Training Support for Costing Practices and Rate Development for University Research, Core Facilities, and Other Cost-Recovery Units

OSUA&M-RFP-001860-2027

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

1) INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND

2) PURPOSE / OBJECTIVE

3) SCOPE OF WORK / SPECIFICATIONS

4) SPECIAL PROVISIONS

5) RISK ASSESMENT AND MITIGATION

6) EXPERIENCE / QUALIFICATIONS / REFERENCES

7) PROPOSED PROJECT TIMELINE

8) PROPOSAL CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

9) PROPOSED RFP TIMELINE

10) COST PROPOSAL

11) BID INQUIRIES / BUYER OF RECORD

12) CONTRACT TERM

13) BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS

14) TERMS AND CONDITIONS

15) AUTHORIZED USERS

16) PRE-AWARD PRESENTATION / DEMONSTRATIONS

17) BID SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

18) METHOD OF AWARD / EVALUATION / NEGOTIATION

19) EVALUATION CRITERIA

1) INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND

Oklahoma State University is a modern land-grant institution with a mission rooted in access, service and impact. Guided by the Cowboy Code, which calls its community to lead with integrity, accountability and a commitment to others, OSU prepares students for meaningful careers and purposeful lives. Through high-quality teaching, research and outreach, OSU improves lives across Oklahoma and beyond. Today, the OSU System serves nearly 37,000 students across five campuses, including nearly 28,000 in Stillwater and Tulsa, representing all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Since its founding in 1890, OSU has graduated more than 300,000 alumni who carry that mission forward.

OSU-Stillwater anchors the system and serves as a destination for students, families and visitors from across the country. It is home to one of the nation’s most comprehensive student unions, the Edmon Low Library, a leading research library, and America’s Greatest Homecoming, which welcomes more than 80,000 visitors each year. Stillwater blends tradition with discovery, offering a full spectrum of academic programs and a vibrant campus experience grounded in community and belonging.

OSU-Tulsa, established in 1999 in the historic Greenwood District, extends the university’s reach into an urban environment rich with cultural and entrepreneurial energy. OSU-Tulsa offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in high-demand fields such as business, education, engineering, technology, human services and the liberal arts. Beginning in 2026, the campus expanded to include lower-division coursework and admit first-time freshmen, becoming the only public four-year institution in Tulsa.

Students can start, transfer or complete their degrees in Tulsa, supported by flexible pathways that meet a wide range of needs.

The OSU Center for Health Sciences in Tulsa advances the university’s commitment to improving health outcomes across the region. Established in 1997, OSU-CHS is a leading academic health center focused on educating osteopathic physicians, biomedical scientists and health professionals. OSU-CHS offers graduate and professional degrees through the College of Osteopathic Medicine and OSU-COM at the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah. With more than 1,000 students, the center emphasizes rural and underserved care, preparing graduates to meet critical workforce needs while conducting research that improves community health.

OSU-Oklahoma City was founded in 1961 to meet the workforce and educational needs of the state’s largest metropolitan area. Today, OSU-OKC serves thousands of students each semester through flexible in-person, hybrid and online programs. The campus delivers career-focused education aligned with industry needs, creating accessible pathways to upward mobility for a vibrant population of transfer students, working adults and first-generation students.

Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology in Okmulgee is a national leader in applied technology education. Known for its industry-aligned programs and world-class facilities, OSUIT prepares students for immediate entry into high-demand careers. Its hands-on approach and strong employer partnerships ensure graduates are ready to contribute on day one, reinforcing OSU’s commitment to workforce development.

Beyond its campuses, OSU extends its impact statewide through OSU Agriculture, which includes OSU Extension and OSU Ag Research. OSU Extension serves all 77 counties, delivering research-based programs that address real-time challenges facing individuals, families and communities. OSU Ag Research advances knowledge through work conducted in Stillwater and at experiment stations across Oklahoma, focusing on agriculture, natural resources, rural economies and social systems. Together, these efforts reflect the land-grant promise in action and demonstrate OSU’s enduring commitment to serving the people of Oklahoma.

https://go.okstate.edu/ https://go.okstate.edu/about-osu/traditions/cowboy-code https://tulsa.okstate.edu/ https://medicine.okstate.edu/ https://osuokc.edu/ https://osuit.edu/ https://agdivision.okstate.edu/ https://extension.okstate.edu/ https://extension.okstate.edu/ https://agresearch.okstate.edu/

As part of the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical Colleges system, OSU operates within a broader network of institutions dedicated to education, service and innovation. This systemwide approach amplifies impact, expands opportunity and ensures that the values of the Cowboy Code are reflected in every community OSU serves.

2) PURPOSE / OBJECTIVE

Oklahoma State University (“OSU” or “University”) is seeking a qualified consultant to evaluate, design, validate, and deliver comprehensive training materials, tools, and templates, and procedures. These resources will support the individuals responsible for developing University budgets and pricing for externally funded grants, cooperative agreements, federal procurement contracts, and other transaction agreements (“sponsored programs”), as well as the individuals responsible for complying with applicable policies and regulations regarding labor costs, labor categories, timekeeping requirements, equipment management, indirect rates and costs, retroactive cost transfers, and record retention. Training must be appropriate for compliance with applicable federal regulations including, without limitation, 2 CFR Part 200, the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR/DFAR), Cost Accounting Standards, and the Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Statute.

3) SCOPE OF WORK / SPECIFICATIONS

The selected firm will be responsible for the following:

A. Current-State assessment to identify institutional training needs, risk areas, and inconsistent practices:

i. Review audit findings, recommendations, and existing University policies, forms/templates, approval workflows, documentation practices, and rate files.

ii. Interview administrators from the Offices of the Vice President for Research/research administration, Grants & Contracts, Controller/Finance, Budget, Procurement, colleges and other relevant departments as needed.

B. Develop training content with the following learning outcomes:

i. Understand and identify the different types of sponsored programs with an emphasis on the different federal funding agreements (e.g., procurement contracts, grants and cooperative agreements, and other transaction agreements). Understand the differences between Firm- Fixed Price, Time and Materials, Labor-hour, Fixed Price Level of Effort, and Cost Reimbursement agreements.

ii. Understand the compliance obligations and regulations associated with each type of sponsored program.

iii. Develop compliant rate methodologies, costing practices, and appropriate budgets for sponsored programs, including standard calculation approaches for labor-based, equipment-based, per-test, per-hour, per-unit, and bundled service rates.

C. Training content and materials:

i. Create role-based training for central administrators, college fiscal officers, service center managers, PIs/faculty, departmental staff, and approvers.

ii. Include case studies, exercises, quizzes, job aids, FAQs, and decision trees.

iii. Provide a facilitator guide and train-the-trainer materials.

https://regents.okstate.edu/

iv. Offer recorded training modules suitable for onboarding new personnel and for refresher training to be completed annually (or at the appropriate intervals based on role and institutional policy).

D. Implementation Support

i. Create and provide training modules that can be integrated into OSU’s existing on demand training platforms

ii. OSU must be able to update and modify the training materials as needed to address evolving policies and regulations.

iii. Deliver/offer live or virtual training sessions to train the trainers, upon request.

iv. Provide a final implementation roadmap.

v. Provide a risk/control matrix.

vi. Offer optional post-implementation support hours for rate packet review.

E. Rate Documentation Package

i. Develop a rate development workbook.

ii. Develop a rate approval form.

iii. Develop a required documentation checklist.

iv. Develop a standard rate file structure.

v. Produce sample completed rate packets for common use cases.

vi. Develop annual review and renewal templates.

4) SPECIAL PROVISIONS

A. Minimum Qualifications

Provide documentation to demonstrate:

i. Direct experience with public research universities or academic medical centers.

ii. Direct experience with 2 CFR Part 200, F&A/indirect cost rates, service/recharge centers, and specialized service facilities.

iii. Experience developing training materials, job aids, tools, rate templates, and reviewing policy documentation.

iv. Experience working with relevant university departments and administrative units, e.g., research administration, sponsored programs, finance/controller, audit, research administration, departmental users, and principal investigators.

v. Ability to provide references from higher-ed institutions where similar work was completed.

5) RISK ASSESMENT AND MITIGATION

Risk is a part of any business activity and service delivery. Suppliers who employ experts have less risk due to their experience and expertise. Expert Suppliers steer clear of the pitfalls, having been there and done that. Hiring an expert Supplier for each category will provide the best possible outcome to the University.

Suppliers should identify risks in providing the services and products specific to each category. Risks should be identified in a numbered list and each item should contain a mitigation plan or solution. Risk identification and mitigation will be part of the qualitative evaluation criteria. The best value Supplier will be given the comprehensive list of risks that were identified by all bidders and requested to submit a mitigation plan prior to contract award.

6) EXPERIENCE / QUALIFICATIONS / REFERENCES

A. Relevant experience: Bidder should be able to demonstrate a history of competency and successful experience in providing these types of products/services to other institutions, preferably within higher education.

i. Submit the last 3 projects of similar nature recently completed, including customer references (name and contact information) for each project, that will demonstrate your experience and competence.

B. Financial stability: Evidence of your company’s net worth should be provided to ensure that the contracting company is financially capable of meeting the operational requirements of this contract.

The information provided will be utilized to determine supplier responsibility (ability to perform). To this effect, each bidder should provide an annual report for each of the last two (2) years as audited by firm of certified public accountants.

7) PROPOSED PROJECT TIMELINE

To ensure successful launch, implementation, training, etc., all bids should be accompanied by a proposed schedule for projected completion and final delivery. The schedule should include milestones and any recommended benchmarks for progress evaluation and measurement of success.

8) PROPOSAL CONTENT REQUIREMENTS

Proposals must include:

A. Scope of Work (Section 3)

B. Special Provisions (Section 4)

C. Risk assessment and mitigation plan (Section 5)

D. Experience, qualifications and references (Section 6)

E. Propose project timeline (Section 7)

9) PROPOSED RFP TIMELINE

The following is an anticipated solicitation schedule. The University may, in its sole discretion, change this schedule at any time.

RFP Publication August 17th, 2026; 12:00pm CT

Question Deadline (posted to Q&A Board) August 27th, 2026; 4:00pm CT

Proposal Due Date (“Due Date”) September 3rd, 2026; 4:00pm CT

Anticipated Contract Start Date Before October 1, 2026

10) COST PROPOSAL

Proposer shall provide a detailed estimate of cost for the full Scope of Services, which includes the following:

A. Bidder is to provide a detailed breakdown of the total cost for the proposed solution to include but not limited to licensing, implementation, training, maintenance, support, and any other related expenses for the solution offered. Include all aspects of providing the Scope of Work associated with this RFP.

Include details regarding storage capacities and scalable price models, if applicable. If implementation includes segmentation by campus or department, include details and price models for this configuration.

B. The cost proposal shall contain the complete financial offer made to the University. Any additional expenses, not explicitly stated, will not be honored by the University.

C. The Cost Proposal should be uploaded in response to Question 3.2 in the “Questions” section of the online solicitation and labeled “Cost Proposal”.

11) BID INQUIRIES / BUYER OF RECORD

All questions regarding the solicitation and evaluation process should be directed to the buyer of record:

Buyer of Record:

Joe Teel, Director Procurement Operations OSU and A&M Office of Central Procurement 1224 N. Boomer Road Stillwater, OK 74078 405-744-5984 joe.teel@okstate.edu

Questions directly related to the specifications should be submitted using the “Q&A Board” on the online solicitation. Questions must be submitted prior to the pre-bid question deadline. Bidders are encouraged to continuously monitor the Q&A Board for all questions and answers related to this solicitation. Any attempt to contact any end user or department other than The Office of Central Procurement during the solicitation and evaluation process may result in the disqualification of your bid.

12) CONTRACT TERM

The contract term shall be from the date of award through December 31, 2027, with the option to renew for four (4) additional one-year periods upon mutual agreement.

13) BIDDING INSTRUCTIONS

1. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.

A. Solicitation Publication: All documents relating to this solicitation shall be made publicly available on the Office of Central Procurement (OCP) bid site.

B. Solicitation Cancellations: The University reserves the right to cancel, withdraw, or not award any solicitation at any time without liability or prior notice.

C. Communications: All communications, clarifications, addenda, questions, responses, or any other matter relating to the solicitation must be made only through the public bid website. No contact mailto:joe.teel@okstate.edu regarding this solicitation with other University party is permitted and may be grounds to disqualify a bidder or reject a bid.

D. Bids Submitted at Bidder’s Cost: (a) Bidders are solely responsible for any cost, expense, or fees incurred in preparing bids or otherwise responding to this solicitation. Bidders shall not seek to recoup or recover such costs at any time or through any means. (b) Bidders understand and agree that they cannot make any claim and do not have any right to recover damages, costs, or other expenses of any kind resulting from participation in this solicitation.

E. Open Records Act: Disclosure of bid materials will follow the University’s Standard Terms and Conditions and applicable Open Records laws. Standard terms and conditions can be found under the “prerequisites” section of the online bid.

F. Pre-Bid Conference: The University may, at its discretion, conduct one or more pre-bid conference relating to the solicitation for purposes of clarifying its requirements. Nothing stated at the pre-bid conference shall change the solicitation unless such changes are reflected in an addendum issued by the University and published on the public bid website.

G. Pre-Bid Questions: All prospective bidders may submit pre-bid questions via the public bid website before the pre-bid question deadline. Pre-bid questions must be submitted as individual questions.

Answers to the pre-bid questions will be made available on the public bid website and will be available to all bidders at the same time.

H. Addenda: No alteration to the solicitation will be made without an addendum. The University may amend a solicitation at any time before it closes by posting an addendum on the public bid website.

I. Bidder’s Responsibility: (a) Bidders are responsible for periodically checking the public bid website until the solicitation closes to obtain any addenda, answers to pre-bid questions, clarifications, or other information relating to the solicitation. The University is not responsible for a bidder’s failure to acquire any of the foregoing if made available on the public bid website. (b) Bidders are advised to rely only upon the contents of this solicitation and any written addenda issued by the University on the Website. In no event should bidders rely on any oral instruction. (c) If a bidder fails to notify the University of any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other error in the solicitation that is known to the bidder or reasonably should be known to the bidder, the bidder accepts the risk of submitting its bid and, if awarded a contract, shall not be entitled to additional compensation, relief, or time because of the error or its later correction. (d) Bidders may request an administrative review of specifications if it is perceived that specifications were unfairly written to give preference to any supplier. If administrative review is requested, the bidder shall include information providing evidence of specification language that inhibits free and open competition. Information will be submitted to the buyer whose name is listed in section 6 (Bid Inquiries – RFP contact).

J. Bidder Protests: The University’s bidder protest policy can be found at 2020.08.11.supplierguidelines.osu-a-and-m-systems.pdf.

2. QUALIFICATIONS, SPECIFICATIONS, AND PRICING.

A. Qualifications: The University may establish minimum bidder qualifications, including but not limited to work history, past experiences, years in business, and annual revenue.

B. Scope of Work: (a) The scope of work sets forth needs, objectives, and schedules, and describes projects, requirements, specifications, types of goods or services, budgets, payment structures, milestones, responsibilities, or other necessary information. Each bidder’s response should address the foregoing and how the bidder can meet the University’s needs or objectives. (b) Unless otherwise specified in the scope of work (sole brand specifications): (i) manufacturer’s names, brand names, information, or catalog numbers listed are for informational purposes only and are not intended to limit competition; and (ii) a bidder may offer any item which demonstrably meets or exceeds the designated specifications. Bidders shall offer new items of current design and technology unless the Scope of Work specifies that older models or versions, or that used, reconditioned, or remanufactured products are acceptable.

https://adminfinance.okstate.edu/procurement/files/supplier-information/2020.08.11.supplierguidelines.osu-a-and-m-systems.pdf

C. Fixed Price: Bidders should submit a fixed price for the term where feasible, including optional renewal terms. Bidders guarantee unit prices to be correct.

D. Travel expenses: If applicable, must be included in the total bid price.

E. Taxes: (a) As a constitutional entity of the State of Oklahoma, the University is exempt from sales, use, and excise taxes imposed by the State of Oklahoma and federal excise taxes pursuant to Title 26 of the United States Code. The University will provide a tax-exempt certificate upon request. (b) The University will only be responsible for taxes, duties, fees, levies, premiums, or other charges imposed by any governmental authority directly upon the University. All pricing hereunder must be exclusive of such taxes.

3. MODIFICATIONS, MISTAKES, AND WITHDRAWALS.

A. Modifications and Withdrawals: A bidder may modify or withdraw a bid via the website at any time before the close date.

B. Mistakes and Corrections: No correction may be made to a bid after the close date. The University presumes that all bids are correct. However, if a bidder or the University discovers a mistake in the bid or believes a mistake exists, either may request, in writing, that the bid be verified or corrected.

Bidders must raise any mistake with the University contact in writing no later than five (5) days after the close date.

i. Minor Informalities - Mistakes in form, non-substantive errors evident from the Bid documents, or insignificant mistakes that can be waived or corrected without prejudice to other Bidders (i.e., the effect on the price, quantity, quality, delivery, or contractual conditions is negligible) are permitted.

ii. Mistake Clearly Evident - If the mistake and the intended correct bid are clearly evident on the face of the bid document, the bid shall be corrected to the intended correct bid and may not be withdrawn. These mistakes include typographical errors, errors in extending unit prices, transposition errors, and arithmetical errors.

iii. Mistake Not Clearly Evident - A bidder may request to correct a mistake or withdraw a low bid if: the mistake is clearly evident on the face of the Bid document, but the intended correction is not similarly evident, or the Bidder submits sufficient proof that clearly and convincingly demonstrates that a mistake was made.

C. Determination: When a bid is corrected or withdrawn, or a correction or withdrawal is denied, the Associate Vice President of Procurement (or designee) shall prepare a written determination showing that the relief was granted or denied and the bases for the determination.

4. RESPONSIVE BIDS.

A. Only Responsive Bids Considered: The University only considers responsive bids for evaluation. A bidder’s request to modify or correct a non-responsive bid shall be governed by this section.

B. Non-Responsive Bids: The University reserves the right to reject a bid as non-responsive if the bid does not conform in all material respects to the solicitation.

C. Bid Rejection: The University reserves the right to reject one or all bids, accept or reject any bid in part, and to waive any minor informality or irregularity in any bid if the University determines that doing so is in the best interest of the University.

5. BID OPENING AND EVALUATION.

A. Bid Opening: There will be no physical bid openings. A public bid opening will disclose the name of each bidder, and no further information and will be conducted on a per request basis via electronic means provided the buyer identified in section 6 receives a written request no later than forty-eight

(48) hours before the close date.

B. Evaluation Criteria: Bids will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria set forth in the solicitation. A bidder’s past performance may be considered when evaluating a bid regardless of whether such is identified as evaluation criteria. The University reserves the right to require demonstrations, clarifications, and additional documentation from any or all responding bidders.

Each bidder should be prepared to participate in oral presentations and demonstrations to define the bid, introduce the bidder’s team proposed to work on the resulting contract, and respond to questions regarding the bid before an award.

6. CONTRACT AWARD.

A. More than One Award: The University may award a Contract to more than one bidder by awarding the Contract(s) by item or groups of items or may award the Contract(s) on an all or none basis, whichever is deemed to be in the best interest of the University.

B. Notice: Notice of award shall be provided upon request of any bidder or the bid tab made available through the open request process for other interested parties.

C. Approved Vendors: Bidders and Contractors must be registered as approved vendors to receive an award and/or payment from the Systems. The vendor registration process can be completed electronically through The Office of Central Procurement website at the following link:

http://purchasing.okstate.edu.

14) TERMS AND CONDITIONS

By submitting a bid, each bidder understands and agrees that any contract resulting from this solicitation (“Contract” or “Order”) is governed by University’s Standard terms and conditions in effect as of the date the solicitation was posted, found in the “Prerequisites” section of the online solicitation. If any inconsistency arises, the University Standard Terms and Conditions control.

APPLICABLE TERMS, EXCEPTIONS, ORDER OF PRECEDENCE.

A. Order of Precedence: Contracts resulting from this solicitation shall follow the order of precedence stated in the University’s Standard Terms and Conditions that is included in the “prerequisites” section of the online bid.

B. Exceptions:

i. The General Terms and Conditions shall not be modified unless the Bidder submits, with its bid, a revised Terms and Conditions document showing all proposed revisions in red line or tracked-changes format. Proposed revisions are subject to review and negotiation and shall not be binding unless incorporated into a final written agreement executed by both parties.

ii. Exceptions to the Scope of Work must be conspicuously identified in a cover page submitted with the bid.

iii. Bidders may not incorporate terms by reference into the General Terms or Scope of Work.

iv. The University has no responsibility to independently review an entire bid for exceptions.

Any deviation from the General Terms or Scope of Work will be deemed void and not part of any resulting contract unless made in accordance with this section.

v. A clarification or question is not an exception and will be disregarded when submitted with a bid.

http://purchasing.okstate.edu/

15) AUTHORIZED USERS

A. As authorized by Oklahoma law, it is the intent of this solicitation and resulting contract(s) to allow for cooperative procurement. In the event a contract between the University and bidder(s) results from this RFP, the bidder (supplier) may offer the same prices, terms, conditions, and all other particulars herein to all other public institutions within the State of Oklahoma. As a result, in submitting a proposal, bidder(s) should consider proposing a pricing model and other commercial terms that take into account the higher volumes and other expanded opportunities that could result from the eventual inclusion of other institutions in the purchase contemplated by this RFP.

B. Bidders should be aware that if other Oklahoma public entities (“Participating Entities”) elect to utilize the contract(s) awarded as a result of this solicitation they may have different administrative or delivery requirements. It will be the responsibility of each Participating Entity to negotiate specific clauses as between the bidder (supplier) and the Participating Entity.

C. If authorized by the supplier, the resulting contract may be extended to public entities to purchase at contract prices in accordance with contract terms. The supplier shall notify the Office of Central Procurement (“OCP”) in writing of any such entities accessing the contract.

D. The supplier will provide annual usage reports for all entities accessing the contract. Participating Entities shall place their own orders directly with the supplier and shall fully and independently administer use of the contract to include contractual disputes, invoicing and payments without direct administration from OCP.

E. The University will not be a party to any contract between any other Participating Entity and the supplier and will not be held liable for any costs or damages incurred with respect to any other Participating Entity as a result of any authorization by the supplier to utilize the contract. It is understood and agreed that the University is not responsible for the acts or omissions of any other Participating Entity and will not be considered in default of any such contract no matter the circumstances.

F. Use of this contract does not preclude any Participating Entity from using other contracts or competitive processes as they determine necessary.

16) PRE-AWARD PRESENTATION / DEMONSTRATIONS

A. The Office of Central Procurement (OCP) reserves the right to request demonstrations or product samples from any or all-responding Bidders. As part of the evaluation process presentations may be required from the highest ranked respondents. During these presentations, providers may be asked to provide additional data including product demonstrations.

B. If the University requires such a presentation, the buyer of record (listed in section 6 above) will schedule the time and place of such an event. Each firm should be prepared to discuss and substantiate any of the areas of the proposal.

17) BID SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

A. Submission of Bid: All bids must be submitted to the University via the online solicitation platform on or before the designated close date. Bids cannot be submitted via email, mail, facsimile, or in person.

A bidder experiencing technical difficulties with the website should contact the individual designated as the University contact well in advance of the due date.

B. Bid Deadline: Any bids, modifications, or withdrawals received after the close date are deemed void.

C. Firm Bid: Unless otherwise specified in the scope of work, bids must be held firm in all respects for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days beyond the close date to allow time for evaluation, approval, and award.

D. Bid as a Legal Offer: Bidders must treat each submitted bid as a legal offer to form a contract which the University may accept by issuing an award letter.

E. Proposal Content: Bidder should prepare a proposal that addresses each section requiring proposals as outlined in SECTION 8

F. Proposal Structure: Sections must be clearly numbered and in the order of the RFP. Please describe how your proposed solution meets or exceeds the University’s needs as described in the Scope of Work.

G. Comprehensive Proposal Submission: The proposal should be uploaded in response to Question 3.1 in the “Questions” section of the online solicitation and labeled “Proposal”

H. Cost Proposal Submission: The Cost Proposal is to be uploaded separately from the completed proposal. The Cost Proposal should be uploaded in response to Question 3.2 in the “Questions” section of the online solicitation and labeled “Cost Proposal”.

I. Proposed Documents: Bidder must submit with its initial Bid any separate agreement or proposed contract complete with all terms and conditions with which it will require the Board and/or Institution to agree and comply. Failure to comply may forfeit the inclusion opportunity.

18) METHOD OF AWARD / EVALUATION / NEGOTIATION

A. Evaluation methodology: Will be “Best Value”. Only responsive bids will be considered. The University reserves the right to reject a bid as non-responsive if the bid does not conform in all material respects to the Solicitation.

B. Proposal Clarification: The OCP reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to request clarifications of technical bids or to conduct discussions for the purpose of clarification with any or all bidders. The purpose of any such discussions shall be to ensure full understanding of the bid. If clarifications are made because of such discussion, the bidder(s) shall put such clarifications in writing. The clarification shall not alter or supplement the bid.

C. Competitive Negotiations: The OCP reserves the right to negotiate with one, selected, all, or none of the bidders responding to this solicitation to obtain the best value. Negotiations could include discussions on products, services, pricing, contract terminology, or any other issue material to an award decision or that may mitigate institutional risks. OCP shall consider all issues negotiable and will not be artificially constrained by internal corporate policies. Negotiation may be with one or more bidders, for one or all items in the Bid. Bidders that contend that they lack flexibility because of their corporate policy on a negotiation item shall face a significant disadvantage and may not be considered.

D. Negotiations: May be conducted in person, in writing, or by telephone. Negotiations shall only be conducted with potentially acceptable bids. OCP reserves the right to limit negotiations to those bids that received the highest rankings during the initial evaluation phase.

E. Subject to Negotiations: Terms, conditions, prices, methodology, or other features of the bid may be subject to negotiations and subsequent revision. As part of the negotiations, the bidder may be required to submit supporting financial, pricing, and other data to allow a detailed evaluation of the feasibility, reasonableness, and acceptability of the bid.

F. Requirements: The requirements of this solicitation shall not be negotiable and shall remain unchanged unless the OCP Chief Procurement Officer determines that a change in such requirements is in the best interest of the University.

G. BEST and FINAL OFFER: The OCP may request best and final bids if deemed necessary and shall determine the scope and subject of any best and final request. However, the bidder should not expect an opportunity to strengthen its bid and should submit its best bid based on the solicitation.

19) EVALUATION CRITERIA

A. COST EVALUATION

1. The average pricing of all bids will be utilized to determine a baseline and establish a competitive range. The cost component will be evaluated utilizing the competitive range. The top scoring bid, based on qualitative evaluation metrics, will be compared to the competitive range. If the bid price of the top scoring bid is within the competitive range or is justified with performance information, the award process continues to the highest qualitative score. If performance metrics, combined with pricing information, do not support an award, the evaluation process will continue to the next highest qualitative score.

2. Your bid should include all relevant information about your pricing proposal to justify the cost.

Suppliers who do not show dominant information of performance, cost, time, etc. to prove their cost proposal is valid and justifiable are eliminated from consideration due to their pricing not being within the competitive range.

B. QUALITATIVE EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. Proposed implementation strategy and support

2. Training design, usability, and ability to create practical tools/templates

3. Experience, qualifications, and references.

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