Invitation to Qualify: Polygraph Services

Post Information
Posted At:
Thu, Nov 7, 2024 2:00 PM
Sealed Bid Process:
No
Private Bid:
No

1. Introduction
   1.1. Summary

The City of Pittsburgh, Office of Management and Budget, is soliciting proposals from qualified individuals and firms to engage in open ended contracts for Polygraph Examination Services.

1.2. Background

The City of Pittsburgh is inviting professionals and firms to qualify for a pre-selection of vendors who meet the mandatory criteria for the categories of work listed under Scope of Work. Firms may submit qualifications for any number and/or combinations of the Categories of Work herein. The City may choose to award multiple categories of work if the professionals and/or firms are deemed qualified for more than one category and able to support City needs.

Once under contract, the selected firms will be able to submit proposals for work order requests.

The sample agreements accompanying this solicitation will be part of each individual contract. Changes or alterations to these terms and conditions will not be accepted.

1.3. Contact Information
Jacob Goldmann
Sourcing Specialist
414 Grant Street
Room 502
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Email: jacob.goldmann@pittsburghpa.gov
Phone: (412) 255-2422

Department:
Office of Municipal Investigations

1.4. Timeline

The following represents the tentative schedule for this project. Any change in the scheduled dates for the Pre Proposal Conference (if applicable), Deadline for Submission of Written Questions, or Proposal Submission Deadline will be advertised in the form of an addendum to this ITQ. The schedule for the evaluation process and other future dates may be adjusted without notice.

ITQ Released:
November 7, 2024
Proposal Submission Deadline:
December 1, 2027, 3:00pm
Proposal Review and Supplier Scoring:
Ongoing - Applications will be receivable until December 2027
Contract Award:
Ongoing - Applications will be receivable until December 2027
2. Instructions to Bidders
2.1. Proposal Format

Submission Requirements

General:

A page means one side of one sheet of paper. Paper size shall be 8.5” x 11”

Font size may not be less than 10 point in body text of submission

Margins may not be less than 0.5”

Layout shall be portrait orientation

Provide resumes for a maximum of three (3) key individuals that will be the “qualifying professional” for the category of work

Resumes should not exceed one page per professional.

To be considered, vendors are required to provide a maximum of three (3) project summaries per category of work.

Project summaries may not exceed one page each.

Submittal Format:

Section 1 – Firm/Artist Information

Firm/Artist overview
Services provided
Firm name, legal address, etc.
Designated contract authority and principle point of contact (name, address, phone, email)
DBE/WBE certification (if applicable)

Section 2 – Categories of Work

Project Summaries-Provide instances of completed work that would fall under each category of work sought.
3 project maximum per category of work
1 page maximum per project
Qualified Professionals Resumes
1 page maximum per qualifying professional
2.2. Submittal Requirements

All proposals must be submitted electronically. No proposal shall be accepted in person, by U.S. Mail, by private courier service, via oral or email communication, telephone or fax transmission.

Respondents are required to provide one (1) electronic copy of their proposal in either MS Word or PDF by the submission deadline.

If additional hard copies are requested, the proposal should be bound or contained in a loose leaf binder. Document pages shall be 8-1/2 inches by 11 inches in size or folded to such a size. Use section dividers, tabbed in accordance with this Section as specified below. All proposals will need to be provided electronically so the following format will apply for the electronic submittal through the Beacon website.

2.3. Additional Submission Considerations

Late proposals will not be accepted or considered. Respondents should allow enough time to register company on the City's e-Procurement Portal, search the solicitation they wish to respond to and complete the submission process online before the deadline.

The City of Pittsburgh shall not be responsible for proposals delivered to a person or location other than that specified herein.

All submittals, whether selected or rejected, shall become the property of the City of Pittsburgh and will not be returned.

All costs associated with proposal preparation shall be borne by the applicant.

3. Evaluation Phases

Selection Procedure

Your Proposal will be evaluated by a Proposal Committee comprised of the Director or other supervisor of the Using Department, one or more members of the Director’s staff, at least one member of the Office of Management & Budget and any other department representatives as deemed necessary.

Submittals will be reviewed for responsiveness, and responsive submittals will further be screened by a selection committee in accordance with the criteria listed below. The firm(s) submitting the highest rated proposal may be invited for interviews.

1. Firm’s Qualifications, Experience and References

Vendor response demonstrated that the firm has the experience and capabilities to successfully perform the scope of services, including providing references for clients of similar size and scope.

Scoring Method:
Points Based
Weight (Points):
15  (50% of Total)
2. Qualifications of Team

Vendor response provided a brief summary of the qualifications and experience of each team member assigned to this project, including length of service with the firm and resume/bio, and the qualifications /experience of any sub-consultant staff on your project team.

Scoring Method:
Points Based
Weight (Points):
15  (50% of Total)
4. Equal Opportunity Review Commission Terms
4.1. MWE/DBE

The City of Pittsburgh is committed to the ideal of providing all citizens an equal opportunity to participate in City and its Authorities' contracting opportunities. It is therefore the City's goal to encourage increased participation of women and minority groups in all City contracts. The City requires that all respondents demonstrate good faith efforts to obtain the participation of Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (MBE's) and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (WBE's) in work to be performed under City contracts. The levels of MBE and WBE participation will be monitored by the City of Pittsburghs Equal Opportunity Review Commission (EORC). In order to ensure that there are opportunities for historically disadvantaged minority groups and women to participate on Covered Contracts, and consistent with the City's current equal employment opportunity practice and goals, the EORC will review contracts to include an evaluation of a developer/contractors employment of minority groups and women, encourage goals of eighteen (18) percent and seven (7) percent respectively.

4.2. Veteran-Owned and LGBTQIA+ Small Business Goals

It is also the City's goal to encourage participation by veteran-owned and LGBTQIA+ small businesses in all contracts. The City of Pittsburgh shall have an annual goal of not less than five (5) percent participation by veteran-owned small businesses and not less than three (3) percent participation by LGBTQIA+ businesses in all contracts. The participation goal shall apply to the overall dollar amount expended with respect to the contracts. The City requires that all respondents demonstrate good faith efforts to obtain the participation of veteran-owned small business in work to be performed under City contracts. The levels of participation will be monitored by the City of Pittsburgh’s EORC.

4.3. Good Faith Commitment

In order to demonstrate good faith commitment to these goals, all respondents are required to complete and submit with their bids the attached MWDBE/Veteran-Owned/LGBTQIA+ Solicitation and Commitment Form (which details the efforts made by the respondents to obtain such participation). Failure to submit a properly completed form along with documentation of Good Faith Commitment may result in rejection of the bid. Participants are encouraged to contact the Equal Opportunity Review Commission at 412-255-8804 to assist further. For further information, including definitions and additional requirements, please see Chapter 177A (Sections 177A.01 et. seq.) of the City Code and Section 161.40 of the City Code.

5. Award and Contract
   5.1. Award

After the City has received all Proposals and conducted its initial Evaluation, described above, the Proposal Committee may invite one or more Respondents to a follow-up interview to further discuss their Proposal(s).

The Proposal Committee may decide to accept the Proposal of one or more Respondents. It may decide to reject all proposals. Once a Proposal is accepted, the contract negotiation process will commence. This ITQ and your response to it, in the form of your entire Proposal, will become part of the Contract. If a real or apparent conflict should arise between this ITQ/Proposal and other language contained in the final Contract, the language of the final Contract shall control.

5.2. Contracting Process

Successful Respondents will be required to enter into a Contract with the City of Pittsburgh, contingent upon the approval of City Council. This Contract will be directed and managed by the issuing department and the Office of Management & Budget.

Work cannot commence on the Scope of the ITQ until it a contract is fully executed. The City cannot process invoices nor approve payments until this Contract has been fully executed by the Respondent and all required City signatories, including the issuing department, the Law Department, and the City Controller.

City laws and policies mandate the incorporation of various custom terms and conditions into all City contracts. For this reason the City will not sign any standard contract proffered by the respondent.

An agreement shall not be binding or valid with the City unless and until it is fully executed by authorized representatives of the City and of the Proposer. Once the Contract is fully executed the City will notify Respondent in writing and give the order to proceed.

6. General Terms & Conditions
   6.1. Examination of Proposal Documents
   The submission of a proposal shall be deemed a representation and certification by the Respondent that they:

Have carefully read and fully understand the information that was provided by the City to serve as the basis for submission of the proposal.
Have the capability to successfully undertake and complete the responsibilities and obligations of the proposal being submitted.
Represent that all information contained in the proposal is true and correct.
Did not, in any way, collude; conspire to agree, directly or indirectly, with any person, firm, corporation or other proposer in regard to the amount, terms or conditions of this proposal.
Acknowledge that the City has the right to make any inquiry it deems appropriate to substantiate or supplement information supplied by a proposer, and proposer hereby grants the City permission to make these inquiries, and to provide any and all related documentation in a timely manner.

No request for modification of the proposal shall be considered after its submission on the grounds that the proposer was not fully informed to any fact or condition.
6.2. RFP Term

Respondent’s proposal shall remain firm and effective, subject to the City’s review and approval, for a period of one hundred twenty (120) days from the closing date for the receipt of proposals.

The City may enter into negotiations with one or more Respondents during the one hundred twenty (120) day period during which all proposals will stay effective. The purpose of such negotiations will be to address questions and identify issues as the parties move towards the execution of a final contract or contracts.

6.3. RFP Communications

Unauthorized contact regarding this RFP with employees or officials of the City of Pittsburgh other than the RFP Coordinator named in the header section of this solicitation may result in disqualification from this procurement process.

Neither Respondent(s) nor any person acting on Respondent(s)’s behalf shall attempt to influence the outcome of the award by the offer, presentation or promise of gratuities, favors, or anything of value to any appointed or elected official or employee of the City of Pittsburgh, their families or staff members. All inquiries regarding the solicitation are to be directed to the designated RFP Coordinator. Outside of pertinent RFP questions directed to the City of Pittsburgh as specified above, any other attempts to contact any City of Pittsburgh personnel regarding this RFP, without prior approval by the RFP Coordinator will be considered grounds for dismissal and immediate disqualification from the RFP process. This includes, but is not limited to, all verbal, voice, text, e-mail, and social media (e.g. – LinkedIn) contact.

Please note the following:

The City shall not be responsible for nor bound by any oral instructions, interpretations or explanations issued by the City or its representatives.
Each proposer shall assume the risk of the method of dispatching any communication or proposal. •The RFP Coordinator must receive all written comments, including questions and requests for clarification, no later than the Deadline for Submission Questions listed in the tentative project schedule.
The City reserves the right to determine, at its sole discretion, the appropriate and adequate responses to written comments, questions, and requests for clarification. The City’s official responses and other official communications pursuant to this RFP shall constitute an addendum of this RFP.
The City will publish all official responses and communications pursuant to this RFP to the City of Pittsburgh procurement website. It is the responsibility of each proposer to check the site and incorporate all addenda into their response.
All addenda for this RFP will be distributed via the City of Pittsburgh procurement website at procurement.pittsburghpa.gov/beacon/opportunities
Only the City’s official, written responses and communications shall be considered binding with regard to this RFP.
6.4. Addenda/Clarifications

Should discrepancies or omissions be found in this RFP or should there be a need to clarify this RFP, questions or comments regarding this RFP must be put in writing and received by the RFP Coordinator within the Question and Answer tab.

6.5. Withdrawal of Proposals

A proposer may withdraw its proposal at any time before the expiration of the time for submission of proposals as provided in this RFP by delivering a written request for withdrawal signed by, or on behalf of, the proposer.

6.6. Public Record

Respondent, by submittal of a proposal, acknowledges that all proposals may be considered public information in accordance with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Right to Know laws. Subject to award of this RFP, all or part of any submittal may be released to any person or firm who may request it. Therefore, proposers shall specify in their proposal response if any portion of their submittal should be treated as proprietary and not releasable as public information. Proposers should be aware that all such requests may be subject to legal review and challenge.

Any information considered proprietary should be indicated as such or not included in the response.

6.7. Non-Conforming Proposal

A proposal shall be prepared and submitted in accordance with the provisions of these RFP instructions and specifications. Any alteration, omission, addition, variance, or limitation of, from or to a proposal may be sufficient grounds for non-acceptance of the proposal, at the sole discretion

Attached documents:
• Invitation_to_Qualify:Polygraph_Services(Addendum_#3_Revision).pdf
• A - Sample_ITQ_Agreement_for_Polygraph_Services (Updated)