ON-CALL PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT SERVICES

The South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for on-call public involvement services to support compliance with their Public Involvement Policy and Public Participation Plan. The solicitation seeks contractors to develop public involvement plans, coordinate outreach activities for project development and statewide planning projects, and prepare comprehensive public meeting materials including displays, websites, handouts, comment forms, postcards, sign-in sheets, and meeting booklets. Contractors will be responsible for conducting community outreach, preparing responses to public comments, and assisting in developing templates for public outreach materials with emphasis on SCDOT branding. The proposal evaluation criteria heavily weight technical factors, with 95% of scoring focused on staff qualifications (40%), past performance (25%), familiarity with SCDOT personnel and policies (20%), and DBE utilization experience (10%). Key submission requirements include a 15-page technical proposal with a letter of interest, staff resumes, project references, descriptions of similar work completed within three years, and outreach approach methodologies. The pre-proposal conference was held on January 10, 2023, with questions due by January 12, 2023, and proposals due by February 3, 2023, at 2:30 PM through an online procurement portal.

The solicitation encourages participation from Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE), with DBE utilization experience specifically included in the evaluation criteria. Offerors must be registered South Carolina vendors and may claim in-state preferences if applicable. The contract was initially structured for a one-year term beginning March 21, 2023, with two optional one-year renewals, potentially extending the total contract period to three years. Pricing will be submitted on an hourly rate basis for personnel assigned to the work, with rate cards submitted as a separate document and not used in scoring. While no specific contract value was explicitly stated, the solicitation indicates SCDOT intends to award contracts to the two highest-ranked, responsive, and responsible offerors determined to be most advantageous to the State. Interestingly, the subsequent "AWARD NOT MADE" document suggests that the services were ultimately not procured, as the agency determined the services were no longer required. Offerors were required to hold their proposals open for a minimum of 90 calendar days after the opening date, and full proposals included technical submissions, qualifications documents, business proposals with rate cards, and necessary certification forms.