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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERSBuilding Initiative for Low-Emissions Development (BUILD) Program (Senate Bill 1477, 2018)?Technical Assistance Provider?RFP-20-502?June 7, 2021No. ADMINISTRATIVE/PROCESSQ1Can we get a list of attendees to allow for networking and partnering prospects? A1The list of attendees and Pre-Bid Conference presentation were posted on the RFP page on May 26, 2021. Please check [].Q2When will you post the participant list to this conference?A2The list of attendees and Pre-Bid Conference presentation were posted on the RFP page on May 26, 2021. Please check [].Q3When we will get access to this presentation? Can we get it to develop more questions by tomorrow?A3The Pre-Bid Conference presentation was posted on the RFP page on May 26, 2021. Please check [].Q4Was this grant awarded previously?A4This contract has not been previously solicited. BUILD is a new incentive program and this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to select the first technical assistance provider for the program. This is not a grant for project financing. More information about the BUILD Program can be found here []Q5Can prime consultants be identified so subconsultants can network with them?A5The Pre-Bid Conference attendees list has been posted on the RFP page under the Pre-Bid Conference event. Please consult the list for your networking opportunities. Q6Will the CEC consider extending the deadline given the upcoming holiday weekend in the middle of an already short proposal development timeline?A6The deadline for proposal submission has been extended to June 28 to allow more time. Submit your proposal by June 28, 5 p.m. PT. Q7Can the deadline for submission be extended beyond June 14? For a program of this size and complexity, a 2.5 weeks turnaround from the RFP info session to the proposal submission deadline is extremely tight.A7The deadline for proposal submission has been extended to June 28 to allow more time. Submit your proposal by June 28, 5 p.m. PT. Q8Can questions be submitted (and answered) after May 26? Additional questions will inevitably arise as applicants begin writing proposals.A8The deadline for questions submission will not be extended. PROPOSAL/CONTRACTQ9Is the intention to provide only one contract?A9Yes. This is a single contract to be awarded to a Prime Contractor. The Prime Contractor can structure the contract team with subcontractors to better address multidisciplinary expertise and the state contracting requirements (e.g. DVBE). Q10Is there a specific?dollar amount or level of participation for government contracts awarded to potential contractors?A10For this RFP, the full contract funding is $8 million for 6 years for a single contract to carry out the scope of services. The actual funding amount would depend on the winning proposal's cost proposal and the services to be performed, not to exceed $8 million and 6 years. Q11Does the Prime Contractor have to have government contract experience or awards?A11No, having successful government contracts experience would be helpful but it is not a requirement. Q12Do team member resumes, Client References (Attachment 6), and Budget Forms (Attachment 7) count towards the Technical and Cost Proposal’s 35-page limit?A12No. Only the technical and cost proposal narratives are counted towards the 35-page limit. The Budget Forms (including subcontractor budgets, if any), Client References, Resumes, and Previous Work Products do not count in the page limit. Please refer to the RFP manual page 19, Section 3, "Required Format for a Proposal." DISABLED VETERAN BUSINESS ENTERPRISE REQUIREMENTQ13Is DVBE certification only acceptable for 3%? I think I read in the RFP that Small Business certification is also acceptable?A13The minimum 3% DVBE participation is a requirement for this RFP, meaning all proposals are required to have at least 3% of their work performed by a certified DVBE entity. Proposals not including at least 3% DVBE participation will be disqualified at the administrative screening for not meeting the requirement. On the other hand, Small Business, Microbusiness, Non-Small Business or Target Area Contract Preference Act are opportunities to earn additional preference points, but not a requirement. Please refer to section V of the RFP manual for detailed description of each preference type and documentation. To find certification information and to search for certified business entities, please visit here []. Q14A Disabled Veteran should be a…individual staff person? Business owner?A14Qualification for the DVBE Incentive is a matter of ownership which requires that 51% of a company’s ownership be by one or more disabled veterans. See Section V of the solicitation manual under DVBE Certification and Eligibility on page 32. To find certified DVBE firms, please visit here [].Q15Can you clarify whether a disabled veteran staff person of a business qualifies?A15Please see the answer above. You can search for certified DVBE firms here [], and information on how to become certified can be found here []. TECHNICAL TASKSQ16What would an ideal team look like for this proposal?A16Please refer to the RFP manual Section III, C, "Relevant Experience and Qualifications."Q17What is the target population for "community outreach"?A17Community outreach target population for this technical assistance contract includes low-income, disadvantaged, hard-to-reach, and tribal communities, as well as low-income housing developers and building industry practitioners. Outreach activities will involve close collaboration with local government officials, housing policy advocates and other housing/incentive programs' staff. Outreach may also be targeted to specific climate zones. Please consult Task 2 in the RFP manual for a detailed description. Q18Is this proposal expected to develop or update the existing guidelines for the BUILD program outlined in the BUILD Implementation Plan? Or changing the guidelines is not in the scope of work?A18No, the selected provider will not be developing guidelines. Program guidelines are being developed by BUILD staff. The contractor will provide may perform research and analysis on program elements and provide input to CEC staff to support the development of guidelines. Q19How do you envision the 'BUILD' and 'TECH' program coordination happening? What are the critical touch points?A19This topic is currently being explored between the BUILD and TECH staff as both programs are currently in development. Staff anticipate that the contractors will coordinate on marketing and share information from the TECH Initiative’s contractor training and upstream manufacturing incentives. Q20Who will prepare the outreach materials? Will it be CEC or the selected team?A20Please consult Task 2 in the RFP manual. The contractor will prepare education and outreach materials, with input and approval from BUILD staff. The CEC will also prepare additional outreach materials. CONFLICT OF INTERESTQ21Will the winner of this be unable to be part of teams for individual projects under BUILD?A21Any employee of the prime contractor and subcontractor who is defined as a "consultant" under the Political Reform Act may be prohibited from also participating on teams of individual projects if the employee has (or would receive) an economic interest in that project and the Political Reform Act requires disqualification. While the rules of the Political Reform Act are numerous, there are certain exceptions which may permit employees of the prime contractor and subcontractor to be part of individual project teams under BUILD. In addition to avoiding any conflicts in economic interests, the prime contractor will also need to ensure adequate separation of duties between employees of the prime contractor and any subcontractors providing services to the CEC under the Agreement, in order for the other employees to be part of individual project teams.Please note the updated terms and conditions in Exhibit G (Conflict of Interest) in the Attachment 8 (Standard Agreement Example) that clarify the designation of consultants. The terms and conditions also require the prime contractor to avoid any perception of bias between the prime contractor, the subcontractors and program beneficiaries. The updated terms and conditions provide the opportunity for the prime contractor to demonstrate its ability to establish or maintain the required separation of duties that might permit certain team members -- including firms or employees of the prime contractor or subcontractors -- to participate in independent project teams that may want to participate under BUILD.Q22Can a Company submit a bid as a prime contractor and also be a subconsultant to other bids?A22Since there will only be one prime contractor selected, a Company may do both. A Company may submit an application to serve as the prime contractor, and it may also be identified as a subcontractor or other key participant in another application submitted by another entity. Q23Would the conflict of interest only apply to a team member directly receiving the incentive (such as a housing developer)? Or would it also be a conflict of interest for any BUILD TA team member to be a consultant on a project that receives a BUILD incentive (such as an architect, engineer, or energy consultant)?A23The prohibitions on conflicts of interest apply to a) employees of the prime contractor or subcontractor defined as a "consultant" under Exhibit G (Conflict of Interest) to the Attachment 8 (Standard Agreement Example), and b) the prime contractor, any subcontractor, and any employees of both, where the prime contractor has not demonstrated to the CEC that there is adequate separation of duties.Q24Will EPIC Challenge participants/awardees be a conflict of interest?A24At this time, the CEC does not foresee any conflict of interest between potential prime contractors or subcontractors under BUILD who may already be EPIC Challenge participants or awardees, unless other conflict of interest provisions under Exhibit G also apply. In other words, simply participating in an EPIC Challenge award would not be a conflict of interest, unless participation in a specific award creates a relationship that would also present an economic conflict of interest or violate the necessary separation of duties required to be a prime contractor or subcontractor under the BUILD TA RFP.Q25Scenario 1: Firm A is on a Project Team (as a designer) and BUILD TA Team, and Provides BUILD TAFirm A is part of the Project X design team (for example Architect, MEP engineer).Firm A is also on the BUILD TA team, and provides TA to Project X through BUILD.Firm A is not the direct recipient of the BUILD incentive, which could be paid to another member of the project development (for example, the owner/developer)."A25If Firm A is on the BUILD TA team, it would violate the separation of duties to provide TA under BUILD to Project X if Firm A is engaged to provide independent professional consulting services to the same project. Even if Firm A is not receiving the BUILD incentive directly, it is presumably being compensated by the owner/developer of Project X for its professional consulting services to Project X. At a minimum, being compensated under the BUILD program to provide TA to a project it is already engaged in is a perceived conflict of interest. Additionally, if an individual working for Firm A is also identified as a consultant under BUILD for services to the CEC under Task 4, it would probably constitute an actual economic conflict of interest under the Political Reform Act for that same individual to be engaged with Project X as an independent consultant. Ideally, the prime contractor would be able to establish adequate separation of duties and assign another BUILD TA team member to provide the TA to Project X, so that Firm A and its employees do not need to serve in both roles. Applicants are encouraged to apply and provide descriptions of how other BUILD TA team members would be available to assist Project X to avoid the actual or perceived conflict of interest between Firm A and Project X.Q26Scenario 2: Firm A is on a Project Team (not as a designer) and BUILD TA Team, and Provides BUILD TAFirm A is part of the Project X team as a non-designer (for example T24 consultant, GreenPoint Rater, HERS Rater).Firm A is also on the BUILD TA team, and provides TA to Project through BUILD.Firm A is not the direct recipient of the BUILD incentive, which could be paid to another member of the project development team (for example, the owner/developer)."A26This is probably the same response as Scenario 1. There may be a fact-specific circumstance where the nature of the non-design work may not trigger the separation of duties. However, it would likely still present a perceived conflict of interest. The Political Reform Act analysis is the same as in Scenario 1. Ideally, the prime contractor would be able to establish adequate separation of duties and assign another BUILD TA team member to provide the TA to Project X, so that Firm A does not need to serve in both roles. Applicants are encouraged to apply and provide descriptions of how the non-design work might avoid triggering the separation of duties, or how other BUILD TA team members would be available to assist Project X, so that Firm A and its employees do not need to serve in both roles.Q27Scenario 3: Firm A is on a Project Team (as a designer) and BUILD TA Team, but does NOT Provide BUILD TAFirm A is part of the Project X design team (for example Architect, MEP engineer).Firm A is also on the BUILD TA team, but does NOT provide TA to or interact with Project X through BUILD.All BUILD TA for Project X is provided by members of the BUILD TA Team other than Firm A.Firm A is not the direct recipient of the BUILD incentive, which could be paid to another member of the project development team (for example, the owner/developer)."A27This scenario avoids the violation of the separation of duties that Firm A is obligated to establish and maintain when providing BUILD TA under the Agreement.If Firm A is on the BUILD TA team, but is not assigned to provide TA to Project X, then there probably is no violation of separation of duties. However, if an individual working for Firm A is also identified as a consultant under BUILD for services to the CEC under Task 4, it could constitute an actual economic conflict of interest under the Political Reform Act if the individual's substantive work for the CEC could have a material direct or indirect financial impact on Firm A. Q28Scenario 4: Firm A is on a Project Team (not as a designer) and BUILD TA Team, but does NOT Provide BUILD TAFirm A is part of the Project X team as a non-designer (for example T24 consultant, GreenPoint Rater, HERS Rater).Firm A is also on the BUILD TA team, but does NOT provide TA to or interact with Project X through BUILD.All BUILD TA for Project X is provided by members of the BUILD TA Team other than Firm A.Firm A is not the direct recipient of the BUILD incentive, which could be paid to another member of the project development team (for example, the owner/developer)."A28This is probably the same response as Scenario 3, for both the separation of duties and economic interest under the Political Reform Act. The "non-design" work is not administrative or ministerial; rather, Title 24 consultation and HERS Rating require substantive expertise. So, while this arrangement avoids triggering the separation of duties, if an individual working for Firm A is identified as a consultant under BUILD for services to the CEC under Task 4, it could constitute an actual economic conflict of interest under the Political Reform Act if the individual's substantive work for the CEC could have a material direct or indirect financial impact on Firm A. Note: For each of these four scenarios, the Prime Contractor will be responsible for acknowledging that in governmental contracting even the appearance of a conflict of interest can be harmful to the interest of the State. Thus, Contractor will need to refrain from any practices, activities, or relationships that appear to conflict with Contractor’s obligations under this Agreement, even if a technical conflict of interest does not exist. If any of these or other scenarios might exist in a potential bid, applicants are encouraged to apply and provide descriptions of how the prime contractor and team members can establish and maintain the separation of conflicting duties, and avoid any economic conflicts for individuals identified as consultants under Task 4. BUILD PROGRAMQ29Does a City or County deed restricted First Time Home Buyer loan qualify as a target property for BUILD?A29SB 1477 (2018) restricts single family low-income residential projects to those defined in Public Utilities Code Section 2850(a)(3)(C). Please check this reference for the definition; the CEC cannot speak to the eligibility under external programs. Q30Can you estimate how much incentives an apartment complex is eligible for?A30BUILD staff is currently working on the incentive structure, which will be provided in program guidelines when completed. Additional Information can be found in the Implementation Plan [].Q31Are Community Based Organizations (CBO) directly and formally contracted by the program? A31CEC staff anticipate outreach and education efforts will include collaboration with CBOs. The RFP and the BUILD program do not contemplate entering into direct contracts with separate individual CBOs. Q32How is the BUILD program related to the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC)? Are they supposed to get aligned or collaborate together?A32The BUILD Program and LIHTC Program are independent programs. The BUILD program will be designed to complement the common industry financing programs for affordable multifamily programs, such as LIHTC.Q33Is there an assumed program participation split between single family and multifamily affordable housing projects?A33No, there is not a required program participation split between single family and multifamily low-income housing. ................
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