County of San Mateo

Request for Proposals (RFP) for Organizational Change

Management (OCM) Study

Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Elections

RFP No. 2026-RFP-00333

RFP Contact: Jim Irizarry jirizarry@smcacre.gov

1. Introduction and Schedule

San Mateo County is a dynamic and diverse county on the San Francisco Peninsula, spanning approximately 455 square miles between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay and serving nearly

800,000 residents across 20 incorporated cities and communities that range from dense urban centers to suburban neighborhoods and rural coastal areas.

Established in April 1856, San Mateo County has grown into a nationally recognized hub of innovation and technology at the heart of Silicon Valley. The County boasts a thriving economy supported by industries such as bioscience, internet commerce, computer software, green technology, hospitality, financial management, health care, education, and transportation. What truly defines San Mateo County is its cultural, geographic, and economic diversity.

The County is deeply committed to preserving its natural assets, nearly three-quarters of its land is open space, and agriculture continues to contribute to its economy and culture. San Mateo County provides essential services that protect and enhance the health, safety, welfare, and quality of life of all people, while embracing a tradition of public service, inclusion, and forward-thinking approaches to meeting community needs.

1.1. Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess and align ACRE’s workforce, organizational structure, and business processes with its evolving technological environment. The consultant will evaluate the impacts of emerging technologies—such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Intelligent Agents—on job classifications, workflows, and service delivery. The study will also review the integration and interoperability of key business systems, including Salesforce, GIS, document management, and election platforms, to identify opportunities for efficiency, automation, and improved public access to services.

ACRE employs 167 full-time staff across the Assessor, Clerk-Recorder, and Elections divisions, representing a wide range of technical, analytical, and customer service roles impacted by modernization. The consultant will assess business and technical requirements to ensure alignment between ACRE’s modernization strategy, workforce capabilities, and service outcomes. This includes evaluating organizational readiness, identifying workforce impacts, developing training, communication, and stakeholder engagement strategies to support effective adoption of change.

A successful study will deliver a future-ready organizational framework, modernized classification structures, and a clear roadmap to guide workforce transitions and sustain innovation in delivering efficient, transparent, and people-centered public services to the residents of San Mateo County.

1.2. Background

The San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder and Elections (ACRE) Department is one of

California’s oldest public agencies, serving residents since 1856. As the state’s largest consolidated department, ACRE unites the constitutional offices of Assessor, County Clerk-Recorder, and Elections, guided by its motto, “People First.”

ACRE provides essential services to nearly 800,000 residents of San Mateo County, including property assessments, document recording, vital records, business filings, voter registration, and election administration.

The department manages one of the County’s most complex information systems, maintaining property

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In recent years, ACRE has undertaken a comprehensive modernization initiative to enhance efficiency, data integrity, and accessibility. Key projects include replacing a 25-year-old legacy Assessment Roll Management

System with a Salesforce-based platform, deploying a GIS portal powered by Esri’s ArcGIS, and developing

AI-driven predictive models for property assessment and market analysis.

These innovations are transforming ACRE’s operations and improving public access to information. However, the adoption of advanced technologies also introduces significant organizational change that affects staff roles, business processes, and service delivery models. To address this, ACRE is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to conduct a comprehensive Organizational Change Management (OCM) Study.

1.3. Contact Information

Project Contact:

Jim Irizarry Assistant Assessor County Clerk Recorder Email: jirizarry@smcacre.gov Phone: (650) 363-4988

Procurement Contact:

Jim Irizarry Assistant Assessor County Clerk Recorder Email: jirizarry@smcacre.gov Phone: (650) 363-4988

Department:

Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Elections

Department Head:

Director Mark Church

1.4. Timeline

RFP Released February 3, 2026

Pre-Proposal Meeting (Mandatory) February 17, 2026, 3:00pm

MS Teams

Deadline for Questions, Comments and

Contract Exceptions

February 20, 2026, 5:00pm mailto:jirizarry@smcacre.gov tel:(650)363-4988 mailto:jirizarry@smcacre.gov tel:(650)363-4988

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Proposal Due Date and Time February 27, 2026, 5:00pm

Interviews (tentative) March 16, 2026

Anticipated Contract Award Date March 30, 2026

2. Scope of Work

2.1. Discovery and Assessment

• Review existing classification and compensation plans.

• Analyze workflows and service delivery models pre- and post-technology implementation.

• Analyze the technology changes and identify affected job roles, teams, and business processes.

• Conduct employee and stakeholder interviews or focus groups and surveys.

• Inventory technology tools used and their impact on day-to-day operations.

• Evaluate adoption metrics and system usage data

• Deliverables o Project work plan and timeline

2.2. Organizational and Classification Impact Analysis

• Identify functions eliminated, altered, or created by technology.

• Assess skills and knowledge gaps or redundancies.

• Determine new job roles needed to support tech-enabled workflows

• Deliverables o “As-Is” and “To-Be” organizational charts o Revised classification plan and job descriptions o Detailed Data Appendix - Provide raw and anonymized data (e.g., survey results, summarized interview transcripts, focus group notes) for the Department's internal use and future reference, ensuring data transparency and utility.

2.3. Workflow and Service Delivery Review

• Conduct business process mapping of current (“as-is”) and future-state (“to-be”) workflows.

• Identify improvements in efficiency, accountability, and service outcomes.

• Deliverables o Workflow analysis and staffing impact report

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2.4. Recommendations and Report Preparation

• Recommend restructured classifications and reporting structures.

• Develop revised or new job specifications.

• Provide implementation roadmap, including staffing implications and change management strategies.

• Provide a comprehensive list of new and advanced technologies and digital tools to support long-term departmental technological and service delivery transformation.

• Deliverables o Draft OCM Study Report - A comprehensive draft report detailing all findings, in-depth analysis of the data, and initial recommendations.

o Final comprehensive report with findings and recommendations

2.5. Engagement and Communication

• Support briefings to department leadership, Board of Supervisors, employee organizations and the public.

• Prepare deliverables suitable for use in meet-and-confer processes.

• Attend public meetings, if necessary, to present findings.

• Deliverables o Public-facing executive summary and presentation materials

3. Submission Requirements

3.1. Submission Deadline

Proposals must be electronically received by Friday, February 27, 2026 by 5:00 p.m. via eProcurement system.

Allow sufficient time for the upload to completed by the Due Date and Time. Partial uploads will automatically terminate, and proposals will be rejected. The eProcurement system submission time will be the official submission time. The County will not be responsible for and may not accept proposals that are late due to slow internet connections or for any other failure of the eProcurement system.

NOTE: The County does not maintain the eProcurement system and is not liable for site failures or technical problems. To resolve technical issues, contact OpenGov Technical Support by using the real time chat located in the lower right hand corner of the screen, or via email at procurement-support@opengov.com https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov

3.2. Pre-submission Registration

Organizations or individuals interested in responding to this solicitation must register online with the

County of San Mateo at:

• https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov mailto:procurement-support@opengov.com mailto:procurement-support@opengov.com https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov

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It is recommended that organizations complete this registration as soon as possible. The County will not be responsible for and may not accept proposals that are late due to a failure to register in the eProcurement system.

3.3. Submission via eProcurement Portal

Required Documents

Please refer to the Technical Proposal section for submittal documents and requirements.

Electronic Submissions

Include the proposer's name and the RFP title and number in each filename. Submit proposals via the eProcurement website, allowing sufficient time for the upload to complete by the Due Date and Time. As noted above, the eProcurement portal submission time will be the official submission time, and partial uploads will automatically terminate, and proposals will be rejected. Contact eProcurement Portal with technical questions regarding this site.

Conflicts between Certain Requirements

Prior to the submission deadlines and solely relating to a determination of the timeliness of questions, comments, and proposal submissions, information displayed on the eProcurement portal site will take precedence in the event of a discrepancy between that information and the information within the solicitation documents. For all other discrepancies, the information in the solicitation documents will take precedence.

Format

Documents should be created in the following format:

• Text should be Times New Roman (12-point minimum font size) and unjustified (i.e., with a ragged-right margin)

• Pages should have margins of at least one inch on all sides (excluding headers and footers)

• If the proposal is lengthy, a Table of Contents should be included.

• PDF format is preferred.

Errors in Proposals

The County will not be liable for any errors in proposals. Proposals may be rejected as unresponsive if they are late, incomplete, missing pages or information, or cannot be opened for any reason. The County may waive minor irregularities, but such waivers will not modify any remaining RFP requirements.

3.4. Procurement Preference for Local Businesses and Local Non-Profits

The County of San Mateo has adopted a Procurement Preference for Local Businesses Ordinance (County

Ord. Code Ch. 2.89.) The purpose of this Ordinance is to promote a strong local economy by giving preference to local businesses, local non-profits, local small and micro businesses, and local small and micro non-profits in County procurements, to the extent consistent with the law and interests of the public. The County’s process for applying local preferences to competitive procurements is set forth in https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/smcgov/projects/209147/document?section=1957704

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County Ordinance Code Section 2.89.030. The Ordinance and exemptions (e.g. the ordinance will be exempt when all bids or proposals received are from Non-Profit Organizations) can be reviewed here:

Chapter 2.89 - PROCUREMENT PREFERENCE FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES | Code of Ordinances |

San Mateo County, CA | Municode Library

The requirements for bidders to establish eligibility for a local preference for this solicitation are detailed below in Section III (Submission Requirements) The Ordinance does not apply if a procurement is determined to be exempt (County Ord. Code sec. 2.89.050), and the County reserves the right to waive application of the Ordinance to this procurement if determined to be in the best interests of the County

(County Ord. Code sec. 2.89.060).

4. Minimum Qualifications, Local Preference Ordinance, and Technical Proposal

4.1. Minimum Qualifications

4.1.1. Has Proposer has been providing similar services for a minimum of four (4) years within the last seven (7) years?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

4.1.2. Account manager has a minimum of two (2) years of experience within the last five (5) years in providing account services?*

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

4.1.3. Please confirm your firm is registered with System for Award Management (SAM)*

SAM.gov

☐ Please confirm

*Response required

4.1.4. What is the registered Business Name and Unique Entity ID (UEI) No.?*

• UEI number can be obtained by registering your business through SAM.GOV

• Should you be in the process of obtaining your UEI number, please enter the digits ‘123’ temporarily for your response below in order to proceed with proposal. This temporary number should be replaced with the correct registration number for submission of the proposal.

*Response required

4.2. Procurement Preference for Local Businesses and Local Non-Profits

4.2.1. Is the Proposer a "Local Business"?

As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Business” means any for-profit business which has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo https://library.municode.com/ca/san_mateo_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2AD_ART2.8INFIPRCOCO_CH2.89PRPRLOBU https://library.municode.com/ca/san_mateo_county/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2AD_ART2.8INFIPRCOCO_CH2.89PRPRLOBU https://sam.gov/content/home

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County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response.

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

• SMC_LocalBusiness_self-atte...

4.2.2. Is the Proposer a Non-Profit?*

A Non-Profit is defined as a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section

501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes.

☐ Yes

☐ No

*Response required

When equals "Yes"

4.2.3. Is the Proposer a "Local Non-Profit"

As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code, a “Local Non-Profit" means a tax-exempt public charity organization (within the meaning of section 501(c)(3) of the

Internal Revenue Code) that is formed for purposes other than making a profit, is exempt from paying federal income taxes on the income generated for their exempt purposes, and has its principal place of business, or is headquartered, in San Mateo County. If this designation applies to the proposer, a self-attestation form must be completed and provided with this response.

Please download the below documents, complete, and upload. If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

• SMC_LocalBusiness_self-atte...

4.2.4. Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Business?

As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

“Small Business” means any business which holds a Small Business Certification awarded by the

California Office of Small Business and Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise Services (OSDS).

“Micro Business” means any Small Business certified by the OSDS which is automatically designated by the OSDS as a Micro Business due to gross annual receipts falling below the OSDS-designated dollar amount.

If the above designations apply, please provide the OSDS provided Certification ID.

If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

4.2.5. Is the Proposer a Local "Small" or "Micro" Non-Profit?

As Defined by Chapter 2.89.020 of the San Mateo County Ordinance Code:

https://government-project.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/153456/a16ffdc0-a0ee-44ca-b6de-1fddd010042f_SMC_LocalBusiness_self-attestation_form_120424.pdf https://government-project.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/153456/80d29c2f-acda-4b87-837e-cb4ead1fb303_SMC_LocalBusiness_self-attestation_form_120424.pdf

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“Small Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of $1,000,000 to $2,500,000 according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

“Micro Non-Profit" means a Local Non-Profit with an annual revenue of less than $1,000,000, according to its most recently filed IRS Form 990.

If the above designations apply, please provide your latest filed IRS form 990. A filing from the last two calendar years is acceptable.

If this designation is not applicable, please leave blank.

4.3. Technical Proposal

4.3.1. Introduction and Executive Summary *

Submit a letter of introduction and executive summary of the proposal. The letter must contain:

• Name, title and contact information (email, phone, and address) for representative of proposer that is responsible for communication related to this RFP.

• Name, title, contact information, and signature of person authorized to obligate firm to perform the commitment contained in the proposal.

Submission of the letter will constitute a representation by proposer that it is willing and able to perform the commitments contained in the proposal and has not violated the terms of this RFP.

*Response required

4.3.2. Statement of Minimum Qualifications *

Describe how the proposer meets the minimum qualifications as set forth in Minimum Qualifications of this RFP.

Submission of the Minimum Qualifications checklist is not a substitute for providing a detailed written response.

*Response required

4.3.3. Project Approach*

This section should correlate to the Scope of Work . Proposer should give a short summary describing how it will perform the relevant work

*Response required

4.3.4. Scope of Work tasks/milestones*

Describe your proposed approach to tasks/milestones

*Response required

4.3.5. Proposed schedule *

Attach proposed schedule reference ability to complete the project within the County's required time frame

*Response required

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4.3.6. Innovations*

Refence any notable innovations or improvements that you expect to provide (with respect to, for example, efficiency, technology, sustainability)

*Response required

4.3.7. Performance Measures*

Describe a plan for achieving performance measures

*Response required

4.3.8. Firm Qualifications *

Attach information regarding background and qualifications, including the following:

• A brief description of the proposer.

• A description of not more than three (3) projects similar in size and scope conducted by the proposer, including the client, reference and telephone numbers, primary staff members involved, budget, schedule, and project summary. Descriptions should be limited to one (1) page for each project.

• If subcontractors are anticipated, identify them (if known) and provide information on how they will be used.

*Response required

4.3.9. Team Qualifications*

Provide a chart identifying:

▪ Project team and reporting structure

▪ Lead project manager

▪ Role each person will play in the project

Provide a brief description of the experience and qualifications of the project team members, including short resumes if desired.

Written assurance that the key individuals listed and identified will be performing the work and will not be substituted or reassigned without the County’s prior approval

*Response required

4.3.10. References*

Provide 3 references for each of the following, including the name, address, and telephone number of recent clients (preferably other public agencies):

*Response required

4.3.11. Fee Proposal*

The Fee Proposal should be submitted as a separate PDF file from the Technical Proposals detailed in

Required Documents.

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The County reserves the right to accept other than the lowest priced offer and to reject any proposals that are not responsive to this request.

*Response required

5. Evaluation and Selection Criteria

The proposals will be evaluated by a selection committee with relevant expertise. The County intends to evaluate the proposals generally in accordance with the criteria itemized below. Proposers with the highest scoring proposals may be interviewed by the committee to make the final selection.

No. Evaluation Criteria Scoring Method Weight (Points)

1. Experience

Demonstrated experience with similar public-sector technology transformation projects

Points Based 25 (25% of Total)

2. Project Understanding

Understanding of project scope and proposed methodology

Points Based 20 (20% of Total)

3. Team Qualifications

Qualifications and experience of key personnel

Points Based 15 (15% of Total)

4. Clarity of Proposal

Quality and clarity of proposal

Points Based 10 (10% of Total)

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5. Preferential Points

Where price is not the sole evaluation factor for a solicitation (e.g., in the case of a "best-value" solicitation), five percent (5%) of the total evaluation points awardable will be added to the proposal score for each Local Business or

Local Non-Profit score for evaluation purposes.

In the event of a tie between a Local Business or Local Non-Profit and another bidder, the

Local Business or Non-Profit shall be awarded the Contract, assuming agreement on other contract terms.

An additional three percent (3%) preference shall be given to a Local Business or Local

Non-profit (for a total of eight percent (8%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a

Small Business or Small Non-Profit, or an additional 5 percent preference (for a total of ten percent (10%) of total points awardable) if the proposer is a Micro Business or Micro Non-

Profit.

Points Based 10 (10% of Total)

6. References

References and past performance

Points Based 10 (10% of Total)

7. Cost

Cost Value Based

Points Based 10 (10% of Total)

6. Instructions to Proposers

6.1. Instructions

Proposers are encouraged to attend a pre-proposal conference on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, at 3:00 pm, to be held at MS Teams. All questions will be addressed at this conference and any available new information will be provided at that time. If you have further questions regarding the RFP, please post them on the eProcurement portal.

6.2. Communications

A. As of the issuance date of this RFP and continuing until it is canceled or an award is made, no proposer or person acting on behalf of a prospective proposer may discuss any matter relating to the RFP with any officer, agent, or employee of the County, other than through eProcurement portal, to the Authorized Contact Person, or as outlined in the evaluation or protest procedures.

B. Proposers (including any agent, owner, employee, board members, or other such affiliates) shall not offer any gift, favor, or other personal benefit to any County officer or employee during the procurement process for this agreement, including during the solicitation period and contract negotiations.

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Violation of the foregoing prohibitions may result in a proposer being found non-responsible and barred from participating in this or future procurements.

6.3. Contract Award

A. Award Procedure

Contract negotiations are neither an offer nor guarantee that a contract will be executed. A contract award, if any is made, will be to the responsive, responsible proposer offering the overall best value to the County for the services and goods described in this solicitation, or as applicable, for a specific portion of the services and goods described. Any agreement reached will be memorialized in a formal agreement using the attached template, executed by the appropriate authority.

B. Notice of Intent to Award

If a decision is made to take steps to enter into an agreement with one or more proposers, the

County will post a Notice of Intent to Award or otherwise notify proposers the remaining proposers of their non-selection. Notice may instead be provided by including approval of the agreement as an item on an agenda for a meeting of the Board of Supervisors.

C. Commencement of Performance

After all parties have signed the agreement, the County will notify the contractor and performance may proceed. Prior to execution of the agreement by the County, no County employee may authorize work under the agreement. Any work performed prior to the full execution of the Agreement may not be compensated.

D. Levine Act DisclosureThe Levine Act (California Government Code Section 84308) imposes certain requirements on parties contracting with the County of San Mateo related to campaign contributions to County “officers,” including elected County officers and candidates seeking elective office, who may participate in making a decision on certain County contracts. Elected

County officers in San Mateo County include: the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, County Controller, Coroner, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Tax

Collector-Treasurer.Generally, under current County policy, approval by the Board of

Supervisors is required for any agreement for services above $200,000, and agreements for services below that threshold may be approved by Department heads.If your proposal is selected, you will be required to certify compliance with the Levine Act.As part of this process, you will need to certify and warrant that you have fully complied, and will remain in full compliance, with all applicable requirements of the Levine Act in connection with the

Agreement, including making any required disclosures of campaign contributions to County

Officers, which includes but may not be limited to elected County Officers. Elected County

Officers include members of the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, as well as the

Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder, Controller, Coroner, District Attorney, Sheriff, and Tax

Collector-Treasurer. Any campaign contribution required to be disclosed under the Levine Act in connection with this Agreement shall be disclosed on the County of San Mateo Levine Act

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Disclosure Form, a copy of which is available from the County upon request.Parties are solely responsible for accurate certification and disclosure. The Levine Act is complex, and this brief description is not legal advice. For example, certain contributions must be aggregated when determining whether contributions have exceeded the $500 threshold. If your proposal is selected, you are urged to review the Levine Act and consider consulting an attorney.

6.4. Term

Office of Assessor-County Clerk- Recorder & Elections is issuing Request for Proposal (RFP) No. 2026-

RFP-00333 for Organizational Change Management (OCM) Study.

The agreement shall have a term of six (6) months. The County’s standard contract template has been included with this solicitation. The awarded contractor will be expected to sign an agreement prepared by the County using this template. Please ensure that your firm has completed legal review of these contract terms. If your firm wishes to request exceptions to these standard terms, submit a Contract Exceptions

Request by the Deadline for Questions, Comments and Contract Exceptions listed in the Solicitation

Schedule below. The County will consider Contract Exceptions Requests but reserves the right to reject requested modifications to its standard terms.

7. Terms and Conditions for Receipt of Proposals

7.1. Errors, Omissions and Inquiries regarding the RFP

Proposers are responsible for reviewing all portions of this RFP. Proposers are to notify the department, in eProcurement portal, if the proposer discovers any ambiguity, discrepancy, omission, or apparent error in the RFP. Such notification should be made promptly after discovery, but in no event later than five business days prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals. Modifications and clarifications will be made by addenda as provided below.

Inquiries regarding the RFP should be lodged in eProcurement portal.

7.2. Objections to RFP Terms

Should a proposer object on any ground to any provision or legal requirement set forth in this RFP, the proposer must, not more than ten calendar days after the RFP is issued, provide written notice to the department, via eProcurement portal, setting forth with specific grounds for the objection.

7.3. Addenda

The County may cancel, revise, or reissue this RFP, in whole or in part, for any reason. Revisions will be posted as Addenda on eProcurement portal. No other revision of this RFP is valid. Proposers shall be responsible for ensuring that their proposals reflects any and all Addenda issued by the County prior to the proposal due date regardless of when a proposal is submitted. Therefore, the County recommends that proposers consult eProcurement portal frequently, including shortly before the proposal due date, to confirm that all Addenda have been downloaded.

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7.4. Term of Proposal

Submission of a proposal signifies that the proposed services and prices are valid for the duration of the proposed agreement term and that the quoted prices are genuine and not the result of collusion or any other anti-competitive activity.

7.5. Revision or Withdrawal of Proposal

A proposer may revise a proposal on the proposer’s own initiative at any time before the deadline for submission of proposals. The proposer must submit the revised proposal in the same manner as the original on or before the proposal due date.

A proposer may withdraw a proposal at any time before the deadline for submission of proposals. After that time, whether or not a new RFP is issued for the same subject matter, withdrawal of a proposal may preclude the proposer from participating in the procurement as a proposer or subcontractor, except that an original equipment manufacturer may participate indirectly through a reseller.

7.6. Errors and Omissions in Proposal

The County will not be liable for any errors in proposals. Proposals may be rejected as unresponsive if they are incomplete, are missing pages or information, or cannot be opened for any reason. The County may waive minor irregularities, but such waiver will not modify any of the remaining RFP requirements.

7.7. No Commitment

Neither submission of a proposal nor the County’s receipt of proposal materials confers any right to the proposer nor any obligation on the County. This RFP does not commit the County to award a contract.

7.8. Financial Responsibility

The County shall have no financial responsibility for any costs incurred by a firm in responding to this

RFP or participating in any presentations or negotiations.

7.9. Estimated Quantity

If the RFP results in an indefinite quantity or a requirements agreement, the goods and services actually requested by the County may be less than the maximum value of the agreement and there is no guarantee, either expressed or implied, as to the actual quantity of goods and services that will be authorized under the agreement.

7.10. Public Record

A. General

1. All proposals, protests, and information submitted in response to this solicitation will become the property of the County and will be considered public records. As such, they may be subject to public review.

2. Any contract arising from this RFP will be a public record.

3. The County is not seeking proprietary information and will not assert any privileges that may exist on behalf of the proposer.

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4. Submission of any materials in response to this RFP constitutes:

▪ Consent to the County’s release of such materials under the Public Records Act without notice to the person or entity submitting the materials; and

▪ Waiver of all claims against the County and/or its officers, agents, or employees that the

County has violated a proposer's right to privacy, disclosed trade secrets, or caused any damage by allowing the proposal or materials to be inspected; and

▪ Agreement to indemnify and hold harmless the County for release of such information under the Public Records Act; and

▪ Acknowledgement that the County will not assert any privileges that may exist on behalf of the person or entity submitting the materials.

7.11. Confidential Information

A. Proposers are responsible for asserting any applicable privileges or reasons why a document should not be produced in response to a public record request.

B. If submitting information protected from disclosure as a trade secret or any other basis, identify each page of such material subject to protection as “CONFIDENTIAL.” If requested material has been designated as confidential, the County will attempt to inform the proposer of the public records request in a timely manner to permit assertion of any applicable privileges.

C. Failure to seek a court order protecting information from disclosure within ten days of the

County’s notice of a request to the proposer will be deemed agreement to disclosure of the information and the proposer agrees to indemnify and hold the County harmless for release of such information.

D. Requests to treat an entire proposal as confidential will be rejected and deemed agreement to

County disclosure of the entire proposal and the proposer agrees to indemnify and hold the

County harmless for release of any information requested.

E. Trade secrets will only be considered confidential if claimed to be a trade secret when submitted to the County, marked as confidential, and compliant with Government Code Section 6254.7.

7.12. Reservations of Rights by the County

The issuance of this RFP does not constitute an agreement by the County that any contract will actually be entered into by the County. The County expressly reserves the right at any time to:

• Waive or correct any defect or informality in any response, proposal, or proposal procedure;

• Reject any or all proposals;

• Reissue an RFP;

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• Prior to submission deadline for proposals, modify all or any portion of the selection procedures, including deadlines for accepting responses, the specifications or requirements for any materials, equipment or services to be provided under this RFP, or the requirements for contents or format of the proposals;

• Procure any materials, equipment or services specified in this RFP by any other means; or

• Determine that no project will be pursued.

7.13. No Waiver

No waiver by the County of any provision of this RFP shall be implied from any failure by the County to recognize or take action on account of any failure by a proposer to observe any provision of this RFP.

7.14. Cooperative Agreement (Piggyback)

This competitive solicitation is being conducted as a Cooperative Procurement. The services, terms and conditions of any agreement resulting from this solicitation may be used by other organizations as a

Cooperative Agreement.

This provision in no way commits any affiliate to procure services from any awarded contractor, nor does it guarantee that any additional orders will result. At their discretion, and subject to their own procurement policies, interested organizations may make use of this competitive procurement and contract directly from the awarded contractor.

8. Protest Procedures

8.1. Protest of Non-Responsiveness Determination

Within five (5) working days of the County's issuance of a notice of non-responsiveness, any firm that has submitted a proposal and believes that the County has incorrectly determined that its proposal is non-responsive may submit a written notice of protest. Such notice of protest must be received by the County on or before the fifth working day following the County's issuance of the notice of non-responsiveness. The notice of protest must include a written statement specifying in detail each and every one of the grounds asserted for the protest. The protest must be signed by an individual authorized to represent the proposer, and must cite the law, rule, local ordinance, procedure or RFP provision on which the protest is based. In addition, the protestor must specify facts and evidence sufficient for the County to determine the validity of the protest.

8.2. Protest of Contract Award

Within five (5) working days of the County's issuance of a notice of intent to award the contract, any firm that has submitted a responsive proposal and believes that the County has incorrectly selected another proposer for award may submit a written notice of protest. Such notice of protest must be received by the

County on or before the fifth working day after the County's issuance of the notice of intent to award.

The notice of protest must include a written statement specifying in detail each and every one of the grounds asserted for the protest. The protest must be signed by an individual authorized to represent the

Page 18 of 18 Release date of February 3, 2026 proposer, and must cite the law, rule, local ordinance, procedure or RFP provision on which the protest is based. In addition, the protestor must specify facts and evidence sufficient for the County to determine the validity of the protest.

8.3. Delivery of Protests

All protests must be received by the due date. If a protest is mailed, the protestor bears the risk of non-delivery within the deadlines specified herein. Protests should be transmitted by a means that will objectively establish the date the County received the protest. Protests or notice of protests made orally

(e.g., by telephone) will not be considered. Protests must be delivered to:

Protests@smcgov.org

Subject: Organizational Change Management (OCM) Study, 2026-RFP-00333