Puget Sound Regional Council

Transcription

1 PSRC Request for Qualifications for On-Call Services for Communication and Public Involvement Consultant Services Solicited by the Released: September 15, 2009 Submissions Due: 4:00pm, October 6, 2009 Submit Qualifications to: Andrew Werfelmann, Accounting Associate and Contract Specialist Phone: , Fax: , Western Avenue, Suite 500 Seattle, Washington Phone: , Fax: , Website:

2 Request for Qualifications for On-Call Services for Communication and Public Involvement I. REQUEST Submissions Due: 4:00pm, October 6, 2009 The (PSRC) is requesting qualifications from firms to provide oncall services for public involvement and communication to assist in raising public awareness and cultivating engagement in regional transportation and growth management planning as well as economic development. The selected firm(s) will assist the in meeting state and federal requirements for public involvement, implementing the agency s adopted public involvement plan and accomplishing tasks identified in the agency s budget and work program. The consultant will assist the with public relations, advertising, marketing, government relations, and public education, including audiovisual, digital technology, print. Broadcast, graphics, meeting and events organization, meeting facilitation, presentations, surveys, focus groups, Web site, video, and photography a full range of communications services. This will be a three-year contract with the option to renew. The work will be subject to PSRC's proposal review and consultant selection process. The available budget for this project is to be determined on a per task basis. Submittals must be received at PSRC office by 4:00pm, October 6, PSRC promotes equal employment opportunity in the evaluation of any proposal and in the award of any resultant contract. PSRC's work program complies with applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and procedures. Respondents to this Request for Qualification (RFQ) should prepare technical descriptions of the research and development activities proposed for the tasks outlined above. At a minimum, proposals should include: A brief technical discussion of the issues described in Part III (Proposed Scope of Work) of this document. The schedule and resources to be devoted to each task, including the number of hours to be spent by each major contributor. The work products to be prepared under each task. In addition, the schedule for delivering forecasts and reports supporting the proposed scope of services should reflect the completion dates presented in Section IV (Project Schedule). II. BACKGROUND The is an is the regional transportation, economic development and growth management planning agency for the four county central Puget Sound region of Washington State. It serves as a forum for developing policies and making decisions about important growth management, economic development and transportation planning and implementation. Page 1

3 The Council is designated under federal law as the Metropolitan Planning Organization, under state law as the Regional Transportation Planning Organization for King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties and the federally designated economic development district. The agency is mandated by state and federal law, and by its own governing Interlocal Agreement, to maintain VISION 2040 as the optimal regional growth and transportation strategy for the region and to conduct and support numerous state and federal planning, compliance and certification programs. On-call services for public involvement and communication are designed to help the agency meet its responsibilities and enhance public understanding and engagement in regional growth management and transportation planning. III. PROPOSED SCOPE OF WORK The consultant team(s) chosen for this project will work as an extension of the Puget Sound Regional Council staff. The scope of work will be identified by individual task projects to include an estimated budget, staff and hourly rates, any sub-tasks and a detailed scope of work. In addition to a contract, individual tasks will be approved by the project manager IV. PROJECT SCHEDULE The following is an outline of the proposed project schedule. The schedule may be modified while refining the contract scope of work after the consultant selection process has been completed. CONSULTANT SELECTION SCHEDULE: All submissions due...4:00pm, October 6, 2009 Consultant interviews... October 12 16, 2009 Consultant selected & notified... October 19, 2009 Refine scope of work for contract... October 20 23, 2009 Sign contract with PSRC...November 1, 2009 V. BUDGET AVAILABLE The budget for this project is to be determined on a per task basis. Consultant firms are advised that upon subsequent review, evaluation, and discussion of proposals and approaches to the project, PSRC may make budget adjustments to optimize achievement of project objectives and opportunities within currently available resources. VI. PUGET SOUND REGIONAL COUNCIL'S RIGHTS This RFP and/or the selection process does not obligate PSRC to enter into any contracts. PSRC reserves the following rights, in addition to those accorded by policy and law: The right to negotiate all proposal elements. Page 2

4 The right to reject any and all proposals, waive irregularities and re-solicit proposals. The right to change the scope of work depending on funding available. The right to approve any and all subcontractors selected after an award. The right to renegotiate the agreement for such additional service as may be necessary. The right to make an award to other than the lowest bidder. VII. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY (EEO) & TITLE VI REQUIREMENT The Contractor shall not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability or national origin. The Contractor shall take affirmative action to ensure that the hiring of applicants and treatment of employees during employment is conducted without regard to their race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability or national origin. Such action shall include, but not be limited to the following: employment, upgrading, demotion or transfer, recruitment, advertising, layoff or termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation and selection for training, including apprenticeship. The Contractor further agrees to insert the foregoing provision in all subcontracts. The (PSRC) hereby gives public notice that it is the policy of the agency to assure full compliance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, Executive Order on Environmental Justice, and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. Title VI requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, sex, or national origin, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which PSRC receives federal financial assistance. Any person who believes they have been aggrieved by an unlawful discriminatory practice under Title VI has a right to file a formal complaint with PSRC. Any such complaint must be in writing and filed with PSRC s Title VI Coordinator within one hundred eighty (180) days following the date of the alleged discriminatory occurrence. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Discrimination Complaint Form, please see our Web site at or call (206) The, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 78 Stat. 252, USC 2000d 42 and Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Department of Transportation, Subtitle A, Office of the secretary, part 21: Nondiscrimination in Federally Assisted Programs of the Department of Transportation Issued Pursuant to Such Act, hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively ensure that any contract entered pursuant to this advertisement will afford minority business enterprises full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation, and will not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, sex, or national origin in consideration for an award. The will make available to interested persons a directory identifying all firms eligible to participate as DBE s in its program as provided by the Washington State Office of Minority and Women s Business Enterprises. This list may be found on the Internet at The information is available by vendor names and by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC). Page 3

5 VIII. CONTENT AND FORMAT OF PROPOSAL A. CONTENTS OF PROPOSAL: The consultant s proposal format should emphasize clarity and brevity in describing understanding of the project, approach, budget and personnel experience. The proposal should be prepared on white bond paper (standard 8.5 x 11") in 12-point type. Six (6) copies and one original copy (in copy ready format) of the consultant s proposal should be submitted to PSRC by or before 4:00pm, October 6, Proposals will not be reviewed and will be considered non-responsive if they arrive past the noted deadline or exceed a total of 25 pages in length for all required proposal information. The 25-page limit shall include a transmittal letter with the proposal, signed by the individual(s) from the consultant team able to commit the resources of the consultant, and shall identify the key person and phone number to contact regarding such proposal. This 25-page limit does not include the front and back covers of a proposal, if they are provided. Each submission must include the following information: 1. Participation of principal, investigators, key support, and/or technical staff, including cost breakdown by each key participants. Total cost shall be determined on a per task basis. 2. Description of relevant experience and qualifications for each senior person involved in the project. 3. List of people, with telephone numbers, who can be contacted for reference on relevant experience. 4. Documentation of equal employment opportunity commitment for the prime and each subcontractor, if any. 5. A completed Information on Proposing Firm(s) form. B. DESIGNATION OF PERSONNEL: The proposal should identify and describe the qualifications of the individuals who would work on the project. It should estimate the time availability of each individual over the period of the project. It should list references who can verify the recent experience of each individual. C. DBE/WBE REQUIREMENTS AND PARTICIPATION: Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) or Women-owned Business Enterprises (WBE) should indicate their ownership status in the qualification statements. Non-DBE/WBE consultants will be expected to provide assurance as to their commitment to equal employment opportunities for minorities and women, as well as to the utilization of qualified DBEs/WBEs, if a subcontract is required. A DBE is any firm certified as such at the date and time of bid by the Washington State Office of Minority and Women s Business Enterprise (OMWBE) or by the Federal Small Business Administration under Section (8a) of the Federal Small Business Act, as amended. PSRC promotes and encourages Minority, Women, and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (M/W/DBE) participation on its contracts and is interested in submittals that reasonably involve such participation as prime consultants, joint venture partners or subcontractors. PSRC has not established a DBE/WBE participation goal for this contract opportunity. Page 4

6 IX. CONSULTANT SELECTION A. SELECTION CRITERIA: The primary selection criterion will be the ability of the firm to understand the issues and accomplish the tasks described in Section II (Background) and Section III (Proposed Scope of Work). Other selection criteria will include: 1. Experience and qualifications of principal people. 2. Recommendations of references. 3. Ability to work within deadlines and to develop mutually agreed dates for deliverables. 4. The criteria may also include Disadvantaged Business Enterprise involvement and satisfaction of EEO goals. Award of a contract with PSRC will be contingent upon compliance with 49 C.F.R B. SELECTION PROCESS: The consultant selection process will be conducted as follows: 1. The closing date and hour for receipt of the proposal is 4:00pm, October 6, Proposals received after this date and time will not be considered. In the event that sufficient proposals are not received, the date may, at PSRC s sole discretion, be extended until an adequate number of proposals are received. 2. The proposal review and selection process may require personal interviews with one or more proposing firms. These interviews will be held from October 12 16, Selection of the consultant shall be based on PSRC s evaluation of the best proposal and best-qualified respondent using the criteria and information outlined in Sections VIII and IXA above. Such determination shall be made at the sole discretion of PSRC. 4. Contract negotiations will be initiated immediately upon selection of the consultant. If PSRC is not able to negotiate a satisfactory contract, scope of services, billing rates or overhead costs consistent with Federal and State requirements, negotiations will be terminated and the consultant will be notified by mail. In this event, the proposals of the remaining pool of respondents will be evaluated and negotiations will be initiated with one of the remaining respondents selected in accordance with Sections VIII and IXA above as most qualified to complete the work. 5. This selection process does not obligate PSRC to enter into a contract with any of the responding firms. 6. Unsuccessful proposers will be afforded the opportunity of debriefing conferences if they so request. The request for a debriefing conference must be made within three days of receipt of the written notification indicating that their proposal was not selected. Discussions will be informal and limited to a critique of the requesting consultant s proposal. This feedback will assist the proposer in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their proposal. PSRC representatives will explain the scoring of a consultant s proposal. Debriefings may be conducted in person or by telephone and may be limited to a specific period of time. X. SUBMITTAL Six (6) copies of the proposal, plus one original in copy-ready format, must be received by the closing date and time described in Part IV, Project Schedule. Proposals may be delivered or mailed to PSRC office at the following address: Page 5

7 Andrew Werfelmann, Accounting Associate and Contract Specialist 1011 Western Avenue, Suite 500 Seattle, Washington Questions regarding the outlined scope of service should be directed to: Rick Olson at or X:\ADMIN\CONTRACT\RFP FORMS\RFP Master Revised doc Page 6

8 1. Information on firm: Information on Proposing Firm(s) Firm: Address: Phone: Fax: Years in business: Website: Status as MWBE or DBE with WA State: WA State MWBE/DBE certification ID #: NAICS and/or SIC code: Gross receipts: Under 1 mil. 1 mil. 100 mil. Over 100 mil. Where did you hear about this RFP(Q)? 2. Project manager contact information: Contact name: Phone: 3. Information on ALL firms that will participate in this contract: Name of firm DBE # Address Phone/fax % of Work* *The sum of all firms % of work must equal 100% 4. Description of work each DBE will perform: Name of firm Description of work