserves the right, in its discretion, to determine if non-compliance with a Mandatory Specification is insignificant or can be easily corrected.

· Solicitation sections that include terms such as: “must”, “shall”, “will” and “required” are “mandatory.” Failure to meet the requirements of a mandatory specification without providing an alternative, that is acceptable to the evaluators, may result in the disqualification of a Bidder's proposal.

Section 5.4 – Response Due Date

· Each Vendor’s response, must be received by the MTC no later than the date and time indicated in Section 4.1 Procurement Calendar.

· It is the Bidder’s responsibility to ensure that its proposal is received before the submission deadline and time specified in Section 4.1. All Bidders are advised to allow adequate time for submission by considering potential online submission impediments like Internet traffic, Internet connection speed, file size, and file volume. The MTC is not responsible for delays encountered by Bidders or their agents, or for a Bidder’s local hardware failures, such as computers or related networks, associated with bid compilation or submission. Bids submitted via COMMBUYS are time stamped by the COMMBUYS system clock which is considered the official time of record.

SECTION 6.0 – BASIS FOR CONTRACT AWARD

Section 6.1 Criteria

Selection of any successful Vendors will be based on the following factors:

1. Submitting the required Bidder Response Form and other required forms;

1. Meeting the Bidder Qualifications;

1. Meeting the Bidder Qualifications After Contract Award;

1. Offering competitive pricing;

1. Meeting the guidelines and conditions of this RFR.

1. Note that the order of items 5.1(a) through 5.1(f) does not denote their relative importance to one another.

Section 6.2 – Clarification and Correction of Proposal

The MTC’s Evaluation Committee may request additional information from Vendors as, and if, needed to clarify the Vendor’s proposal or to facilitate the fair comparison of competing Vendor Responses. These requests may be in the form of questions seeking to clarify information provided by a Vendor.

Section 6.3 – Best and Final Offer (BAFO) Option

As part of its evaluation process, the MTC, at its sole discretion, may elect to enter into a Best and Final Offers (BAFO) process with vendors. If the BAFO process is used, the pricing considerations and overall value of the Responses under review may be re-evaluated based on the results received from the Best and Final Offers(s).

SECTION 7.0 – CONTRACT OBLIGATIONS

Section 7.1 – Contract Documents

The contract(s) awarded under this RFR will consist of the following documents, which are placed in the order of priority:

a.) Commonwealth Terms and Conditions b.) Standard Contract Form c.) This RFR d.) Any additional terms and conditions negotiated between the parties, or other documents necessary to complete the contract and Comment by Christine E Sullivan: Are CASL/EFT etc contract documents? I always thought of them as more procurement file/back of house items. Comment by Ellen S Osborne-Smith: @Christine E Sullivan Hi, the CASL is, but often it is left out of things. The EFT and the W-9 are needed for vendor set-up, but I would not put them as part of the contract package.

e.) Vendor Response to this RFR

Section 7.2 – Amendment to Contract

Any contract arising from this RFR may be amended to add unexpected or unanticipated services that the MTC believes are necessary and consistent with the goals of this RFR.

Section 7.3 – Primary Contractor Responsibility

The MTC requires a single point of responsibility for any contract resulting from this RFR. Prior approval of the MTC is required for any subcontracted service of the contract(s) resulting from this RFR. Subcontractors, when approved by the MTC may be used, but the selected Vendor agrees to act as the prime contractor. The primary contractor, not the MTC, will be responsible for performance of all its subcontractors and for any payments due to liabilities incurred by any of its subcontractors in the course of their activity related to any contract(s) resulting from this RFR. Comment by Ellen S Osborne-Smith: Nto sure we need prior approval. Bidder response form asks for info on sub contractors. Comment by Christine E Sullivan: Per T&Cs we need advance notice and to authorize in advance, so I would leave in. Comment by Ellen S Osborne-Smith: @Christine E Sullivan since they have to list subcontractors in the Bidder Response form is it implied when we make an “award” that we authorize the subcontractor? Comment by Christine E Sullivan: I would say yes, as they've notified us in advance who they will be and we accept their bid knowing that. If it changed though they'd have to notify/we'd have to reapprove.

Section 7.4 - Contract Management

The Procurement Coordinator is the point of contact for interested bidders during the procurement process. Bidders may contact the Procurement Coordinator if the bidder is having trouble obtaining any required attachments electronically through COMMBUYS. Bidders are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the Trial Court regarding this RFR except as specified in this RFR, and no other Department employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry regarding this RFR.

The MTC Contract Manager is the Department employee responsible for managing and administering the contract upon award. The MTC’s Contract Manager will be the point of contact for the successful bidder(s) and Contractor concerning day to day operational matters and the performance of duties of the contract. The MTC will designate the Contract Manager(s) who will work with the Vendor regarding day-to-day operational matters.

617-878-0301

Dana.McGuane@jud.state.ma.us

Due to the nature of this RFR resulting in Master Agreement Contracts, Vendors may expect to be contacted by individuals from various Ordering Departments. These individuals will be the point of contact for the specific engagements that vendors may be hired for over the duration of the contract.

Section 7.5 – Payment and Billing

Payment Procedure. Properly prepared invoices submitted under any resulting Purchase Order Engagement for Services Agreement shall be reviewed by the Ordering Department, and with rejected with specific reason communicated and returned to the vendor within 15 days or approved.

Payment Processing. Per the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, invoices will be paid by MTC in accordance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bill Paying Policy. Payments are processed within a 45-day payment cycle through EFT in accordance with the Prompt Payment Discount policy for investment and cash flow purposes. Departments may NOT negotiate accelerated payments and Payees are NOT entitled to accelerated payments UNLESS a prompt payment discount (PPD) is provided to support the Commonwealth’s loss of investment earnings for this earlier payment, or unless a payment is legally mandated to be made in less than 45 days (e.g., construction contracts, Ready Payments under G.L. c. 29, s. 23A). See Prompt Pay Discounts Policy. PPD are identified as a percentage discount which will be automatically deducted when an accelerated payment is made. Reduced contract rates may not be negotiated to replace a PPD. If PPD fields are left blank on the Standard Contract Form or Prompt Payment Discount Form please identify the exemption: (1) statutory/legal/Ready Payments (2) federal grant/trust or (3) initial state grant or entitlement payments for startup costs. Full details are available at: Policies - Office of the Comptroller (macomptroller.org)

Prompt Pay Discount. All Bidders must agree to offer discounts through participation in the Commonwealth Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) initiative for receiving early and/or on-time payments, unless the Bidder can provide compelling proof that it would be unduly burdensome. The requirement to offer a PPD may be waived by the MTC on a case-by-case basis if participation in the program would be unduly burdensome on the Bidder. If a Bidder is claiming that this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, the specific reason must be documented in the Response.

SECTION 8.0 - MISCELLANEOUS

Section 8.1 – Accuracy of RFR and Related Documents

The MTC will neither be bound by nor be responsible for any explanation, interpretation or conclusions concerning this RFR except those explanations, interpretations or conclusions provided by the MTC through the issuance of an addendum, clarification or other document published during the RFR process.

Should a Vendor find discrepancies or omissions in this RFR or any other documents provided by the MTC, the Vendor should immediately notify the MTC of such potential discrepancy. Any communication relating to any discrepancies in this RFR identified by a Vendor must only address the discrepancy identified and must not contain any unrelated questions, comments, or other information.

Section 8.2 – Addenda and Modifications to RFR

It is the responsibility of each Vendor to verify that it is in possession of the latest addenda or modifications to a solicitation for which it intends to bid. The MTC accepts no liability and will provide no accommodation to vendors who submit a bid based upon an out-of-date solicitation document.

A Vendor may not alter the RFR or its components. Modifications to the body of the RFR specifications, terms and conditions, or any other documents that would change the intent of the RFR, are strictly prohibited. Any modifications, other than where the Vendor is prompted for a modification or alternative, may result in disqualification of the proposal.

Section 8.3 – Costs of Vendor Responses to RFR

A Vendor shall bear all costs associated with its response. No costs or expenses incurred by a Vendor in responding to this RFR, or by participating in the RFR process, will be borne by the MTC.

Section 8.4 – Firm and Irreversible Response Terms

The Vendor’s response shall be considered a firm offer on the part of the Vendor. All responses (including all statements, claims, declarations, and specifications in the Vendor’s proposal) shall be considered firm and irrevocable for purposes of future contract negotiations unless specifically waived in writing by the MTC. The selected Vendor’s proposal to this RFR, and any relevant correspondence and other documents submitted with the proposal, shall be incorporated into any resulting contract.

Section 8.5 – Amendment and/or Cancellation of Procurement

The MTC reserves the right to amend or cancel this RFR at any time, if it believes that doing so is in the best interests of the MTC. The MTC may cancel this RFR at any time prior to the execution and approval of a contract, in which event all Responses received in response to this RFR will be rejected.

Section 8.6 – Background Check

All employees of the Vendor and subcontractors assigned to work on the resulting contract with the MTC may be required to successfully complete a criminal background check (criminal offender record information - CORI), a records check, and to sign a Confidentiality Statement prior to beginning work on the project. An annual CORI check will be performed on the employees of the Vendor and any subcontractors assigned to work on the resulting contract. This requirement may be required of all staff and subcontractors assigned to the engagment regardless of their work location.

Section 8.7 – Debriefing Non-Successful Bidders Notwithstanding section 8.12 below, Ownership, Use and Availability of Proposal, Vendors not selected as the final Vendor for the contract may request a debriefing after contract execution with the Selected Bidder. A vendor seeking feedback must submit its request within fourteen (14) days of the notice of contract award to the selected vendor (notice of the contract award to be provided via COMMBUYS). The request for evaluation input is not a forum to debate the Evaluation Committee’s decisions. This section provides the means through which a Bidder/Vendor may improve its response to future competitive procurements and solicitations. For that reason, the Trial Court will not respond to requests in which, in the sole judgement of the Trial Court, a vendor attempts to debate or argue the Evaluation Committee’s decisions. The feedback provided will be in writing unless the Trial Court, in its sole discretion, chooses to give the feedback in person.

Prior to the formal Notice of Award, the MTC is not required to provide any information in response to inquiries concerning the status of the procurement process, or other information, such as the number of vendors responding or the elimination of responding vendors, except for any information officially published via COMMBUYS.

Section 8.8 – Costs

Costs which are not specifically identified in the Vendor’s proposal and accepted by the MTC as part of a contract, will not be compensated under any contract awarded pursuant to this RFR. The Trial Court will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by Vendors relative to bid preparation to this RFR.

Section 8.9 – Duration of Response Validity

Vendor responses must remain in effect from the date of bid submission through the end date of the bid.

Section 8.10– Stylized Text

Bold face text or underlined text is used throughout this RFR for emphasis only. Mandatory proposal requirements are denoted using terms such as “must,” “shall,” “required,” and the like, irrespective of the highlighting or font style they may appear in throughout this RFR.

Section 8.11 – Prohibition on Use of Massachusetts Seal and Trial Court Insignia

No marketing or promotional materials using the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Seal of the Trial Court of Massachusetts, the Seal of the Appeals Court of Massachusetts, the Seal of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, or listing the Courts of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a customer of a contractor may be released, issued, distributed, or otherwise published in any form of media, including but not limited to print media, radio, television, or the internet by a contractor without the prior written approval of the MTC. Use of the Flag, Coat of Arms, and/or the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for promotional or marketing purposes is prohibited by regulation. See 950 C.M.R. 34.12.

Contractors may use the said marks in performing their obligations under any resulting Contract, such as in provisioning portals and for other non-marketing, non-promotional purposes such as audits. Additionally, notwithstanding the foregoing, a Contractor awarded a Contract under this RFR may list the MTC by name as a customer in documents submitted in response to requests for proposals or other procurement vehicles so long as accompanied by the language “such client listing accurately reflects the Courts’ status as a customer of Contractor but shall not be construed as an endorsement or promotion by the Massachusetts Trial Court.”

Section 8.12 – Ownership, Use and Availability of Submitted Responses

All materials submitted by a Vendor in response to this RFR become the property of the MTC.

The MTC considers the Responses to this RFR to be internal, working documents, which will become the property of the MTC, and it will not agree to any statements or endorsements in Responses or related documents submitted in response to this RFR that conflict with the MTC’s practices related to such documents and material.

The MTC shall be under no obligation to return any proposal or materials submitted by a vendor in response to this RFR.

Section 8.13 - Brand name or equal Unless otherwise specified in this Solicitation, any reference to a particular trademark, trade name, patent, design, type, specification, producer or supplier is not intended to restrict this Solicitation to any manufacturer or proprietor or to constitute an endorsement of any commodity or service, and the department may consider clearly identified offers of substantially equivalent commodities and services submitted in response to such reference.

Section 8.14 - Environmentally Preferable Products and Services The department and Contractor(s) may establish a preference for Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) and/or negotiate during the Contract term to permit the substitution or addition of EPPs to the Contract when such products are readily available at a competitive cost and satisfy the department’s performance needs.

Section 8.15 – Unallowable Expenses Alcohol may not be purchased under this procurement.

SECTION 9.0 – ATTACHMENTS

The following documents can be found in the Attachments tab of this bid in COMMBUYS:

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