Commonwealth of Massachusetts Operational Services Division
Request for Responses (RFR) For Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services RFR# PRF65 COMMBUYS Bid#: BD-15-1080-OSD01-OSD10-00000004264
This RFR is issued under UNSPSC/commodity codes:
UNSPSC- 80-10-00 Management Advisory Services May 19, 2015
Please Note: This is a single document associated with a complete Bid (also referred to as Solicitation) that can be found on www.COMMBUYS.com. All Bidders are responsible for reviewing and adhering to all information, forms and requirements for the entire Bid, which are all incorporated into the Bid. Bidders may also contact the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at
[email protected] or the COMMBUYS Helpline at 1-888-MA-STATE. The Helpline is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal, state and Suffolk county holidays.
Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
5/14/15
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1:
Introduction/Procurement Requirements ....................................................... 1
SECTION 2:
Scope of Services............................................................................................ 6
SECTION 3:
Response Requirements ................................................................................. 9
SECTION 4:
Response Evaluation Process ........................................................................ 19
SECTION 5:
Additional Terms and Conditions .................................................................. 21
Appendix A: Instructions for Vendors Responding to Bids Electronically through COMMBUYS ................................................................................................. 31
Section 1: Introduction/Procurement Requirements A. Overview /Purpose of Procurement The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Operational Services Division, is issuing this RFR as a Statewide Contract, available to all Executive Department Agencies and other eligible entities as identified in Section 1.D.3. The purpose of this RFR is to develop a prequalified list of vendors to assist Executive Department Agencies with organizational and business process redesign through end-to-end consultation and/or training and coaching support. This Request for Response (RFR) details the variety of services and modes of delivery required over the next several months. The types of training and support will vary with the needs of each department through the issuance of statements of work to the vendors. B. Background On May 4, 2015, Governor Baker signed An Act Relevant to State Personnel, which provides incentives to up to 5,000 state employees to retire early or through attrition, cash incentives or the Commonwealth’s hiring freeze. In order to continue to be effective, the Commonwealth anticipates the need for agencies to assess and redesign agency organizational structures and business processes. The Commonwealth is seeking multiple vendors to provide consulting services to drive and/or support organizational and business process redesign and associated talent management efforts. While the attrition rates in each agency resulting from retirement and related legislation may not be reliably estimated at this time, agencies could see a range from 5% to as many as 20% exiting over the next 6-8 weeks. Because of this variation, as well as variability in the existing competencies around organizational design, the level of support required by each agency will also vary. C. Vendor Qualifications The preferred vendors will have expertise and experience in advising clients on: 1. Organizational and business process redesign; 2. Talent management and change management within organizations that have experienced the loss of long time employees with institutional knowledge; 3. Implementation of business redesign and change management plans. Bidders will identify in their proposal their plan (and capacity) to provide high quality services in a timely and responsive manner. Bidders should possess the following qualifications: 1. Continuous operation as a corporate entity for a minimum of five (5) years preceding the date of submission. 2. At least three (3) years of experience advising clients on organizational and business process redesign. 1
3. At least three (3) years of experience providing the specific types of services solicited, as listed in the general contract specifications herein. 4. At least five (5) client references for the specific types of services solicited, as listed in Section 2, Scope of Services. 5. The demonstrated capability of completing the types of projects and services solicited within the required timeframe. 6. Possess the necessary staff with the skills needed to successfully provide the specific services requested in this solicitation. 7. As required in the “Contractor Certifications and Legal References” section of the Commonwealth Standard Contract Form, the bidder certifies its compliance and affirmative obligation to disclose any Bankruptcy, Judgments, Potential Structural Changes, Pending Legal Matters and Conflicts. D. General Procurement Requirements This RFR is issued in accordance with 801 CMR 21.00, which governs the procurement of commodities and services by state agencies. 801 CMR 21.00 requires a competitive procurement process, including the issuance of a RFR for acquisitions of all commodities and services. Words used in this RFR shall have the meanings defined in 801 CMR 21.00. Unless otherwise specified in this RFR, all communications, responses, and documentation must be in English; all measurements must be provided in feet, inches, and pounds; and all cost proposals or figures in U.S. currency. All responses must be submitted in accordance with the specific terms of this RFR. The Commonwealth makes no guarantee that a contract, or any obligation to purchase any commodities or services, will result from this RFR. The Commonwealth reserves the right to amend or cancel this RFR at any time prior to the date the responses are due. Any such amendment will be posted to the Commonwealth’s procurement web site, COMMBUYS (see Section 5.A for information on COMMBUYS). All responses must be submitted through COMMBUYS in accordance with specifications in Section 3, Response Requirements. 1. Acquisition method: Fee for service 2. Single or multiple vendor(s): Multiple 3. Use of Procurement by single or multiple agencies: Multiple. Any Contract resulting from this Bid will be open for use by the following types of entities: Cities, towns, districts, counties and other political subdivisions;
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Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, including all Departments and elected offices therein; Independent public authorities, commissions and quasi-public agencies; Local public libraries, public school districts and charter schools; Public hospitals owned by the Commonwealth; Public institutions of higher education; Public purchasing cooperatives; Non-profit, UFR-certified organizations that are doing business with the Commonwealth; Other states and territories with no prior approval by the State Purchasing Agent; and Other entities when designated in writing by the State Purchasing Agent. Each eligible entity is responsible for executing its own purchase orders and paying its own invoices for goods and/or services acquired from this Contract. 4. Anticipated Duration of Contract: The initial term of this Contract will be for 6 months, with 2 options to renew, at 6 months each option. 5. Anticipated Payment Structure: Contractors will be paid for services and materials rendered, at the agreed upon rate structure proposed and/or negotiated prior to award of this contract and through any negotiations based on Statements of Work after award. The Commonwealth requires varied options for rates, as described in Section 3.D for cost proposals in the format requested: fixed rate for Category A, blended hourly rates and/or rates by title in Categories B and C. If submitting an alternative proposal under Category D, you must include rates as requested in the Section 3.D format. 6. Performance and payment time frames which exceed Contract duration: All engagements for services entered into during the duration of this Statewide Contract and whose performance and payment time frames extend beyond the duration of this Contract shall remain in effect for performance and payment purposes only for a maximum time of six (6) (calendar months) beyond the final termination date inclusive of renewals and extensions. No new engagements for services under this Statewide Contract/ Master Blanket Purchase Order may be executed after the final termination date of this Contract/ Blanket.
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E. Estimated Procurement Calendar The Commonwealth may adjust this schedule as it deems necessary. Notification of any adjustment to the RFR Timetable shall be posted on COMMBUYS. ESTIMATED PROCUREMENT CALENDAR EVENT DATE Bid Release Date
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Deadline for submission of written questions through COMMBUYS “Bid Q&A”
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Official answers for Bid Q&A published (Estimated)
Friday, May 29, 2015
Bid Amendment Deadline. Online Quote submission begins. Bid documents will not be amended after this date.
Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 3:00 p.m.
Training/Guidance for COMMBUYS Online Submission
Job Aid: http://www.mass.gov/anf/budgettaxes-and-procurement/procurementinfo-and-res/conduct-aprocurement/commbuys/job-aids-forsellers.html
Webinar: http://www.mass.gov/anf/budgettaxes-and-procurement/procurementinfo-and-res/conduct-aprocurement/commbuys/training-andregistration-for-sellers.html Deadline for Bid Responses (“Bid Opening Friday, June 5, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. Date/Time” in COMMBUYS) Evaluation Committee reviews responses June 5-10, 2015 and selects finalists (estimated) Notification of Successful Bidders
June 11, 2015 (estimated)
Estimated Contract Start Date
June 15, 2015 (estimated)
Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as displayed on the COMMBUYS system clock displayed to Bidders after logging in. If there is a conflict between the dates in this Procurement Calendar and dates in the Bid’s Header, the dates in the Bid’s Header on Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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COMMBUYS shall prevail. Bidders are responsible for checking the Bid record, including Bid Q&A, on COMMBUYS for Procurement Calendar updates. Written questions via the Bid Q&A on COMMBUYS The “Bid Q&A” provides the opportunity for Bidders to ask written questions and receive written answers from the Strategic Sourcing Team (SST) regarding this Bid. All Bidders’ questions must be submitted through the Bid Q&A found on COMMBUYS (see below for instructions). Questions may be asked only prior to the Deadline for Submission of Questions stated in the Estimated Procurement Calendar. The issuing department reserves the right not to respond to questions submitted after this date. It is the Bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt of questions. Please note that any questions submitted to the SST using any other medium (including those that are sent by mail, fax, email or voicemail, etc.) will not be answered. To reduce the number of redundant or duplicate questions, Bidders are asked to review all questions previously submitted to determine whether the Bidder’s question has already been posted. Bidders are responsible for entering content suitable for public viewing, since all of the questions are accessible to the public. Bidders must not include any information that could be considered personal, security sensitive, inflammatory, incorrect, collusory, or otherwise objectionable, including information about the Bidder’s company or other companies. The SST reserves the right to edit or delete any submitted questions that raise any of these issues or that are not in the best interest of the Commonwealth or this Bid. All answers are final when posted. Any subsequent revisions to previously provided answers will be dated. It is the responsibility of the prospective Bidder and awarded Contractor to maintain an active registration in COMMBUYS and to keep current the email address of the Bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from the Purchasing Department, including requests for clarification. The Purchasing Department and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective Bidder’s/awarded Contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective Bidder/Awarded contractor and the Purchasing Department to be lost or rejected by any means including email or spam filtering.
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Locating Bid Q&A Log into COMMBUYS, locate the Bid, acknowledge receipt of the Bid, and scroll down to the bottom of the Bid Header page. The “Bid Q&A” button allows Bidders access to the Bid Q&A page. Amendment Deadline The SST reserves the right to make amendments to the Bid after initial publication. It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for any amendments, addenda or modifications to this Bid, and any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid. The SST and the Commonwealth accepts no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS. Bid Opening Date/Time All Bids must be received before the specified date, month, year and time displayed as the Bid Opening Date/Time in the Header Information section of the Bid in COMMBUYS. Times are Eastern Standard/Daylight Savings (US), as applicable. All Bidders are advised to allow adequate time for submission by considering potential online submission impediments like Internet traffic, Internet connection speed, file size, and file volume. GOV is not responsible for delays encountered by Bidders or their agents, or for a Bidder’s local hardware failures, such as computers or related networks, associated with bid compilation or submission. Bids submitted via COMMBUYS are time stamped by the COMMBUYS system clock which is considered the official time of record.
Section 2: Scope of Services While the attrition rates in each agency resulting from retirement and related legislation may not be reliably estimated at this time, agencies could see a range from 5% to as many as 20% exiting over the next 6-8 weeks. Because of this variation, as well as variability in the existing competencies around organizational design, the level of support required by each agency will also vary. Therefore, we anticipate a need for several levels of service, as outlined in categories A, B, and C, below. Vendors may bid on one, two, or all three of these categories of services, and may propose alternative approaches to those outlined below in Category D. Category A. Organizational Design Training and Tools This category of service will be awarded to a single vendor. The event is designed to provide an introduction to agency leaders assigned to managing change within an agency resulting from the outcome of An Act Relevant to State Personnel which provides incentives to up to 5,000 state employees to leave state service and/or retire early. Focused on organizational design, it will serve as the first step in launching the design process. Participants in these sessions will range in their level of expertise on this subject; therefore, instruction should be geared towards all skills and backgrounds. The selected vendor will design and deliver a workshop or series of workshops and related materials on the following topics:
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Service
Description
Organizational design workshop(s)
Overview of the steps involved in the process of organizational assessment design, including planning, assessment, strategic alignment, design and implementation; workshop(s) with participants from all agencies; Provide participants with organizational design tools such as worksheets, guides, references, and models Business process Introduction/refresher on business process design including design workshop(s) process mapping, work flows, or other formal processes; Provide participants with business process design tools that are web based , or electronic and/or paper based workbooks, worksheets, guides, references, and templates Talent management Introduction/refresher to talent management (workforce design workshop(s) planning, succession planning) as it relates to organizational and business process design, including assessing talent needs, alignment with org structure, the make-buy decision, and talent development; Provide participants with organizational design tools such as worksheets, guides, references, and models Change management Introduction/refresher on the process of change workshop(s) management for organizational and business process redesign; Provide participants with organizational design tools such as worksheets, guides, references, templates, and models The expectation is that these workshops will be delivered off-site at a location provided by the Commonwealth. The bidders’ response should include a proposal for how these workshops will be delivered. For example, a vendor may suggest that these workshops take place in succession over the course of 2 days, as a consolidated seminar, or as separate workshops. Please keep in mind that leaders from all executive department agencies will be expected to attend the organizational design workshop, while a subset of those many choose to participate in the other three topics. NOTE: The Commonwealth welcomes alternatives and additional recommendations to this approach that will most effectively provide the services required. We are seeking the subjectmatter best practices on all relevant themes detailed above.
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Category B. Organizational Design Support In addition to general training, a number of agencies may choose to avail themselves of specialized support in targeted areas of need around the organizational design process. Their needs will depend on the extent of reorganization activity they plan to undertake and their available resources, but will likely include the following types of activities: Service Organizational design coaching Business process redesign coaching Talent management coaching Change management coaching
Description Focused consulting on specific aspects of the process. Focused consulting on BPR.
Assist agency leaders and HR professionals in identifying and assessing required competencies. Assist agency leaders with developing a change management strategy for implementing organizational and business process redesign. Miscellaneous executive Meet with leadership on limited basis for related coaching management issues. NOTE: The Commonwealth welcomes alternatives and additional recommendations to this approach that will most effectively provide the services required. We are seeking the subjectmatter best practices on all relevant themes detailed above. Category C. End-to-End Organizational Assessment and Design We anticipate 4-6 larger agencies will require a full organizational assessment and business process design effort. These vendors will work closely with agency leadership on their specific organizational design and development needs. The needs of each agency will depend on their specific situation, which will be determined after this contract is in effect. However, we anticipate that this effort will likely include, but may not be limited to, the following: Service Organizational assessment Strategic organizational and workforce planning Organizational and process design
Description Interviews, data collection, review of documentation. Identification of strategic goals, values, optimal workflows and aligned talent needs. Identify optimal work and business process flows, align organizational structure with optimal work flows, talent
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Talent Management Change Management – Ramp up to Implementation Change Management – Ongoing Implementation
needs, strategic goals, and values. Identify needed competencies, assess existing talent against needs, create development plans for existing talent Lead the implementation of organizational and process redesign, and talent development, including risk management, communication, and stakeholder work. Continued intermittent support through the 6 mo- 1 year following initial implementation.
NOTE: The Commonwealth welcomes alternatives and additional recommendations to this approach that will most effectively provide the services required. We are seeking the subjectmatter best practices on all relevant themes detailed above. Category D: Bidder Alternative Offering to the Scope of Services Needed Bidders are free to present alternatives and additional recommendations to any of the categories identified in this bid.
Contractors must have extensive experience in providing consulting services to assist in the areas described in Section 1 Introduction/Procurement Requirements, D. Vendor Qualifications.
Section 3: Response Requirements A. General Submission Instructions Complete responses must be submitted electronically through COMMBUYS by the date listed in the Estimated Procurement Calendar, Section 1.F, no later than Friday June 5th at 11:00 a.m., Eastern Standard Time. The bidder must submit: 1. Submission Requirements Proposal must not be in excess of 20 pages. This means the following sections must be addressed within the 20 page limit: Section 3.A.2 Cover Letter; Section 3.B.3, Business Response -Vendor History; and 3.C Programmatic Response. The following documents are not required to be part of the page limit and may be labeled as exhibits: Section 3.B.1 Required Forms; 3.B.4 Corporate References; 3.B.5, Bidder’s Organization and Project Staff (including organization chart of Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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your business process redesign team, resumes of proposed staff and subcontracting partners and the resumes of their staff who are proposed to work on this project); and 3.D Cost Response. Each file should be labeled with the name of the response document it contains (see section 5 A “File Naming Conventions”). The sections of the response documents should be labeled to correspond with the section heads (“Business”; “Programmatic”; and “Cost”) and section numbering in the RFR.
2. Cover letter that clearly states the name of the bidder organization, principal address, local (greater Boston) address (if applicable, and if different from principal address), and the name, address, e-mail, fax and telephone number of the bidder’s contact person. The letter must: be signed by an individual authorized to bind the contractor; clearly commit the key personnel named in the response to being available to the Commonwealth for a minimum of two months, unless both parties agree to a release of the resource, from the response due date; clearly identify any significant subcontractors, their roles, and responsibilities; and include a statement that the bidder’s proposal will remain in effect until the bidder withdraws its proposal or a contract resulting from this RFR is executed, whichever is later. Unnecessary samples, attachments or other documents not specifically asked for should not be submitted, and will not be reviewed by the Commonwealth in the selection process.
B. Business Response 1. Required Forms Bidders must submit as part of their Business Response the following Commonwealthrequired forms, which are available with this bid on COMMBUYS. Bidders are not required to submit ink-signature versions of these forms: Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Plan Prompt Payment Discount Form (PPD) 2. Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Massachusetts Executive Order 524 established a policy to promote the award of state contracts in a manner that develops and strengthens Minority and Women Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) that resulted in the Supplier Diversity Program in Public Contracting. M/WBEs are strongly encouraged to submit responses to this RFR, either as prime vendors, joint venture partners or other type of business partnerships. Similarly, Executive Order 546 established the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (SDVOBE) Program to encourage the participation of businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans in all areas of state procurement and Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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contracting, thereby including them in the SDP. All bidders must follow the requirements set forth in the SDP section of the RFR, which will detail the specific requirements relating to the prime vendor’s inclusion of M/WBEs and/or SDVOBEs. Bidders are required to develop creative initiatives to help foster new business relationships with M/WBEs and/or SDVOBEs within the primary industries affected by this RFR. In order to satisfy the compliance of this section and encourage bidder’s participation of SDP objectives, the Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Plan for large procurements greater than $150,000 will be evaluated at 10% or more of the total evaluation. Once an SDP commitment, expressed as a percentage of contract revenues, is approved, the agency will then monitor the contractor’s performance, and use actual expenditures with SDO certified M/WBE contractors and the Center for Veterans Enterprise certified SDVOBEs to fulfill their own SDP expenditure benchmarks. M/WBE and SDVOBE participation must be incorporated into and monitored for all types of procurements regardless of size; however, submission of an SDP Plan is mandated only for large procurements over $150,000. Unless otherwise specified in the RFR, the following SDP forms are required to be submitted by the deadlines noted below in order to meet the mandatory participation requirements of the SDP: SDP Plan Form #/Name SDP Plan Form #1 – SDP Plan Commitment SDP Plan Form #2 – Declaration of SDP Partners SDP Plan Form #3 – SDP Spending Report
Submitted By All Bidders
When Submitted With Bid Response
Newly Awarded Contractors Contractors
Within 30 days of contract execution Within 45 days of the end of each quarter
Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Resources: Resources available to assist Prime Bidders in finding potential Minority Business Enterprises (MBE) and Women Business Enterprises (WBE) partners can be found at: www.mass.gov/sdp Resources available to assist Prime Bidders in finding potential Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (SDVOBE) partners can be found on the Operational Services Division’s SDO webpage at: www.mass.gov/sdo The Operational Services Division’s Supplier Diversity Program offers training on the SDP Plan requirements. The dates of upcoming trainings can be found at: http://www.mass.gov/anf/budget-taxes-and-procurement/procurement-infoand-res/osd-training-events-and-outreach/osd-training-and-outreach.html In addition, the SDP Webinar can be located on the SDP website at www.mass.gov/SDP.
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Supplier Diversity Program Subcontracting Policies. In addition to the Subcontracting Policies (See Subcontracting Policies section below and see Section 9, Subcontracting By Contractor, in the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions) that apply to all subcontracted services, agencies may define specific required deliverables for a contractor’s SDP Plan, including, but not limited to, documentation necessary to verify subcontractor commitments and expenditures with Minority- or Women-Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business Enterprises (SDVOBE) for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing commitments made in a contractor’s Supplier Diversity Program (SDP) Plan. 3. Vendor History The bidder shall provide a brief description of the firm, including its organizational structure of the Business Process Redesign unit, its scope of business, and number of personnel dedicated to this major practice area. Each bidder shall provide a description of its relevant experience and expertise in advising and training clients about organizational and business process redesign, and a listing of clients receiving these services in the past two (2) years. Each bidder shall sufficiently document the required vendor qualifications set forth in Section 1.C Vendor Qualifications. 4. Corporate References The bidders shall provide references from at least five (5) entities, preferably including governmental entity references as well as private sector references, for which similar services have been provided regarding the work contemplated by this RFR. The limit on each such reference is one (1) page. These references must include the following information: The client organization’s name and address; The name and title, address, telephone number, and e-mail address for a contact person with the subject matter expertise capable of responding to questions regarding substantive services provided by the bidder; A brief description of the services provided including the results of the work; and The start and end dates for the project. 5. Bidder’s Organization and Project Staff a. Organizational Chart with Key Personnel The Business Response must include an organizational chart for this project, incorporating any and all subcontractor relationships anticipated. The chart must include: The Project Lead and any additional key personnel whom the bidder proposes and is willing to commit to this Business Redesign Statewide Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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Contract; their titles and placement within the bidder’s organizational hierarchy and their functional titles/responsibilities relative to this project; The bidder’s management structure for project oversight; and Any parts of the project for which the bidder intends to use a subcontractor.
The chart may include a narrative describing the assumptions, limitations and constraints on which the organizational chart is based. b. Personnel Résumés The bidder must provide résumés for each individual proposed for this engagement. The résumés should include a brief narrative describing the relevant experience of each person presented in the organizational chart and how his/her particular experience relates to the proposed role in delivering the required services. c. Subcontracting If the bidder plans to use a partner or subcontractor for any element of the project, the bidder must: Identify each such partner(s) or subcontractor(s) by corporate name, address, telephone number, and status as minority and/or woman business enterprise, if applicable; Briefly describe the corporation, including years in business, its organization, experience in the Commonwealth, and a synopsis of any previous experience similar to that proposed for its role in this effort; and State the element(s) of the services to be performed and the percentage of the total effort on the stated service categories for which the partner(s) or subcontractor(s) will be used, and how the bidder’s and the partner’s or subcontractor’s performance will be coordinated with the primary vendor’s over the term of the contract engagements. Resumes for the staff being provided by the subcontractor to this Statewide Contract. 6. Bidder’s Financial Stability The Commonwealth reserves the right to require the bidders or awarded contractors, at any time during the procurement or contract term, respectively, to submit any documentation requested by the Commonwealth to demonstrate to its satisfaction that their organization is in sound financial condition. The Commonwealth may disqualify a bidder (or not renew a contract with a contractor) if they fail upon the Commonwealth’s request to submit the documents required by this section, or if the documents indicate to the Commonwealth, in its reasonable discretion, that their financial condition is unsatisfactory for the purposes of this project.
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C. Programmatic Response It is anticipated that appropriate elements of the bidders’ Programmatic Response, informed by any negotiated modifications, will be incorporated into the Scope of Services awarded to each vendor for this contract. 1. Time Estimate Each bidder should state their earliest availability to provide the services requested as described in Section 2, Category A. Organizational Design Training and Tools, and the bidders’ capacity and earliest available time that they are able to provide the services described in Section 2, Categories B and C. 2. Description of Proposed Staffing Each bidder should provide a description of how it proposes to staff this engagement. This proposed staffing plan, as identified in Section 3.B.5, should specifically address which individual(s) will provide each type of service. Given the proximity of the anticipated timeline for this engagement, the Commonwealth is seeking a commitment from vendors that guarantees the specified resources will be available for at least two (2) months from the date of contract execution, unless the Commonwealth releases the vendors from this commitment earlier than two months from the date of contract execution. 3. Description of How Bidders Will Meet Scope of Service Needs Defined in Section 2 Each bidder must include with its bid submission, a clear and detailed explanation of how the bidder will address the specific needs outlined for each Category that they choose to submit a response to, as described in Section 2 A, B and C of this RFR. Bidders may respond to any of the Categories or all three Categories. In addition, if a bidder chooses to submit alternatives to the approaches outlined in Categories A, B or C, such alternatives should be detailed and labeled as Category D: Alternative Approach.
D. Cost Response The bidder must include with its response the amount proposed for the appropriate type of pricing per category. Contract Categories
Fixed Price Deliverables
Blended Hourly Rate
Rate by Proposed Functional Role
A. CATEGORY A. Organizational Design Training and Tools Organizational design workshop(s): Overview of the steps involved in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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process of organizational assessment design, including planning, assessment, strategic alignment, design and implementation; workshops with participants from all agencies; Provide participants with organizational design tools such as worksheets, guides, references, and models Business process design workshop(s): Introduction/refresher on business process design including process mapping, work flows, or other formal processes; Provide participants with business process design tools that are web based , or electronic and/or paper based workbooks, worksheets, guides, references, and templates Talent management design workshop(s): Introduction/refresher to talent management (workforce planning, succession planning) as it relates to organizational and Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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business process design, including assessing talent needs, alignment with org structure, the make-buy decision, and talent development; Provide participants with organizational design tools such as worksheets, guides, references, and models Change management workshop(s) Introduction/refresher on the process of change management for organizational and business process redesign; Provide participants with organizational design tools such as worksheets, guides, references, templates, and models Materials: Other: CATEGORY B. Organizational Design Support Organizational design coaching: Focused consulting on specific aspects of the process Business process design coaching: Provide focused consulting on BPR Talent management Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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coaching: Assist agency leaders and HR professionals in identifying and assessing required competencies Change management coaching: Assist agency leaders with developing a change management strategy for implementing organizational and business process redesign Miscellaneous executive coaching: Meet with leadership on limited basis for related management issues Materials: Other: Category C. End-to-End Organizational Assessment and Design Organizational assessment: Interviews, data collection, review of documentation Strategic organizational and workforce planning: identification of strategic goals, values, optimal workflows and aligned talent needs Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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Organizational and process design: Identify optimal work and business process flows, align organizational structure with optimal work flows, talent needs, strategic goals, and values Talent Management: Identify needed competencies, assess existing talent against needs, create development plans for existing talent Change Management – Ramp up to Implementation: Lead the implementation of organizational and process redesign, and talent development, including risk management, communication, and stakeholder work Change Management – Ongoing Implementation: Continued intermittent support through the 6 mo- 1 year following initial implementation Materials: Other:
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Category D. Alternative Approaches Bidders may propose alternatives to any of the above Categories A, B, or C. Pricing for any proposed alternatives should be inserted into table format. Please note that the Commonwealth will not reimburse for travel-related costs. The Commonwealth reserves the right to negotiate lower/better costs based on the Statement of Work.
Section 4. Response Evaluation Process A. Response Review and Evaluation: 1. Compliance with Submission Instructions All responses will be reviewed by the Commonwealth to determine compliance with the response submission instructions described in Section 3.A. For those responses that comply with the response submission instructions, an Evaluation Committee designated by the Commonwealth will review the Business, Programmatic and Cost Responses. 2. Evaluation Criteria The following identifies the criteria by which the Commonwealth will evaluate the bidder’s response, overall business process redesign organization, proposed staff, and subcontractor staff (if applicable) for the engagement: Proposed approach and timeline to providing quality services and tools throughout the life of this engagement. Expertise and experience in advising and training clients on Organizational and Business Process Redesign. Range of services bidder is capable of providing, within scope of services being solicited. References and past performance. Capacity to commit qualified personnel and resources necessary to provide high quality services in a timely and responsive manner. Proposed fee arrangement. Quality, completion, presentation and responsiveness of bidder’s response. Quality of reference responses. Quality of the skills of staff submitted and committed to this Statewide Contract.
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3. Response Rating The Committee will: (1) Evaluate Business and Programmatic Responses in accordance with the criteria described in Section 4.A.2; (2) Give a composite rating of “Excellent,” “Very Good,” “Good,” “Fair,” or “Poor/Non-Responsive” for each section evaluated; (3) Assign an overall rating to each bidder’s proposal; (4) Compare the responses to one another; and (5) Rank the responses in order of preference. In addition, the Committee reserves the right to conduct interviews with one or more bid finalists or to communicate with the provided references or other identified bidder clients as part of the evaluation process. 4. Non-Qualifying Proposals The Commonwealth reserves the right to reject a bidder’s response at any time during the evaluation process if the bidder: Fails to demonstrate to the Commonwealth’s satisfaction that it meets all RFR requirements; Fails to submit all required information or otherwise satisfy all response requirements in Section 3; or Rejects or qualifies its agreement to any of the mandatory provisions of the RFR or the Commonwealth’s Standard Contract Form and Commonwealth Terms and Conditions. The Evaluation Committee may determine non-compliance with an RFR requirement is insubstantial. In such cases, the Committee may seek clarification, allow the bidder to make minor corrections, apply appropriate penalties in evaluating the response, or apply a combination of all three remedies. 5. Clarifications The Evaluation Committee may determine that some element of a bidder’s response requires clarification to verify its responsiveness to the RFR or facilitate a fair comparison with competing proposals. In such cases, the Committee may seek clarification from the bidder. All bidders will be accorded fair and equal treatment with respect to any opportunity for clarification. 6. Best Value Selection and Negotiation The Committee may recommend for selection the response that demonstrates the best value overall, including proposed alternatives, which will achieve the procurement goals of the Commonwealth. The Committee and a selected bidder may negotiate a change in any element of contract performance, cost identified in the original RFR, or the selected
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bidder’s response, which results in lower costs, or a more cost-effective, or better value than was presented in the selected bidder’s original response 7. Recommendation for Award After the Committee completes its evaluation, comparison and ranking of all proposals, and, if applicable, interview(s), the Committee, at its discretion, may recommend to the Commonwealth a bidder(s) with which to enter into contract negotiations or to execute a contract. The decision shall be based on the Committee’s recommendation and on the best interests of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is under no obligation to award a contract pursuant to this RFR.
Section 5. Additional Terms and Conditions A. HOW TO SUBMIT A BID RESPONSE COMMBUYS COMMBUYS is the official source of information for this Bid and is publicly accessible at no charge at www.commbuys.com. Information contained in this document and in COMMBUYS, including file attachments, and information contained in the related Bid Questions and Answers (Q&A), are all components of the Bid, as referenced in COMMBUYS, and are incorporated into the Bid and any resulting contract. Bidders are solely responsible for obtaining all information distributed for this Bid via COMMBUYS. Bid Q&A supports Bidder submission of written questions associated with a Bid and publication of official answers. It is each Bidder’s responsibility to check COMMBUYS for: Any amendments, addenda or modifications to this Bid, and Any Bid Q&A records related to this Bid. The Commonwealth accepts no responsibility and will provide no accommodation to Bidders who submit a Quote based on an out-of-date Bid or on information received from a source other than COMMBUYS. COMMBUYS Registration. Bidders may elect to obtain a free COMMBUYS Seller registration which provides value-added features, including automated email notification associated with postings and modifications to COMMBUYS records. However, in order to respond to a Bid, Bidders must register and maintain an active COMMBUYS Seller account. If a Bidder requires assistance with the registration process, they may contact the COMMBUYS Help desk by email at
[email protected] or by phone at 1-888-627-8283. Quote Submission Method. Online Quote Submission via COMMBUYS is required. All Bidders must submit Quotes online using tools available only to Sellers registered in COMMBUYS. COMMBUYS provides Seller registration functionality at no charge. To register, go to www.COMMBUYS.com and click on the “Register” link on the front page. All Bidders who are Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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awarded a contract resulting from this Bid, if any, will be required to maintain an active account during the duration of the Contract, by reviewing their registration information regularly and maintaining its accuracy. See Appendix A, Instructions for Vendors Responding to Bids Electronically through COMMBUYS. Quote Contents - Bidders must comply with the requirements below: Prohibition regarding contract terms Bidders must not, as part of their Quote, propose additional contractual terms, or supplemental or clarifying language pertaining to contractual terms, even if the proposed additions/clarifications are not in conflict with the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions, the Standard Contract Form, or other documents comprising this RFR. Bidders, who wish to propose additional non-conflicting contractual terms, or supplemental or clarifying language, may do so ONLY on a case-by-case basis, negotiated for each specific engagement and memorialized in the Project Statement of Work. Electronic Signatures Quotes submitted via COMMBUYS must be signed electronically by the Bidder or the Bidder’s Agent by accepting the terms and conditions of the bid on the “Terms & Conditions” tab of the Bid in COMMBUYS. By selecting “Save & Continue” on the “Terms and Conditions” tab after accepting the terms and conditions of the bid, the submitter attests that s/he is an agent of the Bidder with authority to sign on the Bidder’s behalf, and that s/he has read and assented to each document’s terms. Ink Signatures Original ink signatures are required only after contracts have been awarded. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts requires Contractors to submit original ink-signature versions of the following forms: Standard Contract Form Commonwealth Terms and Conditions Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing Request for Taxpayer Identification and Verification (Mass. Substitute W9 Form) Electronic Funds Transfer Sign Up Form Successful Bidders who agreed to the terms and conditions of these forms electronically via COMMBUYS online Quote submission tool must still submit the above forms with ink signatures within seven (7) calendar days of award notification or their contract may not be executed by the Commonwealth. Bidders who have previous contract(s) with the Commonwealth and have up-to-date, ink-signature versions of the Commonwealth Terms and Conditions and Request for Taxpayer Identification and Verification (Mass. Substitute W9 Form) on file with the Office of the State Comptroller may submit copies of the signed forms. However, a new Standard
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Contract Form and Contractor Authorized Signatory Listing with original ink signatures must be submitted for each new contract with the Commonwealth. Limits and Restrictions Document Pages Bidders should submit no more than twenty (20) pages (excluding the information noted in Section 3.A.1, Submission Requirements) of narrative in response to the questions asked and information requested. If Bidders exceed the page limits, we may make provisions to penalize the Bidder in the Evaluation Criteria. File Naming Conventions Files submitted via COMMBUYS must follow the file naming convention specified below. The Description entered during the file upload process ensures each file is readily identified by Company Name and content. The File Name assigned by the Bidder as stored on their computer or network must be structured such that each file can be processed by the upload tool. The upload tool will reject any file name that includes spaces or symbols, like the brackets [ ] some systems apply when files are downloaded from the Internet.
RFR Section or Quote Component Section 3.A.2 Cover Letter* Section 3.B.1 Required Forms, Prompt Pay Discount Section 3.B.2 SDP Section 3.B.3 Vendor History * Section 3.B.4 Corporate References Section 3B.5.a,b,c Bidder’s Organization and Project Staff
Description Enter in COMMBUYS during upload Company Name Cover Letter Company Name Prompt Pay Discount Form Company Name SDP Form1 Company Name Vendor History
Section 3.C.1 Programmatic Response, Time Estimate* Section 3.C.2 Programmatic Response, Description of Proposed Staffing* Section 3.C.3 How Bidder Will Meet Scope of Service
Company Name Time Estimate
CompanyName_Timeestimate.doc
Company Name Description Proposed Staffing
CompanyName_DescPropStff.doc
Company Name Meeting Scope of Services
CompanyName_MeetScope.doc
Company Name Corporate References Company Name Org Chart & Key Personnel Company Name Personnel Resumes Company Name Subcontractors
File Name Assign when creating files CompanyName_Coverltr.doc CompanyName_ PPD.doc CompanyName_SDPform1.doc CompanyName_Vendorhistory.doc CompanyName_Corpref.doc CompanyName_OrgChKeyPer.doc CompanyName_Resumes.doc CompanyName_Subcontr.doc
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Requirements* Section 3.D Cost Response Company Name Cost Response CompanyName_Cost.doc * - See Section 3.A.1, Submission Requirements, regarding the total page restriction for those “RFR Section or Quote Components” identified above with an asterisk (“*”). Withdrawing a Quote:
Prior to Bid Opening Date/Time Quotes may be withdrawn using the “Withdraw Quote” button offered under the Summary tab of a submitted Quote. After Bid Opening Date/Time No Quote can be withdrawn after the Bid Opening Date/Time. If the Bidder wants to remove a Quote from consideration, contact the Strategic Sourcing Services Lead for guidance.
B. Bidder Communications Bidders are prohibited from communicating directly with any employee of the Commonwealth regarding this RFR, except as specified in this RFR, and no other individual Commonwealth employee or representative is authorized to provide any information or respond to any question or inquiry concerning this RFR. Bidders may contact the contact person for this RFR in the event this RFR is incomplete or the bidder is having trouble obtaining any required attachments electronically through COMMBUYS. C. Reasonable Accommodation Bidders with disabilities or hardships that seek reasonable accommodation, which may include the receipt of RFR information in an alternative format, must communicate such requests in writing to the contact person. Requests for accommodation will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. A bidder requesting accommodation must submit a written statement which describes the bidder’s disability and the requested accommodation to the contact person for the RFR. the Commonwealth reserves the right to reject unreasonable requests. D. Costs Costs which are not specifically identified in the bidder’s response, and accepted by the Commonwealth as part of a contract, will not be compensated under any contract awarded pursuant to this RFR. The Commonwealth will not be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by bidders responding to this RFR. E. Acceptance of Response Content The entire contents of the bidder’s response shall be binding on the bidder. The specifications and contents of a successful bidder’s response may be incorporated into the contract. Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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F. Public Records Upon conclusion of this process, all responses and related documents submitted in response to this RFR may be considered public records and as such be subject to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, G.L. c. 66, § 10 and G.L. c. 4, § 7 subsection 26. Any statements in submitted responses that are inconsistent with these statutes will be disregarded. G. Response Duration The bidder’s response shall remain in effect until any contract with the bidder is executed or the bidder withdraws its proposal. H. Confidentiality Bidders shall demonstrate that they can comply with all state and federal laws and regulations relating to confidentiality and privacy, and security of personal information, including but not limited to G.L. c. 93H, G.L. c. 66A, and associated regulations. 3.12.2 Security and confidentiality. I. Incorporation of RFR This RFR and the selected bidder’s response may be incorporated into any contract awarded as a result of this RFR to that bidder. J. Option to Modify Scope of Work THE COMMONWEALTH reserves the right, at its sole discretion and at any time after release of the RFR and during the contract term, to modify, increase, reduce or terminate any requirements under the contract, whenever THE COMMONWEALTH deems necessary or reasonable to reflect any change in policy or program goals. THE COMMONWEALTH additionally reserves the right, at its sole discretion and at any time after release of the RFR and during the contract term, to amend the contract to implement state or federal statutory or regulatory requirements, judicial orders, settlement agreements, or any state or federal initiatives or changes affecting THE COMMONWEALTH agencies. In the event of a change in the scope of work for any contract tasks or portions thereof, THE COMMONWEALTH will provide written notice to the contractor and will initiate negotiations with the contractor. THE COMMONWEALTH reserves the right to amend the contract accordingly, including payments under, or maximum obligation of the contract. K. Authorizations and Appropriations
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Any contract awarded under this RFR is subject to all necessary federal and state approvals, as applicable, including the Office of the Comptroller, and is subject to appropriation of sufficient funding, as determined by THE COMMONWEALTH. L. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) All bidders must agree to participate in the Commonwealth Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) program for receiving payments. A link to the EFT application can be found on the OSD Forms page (www.mass.gov/osd). Additional information about EFT is available on the Comptroller’s VendorWeb site located at: https://massfinance.state.ma.us/VendorWeb/vendor.asp. Upon notification of award, contractors are required to enroll in EFT by completing and submitting the “Authorization for Electronic Funds Payment Form” to the SSST for review, approval and forwarding to the Office of the Comptroller, unless already enrolled in EFT. A link to the EFT application can be found on the Comptroller’s VendorWeb site (see above link). This form, and all information contained on this form, shall not be considered a public record and shall not be subject to public disclosure through a public records request. M. Prompt Payment Discounts (PPD) All bidders responding to this procurement must agree to offer discounts through participation in the Commonwealth Prompt Payment Discount (PPD) initiative for receiving early and/or on-time payments, unless the bidder can provide compelling proof that it would be unduly burdensome. PPD benefits both contractors and the Commonwealth. Contractors benefit by increased, usable cash flow as a result of fast and efficient payments for commodities or services rendered. Participation in the Electronic Funds Transfer initiative further maximizes the benefits with payments directed to designated accounts, thus eliminating the impact of check clearance policies and traditional mail lead time or delays. The Commonwealth benefits because contractors reduce the cost of products and services through the applied discount. Payments that are processed electronically can be tracked and verified through the Comptroller’s Vendor Web system. The PPD form can be found under the Forms and Terms tab of this solicitation. Bidders must submit agreeable terms for Prompt Payment Discount using the PPD form within their proposal, unless otherwise specified by THE COMMONWEALTH. THE COMMONWEALTH will review, negotiate or reject the offering as deemed in the best interest of the Commonwealth. The requirement to use PPD offerings may be waived by THE COMMONWEALTH on a case-bycase basis if participation in the program would be unduly burdensome on the bidder. If a bidder is claiming that this requirement is a hardship or unduly burdensome, the specific reason must be documented in or attached to the PPD form.
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N. Electronic Communication/Update of Bidder’s/Contractor’s Contact Information It is the responsibility of the prospective bidder and awarded contractor to keep current the email address of the bidder’s contact person and prospective contract manager, if awarded a contract, and to monitor that email inbox for communications from THE COMMONWEALTH, including requests for clarification. OSD and the Commonwealth assume no responsibility if a prospective bidder’s/awarded contractor’s designated email address is not current, or if technical problems, including those with the prospective bidder’s/awarded contractor’s computer, network or internet service provider (ISP) cause email communications sent to/from the prospective bidder/awarded contractor and THE COMMONWEALTH to be lost or rejected by any means including e-mail or spam filtering. O. Restriction on the Use of the Commonwealth Seal Bidders and contractors are not allowed to display the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Seal in their bid package or subsequent marketing materials if they are awarded a contract because use of the coat of arms and the Great Seal of the Commonwealth for advertising or commercial purposes is prohibited by law. P. Subcontracting Policies Prior approval of the department is required for any subcontracted service of the contract. Contractors are responsible for the satisfactory performance and adequate oversight of its subcontractors. Vendors are free to utilize subcontractors as part of their proposal, and may add additional subcontractors throughout the life of the contract. However, any personnel proposed for work under this contract must be approved by the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth will require prior submission of the proposed individuals resume to review their qualifications to deliver services under this contract or as part of any subsequent statement of work issued by the Commonwealth. Q. Statewide Contract Administration Fee This Statewide Contract is subject to a 1% Contract Administration Fee, which is created pursuant to MGL c. 7, § 3B, 801 CMR 4.02. For information on the Statewide Contract Administration Fee, please see the “Statewide Contract Administration Fee and Report” section in the “Requirements for Doing Business After a Contract Has Been Awarded” section below. R. Requirements for Doing Business after a Contract Has Been Awarded The requirements below are specific to the Statewide Contract, if any, awarded as a result of this Bid. Awarded Bidders (Contractors) must also comply with the requirements stated in Terms and Requirements Pertaining to Awarded Statewide Contracts. Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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S. Statewide Contract Administration Fee and Report This Statewide Contract is subject to a 1% Contract Administration Fee, which is created pursuant to MGL c. 7, § 3B, 801 CMR 4.02 and the Transaction Fee section in this Bid and/or incorporated by reference into Statewide Contracts with the Operational Services Division (OSD). The price stated in any Bidder’s Quote price and any Contractor’s Statewide Contract shall be inclusive of this fee and Contractors shall not reflect this fee as a separate line item on customer invoices. This fee will be based on 1% of the total dollar amounts, adjusted for credits or refunds, paid by Eligible Entities to the Statewide Contractor based on your statewide contract. All ”Statewide Contracts” awarded and all purchase orders and purchases made pursuant to this RFR are subject to this fee regardless of whether the contract was awarded for statewide or regional coverage. Eligible entities include, but are not limited to: a) Cities, towns, districts, counties and other political subdivisions; b) Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches, including all departments and elected offices therein; c) Independent public authorities, commissions, and quasi-public agencies; d) Local public libraries, public school districts, and charter schools; e) Public hospitals owned by the Commonwealth; f) Public institutions of higher education; g) Public purchasing cooperatives; h) Non-profit, UFR-certified organizations that are doing business with the Commonwealth; i) Other states and territories with no prior approval by the State Purchasing Agent required; and j) Other entities when designated in writing by the State Purchasing Agent. For a list of other entities that are eligible to use your specific Statewide Contract see Section 1 of this RFR. Note that if the 1% Administration Fee is deductible as a business expense for federal income tax purposes, it is also deductible as an expense for Massachusetts tax purposes. T. Quarterly Fee Payment: For each Payment Period, Statewide Contractor shall pay to OSD a fee equal to one percent (1%) of the total payments (adjusted for credits or refunds) received from all Eligible Entities that have purchased from the Statewide Contractor pursuant to this Agreement. All payments will be based on full calendar quarters (Payment Periods) and must be received by OSD on or before 45 days after the last day of the Payment Period (as specified below) or a Contractor will be considered in breach of contract. Quarter
Payment Period
Quarterly Payment Due Date
First Quarter
January 1st – March 31st
May 15th
Second Quarter
April 1st – June 30th
August 15th
Third Quarter
July 1st – September 30th
November 15th
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Fourth Quarter
October 1 – December 31st
February 15th
Quarterly payments will include any periods less than a full calendar quarter if a contract does not start at the first day of a quarter or end on the last day of the quarter. Payments are to be made through a web-based secure payment center, which can be accessed through a link provided to Statewide Contractors by OSD. All Administration Fee payments are to be made directly through the secure payment center. The secure payment center allows payments to be made via Automatic Clearing House (ACH) or by using one of the following credit cards: American Express, Discover, MasterCard and/or Visa. Please note that there is no charge to vendors to use ACH as OSD covers the nominal fee charged by the secure payment center for using the ACH payment method. OSD will NOT cover the convenience fee for selecting to pay by credit card. This is a fee the contractor is responsible for paying and is non-refundable; the fee is over and above the 1% Administration Fee and it is calculated at 2.49% of the 1% Administration Fee to be paid. Prior to the due date for the Statewide Contractor’s Administration Fee payment, the Statewide Contractor will receive an e-mail communication from OSD that includes all required information the Statewide Contractor must use to submit payments via the secure payment center. Electronically submitting your payment, which is comprised of the 1% administration fee of the total payments received by the Contractor from all Eligible Entities for the Quarter, will serve as the Statewide Contractor Administration Fee Report. If the total Administration Fees due for the Payment and Reporting Period are less than $50, a Statewide Contractor may carry over that balance to the next Payment and Reporting Period until the cumulative amount owed is $50 or greater (see Quarterly Reporting below for instructions). U. Quarterly Reporting: Contractor shall submit one Statewide Contractor Administration Fee Report for each Statewide Contract for each Payment Period. If an amount greater than $50 is due for the Payment Period, then the electronic submission of the payment shall serve as submission of the Statewide Contractor Administration Fee Report, as referenced in the Quarterly Fee Payment section above. However, if the total Statewide Contractor Administration Fee due is between $0 and $50, then the Contractor must submit one Statewide Contractor Administration Fee Report for each Statewide Contract for each Payment Period. If you are submitting this report, it must be completely filled out, signed by the Statewide Contractor via electronic signature under the pains and penalties of perjury and emailed to
[email protected].
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V. Contract Management (Contractor’s interface with Commonwealth’s Contract Manager)
The individual listed in the Purchaser field in the Header Information section of the Master Blanket Purchase Order is the Commonwealth Contract Manager.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Contract Manager, in concert with the Team, will monitor the performance of the Contractor, (including the Account Manager(s) on an ongoing basis.
All Statewide Contract questions must be directed to the Commonwealth Contract Manager.
Timely response to requests will be met by all parties involved in the contract process.
Meetings: The Commonwealth Contract Manager may require that awarded vendors attend meetings during the contractual period. Change notification
Changes to the Contractor’s contact information, company name, legal address, payment address, tax identification number, authorized signatories, SDOcertification status, or EFT information must be promptly reported via email to the Commonwealth Contract Manager. In some cases additional paperwork will be required to effect the change. Contractor account team
Single Point of Contact (Contract Manager): Awarded contractors must identify and maintain a single point of contact for the duration of their award. Such contact information must include: name, title, phone (work & cell if different), email and a means of contact 24/7.
Replacement of Contractor staff requires notification to the Commonwealth Contract Manager and all parties serviced by the contractor with the new Contract Manager’s contact information as identified above.
Procedure for requesting the addition of commodities or services to the Statewide Contract should be sent to the attention of the Commonwealth Contract Manager.
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Appendix A Instructions for Vendors Responding to Bids Electronically through COMMBUYS Steps for Bidders to Submit a Quote 1. Launch the COMMBUYS website by entering the URL (www.COMMBUYS.com) into the browser. 2. Enter Bidder login credentials and click the Login button on the COMMBUYS homepage. Bidders must be registered in COMMBUYS in order to submit a Quote. Each Vendor has a COMMBUYS Seller Administrator, who is responsible for maintaining authorized user access to COMMBUYS. 3. Upon successful login, the Vendor home page displays with the Navigation and Header Bar as well as the Control Center. The Control Center is where documents assigned to your role are easily accessed and viewed. 4. Click on the Bids tab 5. Clicking on the Bid tab opens four sections: a. Request for Revision b. Bids/Bid Amendments c. Open Bids d. Closed Bids 6. Click on the blue Open Bid hyperlinks to open and review an open bid 7. A new page opens with a message requesting you acknowledge receipt of the bid. Click Yes to acknowledge receipt of the bid. Bidders should acknowledge receipt to receive any amendments/updates concerning this bid. 8. After acknowledgement, the bid will open. The top left half of the page contains the following information: a. Purchaser b. Department c. Contact for this bid d. Type of purchase i. Open Market ii. Blanket e. Pre-Bid Conference details (if applicable) f. Ship-to and Bill-to addresses g. Any attachments to the bid, which may include essential bid terms, response forms, etc. The top right half of the bid includes the following information: h. Bid Date i. Required Date j. Bid Opening Date – date the bid closes and no further quotes will be accepted k. Informal Bid Flag l. Date goods/services are required 9. The lower half of the page provides information about the specific goods/services the bid is requesting. Commonwealth of Massachusetts RFR# PRF65 Executive Agency Organizational Assessment and Design Consultative Services
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10. Click Create Quote to begin. 11. The General tab for a new quote opens. This page is populated with some information from the bid. Fields available to update include: a. Delivery days b. Shipping terms c. Ship via terms d. Is “no” bid – select if you will not be submitting a quote for this bid e. Promised Date f. Info Contact g. Comments h. Discount Percent i. Freight Terms j. Payment Terms It is important to note that the bid documents (RFR and attachments) may specify some or all of these terms and may prohibit you from altering these terms in your response. Read the bid documents carefully and fill in only those items that are applicable to the bid to which you are responding. Update these fields as applicable to the bid and click Save & Continue to save any changes and create a Quote Number. 12. The page refreshes and messages display. Any message in Red is an error and must be resolved before the quote can be submitted. Any message in Yellow is only a warning and will allow processing to continue. 13. Click the Items tab. The Items tab displays information about the items requested in the bid. To view additional details about an item, click the item number (blue hyperlink) to open. 14. The item opens. Input all of your quote information and click Save & Exit. 15. Click on the Attachments Tab. Follow the prompts to upload and name all required attachments and forms and bid response documents in accordance with the instructions contained in the solicitation or bid documents. After uploading each individual file or form, click Save & Continue. After you have uploaded all required documents click Save & Exit. Be sure to review your attachments to make sure each required document has been submitted. 16. Click on the Terms & Conditions Tab. This tab refers to the terms and conditions that apply to this bid. The terms and conditions must be accepted before your quote can be submitted. If your acceptance is subject to any exceptions, those exceptions must be identified here. Exceptions cannot contradict the requirements of the RFR, or required Commonwealth standard forms and attachments for the bid. For instance, an RFR may specify that exceptions may or will result in disqualification of your bid. 17. Click the Summary tab. Review the information and update/correct, as needed. If the information is correct, click the Submit Quote button at the bottom of the page.
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18. A popup window displays asking for verification that you wish to submit your quote. Click OK to submit the quote. 19. The Summary tab redisplays with an updated Status for the quote of Submitted. 20. Your quote submission is confirmed only when you receive a confirmation email from COMMBUYS. If you have submitted a quote and have not received an email confirmation, please contact the COMMBUYS Help Desk at
[email protected]. If you wish to revise or delete a quote after submission, you may do so in COMMBUYS: (1) for a formal bid, prior to the bid opening date, or (2) for an informal bid (which may be viewed upon receipt), prior to the opening of your quote by the issuing entity or the bid opening date, whichever is earlier. Bidders may not submit Multiple Quotes in response to a Bid unless the Bid authorizes Multiple Quote submissions. If you submit multiple quotes in response to a bid that does not allow multiple quotes, only the latest submission prior to the bid opening date will be evaluated. Additional Quote Submission Training and Instructions - The following resources are provided to assist Bidders in submitting Quotes:
An online job aid on How to Create a Quote;
Webcast video on How to Find Bids (Solicitations) and Submit Quotes (Responses) through COMMBUYS;
Instructor-led trainings (ILT) and live webinar sessions on “How to Locate and Respond to Bids” may also be available. Check the OSD Training Courses schedule for Sellers/Business Entities for available locations, dates and times. Note that space is limited and preregistration for trainings is required to attend. Follow instructions on the course schedule to register.
COMMBUYS Help Desk Support - Technical assistance is available during the procurement process. Every effort is made to respond to inquiries within one business day. o Website: Go to www.mass.gov/osd/commbuys and select the COMMBUYS Resource Center link offered under Key Resources. o Email: Send inquiries to the COMMBUYS Helpdesk at
[email protected] o Telephone: Call the COMMBUYS Help Desk at 1-888-MA-STATE (1-888-627-8283). The Help Desk is staffed from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM Monday through Friday Eastern Standard or Daylight time, as applicable, except on federal and state holidays. o Bidders are advised that COMMBUYS will be unavailable during regularly scheduled maintenance hours of which all users will be notified.
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