RFP_No__CFF_7708_Addendum_No._3.pdf

ADDENDUM NO. 3

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) NO. CFF 7708

Public Education Campaign

August 27, 2024

RFP Proposal Due Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 12:00 PM, PT

YOUR ATTENTION IS DIRECTED TO THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

PERTAINING TO RFP NO. CFF 7708.

Please note questions are published as submitted to First 5 California (F5CA).

SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

1. Section 1, A, Page 1

What are the primary ways you will be measuring success?

Please refer to Section 1.A. Introduction, page 1, and Section 2, C. Problem Statement, page 2, of the RFP.

2. Section 1, C, Page 2

Will the contractor be required to continue the existing campaign Stronger Starts, or are you expecting the contractor to develop and launch a new campaign, with new branding and creative?

Please refer to Section 1.A. Introduction, page 1 of the RFP.

3. Ref: Section 1C

Should we repeat the baseline measurement at the end of the campaign to evaluate its long-term impact and compare results against the initial data? If so, can you share the survey that was used to establish a baseline measurement?

Please refer to Section 1.C. Problem Statement, page 2 of the RFP.

SECTION 3: ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND STATE OF CALIFORNIA

PREFERENCE PROGRAMS

4. Can I please clarify this line in your RFP (copied below). What does that mean for companies that are not owned by Disabled persons and/or Veterans?

“Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise participation is mandatory for this

RFP.”

Please refer to RFP No. CFF 7708, Addendum No. 2.

5. Pg 16, B. State of California Preference Programs, 1. TACPA?

During what stage is the TACPA 5% preference applied? And how is the 5% preference point amount determined?

F5CA will determine which bidders, if any, are eligible to receive State of California bidding preference points during Stage 5 of bid evaluation.

In evaluating proposals for contracts for services, the state shall award 5% preference submitted by California-based companies who demonstrate and certify under penalty of perjury that not less than ninety percent (90%) of the total labor hours required to perform the contract shall be accomplished at an identified worksite(s) located in, adjacent, or contiguous to a distressed area (GC 4534).

Please refer to Section 3.B.1. TACPA, pages 16–17 of the RFP for additional information regarding the TACPA preference.

6. Pg 20, B. State of California Preference Programs, 3. SB Preference

If a Small Business (SB) bidder receives the highest point in evaluation, how will the preference be added to other responsive SB bidders?

The small business preference is applied during the evaluation of the bid response and shall be computed as follows: if a non-small business has submitted the bid that has received the highest points evaluation, a preference equal to five percent (5%) of that point total shall be computed and shall constitute the small business preference amount. The preference amount shall be added to the point totals of all responsive certified small business bidders.

Please refer to Section 3.B.3. SB Preference, pages 20–21 of the RFP for additional information the regarding the SB preference.

7. Pg 21, B. State of California Preference Programs, 3. SB Preference

Is the Small Business Preference for Non-Small Businesses applied at the same time as the Small Business Preference for businesses that qualify as small businesses?

F5CA will determine which bidders, if any, are eligible to receive State of California bidding preference points during Stage 5 of the Evaluation.

SECTION 4: TECHNICAL PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS

8. Section 4, B, Page 23

In reference to Table 1, Minimum Requirements for Team Key Personnel (Page

24) which title/labor category is the same role as the program manager mentioned on Page 23?

Account/Project Manager

9. Section 4, B, Page 23

Who is considered part of the core planning team?

Account/Project Manager, Account Team Lead, Creative Team Lead, Media Planner Team Lead, Research Team Lead, Public Relations Team Lead, and any project team members assigned to the management of the account for the run of the contract.

10. Section 4, B, Page 24

Can the requirement of having at least $20 million in gross billings per year in two of the three most recent calendar years be covered through a subcontractor?

No.

11. Pg 23, B. Minimum Qualifications, 1. Personnel

Under personnel, item a says “The program manager and core planning team must be employees of the prime contractor.” and item c says “Subcontractor personnel may be used to meet the Minimum Qualifications.” These two statements seem to contradict. Please clarify if a subcontractor can be listed as a member of the core team, such as Public Relations Team Lead, to meet minimum qualifications.

Please refer to RFP No. CFF 7708, Addendum No. 2.

12. Pg 24, B. Minimum Qualifications, 2 Experience

The Section “Minimum Qualifications, 2. Experience” requests additional documentation for things like proof of lines of credit, the proof of billings, the proof of physical address, disclosure statements etc. Please clarify if this additional document can be added beyond the current 5 page limit for narrative.

13. Pg 24, B. Minimum Qualifications, 2 Experience c

Can you provide examples of acceptable forms for proof of billings? Is a signed statement noting the billables for each year by a person with legal authority for the agency acceptable?

Please refer to Section 4.B. Minimum Qualifications, page 24 of the RFP. The bidder shall determine appropriate examples of proof of billing.

14. Section 4, B, Page 24

What will you accept as proof of an operational, physical office in California?

Examples of proof of an operational, physical office include copies of current lease agreement, current utility bill, current incorporation certificate from the State of California Secretary of State, valid official government documents, or current bank statements.

15. Must all key personnel work from a physical office in California?

“Provide proof of operational, physical office in California from which the key personnel work.” Please refer to page 24 of the RFP.

Yes. Please refer to Section 4.B. Minimum Qualifications, page 24 of the RFP.

16. Pg 26, Section 2, 3 Resumes

Should resumes be included for key subcontractor staff or just the prime firm?

Please refer to Section 4.C. Chapter 1: Technical Proposal, Section 2. Organization, Management, and Personnel, page 26 of the RFP.

17. Pg 26, Section 2. Organization, Management, and Personnel

Section 2 of the technical proposal requires a 1. Summary of qualifications for the active team members. Are active team members defined as those in Table 1 under B) Minimum Qualifications or those who will has resumes included for 3.

Resumes?

Please refer to Section 4.B. Minimum Qualifications, Table 1. Minimum Requirements for Team Key Personnel, page 24 of the RFP.

18. Section 4, C, Page 27

Who is your primary and secondary audience for this campaign?

Please refer to Section 1.C. Problem Statement, on page 2 of the RFP.

19. Pg 27, Section 2 Proposed Approach, 3. Creative Strategy

Do the creative concepts and design samples count towards the Proposed Approach page limit (24 pages max)?

How should video/multimedia samples be included; is a hyperlink to a webpage or the file with an accompanying screenshot of the multimedia file compliant?

Recommended solution: provide a compliant method of sharing multimedia samples so that they can be viewed as intended for a complete evaluation.

Yes, the creative concepts and design samples shall be counted toward the page limit. Multimedia samples shall be made accessible to F5CA via hyperlink.

20. Section 4, C, Page 28

For the required cost summary below, may we provide dollar amounts, or do you want to see percentages per cost area only?

“Include a summary of the cost sheet in the form of a chart. Include visual representations of the cost bid proposal that helps evaluators understand what percentage of the total contract will go to each core campaign cost area: paid media, creative services, public relations, staffing, and any administrative costs.”

No.

21. Section 4, C, Page 28

Do you have specific requirements for what should be included in the work plan?

Please refer to Section 4.C. Chapter 1: Technical Proposal, Section 5. Work Plan, page 28 of the RFP.

22. Section 4, C, Page 29

What does success look like to you for this campaign?

Please refer to the response to question 1.

23. Pg 30, Section 7 Case Studies, 2. Creative Samples

Do the 2. Creative Samples count towards the Section 2 Case Studies page limit (24 pages max)?

How should video/multimedia samples be included; is a hyperlink to a webpage or the file with an accompanying screenshot of the multimedia file compliant?

Recommended solution: provide a compliant method of sharing multimedia samples so that they can be viewed as intended for a complete evaluation.

Please refer to the response to question 19.

24. Section 4, C, Page 30

May we provide client references that are dated within the last two years?

Please refer to Section 4.C. Chapter 1: Technical Proposal, Section 8. References, page 30 of the RFP.

25. Pg 30, Section 8 References

Can references for the subcontractors included in the proposal be included to meet the Reference requirements?

Please refer to Section 4.C. Chapter 1: Technical Proposal, Section 8. References, page 30 of the RFP.

26. Pg 30, Section 8 References

Will F5CA staff reference letters be compliant with the requirements for references?

No.

27. Pg 30, Section 8 References, 2.

The Reference requirement 2. requires references that confirm multimedia account valued at a minimum of $3 million demonstrating early childhood development. This may limit bidders who do not have this exact experience but would otherwise be qualified.

Recommended solution: keep the early childhood development requirement for one reference letter to demonstrate subject matter experience and revise the other two references to eliminate “demonstrating early childhood development marketing experience” and replace with “demonstrate relevant and equivalent marketing experience to the experience required to fulfill this contract.”

No question posed.

28. Section 4, C, Page 30

How is the cost proposal evaluated?

Please refer to Appendix 2: Criteria for Evaluation of Proposal, page 54 of the RFP.

29. Pg 30-31. D. Chapter 2: Cost Bid Proposal Pg 101, Exhibit B1 Cost Sheet

How should hard costs (e.g., costs for talent, translation, travel, etc.) be noted in the cost sheet? Should the dollar amount be listed under “Hourly Rate” column and the hard cost description listed under “Personnel Classification” column?

Please refer to RFP No. CFF 7708, Addendum No. 2.

30. Pg 30-31. D. Chapter 2: Cost Bid Proposal

Pg 101, Exhibit B1 Cost Sheet

How should bidders note commission rates for paid media channels? Does this information only go in the budget narrative or is there an additional cost sheet that needs to be completed for media?

Please refer to RFP No. CFF 7708, Addendum No. 2.

31. Pg 30-31. D. Chapter 2: Cost Bid Proposal Pg 101, Exhibit B1 Cost Sheet

Should bidders provide additional worksheets related to proposal costs to provide additional detail or should all cost detail be limited to only the Exhibit B1 template?

The Cost Sheet attachment included in this RFP is intended to show the required format for reporting proposed budget details.

Please refer to Section 4.D. Chapter 2: Cost Bid Proposal, pages 30–32 of the RFP.

32. Pg 30-31. D. Chapter 2: Cost Bid Proposal Pg 101, Exhibit B1 Cost Sheet

Can columns be added to the cost sheet provided in Exhibit B1?

Please refer to the response to question 31.

33. Pg 30-31. D. Chapter 2: Cost Bid Proposal Pg 101, Exhibit B1 Cost Sheet

How should bidders notate annual escalation rates for hourly personnel rates?

Should this just be factored into the costs column for the total costs per year or should bidders append a list of rates by year?

34. Ref: Section 4 Min Quals: Table 1

The RFP requires the account team lead to have a minimum of three years of experience managing and directing multimedia accounts with budgets exceeding $10 million. We work with a third-party media buyer with extensive experience managing annual advertising budgets of over $10 million. Would it be acceptable to have this media buyer fulfill the role of account team lead as a sub-consultant, provided they meet the experience requirement?

Please refer to RFP No. CFF 7708, Addendum No. 2.

SECTION 5: BID FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

35. Pg 35, E. General Format Guidelines, 3.

The formatting guidelines call for pages to be numbered and reference the appropriate document and/or chapter.

The Organizational Chart is not included in the Section 2 page limit. How should the Organizational Chart be numbered and the chapter referenced? If the Organizational Chart includes a page number, this will increase the total number of pages referenced to higher than the page limit.

Pages of those documents excluded from the section page limits of Chapter 1 need not be numbered. However, the appropriate section of Chapter 1 should be referenced on said documents.

SECTION 6: BID EVALUATION

36. Section 6, B, Page 38

May we show cash reserves of at least $500k vs lines of credit to fulfill that minimum requirement?

No.

Appendix 2: Criteria for Evaluation of Proposal

37. Appendix 2 Evaluation Criteria

There does not appear to be evaluation criteria for Cost Summary or Added Value as part of the Section 3 Proposed Approach. How will these two requirements be evaluated?

Please refer to Appendix 2: Criteria for Evaluation of Proposal, pages 52–53 of the

RFP.

SAMPLE AGREEMENT

Exhibit A: Scope of Work

38. Exhibit A, Page 82

How many different languages will creative content be required in?

All creative will be developed in English and Spanish. Creative may also be developed in other languages as deemed appropriate and necessary to meet the needs of the campaign.

39. Exhibit A, Page 82

How many languages will the website content be required in?

Two, English and Spanish and potentially other languages as deemed appropriate and necessary to meet the needs of the campaign.

40. Exhibit A, Page 82

What are your expectations on the frequency of reporting?

There is no reference to reporting on page 82 of the RFP.

41. Exhibit A, Page 82

How many events/stops do you expect for the state-wide tour of the education exhibit?

The tour is intended to visit each county no less than once in a fiscal year. Additional visits may be scheduled.

Exhibit B1: Budget

42. B, Exhibit B1, Page 101

May we modify the cost sheet, Exhibit B1, to include other direct costs?

Please refer to the response to question 31.

43. B, Exhibit B1, Page 101

May we modify the cost sheet, Exhibit B1, to add additional sections per subcontractor, to delineate them from the prime bidder’s personnel?

Please refer to the response to question 31.

44. B, Exhibit B1, Page 101

Can you provide more information regarding Task 7? It is mentioned as part of the instructions for the cost sheet, but not on any other page in the RFP document.

Please refer to RFP No. CFF 7708, Addendum No. 2.

45. Exhibit B1, Page 101

Is the total contract period 3 years and 8 months or 3 years?

Please refer to RFP No. CFF 7708, Addendum No. 2.

46. Exhibit B1, Page 101

What percentage of the total budget would you like allocated towards media buy services?

Bidders are expected to detail and propose applicable percentages of the budget given information provided in Section 1: Introduction (pages 1–4 of the RFP), Section 4: Proposal Requirements (pages 22–30 of the RFP), Exhibit A, Scope of Work (pages 77–87 of the RFP).

GENERAL QUESTIONS

47. Please provide the name of the incumbent vendor related to the services within RFP No. CFF 7708: F5CA Public Education Campaign.

Rescue Agency Public Benefit, LLC was awarded the contract for RFP No. CFF 7598: Multimedia Communications and Public Relations Campaigns.

48. Is there an incumbent for this work?

Rescue Agency Public Benefit, LLC was awarded the contract for RFP No. CFF 7598: Multimedia Communications and Public Relations Campaigns.

49. Are virtual meetings permitted for ongoing communications and updates following the initial kick-off meeting and the annual strategic campaign planning and evaluation sessions?

Yes.