APEX Accelerator Procurement Support Services

The State of Utah Division of Purchasing, in conjunction with the Governor's Office of Economic Development, is conducting a Request for Statement of Qualifications (RFSQ) for APEX Accelerator Procurement Support Services under Utah Procurement Code 63G-6a Part 15 for Design Professional Service Providers and Consultants. This is a five-year contract, commencing July 1, 2026, and concluding June 30, 2031, to procure professional services supporting the APEX Accelerator program, a statewide government contracting assistance initiative designed to help Utah businesses pursue and secure government contracts. The contractor will provide on-demand support services including assistance with System for Award Management (SAM) registration, capability statement development, cybersecurity maturity model certification counseling, bid and proposal preparation support for Requests for Proposal and Requests for Quote, subcontracting opportunity identification, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) grant assistance (up to 150 hours annually), General Services Administration (GSA) market assessment support, coordination of 4-6 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Construction Quality Management trainings annually, and post-contract management assistance. The contractor will operate as an independent contractor providing services only when explicitly requested and authorized by the APEX Accelerator director through a formal Authorization Form, with monthly invoicing for actual documented consulting and administrative hours at pre-approved hourly rates. Evaluation will be conducted using a technical scoring methodology with a maximum of 550 points across four criteria: level of expertise in resolving the stated purpose, objectives, and scope of work (40% weight, 200 points); ongoing support capability throughout the contract term (20% weight, 100 points); experience servicing similar government clients (20% weight, 100 points); and experience working with other businesses in pursuing government contracts (30% weight, 150 points), with a minimum threshold of 75% of total technical points (412.5 points) required for acceptability. The solicitation deadline for responses is May 8, 2026, with the posting date of April 24, 2026; vendors must submit qualifications without pricing information, and the highest-ranked vendor will be selected for direct negotiation of fair and reasonable compensation and contract terms.

The solicitation contains no specific set-aside designations or restrictions limiting responses to particular types of organizations or disadvantaged enterprises based on the provided documentation. No incumbent vendors or current contractors are listed in the available materials. The contract requires compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, including E-Verify employment eligibility verification for Utah positions, and contractors must maintain workers' compensation insurance and commercial general liability insurance with minimum limits of one million dollars per occurrence and three million dollars aggregate. Technology provisions require that any cloud services utilize existing State of Utah Division of Technology Services accounts where possible, and the contractor is prohibited from soliciting additional fees from APEX Accelerator clients without director approval while also being required to disclose any perceived conflicts of interest prior to engaging with clients. The specific award value or budget range for this procurement is not disclosed in the available solicitation documents, as compensation will be determined through negotiation following vendor ranking based on qualifications submissions. If fair and reasonable compensation cannot be agreed upon with the highest-ranked vendor, the State may proceed with negotiations with the next highest-ranked vendor.