Fund management services for panther depredation compensation

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is seeking competitive bids for Fund Management Services for Panther Depredation Compensation. FWC is responsible for managing and recovering the endangered Florida panther and is establishing a program to reimburse commercial livestock producers for losses due to verified panther depredation incidents, primarily in Collier, Hendry, and Lee counties. FWC requires an organization with experience managing and disbursing funds for wildlife/livestock programs to administer this compensation program. The contract will be effective for one year from the date of award, with options to renew annually for up to two additional years. Bids are due by July 21, 2023 at 3:30 PM ET, with a public bid opening at that time. FWC has an estimated budget of $125,000 for this project and will only consider responsive and responsible contractors. Bidders must be registered in the MyFloridaMarketPlace system and with the Florida Department of State (Sunbiz) prior to bid submission.

FWC encourages participation by minority, women, and veteran-owned business enterprises. The successful bidder will be paid based on an overhead multiplier not to exceed 0.10 to disburse compensation funds to eligible livestock producers within 5 business days of notification by FWC. The contractor must maintain accurate records and provide weekly reports to FWC. Financial consequences will be applied if funds are not disbursed timely. FWC reserves the right to inspect the prospective contractor's qualifications prior to award and to reject any bid that exceeds the estimated budget by more than 20%.