RFP-41-DIT-1189645431-CGIA OrthoImagery.pdf

OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE

The State seeks offers for the Software, Services and/or goods described in this solicitation. The State’s acceptance of any offer must be demonstrated by execution of the acceptance found below and any subsequent Request for Best and Final Offer, if issued. Acceptance shall create a contract having an order of precedence as follows: In cases of conflict between documents comprising the contract, the order of precedence shall be (1) Best and Final Offers, if any, (2) special terms and conditions specific to this Request for Qualification-RFQ, (3) specifications, (4) Department of Information Technology Terms and Conditions of this RFQ, and (5) the agreed portions of the awarded Vendor’s offer. No contract shall be binding on the State until an encumbrance of funds has been made for payment of the sums due under the contract.

EXECUTION

In compliance with this RFQ and subject to all the conditions herein, the undersigned offers and agrees to furnish any or all Services or goods offered, within the time specified herein. By executing this offer, I certify that this offer is submitted competitively and without collusion.

Failure to execute/sign offer prior to submittal shall render offer invalid. Late offers are not acceptable.

OFFEROR:

STREET ADDRESS: P.O. BOX: ZIP:

CITY, STATE & ZIP: TELEPHONE NUMBER: TOLL FREE TEL.

NO

PRINT NAME & TITLE OF PERSON SIGNING: FAX NUMBER:

AUTHORIZED SIGNATURE: DATE: E-MAIL:

ACCEPTANCE OF OFFER

If any or all parts of this RFQ are accepted, an authorized representative of NC Department of Information Technology shall affix their signature hereto. A copy of this acceptance will be forwarded to the successful vendor(s).

FOR STATE USE ONLY

Offer accepted and contract awarded this ,as indicated on attached certification, by (Authorized representative of NC Department of Information Technology).

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA Request for Proposal Lite No.

RFP-41-DIT-1189645431

NORTH CAROLINA CENTER FOR GEOGRAPHIC

INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS

Offers will be publicly opened:

09/26/2024 By 2:00PM EST.

Issue Date: 08/30/2024

Refer ALL inquiries regarding this RFQ to:

Belinda Edwards belinda.edwards@nc.gov

Via the Ariba Sourcing Tool Message Board

Commodity Number: 811516

Description: Photogrammetry Services

Using Agency: NCDIT - CGIA

See page 2 for mailing instructions. Requisition No.: N/A

RFP Lite # xxxxxxxx May 10, 2024

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.0 INTENT, USE, DURATION AND SCOPE

2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1. VENDOR QUESTIONS

2.2. ADDENDA

2.3. OFFER SUBMITTAL

2.4. BASIS FOR REJECTION

2.5. LATE OFFERS

2.6. NON-RESPONSIVE OFFERS

2.7. NOTICE TO VENDORS

2.8. E-PROCUREMENT SOLICITATION

2.9. DISTRIBUTORS AND RESELLERS

2.10. POSSESSION AND REVIEW

2.11. BEST AND FINAL OFFERS (BAFO)

2.12. AWARD

2.13. POINTS OF CONTACT

2.14 SOURCE SELECTION

2.15 EVALUATION CRITERIA

2.16. RFQ AWARD

3.0 SPECIFICATIONS

3.1. VENDOR STANDARD AGREEMENT(S)

3.2. VENDOR UTILIZATION OF WORKERS OUTSIDE U.S

3.3. E-VERIFY

3.4 SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS RFQ

3.5. SECURITY SPECIFICATIONS

3.5. ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE SPECIFICATIONS

3.5.1 ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAMS

3.5.2 SOLUTION ROADMAP

3.5.3 IDENTITY AND ACCESS MANAGEMENT

3.5.4 INTEGRATION APPROACH

3.5.5 DISASTER RECOVERY AND BUSINESS CONTINUITY

3.5.6 DATA MIGRATION

3.5.7 APPLICATION MANAGEMENT

3.5.8 ACCESSIBILITY

3.6. BRAND SPECIFIC PRODUCT

3.7. DELIVERY

3.8. CONTRACT TERM

3.9 EFFECTIVE DATE

4.0 FURNISH AND DELIVER (F & D MATRIX)

5.0 HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES

6.0 DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INSTRUCTIONS TO VENDORS

7.0 DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TERMS AND CONDITIONS

ATTACHMENT A: REFERENCES

1.0 INTENT, USE, DURATION AND SCOPE

The purpose of this Request for Qualification is to evaluate private photogrammetric firms for the acquisition of new 4-Band (RGBIR), leaf-off, digital 6” resolution aerial imagery and production of 4-band digital orthorectified imagery for the North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (CGIA), on behalf of the NC 911 Board. These products and services fulfill base layer requirements for 911 emergency response and must be produced in accordance with the North Carolina Technical Specifications for Digital Orthophoto Base Mapping (https://it.nc.gov/documents/files/north-carolina-technical-specifications-digital-orthophoto-base-mapping/open), the state standard for orthoimagery acquisition and production. Products and Services will be provided in accordance to the terms and conditions of this solicitation.

This request is for qualification of Vendors to subsequently submit offers on specific scopes of work in NC during the qualification term. It does not guarantee that any Vendor will be awarded work during the term of the qualification.

Background

The selection process used for this procurement action is a Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS). QBS is a competitive procurement process that requires the State to select Vendors based on their qualifications and demonstrated competence. QBS prohibits the use of cost as a factor in the initial evaluation and selection of the Vendors. Instead, Vendors are ranked based on their qualifications and experience. After identifying the top Vendors, only then may the State enter into negotiations for a fair and reasonable price. The selection of the Vendors will be based on the (1) qualifications of the Vendors for the professional services required and (2) demonstrated competence, and without regard to cost in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 143-64.31. Thereafter, the State will negotiate a contract for services for individual projects over the next three years, dependent on the availability of funding, outlined in separate scopes of work with the best-qualified Vendors. If a contract cannot be negotiated with the best-qualified Vendors, negotiations with those Vendors shall be terminated and initiated with the next best-qualified Vendors. CGIA intends to contract with multiple Vendors to perform the scope of services for projects for up to five subsets of each Project Area. Contracted Vendors will be assigned similar technical tasks within each respective Study Area. Other State and Local organizations may also submit scopes of work for additional projects to qualified Vendors during the term of the qualification.

Joint Ventures will not be permitted under this contract. Each proposal submitted must designate a firm that will be solely under contract with, and report directly to the contracting agency. This firm will be considered the prime firm and, as such, will be responsible for subcontracting with and managing its project team member firms.

https://it.nc.gov/documents/files/north-carolina-technical-specifications-digital-orthophoto-base-mapping/open https://it.nc.gov/documents/files/north-carolina-technical-specifications-digital-orthophoto-base-mapping/open

Table 1: ANTICIPATED QUALIFICATION SCHEDULE

The Agency Procurement Agent will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:

Action Responsibility Date

Request for Qualification Issued Agency 8/29/2024

Written Questions Deadline Potential Vendors 9/12/2024

Agency’s Response to Written Questions of Qualification Addendum Issued

Agency 9/17/2024 By 2:00PM EST.

Vendor Submittal Opening Deadline Vendor(s) 9/26/2024 By 2:00PM EST.

Qualification Evaluation Agency 10/17/2024

Qualification Announcement Agency 10/18/2024

Protest Deadline Responding Vendors 15 days after award

State to Issue Scopes of Work for 2025 Project to subset of pre-qualified vendors

Agency 10/18/2024

Cost proposal call with selected vendors Agency and selected Vendors

10/23/2024

Technical cost proposals due Selected Vendors 11/12/2024

Negotiations with Finalists (if necessary) Agency designees and selected Vendor(s) 11/19/2024

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2.0 GENERAL INFORMATION

2.1. VENDOR QUESTIONS

Upon review of the RFP documents, Vendors may have questions to clarify or interpret the RFP in order to submit the best bid possible. To accommodate the Bid Questions process, Vendors shall submit any such questions by the “Submit Written Questions” date and time provided in the RFP SCHEDULE Section above, unless modified by Addendum.

Questions related to the content of the solicitation, or the procurement process should be directed to the person on the title page of this document via the Sourcing Tool's message board by the date and time specified in the RFP SCHEDULE Section of this RFP. Vendors will enter “Questions Solicitation RFP-41-DIT-1189645431” as the subject of the message. Question submittals should include a reference to the applicable RFP section. This is the only manner in which questions will be received.

Questions or issues related to using the Sourcing Tool itself can be directed to the North Carolina eProcurement Help Desk at 888-211-7440, Option 2. Help Desk representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM ET to 5:00 PM ET.

Questions received prior to the submission deadline date, the State’s response, and any additional terms deemed necessary by the State will be posted in the Sourcing Tool in the form of an addendum and shall become an Addendum to this RFP. No information, instruction or advice provided orally or informally by any State personnel, whether made in response to a question or otherwise in connection with this RFP, shall be considered authoritative or binding. Vendors shall rely only on written material contained in the RFP and an addendum to this RFP.

2.2. ADDENDA

The State may issue addenda if Vendor questions are permitted as described below, or if additional terms, specifications, or other changes are necessary for this procurement. All addenda shall become an Addendum to this RFQ.

2.3. OFFER SUBMITTAL

Due Date: September 26, 2024 Time: 2:00 Eastern Time

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is an absolute requirement. Late bids, regardless of cause, will not be opened or considered, and will be automatically disqualified from further consideration. Vendor shall bear the sole risk of late submission due to unintended or unanticipated delay. It is the Vendor’s sole responsibility to ensure its bid has been received as described in this RFP by the specified time and date of opening. Failure to submit a bid in strict accordance with instructions provided shall constitute sufficient cause to reject a Vendor’s bids(s). Solicitation responses are subject to Sealed Bidding requirements.

Vendor’s bids for this procurement must be submitted through the Sourcing Tool. For training on how to use the Sourcing Tool to view solicitations, submit questions, develop responses, upload documents, and submit offers to the State, Vendors should go to the following site:

https://eprocurement.nc.gov/training/vendor-training

Questions or issues related to using the Sourcing Tool itself can be directed to the North Carolina eProcurement Help Desk at 888-211-7440, Option 2. Help Desk representatives are available Monday through Friday from 7:30 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST.

Tips for Using the Sourcing Tool

1. Vendors should review available training and confirm that they are able to access the Sourcing Event, enter responses, and upload files well in advance of the date and time response are due to allow sufficient time to seek assistance from the North Carolina eProcurement Help Desk.

2. Vendors may submit their responses early to make sure there are no issues, and then submit a revised response any time prior to the response due date and time. The State will only review the most recent response.

3. Vendors should respond to all relevant sections of the Sourcing Event. Certain questions or items are required in order to submit a response and are denoted with an asterisk. The Sourcing Tool will not allow a response to be submitted unless all required items are completed. The Sourcing Tool will provide error messages to help identify any required information that is missing when response is submitted.

4. Simply saving your response in the Sourcing Tool is not the same as submitting your response to the State. Vendors should make sure they complete the submission process and receive a message that their response was successfully submitted. 5. Only Bids submitted through the Content Section of the Ariba Sourcing Event will be considered. Bids submitted through the Message Board will not be accepted or considered for award.

5. Only Bids submitted through the Content Section of the Ariba Sourcing Event will be considered.

Bids submitted through the Message Board will not be accepted or considered for award.

If confidential and proprietary information is included in the quote, also submit one (1) signed, REDACTED copy of the quote. Such information may include trade secrets defined by N.C. Gen.

Stat. § 66-152 and other information exempted from the Public Records Act pursuant to N.C. Gen.

Stat. §132- 1.2. Vendor may designate information, Products, Services, or appropriate portions of its response as confidential, consistent with and to the extent permitted under the statutes and rules set forth above. By so redacting any page, or portion of a page, the Vendor warrants that it has formed a good faith opinion, having received such necessary or proper review by counsel and other knowledgeable advisors, that the portions determined to be confidential and proprietary and redacted as such, meet the requirements of the Rules and Statutes set forth above. However, under no circumstances shall price information be designated as confidential.

If the Vendor does not provide a redacted version of the quote with its quote submission, the Department may release an unredacted version if a record request is received.

Attempts to submit a proposal via facsimile (FAX) machine, telephone or email in response to this RFQ shall NOT be accepted.

a) All File names should start with the vendor’s name first, in order to easily determine all the files to be included as part of the vendor’s response. For example, files should be named as follows:

Vendor Name-your file name.

b) File contents SHALL NOT be password protected, the file formats must be in .PDF, .jpeg, or png format, and shall be capable of being copied to other sources.

c) If the vendor’s proposal contains any confidential information (as defined in Attachment B, Paragraph #18), then the vendor must provide one (1) signed, original electronic offer and one (1) redacted electronic copy.

Submission Format and Content

All proposals are limited to fifteen (15) pages exclusive of cover sheet and shall be typed using a font size 10 or larger on 8 ½" x 11" sheets, single spaced. Proposals containing more than 15 pages or that are improperly formatted will not be considered. Pages, sections, and paragraphs must be numbered for easy reference. The proposal shall be ordered and labeled per section as defined in Table 2:

Section Requirements Page Limit Evaluation

Weighting (%)

1 Letter of Interest 2 Required

2 Evaluation Criteria 15 100 %

3 Supporting Information and Exhibits 10 Required

4 Project Team Resumes 10 Required

Letters of Commitment/Certifications and Registrations

Required

6 Form SF 254 Required

Attachments and Addendums (Signed Bid Addendums, Execution of Letter of Qualifications, Attachment Number 1, Attachment Number 2, Attachment Number 3)

Required

Table 2: Proposal Organization Format

Section 1 – Letter of Interest The Letter of Interest should be addressed to Ms. Joetta Brunson. This letter is limited to two (2) pages and shall contain the following information:

1. Summation or overview of information contained in the Vendor’s proposal.

2. Listing of any civil or criminal indictments, guilty pleas, or convictions of offenses involving the Vendor or any principal within the past 5 years.

3. Statement regarding any possible conflict of interest on the part of the Vendors for this project.

4. Federal Tax Identification Number (FEID).

5. Date of registration and registration number with the North Carolina Secretary of State’s Office.

6. Date of license and license number of Professional Land Surveyors with the Board of Examiners for Engineers and Land Surveyors.

7. Vendor’s authorized officer, signature, date, Vendor’s name, address, telephone number, FAX number, and email address.

8. Vendor’s project contact person, signature, date, Vendor’s name, address, telephone number, FAX number, and email address.

9. Vendor’s authorized contracts negotiator, signature, date, Vendor’s name, address, telephone number, FAX number, and email address.

Section 2 – Evaluation Criteria The Vendor shall prepare and submit a response to RFQ Section 3.4.

Section 3 – Supportive Information and Exhibits

The Vendor shall prepare and submit the following information:

• Listing of all affiliates and their legal addresses, including, but not limited to, subsidiaries, parent company, companies owned or controlled by the parent company, any company or firm having some mutual owners as the firm which does business with the firm and may or could be involved in any manner, shape, or form.

• Organizational chart of the proposed team for the project, including subcontractors.

• Maps and figures

• Overall summary of personnel to be assigned by discipline and professional registration.

Section 4 – Project Team Resumes Provide resumes of key personnel to be used on the project and their anticipated role (include professional registration information, such as license numbers).

Section 5 – Letters of Commitment Provide signed Letters of Commitment from the Prime and subcontractor(s).

Section 6 – Certifications and Registrations, Insurance

The Vendors must have the financial ability to undertake the work and assume the liability. The Vendor shall submit the following information:

• Certified documentation that the Surveyor in responsible charge of the work is a registered Professional Surveyor in the State of North Carolina in good standing with the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors.

• Certified documentation that prime and subcontractors providing professional services that are proposed to be performing land surveying are licensed in the State of North Carolina in good standing with the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 89C.

• Certified documentation that the prime firm and any of its corporate subsidiaries to be used on the project, as well as all team members, are properly registered to do business in North Carolina with the Office of the Secretary of the State.

• The photogrammetric firm performing the work and the professional in responsible charge of the work must be licensed (firm and professional) in the State of North Carolina and must have good ethical and professional standing.

• It will be the responsibility of the prime Vendors to verify any corporate subsidiary is registered with North Carolina with the Office of the Secretary of the State prior to submitting a Letter of Interest.

• If necessary, the selected Vendors may be prepared to furnish proof of Professional Liability insurance coverage as well as provide evidence of General Liability as referenced in the Terms and Conditions.

Section 7 – Form SF 254

The Vendor shall submit Form SF254 as signed documentation for the Prime and each subcontractor(s). This document may be obtained at https://ncdoa.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/documents/files/sf254-word.doc

Section 8 – Bid Addendums The Vendor shall submit signed RFQ Bid Addendum postings

2.4. BASIS FOR REJECTION

Pursuant to 9 NCAC 06B.0401, the State reserves the right to reject any and all offers, in whole or in part; by deeming the offer unsatisfactory as to quality or quantity, delivery, price or service offered;

non-compliance with the specifications or intent of this solicitation; lack of competitiveness; error(s) in specifications or indications that revision would be advantageous to the State; cancellation or other changes in the intended project, or other determination that the proposed requirement is no longer needed; limitation or lack of available funds; circumstances that prevent determination of the best offer; or any other determination that rejection would be in the best interest of the State. Vendor contact regarding this RFQ with anyone other than Enter Purchasing Agent’s name. may be grounds for rejection of said Vendor’s offer.

2.5. LATE OFFERS

Regardless of cause, late offers will not be accepted and will automatically be disqualified from further consideration. It shall be the Vendor’s sole risk to ensure delivery at the designated office by the designated time. Late offers will not be opened and may be returned to the Vendor at the expense of the Vendor or destroyed if requested.

2.6. NON-RESPONSIVE OFFERS

Vendor offers will be deemed non-responsive by the State and will be rejected without further consideration or evaluation if statements such as the following are included:

• “This offer does not constitute a binding offer”,

• “This offer will be valid only if this offer is selected as a finalist or in the competitive range”,

• “Vendor does not commit or bind itself to any terms and conditions by this submission”,

• “This document and all associated documents are non-binding and shall be used for discussion purposes only”,

• “This offer will not be binding on either party until incorporated in a definitive agreement signed by authorized representatives of both parties”, or

• A statement of similar intent.

2.7. NOTICE TO VENDORS

The State objects to and will not be required to evaluate or consider any additional terms and conditions not previously agreed to by the State and submitted with an Offeror’s response.

This applies to any language appearing in or attached to the document as part of the Offeror’s response. By execution and delivery of this RFQ and response(s), the Offeror agrees that any additional terms and conditions, whether submitted purposely or inadvertently, shall have no force or effect.

2.8. E-PROCUREMENT SOLICITATION

This is an E-Procurement solicitation. See Paragraph #31 of the attached Department of Information Technology Terms and Conditions.

a) General information on the E-Procurement service can be found at http://eprocurement.nc.gov/ https://ncdoa.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/documents/files/sf254-word.doc https://ncdoa.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/documents/files/sf254-word.doc

b) Within two days after notification of award of a contract, vendor must register in NC E- Procurement @ Your Service at the following web site: https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login

c) As of the RFQ submittal date, the Vendor must be current on all E-Procurement fees. If the Vendor is not current on all E-Procurement fees, the State may disqualify the Vendor from participation in this solicitation.

2.9. DISTRIBUTORS AND RESELLERS – RESERVED

2.10. POSSESSION AND REVIEW

During the evaluation period and prior to award, possession of the bids and accompanying information is limited to personnel of the issuing agency, and to the committee responsible for participating in the evaluation. Vendors who attempt to gain this privileged information, or to influence the evaluation process (i.e. assist in evaluation) will be in violation of purchasing rules and their offer will not be further evaluated or considered.

After award of contract the complete bid file will be available to any interested persons with the exception of trade secrets, test information or similar proprietary information as provided by statute and rule. Any proprietary or confidential information, which conforms to exclusions from public records as provided by N.C.G.S. §132-1.2 must be clearly marked as such in the offer when submitted.

2.11. BEST AND FINAL OFFERS (BAFO)

The State may request BAFOs from the Vendor(s). If negotiations or subsequent offers are solicited, the Vendor(s) shall provide BAFO(s) in response. Failure to deliver a BAFO when requested shall disqualify the non-responsive Vendor from further consideration from being pre-qualified. The State will evaluate BAFO(s), oral presentations, and product demonstrations as part of the Vendors’ respective offers to determine the final rankings.

2.12. AWARD

The State reserves the right to make partial, progressive or multiple awards: where it is advantageous to award separately by items; or where more than one supplier is needed to provide the contemplated specifications as to quantity, quality, delivery, service, geographical areas; and where other factors are deemed to be necessary or proper to the purchase in question.

A link to the NC electronic Vendor Portal (eVP) allows the public to retrieve contract award information electronically from the web site: https://evp.nc.gov/solicitations/ Results may be found by searching by RFQ number or agency name. This information may not be available for several weeks depending upon the complexity of the acquisition and the length of time to complete the evaluation process.

2.13. POINTS OF CONTACT

Contact by the Offeror with the persons shown below for contractual and technical matters related to this RFQ is only permitted if expressly agreed to by the purchasing lead named on page 4, or upon award of contract:

Vendor Contractual Point of Contact Vendor Technical Point of Contact

[NAME OF VENDOR]

Street: [STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE, ZIP]

Attn: Assigned Contract Manager

[NAME OF VENDOR]

Street: [STREET ADDRESS]

[CITY, STATE, ZIP]

Attn: Assigned Technical Lead https://vendor.ncgov.com/vendor/login https://evp.nc.gov/solicitations/

2.14 SOURCE SELECTION

A trade-off/ranking method of source selection will be utilized in this procurement to allow the State to award this RFQ to the Vendor providing the Best Value and recognizing that Best Value may result in award other than the lowest price or highest technically qualified offer. By using this method, the overall ranking may be adjusted up or down when considered with or traded-off against other non-price factors.

a) Evaluation Process Explanation. State Agency employees will review all offers. All offers will be initially classified as being responsive or non-responsive. If an offer is found non-responsive, it will not be considered further. All responsive offers will be evaluated based on stated evaluation criteria. Any references in an answer to another location in the RFQ or Offer shall have specific page numbers and sections stated in the reference.

b) To be eligible for consideration, Vendor’s offer must substantially conform to the intent of all specifications. Compliance with the intent of all specifications will be determined by the State.

Offers that do not meet the full intent of all specifications listed in this RFQ may be deemed deficient. Further, a serious deficiency in the offer to any one (1) factor may be grounds for rejection regardless of overall score.

c) The evaluation committee may request clarifications, an interview with or presentation from any or all Vendors as allowed by 9 NCAC 06B.0307. However, the State may refuse to accept, in full or partially, the response to a clarification request given by any Vendor. Vendors are cautioned that the evaluators are not required to request clarifications; therefore, all offers should be complete and reflect the most favorable terms. Vendors should be prepared to send qualified personnel to Raleigh, North Carolina to discuss technical and contractual aspects of the offer.

Vendors are advised that the State is not obligated to ask for or accept after the closing date for receipt of offer, data that is essential for a complete and thorough evaluation of the offer.

2.15 EVALUATION CRITERIA

Evaluation shall include best value, as the term is defined in N.C.G.S. § 143-135.9(a)(1), compliance with information technology project management policies as defined by N.C.G.S. §143B-1340, compliance with information technology security standards and policies, substantial conformity with the specifications, and other conditions set forth in the solicitation. The following Evaluation Criteria are listed in Order of Importance.

(The evaluation criteria should be changed to fit the needs of the specific procurement and should be Listed in Order of Importance. But please NOTE: The first three criteria and Financial Stability are all mandatory criteria per G.S. that must be included and evaluated for every procurement.)

The following are suggested criteria and are not meant to be a final list for your RFQ solicitation.]

1) Successfully completed projects, past performance on similar projects, and available capacity.

2) How well the Vendor’s offer conforms with the solicitation specifications in Section 3.4 of the RFQ.

3) Adequate equipment, product storage and capacity.

4) Technical specifications approaches. (Techniques and approaches that meet the specific geographic regions of our projects)

5) How each Vendor’s offer compares with other Vendors’ offers (this criterion also aligns with substantial conformity wherein the purchasing agency compares the relative strengths and weaknesses of the offers and must be included)

6) Risks associated with Vendor’s offer including errata and exceptions taken (The agency should focus on identifying risks and mitigating risks such as financial stability, EULAs, reliance on third parties, and technical risks that have not been identified elsewhere in the solicitation.)

2.16. RFQ AWARD

It is the general intent to qualify as many Vendors as possible that substantially conform to the specifications. As provided by statute, award will be based on Best Value Analysis, in accordance with N.C.G.S. §143B-1350(h), which provides that the offer must be in substantial conformity with the specifications herein, and 09 NCAC 06B.0302.

A link to the eVP System allows the public to retrieve contract award information electronically from the Internet web site: Results may be found by searching by RFQ number or agency name. This information may not be available for several weeks depending upon the complexity of the acquisition and the length of time to complete the evaluation process.

3.0 SPECIFICATIONS

3.1. VENDOR STANDARD AGREEMENT(S)

The terms and conditions of Vendor’s standard license, maintenance or other agreement(s) applicable to Software and other Products acquired under this Agreement may apply to the extent such terms and conditions do not materially change the terms and conditions of this Agreement. In the event of any conflict between the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Vendor’s standard agreement(s), the terms and conditions of this Agreement relating to audit and records, jurisdiction, choice of law, the State’s electronic procurement application of law or administrative rules, the remedy for intellectual property infringement and the exclusive remedies and limitation of liability in the Terms and Conditions herein shall apply in all cases and supersede any provisions contained in Vendor’s relevant standard agreement or any other agreement. The State shall not be obligated under any standard license and/or maintenance or other Vendor agreement(s) to indemnify or hold harmless the Vendor, its licensors, successors or assigns; nor arbitrate any dispute, nor pay late fees, legal fees or other similar costs.

3.2. VENDOR UTILIZATION OF WORKERS OUTSIDE U.S.

In accordance with N.C.G.S. §143B-1361(b), Vendor must detail in the RFQ response, the manner in which it intends to utilize resources or workers located outside the U.S. The State of North Carolina will evaluate the additional risks, costs, and other factors associated with such utilization prior to making an award for any such Vendor’s offer. The Vendor shall provide the following for any offer or actual utilization or contract performance:

a) The location of work performed under a state contract by the Vendor, any subcontractors, employees, or other persons performing the contract and whether any of this work will be performed outside the United States.

b) The corporate structure and location of corporate employees and activities of the Vendors, its affiliates or any other subcontractors.

c) Notice of the relocation of the Vendor, employees of the Vendor, subcontractors of the Vendor, or other persons performing Services under a state contract outside of the United States.

d) Any Vendor or subcontractor providing call or contact center Services to the State of North Carolina shall disclose to inbound callers the location from which the call or contact center Services are being provided.

Will any work under this contract be performed outside the United States? YES NO

If Vendor answered “YES” above, list the location(s) outside the United States where work under this contract will be performed by Vendor, any sub-contractors, employees, or other persons performing work under the contract.

3.3. E-VERIFY

Pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 143B-1350(k), the State shall not enter into a contract unless the awarded Vendor and each of its subcontractors comply with the E-Verify requirements of N.C.G.S. Chapter 64, Article 2. Vendors are directed to review the foregoing laws. Any awarded Vendor must submit a certification of compliance with E-Verify to the awarding agency, and on a periodic basis thereafter as may be required by the State.

3.4 REQUIREMENTS AND SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFIC TO THIS QUALIFICTION

a. Licensing

i. The Vendor shall demonstrate capacity for a North Carolina Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) to sign and seal photogrammetric reports and deliverables as part of the NC Statewide Orthoimagery Program.

b. Successfully completed projects, past performance on similar projects, and available capacity

i. The Vendor shall demonstrate a record of successfully completed projects and past performance by project team members (prime Vendor, subcontractors, and consultants) on contracts of comparable scope and size with government agencies and/or private industry within the last five (5) years. Particular note should be made of past projects involving project team members working together on similar projects and previous

Figure 1: Orthoimagery Acquisition Cycle and Project Areas experience working within North Carolina and with similar orthoimagery resolution for state or local governments.

ii. The Vendor shall describe any quantitative quality metrics and contracting entity’s formal performance evaluation reports (if not provided, state such) pertaining to relevant recent projects.

iii. The Vendor shall provide a workload matrix of your most recent two years of previous engagements, current assignments, and contracted forecasts over the next two years noting special considerations for state awarded projects.

a. Provide the number of primary staff assigned to each project and demonstrate the Vendor’s capacity to support this project or the intent to acquire additional resources.

c. Orthoimagery Acquisition Systems

i. The Vendor shall describe their capability of the prime Vendor’s project team to secure appropriate equipment and to maintain adequate capacity for product storage and short-term repository to include the following: Vendor to provide with their prequalification offer a concise summary matrix of the following requirements:

1. All digital camera systems proposed and available.

2. Proposed aircraft

3. Factory Calibration Date

4. Planned ground footprint dimensions in feet for cross track

5. Planned ground footprint dimensions in feet for along track

6. Approved for NC Validation Range (2012-2023) if available

ii. Vendor to include with their prequalification offer the following information:

1. List equipment (field and office) and licensed software that are available and would be designated for use on this project. Include the description (type, version number, number of licenses).

2. Identify aircraft, digital aerial camera systems, and GNSS-IMU systems used to acquire aerial imagery.

3. Identify any planned maintenance outages for aircraft and planned conflicts for the acquisition period.

4. Identify acquisition systems (changed digital camera, GNSS-IMU system, and aircraft combinations) planned for this project that were not approved from NC Validation Range flights for any of the 2012-2024 projects as follows:

a. ADS 100

b. DMC I

c. DMC II 140

d. DMC II 230

e. DMC II 250

f. DMC III

g. UltraCam Eagle 80

h. UltraCam Eagle 100

iii. Identify the factory calibration date for all proposed digital camera systems.

iv. Identify all potential operations bases for proposed aircraft and digital aerial camera systems.

v. Identify proposed digital camera systems’ planned ground footprint dimensions in feet for cross track and along track coverage based on capturing color digital imagery with a 6-inch pixel resolution at acquisition.

d. Control and Check Points

i. Vendor to describe their ability to plan and survey sufficient ground control to use with airborne GNSS-IMU control to produce orthoimagery tiles that meet ASPRS horizontal accuracy for 6-inch orthophotos, 1” = 100’ scale with a limiting RMSE of 1.0 feet in each X and Y.

ii. Describe ability to plan, survey and establish control point locations and submit a Control Surveys Report that shall be signed and sealed by the North Carolina PLS in responsible charge.

e. Flight Plan Methodology

i. Vendor to describe experience developing and submitting a Flight and Control Plan based on the following flight planning specifications and evaluation criteria:

1. Flight plan that minimizes overall cost to the state for the production and delivery of leaf-off, 6-inch, 4-band orthoimagery based on the proposed equipment and procedures.

2. Describe approach for 2-D flight planning with flying height set to average mean elevation over the planned flight line.

3. Describe approach for 3-D flight planning using a DEM that accounts for minimum and maximum ground sample distance resolution, minimum forward overlap, and minimum side overlap.

4. Describe methods for ensuring minimum 33-degree sun angle during acquisition in non-mountain-designated tiles per Figure 1.

5. Describe methods for ensuring minimum 38-degree sun angle during acquisition in mountain-designated tiles per Figure 1.

6. Describe flight line orientation methods in mountain and non-mountain designated tiles.

7. Describe ability to produce final products with the following Ground Sample Distance requirements:

a. Nadir Ground Sample Distance (GSD)

i. Nadir GSD shall be between 0.15 feet to 0.50 feet for 75% of planned exposures for frame-based cameras or pseudo exposures for push broom cameras.

ii. Nadir GSD shall not be less than 0.12 feet or greater than 0.53 feet of planned exposures or pseudo exposures for the push broom cameras.

iii. For push broom cameras, GSD nadir values will be computed at pseudo exposure station spacing along the flight line at 200-foot intervals.

b. Transportation Feature Ground Sample Distance (GSD)

i. Transportation feature GSD shall be between 0.15 feet to 0.55 feet for 98.0% of tested points.

ii. Transportation feature GSD shall not be less than 0.10 feet or greater than 0.60 feet.

iii. For push broom cameras, transportation feature GSD values will be computed at a distance not to exceed 100-foot spacing along the flight line.

8. Describe ability and methods to ensure forward and side overlap coverage requirements:

a. Forward overlap shall be planned at a minimum of 60%

b. Side overlap shall be planned at a minimum of 30%

c. The sum of void areas produced from intersecting the planned minimum reduced (F60/S30) image footprints with the terrain as compared to a defined area (stereo overlap, county, AT Block, or other area) shall be less than 0.10%

d. Planned forward overlap shall not be less than a nominal 58% (based on maximum void area distance parallel to flight direction – see table below)

e. Planned side overlap shall not be less than a nominal 28% (based on maximum void area distance perpendicular to flight direction – see table below)

f. If a different digital camera system is being proposed other than the five identified here, then the response should include nominal 2% forward overlap and side overlap distance values assuming a 0.5 foot GSD.

Digital Camera 58% FOL Void Distance (ft.)

28% SOL Void Distance (ft.)

DMC I 77 138

DMC II - 140 112 121

DMC II - 230 141 156

DMC II - 250 147 172

DMC III 146 257

ADS100 n/a 200

UltraCam Eagle 131 200

g. The principal points of the first two and the last two exposures of each flight strip shall fall outside the project area boundaries.

h. For pushbroom sensors, the flight design shall ensure the forward and aft imaging arrays coverage fall outside the ends of each strip to accommodate stereo viewing of the entire project area.

i. All side boundaries shall include an overlap at least equal to the side overlap specifications for the project.

9. Describe ability to conduct acceptable Validation Range mini-project for all acquisition systems proposed. Note, this task will not be required for acquisition systems (unchanged digital cameras) approved for Phases 1-4 of the 2016-2019, or Phases 1-4 of the 2020-2023, or Phase 1 of the 2024-2027 Orthoimagery Program cycle. Acceptance for each proposed digital camera system will be based on NCDOT’s evaluation of NC validation range aerotriangulation and orthoimagery submission including QA/QC documentation and reports using NC’s validation range and procedures. Specific information regarding these procedures can be found at https://ncgs.state.nc.us/pages/Library.htm?DocType=ValidationRange .

ii. Describe methodology for developing True Orthoimagery Products

1. Describe methods for ensuring minimum 38-degree sun angle during acquisition in True Orthoimagery designated areas.

2. Describe flight line orientation methods for producing True Orthoimagery products in designated areas.

3. Describe methods to meet requirements for nadir imagery acquisition minimum 80% forward and 80% side overlap to support True Orthoimagery generation.

iii. Describe coordination for all military engagement to access restricted airspace on military installations such as Air Force Base Seymour Johnson, Fort Liberty, and Camp Mackall.

f. Imagery Acquisition, Exploitation Image Post Processing, Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC), and Reporting

i. Describe approach to perform color digital aerial imagery acquisition at a nominal pixel resolution of 0.5 feet following approved flight plan.

ii. Describe process to deliver a post-processed GNSS-IMU exterior orientation excel file for all acquired images for each and every sortie not to exceed five days after the flight date of each sortie. In addition to exterior orientation files for every sortie, describe additional documentation to support reflight assessment and conclusions for both missions marked for reflights and mission not marked as such.

iii. Describe exploitation image post-processing and radiometry matching to a target image provided by the project team.

1. Vendor to describe how to perform exploitation image post-processing and provide 4-band 8-bit RGBIR sample exploitation images such that exploitation images are visually consistent and meet project specifications across all Study Areas.

https://ncgs.state.nc.us/pages/Library.htm?DocType=ValidationRange

2. Vendor to describe how to process 4-band 8-bit TIF imagery tiles at specified locations to demonstrate the application of radiometry guidelines received after exploitation image submittal.

3. Vendor to describe ability to finalize tonal processing adjustments such that resultant orthoimagery is visually consistent within each Study Area, with adjacent Study Areas of other vendors, and with existing imagery.

4. Describe ability to deliver a web map service that conforms to the Open Geospatial Consortium Web Map Service (OGC WBS) version 1.3 specification to demonstrate both internal and external radiometry matching and visual consistency.

iv. Describe ability to submit an Imagery Acquisition Compliance Report per Aerotriangulation (AT) Block, which shall be signed and sealed by the NC PLS in responsible charge for the Study Area professional photogrammetric services. Image Acquisition Compliance Report submittals will be reviewed on the following:

1. Actual acquired image forward overlap using a 55% minimum.

2. Actual acquired image side overlap using a 25% minimum.

3. Actual acquired image nadir GSD of 0.50 feet.

4. Actual acquired image transportation feature GSD of 0.50 feet.

5. The principal points of the first two and the last two exposures of each flight strip shall fall outside the project area boundaries.

6. For push broom sensors, the flight design shall ensure the forward and aft imaging arrays coverage fall outside the ends of each strip to accommodate stereo viewing of the entire project area.

7. All side boundaries shall include an overlap at least equal to the side overlap specifications for the project.

g. GNSS-IMU Post Processing, Aerotriangulation, DEM Update, Orthoimagery Product

Generation, Processing Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC), and Reporting

i. Describe performance of airborne GNSS-IMU post-processing.

ii. Describe ability to deliver a post-processed GNSS-IMU exterior orientation excel file for all acquired images for each and every sortie not to exceed five days after the flight date of each sortie.

iii. Describe aerotriangulation process using ground survey control and airborne GNSS-IMU control.

1. Describe use of manual or autocorrelated pass and tie point image measurements.

2. Describe use of image measurements for frame sensors at the 9 traditional Von Gruber locations per image.

3. Describe use of previous project ground control points (GCP) and horizontal quality control (HQC) photo-id check points as independent check points in the initial AT solution.

iv. Describe submission of a GNSS-IMU Post-Processing & AT Report for each AT Block, which is required to be signed and sealed by the NC PLS in responsible charge for the

GNSS-IMU post-processing and AT portion of the Study Area professional photogrammetric services.

v. Describe use of elevation data (as needed) at a density level sufficient to accurately represent the shape of the ground to produce orthoimagery free of distortions due to terrain, and that meets the required orthophoto accuracy standards.

vi. Describe orthorectification using exploitation imagery, adjusted exterior orientation from AT and updated DEM elevation data to produce orthoimagery.

vii. Describe seamline and elevation data editing to ensure accurate edge match between images and tiles; and also correction of image distortions and other artifacts caused by the orthorectification process.

h. Digital Imagery Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC), Product Delivery and Data Acceptance Requirements

i. Vendor to describe macro level quality review steps to demonstrate adequate seamless orthoimagery that is visually consistent without distortions due to seamlines, elevation data, blurring, or other artifacts caused by the orthorectification process.

ii. Describe ability to submit 4-band (RGBIR) TIFF files for all tiles assigned to an image service provider to facilitate end user quality review.

1. Images will be delivered as a pre-defined set of tiles applicable to a group of counties as defined by the project team in two-week intervals.

2. Images will be uncompressed GeoTIFF formatted ortho-rectified and referenced to the North Carolina State Plane Coordinate System, North American Datum (NAD83) (2011) epoch 2010.0 including a world file, GeoTIFF header version 6.0 as required by the State Standard.

iii. Describe evaluation of quality review submitted issues and documentation of responses to those issues to demonstrate whether resolutions are practical or within scope.

iv. Describe technical processes used to correct submitted issues.

v. Describe delivery of final data to include:

1. One set of uncompressed 4-band (RGBIR) GeoTIFF formatted ortho-rectified imagery tiles referenced to the North Carolina State Plane Coordinate System, North American Datum NAD83 (2011), including a world file, as required by the State Standard. Tiles also containing a GeoTIFF 6.0 header and using the file naming convention per the state standard.

2. Orthoimagery Delivery Report pre-defined as a checklist of required items. This report is required to be signed and sealed by the North Carolina Professional Land Surveyor (PLS) in responsible charge.

3. One fully attributed seamline polygon shapefile aligned with final delivery tiles and representative of all final seamline adjustments.

vi. Describe ability to produce one FGDC compliant metadata record per county in both .xml and .txt file format that will meet the requirements to pass error-free through the USGS MP Parser online tool http://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/validation/ .

vii. Describe resolution processes, including evaluation, correction, and re-submittal, for issues resulting from the field horizontal quality review performed by the NC Geodetic Survey after final delivery of imagery files.

http://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/validation/

i. Optional photogrammetry product capabilities

i. Describe capabilities and considerations for higher resolution orthoimagery products than the normal 6-inch statewide orthoimagery in targeted areas pending on…