RFR For DUA Contact Center Operations_FINAL_2.28.25.pdf

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Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development RFR

Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (“EOLWD”)

Through the Department of Unemployment Assistance (“DUA”)

Request for Response

COMMBUYS Bid Number: BD-25-1043-DAO01-32500-113281

FEBRUARY 28, 2025

IN ACCORDANCE WITH M.G.L. C. 66 AND M.G.L. C. 4, § 7 (26), THIS RFR AND ALL RESPONSES

HERETO, INCLUDING THE WINNING BID, SHALL BECOME PUBLIC RECORD, AND MAY BE

OBTAINED FROM THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF LABOR AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BY

SUBMITTING A REQUEST AT Labor and Workforce Development Public Records Request. ANY

PORTIONS OF A RESPONSE THAT ARE LABELED AS CONFIDENTIAL WILL STILL BE CONSIDERED

PUBLIC RECORD.

I. General Procurement Information

A. General Information

Purchasing Entity: Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) on behalf of the Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Address: 100 Cambridge Street, Suite 500, Boston , MA 02114

Procurement Contact: Carol M. McQuilken

Telephone: 617-626-6529

E-Mail Address: carol.m.mcquilken2@mass.gov https://www.mass.gov/labor-and-workforce-development-public-records-requests?_gl=1*18z5fka*_ga*MTEyOTg4ODExOC4xNjgzMDUwMDM5*_ga_MCLPEGW7WM*MTcxNjQ4NDYzNy4xODMuMS4xNzE2NDg1MjUwLjAuMC4w

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This Request for Response (“RFR”) does not commit the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (“Commonwealth”) or EOLWD/DUA to select a Bidder, approve a Statement of Work, pay any costs incurred in the preparation of a Bidder’s response to this RFR, or to procure or contract for productor services. EOLWD/DUA may (i) accept or reject any and all proposals received as a result of this RFR;

(ii) contract for some, all, or none of the products and services offered by Bidders in response to this RFR; (iii) negotiate with one or more of the qualified Bidders; or (iv) cancel, in part or in its entirety, this RFR if it is in the best interest of the Commonwealth to do so.

EOLWD/DUA may amend this RFR at any time prior to the date responses are due. Any such amendment will be posted to the Commonwealth’s e-procurement platform, COMMBUYS (https://www.commbuys.com). Bidders must submit their bids through COMMBUYS. Bidders are advised to check COMMBUYS regularly, as this will be the sole method used for notification of changes.

B. Order of Precedence

The agreement resulting from this RFR shall consist of the following documents in the following order of precedence:

(1) the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions or the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions for Information Technology Contracts, as applicable;

(2) the Commonwealth Standard Contract Form;

(3) this RFR [BD-25-1043-DAO01-32500-113281/EOLWD/DUA Contact Center Adjunct Services] (including all amendments, Purchasing Entity answers to related Bidder questions and clarifications hereto);

(4) any agreement negotiated between and executed by EOLWD/DUA and Bidder; and

(5) the Bidder’s response to this RFR (including all amendments, clarifications, and best and final offers).

C. Event Calendar

All times in this RFR are prevailing Eastern Time. Responses must be received no later than the response due date and time indicated below or they will not be evaluated. Bidders must have their responses fully loaded and accepted in COMMBUYS prior to the RFR Response Due date and time listed below. Bidders are urged to allow sufficient time to upload their entire response.

Procurement Step Due Date Time RFR Posted Friday, February 28, 2025 4:00 pm Bidder Questions Due Thursday, March 6, 2025 4:00 pm Commonwealth Responses posted to COMMBUYS (estimated date)

Monday, March 10, 2025 4:00 pm

RFR Response Due Friday, March 14, 2025 4:00 pm Bidder Demonstrations (estimated dates) March 24-27, 2025 Notice of Apparent Successful Bidder(s) posted (estimated date)

Friday, April 4, 2025

Expected Contract Start Date Friday, April 18, 2025 https://www.commbuys.com/bso/ https://www.commbuys.com/bso/ https://www.commbuys.com/bso/

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D. Purchasing Entity

The Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) oversees the unemployment insurance (UI) program, which provides temporary income assistance to eligible workers in Massachusetts. DUA also determines and collects employer contributions to the UI program. DUA has taken a major step forward to better serve claimants and employers through the modernization of the unemployment insurance system, known as the Employment Modernization Transformation (EMT) project.

II. Description and Purpose of Procurement

EOLWD/DUA is issuing this RFR to solicit bids from interested vendors qualified to provide adjunct DUA services alongside our current DUA Contact Center operations. The DUA-selected vendor would, in addition to providing other services, act as information and account management support for DUA customers. Please see Sections IV and V for additional details.

III. Estimated Term

EOLWD/DUA anticipates entering a contract with a single selected Bidder for an approximately Six (6)-month Contract term from on or about May 1, 2025, through on or about October 31, 2025, subject to the selected Bidder’s satisfactory performance, as determined by DUA, of all duties and obligations under the contract.

The contract may be extended in any increment through January 31, 2026, at the sole discretion of DUA, and upon terms agreed upon by the parties. DUA may also extend the contract for any reasonable time it determines necessary to complete a subsequent procurement.

Contract Duration Number of Options

Number of Years/Months Instructions

Initial Duration

6 Months Up to 6 months Renewal Options 2 3 months Two options to renew for up to three months each Total Maximum Contract Duration

9 months Initial Number of Years/Months for the Initial Term Plus All Renewal Periods

The initial term and all renewals or extensions shall be referred to collectively as the “Term.”

IV. Bidder Qualifications

To be considered for the contract award pursuant to this RFR, the Bidder in addition to satisfying all other requirements herein, must:

• Be capable of and willing to perform all functions and activities, take on obligations related to, and work with DUA on efforts detailed in Scope;

• Have as its primary business model the provision of outsourced customer service operations and related back-office functions; and

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• Have been in business for a minimum of five years, at least three (3) of which must have been in a business of performing similar functions or related activities.

• Preference will be given to Bidders with:

o Experience contracting with multiple Massachusetts agencies for Contact Center work.

o Familiarity with personnel and data security requirements of the Commonwealth.

o Experience with Massachusetts contracting requirements.

o Operation based within the Commonwealth.

o Knowledge of MGL C 151A o Knowledge of laws, rules regulations, practices and procedures associated with the claims taking/customer assistance process o Agents with prior Contact Center experience on multi campaign solutions.

V. Statement of Work Requirements

A. The anticipated scope of customer service operations required by DUA is set forth below and includes, but is not limited to:

1. Providing an information clearinghouse for new and existing DUA claimants navigating DUA’s new operating system as well as supporting basic account management activities, as needed.

2. Developing and maintaining an adjunct Contact Center operation either hosted in the Bidder’s Contact Center environment OR working within DUA’s current Contact Center solution platform for up to 120 Contact Center agents.

3. Forging positive Customer interactions with DUA by ensuring that the points of interaction and the supporting processes are seamless, technology-integrated, and efficient.

4. Providing all hardware and software necessary to allow their agents to effectively conduct all activities related to this scope.

5. Handling information needs for potential DUA claimant inquiries accurately, completely, and timely for a culturally diverse, multi-lingual community on a broad range of complex topics including but not limited to claim eligibility, applications, document requirements.

6. Supporting account management and other basic customer service needs.

7. Transferring DUA claimants to appropriate DUA departments, and business areas, based on established escalation pathways.

8. Completing any follow-up actions prompted by claimant interactions including recording claimant account information in DUA-provided solutions, performing data entry as necessary to log the calls, and any actions taken on behalf of the claimant.

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9. Adjusting services in collaboration with DUA to be responsive to changing DUA needs and initiatives related to the basic scope of information and account management support.

10. Hiring, training, and retaining all necessary staff as part of a nimble and scalable DUA operation that can accommodate fluctuations in demand.

11. Ensuring visibility into vendor operations through the provision of user-friendly reporting tools and accurate operational forecasting.

12. Managing and providing technology needs related to connecting and maintaining necessary credentials, and administration of all agents using the DUA-provided Contact Center and case management solutions.

13. Acting as a proactive, collaborative, resourceful partner to DUA, through recommending best practices and learnings from other clients, and facilitating consistent communication.

14. Providing all required background checks for all proposed agents in the timeframe determined by DUA, (i.e., CORI check and all other TBD DUA-required access and verification forms) to allow its agents access to DUA-provided IT solutions.

15. Partnering with DUA to define reasonable Service Level Agreements and expected agent-to-call handle times, speed of answer, one-call resolution, etc., prior to deployment and adjusting as real experience provides better clarity of the types/daily volume and length of calls.

16. Using Selected Bidder data and DUA Contact Center data, the Selected Bidder will partner with DUA to determine how many agents are needed, manage call volume fluctuations and identify staff requiring additional support.

17. Using the DUA language line support OR using their own language line solution to support the language needs of all customers who require such support.

18. Operating during DUA’s current hours of operation: Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:00

pm. Phone lines open at 8:30 am and close at 4:30 pm (all queues emptied by 4:00 pm, all remaining calls expected to be answered by end of business day). Agents are expected to be available to take calls promptly at 8:30 am.

B. Call Flow/ Contact Center Solution Platform Requirements Options

1. Bidder Contact Center Solution Pathway: Selected Vendor will already use Five9 platform or has a Contact Center solution which is comparable with Five9 (Five9 is platform the DUA Contact Center currently uses for operations).

a. Potential Process Pathway:

i. Vendor will use the DUA-approved Interactive Voice Response (IVR) menu flow, implement it into their IVR system, and support calls generated from DUA approved inbound number(s) pointing directly to their IVR.

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ii. IVR will translate all DUA approved and recommended languages for customer selection prior to messaging being played (no more than 15).

iii. Selected Vendor will be responsible for ensuring proper number of phone lines to handle all expected call volume by half hour interval, ensuring agreed upon SLAs are met and maintained daily. This includes having ports available for agents on live calls, callers in queue, and calls in the IVR. No blocking of calls.

iv. Selected Vendor will have a language line and the interpreter will follow the customer if transferred over to the DUA IVR queue (i.e., “escalation line”).

v. In addition to pathway i, the DUA Five9 IVR menu options will point specific DUA inbound caller(s) directly to the vendor’s IVR. The calls transferred will be event related.

vi. Selected Vendor will be able to ramp up to 100 dedicated agents with the potential to add 20 - 40 more based on volume.

1. Vendor has the experience and capacity to have an accelerated hiring, training and implementation strategy

2. Forecasted call volume expected to be approx. 4300 calls daily

3. 10-minute handle time (average based on expected translator supported calls)

4. Targeted ASA (Average Speed to Answer) is not to exceed 15-minutes

5. 8-hour workday with potential of expanded hours of operation

vii. Vendor will give DUA Contact Center management access to their system to monitor volume and KPIs (KPIs will include volumes, ASA, and average Handle Times, etc.).

viii. Real time view of important KPI’s (e.g., volume, ASA, customers in queue, occupancy, adherence, etc.).

ix. All inbound calls are expected to be recorded for quality assurance. If necessary, DUA will be given call recordings related to event when if/requested.

b. Vendor will have access to DUA solutions (e.g., EMT a browser-based software used by the EMT to manage and maintain claimant data, transactions and records and review basic information related to claimants, to track calls, perform basic account management functions/activities.

2. DUA Contact Center Solution Pathway: Selected Vendor will use DUA’s Five9 platform and will be credentialed accordingly to allow all agents and calls to start and stay in the EOLWD/DUA five9 environment.

a. Potential Process Pathway:

i. IT will procure additional Five9 licenses (approx. 100) to allow vendor access to DUA environment.

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ii. EOLWD/DUA IT will build out the necessary IVR flow in our current environment.

iv. EOLWD IT to procure additional ports (up to 2,500 total) to handle incoming volume for Selected Bidder supported line and regular business to avoid a busy signal due to lack of available ports. DUA will use own language line for all transferred calls back to our “escalation line” (Vendor will have access to our language line).

b. Vendor will have 100 dedicated agents with the potential to add 20 - 40 more based on volume:

i. Vendor is experienced in swift implementation and hiring.

ii. Forecasted call volume expected to be approx. 4300 calls daily.

iii. 9:30 -minute handle time (average based on expected translator supported calls).

iv. Targeted 15-minute ASA (Average Speed to Answer)

v. 8-hour workday with potential of expanded hours of operation.

C. Vendor will have access to DUA solutions (e.g., EMT a browser-based software used by the EMT to manage and maintain claimant data, transactions and records and review basic information related to claimants, to track calls, perform basic account management functions/activities.

VI. Bidder Responses

1. Bidders must complete the attached RFR Response Form (Form 1).

2. Bidders must agree to document all services using a Statement of Work Template (Form 2). The intent of this RFR is to obtain companies to perform projects on a fixed price basis. Time and materials work is only permitted as expressly agreed to by EOLWD/DUA and Apparent Successful Bidder.

3. Bidders must provide their SDP Plan (if applicable) (Form 3).

4. The responses to this RFR will be evaluated based on the criteria listed below, in descending order of importance with the most important criteria listed first. The Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) may remove from further consideration non-responsive bids and bids that do not include all required items. Prior to such an exclusion, EOLWD/DUA may request one or more clarification(s) from Bidders. A Bidder’s response may be excluded for failure to meet EOLWD/DUA’s budgetary thresholds.

5. Should this RFR result in a contract with an annual spend amount of less than $250,000, bids from certified small businesses are highly desired, in accordance with ReOrg Plan S.2937 “An Act to Elevate the Supplier Diversity Office to Ensure Equal Opportunity in State Contracting,” the Agency will follow guidance provided by the in evaluating Bidder responses.

Any remaining responses will be evaluated based upon the following:

1. SBPP if applicable (under $250K)

2. Bidder Qualifications

3. Fit to Requirements of the RFR

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4. Quality of product functionality

5. Time for delivery

6. Price as provided in the Cost Table

VII. Data Classification

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts collects, manages, and stores information to support its business operations. The Commonwealth is committed to preserving the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its information assets. Such information assets may include, without limitation, personal information, confidential information, and information protected under applicable law.

Bidder agrees and acknowledges that its access, or potential access, to certain information assets may require certifications, background checks, or other additional requirements. EOLWD/DUA anticipates that the awarded Bidder will have access, or potential access, to the following checked data types as a result of providing services/products to EOLWD/DUA under this RFR.

Data Type (check all that apply)

Applicable Laws and Regulations

Additional Requirements

Personally Identifiable Information

M.G.L. c. 93H M. G. L. c. 66A M. G. L. c. 93I

Federal Tax Return Information Publication 1075 -Publication 1075 Exhibit 7 -Commonwealth of Massachusetts Dept. of Revenue background check

Criminal Offender Record Information

FBI Security Addendum NCIC 2000 Operating Manual CJIS Security Policy Title 28, CFR Part 20

-Dept. of Criminal Justice Information certification -background check

Social Security Administration Data

Privacy Act 5 U.S.C. 552a s. 1106

Bidder certifies that its products or services, as offered in its RFR response, meet all applicable legal and regulatory requirements pertaining to the identified data types indicated above. Bidder also agrees to enter into additional agreement(s) as reasonably requested by the Commonwealth prior to gaining access, or potential access, to Commonwealth information assets. Bidder acknowledges that the list above is not exhaustive, and EOLWD/DUA may designate additional data types, applicable laws and regulations, and additional required documentation in the contract resulting from this RFR or any amendment thereto.

VIII. Additional Requirements

A. Enterprise Information Security Standards and Policies

All products and services provided to the Commonwealth must comply with all applicable policies adopted by EOLWD/DUA, which shall be made available to Bidder prior to contract execution. At a minimum, all goods and services provided to the Commonwealth must comply with the Enterprise Information Security Standards and Policies (https://www.mass.gov/handbook/enterprise-https://www.mass.gov/handbook/enterprise-information-security-policies-and-standards

Page 9 of 12 BD-25-1043-DAO01-32500-113281 information-security-policies-and-standards)1. Bidders shall provide information that demonstrates that their security practices meet the requirements detailed in these policies.

D. Accessibility for IT Solutions Contract Language

The Commonwealth is obligated to ensure non-discrimination and equal access to state services on the part of persons with disabilities and reasonable accommodations to state employees with disabilities. To effectively meet its responsibilities, the Commonwealth must achieve accessibility in the acquisition, deployment, and utilization of information technology. The Commonwealth defines accessibility to include compliance with its Enterprise Accessibility Standards and Web Accessibility Standards. Bidders must comply with the accessibility obligations detailed at Accessibility Contract Language for IT Solutions.

C. Contract Negotiation and Amendments

EOLWD/DUA may negotiate changes to the original performance measures, quantities, Term length, and requirements identified in this RFR at any time, provided that such changes are consistent with the scope of this RFR. EOLWD/DUA may negotiate and execute contract amendments with the awarded Bidder(s) which EOLWD/DUA reasonably determines are within the scope of this RFR and necessary to result in best value to the Commonwealth.

D. Promotional Materials

Bidders must not reference EOLWD/DUA or the Commonwealth in any promotional or marketing materials, including but not limited to use of EOLWD/DUA’s or the Commonwealth’s name or logo, without first obtaining EOLWD/DUA’s prior written approval for such use. Bidder must not use the Commonwealth’s seal in any promotional or marketing materials.

Bidders are discouraged from including extraneous promotional or marketing materials in their responses and excessive promotional or marketing materials may detract from the Bidders’ overall score.

E. Pending Litigation

Bidder must affirm that there is no pending litigation involving the Bidder or the services provided in the response that may impair or interfere with EOLWD/DUA’s right to use the services. Bidder must warrant that there are no actual or threatened actions arising from or alleged under any intellectual property rights of any third party.

F. Oral Presentations and Demonstrations

In its discretion, EOLWD/DUA may invite one or more Bidders whose responses have been judged competitive and responsive in the course of the evaluation to participate in a facilitated oral presentation, including a demonstration of the proposed services. EOLWD/DUA may use these demonstrations and oral presentations to clarify aspects of the Bidder’s response or to inquire as to the Bidder’s approach, recommendations, and experience. EOLWD/DUA may adjust its scoring of a

1 The Enterprise Information Security Standards and Policies apply to Commonwealth Executive Department Purchasing Entities and Purchasing Entities using the Commonwealth network.

https://www.mass.gov/handbook/enterprise-information-security-policies-and-standards https://www.mass.gov/info-details/accessibility-contract-language-for-it-solutions?_gl=1*1tjt02w*_ga*OTk4MDI0NDQ5LjE3MTcwODcyMzM.*_ga_MCLPEGW7WM*MTczNDcwNTk2My43Ni4xLjE3MzQ3MDY0OTcuMC4wLjA.

Page 10 of 12 BD-25-1043-DAO01-32500-113281 prospective Bidder based on the Bidder’s performance during production demonstration and/or oral presentation.

EOLWD/DUA reserves the right to apply restrictions to the structure and content of Bidder’s product demonstrations and oral presentations. Demonstrations and oral presentations shall not be open to the public nor to any competitors. The schedule of the demonstrations and oral presentations will be arranged directly with the Bidders selected by EOLWD/DUA. Failure of a Bidder to agree to a date and time may result in rejection of the Bidder’s response.

G. Review Rights

Responses to this RFR may be reviewed and evaluated by any person(s) at the discretion of EOLWD/DUA, including non-allied and independent consultants retained by EOLWD/DUA for the sole purpose of evaluating and analyzing responses.

H. Permitted Copies

If applicable, Bidders must authorize EOLWD/DUA to make, and retain reasonable number of machine-readable copies of all licensed, core software components included in the deliverables for testing, backup, or archival purposes (the “Permitted Copies”). Such authorization shall be provided to EOLWD/DUA at no additional cost.

I. Risk Management

Bidder must indicate the types of system audits or assessments (e.g. SOC 2) it conducts or engages third parties to conduct on its behalf pertaining to the quoted products or services, and the frequency of such audits or assessments. Any time after submitting its Bid, upon Purchasing Entity's request, Bidder shall provide audit or assessment reports to EOLWD/DUA.

J. Warranties

The Bidder must agree to provide the following warranties. Additional warranties may be agreed to in the contract resulting from this RFR.

1) Bidder must provide all warranties required by the applicable Statewide Contract.

2) Bidder and its subcontractors will be sufficiently staffed and equipped to fulfill Bidder’s obligations under any SOW or engagement resulting from this RFR. Bidder warrants that it shall be responsible for the actions and omissions of all subcontractors and shall ensure that all subcontractors comply with the terms of an agreement resulting from this RFR.

3) Bidder’s services will be performed: (i) by appropriately qualified and trained personnel; (ii) with due care and diligence and to a high standard of quality as is customary in the industry;

(iii) in compliance with the Milestone Schedule and the terms and conditions of this RFR and any contract hereunder; and (iv) in accordance with all applicable professional standards for the field of expertise.

4) The Deliverables will substantially conform with the Deliverable descriptions set forth in any SOW or engagement resulting from this RFR.

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5) All media on which the Bidder provides any software shall be free from defects.

6) If applicable, all software delivered by the Bidder under the applicable Statewide Contract or this RFR shall be free of Trojan horses, back doors, and other malicious code.

7) Bidder will obtain all rights, grants, assignments, conveyances, licenses, permissions, and authorizations necessary or incidental to any materials owned by third parties supplied or specified by the Bidder for incorporation in the Deliverables to be developed under the applicable Statewide Contract.

8) Documentation to be provided by the Bidder shall be in sufficient detail to allow suitably skilled, trained, and educated Purchasing Entity personnel to understand the operation of the Deliverables. Bidder agrees to promptly make corrections to any documentation that does not conform to this warranty, at no additional cost to EOLWD/DUA.

K. Environmental and Climate Preferable Products

Please visit EPP Program - Environmentally Preferable Products and Services on Statewide Contracts to learn how Bidders may incorporate any of the requirements, whether its EPEAT or TCO registered devices, requirements on cloud service centers, etc. If the services will involve recommendations involving hardware, the vendor agrees that all recommended products are in compliance with the requirements of the appropriate OSD hardware contracts, https://www.mass.gov/info-details/information-technology-hardware.

VIII. Supplier Diversity and Small Business Programs

All Bidders responding to this solicitation are required to make a significant financial commitment (“SDP Commitment”) to partnering with one or more SDO-certified or recognized diverse business enterprise(s) or non-profit organization(s). This SDP Commitment must be expressed as a percentage of contract sales resulting from this solicitation that would be spent with the SDP Partner(s).

After contract award (if any), the Total SDP Commitment shall become a contractual requirement to be met annually on a Massachusetts fiscal year basis (July 1 – June 30) for the duration of the contract. The minimum acceptable Total SDP Commitment in response to this solicitation shall be 1%. Bidders shall be awarded additional evaluation points for higher SDP Commitments.

No contract shall be awarded to a Bidder without an SDP Commitment that meets the requirements stated herein. This requirement extends to all Bidders regardless of their own supplier diversity certification.

Eligible SDP Partner Certification Categories

SDP Partners must be business enterprises and/or non-profit organizations certified or recognized by the SDO in one or more of the following certification categories:

• Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE)

• Minority Non-Profit Organization (M/NPO)

• Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE)

• Women Non-Profit Organization (W/NPO)

• Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (VBE) https://www.mass.gov/guides/epp-program-environmentally-preferable-products-and-services-on-statewide-contracts?_gl=1*isq5wd*_ga*OTk4MDI0NDQ5LjE3MTcwODcyMzM.*_ga_MCLPEGW7WM*MTczNDcwNTk2My43Ni4wLjE3MzQ3MDU5NjMuMC4wLjA.

https://www.mass.gov/guides/epp-program-environmentally-preferable-products-and-services-on-statewide-contracts?_gl=1*isq5wd*_ga*OTk4MDI0NDQ5LjE3MTcwODcyMzM.*_ga_MCLPEGW7WM*MTczNDcwNTk2My43Ni4wLjE3MzQ3MDU5NjMuMC4wLjA.

https://www.mass.gov/info-details/information-technology-hardware

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• Veteran Non-Profit Organization (V/NPO)

• Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (SDVOBE)

• Disability-Owned Business Enterprise (DOBE)

• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Business Enterprise (LGBTBE)

Eligible Types of Business-to-Business Relationships. Bidders may engage SDP Partners as follows:

• Subcontracting, defined as a partnership in which the SDP partner is involved in the provision of products and/or services to the Commonwealth.

• Ancillary Products and Services, defined as a business relationship in which the SDP partner provides products or services that are not directly related to the Bidder’s contract with the Commonwealth but may be related to the Bidder’s own operational needs.

Other types of business-to-business relationships are not acceptable under this contract. If subcontracting is proposed, it must meet all the subcontracting provisions (if any) listed in this RFR.

If the contract resulting from this RFR has an estimated annual value exceeding $250,000 (Large Procurements) the selected Bidder will be required to complete the SDP Plan Form for Bids.

SDP Plan Form Requirements. All Bidders must complete the SDP Plan Form included in this solicitation and attach it to their bid response. In addition to proposing an SDP Commitment, each Bidder must propose one or more SDP Partner(s) to utilize to meet its SDP Commitment. Certified diverse Bidders may not list their own companies, or their subsidiaries or affiliates, as SDP Partners and may not meet their SDP Commitment by spending funds internally or with their own subsidiaries or affiliates.

Evaluation of SDP Forms. To encourage Bidders to develop substantial supplier diversity initiatives and commitments as measures valuable to the Commonwealth, at least 25% of the total available evaluation points for this bid solicitation shall be allocated to the evaluation of the SDP Plan submissions. Because the purpose of the SDP is to promote business-to-business partnerships, the Bidders’ workforce diversity initiatives will not be considered in the evaluation.

SDP Spending Reports and Compliance. After contract award, Bidders must submit reports at least annually to demonstrate compliance with the agreed-upon SDP Commitment. To submit SDP spending reports using the Supplier Diversity Hub (Hub), Bidders must create a profile in the Hub. Bidders must follow report submission instructions from the issuing department and the SDO.

Only spending with SDP Partners that appear in the SDO Directory of Certified Businesses or in SBA Veterans Small Business Certification (VetCert) directory shall be counted toward a Bidder’s compliance

See Diverse and Small Business Program and Policies for Goods and Services Procurements for full details.

For Small Procurements (a resulting contract with an estimated annual value equal to or less than $250,000) EOLWD/DUA intends to award a contract to a Massachusetts-based Small Business if a response from an eligible SBPP participant is received and meets the department’s best value criteria. See Form 3 below for additional details.

<End of RFR > https://www.mass.gov/doc/sdp-plan-form-for-bids/download https://www.sdo.osd.state.ma.us/BusinessDirectory/BusinessDirectory.aspx https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/ https://veterans.certify.sba.gov/ https://www.mass.gov/doc/the-commonwealth-of-massachusetts-diverse-and-small-business-program-policies-for-goods-and-services-procurements/download