RFP 2025-1600-0088 Access to Care Support.pdf

STATE OF ALASKA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

OFFERORS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO RETURN THIS FORM.

IMPORTANT NOTICE: IF YOU RECEIVED THIS SOLICITATION FROM THE STATE OF ALASKA’S “ONLINE PUBLIC NOTICE”

WEB SITE, YOU MUST REGISTER WITH THE PROCUREMENT OFFICER LISTED IN THIS DOCUMENT TO RECEIVE

NOTIFICATION OF SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS. FAILURE TO CONTACT THE PROCUREMENT OFFICER MAY RESULT

IN THE REJECTION OF YOUR OFFER.

ISSUED BY:

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

DIVISION OF PUBLIC HEALTH

PRIMARY CONTACT:

JACKIE LEA

PROCUREMENT OFFICER

JACQUELINE.LEA@ALASKA.GOV

907.759.3319

ACCESS TO CARE SUPPORT

RFP 2025-1600-0088

ISSUED NOVEMBER 1, 2024

The Department of Health Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention seeks a contractor to work with an emergency department to pilot integrating new methods for identifying opportunities for linking patients to substance use disorder treatment and for using navigators to support linkage to care.

STATE OF ALASKA – REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP 2025-1600-0088

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION & INSTRUCTIONS

SEC. 1.01 PURPOSE OF THE RFP

SEC. 1.02 BUDGET

SEC. 1.03 DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.04 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

SEC. 1.05 REQUIRED REVIEW

SEC. 1.06 QUESTIONS PRIOR TO DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.07 RETURN INSTRUCTIONS

SEC. 1.08 ASSISTANCE TO OFFERORS WITH A DISABILITY

SEC. 1.09 AMENDMENTS TO PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.10 AMENDMENTS TO THE RFP

SEC. 1.11 RFP SCHEDULE

SEC. 1.12 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.13 NEWS RELEASES

SECTION 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

SEC. 2.01 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

SECTION 3. SCOPE OF WORK & CONTRACT INFORMATION

SEC. 3.01 SCOPE OF WORK

SEC. 3.02 DELIVERABLES

SEC. 3.03 CONTRACT TERM AND WORK SCHEDULE

SEC. 3.04 CONTRACT TYPE

SEC. 3.05 PAYMENT PROCEDURES

SEC. 3.06 CONTRACT PAYMENT

SEC. 3.07 LOCATION OF WORK

SEC. 3.08 SUBCONTRACTORS

SEC. 3.09 JOINT VENTURES

SEC. 3.10 RIGHT TO INSPECT PLACE OF BUSINESS

SEC. 3.11 F.O.B. POINT

SEC. 3.12 CONTRACT PERSONNEL

SEC. 3.13 INSPECTION & MODIFICATION - REIMBURSEMENT FOR UNACCEPTABLE DELIVERABLES

SEC. 3.14 CONTRACT CHANGES - UNANTICIPATED AMENDMENTS

SEC. 3.15 NONDISCLOSURE AND CONFIDENTIALITY

SEC. 3.16 INDEMNIFICATION

SEC. 3.17 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

SEC. 3.18 TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT

SECTION 4. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

SEC. 4.01 RFP SUBMITTAL FORMS

SEC. 4.02 SPECIAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS

SEC. 4.03 OFFEROR INFORMATION AND CERTIFICATIONS (SUBMITTAL FORM A)

SEC. 4.04 EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS (SUBMITTAL FORM B)

SEC. 4.05 UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT (SUBMITTAL FORM C)

SEC. 4.06 METHODOLOGY USED FOR THE PROJECT (SUBMITTAL FORM D)

SEC. 4.07 MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PROJECT (SUBMITTAL FORM E)

SEC. 4.08 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS (SUBMITTAL FORM F)

SEC. 4.09 COST PROPOSAL (SUBMITTAL FORM G)

SECTION 5. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND CONTRACTOR SELECTION

SEC. 5.01 SUMMARY OF EVALUATION PROCESS

SEC. 5.02 EVALUATION CRITERIA

SEC. 5.03 SCORING METHOD AND CALCULATION

SEC. 5.04 EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

SEC. 5.05 UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT

SEC. 5.06 METHODOLOGY USED FOR THE PROJECT

SEC. 5.07 MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PROJECT

SEC. 5.08 CONTRACT COST (COST PROPOSAL)

SEC. 5.09 APPLICATION OF PREFERENCES

SEC. 5.10 ALASKA BIDDER PREFERENCE

SEC. 5.11 ALASKA VETERAN PREFERENCE

SEC. 5.12 ALASKA MILITARY SKILLS PROGRAM PREFERENCE

SEC. 5.13 ALASKA OFFEROR PREFERENCE

SEC. 5.14 OFFEROR NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION

SECTION 6. GENERAL PROCESS AND LEGAL INFORMATION

SEC. 6.01 INFORMAL DEBRIEFING

SEC. 6.02 ALASKA BUSINESS LICENSE AND OTHER REQUIRED LICENSES

SEC. 6.03 STANDARD CONTRACT PROVISIONS

SEC. 6.04 BUSINESS ASSOCIATE AGREEMENT (BAA)

SEC. 6.05 QUALIFIED OFFERORS

SEC. 6.06 PROPOSAL AS PART OF THE CONTRACT

SEC. 6.07 ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SEC. 6.08 HUMAN TRAFFICKING

SEC. 6.09 RIGHT OF REJECTION

SEC. 6.10 STATE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PREPARATION COSTS

SEC. 6.11 DISCLOSURE OF PROPOSAL CONTENTS

SEC. 6.12 ASSIGNMENT

SEC. 6.13 DISPUTES

SEC. 6.14 SEVERABILITY

SEC. 6.15 SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SEC. 6.16 SOLICITATION ADVERTISING

SEC. 6.17 SITE INSPECTION

SEC. 6.18 CLARIFICATION OF OFFERS

SEC. 6.19 DISCUSSIONS WITH OFFERORS

SEC. 6.20 CONTRACT NEGOTIATION

SEC. 6.21 FEDERALLY IMPOSED TARIFFS

SEC. 6.22 PROTEST

SECTION 7. ATTACHMENTS

SEC. 7.01 ATTACHMENTS

SECTION 1. INTRODUCTION & INSTRUCTIONS

SEC. 1.01 PURPOSE OF THE RFP

The Department of Health, Division of Public Health (DPH), Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention (OSMAP) is seeking a contractor to work with an emergency department to pilot integrating new methods for identifying opportunities for linking patients to substance use disorder treatment and for using navigators to support linkage care.

SEC. 1.02 BUDGET

DPH estimates a budget total not to exceed $900,000 for the entire life of this project, including renewal options.

Proposals priced at more than $900,000 for the entire life of this contract will be considered non-responsive. The state expects offerors to be as competitive as possible with their proposed costs.

Payment for the contract is subject to funds already appropriated and identified.

Approval or continuation of a contract resulting from this RFP is contingent upon legislative appropriation or federal funding.

SEC. 1.03 DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be received no later than 2:00 pm prevailing Alaska Time on November 22, 2024. Late proposals or amendments will be disqualified and not opened or accepted for evaluation.

SEC. 1.04 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS

To be considered responsive for this RFP, an offeror must meet the mandatory minimum experience requirements that are provided in Submittal Form F – Mandatory Requirements. Failure to meet all these requirements will result in immediate disqualification.

SEC. 1.05 REQUIRED REVIEW

Offerors should carefully review this solicitation for defects and questionable or objectionable material.

Comments concerning defects and questionable or objectionable material should be made in writing and received by the procurement officer at least ten days before the deadline for receipt of proposals. This will allow time for the issuance of any necessary amendments. It will also help prevent the opening of a defective proposal and exposure of offeror's proposals upon which award could not be made.

SEC. 1.06 QUESTIONS PRIOR TO DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

All questions must be in writing and directed to the procurement officer and least ten days before the deadline for receipt of proposals. The interested party must confirm telephone conversations in writing.

Two types of questions generally arise. One may be answered by directing the questioner to a specific section of the RFP. These questions may be answered over the telephone. Other questions may be more complex and may require a written amendment to the RFP. The procurement officer will make that decision.

SEC. 1.07 RETURN INSTRUCTIONS

Offerors must submit their proposals via email. The technical proposal and cost proposal must be saved as separate documents and emailed to doh.procurement.proposals@alaska.gov as separate, clearly labeled attachments. The email must contain the RFP number in the subject line.

The maximum size of a single email (including all text and attachments) that can be received by the state is 25mb (megabytes). If the email containing the proposal exceeds this size, the proposal must be sent in multiple emails that are each less than 25 megabytes.

Please note that email transmission is not instantaneous. Similar to sending a hard copy proposal, if you are emailing your proposal, the state recommends sending it enough ahead of time to ensure the email is delivered by the deadline for receipt of proposals.

It is the offeror’s responsibility to contact the above email address to confirm that the proposal has been received.

The state is not responsible for unreadable, corrupt, or missing attachments.

SEC. 1.08 ASSISTANCE TO OFFERORS WITH A DISABILITY

Offerors with a disability may receive accommodation regarding the means of communicating this RFP or participating in the procurement process. For more information, contact the procurement officer no later than ten days prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals.

SEC. 1.09 AMENDMENTS TO PROPOSALS

Amendments to or withdrawals of proposals will only be allowed if acceptable requests are received prior to the deadline that is set for receipt of proposals. No amendments or withdrawals will be accepted after the deadline unless they are in response to the state's request in accordance with 2 AAC 12.290.

SEC. 1.10 AMENDMENTS TO THE RFP

If an amendment is issued before the deadline for receipt of proposals, it will be provided to all who were notified of the RFP and to those who have registered with the procurement officer after receiving the RFP from the State of Alaska Online Public Notice website.

After receipt of proposals, if there is a need for any substantial clarification or material change in the RFP, an amendment will be issued. The amendment will incorporate the clarification or change, and a new date and time established for new or amended proposals. Evaluations may be adjusted as a result of receiving new or amended proposals.

SEC. 1.11 RFP SCHEDULE

RFP schedule set out herein represents the state’s best estimate of the schedule that will be followed. If a component of this schedule, such as the deadline for receipt of proposals, is delayed, the rest of the schedule may be shifted accordingly. All times are Alaska Time.

ACTIVITY TIME DATE

Issue Date / RFP Released 11.01.2024 Deadline to Submit Questions 11.12.2024 Deadline for Receipt of Proposals / Proposal Due Date 2:00 pm 11.22.2024 Proposal Evaluations Complete 12.02.2024 mailto:doh.procurement.proposals@alaska.gov

Notice of Intent to Award 12.06.2024 Contract Issued 12.17.2024

This RFP does not, by itself, obligate the state. The state's obligation will commence when the contract is approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Health, or the Commissioner's designee. Upon written notice to the contractor, the state may set a different starting date for the contract. The state will not be responsible for any work done by the contractor, even work done in good faith, if it occurs prior to the contract start date set by the state.

SEC. 1.12 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

Offerors may only submit one proposal for evaluation. In accordance with 2 AAC 12.830 alternate proposals (proposals that offer something different than what is asked for) will be rejected.

SEC. 1.13 NEWS RELEASES

News releases related to this RFP will not be made without prior approval of the project director.

SECTION 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

SEC. 2.01 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

In 2021, the highest opioid-related inpatient hospitalization rates among Alaskan adults were associated with opioid pain reliever poisoning. Illicit opioids continue to burden the health care system in Alaska where the highest opioid-related emergency department visit rates were associated with heroin poisoning. Many people living with opioid and substance use disorders depend on emergency departments for urgent care needs. They may use this healthcare setting after some type of trauma, including a nonfatal overdose. They may also present with an injection related bacterial or fungal infection or with an illness unrelated to their substance use disorder- all cases in which a person’s history of substance use can be missed.

A 2020 needs assessment of Alaska’s emergency departments indicated that several emergency departments have already implemented screening initiatives, including SBIRT, representing a readiness to link patients to the care they need upon discharge. The same needs assessment also indicated that emergency departments describe referral practices as “haphazard” and “random”. These gaps represent an opportunity to build capacity for standardizing referral efforts through navigator support.

Approximately 65% of Alaska’s population is white, 15% are American Indian or Alaska Native, 7% are Asian, 7% are Hispanic or Latino, 4% are African American, and 1% are Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Compared to all Alaskans, Alaska Native people are twice as likely to experience overdose death. It is paramount that the grant funding received to fund this project supports the needs of the diverse populations of Alaska’s communities.

Funding will support programming using evidence based “best-practices” to expand the provision of appropriate opioid and substance use disorder care, harm reduction, linkage to care and recovery supportive activities.

Illicit opioids continue to burden the health care system in Alaska. According to the Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), over 15% of traditional high school students and 33% of alternative high school students reported ever misusing prescription pain medicine. In Alaska, positive connections to supportive adults, early intervention and support services, mattering to others, and having positive friends and peer role models are shared protective factors across multiple health domains that have the power to improve youth health and resiliency at many stages of development (Judd, 2020). In 2021, Alaska’s suicide rate was the third highest in the United States. The percentage of highschoolers in Alaska who have seriously considered suicide has increased since 2007. Substance use is often associated with suicides in Alaska; of suicide decedents tested for toxicology, 70% were positive for alcohol or other substances, with the most frequent substances found being opioids, marijuana and amphetamines. Incarcerated youth are often an underserved population in Alaska, and they can also benefit from enhanced linkage to care and retention in care efforts to reduce risks associated with substance use. Due to these data findings, Alaska receives federal funding to address these trends to increase working with communities to expand the provision of harm reduction, linkage to care and recovery supportive activities. This funding opportunity focuses on Youth and increasing peer navigation for triage to care and treatment programs.

Submissions should provide a plan for addressing local solutions for expanding linkage to care, recovery support activities, and harm reduction activities among youth and transition age youth.

SECTION 3. SCOPE OF WORK & CONTRACT INFORMATION

SEC. 3.01 SCOPE OF WORK

DPH Office of Substance Misuse and Addiction Prevention, is soliciting proposals for a service provider to provide peer support specialist services including education on harm reduction and case management services for youth and transition-age youth. Proposed services should include a plan to deploy peer support specialists to targeted community settings including shelters, hospitals, etc. to connect youth and transition age youth to services;

increase awareness and access to harm reduction services by providing dissemination of education and communication materials targeted to youth and transition- age youth as well as leveraging peer-based case management to improve and enhance youth and transition-age youth retention in care.

The primary project objectives are:

1. Patients with opioid use disorder will be screened to assess risk behaviors and addiction severity so they can be triaged into the appropriate level of care.

2. Referral to community care will be conducted through a warm handoff (a transfer in care that is completed in-person (if logistically possible), in front of the patient, and when appropriate, the patient’s family).

3. Patients at higher risk will be identified, trained to respond to overdose, and provided with naloxone prior to discharge. If possible and appropriate the training and naloxone will be offered to family members and/or close contacts.

4. Patients presenting to the Emergency Department after experiencing a substance related overdose will be screened for risk and followed up with post-discharge, ideally within 24 hours or as soon as is feasibly possible, to improve retention in care.

5. A trained peer recovery coach will be available to consult with the patient if the patient desires.

6. Deploy peer support specialists to targeted community settings, including shelters and hospitals to connect youth and transition-age youth to services.

7. Disseminate education and communication materials targeted to youth and transition-age youth to increase awareness of and increase access to harm reduction resources to combat stigma and change social norms.

8. Leveraging peer-based case management to improve and enhance youth and transition-age youth retention in care.

The scope of work will result in the following:

1. Increased collaboration, coordination and communication will be established among partners.

2. Reduce barriers to substance use treatment through the use of additional peer navigators to link people who use drugs to care and other treatment services.

3. Increased equitable delivery, reduced health disparities and improved access to care/services especially among people who use drugs as well as those previously underserved by overdose prevention programs and the healthcare system.

4. Decreased fatal and non-fatal overdoses overall primarily involving opioids and/or stimulants and especially among those who are seen in the emergency department who are at risk of overdose according to assessments.

5. As the evidence-based best practice, the implementation of treatment navigators into discharge procedures will increase treatment triage and retention with long-term recovery supports, specifically with regards to opioid and substance use disorders.

6. Improved health equity will occur among groups disproportionately affected by the overdose epidemic and those previously underserved by overdose prevention programs and the healthcare system.

Intermediate-Term outcomes will increase linkages to care (for example use of navigators to link people to evidence-based treatment and promote access and link PWUD to harm reduction services) and engagement in care (for example peer support groups or linkages to community-based self-help groups, increasing access and retention to care through strengthened telehealth infrastructure and resources) across various settings including community, healthcare, and public safety settings. The work will result in increased and improved health system and clinician capacity to provide care for youth experiencing opioid and other substance use disorders by increasing linkages to care and engagement in care across various settings. Additionally, the work will increase equitable delivery and improved access to care or services, reduce health disparities related to access to and receipt of care especially for youth who use drugs and those previously underserved by overdose prevention programs and the healthcare system. The work will focus on providing linkage to care including long-term follow up for participants after discharge from residential treatment, incarceration and emergency departments.

SEC. 3.02 DELIVERABLES

The contractor will be required to report the following information within 30 days after the close of each fiscal quarter. The contractor will also provide updates at the request of the project manager, at other times, as needed by the project manager. The contractor will...

• Share any communication materials developed or used by the contractor and/or navigators

• Report the number of navigator(s) being employed and the number of hours worked by each navigator.

Contractor will provide documentation that shows the navigators employed have appropriate training and/or educational attainment as well as certification information, as applicable.

• Report the number of Brief Screener for Tobacco, Alcohol, and other Drugs (BSTAD)1, CRAFFT1, Clinical Opiate Withdrawal (COW)2, Subjective Opioid Withdrawal (SOW)2 or any other additional evidenced based youth screenings or assessments conducted and their respective scores

• Report the number of adult screenings conducted using screeners such as the DAST-10, COW, SOW, Overdose Risk Self-assessments3 or other evidence-based screeners or assessment tools and their respective scores

• Report basic demographics of clients served, referred, and screened/assessed. Demographics to be reported include age, gender, public health region of origin, and housing status. Data will be reported in non-identifiable manner.

• Report the number of referrals made and what agency or programs clients are being referred to

• Report on the number of follow-up attempts made for each client and how many clients are successfully contacted as well as successfully connected to their referral or follow up care

• Report the number of patients and others trained to respond to overdose, and the number of those provided with naloxone in the emergency department, health care facility setting, or community outreach setting

1 https://nida.nih.gov/nidamed-medical-health-professionals/screening-tools-resources/chart-screening-tools 2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143183/ 3 https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/resources/overdose-risk-self-assessment-2/

• Report the number of outreach events attended and how many people were contacted or served at each event. The contractor will also provide documentation of what materials are shared at each outreach event, including quantities dispensed of each item.

• Report the number and type of targeted community settings, including shelters and hospitals visited by peer support specialists working to connect youth and transition-age youth to services. Documentation will also include the number of youths served during these efforts, number and severity level of screenings conducted, number of referrals created, and information on what educational material are shared.

• Provide documentation showing how navigators are integrated into the discharge process and any other treatment protocol within the healthcare facility

• The contractor will attend meetings with the program manager or designee as requested or needed to ensure the project is functioning as needed. At a minimum a once-a-month meeting should occur for the duration of the project.

• Plan and conduct peer support group meetings as needed and/or appropriate to meet the needs of those being served. Contractor will report the number of meetings conducted and how many attendees were present. Youth and adult peer support groups will be separated from each other and not occur at the same time as each other.

• Collect and provide other data as requested by the program during the duration of the project. Such efforts will be discussed and agreed upon mutually by the program manager and the contractor and documented appropriately

SEC. 3.03 CONTRACT TERM AND WORK SCHEDULE

The length of the contract will be from the date of award, approximately January 1, 2025, for one year, with four additional one-year renewal options to be exercised at the sole discretion of the state.

Any extension of the contract beyond the exercised renewal options will be upon mutual agreement between the State and the contractor and effected with a contract amendment processed by the procurement officer and signed by both parties. All other terms and conditions of the contract, including those previously amended, shall remain in full force and effect. Unless otherwise agreed to by both parties, the procurement officer will provide written notice to the contractor of the intent to cancel an extension at least 30 days before the desired date of cancellation.

SEC. 3.04 CONTRACT TYPE

This contract is a firm fixed price contract.

SEC. 3.05 PAYMENT PROCEDURES

The state will make payments based on a negotiated payment schedule. Each billing must consist of an invoice and progress report. No payment will be made until the progress report and invoice has been approved by the project director.

SEC. 3.06 CONTRACT PAYMENT

No payment will be made until the contract is approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Health or the Commissioner's designee. Under no conditions will the state be liable for the payment of any interest charges associated with the cost of the contract. The state is not responsible for and will not pay local, state, or federal taxes. All costs associated with the contract must be stated in U.S. currency.

Any single contract payment of $1 million or higher must be accepted by the contractor via Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT).

SEC. 3.07 LOCATION OF WORK

The location(s) the work is to be performed, completed and managed is at the contractor’s place of business.

The state will not provide workspace for the contractor. The contractor must provide its own workspace.

Travel to locations will not be required or reimbursed in this contract.

By signature on their proposal, the offeror certifies that all services provided under this contract by the contractor and all subcontractors shall be performed in the United States.

If the offeror cannot certify that all work will be performed in the United States, the offeror must contact the procurement officer in writing to request a waiver at least 10 days prior to the deadline for receipt of proposals.

The request must include a detailed description of the portion of work that will be performed outside the United States, where, by whom, and the reason the waiver is necessary.

Failure to comply with these requirements may cause the state to reject the proposal as non-responsive or cancel the contract.

SEC. 3.08 SUBCONTRACTORS

Subcontractors will not be allowed.

SEC. 3.09 JOINT VENTURES

Joint ventures are acceptable. If submitting a proposal as a joint venture, the offeror must submit a copy of the joint venture agreement which identifies the principals involved and their rights and responsibilities regarding performance and payment.

SEC. 3.10 RIGHT TO INSPECT PLACE OF BUSINESS

At reasonable times, the state may inspect those areas of the contractor's place of business that are related to the performance of a contract. If the state makes such an inspection, the contractor must provide reasonable assistance.

SEC. 3.11 F.O.B. POINT

All goods purchased through this contract will be F.O.B. final destination. Unless specifically stated otherwise, all prices offered must include the delivery costs to any location within the State of Alaska.

SEC. 3.12 CONTRACT PERSONNEL

Any change of the project team members or subcontractors named in the proposal must be approved, in advance and in writing, by the project director or procurement officer. Changes that are not approved by the state may be grounds for the state to terminate the contract.

SEC. 3.13 INSPECTION & MODIFICATION - REIMBURSEMENT FOR UNACCEPTABLE

DELIVERABLES

The contractor is responsible for the completion of all work set out in the contract. All work is subject to inspection, evaluation, and approval by the project director. The state may employ all reasonable means to ensure that the work is progressing and being performed in compliance with the contract. The project director or procurement officer may instruct the contractor to make corrections or modifications if needed to accomplish the contract’s intent. The contractor will not unreasonably withhold such changes.

Substantial failure of the contractor to perform the contract may cause the state to terminate the contract. In this event, the state may require the contractor to reimburse monies paid (based on the identified portion of unacceptable work received) and may seek associated damages.

SEC. 3.14 CONTRACT CHANGES - UNANTICIPATED AMENDMENTS

During the course of this contract, the contractor may be required to perform additional work. That work will be within the general scope of the initial contract. When additional work is required, the project director will provide the contractor a written description of the additional work and request the contractor to submit a firm time schedule for accomplishing the additional work and a firm price for the additional work. Cost and pricing data must be provided to justify the cost of such amendments per AS 36.30.400.

The contractor will not commence additional work until the procurement officer has secured any required state approvals necessary for the amendment and issued a written contract amendment, approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Health or the Commissioner's designee.

SEC. 3.15 NONDISCLOSURE AND CONFIDENTIALITY

Contractor agrees that all confidential information shall be used only for purposes of providing the deliverables and performing the services specified herein and shall not disseminate or allow dissemination of confidential information except as provided for in this section. The contractor shall hold as confidential and will use reasonable care (including both facility physical security and electronic security) to prevent unauthorized access by, storage, disclosure, publication, dissemination to and/or use by third parties of, the confidential information. “Reasonable care” means compliance by the contractor with all applicable federal and state law, including the Social Security Act and HIPAA. The contractor must promptly notify the state in writing if it becomes aware of any storage, disclosure, loss, unauthorized access to or use of the confidential information.

Confidential information, as used herein, means any data, files, software, information or materials (whether prepared by the state or its agents or advisors) in oral, electronic, tangible or intangible form and however stored, compiled or memorialized that is classified confidential as defined by State of Alaska classification and categorization guidelines provided by the state to the contractor or a contractor agent or otherwise made available to the contractor or a contractor agent in connection with this contract, or acquired, obtained or learned by the contractor or a contractor agent in the performance of this contract. Examples of confidential information include, but are not limited to: technology infrastructure, architecture, financial data, trade secrets, equipment specifications, user lists, passwords, research data, and technology data (infrastructure, architecture, operating systems, security tools, IP addresses, etc).

Additional information that the contractor shall hold as confidential during the performance of services under this contract include:

If confidential information is requested to be disclosed by the contractor pursuant to a request received by a third party and such disclosure of the confidential information is required under applicable state or federal law, regulation, governmental or regulatory authority, the contractor may disclose the confidential information after providing the state with written notice of the requested disclosure ( to the extent such notice to the state is permitted by applicable law) and giving the state opportunity to review the request. If the contractor receives no objection from the state, it may release the confidential information within 30 days. Notice of the requested disclosure of confidential information by the contractor must be provided to the state within a reasonable time after the contractor’s receipt of notice of the requested disclosure and, upon request of the state, shall seek to obtain legal protection from the release of the confidential information.

The following information shall not be considered confidential information: information previously known to be public information when received from the other party; information freely available to the general public;

information which now is or hereafter becomes publicly known by other than a breach of confidentiality hereof;

or information which is disclosed by a party pursuant to subpoena or other legal process and which as a result becomes lawfully obtainable by the general public.

SEC. 3.16 INDEMNIFICATION

The contractor shall indemnify, hold harmless, and defend the contracting agency from and against any third-party claim of, or liability for error, omission or negligent act of the contractor under this agreement. The contractor shall not be required to indemnify the contracting agency for a claim of, or liability for, the independent negligence of the contracting agency. If there is a claim of, or liability for, the joint negligent error or omission of the contractor and the independent negligence of the contracting agency, the indemnification and hold harmless obligation shall be apportioned on a comparative fault basis. “Contractor” and “contracting agency”, as used within this and the following article, include the employees, agents and other contractors who are directly responsible, respectively, to each. The term “independent negligence” is negligence other than in the contracting agency’s selection, administration, monitoring, or controlling of the contractor and in approving or accepting the contractor’s work.

SEC. 3.17 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

Without limiting contractor's indemnification, it is agreed that contractor shall purchase at its own expense and maintain in force at all times during the performance of services under this agreement the following policies of insurance. Where specific limits are shown, it is understood that they shall be the minimum acceptable limits. If the contractor's policy contains higher limits, the state shall be entitled to coverage to the extent of such higher limits.

Certificates of Insurance must be furnished to the procurement officer prior to beginning work and must provide for a notice of cancellation, non-renewal, or material change of conditions in accordance with policy provisions.

Failure to furnish satisfactory evidence of insurance or lapse of the policy is a material breach of this contract and shall be grounds for termination of the contractor's services. All insurance policies shall comply with and be issued by insurers licensed to transact the business of insurance under AS 21.

Workers' Compensation Insurance: The contractor shall provide and maintain, for all employees engaged in work under this contract, coverage as required by AS 23.30.045, and; where applicable, any other statutory obligations including but not limited to Federal U.S.L. & H. and Jones Act requirements. The policy must waive subrogation against the State.

Commercial General Liability Insurance: covering all business premises and operations used by the Contractor in the performance of services under this agreement with minimum coverage limits of $300,000 combined single limit per claim.

Commercial Automobile Liability Insurance: covering all vehicles used by the contractor in the performance of services under this agreement with minimum coverage limits of $300,000 combined single limit per claim.

Professional Liability Insurance: covering all errors, omissions, or negligent acts in the performance of professional services under this agreement with minimum coverage limits of $300,000 per claim /annual aggregate.

SEC. 3.18 TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT

If the project director or procurement officer determines that the contractor has refused to perform the work or has failed to perform the work with such diligence as to ensure its timely and accurate completion, the state may, by providing written notice to the contractor, terminate the contractor's right to proceed with part or all of the remaining work.

The procurement officer may also, by written notice, terminate the contract under Administrative Order 352 if the contractor supports or participates in a boycott of the State of Israel.

This clause does not restrict the state's termination rights under the contract provisions of Appendix A, attached in SECTION 7. ATTACHMENTS.

SECTION 4. PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

SEC. 4.01 RFP SUBMITTAL FORMS

This RFP contains Submittal Forms, which must be completed by the offeror and submitted as their proposal. An electronic copy of the forms is posted along with this RFP. Offerors shall not re-create these forms, create their own forms, or edit the format structure of the forms unless permitted to do so.

Unless otherwise specified in this RFP, the Submittal Forms shall be the offeror’s entire proposal. Do not include any marketing information in the proposal.

Any proposal that does not follow these requirements may be deemed non-responsive and rejected.

SEC. 4.02 SPECIAL FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS

The offeror must ensure that their proposal meets all special formatting requirements identified in this section.

Documents and Text: All attachment documents must be written in the English language, be single sided, and be single spaced with a minimum font size of 10. Pictures or graphics may be used if the offeror feels it is necessary to communicate their information, however, be aware of the below requirements for page limits.

Anonymity: Some Submittal Forms listed below must not contain any names that can be used to identify who the offeror is (such as company names, offeror name, company letterhead, personnel names, project names, subconsultant names, manufacturer or supplier names, or product names).

Page Limits: Some Submittal Forms listed below have maximum page limit requirements. Offerors must not exceed the maximum page limits. Note, the page limit applies to the front side of a page only (for example, ‘1 Page’ implies that the offeror can only provide a response on one side of a piece of paper).

Submittal Form Maximum Page Limits

Submittal Form A – Offeror Information and Certifications N/A Submittal Form B – Experience and Qualifications 8 Submittal Form C – Understanding of the Project 8 Submittal Form D – Methodology Used for the Project 8 Submittal Form E – Management Plan for the Project 8 Submittal Form F – Mandatory Requirements N/A Submittal Form G – Cost Proposal N/A

Any Submittal Form that is being evaluated and does not follow these instructions may receive a ‘1’ score for the evaluated Submittal Form, or the entire response may be deemed non-responsive and rejected. Failure to submit any of the Submittal Forms will result in the proposal being deemed non-responsive and rejected.

SEC. 4.03 OFFEROR INFORMATION AND CERTIFICATIONS (SUBMITTAL FORM A)

The offeror must complete and submit this Submittal Form. The form must be signed by an individual authorized to bind the offeror to the provisions of the RFP.

By signature on the form, the offeror certifies they comply with the items listed in the Certifications section of the Submittal Form. If the offeror fails to comply with these items, the state reserves the right to disregard the proposal, consider the contractor in default, or terminate the contract.

The Submittal Form also requests the following information:

a) The complete name and address of offeror’s firm along with the offeror’s Tax ID.

b) Information on the person the state should contact regarding the proposal.

c) Names of critical team members/personnel.

d) Addenda acknowledgement.

e) Conflict of interest statement.

f) Federal requirements.

g) Alaska preference qualifications.

An offeror's failure to provide this information may cause the proposal to be determined to non-responsive and rejected.

SEC. 4.04 EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS (SUBMITTAL FORM B)

Offerors must provide detail on the primary project manager’s specific experience in projects of a similar nature along with the directly related experience of the overall project team identified in Submittal Form A.

Offerors must provide a description of the organization of the project team and the individual(s) responsible and accountable for the completion each component and deliverable of the RFP.

SPECIAL NOTE: The offeror shall not disclose their costs in this Submittal Form. This Submittal Form cannot exceed the page limit (as described in Section 4.02).

SEC. 4.05 UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT (SUBMITTAL FORM C)

Offerors must provide detail that demonstrates their understanding of the requirements of the project and how to meet the state’s needs.

SPECIAL NOTE: The offeror shall not disclose their costs in this Submittal Form. This Submittal Form cannot exceed the page limit (as described in Section 4.02).

SEC. 4.06 METHODOLOGY USED FOR THE PROJECT (SUBMITTAL FORM D)

Offerors must provide detail that demonstrates the methodology they will employ and how the methodology will serve to accomplish the work and meet the state’s needs.

SPECIAL NOTE: The offeror shall not disclose their costs in this Submittal Form. This Submittal Form cannot exceed the page limit (as described in Section 4.02).

SEC. 4.07 MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PROJECT (SUBMITTAL FORM E)

Offerors must provide detail that demonstrates the management plan they intend to follow and how the plan will serve to accomplish the work and meet the state's needs.

Offerors must also identify any potential issues, risks, or problems they foresee with this project and how they will address them.

SPECIAL NOTE: The offeror shall not disclose their costs in this Submittal Form. This Submittal Form cannot exceed the page limit (as described in Section 4.02).

SEC. 4.08 MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS (SUBMITTAL FORM F)

Offerors must complete and submit this Submittal Form.

SEC. 4.09 COST PROPOSAL (SUBMITTAL FORM G)

Offerors must complete and submit this Submittal Form. Proposed costs must all direct and indirect costs associated with the performance of the contract, including, but not limited to, total number of hours at various hourly rates, direct expenses, payroll, supplies, overhead assigned to each person working on the project, percentage of each person's time devoted to the project, and profit. The costs identified on the cost proposal are the total amount of costs to be paid by the state. No additional charges shall be allowed.

SECTION 5. EVALUATION CRITERIA AND CONTRACTOR SELECTION

SEC. 5.01 SUMMARY OF EVALUATION PROCESS

The state will use the following steps to evaluate and prioritize proposals:

1) Proposals will be assessed for overall responsiveness. Proposals deemed non-responsive will be eliminated from further consideration.

2) A proposal evaluation committee (PEC), made up of at least three state employees or public officials, will evaluate specific parts of the responsive proposals.

3) The Submittal Forms, from each responsive proposal, will be sent to the PEC. No cost information will be shared or provided to the PEC.

4) The PEC will independently evaluate and score the documents based on the degree to which they meet the stated evaluation criteria.

5) After independent scoring, the PEC will have a meeting, chaired by the procurement officer, where the PEC may have a group discussion prior to finalizing their scores.

6) The evaluators will submit their final individual scores to the procurement officer, who will then compile the scores and calculate awarded points as set out in Section 5.03.

7) The procurement officer will calculate scores for cost proposals as set out in Section 5.08 and add those scores to the awarded points along with factoring in any Alaska preferences.

8) The procurement officer may ask for best and final offers from offerors susceptible for award and revise the cost scores accordingly.

9) The state will then conduct any necessary negotiations with the highest scoring offeror and award a contract if the negotiations are successful.

SEC. 5.02 EVALUATION CRITERIA

Proposals will be evaluated based on their overall value to state, considering both cost and non-cost factors as described below. Note: An evaluation may not be based on discrimination due to the race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age, marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, disability, or political affiliation of the offeror.

Overall Criteria Weight Responsiveness Pass/Fail Mandatory Requirements Compliance (Submittal Form F)

Qualifications Criteria Weight Experience and Qualifications (Submittal Form B) 125 Understanding of the Project (Submittal Form C) 125 Methodology Used for the Project (Submittal Form D) 125 Management Plan for the Project (Submittal Form E) 125

Total 500

Cost Criteria Weight Cost Proposal (Submittal Form G) 400 Total 400

Preference Criteria Weight Alaska Offeror Preference (if applicable) 100 Total 100

TOTAL EVALUATION POINTS AVAILABLE: 1000

SEC. 5.03 SCORING METHOD AND CALCULATION

The PEC will evaluate responses against the questions set out in Sections 5.04 through 5.07 and assign a single score for each section. Offerors’ responses for each section may be rated comparatively against one another with each PEC member assigning a score of 1, 5, or 10 (with 10 representing the highest score, 5 representing the average score, and 1 representing the lowest score). Responses that are similar or lack dominant information to differentiate the offerors from each other will receive the same score. Therefore, it is the offeror’s responsibility to provide dominant information and differentiate themselves from their competitors.

After the PEC has scored each section, the scores for each section will be totaled and the following formula will be used to calculate the amount of points awarded for that section:

1) Maximum Points Available / Maximum Combined PEC Score Possible

2) Combined PEC Score x Result of 1)

Example (Maximum Points Available for the Section = 100):

PEC

Member 1

Score

PEC

Member 2

Score

PEC

Member 3

Score

PEC

Member 4

Score Combined Total Score

Points

Awarded Offeror 1 10 5 5 10 30 75 Offeror 2 5 5 5 5 20 50 Offeror 3 10 10 10 10 40 100

Offeror 1 was awarded 75 points:

Maximum Points Available (100) = 2.5 Maximum Combined PEC Score Possible (40)

Combined PEC Score (30) x 2.5 = Points Awarded (75)

Offeror 2 was awarded 50 points:

Maximum Points Available (100) = 2.5 Maximum Combined PEC Score Possible (40)

Combined PEC Score (20) x 2.5 = Points Awarded (50)

Offeror 3 was awarded 100 points:

Maximum Points Available (100) = 2.5 Maximum Combined PEC Score Possible (40)

Combined PEC Score (40) x 2.5 = Points Awarded (100)

SEC. 5.04 EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

This portion of the offeror’s proposal will be evaluated against the following questions:

1) How well did the offeror detail the primary project manager’s experience in projects of a similar nature and the directly related experience of the overall project team?

2) How did the offeror describe the organization of the project team and the individual(s) responsible for and accountable for the completion of each component and deliverable of the RFP?

SEC. 5.05 UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROJECT

This portion of the offeror’s proposal will be evaluated against the following questions:

1) How well did the offeror demonstrate their understanding of the project requirements and how to meet the state’s needs?

SEC. 5.06 METHODOLOGY USED FOR THE PROJECT

This portion of the offeror’s proposal will be evaluated against the following questions:

1) How well did the offeror demonstrate the methodology them will employ and how the methodology will serve to accomplish the work and meet the state’s needs?

SEC. 5.07 MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE PROJECT

This portion of the offeror’s proposal will be evaluated against the following questions:

1) How well did the offeror demonstrate their management plan and how that plan will service to accomplish the work and meet the state’s needs?

2) To what extent did the offeror identify potential issues, risks, or problems they foresee with this project and how they will address them?

SEC. 5.08 CONTRACT COST (COST PROPOSAL)

Overall, a minimum of 40% of the total evaluation points will be assigned to cost. After the procurement officer applies any applicable preferences, the offeror with the lowest total cost will receive the maximum number of points allocated to cost per 2 AAC 12.260(c). The point allocations for cost on the other proposals will be determined using the following formula:

[(Price of Lowest Cost Proposal) x (Maximum Points for Cost)] ÷ (Cost of Each Higher Priced Proposal)

Example (Max Points for Contract Cost = 400):

Step 1 List all proposal prices, adjusted where appropriate by the application of applicable preferences claimed by the offeror.

Offeror #1 $40,000 Offeror #2 $42,750 Offeror #3 $47,500

Step 2

In this example, the RFP allotted 40% of the available 1,000 points to cost. This means that the lowest cost will receive the maximum number of points.

Offeror #1 receives 400 points.

The reason they receive that amount is because the lowest cost proposal, in this case $40,000, receives the maximum number of points allocated to cost, 400 points.

Offeror #2 receives 374.3 points.

$40,000 lowest cost x 400 maximum points for cost = 16,000,000 ÷ $42,750 cost of Offeror #2’s proposal = 374.3

Offeror #3 receives 336.8 points.

$40,000 lowest cost x 400 maximum points for cost = 16,000,000 ÷ $47,500 cost of Offeror #3’s proposal = 336.8

SEC. 5.09 APPLICATION OF PREFERENCES

Certain preferences apply to all state contracts, regardless of their dollar value. The Alaska Bidder, Alaska Veteran, and Alaska Offeror preferences are the most common preferences involved in the RFP process. Additional preferences that may apply to this procurement are listed below. Guides that contain excerpts from the relevant statutes and codes, explain when the preferences apply and provide examples of how to calculate the preferences are available at the following website:

• https://oppm.doa.alaska.gov/media/1453/pref1.pdf

• Alaska Products Preference – AS 36.30.332

• Recycled Products Preference – AS 36.30.337

• Local Agriculture and Fisheries Products Preference – AS 36.15.050

• Employment Program Preference – AS 36.30.321(b)

• Alaskans with Disabilities Preference – AS 36.30.321(d)

• Alaska Veteran’s Preference – AS 36.30.321(f)

• Alaska Military Skills Program Preference – AS 36.30.321(l)

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in the Department of Labor and Workforce Development keeps a list of qualified employment programs and individuals who qualify as persons with a disability. As evidence of a business’ or an individual's right to the Employment Program or Alaskans with Disabilities preferences, the Division of https://oppm.doa.alaska.gov/media/1453/pref1.pdf

Vocational Rehabilitation will issue a certification letter. To take advantage of these preferences, a business or individual must be on the appropriate Division of Vocational Rehabilitation list prior to the time designated for receipt of proposals. Offerors must attach a copy of their certification letter to the proposal.