USBE - Utah Professional Practices Advisory Committee (UPPAC) Investigators

Issuing Procurement Unit: Utah State Board of Education UTAH STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS SOLICITATION # USBE-MI27022-RFP UTAH PROFESSIONAL PRACTICES ADVISORY COMMITTEE (UPPAC) INVESTIGATORS This Request for Proposals ("RFP"), having been determined to be the appropriate procurement method to provide the best value to the Utah State Board of Education (USBE), is designed to provide interested Offerors with sufficient basic information to submit proposals. This RFP is issued in accordance with the Utah Procurement Code and applicable administrative rules of the Utah Administrative Code. If any provision of this RFP conflicts with the Utah Procurement Code or Utah Administrative Code, then the Utah Procurement Code or Utah Administrative Code will take precedence. Issuing Procurement Unit, Conducting Procurement Unit, and Solicitation Number: USBE is the issuing procurement unit and conducting procurement unit for this RFP (referred to as "USBE"). The reference number for this RFP is Solicitation # USBE-MI27022-RFP. This solicitation number must be referenced on all proposals, correspondence, and documentation submitted to USBE relating to this RFP. Purpose of this Solicitation: The purpose of this RFP is to contract with a qualified Offeror or multiple Offerors to serve as external, independent investigators who will be used on a rotating/random basis as hearings are required. Please see the Scope of Work attached in the Files section for further details. Contract Award: It is anticipated this RFP will result in a single contract award or multiple contract awards to responsive and responsible Offeror(s). The contract(s) resulting from this RFP will run until June 30, 2027, with the potential for four (4) additional one-year renewal options. However, USBE reserves the right to terminate the contract(s) at any time in accordance with the provisions set forth in the USBE Standard Terms and Conditions. USBE will make its best effort to assign work to contractors on a rotation basis, considering contractor availability, geographic location, potential and actual personal or professional conflicts of interest, and any other consideration deemed pertinent by USBE. NO AMOUNT OF WORK IS GUARANTEED TO BE AWARDED TO ANY CONTRACTOR UNDER A CONTRACT RESULTING FROM THIS RFP. Contract Budget: The maximum contract budget is $350,000.00 for the initial term of the contract(s) resulting from this RFP. However, this is NOT a guaranteed total amount, as it is anticipated there may be multiple awardees, and no amount of work is guaranteed to be awarded to any contractor. You are not required to expend the entire amount of funds when calculating your cost proposal. Cost proposals exceeding these identified amounts will be considered non-responsive and ineligible for contract award. Evaluations shall be based on the TOTAL PROPOSED HOURLY RATE for the initial term of the contract. Please note that any contract resulting from this RFP may include four (4) additional one-year renewal options. These renewal option years MAY be exercised at USBE's discretion and subject to appropriation. It is anticipated that the maximum budget for these renewal option years will remain steady per year; however, this is not a guaranteed amount as it may be subject to appropriation. While not scored, please provide the costs associated with these additional renewal option years. Please note there is a separate tab on the Cost Proposal Form where you may provide pricing on any additional optional items that are NOT required to use your proposed solution and are NOT listed as a requirement in this RFP. Any work must be invoiced after services have been rendered. Invoices for services rendered during the fiscal year (July 1 through June 30) shall be submitted during the fiscal year in which the services were rendered, and no later than 30 days after the end of each fiscal year. Costs MUST be all-inclusive. If travel for meetings, trainings, or other engagements is required for the Contractor, the Contractor must arrange and pay for their own transportation, meals, and lodging. Travel time and travel expenses for the vendor shall NOT be included in any invoice to USBE, unless authorized by USBE in advance for hearings outside of Salt Lake County. Additional Information: Offerors are prohibited from communications regarding this RFP with the USBE staff, evaluation committee members, or other associated individuals EXCEPT the USBE procurement officer overseeing this RFP. Wherever in this RFP an item is defined by using a trade name, brand name, or a manufacturer and/or model number, it is intended that the words, "or equivalent" apply; and invites the submission of equivalent products by the Offerors. If applicable, Offerors may be required to submit product samples to assist the head of a procurement unit with independent procurement authority in evaluating whether a procurement item meets the specifications and other requirements set forth in the RFP. Product samples must be furnished free of charge unless otherwise stated in the RFP, and if not destroyed by testing, will upon written request within any deadline stated in the RFP, be returned at the Offeror's expense. Samples must be labeled or otherwise identified as specified in the RFP by the procurement unit. USBE reserves the right to conduct discussions with the Offerors who submit proposals determined to be reasonably eligible of being selected for award, followed by an opportunity to make best and final offers pursuant to the Utah Procurement Code and applicable administrative rules, but proposals may be accepted without discussions. Proposal Content and Evaluation: The provisions of this RFP are not intended to limit a proposal's content or exclude any relevant or essential data. Offerors are at liberty and are encouraged to expand upon the specifications to demonstrate Offeror's ability to provide USBE with a solution. Each proposal received shall be evaluated as outlined in this RFP, the Utah Procurement Code, and applicable administrative rules in the Utah Administrative Code. To be responsive and responsible Offerors must review and respond to the following sections of this RFP: Requested Information: The Requested Information section includes the prerequisites all Offerors must read and agree to in order to respond to this RFP. Files: The Files section includes the standard contractual terms and conditions applicable to this RFP, as well as other documents associated with this RFP. Questions: The Questions section contains questions to which Offerors must respond in order to submit a proposal. This section may also include the objective and subjective criteria that will be used to evaluate proposals, including mandatory minimum requirements and technical evaluation criteria. To determine which proposal provides the best value to USBE, the evaluation committee shall evaluate each responsive and responsible proposal that has not been disqualified from consideration under the provisions of the Utah Procurement Code and applicable administrative rules, using the criteria described in this RFP. Offerors must review each section carefully. After the evaluation and final scoring of proposals is completed, USBE shall award the contract as soon as practicable to the responsive and responsible Offeror(s) eligible for award, subject to the Utah Procurement Code and applicable administrative rules, provided the RFP is not canceled in accordance with Utah Code Section 63G-6a-709(2)(b) and applicable administrative rules.