RFP 2026-0200-0064 Statewide Transcription Services.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 ADMINISTRATION

OFFICE OF PROCUREMENT AND PROPERTY

MANAGEMENT

PRIMARY CONTACT:

JOSHUA HARTMAN

PROCUREMENT OFFICER

JOSHUA.HARTMAN@ALASKA.GOV

(907) 465-5758

STATEWIDE TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES

RFP 2026-0200-0064

ISSUED JULY 31, 2026

THE STATE OF ALASKA IS SOLICITING FOR VENDORS TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO CONVERT SPEECH, EITHER LIVE OR RECORDED, INTO WRITTEN OR ELECTRONIC TEXT DOCUMENTS, ON AN AS-NEEDED BASIS. ALL STATE OF

ALASKA GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES MAY PURCHASE FROM THE CONTRACTS RESULTING FROM THIS

SOLICITATION, INCLUDING ENTITIES SUCH AS FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBES, THE ALASKA LEGISLATIVE

BRANCH, THE ALASKA COURT SYSTEM, THE UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA, BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AND ALL

STATE OF ALASKA POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS, CITIES, BOROUGHS, AND SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

STATE OF ALASKA – REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS RFP 2026-0200-0064

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION & INSTRUCTIONS

SEC. 1.01 PURPOSE OF THE RFP

SEC. 1.02 BUDGET

SEC. 1.03 DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.04 PRIOR EXPERIENCE

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 PRE-PROPOSAL TELECONFERENCE

SEC. 1.13 ALTERNATE PROPOSALS

SEC. 1.14 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 CONTRACT TERM AND WORK SCHEDULE

SEC. 3.03 DELIVERABLES

SEC. 3.04 CONTRACT TYPE

SEC. 3.05 PROPOSED PAYMENT PROCEDURES

SEC. 3.06 PROMPT PAYMENT FOR STATE PURCHASES

SEC. 3.07 CONTRACT PAYMENT

SEC. 3.08 CONTRACT PRICE ADJUSTMENTS

SEC. 3.09 LOCATION OF WORK

SEC. 3.10 THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS

SEC. 3.11 SUBCONTRACTORS

SEC. 3.12 JOINT VENTURES

SEC. 3.13 RIGHT TO INSPECT PLACE OF BUSINESS

SEC. 3.14 F.O.B. POINT

SEC. 3.15 CONTRACT PERSONNEL

SEC. 3.16 INSPECTION & MODIFICATION - REIMBURSEMENT FOR UNACCEPTABLE DELIVERABLES

SEC. 3.17 LIQUIDATED DAMAGES

SEC. 3.18 CONTRACT CHANGES - UNANTICIPATED AMENDMENTS

SEC. 3.19 NONDISCLOSURE AND CONFIDENTIALITY

SEC. 3.20 INDEMNIFICATION

SEC. 3.21 INSURANCE REQUIREMENTS

SEC. 3.22 TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT

SEC. 3.23 ADMINISTRATIVE AND REPORTING REQUIRMENTS

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 CONTRACT (SUBMITTAL FORM C)

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

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

SEC. 4.08 SUBCONTRACTORS (SUBMITTAL FORM F)

SEC. 4.09 COST PROPOSAL (SUBMITTAL FORM G)

SEC. 4.10 BID BOND – PERFORMANCE BOND – SURETY DEPOSIT

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 CONTRACT

SEC. 5.06 METHODOLOGY USED FOR THE CONTRACT

SEC. 5.07 MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE CONTRACT

SEC. 5.08 CONTRACT COST (COST PROPOSAL)

SEC. 5.09 ALASKA OFFEROR PREFERENCE

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 SITE INSPECTION

SEC. 6.04 CLARIFICATION OF OFFERS

SEC. 6.05 DISCUSSIONS WITH OFFERORS

SEC. 6.06 EVALUATION OF PROPOSALS

SEC. 6.07 CONTRACT NEGOTIATION

SEC. 6.08 FAILURE TO NEGOTIATE

SEC. 6.09 OFFEROR NOTIFICATION OF SELECTION

SEC. 6.10 PROTEST

SEC. 6.11 APPLICATION OF PREFERENCES

SEC. 6.12 ALASKA BIDDER PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.13 ALASKA VETERAN PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.14 ALASKA MILITARY SKILLS PROGRAM PREFERENCE

SEC. 6.15 STANDARD CONTRACT PROVISIONS

SEC. 6.16 QUALIFIED OFFERORS

SEC. 6.17 PROPOSAL AS PART OF THE CONTRACT

SEC. 6.18 ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SEC. 6.19 HUMAN TRAFFICKING

SEC. 6.20 RIGHT OF REJECTION

SEC. 6.21 STATE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR PREPARATION COSTS

SEC. 6.22 DISCLOSURE OF PROPOSAL CONTENTS

SEC. 6.23 ASSIGNMENT

SEC. 6.24 FORCE MAJEURE (IMPOSSIBILITY TO PERFORM)

SEC. 6.25 DISPUTES

SEC. 6.26 SEVERABILITY

SEC. 6.27 SUPPLEMENTAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

SEC. 6.28 SOLICITATION ADVERTISING

SEC. 6.29 FEDERALLY IMPOSED TARIFFS

SECTION 7. ATTACHMENTS & ITEMS TO BE RETURNED

SEC. 7.01 ATTACHMENTS

SEC. 7.02 ADDITIONAL MANDATORY RETURN ITEMS

INTRODUCTION & INSTRUCTIONS

SEC. 1.01 PURPOSE OF THE RFP

The Department of Administration, Office of Procurement and Property Management, is soliciting proposals for transcription services to convert speech, either live or recorded, into written or electronic text documents, on an as-needed basis.

SEC. 1.02 BUDGET

The Department of Administration, Office of Procurement and Property Management, estimates an annual spend of roughly $300,000.00, based on historical information. However, no minimum or maximum level of sales volume is guaranteed or implied.

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

SEC. 1.03 DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF PROPOSALS

Proposals must be received no later than 9:30 A.M. prevailing Alaska Daylight Time on Monday, August 24, 2026, as indicated by the email timestamp, late proposals will not be considered.

SEC. 1.04 PRIOR EXPERIENCE

In order for offers to be considered responsive offerors must meet these minimum prior experience requirements:

• Offeror must have been in business for a minimum of three (3) years (must provide documentation to show this). Providing resumes that show ten (10) or more years of transcription experience (individually) for staff members assigned to the contract may be acceptable in lieu of the three year minimum for the business.

• Offeror must have performed transcription services similar to the complexity of work listed in the scope of work, such as providing transcription services with complex general, medical and legal terminology on a state, regional or nationwide basis (must provide documentation or client references to support this)

An offeror's failure to meet these minimum prior experience requirements will cause their proposal to be considered non-responsive and rejected.

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. 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.

PROCUREMENT OFFICER: Joshua Hartman

PHONE: 907-465-5758

EMAIL ADDRESS: Joshua.Hartman@Alaska.gov

SEC. 1.07 RETURN INSTRUCTIONS

All proposals shall be submitted via email, the technical proposal (as a PDF document) and the cost proposal (in Excel format) must be saved as separate documents and emailed to doa.oppm.adminsupport@alaska.gov as separate, clearly labeled attachments, such as “Vendor A – Technical Proposal.pdf” and “Vendor A – Cost Proposal (Excel)”. The email must contain the the RFP number 2026-0200-0064 in the subject line.

The maximum size of a single email (including all text and attachments) that can be received by the state is 20mb (megabytes). If the email containing the proposal exceeds this size, the proposal must be sent in multiple emails that are each less than 20 megabytes and each email must comply with the requirements described above.

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 with enough time to ensure the email is delivered by the deadline for receipt of proposals.

It is the offeror’s responsibility to contact the issuing agency at 907-465-5758 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, the amendment will be posted on the State of Alaska Online Public Notice (OPN) website. The link to the posting of the amendment 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 OPN.

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 Daylight Time.

ACTIVITY TIME DATE

Issue Date / RFP Released N/A 7/31/2026 Pre-Proposal Conference 10:00 A.M. AK 8/10/2026 Deadline for Receipt of Proposals / Proposal Due Date 9:30 A.M. AK 8/24/2026 Proposal Evaluations Complete 9/4/2026 Notice of Intent to Award 9/4/2026 Contract Issued 9/15/2026

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 Administration, 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 PRE-PROPOSAL TELECONFERENCE

A pre-proposal teleconference via Microsoft Teams will be held at 10:00 A.M. Alaska Time, on August 10, 2026. The purpose of the teleconference is to discuss the work to be performed with the prospective offerors and allow them to ask questions concerning the RFP. All questions raised during the meeting must be submitted in writing to the Procurement Officer and will be posted along with the answers on the Alaska Online Public Notice website as an Amendment to the RFP, as soon as possible after the meeting.

Meeting Information:

Join the meeting now Meeting ID: 244 229 532 078 86 Passcode: F5wn33Aa https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MWQyYjE5YWQtNGNmZi00ZGQzLTgyODEtNTExMjJhMDVkZDk4%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2220030bf6-7ad9-42f7-9273-59ea83fcfa38%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22c035bfc0-2dcd-41d9-a794-a559e8d2d19c%22%7d

Offerors with a disability needing accommodation should contact the procurement officer prior to the date set for the pre-proposal conference so that reasonable accommodation can be made. Vendors interested in attending can register by sending an email to Joshua.Hartman@alaska.gov that includes the following information:

• Vendor Name

• Vendor Address

• Vendor representative’s name

• Vendor representative’s email address

• Vendor representative’s direct phone number

SEC. 1.13 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. 1.14 NEWS RELEASES

News releases related to this RFP will not be made without prior approval of the chief or deputy chief procurement officer (CPO/DCPO).

mailto:Joshua.Hartman@alaska.gov

SECTION 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION

SEC. 2.01 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The State of Alaska is seeking a contract with a qualified Offeror to provide all transcription services for general, medical, and legal records to convert speech; either live or recorded, into written or electronic text document.

This contract will provide non-mandatory, as-needed transcription services for general, medical, and legal services. All State of Alaska governmental entities may use the contract resulting from this solicitation, including entities such as the Alaska Legislative Branch, the Alaska Court System, the University of Alaska, Boards and Commissions, and all State of Alaska political subdivisions, cities, boroughs, and school districts, and federally recognized tribes.

SECTION 3. SCOPE OF WORK & CONTRACT INFORMATION

SEC. 3.01 SCOPE OF WORK

The Department of Administration, Office of Procurement and Property Management, is soliciting proposals for Transcription Services throughout Alaska. In this section, the successful offeror is referred to as the “Contractor.”

A. General Transcription Services

1. The Contractor shall provide transcription services as detailed in this scope of work. The following requirements apply to all services provided by the awarded Contractor within this scope of work of this solicitation.

2. The Contractor must have access to necessary equipment to provide complete transcription services as required. The State reserves the right to refuse, at its sole discretion and notwithstanding any prior approval, any personnel of the Contractor providing service in the performance of this contract. The State will document in writing the reason(s) for any rejection of personnel.

3. The Contractor shall have the capability of providing audio to text and video to text.

4. All transcriptions must be reviewed, proofread, spell-checked, demographically checked, and correctly formatted. Transcriptions will be in English.

5. The Contractor shall establish a secure file transfer protocol (SFTP) website for use in transferring documents to and from the agency.

6. Upon receipt of an electronic transcript request from the purchasing entity, the

Contractor shall download the digital recording from the SFTP site. The agency may submit audio recordings by audio cassette, CD, or another physical format. The Contractor is responsible for retrieving and returning audio cassette, CD, or other physical format submitted. The Contractor shall be responsible for all costs associated with shipping.

7. The agency shall be given the opportunity to review, approve and accept all work ordered and received by the agency. All materials for review shall be delivered to the agency via the Contractor ’s SFTP site, or other agreed upon delivery method. If corrections are needed, the Contractor shall submit the corrections within 24 hours of notification from the agency. Corrections shall be made at no additional charge.

i. Contractor must maintain a 98% accuracy rate. If over two percent (2%) of the total monthly transcriptions for any agency requires retypes or corrections, the State shall work with the Contractor on a resolution and take any necessary measures allowed to resolve the situation.

8. Deliverable deadlines shall be agreed upon by agency and Contractor prior to order placement.

9. The Contractor shall maintain an electronic library of all transcriptions for audit purposes for one year from date of acceptance.

i. The Contractor shall log all transcriptions. The specific data to be logged will be determined by the purchasing agency.

ii. The Contractor shall have the capability to generate reports from the log as requested by the agency. Reports shall be delivered to agency via the SFTP site or email as requested by the agency.

10. The Contractor must comply with all provisions of any legislative changes or administrative rule changes enacted or adopted during the term of the contract at no cost to the participating state.

11. The Contractor shall be held responsible for the security of its premises and assumes all risk.

12. The Contractor acquires no title or rights to any of the data it receives and transcribes for the agency.

13. The Contractor shall provide a method for recording dictation 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

i. Dictation method may include a toll-free telephone number dedicated to each agency, hand-held dictation device, PC microphone, or other approved method.

The Contractor must provide a mechanism to give priority to records that are needed immediately (i.e., a dedicated line).

ii. Must have capability of single speaker dictation and multiple speaker recordings.

14. All recordings must be able to be paused, rewound, and fast-forwarded.

15. The length of time a recording is maintained, the destruction of a recording; and any other use of the recorded data shall be determined by the agency.

16. The transcriptionists must understand and apply correct English grammar, spelling and punctuation skills.

17. The transcription must accurately identify the speaker(s) throughout the transcription.

18. The Contractor shall have an established system for quality assurance and quality control to ensure the accuracy of dictations and transcriptions, required reports and bill documents.

19. If Contractor finds that a recording is inaudible, the Contractor shall send the recording to the agency, who will verify that the recording is inaudible. If the recording is audible, the Contractor will be contacted to download the recording and prepare a transcript.

20. The Contractor shall track all security events and shall report such security incidents immediately, with the following understandings.

i. The agency shall not consider as security event, for the purpose of reporting, external activities (port enumeration) typically associated with the “foot printing” of a computing environment so long as such activities have only identified but have not compromised the logical network perimeter, including but not limited to externally facing firewalls and web servers.

ii. The Contractor shall reasonably use its own vulnerability assessment of damage potential and monitoring to define levels of security incidents and responses for the Contractor ’s operations. However, the Contractor shall immediately notify the State contact, and ordering agency of any security event which would constitute a security event including any “breach of the security of the system” under state law, in a preliminary report within one (1) business day with a full report within five (5) business days of the time the Contractor became aware of the event; and

iii. The Contractor shall likewise notify the State contact in a preliminary report within one (1) business day of any unauthorized acquisition including but not limited to internal user access to non-test records reported to the Contractor ’s privacy manager or other appropriate personnel; and any use, disclosure, modification or destruction of confidential information by an employee or otherwise authorized user of its system of which the Contractor becomes aware with a full report of the event not less than five (5) business days of the time it became aware of the event.

21. If data acquired (including but not limited to access to or use, disclosure, modification or destruction of such data) is in encrypted format, but the decryption key which would allow decoding of the data is also taken, the parties shall treat the acquisition as an unauthorized acquisition for the purpose of determining the appropriate response.

22. All Offerors must include a single point of contact in their proposal. This single point of contact shall be the primary person the State may contact regarding the resulting contract.

23. Offeror must perform full-service support during normal business hours in Alaska (working days Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.)

24. All services shall be performed in the United States, and not through the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI).

B. Medical Transcription Services

1. The Contractor must provide medical transcription services and otherwise do all things necessary for, or incidental to, the performance of work as set forth below in addition to the requirements for general transcription services as described above in Sec 3.01.A.

2. The format shall be specified by the agency.

3. The SFTP site used to transmit transcriptions must conform to current laws in the participating state and federal privacy laws including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and its regulations at 45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 160 and 164; and the Confidentiality of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Patient Records as regulated at 42 CFR Part 2.

4. The Contractor shall destroy medical transcriptions in compliance with the State’s laws and federal privacy laws related to the destruction of protected health information (PHI) and other data.

5. The Contractor shall not duplicate, share, disclose, use, or disseminate PHI or other data it receives and transcribes, with any third party, without written permission of the agency.

6. The Contractor shall require its employees and agents to report any suspected unauthorized use or disclosure of PHI or other data as soon as becoming aware.

7. The transcriptionists must be familiar with medical terminology and would preferably have transcriptionists that are certified medical transcriptionists. At minimum, transcriptionists need to have thorough knowledge of healthcare terminology including abbreviations, anatomy, and medications.

8. All transcribed documents should meet Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI) industry standards.

C. Legal Transcription Services

1. The Contractor shall provide written transcription for all audible portions of digitally recorded legal proceedings and quasi-legal proceedings, such as administrative hearings. The Contractor shall work with the requesting agency to ensure they can meet requirements for all written documents.

2. Shall be willing to meet the applicable criteria as listed in the Alaska Court System’s Manual of Transcript Procedures (TF-410). Applicability of sections may vary depending on the requesting agency’s needs. [Current copy included with the solicitation].

D. Meeting Minutes

1. Time stamps in the transcription that align with topics noted on the meeting agenda

(provided by the requesting board).

2. Meeting Minutes are a summary made from the transcript after it has been typed up. It is then cleaned up to reflect what was said in the meeting rather than a complete capture. It requires a more in-depth process as it is more of an executive summary formed from a transcript. This service is adaptive and ever-changing; it can be modified with the input of each requestor.

Meeting minutes are a cleaned up, edited, and fully rewritten summary of the meeting from the raw transcript.

E. Optional Transcription Services (VALUE-ADD)

1. Optional Transcription Services, (Value-Add) such as braille or insurance services may be offered by the Contractor. These “Optional Services” may be identified at the bottom of the Attachment F - Cost Proposal. These optional services (Value-Add) must have an associated cost and must not be listed within the body of the original cost proposal. The optional services (Value-Add) will not be evaluated and there is no guarantee that the optional service (Value-Add) items will be used. Optional service (Value-Add) items may be incorporated into the contract via an amendment at a later date if found to be in the state’s best interest.

SEC. 3.02 CONTRACT TERM AND WORK SCHEDULE

The length of the contract will be from the date of award, approximately September 15, 2026, through September 30, 2027, with three optional one-year renewals, until completion, approximately September 30, 2030, at the sole discretion of the State of Alaska.

Unless otherwise provided in this RFP, the State and the successful offeror/contractor agree:

1) that any extension of the contract excluding any exercised renewal options, will be considered as a month-to-month extension, and all other terms and conditions shall remain in full force and effect,

2) the procurement officer will provide notice to the contractor of the intent to cancel such month-to-month extension at least 30 days before the desired date of cancellation, and

3) a month-to-month extension may only be executed by the procurement officer via a written contract amendment.

SEC. 3.03 DELIVERABLES

The contractor will be required to provide the following deliverables:

• The offeror shall provide the requested transcription services, the final work product will be provided in PDF/Word format per the request of the ordering entity. Other formats are acceptable upon mutual agreement of the offeror and ordering entity.

SEC. 3.04 CONTRACT TYPE

This contract is firm fixed-price contract.

SEC. 3.05 PROPOSED 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. Whereas this is a statewide contract (available to many different governmental entities), each ordering entity will be billed separately and will be responsible for payment of their invoices.

SEC. 3.06 PROMPT PAYMENT FOR STATE PURCHASES

The state is eligible to receive a 5% discount for all invoices paid within 15 business days from the date of receipt of the commodities or services and/or a correct invoice, whichever is later. The discount shall be taken on the full invoice amount. The state shall consider payment being made as either the date a printed warrant is issued or the date an electronic funds transfer (EFT) is initiated.

SEC. 3.07 CONTRACT PAYMENT

No payment will be made until the contract is approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Administration 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.

Payment for agreements under $500,000 for the undisputed purchase of goods or services provided to a state agency, will be made within 30 days of the receipt of a proper billing or the delivery of the goods or services to the location(s) specified in the agreement, whichever is later. A late payment is subject to 1.5% interest per month on the unpaid balance. Interest will not be paid if there is a dispute or if there is an agreement that establishes a lower interest rate or precludes the charging of interest.

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

SEC. 3.08 CONTRACT PRICE ADJUSTMENTS

Consumer Price Index (CPI): Contract prices will remain firm through September 30, 2027.

The Contractor or State may request price adjustments, no sooner than 12 months from the Contract execution date, and no more than once per contract year. Contractors must submit a request to the State at least thirty (30) days prior to the end of the current term. All Requests must be in writing and must be received 30 days prior to the Contract renewal date.

a. If the Contractor or State fail to request a CPI price adjustment 30 days prior to the Contract renewal date, the adjustment will be effective 30 days after the State or Contractor receives their written request.

b. Price adjustments will be made in accordance with the percentage change in the U.S.

Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor and Statistics, Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for All Urban Consumers, All Items, Urban Alaska.

c. The price adjustment rate will be determined by comparing the percentage difference between the CPI in effect for the base year reported HALF1 (January through June 2026);

and each HALF1 thereafter. The percentage difference between those two CPI issues will be the price adjustment rate. No retroactive contract price adjustments will be allowed. All price adjustments must be approved by the Procurement Officer prior to the implementation of the adjusted pricing. Approval shall be in the form of a Contract Amendment issued by the Procurement Officer.

d. Approval for all price increases is dependent upon full compliance with the terms of the Contract including reporting requirements.

SEC. 3.09 LOCATION OF WORK

The location(s) the work is to be performed, completed, and managed is within the United States of America.

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

By signing 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. 3.10 THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS

N/A

SEC. 3.11 SUBCONTRACTORS

Subcontractors will not be allowed.

SEC. 3.12 JOINT VENTURES

Joint ventures will not be allowed.

SEC. 3.13 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. 3.14 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. 3.15 CONTRACT PERSONNEL

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

SEC. 3.16 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 in order 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. 3.17 LIQUIDATED DAMAGES

N/A

SEC. 3.18 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 Administration or the Commissioner's designee.

SEC. 3.19 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. 3.20 INDEMNIFICATION

The contractor shall indemnify, hold harmless, and defend the contracting agency from and against any 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. 3.21 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.

Each insurance policy required by this, including a Subcontractor’s policy if applicable, shall include the State of Alaska as an additional insured (with the exception of the Workers’ Compensation policy) and waive their rights of subrogation against the State of Alaska.

The Contractor shall provide the State of Alaska certificate(s) of insurance necessary for the State to ensure compliance with the insurance provisions of this Contract. The Contractor must keep the required insurance in effect during the full term of the contract including all renewals or extensions.

Current certificates of insurance must be provided to the state prior to the expiration date of any required coverage; to include providing certificates of insurance for Subcontractors as applicable.

Upon request, Contractor shall provide a copy of the policy or policies or shall allow the State to inspect a copy of the policy or policies. Failure of the Contractor to provide and keep in force such insurance shall be regarded as material default, entitling the State to exercise any or all the remedies provided in the contract for a default by the Contractor.

The procuring of such required insurance shall not be construed to limit the Contractor's liability hereunder nor to fulfill the indemnification provisions and requirements of the solicitation or subsequent contract. Notwithstanding said policy or policies of insurance, the Contractor shall be obligated for the full and total amount of any damage, injury, or loss caused by negligence or neglect connected with this contract.

SEC. 3.22 TERMINATION FOR DEFAULT

a. 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 the remaining work.

b. The Procurement Officer may also, by written notice, terminate this 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.

SEC. 3.23 ADMINISTRATIVE AND REPORTING REQUIRMENTS

Contractor must submit quarterly reports to doa.oppm.vendorreport@alaska.gov and “Cc” the Contracting Officer assigned by the State to manage this contract. The contractor shall provide the State of Alaska with an electronic usage report (Excel) which will list the following information at the minimum: purchasing entity, description of items purchased, date of purchase, contract price, retail price, and the extended price for each transaction. These reports are due 30 days after the end of the quarter.

First Quarter: July 1 through September 30 Second Quarter: October 1 through December 31 Third Quarter: January 1 through March 31 Fourth Quarter: April 1 through June 30

Administrative Fee:

Effective upon final signature, the Contractor shall submit a check, payable to the State of Alaska, remitted to the Department of Administration, Office of Procurement and Property Management, for the calculated amount equal to 1.5% of the net sales for the quarterly period.

a) Contractor must include the MA Number on the check. Those checks submitted to the State without the MA Number will be returned to Contractor for additional identifying information.

b) Administrative fee checks shall be submitted to:

ATTN: Purchasing Section State of Alaska Department of Administration Office of Procurement and Property Management PO Box 110214 Juneau, AK 99811-0214 mailto:doa.oppm.vendorreport@alaska.gov

c) The administrative fee shall not be included as an adjustment to Contractor's Master Agreement pricing and shall not be invoiced or charged to the ordering agency.

d) Payment of the administrative fee is due irrespective of payment status on any orders from a Purchasing Entity.

e) Administrative fee checks are due for each quarter as follows:

Reporting Period Due Date State Fiscal Quarter 1 (Jul 1 - Sept 30): Oct 31 State Fiscal Quarter 2 (Oct 1 - Dec 31): Jan 31 State Fiscal Quarter 3 (Jan 1 - Mar 31): Apr 30 State Fiscal Quarter 4 (Apr 1 - Jun 30): Jul 31

f) Any quarter with zero sales must be reported as zero sales. This may be done electronically via email to the State of Alaska contact listed in this MA.

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 part of their proposal. An electronic copy of the forms is posted along with this RFP.

In accordance with Sec. 1.04 (PRIOR EXPERIENCE) Offerors must also submit sufficient documentation to support the mandatory minimum experience requirements.

Unless otherwise specified in this RFP, this supporting documentation, in addition to 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.

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.

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, One Page’ implies that the offeror can only provide a response on one side of a piece of paper). Any pages exceeding the maximum page limit will be discarded and will not be included in the evaluations (for example, the maximum page limit is 5 pages, but the Offeror submits 7 pages for that submittal form. Only pages 1-5 will be evaluated. Pages 6 and 7 would be discarded by the Procurement Officer before sending to the proposal evaluation committee for evaluation.).

Submittal Form Maximum Page Limits

Submittal Form A – Offeror Information and Certifications Submittal Form B – Experience and Qualifications 5 Submittal Form C – Understanding of the Contract 5 Submittal Form D – Methodology Used for the Contract 5 Submittal Form E – Management Plan for the Contract 5 Submittal Form F – Subcontractors (Not applicable for this proposal) Submittal Form G – Cost Proposal

Any Submittal Form submitted as part of a proposal that is not compliant with the instructions above may be a basis for finding the proposal non-responsive and thus 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 following:

a) the laws of the State of Alaska;

b) the applicable portion of the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1964;

c) the Equal Employment Opportunity Act and the regulations issued thereunder by the federal government;

d) the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and the regulations issued thereunder by the federal government;

e) all terms and conditions set out in this RFP;

f) a condition that the proposal submitted was independently arrived at, without collusion, under penalty of perjury; and

g) that the offers will remain open and valid for at least 90 days.

If any offeror fails to comply with [a] through [g] of this paragraph, the state reserves the right to disregard the proposal, terminate the contract, or consider the contractor in default.

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 address/respond/include these items may cause the proposal to be determined to be non-responsive and the proposal may be rejected.

SEC. 4.04 EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS (SUBMITTAL FORM B)

Offerors must provide detail on the personnel assigned to accomplish the work called for in this RFP (reference Section 3 for Scope of work and other details); illustrate the lines of authority; designate the individual responsible and accountable for the completion of each component and deliverable of the

RFP.

Offerors must provide a narrative description of the organization of the contract team and a personnel roster that identifies each person who will actually work on the contract along with their titles and location(s) where work will be performed.

Offerors must also provide reference names and phone numbers for similar contracts the offeror’s firm has completed.

The offeror shall not disclose their costs in this Submittal Form. Submission forms shall not exceed the page limit (as described in Section 4.02).

Offerors must provide resumes for all management personnel that will have responsibilities related to this contract as a separate attachment(s) to Submittal Form B. The resumes do not count toward the page limit for Submittal Form B.

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

Offerors must provide comprehensive narrative statements that illustrate their understanding of the requirements of the contract (reference Section 3 for Scope of work and other details).

The offeror shall not disclose their costs in this Submittal Form. Submission forms shall not exceed the page limit (as described in Section 4.02).

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

Offerors must provide comprehensive narrative statements that set out the methodology they intend to employ and illustrate how the methodology will serve to accomplish the work and meet the state’s schedule (reference Section 3 for Scope of work and other details).

The…