Q&A 1.docx

Questions and Answers (1) as of 11/7/2024

RFQQ NO. 25-63110-001

Growth Management Act (GMA) Research Support

1. Question: Section 3.3.2 of the RFQQ requires a respondent to list all subcontractors they may want to include in their response.

a. Must all potential subcontractors be listed in the response, or may a response state that subcontractors may be added later during the contract, depending on the specific research services requested by Commerce?

Answer: Under Section 3.3.2 QUALIFICATIONS, including subcontractors is optional. It is sufficient to note that one or more subcontractor(s) may be added, if applicable, by the respondent later during the contract, depending on the specific research services requested by Commerce.

2. Question: Considering that specific research projects are not yet determined and the Contract will be for “on call” services, and the specific research projects could be wide ranging, the evaluation of Qualifications, under Section 3.3.2, will only focus on the primary Respondent’s qualifications, including Experience.

b. Section 3.3.2.iii requires "information in Section 3.2.1" about each subcontractor. There doesn't appear to be a Section 3.2.1 in the RFQQ. Is this intended to reference a different subsection?

Answer: That citation (3.2.1) is a typo and it was intended to reference Section 3.2 (A)-(F). Considering the answer above, subcontractor information is not required and subsection 3.3.2(B)(iii) is stricken?

iii. List any subcontractors you may want to include to complete your roster of services. Describe what services each would provide. Provide the information in Section 3.2.1 about each

3. Question: Must all subcontractors meet all three minimum qualifications listed in Section 1.3? Or, for example, may a subcontractor be a private, for-profit company?

Answer: No

4. Question: Can you provide examples of the types of work that may be included in this project?

Answer: Examples of projects include:

Questions from Zoom conference call (October 17, 2024):

5. Question: Are only non-profit entities able to respond?

Answer: Yes.

• Eligible respondents must be a public or private non-profit organization with a mission of providing technical assistance to local governments.

(Section 1.3 Minimum Qualifications)

6. Question: If a non-profit is eligible to apply, does it still need to following minimum qualification for licensing in Section 1.3?

• Licensed to do business in Washington or submit a statement of commitment that it will become licensed in Washington within thirty (30) calendar days of being selected as the Apparently Successful Contractor.

Answer: Yes, a non-profit organization is still required to be licensed to do business in Washington State. Therefore, it will need to provide information to demonstrate it meets this minimum requirement.

7. Question: Will proposals be disqualified if they list a billable rate over the $200/hour that is listed in Section 1.4 – Funding?

1.4 FUNDING

Total funding available for the project is up to $200,000 per year. COMMERCE assumes an on-call research professional will be retained under contract, at 1,000 hours, with a billable rate of $200 per hour. Proposals quoting a cost above this amount will be disqualified in the administrative review and will not be scored.

Any contract awarded as a result of this RFQQ is contingent upon the availability of funding.

Answer: A proposal may not exceed $200,000 maximum. The proposal may provide its estimated hourly rate as long as its total proposal does not exceed the funding maximum allowed of $200,000 for this contract through June 30, 2025. In other words, the estimated rate of 1,000 hours at $200/hour was provided in the RFQQ as an estimate only. The idea would be services are acquired on-call, on a work order, when assigned. If a respondent has a different rate and estimate that it wishes to provide, then that it acceptable, as long as the proposal does not exceed the $200,000 total.

8. Question: Under the Quotations section (Section 3.4.1), the quote must also identify the full cost for each and every proposed deliverable. However, because his is an “on-call” services contract, it seems difficult to estimate this, depending on the type of project assigned and deliverables needed? How should this be addressed in the proposal?

Answer: Please provide a statement of qualifications for the organization showing that your organization meets the qualifications, and provide the qualifications of your staff that would do work under the contract.

For the price proposal, please provide an hourly rate. The total cost of each deliverable will be negotiated based on an estimate of billable hours associated with individual work orders.

9. Question: Will only one contract be awarded or more than one be awarded?

Answer: Yes, the intent is that one contract will be awarded, but Commerce reserves the right to award more than one contract under this RFQQ, based on review and evaluation of the proposals and work needs.

10. Question: Could you verify that if more funding becomes available the program would add it to the contract? I want to ensure that in the future if you want to extend you can, because currently the only extension that could occur would be non cost.

Answer: Yes. Commerce reserves the option of extending the contract into the next state biennium (July 1, 2025-June 30, 2027). The wording within the RFQQ will be amended in a future amendment to be published 11/12/2024 to clarify this language.