RFQ__23-042_-_News_Aggregator_Tool.pdf

Contract Services | Management Services Division | 1500 11th Street, Suite 460

Sacramento, CA 95814 | Tel 916.653.5974 | www.sos.ca.gov

Request for Quotation (RFQ)

For Information Technology Services

News Aggregator Tool

QUOTE DUE DATE: 4/18/2024

Quotes must be delivered to Secretary of State’s Office before 4:00 PM on the due date

Supplier name and address:

SOLICITATION NO. REV. # DATE

23-042 ______ 4/4/2023

REQUISITION OR CONTROL #

Contact:

Phone: Fax:

For further information contact:

Secretary of State Contract Services Unit contractservices@sos.ca.gov

Ship To: (see below or bid document)

ARE YOU CLAIMING PREFERENCE AS A SMALL

BUSINESS?

YES ________ NO ________

IF YES, MANUFACTURER?

ARE YOU A NON-SMALL BUSINESS CLAIMING AT

LEAST 25% SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTRACTOR

PREFERENCE?

Name (Print):

Title:

Signature:

Date:___________

Federal Employer Identification Number:

Return bid to:

Attn: Contract Services Unit 1500 11th Street, Room 460 Sacramento, CA 95814

SECTION 14838 ET SEQ. OF THE CALIFORNIA

GOVERNMENT CODE REQUIRES THAT A 5%

PREFERENCE BE GIVEN TO BIDDERS WHO QUALIFY

AS A SMALL BUSINESS AS A NON-SMALL BUSINESS

CLAIMINIG AT LEAST 25% CALIFORNIA CERTIFIED

SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION FOR

REQUIREMENTS SEE TITLE 2, CALIFORNIA CODE OF

REGULATIONS SECTION 1896 ET SEQ. THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR NONPROFIT VETERAN SERVICE

AGENCIES QUALIFYING AS A SMALL BUSINESS ARE

CONTAINED IN SECTION 999.50 ET SEQ. OF THE

MILITARY AND VETERANS CODE.

Bidder offers and agrees if this response is accepted within 45 calendar days following the date the response is due to furnish all the items upon which prices are quoted, at the prices set opposite each item, delivered at the designated point(s) by the method of delivery and within the times specified and subject to the attached General Provisions. DECLARATIONS UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY; By signing above, with inclusion of the date of signature, the above signed bidder DECLARES UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY under the laws of the State of California as follows: (1) (STATEMENT OF COMPLIANCE). The above signed as complied with the non-discrimination program requirements of Government Code 12990 and Title 2, California Administrative Code Section 8103, and such declaration is true and correct. (2) The National Labor Relations Board declaration set forth in Paragraph 48 of the General Provisions is true and correct. (3) If a claim is made for the Small Business or Disabled Veterans Business preference, the information set forth within is true and correct.

DESCRIPTION

The purpose of this Request for Quote for Information Technology (RFQ) Services is to provide online news aggregator to monitor media coverage and distribute news/press information, both in real time..

The following are incorporated as part of this Request for Quote for IT Services:

1. Requirements, including quote details and cost proposal and all attachments.

2. State’s Standard Agreement (STD 213); see Section I General Information, Sub-section G.17 of this RFQ.

3. Bidder Instructions DGS PD 451 Rev. 11/9/2011) can be located at: https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Search-

Results?search=Bidders%20Instructions&divisionid=7bce8ca3ed8a4aedbdeaf52f5e77df36&activeFilters=division-or-office-facets; the General Provisions - Information Technology (DGS PD-401 IT Rev. 6/21/22) can be located at:

https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Search- Results?search=General%20Provisions&divisionid=7bce8ca3ed8a4aedbdeaf52f5e77df36&activeFilters=division-or-office-facets http://www.sos.ca.gov/ mailto:contractservices@sos.ca.gov https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Search-Results?search=Bidders%20Instructions&divisionid=7bce8ca3ed8a4aedbdeaf52f5e77df36&activeFilters=division-or-office-facets https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Search-Results?search=Bidders%20Instructions&divisionid=7bce8ca3ed8a4aedbdeaf52f5e77df36&activeFilters=division-or-office-facets https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Search-Results?search=Bidders%20Instructions&divisionid=7bce8ca3ed8a4aedbdeaf52f5e77df36&activeFilters=division-or-office-facets https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Search-Results?search=General%20Provisions&divisionid=7bce8ca3ed8a4aedbdeaf52f5e77df36&activeFilters=division-or-office-facets https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Search-Results?search=General%20Provisions&divisionid=7bce8ca3ed8a4aedbdeaf52f5e77df36&activeFilters=division-or-office-facets https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Search-Results?search=General%20Provisions&divisionid=7bce8ca3ed8a4aedbdeaf52f5e77df36&activeFilters=division-or-office-facets

RFQ #23-042

Table of Contents

I. General Information

A. Purpose

B. Availability

C. Period of Performance

D. Key Action Dates

E. Written Questions

F. RFQ Response Guidelines

G. RFQ Response Content

II. Evaluation Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

B. Award of Contract

C. Disposition of Bids

D. Protests

III. Exhibit A - Scope of Work

1. Purpose

2. Location

3. Period of Performance

4. Scope of Services .............. …...………………………………………………. 16

5. Contractor’s Responsibilities

6. Contract Representatives

IV. Attachments

1. Cover Letter

2. Cost Worksheet

3. Payee Data Record (Std. 204)

4. California Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) Program

Requirement

5. Bidder Declaration Form

6. California Civil Rights Laws Certification (DGS OLS 04 Rev. 01/17)

REQUIREMENTS

You are invited to review and respond to this Request for Quote for IT (RFQ)

Services, entitled Secretary of State, RFQ #23-042 – News Aggregator Tool. In submitting your quote, you must comply with the instructions found herein. The services required are delineated in the Scope of Work (SOW). Please read the enclosed document carefully. Quotes must be received no later than the date and time specified on the face of this RFQ and in Section I.D. Key Action Dates.

I. GENERAL INFORMATION

A. Purpose

The Secretary of State (SOS) requires online (virtual) news aggregator services to monitor media coverage and distribute news/press information, both in real time. Without a news aggregator tool, SOS is extraordinarily limited in its abilities to.

• Monitor media coverage of the Office of the Secretary of State, the

Secretary of State, elections and election-related news (court cases, election mis- and disinformation) and other Secretary of

State programs and programs-related news.

• Effectively target its distribution of news/press releases and related messaging (media/news advisories, etc.).

• Respond to news in a timely manner.

Exhibit A – Scope of Work identifies the overall process for providing these services. Please carefully review this documentation for complete information and details.

B. Availability

The selected Contractor must be able to meet the requirements of this RFQ and be ready to begin work within ten (10) business days of the anticipated contract award date specified in Section I.D. Key Action Dates.

C. Period of Performance

The term of this Agreement shall begin on the date as indicated on the

Standard Agreement (STD 213) provided to the awarded Contractor, which is anticipated to be May 1, 2024 through April 30, 2025.

The contractor shall not be authorized to deliver or commence performance of services as described in this Scope of Work (SOW) until written approval has been obtained from all entities. No delivery or performance of service may commence prior to the execution of the Agreement.

D. Key Action Dates

Listed below are the key action dates and times by which the actions must be taken or completed. If the State finds it necessary to change any of these dates, it will be accomplished via an addendum to this RFQ.

Key Action Dates Date

1. Release of RFQ April 4, 2024

2. Submission of written questions April 10, 2024

3. Department’s response to written questions

April 12, 2024

4. Submission of Quotes (by date and time)

April 18, 2024, 4:00 pm

5. Anticipated Notice of Intent to

Award

April 23, 2024

6. Anticipated Contract Award May 1, 2024

All dates after the Submission of Quotes (date and time) are approximate and may be changed if needed to allow the State additional time for evaluation and contract execution.

E. Written Questions

All questions regarding the content of this RFQ must be submitted in writing by fax, mail or electronically to ContractServices@sos.ca.gov and must be received by the Key Action Date identified above. Questions not submitted in writing by the Key Action Date for submission of written questions shall be answered at the State’s option.

When the State has completed its review of the questions, all of the questions and answers will be posted on the California eProcurement Portal at https://caleprocure.ca.gov.

F. RFQ Response Guidelines

1. Response Submission

This RFQ shall be incorporated by reference and made part of the resulting Agreement, as if attached. However, the Bidder’s quote in response to this RFQ shall be made a part of the resulting Agreement.

Responses to this RFQ must contain all data/information requested and must conform to the format described in this RFQ. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to provide all required data and any other information deemed necessary for the State’s evaluation team to determine and mailto:ContractServices@sos.ca.gov https://caleprocure.ca.gov/ verify the Bidder’s ability to perform the tasks and activities defined in the

SOW.

In accordance with the Bidders Instructions, please submit quotes in writing via postal mail or hand-delivery to the SOS, at the address provided in the RFQ front page (“Return bid to;” section on Front Page 1), by date and time shown above in Section I.D. Key Action Dates.

Additionally, for the attachments required to be submitted with the

Bidder’s response that require signature(s), the use of Electronic Signatures

(eSignature) is also being permitted. eSignatures will be accepted and are legally binding and equivalent to handwritten signatures. The package or electronic submission containing the quote must be plainly marked with the RFQ number and title and show your firm name and address.

Facsimile machine responses will be considered only if they are sent to

(916) 653-8324 for solicitations originating from the SOS, Contract Services

Unit of the Business Operations Bureau. Responses sent to any other SOS fax number will not be considered. All pages of the faxed response that are received prior to the Submission of Quotes (by date and time) specified in Section I.D. Key Action Dates will be considered “the complete response”. Please be advised that there may be a heavy demand placed on the fax machine receiving responses and the State assumes no responsibility if a Bidder cannot transmit their response via fax, and/or if the entire response is not received prior to the Submission of

Quotes (by date and time).

IF the Bidder chooses to transmit their response via E-mail, responses must be sent to contractservices@sos.ca.gov and it is suggested that all attachment(s) be submitted in .PDF format. In order to be considered as part of the response, all attachment(s) must be able to be opened, clearly viewed, and printed. Additionally, the State assumes no responsibility if the entire response is not received prior to the Submission of

Quotes (by date and time) specified in Section I.D. Key Action Dates, and/or that may be blocked by the SOS secured E-mail filter. PLEASE

NOTE: The SOS will not confirm receipt of quotes submitted via E-mail and/or if any attachment(s) can be opened.

2. Qualifications to Do Business in California

All corporations, limited liability companies (LLC) and limited partnerships

(LP) are required to be registered with the California Secretary of State

(SOS) in order to do business* in the state of California. Before contract award can be made, the Contractor must be currently registered and in

“Active” status with the California SOS, as required by law, to do business mailto:contractservices@sos.ca.gov in California; this applies to domestic entities (organized or commercially domiciled in the state of California) and foreign entities (organized or commercially domiciled outside of California).

During the response evaluation process, the State will verify if the Bidder is currently registered and in good standing (i.e., “Active” status) with the

California SOS, as applicable, in order to ensure that all obligations due to the State are fulfilled. Therefore, a certificate of status is not required to be submitted with the bidder’s response.

* “Doing business” is defined in the California Revenue and Taxation Code

§ 23101 as “actively engaging in any transaction for the purpose of financial or pecuniary gain or profit”. Although there are some statutory exceptions to taxation, rarely will a contractor performing within the state not be subject to the applicable franchise tax.

3. LOSS LEADER:

It is unlawful for any person engaged in business within this state to sell or use any article or product as a “loss leader” as defined in Section 17030 of the Business and Professions Code. (PCC 12104.5(b).).

4. Federal Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion

Pursuant to federal law, by responding to a Secretary of State solicitation and/or signing an awarded agreement or execution of a purchase order which will be paid for using Federal Funds, the Contractor certifies under the penalty of perjury that the contracting entity is not excluded or ineligible from federal assistance programs and thereby is not on the federal government’s list of suspended or debarred entities.

Pursuant to federal law, as a component of the procurement process, when responding to an SOS solicitation, the Contractor must review the federal government’s list of debarred and suspended vendors and ensure no contract sub-award is provided to a vendor on this list. This list may be viewed at www.sam.gov

G. RFQ Response Content

For further information and details, please refer to the Bidder Instructions (DGS

PD 451 Rev. 11/9/2011) at the following link:

https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Forms

The following documents, as identified, are required, and must be submitted in the RFQ response or your response may be deemed non-responsive:

1. RFQ Cover Sheet and Cover Letter – Attachment 1

The RFQ Cover Sheet (page 1) and the Cover Letter included in this RFQ as Attachment 1 must be completed and submitted with the bidder’s response.

2. Cost Worksheet- Attachment 2 (completed)

3. Payee Data Record (STD 204) – Attachment 3

The successful bidder will be required to submit a Payee Data Record form (STD 204), listing their Taxpayer Identification Number, prior to contract award.

4. CA Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises (DVBE) Requirement – Attachment 4

The bidder must complete the forms as identified in Attachment 4 and submit with the bidder’s response.

5. Bidder Declaration (form DGS PD 05-105 (written)) – Attachment 5

The bidder must complete the Bidder Declaration form as identified in

Attachment 5 and submit with the bidder’s response.

6. California Civil Rights Laws Certification (DGS OLS 04 Rev. 01/17) –

Attachment 6 - The Bidder must complete and sign/date a DGS OLS 04 form as identified in Attachment 6 and submit the completed form along with their response to this RFQ. Failure to submit this completed form shall cause the response to this RFQ to be considered non-responsive. See attachment 6 for complete information and details regarding this requirement

7. TACPA (if applicable) – (Required for contracts that will exceed $100,000.)

If the bidder qualifies for more than one bidding preference (TACPA, Small

Business), the maximum preference allowed by law is 15% or $100,000. If the following act applies, complete the appropriate form, and submit with the bidder’s response.

TARGET AREA CONTRACT PREFERENCES ACT (TACPA)

(STD. 830S for Services)

Preference will be granted to California-based Contractors in accordance with Government Code Section 4530 whenever contract for goods and services are in excess of $100,000 and the Contractor meets certain requirements as defined in the California Code (Title 2, Section

1896.30) regarding labor needed to produce the goods or provide the services being procured. Bidders desiring to claim Target Area Contract

Preferences Act shall complete Std. Form 830 and submit it with the Final

Proposal. Refer to the following website link to obtain the appropriate form and information: https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Services/Page-

Content/Procurement-Division-Services-List-Folder/Request-a-Target-Area-

Contract-Preference

8. DVBE Participation

The State has established goals for Disabled Veteran Business Enterprises

(DVBE) participating in State contracts. The minimum DVBE participation percentage (goal) is 3% for this solicitation. Please review the DVBE program requirements and information at:

https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/sbdvbe-index.aspx and forms at: https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Forms

Bidders must complete and return all the appropriate pages in order for the quote to be considered responsive.

The Secretary of State’s Office has waived the application of the DVBE

Incentive for this solicitation. Therefore, no additional incentive points will be applied during the evaluation process of this RFQ; however, bidders must still meet the minimum DVBE participation percentage (goal) of 3% for this solicitation and are required to submit the following as part of their response to this RFQ: Std 843 (DVBE Declaration), and DGS PD-05-105

(Bidder Declaration - Written) for the named DVBE(s) (See Attachments 4 and 5 of this RFQ).

All Bidders must meet the 3% goal for this solicitation; failure to submit all required forms and fully document and meet the DVBE program requirement shall be considered non-responsive.

9. SMALL BUSINESS REGULATIONS - The Small Business regulations are located in the California Code of Regulations (Title 2, Division 2, Chapter 3, Subchapter 8, Section 1896 et. seq.), concerning the application and calculation of the small business preference, small business certification, responsibilities of small business, department certification, and appeals.

The regulations can be viewed at:

https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/Page-Content/Procurement-

Division-Resources-List-Folder/Notice-of-Rulemaking-Regulations-for-SB-

DVBE.

https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Services/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Services-List-Folder/Request-a-Target-Area-Contract-Preference https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Services/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Services-List-Folder/Request-a-Target-Area-Contract-Preference https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Services/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Services-List-Folder/Request-a-Target-Area-Contract-Preference https://caleprocure.ca.gov/pages/sbdvbe-index.aspx https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Forms https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Resources-List-Folder/Notice-of-Rulemaking-Regulations-for-SB-DVBE https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Resources-List-Folder/Notice-of-Rulemaking-Regulations-for-SB-DVBE https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Resources-List-Folder/Notice-of-Rulemaking-Regulations-for-SB-DVBE

For those without Internet access, a copy of the regulations and/or further information can be obtained by calling the Office of Small Business and

DVBE Services at (916) 375-4940.

10. NON-SMALL BUSINESS SUBCONTACTOR PREFERENCE - A 5% bid preference is now available to a non-small business claiming 25% California certified small business subcontractor participation. If applicable, claim the preference in the box on the right-hand side of the first page of this solicitation.

11. SMALL BUSINESS NONPROFIT VETERAN SERVICE AGENCIES (SB/NVSA) -

SB/NVSA prime bidders meeting requirements specified in the Military and

Veterans Code Section 999.50 et seq. and obtaining a California certification as a small business are eligible for the 5% small business preference. If applicable, claim the preference in the box on the right-hand side of the first page of this solicitation

12. ATTACHMENT WITH QUOTE REQUIRED IF CLAIMING THE SMALL BUSINESS

PREFERENCE - All bidders must complete and include the Bidder

Declaration form GSPD-05-105. If claiming the non-small business subcontractor preference, the form must list all of the California certified small businesses with which you commit to subcontract in an amount of at least twenty-give percent (25%) of the net bid price. All certified small businesses must perform a “commercially useful function” in the performance of the contract as defined in Government Code Section

14837(d)(4). Bidder Declaration form GSPD-05-105 can be searched and located here: https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Forms

13. SMALL BUSINESS CERTIFICATION - Bidders claiming the small business preference must be certified by California as a small business or must commit to subcontract at least 25% of the net bid price with one or more

California certified small businesses. Completed certification applications and required support documents must be submitted to the Office of Small

Business and DVBE Services (OSDS) no later than 5:00 p.m. on the bid due date, and the OSDS must be able to approve the application as submitted. Small business nonprofit veteran service agencies (SB/NVSA) claiming the small business preference must possess certification by

California prior to the day and time bids are due. Questions regarding certification should be directed to the OSDS at (916) 375-4940

14. DECLARATION FORMS – All bidders must complete the Bidder Declaration

(DGS PD 05-105) and include it with the bid response. When completing the declaration, bidders must identify all subcontractors proposed for participation in the contract. Bidders awarded a contract are contractually obligated to use the subcontractors for the corresponding work identified unless the State agrees to a substitution, and it is incorporated by amendment to the contract. Bidder Declaration form can be searched and located here: https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Forms for a downloadable version of this document

Bidders who have been certified by California as a DVBE (or who are bidding rental equipment and have obtained the participation of subcontractors certified by California as a DVBE) must also submit a completed form(s) STD. 843 (Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise

Declaration). All disabled veteran owners and disabled veteran managers of the DVBE(s) must sign the form(s). Should the form not be included with the solicitation, contact the State contracting official or the form can be searched and located at the link below. The completed form must be included with the bid response:

15. CLARIFYING INFORMATION - At the State’s option prior to award, bidders may be required to submit additional written clarifying information. Failure to submit the required written information as specified may be grounds for bid rejection.

16. EXECUTIVE ORDER N-6-22 – RUSSIA SANCTIONS

On March 4, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-6-22

(the EO) regarding Economic Sanctions against Russia and Russian entities and individuals. “Economic Sanctions” refers to sanctions imposed by the

U.S. government in response to Russia’s actions in Ukraine, as well as any sanctions imposed under state law. By submitting a bid or proposal, Contractor represents that it is not a target of Economic Sanctions. Should the State determine Contractor is a target of Economic Sanctions or is conducting prohibited transactions with sanctioned individuals or entities, that shall be grounds for rejection of the Contractor’s bid/proposal any time prior to contract execution, or, if determined after contract execution, shall be grounds for termination by the State.

17. CONTRACT FORMATION

The Agreement resulting from this procurement will be prepared using the

State’s Standard Agreement (STD 213) form, including all required exhibits;

Exhibits will include a copy of the awarded Contractor’s response to this

RFQ, other provisions as applicable and references to the IT General

Provisions (DGS PD 40IT, Rev. 6/21/22) and this RFQ document (as if attached).

The awarded Contractor will be provided the prepared contract document via DocuSign, as applicable upon award, and will be required to review and sign the contract for SOS execution. Once fully executed and approved accordingly, an executed copy of the contract will be provided to the Contractor. Please see the sample Standard Agreement

(STD 213) form, IT General Provisions link, and mentioned exhibits below.

a. Standard Agreement (STD 213) –

b. ITs General Provisions (DGS PD 401IT Rev. 6/21/22) – https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/Page-Content/Procurement-

Division-Resources-List-Folder/Required-Language-for-Solicitations-and-

Contracts?search=standard%20contract%20language https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Resources-List-Folder/Required-Language-for-Solicitations-and-Contracts?search=standard%20contract%20language https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Resources-List-Folder/Required-Language-for-Solicitations-and-Contracts?search=standard%20contract%20language https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/Page-Content/Procurement-Division-Resources-List-Folder/Required-Language-for-Solicitations-and-Contracts?search=standard%20contract%20language

II. Evaluation Criteria

Each RFQ response will be checked for the presence of requirement information in conformance with the submission requirements of this RFQ. The department will evaluate each RFQ response to determine its responsiveness to the requirements.

A. Evaluation Criteria

The overall responsiveness of each RFQ response is based on the complete response from the bidder to the RFQ requirements, including the scope of work for the project. The following three sub-sections and criteria will be reviewed by the State’s evaluation team.

1. Administrative Requirements Evaluation Criteria (Pass/Fail)

Example:

Requirement Yes No Comments

1. Completed RFQ Cover Sheet (page 1) and Cover

Letter (Attachment 1)

2. Completed Cost Sheet (Attachment 2)

3. Completed DVBE Declarations (STD. 843 Form)

(Attachment 4)

4. Completed Bidder Declaration (DGS PD 05-105

Form); including list of Subcontractors, as applicable.

(Attachment 5)

5. Completed California Civil Rights Laws Certification

(DGS OLS 04) (Attachment 6)

2. Technical Requirements Evaluation Criteria (Pass/Fail)

Example:

Requirement Yes No Comments

1. A search engine of media/news coverage with real-time updates.

2. The ability to build automated and manual reports.

3. The ability to distribute news/press releases, preferably with Secretary of State (as opposed to aggregator) branding.

4. Analytics to measure news/press releases distributed.

5. Access to journalist contact information.

6. Create news/press release distribution lists.

3. Cost

This will be a low-cost award based upon responses that pass all requirements of the Administrative and Technical evaluation criteria.

B. Award of Contract

Award of contract, if made, will be in accordance with the RFQ information on evaluation to a responsible bidder whose bid complies with all the requirements of the RFQ documents and an addendum thereto, except for such immaterial defects as may be waived by the State. Award, if made, will be made within forty-five (45) days after the scheduled date for Contract

Award as specified in the RFQ; however, a bidder may extend the offer beyond 45 days in the event of a delay of contract award.

The State reserves the right to determine the successful bidder(s) either on the basis of individual items or on the basis of all items included in its RFQ, unless otherwise expressly provided in the State’s RFQ. Unless the bidder specifies otherwise in its bid, the State may accept any item or group of items of any bid. The State reserves the right to modify or cancel in whole or in part it’s RFQ.

Written notification of the State’s intent to award will be made to all bidders.

If a bidder, having submitted a bid, can show that its bid, instead of the bid selected by the State, should be selected for contract award, the bidder will be allowed five (5) working days to submit a Notice of Intent to Protest, according to the instructions contained in the section titled “Protests” of this

RFQ.

C. Disposition of Bids

1. By submitting a bid, Bidder agrees to the terms and conditions stated in this RFO, Exhibit A - SOW and the resulting Contract. Responses received after the Response Due Date may not be assessed. Bids received in response to the SOW will be valid for one hundred eighty (180) days after the Response Due Date.

2. Submitting responses that include assumptions, added conditional statements or statements regarding changes to the SOW in this RFQ may result in the offer being found as non-responsive.

3. Submitting documents marked as “Confidential”, “Proprietary” or otherwise appearing to contain sensitive information that the State considers an information security breach, constitutes grounds to reject the offer as non-responsive. Bids rejected for this reason will have all pages containing sensitive information purged from the offer prior to Award of the contract pursuant to this RFQ.

4. Upon review of the offers received and subsequent Contract Award, all documents submitted in response to this RFQ shall become the property of the State of California and shall be regarded as public records under the

California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 7920.000 et seq.), thereby subject to review by the public.

The State, at its discretion, reserves the right not to make an award or reject all offers, in the best interest of the State

D. Protests

Any bidder’s issues regarding solicitation requirements must be resolved (or attempts to resolve them must have been made) before a protest may be submitted according to the procedure below. These issues will first be resolved by the contact for the solicitation or, if they result in a protest, the protest will be submitted to DGS Procurement Division Deputy Director to hear and resolve issues and whose decision will be final.

If a bidder has submitted a bid which it believes to be responsive to the requirements of the RFQ and to be the bid that should have been selected according to the evaluation procedures in the solicitation and the bidder believes the State has incorrectly selected another bidder for award, the bidder may submit a protest of the selection as described below. Protests regarding selection of the “successful vendor” will be heard and resolved by the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board whose decision will be final.

All protests of award must be made in writing, signed by an individual authorized to bind the bidder contractually and financially, and contain a statement of the reason(s) for protest; citing the law, rule, regulation, or procedure on which the protest is based. The protester must provide facts and evidence to support the claim. Protests must be mailed or delivered to the following Street and Mailing Address:

Deputy Director

Procurement Division

707 Third Street, Second Floor South

West Sacramento, CA 95605

Facsimile No.: (916) 376-6226

PDProtest@dgs.ca.gov

All protests to the RFQ or protests concerning the evaluation, recommendation, or other aspects of the selection process must be received by the DGS Procurement Division Deputy Director as promptly as possible, but not later than the date indicated in the Notification of Intent to Award.

Certified or registered mail must be used unless delivered in person; in which case the protester should obtain a receipt of delivery.

mailto:PDProtest@dgs.ca.gov

III. Exhibit A

Scope of Work

A. Purpose

The SOS requires online (virtual) news aggregator services to monitor media coverage and distribute news/press information, both in real time.

Without a news aggregator tool, Communications is extraordinarily limited in its abilities to:

• Monitor media coverage of the Office of the Secretary of State, the

Secretary of State, elections and election-related news (court cases, election mis- and disinformation) and other Secretary of

State programs and programs-related news.

• Effectively target its distribution of news/press releases and related

• Respond to news in a timely manner.

B. Location

The services shall be performed virtually as an online service.

C. Period of Performance

The term of the contract is anticipated to be May 1, 2024, through April 30

,2025.

The initial contract shall be for one (1) calendar year with options to extend the contract for an additional one (1) to two (2) years.

D. Scope of Services

The news aggregator Contractor will be responsible for ensuring the tool is available to specified Communications staff, training staff to use the tool, ensuring staff is updated about nonoperational dates/times for tool maintenance and operations and answering staff questions.

The news aggregator tool should be consistently available, absent vendor maintenance and operations dates/times. Vendor should inform

Secretary of State Communications of planned maintenance and operations dates/times at least 24 hours prior to planned occurrence.

Secretary of State Communications staff understands there will be times of unplanned maintenance and operations. More than one instance of unplanned occurrences of longer than 6 hours can serve as grounds for

Secretary of State to terminate the contract for failure to provide services.

The services shall be provided at all times, with the exception of when the contractor needs to perform maintenance and operations.

1. Services Needed

Secretary of State Communications needs online (virtual) news aggregator services because it needs to be able to monitor media coverage and distribute news/press information, both in real time. Without a news aggregator tool, Communications is extraordinarily limited in its abilities to:

a) Monitor media coverage of the Office of the Secretary of State, the

Secretary of State, elections and election-related news (court cases, election mis- and disinformation) and other Secretary of State programs and programs-related news.

b) Effectively target its distribution of news/press releases and related

c) Respond to news in a timely manner.

Communications is currently attempting to perform such functions manually but (1) does not have enough staff to perform such functions and (2) manual methods of performing such functions stopped being effective more than 20 years ago. The need for a news aggregator is critical in general and even more so given that 2024 has presidential primary and general elections in a climate where there is tremendous growth in mis- and disinformation surrounding elections and potential unknown consequences from the use of artificial intelligence messaging.

2. Service Requirements

Needed news aggregator components include, but are not limited to:

a) A search engine of media/news coverage with real-time updates.

Communications needs to be able to have access to news as it happens. Communications needs the information so it can plan its news and respond to external news in real time. Communications also needs to be able to inform Secretary of State Elections and Legal divisions of news related to elections in real time. This is not physically possible without the use of a news aggregator. Alternatives such as

Google searches and other non- news aggregator tools are not robust enough to capture the breath of coverage news aggregators capture and, even if they were, they do not provide access to full articles/information, much of which tends to be behind paid firewalls.

Subscribing to numerous newspapers and other outlets is insufficient because their search engines focus solely on themselves and there is no way to subscribe to every media outlet. And if there were a way, Communications would still be without the other services news aggregators provide.

b) The ability to build automated and manual reports. Communications needs to be able to have automated reports regarding key terms related to the Office of the Secretary of State, its leaders and the work it performs so that staff can be regularly updated on news related to these term-related matters. Communications also needs to be able to produce manual reports for one-off news events so it can be aware of news coverage, determine if the Office or Secretary should response or make a statement, and be able to inform Elections, Legal and other Secretary of State staff of pertinent information in real-time.

Communications also needs to be positioned to organize extraneous information in different manners when pertinent to do so.

c) The ability to distribute news/press releases, preferably with Secretary of State (as opposed to aggregator) branding. News aggregators provide the most effective way to target news/press releases to the media. The Office of the Secretary of State currently has subscriptions to Constant Contact and Granicus but both are marketing tools that do not meet the basic needs of Communications. The purpose of marketing tools is to promote products/services/events.

Communications needs to be able to collect aggregated news information and distribute news to targeted media and reporters.

Communications is currently using Constant Contact to distribute news/press releases and using it is inefficient, limits Communications ability to distribute news effectively and provides no means to aggregate news, let alone to do so in real time. Additionally, the use of a marketing tool most likely directs many Secretary of State news to reporters’ email spam accounts instead of their email accounts because they most likely have marketing tools blocked since they are focused on news and not marketing messages. Communications needs a tool for collecting and aggregating news and targeting and distributing news/press releases; marketing tools don’t have the ability to perform such functions. Communications prefers a tool that allows

Secretary of State branding (as opposed to aggregator branding) because we want reporters to focus on our messages (as opposed to a tool).

d) Analytics to measure news/press releases distributed. Communications would like to be able to track and measure the news is distributes and a news aggregator tool will provide Communications with the ability to measure the news/press releases distributed against variables such as inquiries we get from release recipients, coverage resulting from releases and other variables as needed.

e) Access to journalist contact information. Communications currently has to keep track of reporters, their beats and their contact information manually. This current method of obtaining and updating journalist contact information is unrealistic and unsustainable.

Reporters today constantly change beats, move to different news outlets and make various other changes. Communications needs its news aggregator tool to contain updated reporter information so staff can target and interact with the correct reporters.

f) Create news/press release distribution lists. Communications can currently only manually create news/press release distribution lists. It needs the ability to have reporter information updated by the tool.

3. Service Goals

Service goals are that Secretary of State Communications Team are able to:

a) Search for media/news coverage in real time.

b) Build and access automated and manual news reports of specified topics.

c) Distribute news/press releases, preferably with Secretary of State (as opposed to aggregator) branding.

d) Measure news/press releases distributed via analytics so they can continuously adapt their processes to improve their distribution of news and build relationships with reporters.

e) Access up-to-date journalist contact information.

f) Create and use news/press release distribution lists.

E. Contractor Responsibilities

Contractor agrees to provide the Secretary of State (SOS) with online

(virtual) news aggregator services including, but not limited to:

1. News aggregator Contractor and Communications Contract Manager will identify and schedule initial training times and logistics, including but not limited to logistics surrounding vendor responding to staff questions.

2. A search engine of media/news coverage with real-time updates.

3. The ability to build automated and manual reports.

4. The ability to distribute news/press releases, preferably with Secretary of

State (as opposed to aggregator) branding.

5. Analytics to measure news/press releases distributed.

6. Access to journalist contact information.

7. Create news/press release distribution lists.

8. Responsible for ensuring the tool is available to specified

Communications staff, training staff to use the tool, ensuring staff is updated about nonoperational dates/times for tool maintenance and operations and answering staff questions.

F. Contract Representatives

The project representatives during the term of this agreement will be:

State Agency: Contractor:

Name: Name:

Phone: Phone:

Fax: Fax:

E-Mail: E-Mail:

Direct all contract inquiries to:

State Agency: Secretary of State Contractor:

Section/Unit: Contract Services Section/Unit:

Attention: Contract Services Attention:

Address: 1500 11th Street

Sacramento, CA 95814

Address:

Phone: (916) 653-5974 Phone:

Fax: (916) 653-8324 Fax:

E-Mail: ContractServices@sos.ca.gov E-Mail:

mailto:ContractServices@sos.ca.gov

IV.ATTACHMENTS

Attachment 1 – Cover Letter

The submission of this quote does not obligate the Secretary of State to fund the proposed contract. If the quote is approved for funding, a contract will be executed between the State of California and the bidder. When funding is authorized, the bidder will be expected to adhere to the terms of the executed contract.

The undersigned bidder hereby proposes to furnish all labor, materials, tools, and equipment, to provide services in accordance with the specifications and provisions received with the RFQ.

1. Full Legal Name of Bidder’s Organization:

2. Mailing Address:

Street City State Zip

Telephone FAX Email

1. Federal Taxpayer Identification Number:______________________________________

2. If Bidder Organization is a corporation, limited liability company (LLC) or limited partnership (LP), [exact] Entity Number issued to the entity by the California Secretary of State at the time the entity formed, qualified, or registered in California:

5. Principal who is authorized to bind the bidder:

Typed Name Title

Original Signature Date

6. Bidder’s contact person shall be:

(Name and Phone Number)

Attachment 2 – Cost Worksheet

Section A.

Rates

May 1, 2024 – April 30, 2024

Monthly

Rate $

The billable cost above by the bidder shall be binding for the term of the

Agreement.

Billing cycle: Monthly Quarterly Semi-Annually Annually

Note: All services performed are paid in arrears according to billing cycle indicated above.

Should the SOS amend the awarded agreement from this RFQ beyond the contract term end date, it will be at or below the rates identified above.

Attachment 3 – Payee Data Record (STD. 204)

The successful bidder, as a result of this RFQ, will be required to sign and return a completed Payee Data Record form (STD. 204), prior to contract award. Refer to the following website link for more details (Office of State Publishing (OSP)

Standard (STD) forms):

Attachment 4 - CA Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise (DVBE) Program

Requirement

The Contractor’s response to this solicitation must contain the completed form

DGS PD 843 (Rev. 9/2019) based upon the option chosen for DVBE participation.

DVBE program requirements and information located at:

Form located at:

Attachment 5 – Bidder Declaration Form

Bidder must complete the Bidder Declaration (DGS PD 05-105 (written)), including any necessary additional pages, and include it with the bid response.

The form can be found at:

Attachment 6 – California Civil Rights Laws Certification (DGS OLS 04)