Department of Health
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)
SOLICITATION NO. (solicitation number)
Issue Date: (date of issuance)
(SOLICITATION TITLE)
(If your procurement is designated as a Small Business Reserve Procurement, include the following notice in black font)
NOTICE TO OFFERORS
SMALL BUSINESS RESERVE PROCUREMENT
This is a Small Business Reserve Procurement for which award will be limited to certified small business vendors. Only businesses that meet the statutory requirements set forth in State Finance and Procurement Article, §§14-501 —14-505, Annotated Code of Maryland, and that are certified bythe Department of General Services Small Business Reserve Program are eligible for award of a contract.
NOTICE
A Prospective Offeror that has received this document from the Maryland Department of Health’s website eMaryland Marketplace (see Section 4.2) web site or a source other than the Procurement Officer, and that wishes to assure receipt of any changes or additional materials related to this RFP should immediately contact the Procurement Officer and provide the Prospective Offeror’s name and mailing address so that addenda to the RFP or other communications can be sent to the Prospective Offeror.
Minority Business Enterprises Are Encouraged to Respond to this Solicitation
STATE OF MARYLAND
NOTICE TO VENDORS
To help us improve the quality of State solicitations, and to make our procurement process more responsive and business friendly, take a few minutes and provide comments and suggestions regarding this solicitation. Please return your comments with your response. If you have chosen not to respond to this solicitation, please email or fax this completed form to the attention of the Procurement Officer (see Key Information Sheet below for contact information).
Title: (SOLICITATION TITLE)
Solicitation No: (solicitation number)
1.If you have chosen not to respond to this solicitation, please indicate the reason(s) below:
( )Other commitments preclude our participation at this time.
( )The subject of the solicitation is not something we ordinarily provide.
( )We are inexperienced in the work/commodities required.
( )Specifications are unclear, too restrictive, etc. (Explain in REMARKS section.)
( )The scope of work is beyond our present capacity.
( )Doing business with the State of Maryland is simply too complicated. (Explain in REMARKS section.)
( )We cannot be competitive. (Explain in REMARKS section.)
( )Time allotted for completion of the Proposal is insufficient.
( )Start-up time is insufficient.
( )Bonding/Insurance requirements are restrictive. (Explain in REMARKS section.)
( )Proposal requirements (other than specifications) are unreasonable or too risky.
(Explain in REMARKS section.)
( )MBE or VSBE requirements. (Explain in REMARKS section.)
( )Prior State of Maryland contract experience was unprofitable or otherwise unsatisfactory. (Explain in REMARKS section.)
( )Payment schedule too slow.
( )Other:______
2.If you have submitted a response to this solicitation, but wish to offer suggestions or express concerns, please use the REMARKS section below. (Attach additional pages as needed.)
REMARKS: ______
______
Vendor Name: ______Date: ______
Contact Person: ______Phone (____) _____ - ______
Address: ______
E-mail Address: ______
STATE OF MARYLAND
MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
RFP KEY INFORMATION SUMMARY SHEET
Request for Proposals for SOLICITATION TITLE
(choose one) Services or
Information Technology (IT):
Solicitation Number:(solicitation number)
RFP Purpose Enter a short reason why the RFP is being issued; what is (See RFP Section 2.2.1) expected to be obtained or what problem(s) is to be solved.
RFP Issue Date:(date of issuance)
RFP Issuing Office:(Dept. Administration and usually sub-unit, or Facility)
Procurement Officer:(name of Procurement Officer)
(See Appendix 1 Definition)(contact information of Procurement Officer)
(address)
Phone: Fax:
e-mail:
Contract Officer:(name of Contract Officer)
(See Appendix 1 Definition)Office of Procurement and Support Services
e-mail:
Procurement Coordinator:(name of Procurement Coordinator if Applicable)
(See Appendix 1 Definition)Phone: Fax:
e-mail: ______
Proposals are to be sent to:(Usually OPASS, but with OPASS permission, other
(See RFP Section 5.2)Department unit or facility)
(street address and room number), (city, state, zip code)
Attention: (name of Procurement Officer or OPASS approved other individual)
Pre-Proposal Conference:(date and time of Conference) Local Time
(See RFP Section 4.1)(street address, room number), (city, state, zip code)
Proposals Due (Closing)
Date and Time:(Proposal due date and time) Local Time
(See RFP Section 4.5)
MBE Subcontracting Goal:(MBE goal percentage) %
(See RFP Section 4.26)
VSBE Subcontracting Goal:(VSBE goal percentage) %
(See RFP Section 4.27)
Offeror Minimum Qualifications (Yes or No)
(See RFP Section 1)
Contract Duration:(enter contract duration including Start-up Period(See
(See RFP Section 2.1.3)Appendix 1 Definition),approx. Go-Live Date (See Appendix 1 Definition)and any option periods.) After describing any option period(s) add “to be exercised at the sole discretion of the Department”
Contract Type:(enter type of contract or combination of
(See RFP Section 3.4.1)more than one contract type;e.g., firm fixed price, fixed price with cost adjustment, labor hours, indefinite quantity with fixed unit price(s), etc.)
Number of Contract Awards (Enter “one” if there will be a single award. For multiple
(See RFP Section 4.9)award situations or if there will awards per regions or functional areas, so state.)
Federal Funding:(Yes or No)
(See RFP Section 4.29)
SBR Designation:(Yes or No)
(See RFP Section 4.31)
Contract Extended to Other (Yes or No)
Governments and/or
Maryland Non-Profits
(See RFP Section 4.38)
Table of Contents
SECTION 1 – MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
1Offeror Minimum Qualifications
SECTION 2 – CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS: SCOPE OF WORK
2.1Summary Statement
2.2Background and Purpose
2.3Scope of Work - Requirements
SECTION 3 – CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS: GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
3.1Insurance Requirements
3.2Security Requirements
3.3Problem Escalation Procedure
3.4Invoicing
3.5SOC 2 Type 2 Audit Report
3.6MBE Reports
3.7VSBE Reports
3.8Liquidated Damages
3.9End of Contract Transition
3.10Substitution of Personnel
SECTION 4 – Procurement instructions
4.1Pre-Proposal Conference
4.2eMaryland Marketplace
4.3Questions
4.4Procurement Method
4.5Proposals Due (Closing) Date and Time
4.6Multiple or Alternate Proposals
4.7Economy of Preparation
4.8Public Information Act Notice
4.9Award Basis
4.10Oral Presentation
4.11Duration of Proposal
4.12 Revisions to the RFP
4.13Cancellations
4.14Incurred Expenses
4.15Protest/Disputes
4.16Offeror Responsibilities
4.17Mandatory Contractual Terms
4.18Proposal Affidavit
4.19Contract Affidavit
4.20Compliance with Laws/Arrearages
4.21Verification of Registration and Tax Payment
4.22False Statements
4.23Payments by Electronic Funds Transfer
4.24Prompt Payment Policy
4.25Electronic Procurements Authorized
4.26Minority Business Enterprise Goals
4.27Veteran-Owned Small Business Enterprise Goal
4.28Living Wage Requirements
4.29Federal Funding Acknowledgement
4.30Conflict of Interest Affidavit and Disclosure
4.31Non-Disclosure Agreement
4.32HIPAA - Business Associate Agreement
4.33Nonvisual Access
4.34Mercury and Products That Contain Mercury
4.35Location of the Performance of Services Disclosure
4.36Department of Human Resources (DHR) Hiring Agreement
4.37Small Business Reserve (SBR) Procurement
SECTION 5 – PROPOSAL FORMAT
5.1Two Part Submission
5.2Proposals
5.3Delivery
5.4Volume I – Technical Proposal
5.5Volume II – Financial Proposal
SECTION 6 – EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS
6.1Evaluation Committee
6.2Technical Proposal Evaluation Criteria
6.3Financial Proposal Evaluation Criteria
6.4Reciprocal Preference
6.5Selection Procedures
6.6Documents Required upon Notice of Recommendation for Contract Award
RFP ATTACHMENTS
ATTACHMENT A – PRE-PROPOSAL CONFERENCE RESPONSE FORM
ATTACHMENT B – FINANCIAL PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS & FORM
ATTACHMENT C – PROPOSAL AFFIDAVIT
ATTACHMENTS D – MINORITY BUSINESS ENTERPRISE FORMS
ATTACHMENTS E – VETERAN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE
ATTACHMENT F – LIVING WAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR SERVICE CONTRACTS
ATTACHMENT G- FEDERAL FUNDS ATTACHMENT
ATTACHMENT H – CONFLICT OF INTEREST AFFIDAVIT AND DISCLOSURE
ATTACHMENT I – NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT
ATTACHMENT J – HIPAA BUSINESS ASSOCIATE AGREEMENT
ATTACHMENT K – MERCURY AFFIDAVIT
ATTACHMENT L – LOCATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES DISCLOSURE
ATTACHMENT M – CONTRACT
ATTACHMENT N – CONTRACT AFFIDAVIT
ATTACHMENT O – DHS HIRING AGREEMENT
APPENDIX 1 - Abbreviations and Definitions
1
(Replace this generic footer with a RFP specific one: e.g. use the RFP title & issue date) RFP Template Version: 01/20/2017
SECTION 1 – MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
1Offeror Minimum Qualifications
Offeror Minimum Qualifications are requirements that must be met by an Offeror in order to receive consideration of its Proposal, and can include among other things, any licensures or certifications, years of experience, 501(c)(3) status and/or other designations, or minimum dollar value of past contracts. Minimum Qualifications must be characteristics of an Offeror that pertain to the Offeror’s capability to perform the work required under the solicitation. In this regard, Minimum Qualifications are aspects of Offeror Responsibility (See COMAR 21.01.02 01. B (77) definition.) Minimum Qualifications should not include items that are service requirements or deliverables under the Contract; service requirements and deliverables should be detailed in Section 2. And it is the Procurement Officer who decides whether Minimum Qualifications have been met by each Offeror, not an evaluation committee.
Minimum Qualifications can be verified, including being verified with additional information after a proposal has been submitted, but they cannot be “cured”. i.e., If an Offeror fails to submit proof in its proposal that it satisfies any or all Minimum Qualifications, it can be given a short period of additional time – usually only a few days - after the proposal has been opened to provide the required proof. But if the Procurement Officer determines that an Offeror does not satisfy even one Minimum Qualification, or if the Offeror still does not submit required proof of meeting the Requirements even after being allowed more documentation submission time, the Offeror must be eliminated from further award consideration. Conversely, if the Procurement Officer determines that an Offeror does satisfy all Minimum Qualifications, the offeror will proceed to have its proposal evaluated, including whether MBE, VSBE and/or Small Business requirements have been met.
It is not mandatory to have Minimum Qualifications for every solicitation, and including them without a good reason can inhibit competition. However, they can be used to establish a baseline of certain capabilities or qualifications that an Offeror needs to possess in order to perform the desired work.
If Minimum Qualifications are required, it is also necessary to state the required or acceptable proof that must be included with an Offeror’s Proposal (ex. copies of licenses, certificates, etc.
If there are no Offeror Minimum Qualifications for this solicitation, enter only the following sentence for this section and delete the rest.)
There are no Offeror Minimum Qualifications for this procurement.
If there are Offeror Minimum Qualifications for this solicitation, follow these instructions.
Section 1.1 should be titled either "Minimum Qualification” or “Minimum Qualifications”, depending upon whether there is only a single minimum qualification versus more than one. If there is only 1 minimum qualification, this can be described in a paragraph immediately after the “1.1” heading. If there is more than 1 minimum qualification, each should be listed, starting with number 1.1.1. Usually, “The Offeror shall:” should also precede Section 1.1.1 so that these words do not need to be repeated for each minimum qualification.
For example:
1.1Minimum Qualification: The Offeror shall have 3 years of experience within the 5 year period prior to the issuance of this solicitation, performing ……
OR
1.1Minimum Qualifications
The Offeror shall:
1.1.1Have . . . (ex. three (3) years of experience providing . . .).
1.1.2Be certified . . . (ex. by the Maryland Insurance Administration as a . . . ).
1.1.3…
1.2Required Proof
To evidence that an Offeror satisfies the Minimum Requirements listed in Section 1.1, the Offeror shall provide the following with its proposal.
(There should be a corresponding Section 1.2 entry for each Section 1.1 Minimum Qualification.) i.e., Proof item 1.2.1 should correspond with Qualification item 1.1.1; Proof 1.2.2 should correspond with Qualification 1.1.2, etc.
For example:
1.2.1(one or more references from the past five years that collectively attest to the Offeror’s required years of experience in providing . . .).
1.2.2(ex. a current certificate issued by the Maryland Insurance Administration evidencing the Offeror’s certification as a . . .”)
1.2.3….
1.3Manner of Proof Submission
Evidence that Minimum Qualifications have been satisfied should be provided as Tab D (see Section 5.4.2.5), and references should include the information required under Tab H (Section 5.4.2.9.)
THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE IS INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.
SECTION 2 – CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS: SCOPE OF WORK
2.1Summary Statements and Contract Duration
2.1.1It is the State’s intention to obtain services, as specified in this RFP, from a Contract between the selected Offeror(s) and the State.
2.1.2An Offeror, either directly or through its subcontractor(s), must be able to provide all services and meet all of the requirements requested in this solicitation and the successful Offeror (the Contractor) shall remain responsible for Contract performance regardless of subcontractor participation in the work.
2.1.3The anticipated duration of services to be provided under this Contract is (enter number of years, and option years if any).
2.2Purposeand Background
2.2.1 Purpose
The State is issuing this solicitation for the purpose of . . ., or for the following purposes:, depending upon whether there is a single purpose versus multiple ones.
(Provide a description of the purpose of this solicitation, in more detail than the brief statement on the Key Information Summary sheet.)
2.2.2Background
(Provide any background information that may be helpful to vendors in preparing their responses.).
2.3Scope of Work - Requirements
The Contractor shall:
(Insert the Contract specifications into the solicitation here. This is the most important section of the solicitation and the “meat” of the procurement. Any product or service deliverables, milestones, or deadlines must be identified here, including reports specific to the Scope of Work requirements. The specifications must clearly articulate what the State’s requirements are, and readers should understand exactly what the State intends to procure. The specifications need to be clearly written so that payment can be made appropriately, work (un)performed can be identified, and the contractual rights of the State can be enforced. Use the term “Contractor,” not “Offeror,” throughout this Section as these are Contractual requirements. State your requirements in an outline format that is organized logically with proper headings for each main section (ex. Staffing; Reports; etc.), using proper outline formatting with tabs to differentiate subsections. See formatting example below)
2.3.1General Requirements
2.3.1.1
2.3.1.1.1
2.3.1.1.2
2.3.1.1.2.1
2.3.1.1.2.2
2.3.1.1.3
2.3.1.2
2.3.1.2.1.
2.3.1.2.1.1
2.3.1.2.1.2
2.3.1.2.1.3
2.3.1.2.2
2.3.2Staffing
2.3.2.1
2.3.2.2
2.3.2.2.1
2.3.2.2.2
2.3.2.3
2.3.3Reports . . .
SECTION 3 – CONTRACTOR REQUIREMENTS:GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
3.1Insurance Requirements
(The insurance requirements and minimums stated below are general examples, and may not reflect the necessary requirements and minimums for your Scope of Work. Some of the insurance requirements and minimums below may place an undue burden on the Contractor and its subcontractors, or may not be necessary for the types of services to be provided. Research sample insurance requirements for the relevant service industry in order to fine-tune these requirements and minimums for your particular Scope of Work requirements.)
3.1.1The Contractor shall maintain Commercial General Liability Insurance to cover losses resulting from, or arising out of, Contractor action or inaction in the performance of the Contract by the Contractor, its agents, servants, employees, or subcontractors, with minimum limits of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 aggregate. (If determined necessary, higher limits can be accomplished by adding an excess liability or umbrella policy requirement.)
3.1.2The Contractor shall maintain Errors and Omissions/Professional Liability insurance with minimum limits of $5,000,000 per claim and annual aggregate.
(Professional Liability is typically written on a claims-made form, not on an occurrence form. Consider having cyber liability included in the professional liability if the vendor will have access to PersonallyIdentifiable Information in any medium.)
(For any service where the Contractor will host data that includes Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI), or Sensitive Data, as those terms are described in Section 3.2.3, add this wording in addition to the above Section 3.1.2 wording.)
Cyber Security / Data Breach Insurance in the amount of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) per occurrence is required for this Contract. The required coverage must be valid in all locations where work is performed or data or other information concerning the State’s claimants and/or employees is processed or stored.
3.1.3The Contractor shall maintain Automobile and/or Commercial Truck Insurance as appropriate with Liability, Collision, and PIP limits no less than those required by the State where the vehicle(s) is registered, but in no case less than those required by the State of Maryland.
3.1.4The Contractor shall maintain Crime Insurance to cover employee theft with a minimum single loss limit of $1,000,000 per loss, and a single loss retention not to exceed $10,000.
(Because Commercial General Liability excludes losses due to crime or employee dishonesty, it is recommended to consider including a crime insurance requirement on any contract when the vendor is handling money, securities,or other valuable property, or has access to computer networks or computer data. To provide coverage for the State the crime policy must be endorsed to cover “Third Party Fidelity.” Third party fidelity covers the Contractor’s employees when engaged in work for a client. Additionally, to ensure payment to the State, the State of Maryland and the Department should be added as a “Loss payee.”)
3.1.5Within five (5) Business Days of recommendation for Contract award, and before any work begins, the Contractor shall provide the Procurement Officer with current certificates of insurance, and update such certificates periodically, but no less than annually in multi-year contracts, as directed by the Contract Monitor. Such copy of the Contractor’s current certificate of insurance shall contain at minimum the following:
a.Workers’ Compensation – The Contractor shall maintain such insurance as necessary and/or required under Workers’ Compensation Acts, the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act, and the Federal Employers’ Liability Act.
b.Commercial General Liability as required in Section 3.1.1.
c.Errors and Omissions/Professional Liability as required in Section 3.1.2.
d.Automobile and/or Commercial Truck Insurance as required in Section 3.1.3.
e.Crime Insurance as required in Section 3.1.4.
3.1.6The State of Maryland shall be listed as an additional insured on any Commercial General Liability, Auto Liability, Professional/Cyber Liability, and excess liability or umbrella policies with the exception of Workers’ Compensation Insurance, which is currently handled by the Chesapeake Employer’s Insurance Company (formerly Injured Workers’ Insurance Fund). This means the faces of the certificates of insurance for these policies must state, “The State ofMaryland is an Additional Insured.” All insurance policies shall be endorsed to include a clause that requires that the insurance carrier provide the Contract Monitor, by certified mail, not less than 30 days’ advance notice of any non-renewal, cancellation, or expiration. In the event the Contract Monitor receives a notice of non-renewal, the Contractor shall provide the Contract Monitor with an insurance policy from another carrier at least 15 days prior to the expiration of the insurance policy then in effect. All insurance policies shall be with a company licensed by the State to do business and provide such policies.