RFR Striped Bass Angler Survey.pdf

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

(617) 626-1520 | www.mass.gov/marinefisheries

MAURA T. HEALEY KIMBERLEY DRISCOLL REBECCA L. TEPPER THOMAS K. O’SHEA DANIEL J. MCKIERNAN Governor Lt. Governor Secretary Commissioner Director

Updated: August XX, 2021

ISSUE DATE:

Purchasing Department Department of Fish and Game – Division of Marine Fisheries Address 30 Emerson Ave City, State Zip Code Gloucester, MA 01930 Procurement Contact Person Ben Gahagan Telephone Number 978 – 491 – 6233 E-Mail Address Ben.gahagan@mass.gov RFR Name/Title Striped Bass Angler Survey RFR Number 25005 COMMBUYS Bid Number BD-25-1046-DMF-FWE20-105792

1. Description or Purpose of Procurement:

The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game – Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) seeks an experienced fisheries scientist with established human dimensions experience to conduct a survey of tackle use in the recreational fishery for striped bass. This angler survey will complement current DMF science to help establish a new post-release mortality estimate for striped bass caught in coastal waters.

2. Applicable Procurement Law

Check Appropriate

Box (“X”):

Type of Purchase Applicable Laws

Executive Branch Goods and Services Goods and Services MGL c. 7, § 22; c. 30, § 51, § 52; 801 CMR

21.00 Human and Social Services MGL c. 7, § 22, § 22N; c. 30, § 51, § 52; 801

CMR 21.00; 808 CMR 1.00

Legal Services MGL c. 30, § 51, § 52 and § 65; c. 7, § 22;

and 801 CMR 21.01(2) (b) Grants MGL c. 7A, § 7; St. 1986 c. 206, § 17; 815

CMR 2.00

mailto:Ben.gahagan@mass.gov

REQUEST FOR RESPONSE

Striped Bass Angler Survey

RFR #______ / COMMBUYS Bid# ______

3. Acquisition Method:

Check All Applicable (“X”): Category Fee-For-Service

Outright Purchase

Rental (not to exceed 6 months)

Term Lease

4. Whether Single or Multiple Contractors are Required for Contract:

Check One (“X”):

Single Contractor

Multiple Contractors

a. Estimated Number of Awards

The target maximum number of Contractors is 1; the Purchasing Department may award more or fewer contracts, if it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth to do so.

b. Adding Contractors after initial Contract Award

If, over the life of the contract, the Purchasing Department determines that additional Contractors may be added, these may be drawn from qualified companies that responded to this Solicitation and not awarded Contracts. If necessary to meet the requirements of the Commonwealth, the Solicitation may be reopened to obtain additional Bids.

5. Entities Eligible to Use the Resulting Contract

Check One (“X”): Eligible Entities Limited User Contract – Restricted to Use by Defined Entities Only. Any Contract(s) resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the issuing Purchasing Department and the following other entities:

Limited User Contract – Restricted to Use by Issuing Entity Only.

6. Expected Duration of Contract (Initial Duration and any Options to Renew):

Contract Duration Number of Options Number of Years/Months Initial Duration 24 months Renewal Options 1 6 months Total Maximum Contract Duration 30 months

RFR #______ / COMMBUYS Bid# ______

7. Anticipated Expenditures, Funding, or Compensation:

Estimated Value of Procurement: $81,000

8. Contract Performance and Business Specifications:

Scope of Services: The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game – Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) seeks an experienced fisheries scientist with established human dimensions experience to conduct a survey of tackle use that will cover approximately 80% of all licensed effort across the eastern seaboard. This survey will inform striped bass fisheries management and assessments. The following requirements must be met:

Broad knowledge of the fishing communities on the East Coast.

Ability to work extensively with DMF staff to design survey questions and goals.

Ability to obtain license-holder information from states outside Massachusetts.

Access to and experience with the Qualtrics Survey platform.

Experience convening and coordinating focus groups.

Connections to and experience with popular fishing publications.

Experience administering a survey across multiple communication platforms.

Experience conducting quantitative analyses of survey data.

Proven ability to prepare a peer-reviewed publication of survey results.

Proven ability to develop presentations and outreach materials to the public, fishing media groups, and management entities.

Performance Measures: The following performance measures must be met:

Obtain contact information for potential survey respondents in multiple states.

Develop survey questions with DMF staff.

Conduct outreach through fishing publications and multiple regional focus groups.

Survey of anglers in multiple states to cover approximately 80% of licensed anglers in the range of striped bass.

Analysis of survey.

Author paper for peer review.

Develop materials for presentation to managers and the public as well as other outreach materials.

9. Small Business Purchasing Program

Program Background

The Massachusetts Small Business Purchasing Program (SBPP) was established pursuant to Executive Order 523 to increase state contracting opportunities with small businesses having their principal place https://www.mass.gov/sbpp https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-523-establishing-the-massachusetts-small-business-purchasing-program https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-523-establishing-the-massachusetts-small-business-purchasing-program

RFR #______ / COMMBUYS Bid# ______ of business within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Pursuant to the SBPP, it is the intention of the issuing department to award this Small Procurement to one or more SBPP participating business(es) as described below.

SBPP Award Preference

While all businesses, no matter the size or principal place of business, may submit responses to this solicitation, should an SBPP participant respond and meet the best value criteria as described in this solicitation, the SBPP participant shall be awarded the contract. The Strategic Sourcing Services Team (SSST) will not evaluate submissions from non-SBPP participants unless no SBPP Bidder meets the SSST’s best value evaluation criteria.

SBPP Participation Eligibility

To be eligible to participate in this procurement as an SBPP participant, an entity must meet the following criteria, and be marked as an SBPP-registered business in COMMBUYS:

1. Have its principal place of business in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;

2. Been in business for at least one year;

3. Employ a combined total of 50 or fewer full-time equivalent employees in all locations, or employees work less than a combined total of 26,000 hours per quarter; and

4. Have gross revenues, as reported on appropriate tax forms, of $15 million or less, based on a three-year average.

Non-profit firms also must be registered as a non-profit or charitable organization with the MA Attorney General’s Office and be up to date with all filings required by that office and be tax exempt under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

SBPP Compliance Requirements

It is the responsibility of the Bidder to ensure that their SBPP status is current at the time of submitting a response and throughout the life of any resulting contract. Misrepresentation of SBPP status will result in disqualification from consideration, and may result in debarment, contract termination, and other actions. To learn more about the SBPP, including how to apply, visit the SBPP Webpage.

Program Resources and Assistance Bidders and Contractors seeking assistance regarding SBPP may visit the SBPP webpage, http://www.mass.gov/sbpp, or contact the SBPP Help Desk at sbpp@mass.gov.

10. Environmentally Preferable Products

Products and services purchased by state agencies must be in compliance with Executive Order 515, issued October 27, 2009. Under this Executive Order, Executive Departments are required to reduce their impact on the environment and enhance public health by procuring environmentally preferable products and services (EPPs) whenever such products and services perform to satisfactory standards and https://www.commbuys.com/bso/ http://www.mass.gov/sbpp http://www.mass.gov/sbpp mailto:sbpp@mass.gov https://www.mass.gov/executive-orders/no-515-establishing-an-environmental-purchasing-policy?_ga=2.237660352.1741219494.1633353146-758386467.1632336759

RFR #______ / COMMBUYS Bid# ______ represent best value, consistent with 801 CMR 21.00. In line with this directive, all Contracts, whether departmental or statewide, must comply with the specifications and guidelines established by OSD and the EPP Program. EPPs are products and services that help to conserve natural resources, reduce waste, protect public health and the environment, and promote the use of clean technologies, recycled materials, and less toxic products. Bid responses must identify how a contractor meets these goals.

11. Evaluation Criteria

Contractors must submit responses that meet all the submission requirements of the RFR. Only responsive proposals that meet the submission requirements will be evaluated, scored, and ranked by the evaluation team according to the evaluation criteria. Additional information may be requested for evaluation purposes.

Terminal degree of applicant.

Relevant peer-reviewed experience with fisheries tackle use and preference surveys.

Knowledge of the striped bass fishery and stakeholders.

Successful record of publishing peer-reviewed articles.

Successful record of conducting fisheries human dimension studies.

Access to and experience with the Qualtrics survey platform.

Knowledge of Massachusetts and interstate fisheries management processes.

Ability to communicate with the public and managers and work collaboratively with DMF staff.

12. Instructions for Submission of Responses:

Only electronic quotes submitted via COMMBUYS will be accepted in response to this RFR. Responses must be sent via the “Create Quote” functionality in COMMBUYS. For instructions concerning how to submit a Quote, please see Appendix B.

Any submission that fails to meet the submission requirements of the RFR will be found non-responsive without further evaluation unless the evaluation team, at its discretion, determines that the non-compliance is insubstantial and may be corrected. In these cases, the evaluation team may allow the vendor to make minor corrections to the submission.

13. Estimated Procurement Calendar

Procurement Activity Date Time

Bid Release Date 7/31/2024 12:00 PM

Deadline for Quotes/Bid Responses (“Bid Opening Date/Time” in COMMBUYS)

8/7/2024 5:00 PM

Notification of Apparent Successful Bidder(s) (Estimated) 9/1/2024

RFR #______ / COMMBUYS Bid# ______

Estimated Contract Start Date 10/1/2024

Bidders are required to monitor COMMBUYS for changes to the procurement calendar for this Bid.

a. Online Questions (Bid Q&A)

Written Questions must be entered using the “Bid Q&A” tab for the Bid in COMMBUYS no later than the “Online Questions Due” date and time indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above). The issuing department reserves the right to not respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions.

It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network, or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.

Written Responses to Questions will be released on or about the “Responses to Questions Posted Online” date indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above).

(Written questions and responses will be posted on the Bid Q&A Tab for this Bid in COMMBUYS.)

b. Bid Amendment Deadline

The Purchasing Department reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication.

It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for amendments, addenda, or modifications to this Bid, and any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth accept no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS.

c. Quotes (Bid Responses) Deadline (Bid Opening Date/Time)

See the Quotes (Bid Responses) Deadline (Bid Opening) Date and Time indicated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar (above).

d. Estimated Contract Start Date

This is the approximate start date. The actual start date will be the Contract Effective Date which is the date the Contract is executed by the parties.

RFR #______ / COMMBUYS Bid# ______

RFR #______ / COMMBUYS Bid# ______

14. Required Forms: If awarded the following documents will be required

Check if applicable (“X”)

Form/Document Notes/Instructions (If any)

Request for Taxpayer Identification Number & Certification (Massachusetts Substitute W-9 Form)

Electronic Submission

Standard Contract Form and Instructions Electronic Submission

Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing Electronic Submission

Authorization for Electronic Funds Transfer Electronic Submission

Prompt Payment Discount Form Electronic Submission

The above attachments are available as part of the Bid record on COMMBUYS

(WWW.COMMBUYS.COM).

RFR Attachments

Appendix A: Required Specifications https://www.mass.gov/doc/rfr-required-specifications-of-commodities-and-services

Appendix B: Electronic Quote Submission Instructions https://www.mass.gov/doc/instructions-for-vendors-responding-to-bids

Appendix C: RFR – Other Specifications [OPTIONAL, IF NOT IT CHANGE TO C IF USED]

Acceptable Forms of Signature: Effective June 15, 2021, for all 1) CTR forms, including the Standard Contract Form, W-9s, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) forms, ISAs, and other CTR-issued documents and forms, or 2) documents related to state finance and within the statutory area of authority or control of CTR (i.e. contracts, payrolls, and related supporting documentation), CTR will accept signatures executed by an authorized signatory in any of the following ways: 1. Traditional “wet signature” (ink on paper); 2.

Electronic signature that is either: a. Hand drawn using a mouse or finger if working from a touch screen device; or Page 2 b. An uploaded picture of the signatory’s hand drawn signature 3. Electronic signatures affixed using a digital tool such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign. If using an electronic signature, the signature must be visible, include the signatory’s name and title, and must be accompanied by a signature date.

Please be advised that typed text of a name not generated by a digital tool such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign, even in computer-generated cursive script, or an electronic symbol, are not acceptable forms of electronic signature.

http://www.commbuys.com/ http://www.commbuys.com/ https://www.mass.gov/doc/rfr-required-specifications-of-commodities-and-services https://www.mass.gov/doc/instructions-for-vendors-responding-to-bids