RFP 260000001 F00 .docx

STATE OF ALASKA – REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

RFP 260000001

DCRA NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND

ACTION RECOVERY PLAN: LOWER YUKON AND JUNEAU

STATE OF ALASKA

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

TABLE OF CONTENTSDCRA Needs Assessment And Action Recovery Plan: Lower Yukon and Juneau

RFP 260000001

Issued Monday, August 4, 2025 The Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, Division of Community and Regional Affairs is soliciting proposals from qualified offerors to complete a Lower Yukon Regional Education Attendance Area Needs Assessment and Action Recovery Plan as part of the Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery award through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Note: While we recognize that the Lower Yukon and Juneau regions are distinctly different, HUD requires the final project to be a single submission.

ISSUED BY:

department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development Division of Community and Regional Affairs

PRIMARY CONTACT:

Kaiden Ward procurement specialist kaiden.Ward@alaska.gov

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.

INTRODUCTION & INSTRUCTIONS

purpose of the rfp The Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA), of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED) is soliciting proposals from qualified offerors to complete a Lower Yukon and Juneau Unmet Needs Assessment (UNA) and Action Recovery Plan (ARP) for our Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery award.

The Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program receives funding from Congress in response to extraordinary impacts from disasters. HUD formally announces the CDBG-DR awards and publishes rules for the awards in a Federal Register notice. DCRA is the lead agency for administering CDBG-DR funds on behalf of the State of Alaska. Through the CDBG-DR, HUD allocated funding to the State of Alaska to provide disaster relief, long-term recovery, and restoration of infrastructure, housing, and economic revitalization related to the lower Yukon and Juneau areas.

The purpose of this RFP is to select a qualified contractor to complete a Lower Yukon and Juneau UNA and ARP to describe how funds from the Department’s CDBG-DR award will be used to help the most impacted and distressed Alaska communities recover from disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, economic revitalization, and mitigation.

budget The budget estimate is only an estimate of the total spend on required services. The total spent on the contract resulting from this RFP shall not exceed $350,000. This amount covers the contractor’s entire expenses associated with the scope of work, including personnel, office expenses, travel, and subcontractors. Proposals at more than $350,000 will be considered non-responsive Payments for the contract up to $350,000 are subject to funds already appropriated and identified.

deadline for receipt of proposals Proposals must be fully received no later than 4:00 PM prevailing Alaska Standard Time on Friday, August 25, 2025, as indicated by email timestamp. Late proposals will not be considered.

Note: Emailing your proposal exactly at the deadline will likely result in the proposal being received after the deadline. Late proposals cannot be accepted and will be rejected.

prior experience The Offeror must have been in business for at least five years and be able to show prior experience in project management for large capital projects (long-term projects requiring relatively large sums of funding to acquire, develop, improve, and/or maintain a capital asset (such as land, buildings, infrastructure).

The offeror must employ professional(s) with experience in providing the services that are required under this solicitation. This includes:

Detailed information must be included in the Offeror’s proposal response which describes the Offeror’s experience and expertise in providing the services that are required under this solicitation, regardless of any proposed subcontractors’ experience. If a subcontractor(s) is proposed for a portion of the work, their prior experience must also be detailed.

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

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.

questions prior to deadline for receipt of proposals All questions must be in writing and directed to the procurement specialist. 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. Other questions may be more complex and may require a written amendment to the RFP. The procurement Specialist will make that decision.

PROCUREMENT SPECIALIST: KAIDEN WARD

EMAIL: KAIDEN.WARD@ALASKA.GOV

RETURN INSTRUCTIONS

The Submittal Forms must be saved as separate PDF documents and emailed to ced.procurement@alaska.gov as separate, clearly labeled attachments, such as “Vendor A – Submission Form A.pdf” (Vendor A is the name of the offeror). The email must contain the RFP number in the subject line. MS Excel Submittal Forms must be submitted in the original MS Excel format.

Note that the email address for submitting your proposal is not the email address of the Procurement Officer contract for this RFP. Submissions sent to the incorrect email address may result in the proposal being rejected as non-responsive.

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.

Note that email transmission is not instantaneous. Like sending a hard copy proposal, if you are emailing your proposal, the State recommends sending it with enough lead time to ensure the email is delivered by the deadline for receipt of proposals. Late proposals are always rejected as non-responsive: late is late.

We are not allowed to open emails until after the deadline for receipt of proposals. The State is not responsible for unreadable, corrupt, or missing attachments. When an email is received that is presented as a response to this RFP, a “reply all” email will be sent with an image of the email in our inbox like this sample image:

0. 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.

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.

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.

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 Standard Time.

Issue Date / RFP Released

Monday, August 4, 2025

Pre-Proposal Conference

Monday, August 11, 2025

August 14, 2025

August 25, 2025

Proposal Evaluations Complete

Monday, September 15, 2025

Notice of Intent to Award

Monday, September 22, 2025

Contract Issued

Friday, September 26, 2025

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 Commerce Community and Economic Development, 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.

pre-proposal TELECONFERENCE There may be a pre-proposal conference held via Microsoft Teams. Those wishing to attend the Teams meeting must contact the Procurement Officer in advance to receive information on how to attend. The pre-proposal teleconference will not be held if there are no parties registered by the deadline in §1.11 RFP SCHEDULE.

The purpose of the conference is to discuss the work to be performed with the prospective offerors and allow them to ask questions concerning the RFP. Questions and answers will be transcribed and sent to prospective offerors as soon as possible after the meeting.

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.

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.

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

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

This grant covers the 2023 flooding of the Lower Yukon Regional Educational Attendance Area (LY REAA) as a result of spring snow and ice melt and the 2024 flooding of Juneau as a result of a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF). There are two unique aspects to this grant that will impact the implementation plan; (1) it was awarded for two different disasters, occurring in two different years, in two drastically different geographic areas (The US Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] identified the LY REAA and Juneau as the Most Impacted and Distressed [MID] areas for this grant) and (2) all Lower Yukon communities impacted by the 2023 flooding disaster were also impacted by the 2022 Typhoon Merbok disaster.

The LY REAA MID consists of eight geographically separated communities in rural Western Alaska not accessible by road or traditional commercial aircraft. Access to and travel amongst the LY REAA villages is restricted to small aircraft, boats, all-terrain vehicles, and snowmachines (seasonally dependent) making coordination and execution of travel to this area a complex and time-consuming process. Meeting facilities and lodging accommodations in LY MID communities are limited. Urban and suburban infrastructure in Juneau, the capital city of Alaska, is well established. Juneau is isolated by road, but easily accessible from Anchorage by commercial air. The remote and dispersed nature of the LY REAA will make it more time and resource intensive to determine unmet needs and recommended actions, while the relative ease of accessibility, centralized government, and well-developed infrastructure of Juneau will be less time and resource intensive.

Disaster Details:

2023 Disaster – Lower Yukon River Flooding The Lower Yukon REAA population is approximately 12,607, encompassing approximately 30,000 square miles in Western Alaska. The LY REAA, also the Kusilvak Census Area, is isolated from roadways and only reachable via small aircraft, waterways in the summer, and snowmachines in the winter. Residents live a subsistence way of life and are dependent on aircraft and barges for larger supplies.

Severe flooding impacted multiple LY REAA communities between May 12 and June 3, 2023, prompting Governor Dunleavy to declare a state disaster emergency, recognized as federal disaster #4730, for the area on May 22, 2023. Affected communities include Alakanuk (pop. 726), Emmonak (pop. 859), Kotlik (pop. 616), Marshall (pop. 490), Mountain Village (pop. 610), Nunam Iqua (pop. 212), Pilot Station (pop. 619), and Russian Mission (pop. 417). Flooding inundated homes, public infrastructure, airports, and essential services across the Lower Yukon REAA.

Flooding reached Russian Mission on May 22, 2023, inundating the airstrip, several homes, and fuel infrastructure for weeks. Homes were evacuated and occupants were sheltered. Sustained flooding of the airstrip causing a shortage of food, medicine, and medical personnel prompted the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) in coordination with Tanana Chief's Conference (TCC) to order an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter mission to deliver a medical provider and supplies and evacuate the medically fragile. The Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT & PF) made emergency repairs to reopen the airstrip following the recession of flood waters weeks later. Permanent repairs are estimated at six million dollars. Flooding inundated city-owned apartments, infrastructure, and the woman’s shelter requiring evacuations in Emmonak. Fooding damaged community water and sewage systems and two homes requiring evacuation and sheltering in Alakanuk. The FEMA Individual Assistance Data Report indicated 204 single-family/duplex homes, four mobile homes, one apartment, and one townhome damaged in the 2023 Lower Yukon Flood. The Association of Village Council Presidents Regional Housing Authority has documented the unmet housing needs and construction costs in each community. The LY REAA population primarily consists of lower-moderate income households. The 2023 LY Flood Disaster has further strained the communities' limited housing inventory and recovery capacity.

2024 Disaster - Juneau Flooding The City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) is the capital city of Alaska, located on the Alaska panhandle on the far southeastern side of the state, with a population of approximately 32,000 people. On August 6, 2024, the Mendenhall Valley in Juneau experienced a significant glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF), also known as a Jökulhlaup, originating from Suicide Basin, a sub-basin of the Juneau Icefield. The event released an estimated 16 billion gallons of water over a short period, causing the Mendenhall River to reach a record stage height of 15.99 feet. Floodwaters impacted densely populated residential areas, damaging over 290 homes, displacing residents, and affecting critical public infrastructure. The disaster was federally recognized as FEMA Disaster #4836 on October 16, 2024.

This was the second consecutive year of major flooding from Suicide Basin. The 2023 event released 13 billion gallons, causing extensive erosion, property loss, and flooding. The 2024 flood surpassed that event in both volume and impact. Juneau, with a population of 31,549, is Southeast Alaska’s regional center, providing healthcare, commerce, and essential services to surrounding communities. Its geographic constraints, including limited buildable land and a lack of road access, contribute to higher construction and housing costs. Juneau faced a documented housing shortfall of 1,400 units prior to the 2024 event. More than half of the housing units needed are for households earning below 80% of the area median income (AMI). The recent 2024 Juneau Flood Disaster has further strained the city’s limited housing inventory and recovery capacity, particularly for low- and moderate-income residents living near the Mendenhall River. Experts studying glacial lake dynamics anticipate annual full-basin releases are likely to continue, indicating a recurring hazard for the community.

SCOPE OF WORK & CONTRACT INFORMATION

scope of work The Contractor shall provide Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Action Plan consultant services for the State of Alaska, Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development, Division of Community and Regional Affairs (DCRA). These services include, but are not limited to, the main objectives and specifying instructions below.

a. The main objectives the contractor will deliver.

i. Develop a Citizen Participation Plan in accordance with the Federal Register and Universal notice requirements by November 2025.

ii. Coordinate with the Typhoon Merbok contractor to complete the Lower Yukon unmet needs assessment and conduct an unmet needs assessment in the Juneau communities by January 2026.

iii. Coordinate and facilitate an in-person regional meeting in each MID by February 2026 and a virtual or in person meeting by August 2026.

iv. Analyze survey and community input on unmet needs data by April 2026 and submit the Unmet Needs Assessment results section of the Action Plan to DCRA by May 2026.

v. Submit the draft Lower Yukon REAA and Juneau Action Plan to the DCRA by July 2026 and the final version to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by September 2026.

b. Specifying Instructions:

i. Unmet Needs Assessment – An unmet needs assessment is required for CDBG-DR grantees to inform the activities in their Action Plan. It analyzes unmet needs following a disaster event and relies on data from several agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). The goal is to design recovery programs that are responsive to actual needs on the ground.

The contractor will use the best available data, including FEMA IA data, FEMA Hazard Risk Mitigation Plan risk assessments, SBA data, data from the unmet needs survey, and data from the community input sessions to develop an unmet needs assessment identifying all current and projected future unmet needs. For the Lower Yukon Regional Educational Attendance Area (REAA), the contractor will work in close coordination with DCRA and the Typhoon Merbok contractor to incorporate previously gathered unmet needs data from the Typhoon Merbok disaster. This integrated information will be used to inform a comprehensive needs assessment addressing the Lower Yukon flooding impacts. The unmet needs assessment must provide a substantive basis for the disaster recovery and mitigation activities proposed in the action plan.

ii. CDBG-DR Action Plan – The contractor shall develop a CDBG-DR Action Plan in consultation with DCRA in accordance with the published Federal Register and Universal Notice, other applicable HUD requirements, and any other requirements related to the State of Alaska’s CDBG-DR allocation. The Contractor will submit preliminary drafts of completed CDBG-DR Action Plan sections to DCRA for review. The contractor’s CDBG-DR Action Plan must contain all HUD required elements, including:

1) Program to Address Unmet Needs Assessment – The contractor will coordinate with DCRA to design a program for the use of funds and a funding allocation plan addressing Unmet Needs Assessment findings.

2) An analysis of how unmet needs assessment results correspond to the HUD CDBG-DR funding allocation between the Lower Yukon REAA and Juneau. Provide substantiated justification for recommendations to alter HUD prescribed allocations.

3) Identify opportunities to leverage other federal funds, such as those provided through FEMA, to fund the activities defined in the Action Plan.

4) If applicable, provide a description of potential waivers that may be used to fund activities otherwise not eligible for CDBG funding, (i.e., building non-permanent flood barriers).

contract term and work schedule The length of the contract will be from the award date, approximately June 30, 2027.

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 and (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. A month-to-month extension may only be executed by the procurement officer via a written contract amendment.

Deliverables Throughout the project, the Contractor will work closely with the Division of Community and Regional Affair’s (DCRA) Program Coordinator 2 (Manager). Some tasks will require coordination with other DCRA staff, including Grant Administrator 2 (Administrator), Program Coordinator 1 (Coordinator), and Research Analyst 4 (Data Analyst).

The contractor will be required to provide the following deliverables:

1) Digital submission (Microsoft Word) of the Strategic Implementation Plan.

2) Digital submission (Microsoft Word) of the Unmet Needs Assessment results section of the Action Plan.

3) Digital submission (Microsoft Word) of the Action Plan draft.

4) Digital and hard copy submission of the Final Action plan.

What is the deliverable/milestone timeline for the work to be done?

1) Submit Strategic Implementation Plan to DCRA by 15 business days of authorization to proceed.

2) Identify available and deployed funds by October 2025.

3) Coordinate with the vendor working on Typhoon Merbok UNA and Complete Unmet Needs Assessment for Flooding in the Lower Yukon. January 2026

4) Conduct Unmet Needs Assessment for flooding in Juneau by January 2026.

5) Coordinate and facilitate an in-person regional meeting in each MID by February 2026

6) Coordinate and facilitate an in person or virtual meeting by August 2026.

7) Submit Unmet Needs Assessment results section of Action Plan to DCRA by May 2026.

8) Submit draft Action Plan to DCRA by July 2026.

9) Post draft Action Plan for 30 days of public review and comment by August 2026.

10) Submit draft Action Plan to HUD by September 2026.

11) Submit final Action Plan to HUD by November 2026.

Draft ARP Review The draft ARP will be reviewed by key parties identified by DCRA. The Manager will finalize and submit the draft ARP to HUD for review. HUD will review and return the draft ARP to the Manager. The Manager will revise, finalize, and return the final ARP to HUD for approval by December 2026.

contract type This contract is a Firm Fixed Price contract. There will be no change on final approved pricing.

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.

prompt payment for state purchases Not applicable to this RFP.

contract payment No payment will be made until the contract is approved by the Commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development 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).

contract price adjustments Not applicable to this RFP.

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

The contractor should include in their price proposal: transportation, lodging, and per diem costs sufficient to pay for the required personal to make the presentations required in §3.03.3. Travel to other locations will not be required.

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.

third-party service providers Not applicable to this RFP.

subcontractors Subcontractors may be used to perform work under this contract. If an offeror intends to use subcontractors, the offeror must identify in the proposal the names of the subcontractors and the portions of the work the subcontractors will perform.

Subcontractor experience shall be considered in determining whether the offeror meets the requirements set forth in SEC. 1.04 PRIOR EXPERIENCE.

If a proposal with subcontractors is selected, the offeror must provide the following information concerning each prospective subcontractor within five working days from the date of the state's request:

· complete name of the subcontractor;

· complete address of the subcontractor;

· type of work the subcontractor will be performing;

· percentage of work the subcontractor will be providing;

· evidence that the subcontractor holds a valid Alaska business license;

If a subcontractor on the list did not have a valid Alaska business license at the close of the RFP, the Offeror may not use the subcontractor in the performance of the contract and shall replace the subcontractor with a subcontractor who had a valid Alaska business license at the close of the RFP.

· a written statement, signed by each proposed subcontractor that clearly verifies that the subcontractor is committed to render the services required by the contract.

An offeror's failure to provide this information, within the time set, may cause the state to consider their proposal non-responsive and reject it. The substitution of one subcontractor for another may be made only at the discretion and prior written approval of the project director.

Note that if the subcontractor will not be performing work within Alaska, they will not be required to hold an Alaska business license.

joint ventures Joint ventures will not be allowed.

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.

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.

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.

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.

liquidated damages Not applicable to this RFP.

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 Commerce, Community, and Economic Development or the Commissioner's designee.

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).

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.

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.

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. Limits required per the following schedule:

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.

PROPOSAL FORMAT AND CONTENT

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.

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.

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, ‘1 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 3 pages, but the Offeror submits 5 pages for that submittal form. Only pages 1-3 will be evaluated. Pages 4 and 5 would be discarded by the Procurement Officer before sending to the proposal evaluation committee for evaluation.).

Page Limits

Submittal Form A – Offeror Information and Certifications

Submittal Form G – Subcontractors

Submittal Form H – 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.

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.

experience and qualifications (submittal form b) Offerors must provide detail on the personnel assigned to accomplish the work called for in this RFP; 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 project 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 projects 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 those personnel with names and title that will be assigned to complete the project as a separate attachment to Submittal Form B.

understanding of the project (submittal form c) Offerors must provide comprehensive narrative statements that illustrate their understanding of the requirements of the project and the project schedule.

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).

methodology used for the project (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 project schedule.

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).

management plan for the project (submittal form e) Offerors must provide comprehensive narrative statements that set out the management plan they intend to follow and illustrate how the plan will serve to accomplish the work and meet the state's project schedule.

Offerors must also provide a work schedule showing the anticipated dates each milestone and deliverable will be 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).

Provision of Deliverables 1-5 (Submittal form F) Offerors must provide comprehensive narrative statements that set out how they will provide for Deliverables 1 through 5 in Section 3.03.

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).

subcontractors (submittal form G) If using subcontractors, the offeror must complete and submit this Submittal Form.

cost proposal (submittal form H) Offerors must complete and submit this Submittal Form. Proposed costs must include 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,…