Social Capital RFP_ 09222026 .pdf

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) 245-092226

NIGP Commodity Code: 91858, 91890, 91838

Issue Date: September 22, 2026 • Due Date/Time: October 22, 2026 – 2:00 P.M. EST

Contracting Officer Stacey Garnett, VCA • E-mail Address: staceygarnett@schev.edu

USING AGENCY AND/OR LOCATION WHERE WORK WILL BE PERFORMED: State Council of Higher Education for Virginia

(SCHEV), 101 N 14th Street, 10th Floor, Richmond, Virginia 23219.

OPTIONAL PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE: An optional, virtual pre-proposal conference will be held at 1:00 P.M. on September 30, 2026, See Page 10 for additional information related to this optional pre- proposal conference.

CLARIFICATION OF TERMS: If any prospective Offeror has questions about the specifications or other solicitation documents, the prospective Offeror should contact the Contracting Officer whose name appears on the face of this solicitation no later than five (5) working days before the due date. All inquiries must ~*be submitted in writing via e-mail to staceygarnett@schev.edu. Please include “RFP #245-092226” in the title of the email. If the issuing Contract Officer concludes that answers are required, then they will be answered by an addendum posted on the VBO. It is the responsibility of the Offeror to download the addendum.

PERIOD OF CONTRACT: Initial term contract shall begin on the negotiated Service Commencement Date, on or around , November 15, 2026, and final deliverable will be due on or around November 14, 2027.

The undersigned hereby offers and agrees to furnish all services in accordance with the attached signed proposal and the mandatory requirements outlined herein, or as mutually agreed upon through subsequent negotiation.

Company Name: eVA Vendor ID or DUNS Number:

Address: DSBSD Certification Number:

City/State/ZIP: SCC Number:

Signature: Telephone:

Printed Name: Cell:

Title: Email:

Date:

NOTE: This public body does not discriminate against faith-based organizations in accordance with the Code of Virginia, §2.2-4343.1 or against an Offeror because of race, religion, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other basis prohibited by state law relating to discrimination in employment.

AWARD POSTING: Upon the award or the announcement of the decision to award a Contract as a result of this solicitation, the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, will publicly post such notice online at http://www.eva.virginia.gov for a minimum of ten (10) days.

mailto:staceygarnett@schev.edu mailto:staceygarnett@schev.edu http://www.eva.virginia.gov/

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Table of Contents

Purpose

Timeline

Background

Organizational Overview

Project Background

Statement of Need

Eligibility

Scope of Work

Expectations

Deliverables

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

General Instructions

Proposal Preparation

Oral Presentation

Specific Proposal Instructions

Application Processing, Review Criteria, & Award

Evaluation Criteria

Award of Contract

Reporting and Delivery Instructions

Pre-Proposal Webinar and Q&A

Invoicing and Payment

PRICING SCHEDULE

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Purpose The purpose of this initiative is to expand equitable access to high-quality, credit-bearing internship opportunities for Virginia college students through an integrated model that combines experiential learning, and social capital development. Building upon SCHEV’s goals, the program will provide scalable, technology-enhanced learning experiences that allow students to gain industry-relevant skills, academic credit, professional mentorship, and networking opportunities through flexible, non-traditional internship models. The initiative seeks to bridge both the technical skills gap and the professional network gap that disproportionately impacts all students, for example, first-generation, Pell-eligible, and low-income students. Resources and activities should align with state and institutional goals.

Contract Term: One year following the date of project initiation, approximately, November 15, 2026 – November 14, 2027 with 4 optional 1- year renewals for credit-bearing experiential learning with in emphasis on internship activities and support services.

Timeline

September 22, 2026 Request for Proposals Issued

September 30, 2026 Vendor Pre-proposal Conference

October 22, 2026 Deadline for proposal submission to SCHEV

Late October/Early November

Contractor Selection

Approximately mid- November

Project Kickoff

Background

Organizational Overview The State Council for Higher Education of Virginia (SCHEV) is the commonwealth’s coordinating body for post-secondary education. Its statutory mission is to “advocate and promote the development and operation of an educationally and economically sound, vigorous, progressive, and coordinated system of higher education…and to lead state level strategic planning and policy development and implementation based on research and analysis.” SCHEV is a state agency governed by a 13-member council (also known as the State Council for Higher

Education of Virginia). The Council hires the agency’s executive director who leads the agency staff in fulfilling SCHEV’s mission.

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Project Background In 2018, the Virginia General Assembly appropriated funding to the State Council of Higher

Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to stimulate public colleges and universities to develop partnerships to provide innovative paid internship opportunities for their students. In 2019, the effort was expanded and enacted into law as the Innovative Internship Fund and Program. In the 2025 General Assembly session, budget language was passed to formalize a partnership with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) who manages employer engagement.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, as a co-lead partner in the Commonwealth

Innovative Internship Fund initiative supports efforts to: 1) Expand paid and credit-bearing student internships in collaboration with Virginia employers and 2) Advance the goal of providing every postsecondary undergraduate student in Virginia with one or more paid internship opportunity during their academic journey.

Research has shown that students who engage in an internship or other work-based learning

(WBL) opportunity experience better employment outcomes after graduation (Strada, 2023).

Beyond academic learning outcomes, credit-bearing internships create opportunities for students to develop social capital through meaningful engagement with professionals, supervisors, and community organizations. Students gain exposure to workplace culture, professional expectations, collaborative environments, and industry networks that contribute to career readiness and long-term upward mobility. These experiences are particularly valuable for first-generation college students and students with limited access to professional networks, as they help bridge the gap between classroom learning and professional opportunity.

Today’s college students face two interconnected barriers to career success that are often treated separately. The first is an experience and skills-access gap. The second, and often overlooked, challenge is the professional network gap. Career outcomes are heavily influenced by access to relationships, referrals, and professional connections. Research consistently shows that candidates with personal or professional connections are significantly more likely to secure interviews and job offers than students applying through traditional channels alone. (Ashby

2025; Labor Economics 2024) First-generation and underserved students frequently lack access to these networks and the social capital that supports career mobility. As a result, many capable students struggle to translate academic achievement into meaningful employment opportunities, despite strong performance and persistence. Addressing only technical skills or experiential learning is insufficient without also expanding students’ access to professional networks, mentorship, and relationship-based career pathways.

Questions: For any questions related to this project, please contact staceygarnett@schev.edu.

Statement of Need

Research consistently demonstrates that students who participate in internships experience stronger career outcomes after graduation; however, access to these opportunities remains inequitable. Many students, https://stradaeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Building-Better-Internships-NSCI-Descriptive-Report-June-2024.pdf mailto:staceygarnett@schev.edu.

Page | 5 particularly first-generation students, Pell-eligible learners, student parents, working students, and students with demanding academic or athletic schedules, face significant barriers to participating in traditional internships. Additionally, low-income students often lack access to the professional networks and mentorship opportunities that are critical to career advancement and employment mobility. The proposed initiative addresses this dual challenge by integrating experiential learning with an emphasis on credit-bearing internships with structured social capital development.

To ensure effective collaboration between SCHEV and the selected vendor, SCHEV will assign a team of subject matter experts (SMEs) to serve as an advisory group to guide this project. SMEs will represent public institutions of higher education, and pertinent SCHEV staff. The selected vendor will also be expected to provide additional SMEs to support and guide this work.

Proposals should include how the vendor plans to design, implement, and support the provided services for the full term of the contract as well as any long-term sustainability options. This should include a description of all resources, processes, and opportunities to be developed and implemented for institutions of higher education across the Commonwealth and plans for sustainability. This information will assist in evaluating the comparable costs across all proposals. Specifics will be determined collaboratively among SCHEV and vendor SMEs after the contract is awarded. Vendors should clearly identify and describe any existing resources owned by the vendor that they plan to use or modify for SCHEV as well as any new resources they intend to create for this project. Vendors should also describe their current tracking and reporting capabilities.

SCHEV staff should have access to all of the resources and materials, as needed.

The vendor should have the capacity for resources and WBL experience provision through the initial stages of this project as well as for any additional or modified resources that may be needed in the future. This may include addressing different audiences on different topics.

The vendor must also be able to engage with the V-TOP partners to identify, initiate, and sustain activities that align with the needs of students at participating institutions. The vendor should have the capacity to conduct needs assessments for both institutions and subsequently determine the partnerships that will yield the best results. The vendor must be able to collaborate and provide students with certificates of completion and ensure credits are awarded, as appropriate.

Eligibility

1. Preference will be given to SWAM (Small, Women, and Minority-Owned) contractors.

2. Contractors must be registered in the eVA database. Contractors not already registered in eVA must do so to submit a proposal. See “Proposal Preparation and Submission

Instructions” section for more details.

3. The contractor and any subcontractor(s) shall demonstrate direct expertise in

Page | 6 technology-enhanced learning experiences that allow students to gain industry-relevant skills, academic credit, professional mentorship, and networking opportunities through flexible, non-traditional experiential learning models

4. Web-based training and resources must be delivered in a format that is dynamic, user-friendly, mobile-friendly, Section 508 compliant, and ADA compliant.

a. The contractor is responsible for ensuring all products, produced internally or via a subcontractor, are compliant with Section 508 in accordance with the US

General Services Administration.

b. Any mobile version of training modules or resources must also be in compliance with the new subpart H to the title II ADA regulation, 28 CFR part 35.

c. SCHEV considers “dynamic” to include such strategies as interactive exercises, multimedia elements, engaging animation and graphics, gamification, suggestions for future action or assignments, etc.

5. The contractor shall provide a system for delivering content that aligns with the scope of work as defined in the “Scope of Work” section below.

6. The contractor and any subcontractor(s) shall demonstrate extensive knowledge of credit-bearing experiential learning, particularly internships from both the student, institution and employer perspective.

Scope of Work The contractor (s) shall support the design, implementation, and scaling of an integrated credit-bearing internship and career-connected learning initiative that combines experiential learning opportunities with student networking, career readiness, and social capital development. The initiative should support broad student access while prioritizing equitable outcomes for first-generation, Pell-eligible, and underserved student populations.

The contractor will collaborate with SCHEV and participating institutions of higher education in Virginia to:

• Expand access to high-quality, technology-enabled, for-credit internship, career discovery and experiential high-impact learning experiences with designated course codes connected to authentic employer projects and workplace challenges.

• Provide seamless internship opportunities where students engage in applied learning while practicing professional relationship-building, networking, mentorship, and career readiness skills within the context of real-world industry projects.

• Coordinate with alumni, mentors, and institutional partners to facilitate credit-bearing internships and authentic experiential learning opportunities aligned with workforce and economic development priorities.

• Integrate innovative social capital development tools and strategies that measurably strengthen students’ professional networks, confidence, career navigation, mentorship access, and workforce readiness, while providing multiple interactions with others to develop social capital and professional networks.

• Leverage first-year experience models and early student engagement approaches to support internships, career exploration, persistence, and long-term student success outcomes.

https://www.section508.gov/manage/laws-and-policies/ https://www.ada.gov/assets/pdfs/web-rule.pdf

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• Support integration of career readiness, networking, mentorship, reflection, and responsible technology use within existing academic and co-curricular experiences.

• Provide implementation support for participating institutions, including faculty/staff engagement, onboarding, training, technical assistance, and scalable institutional integration strategies.

• Develop scalable practices, tools, and resources that support statewide adoption, sustainability, and alignment with institutional strategic priorities.

• Assist with data collection, reporting, and evaluation activities related to student participation, engagement, social capital development, career readiness, and other student success outcomes for Virginia students.

• Develop and provide an evaluation framework to measure the impact of the initiative and collaboration on

Virginia students and institutional outcomes aligned with statewide workforce and educational goals.

The contractor shall work in coordination with SCHEV to ensure alignment with statewide internships and experiential learning definitions, quality standards, practices and strategic workforce priorities.

The contractor(s) shall collaborate with SCHEV to provide all necessary labor, staffing, technical support, and resources required to implement and operationalize the program components outlined in the Scope of Work. Unless otherwise agreed upon during contract negotiations, the contractor(s) shall ensure that all core program functions and services are fully operational within ninety (90) days of contract award.

SCHEV reserves the right to assign different areas of engagement to its staff and to the contractor and/or subcontractor(s). The contractor also reserves the right to propose assigned areas of engagement to one or more subcontractors.

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Expectations The selected vendor will be expected to:

• Collaborate with SCHEV, participating institutions, and relevant stakeholders to conduct a needs assessment and support implementation planning aligned with statewide internship priorities.

• Provide a scalable and flexible implementation model that can be seamlessly integrated into curricular and co-curricular structures, including academic courses, career readiness initiatives, internships, first-year experiences, and student success programs.

• Facilitate experiential learning opportunities connected to authentic workplace challenges and industry projects in collaboration with workforce partners.

• Develop and deliver training, technical assistance, and implementation guidance for faculty, staff, and institutional partners, including student readiness activities and professional engagement strategies.

• Support broad student participation while incorporating evidence-informed, high-impact educational practices that strengthen career readiness, applied learning, professional communication, reflection, and student engagement.

• Incorporate opportunities that support the responsible, ethical, and professional use of technology, including emerging technologies and artificial intelligence tools, within career-connected learning experiences.

• Integrate innovative approaches and tools that support the development of students’ professional networks, mentorship access, confidence, career navigation, and social capital as embedded components of the learning experience, particularly for first-generation, Pell-eligible, and underserved student populations.

• Incorporate first-year experience and early student engagement strategies that support career exploration, persistence, and long-term student success outcomes.

• Provide strategies and tools that support institutional tracking, reporting, and evaluation of credit-bearing and paid internship participation and outcomes in alignment with statewide goals and reporting expectations.

• Collaborate regularly with SCHEV staff through planning meetings, implementation updates, and progress reporting throughout the contract period.

Deliverables

The contractor shall provide the following deliverables, at minimum:

1. Needs Assessment & Implementation Plan

A project implementation plan outlining institutional engagement strategies, timelines, onboarding activities, staffing, scalability considerations, and key milestones.

2. Institutional Integration & Support Resources

Scalable training materials, toolkits, technical assistance resources, and implementation guidance for faculty, staff, and institutional partners supporting curricular and co-curricular integration.

3. Career-Connected Learning Opportunities

Support the development and implementation of scalable, for-credit career discovery and experiential high-impact learning opportunities with designated course codes, where applicable, that connect students to authentic workplace challenges and industry projects with partners.

4. Student Readiness & Professional Development Resources

Resources, tools, and activities designed to support student career readiness, networking, mentorship, reflection, professional communication, responsible technology use, and social capital development, with emphasis on supporting first-generation, Pell-eligible, and underserved student populations.

5. Professional Engagement Strategy

A strategy for engaging professionals, alumni, mentors, and industry partners in support of authentic

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6. Evaluation & Student Impact Framework

An evaluation framework and assessment plan to measure student participation, engagement, career readiness, networking/social capital development, persistence, and other student success outcomes aligned with statewide workforce and educational priorities.

7. Data Collection & Reporting Support

Recommendations, tools, or frameworks to assist institutions with tracking participation, engagement, and credit-bearing or paid internship outcomes aligned with statewide goals.

8. Progress & Final Reporting

Periodic progress updates and a final summary report outlining implementation activities, participation metrics, outcomes, lessons learned, and recommendations for sustainability and future scaling.

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

General Instructions To be considered for selection, contractors should submit a complete response to this RFP. The following should be included in the submission:

1. One (1) original proposal document

2. One (1) redacted version, if applicable (see 1.c. under “Proposal Preparation” below)

Respondents shall submit proposals electronically through the eVA Procurement Portal.

Respondents must be registered in eVA to submit an electronic proposal. To submit an electronic proposal/bid:

• Go to www.eva.virginia.gov

• Click on “I Sell to Virginia”

• Click on “eVA Vendor Training”

• Click on “Respond to RFPs and More”

If a respondent needs assistance submitting their proposal, they must contact eVA Customer Care via phone 866-289-7367 or email evacustomercare@dgs.virginia.gov.

It is the respondents’ responsibility to ensure that their proposals are submitted through the portal by the time and date indicated. Proposals submitted elsewhere (e.g., to another agency or office) or via other means (e.g., email or paper copies) will not be accepted or considered. Respondents shall make no other distribution of the proposal.

Proposal Preparation

1. Ownership of all data, materials, and documentation originated and prepared for the State

Council of Higher Education for Virginia pursuant to this solicitation shall belong exclusively to SCHEV and be subject to public inspection in accordance with the Virginia

Freedom of Information Act.

http://www.eva.virginia.gov/ mailto:evacustomercare@dgs.virginia.gov

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a. Trade secrets or proprietary information submitted by an offeror shall not be subject to public disclosure under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act;

however, the offeror must invoke the protections of § 2.2-4342F of the Code of

Virginia, in writing, either before or at the time the data or other material is submitted. The written notice must specifically identify the data or materials to be protected and state the reasons why protection is necessary.

b. The proprietary or trade secret material submitted must be identified by some distinct method such as highlighting or underlining and must indicate only the specific words, figures, or paragraphs that constitute trade secret or proprietary information in the original signed proposal and paper copies.

c. Additionally, the offeror must submit a redacted copy of the proposal if invoking said protection. The classification of an entire proposal document, line item prices, and/or total proposal prices as proprietary or trade secrets is not acceptable and may result in rejection of the proposal.

2. Proposals should be prepared simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of capabilities to satisfy the requirements of the RFP. Emphasis should be placed on completeness and clarity of content.

3. Proposals should be organized in accordance with the sections specified in the “Specific

Proposal Instructions” section below. All pages of the proposal should be numbered.

a. Each section in the proposal should reference the section/paragraph number/letter of the corresponding section of the RFP. If a response covers more than one page, the section/paragraph number/letter should be repeated at the top of the next page.

b. The proposal should contain a table of content which cross-references the RFP requirements.

c. Information which the offeror desires to present that does not fall within any of the requirements of the RFP should be inserted at an appropriate place or be at the end of the proposal and designated as additional material.

d. Proposals that are not organized in this manner risk elimination from consideration if the evaluators are unable to find where the RFP requirements are specifically addressed.

Oral Presentation

Offerors who submit a proposal in response to this RFP may be required to give an oral presentation. An oral presentation is a fact-finding and explanation session only and does not include negotiation. When required, this session provides an opportunity for the offeror to clarify or elaborate on their proposal. An oral presentation is an option of the purchasing agency and might not be conducted. If conducted, the oral presentation’s time and location will be scheduled by the issuing agency.

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Specific Proposal Instructions Proposals should be as thorough and detailed as possible so that SCHEV may properly evaluate the capabilities of the offeror to provide the required services. An offeror is required to submit the following items as a complete proposal:

1. RFP cover sheet and all addenda acknowledgments, if any, signed and filled out as required.

2. Offeror Data Sheet, included as an attachment to the RFP, and other specific items or data requested in the RFP.

3. A written narrative statement to include:

a. Offeror’s experience in providing the services described herein.

b. Names, qualifications and experience of personnel to be assigned to the project.

c. Staff resumes to be assigned to the project.

d. Specific methodology and plans for providing the proposed services including:

i. Offeror’s response on providing the services and meeting the criteria stated in the Statement of Needs.

ii. What, when, how and by whom the services will be performed, including the percentage of the services to be performed by the primary contractor and the percentage(s) of the services to be performed by any and each subcontractor.

iii. Projected timeline for delivery of services relative to award date of contract.

4. Proposed Schedule: Provide a proposed schedule for completing Deliverables 1-11 relative to award of contract. Include anticipated tasks, sub-tasks, milestones, and deliverable dates.

5. Proposed Price: Provide a fee structure associated with services offered. See Section XI.

Pricing Schedule for more details and format of pricing submission.

6. RFP Attachment 1: Vendor Data Sheet

7. RFP Attachment 2: State Corporation Commission Form

8. RFP Attachment 3: Small Business Subcontracting Plan

9. RFP Attachment 4: Exceptions to the terms and conditions of RFP 245-092226

10. RFP Attachment 5: Proprietary Information Identification

Application Processing, Review Criteria, & Award

Evaluation Criteria Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated by a panel of SCHEV subject matter experts. The

Page | 12 panel will assess proposals according to the following criteria:

Criterion Point Value

1. Specific methodology and plans proposed to provide the services for the project.

2. Experience and qualifications of the offeror and of the personnel proposed for this project.

3. Proposed price (Use pricing schedule located in Appendix XI) 10

4. Small business subcontracting plan 20

Total Possible Points 100

Award of Contract Selection shall be made of two or more offerors deemed to be fully qualified and best suited among those submitting proposals on the basis of the evaluation factors included in the Request for Proposals, including price, if so stated in the Request for Proposals. Negotiations shall be conducted with the offerors so selected. Price shall be considered but need not be the sole determining factor. After negotiations have been conducted with each offeror so selected, the agency shall select the offeror which, in its opinion, has made the best proposal, and shall award the contract to that offeror.

Should the Commonwealth determine in writing and in its sole discretion that only one offeror is fully qualified, or that one offeror is clearly more highly qualified than the others under consideration, a contract may be negotiated and awarded to that offeror. The award document will be a contract incorporating by reference all the requirements, terms and conditions of the solicitation and the contractor’s proposal as negotiated.

The Commonwealth may cancel this Request for Proposals or reject proposals at any time prior to an award and is not required to furnish a statement of the reasons why a particular proposal was not deemed to be the most advantageous (Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4359D).

Reporting and Delivery Instructions

1. The contractor is expected to deliver final products within 90 days of contract award or start date unless otherwise determined during contract negotiations.

2. The contractor shall provide progress reports to the Contract Administrator at least monthly. Reports shall outline, at a minimum:

a. Specific tasks completed pursuant to the provisions of the contract and associated completion dates.

b. Projected completion dates for the remaining tasks required by the contract.

3. At the time of all invoice submissions, the contractor shall provide the SCHEV

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Procurement Specialist with a report detailing small business subcontractor spend data in compliance with the Small Business Subcontracting Plan (Appendix XI).

Pre-Proposal Webinar and Q&A SCHEV will host an optional pre-proposal webinar with a Q&A session for any interested vendors. Refer to the cover page for date and time.

The purpose of this webinar is to allow vendors an opportunity to present questions and obtain clarification relative to any facet of the RFP. Alternative dates will not be scheduled.

Participation in this webinar is not required but highly encouraged. Interested vendors are encouraged to submit questions ahead of time to inform the content of the presentation.

Questions can be submitted to Stacey Garnett via email at staceygarnett@schev.edu.

Vendors who wish to attend the webinar must contact Stacey Garnett via email at staceygarnett@schev.edu no later than close of business on September 25, 2026. All vendor questions to be addressed during the pre-proposal conference should also be emailed to Stacey

Garnett by this time.

Invoicing and Payment

A valid invoice, sufficiently detailed to allow review and verification of services, shall be submitted to SCHEV by the tenth of the month following the month that services were provided.

Invoices should match the Purchase Order that will be created as a result of the award of this

Payment will be made in accordance with the Prompt Payment Act of Virginia.

At the time of submission of all invoices, the contractor shall provide the SCHEV Procurement

Specialist with a report detailing small business subcontractor spend data in compliance with the

Small Business Subcontracting Plan.

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PRICING SCHEDULE

Please provide the price information for acquiring and implementing the following services and deliverables using the table below. Items in each objective should be listed as firm, fixed prices.

Offeror should also supply labor category pricing for as-needed, additional related work on a time and materials basis. Please also include the Grand Total in the last field.

OBJECTIVE 1

Item/Deliverable Firm Fixed Price Notes

Intermediate Report by the first 60 days, as per the specified deliverables above.

OBJECTIVE 2

Intermediate Progress Report by the first 75 days, as per the specified deliverables above.

OBJECTIVE 3

Final Report by the first 90 days, as per the specified deliverables above.

OBJECTIVE 4

Final Report by the first 120 days, as per

OBJECTIVE 5

Final Report by the first 150 days, as per

OBJECTIVE 6

Final Report by the first 180 days, as per

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OBJECTIVE 7

Final Report by the first 250 days, as per

OBJECTIVE 8

Final Report by the first 350 days, as per

GRAND

TOTAL

Total of Objectives 1,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

A. VENDORS MANUAL: This solicitation is subject to the provisions of the

Commonwealth of Virginia Vendors Manual and any changes or revisions thereto, which are hereby incorporated into this contract in their entirety. The process for filing a complaint about this solicitation is in section 7.13 of the Vendors Manual. (Note section 7.13 does not apply to protests of awards or formal contractual claims.) The procedure for filing contractual claims is in section 7.19 of the Vendors Manual. A copy of the manual is normally available for review at the purchasing office and is accessible on the Internet at eva.virginia.gov under “I Sell To Virginia”.

B. APPLICABLE LAWS AND COURTS: This solicitation and any resulting contract shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to its choice of law provisions, and any litigation with respect thereto shall be brought in the circuit courts of the Commonwealth. The agency and the contractor are encouraged to resolve any issues in controversy arising from the award of the contract or any contractual dispute using Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) procedures

(Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4366). ADR procedures are described in Chapter 9 of the

Vendors Manual. The contractor shall comply with all applicable federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations.

C. ANTI-DISCRIMINATION: By submitting their (bids/proposals), (bidders/offerors) certify to the Commonwealth that they will conform to the provisions of the Federal

Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, as well as the Virginia Fair Employment

Contracting Act of 1975, as amended, where applicable, the Virginians With

Disabilities Act, the Americans With Disabilities Act and § 2.2-4311 of the Virginia

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Public Procurement Act (VPPA). If the award is made to a faith-based organization, the organization shall not discriminate against any recipient of goods, services, or disbursements made pursuant to the contract on the basis of the recipient's religion, religious belief, refusal to participate in a religious practice, or on the basis of race, age, color, gender sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin and shall be subject to the same rules as other organizations that contract with public bodies to account for the use of the funds provided; however, if the faith-based organization segregates public funds into separate accounts, only the accounts and programs funded with public funds shall be subject to audit by the public body. (Code of Virginia, § 2.2-

4343.1E).

In every contract over $10,000 the provisions in 1. and 2. below apply:

1. During the performance of this contract, the contractor agrees as follows:

a. The contractor will not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, religion, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, or any other basis prohibited by state law relating to discrimination in employment, except where there is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the contractor. The contractor agrees to post in conspicuous places, available to employees and applicants for employment, notices setting forth the provisions of this nondiscrimination clause.

b. The contractor, in all solicitations or advertisements for employees placed by or on behalf of the contractor, will state that such contractor is an equal opportunity employer.

c. Notices, advertisements and solicitations placed in accordance with federal law, rule or regulation shall be deemed sufficient for the purpose of meeting the requirements of this section.

d. If the contractor employs more than five employees, the contractor shall (i) provide annual training on the contractor's sexual harassment policy to all supervisors and employees providing services in the Commonwealth, except such supervisors or employees that are required to complete sexual harassment training provided by the Department of Human Resource

Management, and (ii) post the contractor's sexual harassment policy in (a) a conspicuous public place in each building located in the Commonwealth that the contractor owns or leases for business purposes and (b) the contractor's employee handbook.

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e. The requirements of these provisions 1. and 2. are a material part of the contract. If the Contractor violates one of these provisions, the

Commonwealth may terminate the affected part of this contract for breach, or at its option, the whole contract. Violation of one of these provisions may also result in debarment from State contracting regardless of whether the specific contract is terminated.

f. In accordance with Executive Order 61 (2017), a prohibition on discrimination by the contractor, in its employment practices, subcontracting practices, and delivery of goods or services, on the basis of race, sex, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, political affiliation, disability, or veteran status, is hereby incorporated in this

2. The contractor will include the provisions of 1. above in every subcontract or purchase order over $10,000, so that the provisions will be binding upon each subcontractor or vendor.

D. ETHICS IN PUBLIC CONTRACTING: By submitting their (bids/proposals), (bidders/offerors) certify that their (bids/proposals) are made without collusion or fraud and that they have not offered or received any kickbacks or inducements from any other (bidder/offeror), supplier, manufacturer or subcontractor in connection with their

(bid/proposal), and that they have not conferred on any public employee having official responsibility for this procurement transaction any payment, loan, subscription, advance, deposit of money, services or anything of more than nominal value, present or promised, unless consideration of substantially equal or greater value was exchanged.

E. IMMIGRATION REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF 1986: Applicable for all contracts over $10,000:

By entering into a written contract with the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Contractor certifies that the Contractor does not, and shall not during the performance of the contract for goods and services in the Commonwealth, knowingly employ an unauthorized alien as defined in the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of

1986.

F. DEBARMENT STATUS: By participating in this procurement, the vendor certifies that they are not currently debarred by the Commonwealth of Virginia from submitting a response for the type of goods and/or services covered by this solicitation. Vendor further certifies that they are not debarred from filling any order or accepting any resulting order, or that they are an agent of any person or entity that is currently

Page | 18 debarred by the Commonwealth of Virginia.

If a vendor is created or used for the purpose of circumventing a debarment decision against another vendor, the non-debarred vendor will be debarred for the same time period as the debarred vendor.

G. ANTITRUST: By entering into a contract, the contractor conveys, sells, assigns, and transfers to the Commonwealth of Virginia all rights, title and interest in and to all causes of action it may now have or hereafter acquire under the antitrust laws of the United States and the Commonwealth of Virginia, relating to the particular goods or services purchased or acquired by the Commonwealth of Virginia under said contract.

H. MANDATORY USE OF STATE FORM AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR

RFPs: Failure to submit a proposal on the official state form provided for that purpose may be a cause for rejection of the proposal. Modification of or additions to the General

Terms and Conditions of the solicitation may be cause for rejection of the proposal;

however, the Commonwealth reserves the right to decide, on a case by case basis, in its sole discretion, whether to reject such a proposal.

I. CLARIFICATION OF TERMS: If any prospective (bidder/offeror) has questions about the specifications or other solicitation documents, the prospective

(bidder/offeror) should contact the buyer whose name appears on the face of the solicitation no later than five working days before the due date. Any revisions to the solicitation will be made only by addendum issued by the buyer.

J. PAYMENT:

1. To Prime Contractor:

Invoices for items ordered, delivered and accepted shall be submitted by the contractor directly to the payment address shown on the purchase order/contract. All invoices shall show the state contract number and/or purchase order number; social security number (for individual contractors) or the federal employer identification number (for proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations).

a. Any payment terms requiring payment in less than 30 days will be regarded as requiring payment 30 days after invoice or delivery, whichever occurs last. This shall not affect offers of discounts for payment in less than 30 days, however.

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b. All goods or services provided under this contract or purchase order, that are to be paid for with public funds, shall be billed by the contractor at the contract price, regardless of which public agency is being billed.

c. The following shall be deemed to be the date of payment: the date of postmark in all cases where payment is made by mail, or when offset proceedings have been instituted as authorized under the Virginia Debt

Collection Act.

d. Unreasonable Charges. Under certain emergency procurements and for most time and material purchases, final job costs cannot be accurately determined at the time orders are placed. In such cases, contractors should be put on notice that final payment in full is contingent on a determination of reasonableness with respect to all invoiced charges. Charges which appear to be unreasonable will be resolved in accordance with Code of

Virginia, § 2.2-4363 and -4364. Upon determining that invoiced charges are not reasonable, the Commonwealth shall notify the contractor of defects or improprieties in invoices within fifteen (15) days as required in

Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4351. The provisions of this section do not relieve an agency of its prompt payment obligations with respect to those charges which are not in dispute (Code of Virginia, § 2.2-4363).

2. To Subcontractors:

a. Within seven (7) days of the contractor’s receipt of payment from the

Commonwealth, a contractor awarded a contract under this solicitation is hereby obligated:

(1) To pay the subcontractor(s) for the proportionate share of the payment received for work performed by the subcontractor(s) under the contract;

or

(2) To notify the agency and the subcontractor(s), in writing, of the contractor’s intention to withhold payment and the reason.

b. The contractor is obligated to pay the subcontractor(s) interest at the rate of one percent per month (unless otherwise provided under the terms of the contract) on all amounts owed by the contractor that remain unpaid seven

(7) days following receipt of payment from the Commonwealth, except for amounts withheld as stated in (2) above. The date of mailing of any payment by U. S. Mail is deemed to be payment to the addressee. These provisions apply to each sub-tier contractor performing under the primary contract. A contractor’s obligation to pay an interest charge to a subcontractor may not be construed to be an obligation of the

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Commonwealth.

3. Each prime contractor who wins an award in which provision of a SWaM procurement plan is a condition to the award, shall deliver to the contracting agency or institution, on or before request for final payment, evidence and

Page | 21 certification of compliance (subject only to insubstantial shortfalls and to shortfalls arising from subcontractor default) with the SWaM procurement plan.

Final payment under the contract in question may be withheld until such certification is delivered and, if necessary, confirmed by the agency or institution, or other appropriate penalties may be assessed in lieu of withholding such payment.

4. The Commonwealth of Virginia encourages contractors and subcontractors to accept electronic and credit card payments.

K. PRECEDENCE OF TERMS: The following General Terms and Conditions

VENDORS MANUAL, APPLICABLE LAWS AND COURTS, ANTI-

DISCRIMINATION, ETHICS IN PUBLIC CONTRACTING, IMMIGRATION

REFORM AND CONTROL ACT OF 1986, DEBARMENT STATUS, ANTITRUST,

MANDATORY USE OF STATE FORM AND TERMS AND CONDITIONS,

CLARIFICATION OF TERMS, PAYMENT shall apply in all instances. In the event there is a conflict between any of the other General Terms and Conditions and any

Special Terms and Conditions in this solicitation, the Special Terms and Conditions shall apply.

L. QUALIFICATIONS OF (BIDDERS/OFFERORS): The Commonwealth may make such reasonable investigations as deemed proper and necessary to determine the ability of the (bidder/offeror) to perform the services/furnish the goods and the

(bidder/offeror) shall furnish to the Commonwealth all such information and data for this purpose as may be requested. The Commonwealth reserves the right to inspect

(bidder’s/offeror’s) physical facilities prior to award to satisfy questions regarding the

(bidder’s/offeror’s) capabilities. The Commonwealth reserves the right to conduct any test/inspection it may deem advisable to assure goods and services conform to the specifications.

M. TESTING AND INSPECTION: The Commonwealth reserves the right to conduct any test/inspection it may deem advisable to assure goods and services conform to the specifications.

N. ASSIGNMENT OF CONTRACT: A contract shall not be assignable by the contractor in whole or in part without the written consent of the Commonwealth.

O. CHANGES TO THE CONTRACT: Changes can be made to the contract in any of the following ways:

1. The parties may agree in writing to modify the terms, conditions, or scope of the contract. Any additional goods or services to be provided shall be of a sort that is ancillary to the contract goods or services, or within the same broad product

Page | 22 or service categories as were included in the contract award. Any increase or decrease in the price of the contract resulting from such modification shall be agreed to by the parties as a part of their written agreement to modify the scope of the contract.

2. The Purchasing Agency may order changes within the general scope of the contract at any time by written notice to the contractor. Changes within the scope of the contract include, but are not limited to, things such as services to be performed, the method of packing or shipment, and the place of delivery or installation. The contractor shall comply with the notice upon receipt, unless the contractor intends to claim an adjustment to compensation, schedule, or other contractual impact that would be caused by complying with such notice, in which case the contractor shall, in writing, promptly notify the Purchasing

Agency of the adjustment to be sought, and before proceeding to comply with the notice, shall await the Purchasing Agency's written decision affirming, modifying, or revoking the prior written notice. If the Purchasing Agency decides to issue a notice that requires an adjustment to compensation, the contractor shall be compensated for any additional costs incurred as the result of such order and shall give the Purchasing Agency a credit for any savings. Said compensation shall be determined by one of the following methods:

a. By mutual agreement between the parties in writing; or

b. By agreeing upon a unit price or using a unit price set forth in the contract, if the work to be done can be expressed in units, and the contractor accounts for the number of units of work performed, subject to the

Purchasing Agency’s right to audit the contractor’s records and/or to determine the correct number of units independently; or

c. By ordering the contractor to proceed with the work and keep a record of all costs incurred and savings realized. A markup for overhead and profit may be allowed if provided by the contract. The same markup shall be used for determining a decrease in price as the result of savings realized.

The contractor shall present the Purchasing Agency with all vouchers and records of expenses incurred and savings realized. The Purchasing

Agency shall have the right to audit the records of the contractor as it deems necessary to determine costs or savings. Any claim for an adjustment in price under this provision must be asserted by written notice to the Purchasing Agency within thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of the written order from the Purchasing Agency. If the parties fail to agree on an amount of adjustment, the question of an increase or decrease in the contract price or time for performance shall be resolved in accordance with the procedures for resolving disputes provided by the Disputes Clause of this contract or, if there is none, in accordance with the disputes provisions

Page | 23 of the Commonwealth of Virginia Vendors Manual. Neither the existence of a claim nor a dispute resolution process, litigation or any other provision of this contract shall excuse the contractor from promptly complying with the changes ordered by the Purchasing Agency or with the performance of the contract generally.

P. DEFAULT: In case of failure to deliver goods or services in accordance with the contract terms and conditions, the Commonwealth, after due oral or written notice, may procure them from other sources and hold the contractor responsible for any resulting additional purchase and administrative costs. This remedy shall be in addition to any other remedies that the Commonwealth may have.

Q. OMITTED.

R. OMITTED.

S. OMITTED

T. OMITTED

U. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARD: Upon the award or the announcement of the decision to award a contract as a result of this solicitation, the purchasing agency will publicly post such notice in eVA (eva.virginia.gov) for a minimum of 10 days.

V. DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE: Applicable for all contracts over $10,000:

During the performance of this contract,…