Questions-Answers_6-14-2022_RFP S-DASOBO-00003117_Statewide Disparity Study.pdf

Questions & Answers _ Statewide Disparity Study _ Request for Proposals (RFP) S-DASOBO-00003117

THE STATE OF OREGON, acting by and through the DEPARTMENT OF

ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES, PROCUREMENT SERVICES

Request for Proposals (RFP) S-DASOBO-00003117

STATEWIDE DISPARITY STUDY

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS – JUNE 14, 2022

Question #1

How many separate State agencies will be included in the disparity study?

Answer:

There are 105 Executive Branch Agencies. Proposer will review and recommend which of those Agencies should be included in the study using criteria such as that listed in Section

3.3.9.4 of the RFP.

See RFP S-DASOBO-00003117 Amendment No. 1: Attachment H - List of Executive Branch

Agencies.

Question #2

Section 2.3.2 Project Overview, Background, and Purpose, indicates that the contract data are tracked throughout the State in multiple formats. Please describe these formats.

Answer:

Contract awards are documented in a centralized system formerly, Oregon Procurement

Information Network (ORPIN) and as of June 2021, OregonBuys. Contract payments are made through the state’s financial management system (SFMS), however, SFMS data does not crosswalk over to the ORPIN or OregonBuys contract award data. In addition, Oregon

Department of Transportation (ODOT) uses a separate financial system. OregonBuys information is not included in this study as it was implemented after the 2019-2021 biennium.

There is no central repository for Purchase Orders. Agencies track these in a variety of ways including spreadsheets, databases, and hard copy files.

Question #3

Will the Disparity Study Manager coordinate and supervise efforts to collect these data from the participating agencies?

Answer:

The Disparity Study Manager or Agency designee will work with the Successful Proposer to coordinate communication between Agencies and the Contractor to the extent proposed and negotiated in the resulting Contract.

Question #4

What is the approximate total number of contracts for the proposed study period for all participating State agencies to be included in the study?

Answer:

The exact total is unknown. The State estimates that there are approximately 14k Contracts and 50k to 100k Purchase Orders stored at the Executive Branch Agency level. These figures are estimates and not a guarantee.

Question #5

What is the approximate total dollar value of contracts for all participating State agencies for the proposed study period?

Answer:

See Section 2.3.2 of the RFP (S-DASOBO-00003117).

Question #6

In reference to Section 2.3.2 Project Overview, Background, and Purpose, please describe how construction and public improvement contracts differ from each other.

Answer:

Simply put, public contracts for ordinary construction are just that contracts for building public improvements; public improvement contracts, on the other hand, cover all types of services related to construction, reconstruction, or major renovation on real property. “Public improvement” and Public Improvement Contract” are defined in ORS 279A.101(1):

(cc) “Public improvement” means a project for construction, reconstruction or major renovation on real property by or for a contracting agency. “Public improvement” does not include:

(A)Projects for which no funds of a contracting agency are directly or indirectly used, except for participation that is incidental or related primarily to project design or inspection; or

(B)Emergency work, minor alteration, ordinary repair or maintenance necessary to preserve a public improvement.

(dd) “Public improvement contract” means a public contract for a public improvement.

“Public improvement contract” does not include a public contract for emergency work, minor alterations, or ordinary repair or maintenance necessary to preserve a public improvement.

Question #7

Will professional services contracts be included in the study?

Answer:

See Section 3.3.9 of the RFP (S-DASOBO-00003117).

The State is looking to the Proposer to propose what is to be included in the Study.

Question #8

Has the State tracked the following prime data? Please respond separately for each field of information. Please indicate if the data vary by the type of contract: goods and services;

construction, public improvement and trade services:

• Prime contract identification number

• Prime contract name

• Dollar amount of payment(s) to prime contractor for the study period

(inclusive of all change orders)

• Original dollar amount of prime contract award

• Contract start date

• Contract end date

• Contract status (open/closed)

• Business name of prime contractor

• General description of services performed, or goods supplied under prime contract

• M/WBE or non-M/WBE status of prime contractor (including race, ethnicity, and sex)

• Prime contractor address, telephone number and email address

• Prime contractor’s contact person and title

• Six-digit NAICS code(s) and/ or detailed description of work performed on the contract

Answer:

Some prime data is tracked in the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN).

However, the State does not have a centralized system for tracking Purchase Orders. Data points tracked by each Agency will vary.

See RFP S-DASOBO-00003117 Addendum No. 1: Attachment I – Available Data.

Question #9

Is there an M/WBE or small business goal on the contract?

No.

Question #10

Indicator for whether or not prime contract has subcontracts (first tier minimum; if other tiers, clearly designate)

No.

Question #11

Has the State tracked M/WBE subcontractor data? Please respond separately for each field of information.

• Subcontract identification number

• Subcontract name

• Business name of subcontractor

• Description of services performed, or goods supplied by subcontractor

• M/WDE or non- M/WBE indicator for subcontractor (including race, ethnicity, and sex)

• Six-digit NAICS code(s) for subcontractor’s work on specified contract

• Total dollar amount received by subcontractor (inclusive of all change orders)

No. See Section 3.3.9.4 (g) of the RFP (S-DASOBO-00003117).

Question #12

Has the State tracked non- M/WBE subcontractor data? Please respond separately for each field of information.

• Subcontract identification number

• Subcontract name

• Business name of subcontractor

• Description of services performed, or goods supplied by subcontractor

• M/WBE or non- M/WBE data for subcontractor (including race, ethnicity, and sex)

• Six-digit NAICS code(s) for subcontractor’s work on specified contract

• Total dollar amount received by subcontractor (inclusive of all change orders)

Question #13

Is there a budget for this project?

Yes. The estimated budget for the Consultant Contract is $1.3 million.

Question #14

In reference to Section 5.5.3 Business Registry, what documentation is required to establish our firm’s right to do business in Oregon?

See Section 5.3.3 of the RFP (S-DASOBO-00003117).

Question #15

Veteran status and disability are not protected classifications subject to strict constitutional scrutiny, and therefore there is no need to include these firms in a disparity study, since any program to provide benefits on those bases would be subject to only rational basis scrutiny. Will the State accept a proposal that does not include these firms in the quantitative analysis to reduce the cost of the project?

No. Though the designation of Service Disabled Veteran (SDV) is not a federal protected classification, SDV is a specific demographic used in business Oregon COBID certification. SDV certification is for service-disabled veteran-owned businesses seeking opportunities for state, county, and city government, and special jurisdiction (e.g. hospitals and universities) contracts. The data maybe limited; however the State still wants vendors to submit proposals with methodologies that include this demographic to determine if there is a disparity in utilization of such firms.

Question #16

In reference to Section 3.3.9.5 Relevant Market Analysis, the determination of the State’s geographic and product markets is part of the utilization analysis. Will the State accept a proposal that describes our methodology under that section, rather than a standalone discussion?

Yes. See Sections 3.3.9 and 3.2.3 of the RFP (S-DASOBO-00003117).

The State is looking to the Proposer to Propose recommendations and methodologies.

Question #17

In reference to Section 3.3.9.10 Regression Analysis, regression analyses are conducted as part of disparity analysis of the State’s contracting data and economy-wide analysis. Will the State accept a proposal that discusses regression analyses under these sections rather than a standalone section?

Answer:

Yes. See Sections 3.3.9 and 3.2.3 of the RFP (S-DASOBO-00003117).

The State is looking to the Proposer to Propose recommendations and methodologies.

Question #18

In reference to Section 2.3.2 Project Overview, Background, and Purpose, the RFP states

“Consultant’s analysis and findings are to be presented using NIGP and NAICS codes”. Will the State accept an analysis and findings using NAICS codes, and does provide a crosswalk from NAICS codes to NIGP codes, so that the data and results tie back to other necessary databases?

Yes, with a clear cross walk.

Question #19

Section 3.3.10 Timeline/ Project Schedule requires a 12-month timeline. In our experience, it can take some months for an entity as large and complex as the State to gather the initial contract records, especially if they are not centralized in one data system. While we would aim for a 12-month timeline, will the State accept a proposal that more realistically sets up an 18-month timeline.

Yes. See RFP S-DASOBO-00003117 Addendum No. 1

Question #20

Section 3.3.10 Timeline/ Project Schedule requires the study timeline be delineated in weeks. Given the complexity of the project, will the State accept a timeline delineated in months?

Yes. See RFP S-DASOBO-00003117 Addendum No. 1

Question #21

In reference to 2.4 Scope of Services- Presentations, for the purpose of developing our cost proposal, how many presentations does the State anticipate will be required?

See RFP S-DASOBO-00003117 Addendum No. 1

Question #22

Will resumes count towards the page limit in Section 3.2.2?

Question #23

Is there a minimum dollar threshold for contracts to be examined for the study?

Answer:

See Section 3.3.9.4 (d) of the RFP (RFP S-DASOBO-00003117).

The State is looking to the proposer for recommendations.

Question #24

RFP page 4, section 1.1 Introduction, please provide a complete list of the Executive Branch State Agencies included in the study.

See Answer to Question #1 above.

Question #25

RFP page 14, section 3.3.9.4 Utilization Analysis, letter g) says “The State does not have subcontracting records.” Do individual agencies keep subcontracting records?

Answer:

Possibly, a limited amount. Some Executive Branch Agencies may have records, but the detail will vary by Agency.

Question #26

RFP page 26, section 4.10.3 Cost Proposal Evaluation, third bullet states that “How well does Proposer’s Cost Proposal show that the Proposer understands the amount of time, number of hours necessary to complete each task and that Proposer has assigned qualified personnel to complete each task described in the RFP?” Should the Cost Proposal Form be revised to include personnel per task?

Answer:

No. The State only needs the total hours and total cost per task listed on the Cost Proposal Form.

Question #27

For the prime contract data the Department maintains, please note whether these data include the following information for all, some, or none of the contracts. Please answer separately for each industry to be included in the study; also note whether the data are available electronically or as hard copy.

• Firm name.

• Firm address, city, state, zip code.

• Firm phone number.

• Firm email address.

• Firm contact person.

• Firm owner race and gender.

• Firm owner veteran status.

• Prime contract number.

• Prime contract title.

• Start date of contract.

• End date of contract.

• Award amount.

• Amount paid (total or to date).

• Type of work performed.

• Industry category code, such as NAICS or NIGP.

Some prime data is tracked in the Oregon Procurement Information Network (ORPIN).

However, the State does not have a centralized system for tracking Purchase Orders. Data points tracked by each Agency will vary.

Question #28

For the MWBE subcontract data the Department maintains, please note whether these data include the following information for all, some, or none of the contracts. Please answer separately for each industry to be included in the study; also note whether the data are available electronically or as hard copy.

• Firm name.

• Firm address, city, state, zip code.

• Firm phone number.

• Firm email address.

• Firm contact person.

• Firm owner race and gender.

• Firm owner veteran status.

• Prime contract number.

• Prime contract title.

• Start date of contract.

• End date of contract.

• Award amount.

• Amount paid (total or to date).

Question #29

For the non-MWBE subcontract data the Department maintains, please note whether these data include the following information for all, some, or none of the contracts. Please answer separately for each industry to be included in the study; also note whether the data are available electronically or as hard copy.

• Firm name.

• Firm address, city, state, zip code.

• Firm phone number.

• Firm email address.

• Firm contact person.

• Firm owner race and gender.

• Firm owner veteran status.

• Prime contract number.

• Prime contract title.

• Start date of contract.

• End date of contract.

• Award amount.

• Amount paid (total or to date).

Question #30

What brought about this study?

See Sections 2.3.1 and 2.3.2 of the RFP (S-DASOBO-00003117).

Question #31

What is the requested timeline to complete this study?

Question #32

What is the M/WBE / SBE / DBE goal for the project?

None

Question #33

What is the timeline to complete the study?

Question #34

What are the goals for this study?

See Section 2.3.1 of the RFP (S-DASOBO-00003117).

Question #35

What is the amount budgeted for the study?

See Answer to Question #13 above.

Question #36 For contract data maintained in the central e-procurement system, does the State maintain the following data:

a) Contractor name and contact information (e.g., address and phone number)?

b) Contract date (prime contract only)?

c) Work description?

d) Funding source (e.g., federal funding or state/local funding)?

e) Original contract award or budgeted amounts?

f) Change order or amendment amounts?

Question #37

Would it be acceptable for proposers to propose a sampling strategy to collect data on contracts and procurements individual Executive Branch agencies awarded during the study period that are not maintained in the central e-procurement system?

Yes

Question #38

Does the State have a budget established for the disparity study, and if so, would it please share that information?

Yes. See the Answer to Question #13 above.

Question #39

In Attachment F we’re asked to list all past relationships with certified or potentially certified subs over the last two years. Is this limited to OR based firms or is this inclusive of all sub relationships?

Answer:

Yes. “Certified Firm” means a small business certified under ORS 200.055 by the Oregon

Certification Office for Business Inclusion and Diversity (COBID) as minority-owned businesses, woman-owned businesses, businesses that service-disabled veterans own, and emerging small businesses.

This Questions & Answers_6/14/2022 to RFP S-DASOBO-00003117 is Authorize to Release by the

Oregon Department of Justice.

By: Karen J. Johnson, Sr. Assistant Attorney General via email to Kim O’Neill, Contract Specialist dated

6/14/2022 @11:20am.