Solicitation Questionnaire and Templates

State of Utah Division of Purchasing

Questionnaire• Provides the Issuing Procurement Unit, the Division

of Purchasing, the detailed information needed to develop the solicitation documents.

• DTS Solicitations.

• Basis for the contract.

• Prepare with the end in mind.

• Involve your sourcing team/evaluation committee.

Questionnaire• Proper planning provides the foundation for

contract awarding and monitoring by:o Identifying what services or goods are needed, when they are needed,

how they should be provided, what provisions should be in the contract, and how performance will be evaluated.

o Ensuring that proper information is collected to effectively structure a request for proposal (RFP) or other procurement tool.

Proper PlanningProper planning provides the foundation for contract awarding and monitoring by:• Identifying what services or goods are needed,

when they are needed, how they should be provided, what provisions should be in the contract, and how performance will be evaluated.

• Ensuring that proper information is collected to effectively structure a request for proposal (RFP) or other procurement tool.

Planning…As a public entity, the agency must know and follow: oThe state's bidding and contracting

laws; oOther relevant state laws; andoAny procedural guidelines the

agency is obligated to follow.

How many of you feel…

Purpose/Objective• The Purpose section describes the procurement

items sought and other pertinent information.• 63G-6a-603: An invitation for bids shall provide a

description of the procurement items sought.• 63G-6a-703: A request for proposal shall include

a description of the procurement items sought.

RFP Purpose Statement

PURPOSE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP)The state of Utah is seeking proposals for the purchase and installation of a digital multi channel logging recorder system to replace the existing legacy equipment currently in use. The proposed system shall be designed to automatically record and playback telephone calls and radio traffic in a public safety dispatch environment. These systems will be installed in various public safety dispatch centers around the state of Utah. The state plans to implement Next Generation 911 technology and requires that the proposed call logging recorder systems be compatible with this new technology and able to grow with the increasing technical demands inherent in this migration.

IFB Purpose Statement

Purpose of this Solicitation The general purpose of this IFB is to provide interested bidders an opportunity to bid for a contract that provides dental laboratory services for approximately 6,000 inmates under the jurisdiction of the Utah Department of Corrections. Service areas include three dental units (Wasatch, Timpanogos, and Uinta) within the Utah State Prison (USP) located at 14425 Bitterbrush Lane in Draper, Utah; one dental unit within the Central Utah Correctional Facility (CUCF) located at 255 East 300 North in Gunnison, Utah; and a UDC dental clinic in the Beaver County Jail located at 2279 South 525 West in Beaver, Utah. 

BackgroundBACKGROUND The Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) operates six public safety answering points (PSAP) in Utah providing dispatch services for Police Fire, EMS, UDOT, DNR, and DOC in Utah. These PSAP’s are located in Box Elder, Cedar, Price, Richfield, Salt Lake, and Uintah Basin. Between DPS and other city and county agencies there are approximately 42 dispatch centers in Utah with over 200 consoles. All of the logging recorders currently in use are at end of life/support and experiencing various problems. DPS and some of the city and county agencies are seeking a next gen 911 capable replacement for these legacy recorders.

Agency BackgroundBackground

The Utah Department of Corrections is charged with the care and well-being of over 6,000 state inmates in two state prisons and multiple county jails throughout the State of Utah. As a part of managing inmate well-being, medical and dental needs of aging and otherwise impaired inmates must be addressed. In order to accomplish this, the department must contract out for dental services that cannot be taken care of in-house.

Multiple or Single Award

• Pursuant to Utah Administrative Code R33-12-301(4), when it is anticipated that a procurement will result in multiple contract awards, the solicitation shall include a statement that:o Indicates that contract may be awarded to more than one bidder or

offeror;o Specifies whether contract will be awarded on a statewide, regional,

combined statewide and regional basis, or agency specific requirement; and

o Describes the methodology or a formula that will be used to determine the number of contract awards.

Mandatory Minimum Requirements

• 63G-6a-704 (3) At any time during the evaluation process you may reject a proposal if it is determined that: (b) the proposal is not responsive or does not meet mandatory minimum requirements stated in the request for proposal.

• 63G-6a-604 (3)(b) A bid that is not responsive includes a bid that (iv) fails to conform with the requirements or specifications of a invitation to bid.

• 63G-6a-606 (5) A procurement officer who disqualifies a bidder shall (a) make a written finding, stating the reasons; and (b) provide that written finding to the disqualified bidder.

Mandatory Minimum Requirements

• Offeror/Bidder MMR’s• Examples include: Certifications, licenses,

experience, performance ratings.

• Scope of Work/Specification MMR’s• Examples include: Product performance

requirements, inspection results, compatibility requirements, data security requirements, training.

SpecificationsIt is the responsibility of the department to provide Purchasing, as early as possible, with full and complete specifications for the products or services requested. Clearly written and properly organized specifications, establish technical goals, administrative and financial expectations, and set the tone for good communication and a productive relationship between the agency and the supplier/contractor. To accomplish this the specifications must clearly define the user's need.

Specifications Continued

63G-6a-407. Purpose of specifications. • (1) All specifications shall seek to promote the

overall economy and best use for the purposes intended and encourage competition in satisfying the needs of the procurement unit, and may not be unduly restrictive.

• (2) The requirements of this part regarding the purposes and nonrestrictiveness of specifications shall apply to all specifications, including those prepared by architects, engineers, designers, and draftsmen for public contracts.

Specifications Continued

• Wherever in solicitiations 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.

Specifications Continued

Detailed specifications should include:• Background and purpose for the requested goods or services• Scope of work describing the service and/or product including

accompanying mandatory and desirable requirements, quantity and units, desired delivery dates or schedules, technical requirements

• Clear description of the deliverables to be provided by the supplier

• Pricing format• Basis for evaluation: when specifying requirements, always

consider how that requirement will be evaluated and measured

• Department's plan for monitoring the performance of the supplier

Scope of Work• The Scope of Work (SOW) is a formal agreement

document that specifies all the criteria of a contract between a service provider (vendor) and the customer.

• It clearly documents the project requirements, milestones, deliverables, end products, documents and reports that are expected to be provided by the vendor.

• Concisely and completely describes the obligations of all parties.

Scope of Work• SOW is sufficiently detailed so as to provide

enough of a basis at a later stage when you will be required to extract relevant criteria that will be used to differentiate competing proposals.

• Remember that the selection criteria that you develop for your RFP must have a logical foundation within the text of the SOW.

Reminder Checklist• There is tremendous potential within a SOW for

overlap, duplication, and/or contradiction with the Terms and Conditions (T’s & C’s) of the resulting Contract. Remember – the contents of the SOW are variable to define the requirement(s) at hand vs. the T’s & C’s which contain the standard terms and conditions of the resulting contract. If it’s covered-off in the T’s & C’s, you generally don’t need to worry about it in the SOW.

Reminder Checklist• Try to use plain and simple language in writing your SOW,

and to avoid jargon, vague terms and rambling sentences. While there is a natural tendency to want to cover-off all possible contingencies in a SOW and to establish the basis for an iron tight, no-risk, enforceable contract, this often leads to excessive “legalese” with the document, creating confusion, misunderstandings and contradictions. Ask yourself: “What would a reasonable person looking at this conclude?”.

• Above all, do your best in the SOW to convey to the Bidders what it will take on their part to complete the work to your satisfaction, and accordingly what it will take for them to ultimately have their work accepted and certified for payment.

Evaluation Methodology

For RFPs: 63G-6a-707. Evaluation of proposalsTo determine which proposal provides the best value to the procurement unit, the evaluation committee shall evaluate each responsive and responsible proposal that has not been disqualified from consideration under the provisions of this chapter, using the criteria described in the request for proposals…

Criteria not described in the request for proposals may not be used to evaluate a proposal.

Evaluation Methodology

ContinuedFor IFBs:63G-6a-606. Evaluation of bidsA procurement unit that conducts a procurement using a bidding standard procurement process shall evaluate each bid using the objective criteria described in the invitation for bids…

AND:

Criteria not described in the invitation for bids may not be used to evaluate a bid.

RFP Template63G-6a-703 Request for proposals – Requirements (1) The request for proposals standard procurement process begins when the division or a procurement unit with independent procurement authority issues a request for proposals. (2) A request for proposals shall:

(a) state the period of time during which a proposal will be accepted;

(b) describe the manner in which a proposal shall be submitted; (c) state the place where a proposal shall be submitted; (d) include, or incorporate by reference:

(i) a description of the procurement items sought; (ii) a description of the subjective and objective criteria that will be used to evaluate the proposal; and (iii) the standard contractual terms and conditions

required by the authorized purchasing entity;

RFP Template Continued

(e) state the relative weight that will be given to each score for the criteria described in Subsection (2)(d)(ii), including cost; (f) state the formula that will be used to determine the score awarded for the cost of each proposal; (g) if the request for proposals will be conducted in

multiple stages, as described in Section 63G-6a-710, include a description of the stages and the criteria and scoring that will be used to screen offerors at each stage; and

(h) state that discussions may be conducted with offerors who submit proposals determined to be reasonably susceptible of being selected for award, followed by an opportunity to make best and final offers, but that proposals may be accepted without discussions.

RFP Template Continued

R33-7-102. Content of the Request for Proposals (1) In addition to the requirements set forth under Section 63G-6a-703, the request for proposals solicitation shall include:

(a) a description of the format that offerors are to use when submitting a proposal including any required forms; and

(b) instructions for submitting price. (2) The conducting procurement unit is responsible for all content contained in the request for proposals solicitation documents, including:

(a) reviewing all schedules, dates, and timeframes; (b) approving content of attachments; (c) providing the issuing procurement unit with redacted documents,

as applicable; (d) assuring that information contained in the solicitation documents

is public information; and (e) understanding the scope of work, all evaluation criteria,

requirements, factors, and formulas to be used in determining the scoring of proposals

IFB Template63G-6a-603 Invitation for bids – REQUIREMENTS(2) An invitation for bids shall:

(a) state the period of time during which bids will be accepted;

(b) describe the manner in which a bid shall be submitted;

(c) state the place where a bid shall be submitted; and(d) include, or incorporate by reference:

(i) a description of the procurement items sought;(ii) the objective criteria that will be used to evaluate the bids; and(iii) the required contractual terms and conditions.