Pre-Proposal Conference Summary FAMLI - Full-Service Marketing RFP.pdf

PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE

FAMLI Full-Service Communications and Marketing Services

LABOR-FY2024-07

eMMA BPM # BPM043000

DATE: Pre-Proposal Conference 04/03/2024 at 1:00 p.m.

LABOR Staff

1. Raelene Glasgow – Chief of Procurement

2. Daniel Newberger – Deputy Secretary - FAMLI

3. Jamie Fragale – Manager of Strategic Communication - FAMLI

4. Jamie Mangrum – Office of the Secretary

5. Elissa Silverman – Chief Strategic Officer - FAMLI

6. Stacey Jefferson – Community and Stakeholder Engagement Lead - FAMLI

Vendors in Attendance

1. Abrado Analytics, LLC

2. Aileron Consulting, LLC

3. Alignco

4. Aloysius Butler & Clark

5. Atmos Solutions, Inc.

6. Beyond Spots and Dots

7. Cool & Associates, LLC

8. Design Sensory

9. Ernst & Young, LLP

10. Fatbird Creative, LLC

11. Finn Partners

12. Flame Digital Communications

13. GMMB

14. Gray, Kirk Vansant Advertising, Inc.

d/b/a GKV

15. Hattaway Communications

16. Herrmann Advertising, Inc.

17. Idfive

18. Inside Out Communications

19. Integrated Designs, Inc.

20. KNS Global, LLC

21. Linden Digital

22. Magnitude of Change

23. MBE Growth Partners

24. Nava PBC Corp.

25. Perry Undem, LLC

26. Pivot Path, LLC

27. Salta With Us

28. Story MKTG, LLC

29. Urban One, Inc d/b/a Radio One

Baltimore

30. The Baskin Group

31. The Minor Group, Inc.

32. The Service Shop Marketing Agency

33. Tokan HR, LLC

34. Wallace Black Communications

35. Weber Shandwick

Vendors who asked that their information be shared so they may have partnering opportunities with

Primes or Subcontractors.

Shared Vision Marketing (Certified MBE) www.shared-vision.net http://www.shared-vision.net/ djackson@shared-vision.net

United Partnerships, iHeartMedia (Subcontractor)

MelissaHyland@iHeartMedia.com

Welcome to the Maryland Department of Labor Pre-Proposal conference for the MDOL FAMLI Full-

Services Communications and Marketing Service, eMMA RFP NUMBER: BPM043000.

My name is Raelene Glasgow, your Procurement Officer and the sole point of contact for this solicitation.

I will address all procurement pinpoints for this solicitation.

Jamie Fragale and the rest of the FAMLI team will discuss and answer any questions related to the Scope of Work.

There is a Pre-Proposal Conference Response Form – Attachment A, which you must submit. If you have not already done so, please be sure to acknowledge and submit the form as this is very important in the event there is a need to contact you after this meeting.

A. All Vendors must submit acknowledgment that they attended the pre-proposal conference.

B. Must be registered on eMMA prior to the proposal due date. The link to the website is:

https://emma.maryland.gov/

C. Must be in Good Standing with SDAT before a contract is awarded. The link to the website is:

https://businessexpress.maryland.gov/start/register-a-business-in-maryland

D. Please review all contract documents with your counsel before the closing of the Questions and

Answers Period.

E. I would like to note briefly that a Pre-Proposal Conference Summary and Attendee List will be posted after this conference on eMMA.

F. Answers to all questions will be posted on eMMA for all vendors, even if they are submitted to my email address.

G. This conference will be broken down into several sections – General Procurement Information, Minimum Qualifications, Scope of Work, and a Question and Answer (Q&A) period. I am asking everyone to hold all questions until the designated Q&A period at the end of the pre-proposal conference.

I. General Procurement Information

A. The purpose of today’s conference is to give general information and guidance to potential offerors on the requirements for the FAMLI Full-Service Communications and Marketing Services, eMMA

RFP #: BPM043000. Please note that FAMLI Full-Service Communications and Marketing

Services is NOT AN SBR-designated (Small Business Reserve Procurement, but there is an MBE

Subcontracting Goal of 15%, and a VSBE goal of 2% associated with this RFP.

mailto:djackson@shared-vision.net mailto:MelissaHyland@iHeartMedia.com https://emma.maryland.gov/ https://businessexpress.maryland.gov/start/register-a-business-in-maryland

• A supplemental document will be uploaded to eMMA along with the RFP that provides additional information for the MBE portion of this RFP. Vendors are asked to pay attention to the bulleted points and reach out to procurement with any questions or concerns.

• MBE and VSBE goals are mandatory.

• MBE forms, especially the D-1A Form must be filled out completely. Please read the instructions at the top of that form and fill it out completely. Do not leave any space blank.

• Firms used for MBE and VSBE subcontracting goals must be registered in Maryland.

• Firms used for MBE and VSBE subcontracting goals cannot be registered in another state and be used for meeting Maryland subcontracting goals. They must be registered in Maryland through the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT).

• Firms used for MBE and VSBE subcontracting goals must be registered at the time of RFP proposal submission. If they are pending, a vendor’s proposal shall be deemed non-responsive, and the vendor shall be disqualified.

• Firms used for MBE and VSBE subcontracting goals may not be pending registration.

• Vendors are required to submit copies of their sub-contractors’ agreements which must be reviewed and approved before the contract is awarded. These are to be submitted with your D3 forms.

• If susceptible of being awarded this contract, the D3 forms must be submitted within 10 Business

Days of notification of apparent award. If the Offeror fails to return this affidavit within the required time, the Procurement Officer may determine that Proposal is not susceptible of being selected for Contract award.

• If a vendor is seeking a waiver for the subcontracting goals, please be sure to read the instructions and steps that must be followed, to qualify for a waiver.

B. The RFP and all subsequent documentation regarding this solicitation are posted on eMaryland

Marketplace Advantage (eMMA). Please be reminded that; in order to receive a contract award, a vendor must be registered on eMMA. Registration is free. Go to https://procurement.maryland.gov.

You may review Section 4.2 of the RFP for details.

C. Please note; you should NOT rely on verbal communication or answers given today as a formal response from the State. I would like to stress to everyone today, that when we get to the Q/A portion of this meeting that everyone who asks a question; should also submit that same question to the

Department in writing for clarity purposes. Carefully review Section 4.3 under Questions.

D. Questions must be submitted in writing no later than Monday, April 15, 2024, at 2:00 P.M. Local

Time to the Procurement Officer via eMMA or email. Some potential offerors may not be in attendance here. Per Maryland’s Regulations, we cannot have Questions and Answers just addressed here and not shared with the other potential participants. That is why we require that any questions here be followed up in writing and sent to my attention via eMMA so we can officially answer your questions. What is stated here is just for information purposes only.

E. Note: When amendments are made in eMMA, that round will close, and a new one will be opened. For example: If vendors post their proposals in Lot 1, Round 4 and new amendments are made, ‘round 4’ will close and ‘round 5’ will open. Vendors are required to go back into eMMA and upload their proposals to the new Round 5. Please pay attention to notifications from eMMA as amendments are made.

F. At this time, I would like to point out some of the critical areas in the RFP that require close attention:

https://procurement.maryland.gov/

a. Please review the Key Information Summary Sheet on Pages iii and IV (4) of the RFP. This sheet has my contact information, deadlines, and time adherences associated with this RFP.

b. Please note that the Proposals are due by Wednesday, April 24, 2024, at 1:00 P.M. Local Time.

Offerors are reminded that a completed Feedback Form is requested if a no-proposal decision is made (see page ii).

c. The Procurement Method used for this solicitation is the Competitive Sealed proposal under

COMAR 21.05.03. (Section 4.4 – Procurement Method) of the RFP.

d. Proposals for this solicitation are being accepted solely via the eMaryland Marketplace

Advantage (eMMA) e-Procurement system eMMA. Proposals will not be accepted via email and/or fax. It is important to review the Opening/Due Date and Time References) of the

RFP.

e. Important: If for any reason vendors encounter any issues uploading their proposals in eMMA, please contact me immediately via email and I will instruct you on the next steps.

f. Important: If a vendor waits until the very last minute to contact me regarding eMMA issues, the RFP closing date and time will not be extended, and I may not be able to accommodate you.

Please do your best to begin uploading your proposals well in advance of the closing time.

g. Your Proposals must be received by the Procurement Officer no later than the Proposal due date and time indicated on the RFP Key Information Summary Sheet to be considered.

If your Proposal is late by one minute, it cannot be accepted by the State! Requests for extensions will not be granted under any circumstances - no exceptions! Please allow enough time to ensure your Proposals have been properly submitted.

h. Please review sections 3.11 and 3.12 – These two sections cover information for your MBE and

VSBE reporting, after the contract has been awarded.

i. Review Section 4 – Procurement Instructions, including additional information for the MBE and

VSBE subcontracting goals, Living Wage, Conflict of Interest Affidavit, and other attachments.

j. Review Section 5 – Proposal Format – Please follow the instructions stated in this section.

Financial Proposals are not to be included in the Technical Proposal. These are to be uploaded separately. Omit all pricing information from the Technical Proposal.

k. Please submit redacted versions of your Technical and Financial Proposal.

l. Section 5.3.2 – This section provides the order for your Technical Proposal. Since this is being submitted electronically via eMMA, please use a blank page between every Section. For example, on the blank page indicate TAB A – Title Page and Table of Contents, followed by the contents of TAB A. This should be done for all the tabs. Please address all Tabs, do not leave any of these sections empty. The Technical Proposal runs from Tab A through Tab O.

m. Review Section 6 – Evaluation Committee

n. Section 7 – Please review this section, pay attention to the instructions provided and provide the necessary documentation required. There are a few that can be submitted after, but it is recommended that these be included with your initial Technical Proposal submission.

I will now turn the rest of the Pre-proposal conference over to the FAMLI team.

Talking Points – FAMLI Team – Scope of Work

• Minimum Qualifications – Jamie Fragale. and team

• Deliverables and Expectations – Jamie Fragale and team

• Financial Proposal Form – Jamie Fragale and team

• Anticipated timing – Section 2.3.1 – Category1: Market Research

• Anticipated timing - Section 2.3.2 – Category 2: Brand Development

• Anticipated timing – Section 2.3.3 – Category 3: Marketing/Communications Planning

• Anticipated timing – Section 2.3.4 – Category 4: Earned Media Strategy

• Anticipated timing – Section 2.3.5 – Category 5: Collateral Development (Printing excluded from Scope of Work

• Anticipated timing – Section 2.3.6 – Category 6: Web Design Support (Website execution excluded from Scope of Work)

Section 2.4 – Staffing Plan, Personnel Qualifications and Professional Experience

Section 2.5 – Deliverables

1.2.2 Purpose

2.3 Goals of this project – Jamie Fragale and team

2.2.2 Other State Responsibilities

A. The State FAMLI Contract monitor will guide and work with the successful Offeror/Contractor over the contract term.

The awarded Offeror shall be able to perform all requirements as detailed in Section 2 of the RFP. Offerors shall be required to furnish satisfactory evidence that they meet or exceed all project goals and tasks listed in

Section 2 of this RFP.

2.3. Contractor Responsibilities and Tasks

This subsection gives an outline of the responsibilities of the contractor. Please refer to this section for further details.

II. Questions & Answers

A. Before we open for Questions & Answers, I would like to caution everyone that only written answers should be relied upon. Even if addressed here, please submit all questions via email to

Raelene.glasgow3@Maryland.gov per the process identified in Section 4.3 and the Key Information

Summary Sheet of the RFP.

B. Questions will be answered on a first-come, first-served basis. Please be mindful of those who wish to have their questions addressed, and please listen to all questions being asked to avoid duplication.

III. Closing Remarks

Before we conclude this meeting, please remember that for an official response, all questions should be submitted to me in writing via eMMA and or email. All questions and answers will be posted on eMMA.

This concludes the pre-proposal conference for FAMLI Full-Service Communications and Marketing

Services, eMMA RFP #: BPM043000. Thank you for attending and have a great day.

Questions

1. You indicate that you want translations on advertising, etc. Do you expect the website to also have translations and an adjacent question around accommodation for the visually impaired or other individuals that might have difficulty accessing the information?

Response: Yes, there are statutes in place that establish the Paid Family Medical Leave that requires outreach materials be translated to Spanish. So, I would imagine that for this contract, we would cover the design of the wireframes and templates but not the translation of the website itself. I think that would come separately. And what is your question for the visually impaired or accessibility about?

Question continued: If you have particular standards beyond what those individuals may have themselves to help read websites, etc. Do you have any expectation needs around that?

Response: Thanks for asking, a vendor submitted a question about our accessibility guidelines. A PDF of family’s accessibility guidelines will be posted. I’m directing you to the document which should provide a lot of information.

2. Question regarding the minimum qualifications: Is that for the team altogether or just the prime.

Response: The experience is usually geared toward the Prime contractor. We’re hoping the prime contractor will bring on individuals who are capable of doing the work.

Question continued: I was thinking more of the opposite; if it was a partnership of groups all together, if they have the experience rather than the prime alone.

Response: There is nothing wrong with adding your team’s qualifications via resumes so that the FAMLI team can see what everyone is capable of doing and what they’ve done in the past.

Continued: Are you expecting this work to be remote, on site or a combination of the two?

Response: The RFP outlines specifics but we are not expecting the majority of the work to be on site. I expect the vendor will mostly be remote. There may be occasional times when it makes sense to be onsite or on location if we’re doing in-person activities, but remote is acceptable and the FAMLI team is hybrid itself. So, we’re always navigating this new world of in-person and hybrid.

Continued: Question for the campaign: Obviously, it has a two-prong focus of the employer and the employee, but do you expect there to be a third prime that’s going to go to the healthcare companies to help benefits companies as well?

Response: I do not foresee a paid campaign in that sense exactly, but healthcare providers will play a role in the system. They’ll have to certify medical forms and things like that, so we need materials to speak to healthcare providers who will have a responsibility in the process.

3. You mentioned that all vendors need to acknowledge that they attended the Pre-proposal conference.

Response: Yes, you must. This can be done in your transmittal letter. In your transmittal letter, please be certain to acknowledge whether there are exceptions or whether you agree to the terms and conditions of the RFP.

Continued: You mentioned that MBEs must be registered in Maryland, do they also have to be based in

Maryland?

Response: Vendors being used for MBE and VSBE purposes must be registered in the Maryland MBE program, but they do not have to be physically located in Maryland. Vendors who do not reside here are registered with the State and are certified in the MBE program.

Continued: The questions are due by April 15, 2024. Will you roll out questions as they come or hold them and upload all of them together?

Response: No, questions that are received today, those that are being answered on this conference call and those we have received before the conference, will be posted together. Questions that are received after, will be answered in the order they have been received.

Continued: How late should we expect those answers to come because we would only have a week before the

RFP closes.

Response: I know, that depends on Jamie and her team. Right now, I am looking at the time that the questions are due and when the RFP closes. Normally, and I will say this again, advertisements are give a lot more time but due to the time constraints imposed upon the Department of Labor to get the FAMLI program up and running, the timelines for the FAMLI projects are very tight. We will do our best to answer the questions as quickly as possible.

Continued: I have a question regarding the reference letters as a Maryland vendor already. We have submitted reference letters for other RFPs that were for other contracts. We currently have the letters but the dates on those would not be today or tomorrow. Those dates would be from our reference letters from a week ago or three months ago regarding a previous submittal; is that kosher?

Response: I would prefer the letters to be dated as close to the submission date as possible, even if it is a month.

Please do not submit reference letters from 2023 or even January 2024.

Continued: What we’ve seen with the state is that each contract we have with the department, the communications office has implemented and designed for their campaigns and that seems to be a new requirement through the state but maybe not with all contracts. I’m curious to know if the vendor will be designing ads. You’ve mentioned a couple of different types of designs, and we would need to do know, will

LABOR be doing that or will the vendor. Would the communications department be providing those designs and have the vendors work with them?

Response: FAMLI expects the vendor to that within the style guide and additional guidelines of the state.

Making sure we’re on brand and aligned with the messaging of the state is certainly a priority. In terms of technical expertise, development, and production, that would be the vendor’s responsibility. I am a team of one at the moment, but staff will be added eventually but not to the point of having any kind of production talent on staff.

Continued: Are old rounds removed in eMMA or just closed.

Response: The rounds are closed, and we cannot access them. I will remind vendors here that every time a new round is opened, the previous round is automatically closed. Vendors must go back in to eMMA and upload again any items they previously uploaded.

4. I noticed that the language of the RFP categories are mentioned. Is there the opportunity for a proposal to address a few categories and say these are the ones we want to submit proposals for or, do we have to propose for the entire kit and kaboodle?

Response: Submitted proposals must cover all categories; they cannot be separated. Due to the established timeline, all of this must be done together, it cannot be done in sections.

Continued: So, your goal is to choose one contractor for this work? A prime contractor must be on board so that there is a single point of contact for the work being performed.

Response: Yes. Vendors are encouraged to partner with others to do this work.

5. A question regarding the media buy-in on page eleven (11) where it says media purchasing. Are you doing another RFP for the actual buy-in or is the $4.5 million for more market research and branding?

Response: So, for this contract, we are estimating, and this is a new number, and it really isn’t showing that to you. We’re estimating a budget of $1.8 million to cover the life of the contract. That should cover all the services like the market research, developing the campaign and putting together the all the other things that I went through. In addition to that $1.8 million, we will spend $4.25 million across the life of the contract on media buys, but that money will come through modifications, not in the initial contract.

Continued: So, it’s $1.8 million in actuality for the market research, brand development and the website and the web development work, and the media campaign development and media planning? What is the portion of the media planning? How much of that $1.8 million do you put towards just media planning?

Response: The vendors are being asked to identify how you would break that down. The many different vendors are going to have ideas about how we should be spending our budget and how to focus the work. That is on the financial proposal when you give staffing costs by buckets, by year. We are asking the vendors to break that down.

Continued: So, let’s go back to the media buy-in. Are you going to have a separate RFP with more stipulations after you’re done with this major part?

Response: There will be modifications to the contract for the media buy-in. So, that is not of this particular RFP.

Even though it is mentioned a few times throughout the RFP, the RFP will not mention modifications, this decision will be made in the future based on the needs of the campaign.

Continued: I’m a bit confused. I do not know if I should put in the media buy-in. I don’t know if it’s three and a half million dollars for just a media buy-in so, do you want that in the submission?

Response: FAMLI does not want vendors to include that piece; that is not a part of it. The number was provided as a way to try to indicate the scope and scale and budget that is being anticipated but is not fully known yet.

Even if any media buy-ins are necessary, that’s part of what we’re hoping to use for this contract. To identify as we plan the campaigns and do the research. Not enough was known to include that information at this point of the planning process. If media buys are identified as part of the work with our vendor partner, we’ll tackle that at a future point.

Continued: Then you’ll add modifications afterwards, I’m assuming?

Response: Theoretically, that would happen that way. We know this is not very clear, so we’re glad these questions have surfaced. The way it is phrased in the chat is the way FAMLI has been thinking about it; $4.5 million for media buy-in and $1.8 million for the services that go into buying the media.

6. The only reason for a modification would be to add the $4.5 million for paid media dollars that you outline as a pass-through, correct?

Response: That is correct.

7. You mentioned that you are a team of one at this point. How big will your team be by the time you’re ready to launch phases one and two? Secondly, how do you see your team working with the outside PR function?

Response: I think the staffing models are always a little bit in flux with us and launch means several different things in our language, but I’m imagining we’ll add maybe two to three team members to my team through the life of this contract. I envision my team being the subject matter experts when it comes to paid leave, communicating paid leave, and working with vendors who are experts in communication. The plan is to pair the knowledge that we bring to the table with the technical expertise and capabilities of a vendor to do what we need to do.

Continued: And those team members, will they be spokespeople knocking out press releases and things like that?

Response: I imagine some of them bringing in some technical expertise in-house as well. Probably not as spokespersons, as we need to train other members of our staff and leadership to be spokespersons.

8. Just to further clarify on the media budget. While $4.5 million will be a modification for the media costs pass-through, should we plan our budget in this contract to cover media planning and execution of that pass-through as part of the $1.8 million?

Response: Yes. The $4.5 million as stated in the RFP is approximate and not to exceed. There are four guesses right now as to what our budget should be for that activity, but it is not a solid number. That’s part of what this market research will help to determine.

Continued: And the $1.8 million over the life of the contract, that’s the four-year life including the option years?

Response: Including the option years, it is a three-year base plus an option year.

Continued: I’m curious from the branding standpoint, will the FAMLI name remain and are you looking for a partner to brand that and bring it to life or is that up for further discussion and consideration?

Response: I’m not sure. I’m not authorized to make such a declaration. FAMLI is the name of the system that is being built. So, at least for the moment, that is what is the branding.

9. I know is section 3.9.2, there are two roles listed. However, there is language that says this section is inapplicable to this RFP. I’m just wondering if you can clarify that. There is some language above in section

3.9.1 that says the section, so I am not clear if there’s personnel experience you’re looking for and if those are the roles you are seeking.

Response: This portion will be looked at and changes made, if needed. As I understand, the difference is that section 3.9.1 is the offeror’s experience. So, the vendor itself should have that experience and while it is incumbent upon the vendor to have the experience, who they are proposing to do the work needs to be knowledgeable about what they’re undertaking.

10. I do have a question with regard to how this particular work with comms and marketing might intersect with the other work that’s being done by FAMLI on the claimant portal side. If you can maybe talk a little bit about how we are intersecting or running parallel to that other work.

Response: Another member of the FAMLI team is in charge of overseeing the development of the portal itself.

So, as I described, the welcome mat website is where people will land and eventually, they’ll click a button that says, “submit a claim.” They then be moved over to the portal which will be developed by someone else. A lot of the decisions that are being made in the development of the portal will impact communication and what we say and how we say it and what kind of instructions we need to be giving people but that’s how those two things interact.

11. Since we were talking about pass-through, is the printing of documents pass-through or does that have to be included in the costs as well?

Response: We are not anticipating bulk printing and it is not included in the scope. I’m not sure what exactly we will need to print. If need to print things that would be done likely through a different state contract.

12. My question follows up on that question about printing I'm curious about any broadcast production such as TV radio. Is there any digital Production costs included in the 1.8?

Response: It should be included in the estimates that vendors provide. We aren't sure that we will need radio

Ads. Part of what we are looking to the vendor to do is to make recommendations based on our campaign and what we learned from market research on how we should direct our budget in the future. So, It could be included in the budget if that's what the vendors are recommending we do with our money. Is that helpful?

Continued: I think there was a mention of brand guidelines for the state of Maryland, are those available?

Response: Yes, they are, and they can be shared with the vendor.

13. Do you envision creating a new bureau as part of the function of the public relations? For example, if there’s noise, you’d become the authority to have press releases, FAQs, thought leaders, etc.

Response: So family is a division within the Maryland Department of Labor and the department has a media relations function and person very talented in that area. So, I don't know that I would say we're interested in creating a news Bureau for our division, but I think that's part of the question of the media earned media strategies that we need.

Continued: Do you also see any grassroots work? For example, setting up events in Western Maryland or the

Eastern Shore where you would explain FAMLI to people?

Response: Yeah, so Stacey Jefferson who introduced herself earlier is the community engagement lead for

FAMLI. She's amazing and she is already doing presentations across the state, working on events and conferences so, certainly. We work really closely together to make sure that she has what she needs for those events and what she really needs are materials, which is what she's looking to me for so we will work really closely together to get out there.

14. Just piggybacking off of what Bill just asked with regards to how labor and I guess by extension, Jamie envisions reaching that sort of broad demographic group. Do you have a preference if it's done by county? Is it more specific to Hub zones? Is there a sense of how you all want whoever wins this bid to actually communicate with those different demographics.

Response: I foresee myself and our team working with the vendor as thought partners on exactly that question.

How do we reach the very big firms in Baltimore that are queued in right now? How do we also reach the rural parts of Western Maryland? How do we reach the moms who employ a nanny? There are just so many different ways to cut this audience. And so that's why I'm here today because we need to figure out how to solve this puzzle. I'll go back to my original piece, which is that my job is to crank the mic and make sure everyone can hear us. and you've nailed what keeps me up at night.

15. Can you clarify the expected start date? The RFP lists June 1 and August 1.

Response: The start date is as soon as we can move through this process. It’s a tenuous and time intensive process. So, as soon as we can, we’ll start. June 1st is not possible anymore, but we will need to take this contract to the Board of Public Work. After it is approved, we can move forward, so fingers crossed.

Continued: The rest of the RFP asks for exactly two key personnel, but then also refers to describing a broader team. Can you confirm either now or in the follow-up if in fact we should include two resumes or if you’re looking for a broader representation of key personnel?

Response: We are looking for the resumes of the key personnel that we know will be a part of this work. It’s fine to describe the rest of the team and if it helps, to submit more resumes so that we know the breath of expertise that your team is bringing. At the very least, we need the two resumes of the key personnel.

Response: It would be helpful to see as many representatives’ information about your team as you feel comfortable and would be useful to provide but we’ve limited it to just the two.

Response: For budget reasons, it helps to understand everyone who will be a part of the team you are bringing to bear. Please do not cap it at two. We welcome more if you believe we should see them.

Question: For the financial proposal, you mentioned filling in the cells. Can you clarify if the cells should be hourly rates? It says fully loaded right at the top or if you’re looking for the hourly rate multiplied by the number of hours and therefore the estimated budget for that cross section of year, title and category.

Response: I believe it’s the latter, not the hourly rate.

16. Just to clarify, the PR cost is included in the $1.8 million.

Response: The $1.8 million can be broken down the way that the vendors recommend and spending that as long as it covers the full scope of work. Is that a helpful way of hearing it that because different people are going to say you should spend your resources differently, so it's up to the vendor to tell us how they think it should be best spent.

17. For each page, are there page limitations that you’re looking for, for each of the resumes and then for each of the tabs, are there page limits there as well?

Response: There are no page limitations. Vendors are encouraged to provide as much information as possible.

18. Would the market research come out of the $1.8 million? I just wanted to clarify since it talks about benchmarking.

Response: Yes.

Continued: Will there also be expected ongoing tracking research through the life of the contract that may update the original benchmark perceptions and awareness and that kind of thing maybe on an annual or a biennial basis? I’m just curious from a budgeting standpoint so that we can figure how much of the budget should be allocated to market research.

Response: My current thinking is on front loading the market research. So, we have those baselines perhaps revisiting market research after benefits launch so that we can start to direct our marketing efforts moving forward or see who we're missing and who we're getting but it's going to be such an intensive period of time that I'm not sure. Continual market research will be helpful or give us what we need for a long-term view. I'm open to suggestions otherwise, but that's my current thinking.

19. As far as being registered, does the vendor need to be registered with Maryland or do we need to register with the Marketplace because we are in a different state?

Response: Vendors have to be registered in Maryland and eMaryland Marketplace Advantage. A vendor cannot do business in the state of Maryland without being registered with the Maryland Department of Assessment and

Taxation SDAT).

Continued: So, my agency is registered in Georgia, will that take us out of the running?

Response: Yes, it will. You must be registered in Maryland. The business does not have to physically be in

Maryland. You can be located in another state, but you must have registered in the state of Maryland to be considered for an award.

20. Based on what you said about registration for SDAT, can the registration be pending then for firms that may register now?

Response: Your firm can be pending registration but must be registered by the time of award. If a firm is not registered at the time of award, the agency will move to the next vendor. Vendors can also expedite the registration process with SDAT.

IMPORTANT - Please note that MBE firms must not be pending at the time of the submission of the proposal, they must already be registered with the State of Maryland Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) MBE program.

21. If we are intending to sub with a prime contractor or vice versa, both of those vendors must be registered with the state of Maryland?

Response: Yes, both vendors must be registered with the state on SDAT and both vendors must be certified with the MBE and VSBE programs through MDOT.

22. The section that includes details on time entry and reporting is extensive and I'm curious if there is an opportunity to perhaps recommend an alternate approach that gives the state a lot of detail, but maybe more closely aligned with the invoicing process is there room to do that or is that a non-negotiable?

Response: That is standard. This is language that is embedded in the solicitation templates, so we do not alter them.

23. Will the Department of Labor be choosing multiple awardees for this RFP?

Response: No. All vendors submitting proposals must provide offers for the entire project, not a single category.

24. Do the subcontracting percentages apply to the total contract value, (including the media budget) or just the labor value?

Response: The subcontracting percentages apply to the entire contract value and is for the life of the contract.

Continued: Should the offeror partner with a subcontractor that is both a certified MBE and VSBE firm, can the offeror meet the subcontracting goals through partnership with that one firm?

Response: The Offeror may partner with a certified MBE and VSBE firm, but these firms must indicate the percentage of the subcontracting goals each will cover. The full goal must be met, but vendors may break it up.

Prime vendors who are certified MBEs may only fulfill 50% of the entire goal. The other 50% must be subcontracted out to another vendor.

Continued: What is the anticipated Labor budget?

Response: This question is answered above in detail.

Continued: Is there an incumbent on this project?

Response: There is no incumbent on this project. This is a new procurement.

25. Are the offeror minimum qualifications (section 1.1) required from the prime only, or can the entire vendor team meet this requirement collectively? Specifically, my question pertains to the reference letter requirements.

Response: Prime but can be a team collection to meet requirements.

Continued: Is the majority of work expected to be onsite or offsite?

Response: Off-site.

Continued: Are the campaigns expected to have a provider focus in addition to the employer and employee focus?

Response: No, but materials may be created for providers

Continued: Will bulk documentation costs be passthrough?

Response: Bulk printing costs are not anticipated, but if the need occurs, it is likely a separate contract will cover the printing expenses.

Questions Prior to Pre-Proposal Conference

1. Do you want all of the research done at the top of this contract, or phased over compliance and benefits deadlines for each campaign?

Response: We envision the bulk of the research taking place at the top of the contract to drive messaging and marketing campaigns. We are also planning for a smaller research effort after benefits launch to measure success and position future marketing efforts.

2. Of the core constituency of employers, advocates, and workers who are already keyed in advocates, is this a group that we’ll be able to use for research and/or a sounding board?

Response: We have an active constituency that can be leveraged, but are also very interested in bringing new voices into the fold.

3. What are your priority languages for materials to be translated into?

Response: By statute, outreach materials must be translated to Spanish. We are open to thinking through which materials should be translated and into which languages.

4. Are you looking for concepts of interactive website features or would you like a web developer to build them so you can drop them into your site?

Response: We are not looking for a website builder at this time. Instead, we are looking for a designer and suggestions of interactive website features.

5) What level of accessibility requirements would you like for the website (A, AA, AAA)? – Awaiting response from the Maryland Department of Information and Technology (DoIT)

6. Would you like the work plan included with the proposal or just for the winning contractor?

Response: A work plan should be included with the proposal (see 5.3.2 F)

7. Do you require resumes for all staff or just 2 key personnel?

Response: Resumes are required for key personnel (see 5.3.2 G)