Revised 1/14/2008 - PA - eMarketplace
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR
THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BUREAU OF PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
MULTI-BOARD EXAMINATION PROGRAM
AND
BUREAU OF COMMISSIONS, ELECTION AND LEGISLATION, DIVISION OF COMMISSIONS, LEGISLATION AND NOTARIES (PENNSYLVANIA NOTARY PUBLIC EXAMINATION)
ISSUING OFFICE
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Department of State
Bureau of Finance and Operations
Room 308 North Office Building
401 North Street
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120-0500
RFP NUMBER: DOS-RFP-2016-1
DATE OF ISSUANCE
February 25, 2016
REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS FOR
THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF STATE
BUREAU OF PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
MULTI-BOARD EXAMINATION PROGRAM
AND
BUREAU OF COMMISSIONS, ELECTION AND LEGISLATION, DIVISION OF COMMISSIONS, LEGISLATION AND NOTARIES (PENNSYLVANIA NOTARY PUBLIC EXAMINATION)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CALENDAR OF EVENTS iii
Part I—GENERAL INFORMATION 1
Part II—PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS 10
Part III—CRITERIA FOR SELECTION 15
Part IV—WORK STATEMENT 19
APPENDIX A, STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
APPENDIX B, PROPOSAL COVER SHEET
APPENDIX C, TRADE SECRET CONFIDENTIAL PROPIETARY INFORMATION NOTICE FORM
APPENDIX D, SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
APPENDIX E, COST SUBMITTAL
APPENDIX F, LETTER OF INTENT TEMPLATE
APPENDIX G, DOMESTIC WORKFORCE UTILIZATION CERTIFICATION
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
The Commonwealth will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:
|Activity |Responsibility |Date |
|Deadline to submit Questions via email to Elsa Mangual at emangual@ |Potential Offerors |March 4, 2016 12:00 p.m. |
|Answers to Potential Offeror questions posted to the DGS website |Issuing Office |March 14, 2016 |
|() no later than this date. | |4:00 p.m. |
|Please monitor website for all communications regarding the RFP. |Potential Offerors |Ongoing |
|Sealed proposal must be received by the Issuing Office at Room 308 North Office Building,|Offerors |March 28, 2016 |
|401 North Street, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0500. | |2:00 p.m. |
PART I
GENERAL INFORMATION
Purpose. This request for proposals (RFP) provides to those interested in submitting proposals for the subject procurement (“Offerors”) sufficient information to enable them to prepare and submit proposals for the Department of State’s consideration on behalf of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (“Commonwealth”) to satisfy a need for the Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs (“Bureau”) Multi-Board Examination Program (“Project”).
Issuing Office. The Department of State (“Issuing Office”) has issued this RFP on behalf of the Commonwealth. The sole point of contact in the Commonwealth for this RFP shall be the Issuing Officer for this RFP. Please refer all inquiries to the Issuing Officer.
Elsa Mangual
Procurement Specialist
Bureau of Finance and Operations
Room 308 North Office Building
401 North Street
Harrisburg, PA 17120-0500
e-mail: emangual@
Scope. This RFP contains instructions governing the requested proposals, including the requirements for the information and material to be included; a description of the service to be provided; requirements which Offerors must meet to be eligible for consideration; general evaluation criteria; and other requirements specific to this RFP.
Problem Statement. Additional detail is provided in Part IV of this RFP. The Commonwealth, through the Bureau, is interested in securing and retaining the services of a qualified professional testing organization that is experienced in professional licensure examination development, preparation, administration and scoring and possesses the adequate background, experienced personnel, qualifications and resources to develop, prepare, administer and score Commonwealth examinations and perform other related services for the Bureau and candidates as described in this RFP. Act 146 of 1980 requires that such services be performed by an approved and qualified professional testing organization and that examination activity costs must be covered by fees from examination candidates, not licensees. The Commonwealth strives to obtain examination services at the lowest practical costs to candidates.
Examination development, preparation, administration and scoring services will be required for the following licensing boards:
• State Board of Auctioneer Examiners (Pennsylvania Auctioneer Licensing Examination)
• State Board of Funeral Directors (Pennsylvania Funeral Director Licensing Examination; Pennsylvania Funeral Director Law Examination)
• State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists
• (Pennsylvania Principals and Practice of Land Surveying Examination)
• State Board of Osteopathic Medicine (Pennsylvania Osteopathic Diagnosis and Manipulative Therapy Licensing Examination)
• State Board of Podiatry (Auxiliary Personnel Performing Radiologic Procedures)
• State Board of Psychology (Pennsylvania Psychology Law Examination
• Bureau of Commissions, Election and Legislation, Division of Commissions, Legislation and Notaries (Pennsylvania Notary Public Examination)
In addition, the Bureau requires examination administration and grading services for the following national examination programs:
• State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists (Fundamentals of Surveying, Principles and Practice of Surveying, Fundamentals of Engineering), Principles and Practice of Engineering, Fundamentals of Geology, Principles and Practice of Geology)
Finally, the Bureau requires examination development and preparation for the following state examination:
• State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators (Pennsylvania State Rules and Regulations Examination)
The examining of candidates is an ongoing function of the Contractor and must continue without interruption. It shall be the responsibility of respondents to this RFP to satisfy the Commonwealth that the proposed system can be implemented.
Type of Contract. It is proposed that if the Issuing Office enters into a contract as a result of this RFP, it will be a five year, firm, fixed-price contract containing the Standard Contract Terms and Conditions as shown in Appendix A and available at:
.
The Issuing Office, in its sole discretion, may undertake negotiations with Offerors whose proposals, in the judgment of the Issuing Office, show them to be qualified, responsible and capable of performing the Project.
Rejection of Proposals. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole and complete discretion, to reject any proposal received as a result of this RFP.
Incurring Costs. The Issuing Office is not liable for any costs the Offeror incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process or in anticipation of award of the contract.
Pre-proposal Conference. There will be no Pre-proposal conference for this RFP. If there are any questions, please forward them to the Issuing Officer in accordance with Section I-9.”]
Questions & Answers. If an Offeror has any questions regarding this RFP, the Offeror must submit the questions by email (with the subject line “RFP 2016-1 Question”) to the Issuing Officer named in Part I, Section I-2 of the RFP. If the Offeror has questions, they must be submitted via email no later than the date indicated on the Calendar of Events. The Offeror shall not attempt to contact the Issuing Officer by any other means. The Issuing Officer shall post the answers to the questions on the DGS website by the date stated on the Calendar of Events. An Offeror who submits a question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events assumes the risk that its proposal will not be responsive or competitive because the Commonwealth is not able to respond before the proposal receipt date or in sufficient time for the Offeror to prepare a responsive or competitive proposal. When submitted after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the Issuing Officer may respond to questions of an administrative nature by directing the questioning Offeror to specific provisions in the RFP. To the extent that the Issuing Office decides to respond to a non-administrative question after the deadline date for receipt of questions indicated on the Calendar of Events, the answer must be provided to all Offerors through an addendum.
All questions and responses as posted on the DGS website are considered as an addendum to, and part of, this RFP in accordance with RFP Part I, Section I-10. Each Offeror shall be responsible to monitor the DGS website for new or revised RFP information. The Issuing Office shall not be bound by any verbal information nor shall it be bound by any written information that is not either contained within the RFP or formally issued as an addendum by the Issuing Office. The Issuing Office does not consider questions to be a protest of the specifications or of the solicitation. The required protest process for Commonwealth procurements is described on the DGS website at: .
Addenda to the RFP. If the Issuing Office deems it necessary to revise any part of this RFP before the proposal response date, the Issuing Office will post an addendum to the DGS website at . It is the Offeror’s responsibility to periodically check the website for any new information or addenda to the RFP. Answers to the questions asked during the Questions & Answers period also will be posted to the website as an addendum to the RFP.
Response Date. To be considered for selection, hard copies of proposals must arrive at the Issuing Office on or before the time and date specified in the RFP Calendar of Events. The Issuing Office will not accept proposals via email or facsimile transmission. Offerors who send proposals by mail or other delivery service should allow sufficient delivery time to ensure timely receipt of their proposals. If, due to inclement weather, natural disaster, or any other cause, the Commonwealth office location to which proposals are to be returned is closed on the proposal response date, the deadline for submission will be automatically extended until the next Commonwealth business day on which the office is open, unless the Issuing Office otherwise notifies Offerors. The hour for submission of proposals shall remain the same. The Issuing Office will reject unopened, any late proposals.
Proposals. To be considered, Offerors should submit a complete response to this RFP to the Issuing Office, using the format provided in Part II, providing fifteen (15) paper copies [one marked “ORIGINAL”] of the Technical Submittal and two (2) paper copies of the Cost Submittal and two (2) paper copies of the Small Diverse Business (SDB) participation submittal. In addition to the paper copies of the proposal, Offerors shall submit one complete and exact copy of the entire proposal (Technical, Cost and SDB submittals, along with all requested documents) on CD-ROM or Flash drive in Microsoft Office or Microsoft Office-compatible format. The electronic copy must be a mirror image of the paper copy and any spreadsheets must be in Microsoft Excel. The Offerors may not lock or protect any cells or tabs. Offerors should ensure that there is no costing information in the technical submittal. Offerors should not reiterate technical information in the cost submittal. The CD or Flash drive should clearly identify the Offeror and include the name and version number of the virus scanning software that was used to scan the CD or Flash drive before it was submitted. The Offeror shall make no other distribution of its proposal to any other Offeror or Commonwealth official or Commonwealth consultant. Each proposal page should be numbered for ease of reference. An official authorized to bind the Offeror to its provisions must sign the proposal. If the official signs the Proposal Cover Sheet (Appendix B to this RFP) and the Proposal Cover Sheet is attached to the Offeror’s proposal, the requirement will be met. For this RFP, the proposal must remain valid for 120 days or until a contract is fully executed. If the Issuing Office selects the Offeror’s proposal for award, the contents of the selected Offeror’s proposal will become, except to the extent the contents are changed through Best and Final Offers or negotiations, contractual obligations.
Each Offeror submitting a proposal specifically waives any right to withdraw or modify it, except that the Offeror may withdraw its proposal by written notice received at the Issuing Office’s address for proposal delivery prior to the exact hour and date specified for proposal receipt. An Offeror or its authorized representative may withdraw its proposal in person prior to the exact hour and date set for proposal receipt, provided the withdrawing person provides appropriate identification and signs a receipt for the proposal. An Offeror may modify its submitted proposal prior to the exact hour and date set for proposal receipt only by submitting a new sealed proposal or sealed modification which complies with the RFP requirements.
Small Diverse Business Information. The Issuing Office encourages participation by small diverse businesses as prime contractors, and encourages all prime contractors to make a significant commitment to use small diverse businesses as subcontractors and suppliers.
A Small Diverse Business is a DGS-verified minority-owned business, woman-owned business, veteran-owned business or service-disabled veteran-owned business.
A small business is a business in the United States which is independently owned, not dominant in its field of operation, employs no more than 100 full-time or full-time equivalent employees, and earns less than $7 million in gross annual revenues for building design, $20 million in gross annual revenues for sales and services and $25 million in gross annual revenues for those businesses in the information technology sales or service business.
Questions regarding this Program can be directed to:
Department of General Services
Bureau of Diversity, Inclusion and Small Business Opportunities (BDISBO)
Room 601, North Office Building
Harrisburg, PA 17125
Phone: (717) 783-3119
Fax: (717) 787-7052
Email: gs-bdisbo@
Website: dgs.
The Department’s directory of DGS-verified minority, women, veteran and service disabled veteran-owned businesses can be accessed from: Searching for Small Diverse Businesses.
Economy of Preparation. Offerors should prepare proposals simply and economically, providing a straightforward, concise description of the Offeror’s ability to meet the requirements of the RFP. Proposals may be no longer than 25 typed pages exclusive of appendixes, and must be double spaced in Times New Roman 12 font with a minimum 1- inch margin.
Alternate Proposals. The Issuing Office has identified the basic approach to meeting its requirements, allowing Offerors to be creative and propose their best solution to meeting these requirements. The Issuing Office will not accept alternate proposals.
Discussions for Clarification. Offerors may be required to make an oral or written clarification of their proposals to the Issuing Office to ensure thorough mutual understanding and Offeror responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. The Issuing Office will initiate requests for clarification. Clarifications may occur at any stage of the evaluation and selection process prior to contract execution.
Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The contract will require the selected Offeror to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them itself or by subcontract. The Issuing Office will consider the selected Offeror to be the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters.
Proposal Contents.
A. Confidential Information. The Commonwealth is not requesting, and does not require, confidential proprietary information or trade secrets to be included as part of Offerors’ submissions in order to evaluate proposals submitted in response to this RFP. Accordingly, except as provided herein, Offerors should not label proposal submissions as confidential or proprietary or trade secret protected. Any Offeror who determines that it must divulge such information as part of its proposal must submit the signed written statement described in subsection c. below and must additionally provide a redacted version of its proposal, which removes only the confidential proprietary information and trade secrets, for required public disclosure purposes.
B. Commonwealth Use. All material submitted with the proposal shall be considered the property of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and may be returned only at the Issuing Office’s option. The Commonwealth has the right to use any or all ideas not protected by intellectual property rights that are presented in any proposal regardless of whether the proposal becomes part of a contract. Notwithstanding any Offeror copyright designations contained on proposals, the Commonwealth shall have the right to make copies and distribute proposals internally and to comply with public record or other disclosure requirements under the provisions of any Commonwealth or United States statute or regulation, or rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction.
C. Public Disclosure. After the award of a contract pursuant to this RFP, all proposal submissions are subject to disclosure in response to a request for public records made under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know-Law, 65 P.S. § 67.101, et seq. If a proposal submission contains confidential proprietary information or trade secrets, a signed written statement to this effect must be provided with the submission in accordance with 65 P.S. § 67.707(b) for the information to be considered exempt under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(11) from public records requests. Refer to Appendix C of the RFP for a Trade Secret Confidential Proprietary Information Notice Form that may be utilized as the signed written statement, if applicable. If financial capability information is submitted in response to Part II of this RFP such financial capability information is exempt from public records disclosure under 65 P.S. § 67.708(b)(26).
Best and Final Offers.
A. While not required, the Issuing Office reserves the right to conduct discussions with Offerors for the purpose of obtaining “best and final offers.” To obtain best and final offers from Offerors, the Issuing Office may do one or more of the following, in any combination and order:
1. Schedule oral presentations;
2. Request revised proposals;
3. Conduct a reverse online auction; and
4. Enter into pre-selection negotiations.
B. The following Offerors will not be invited by the Issuing Office to submit a Best and Final Offer:
1. Those Offerors, which the Issuing Office has determined to be not responsible or whose proposals the Issuing Office has determined to be not responsive.
2. Those Offerors, which the Issuing Office has determined in accordance with Part III, Section III-5, from the submitted and gathered financial and other information, do not possess the financial capability, experience or qualifications to assure good faith performance of the contract.
3. Those Offerors whose score for their technical submittal of the proposal is less than 70% of the total amount of technical points allotted to the technical criterion.
The issuing office may further limit participation in the best and final offers process to those remaining responsible offerors which the Issuing Office has, within its discretion, determined to be within the top competitive range of responsive proposals.
C. The Evaluation Criteria found in Part III, Section III-4, shall also be used to evaluate the Best and Final offers.
D. Price reductions offered through any reverse online auction shall have no effect upon the Offeror’s Technical Submittal. Dollar commitments to Small Diverse Businesses can be reduced only in the same percentage as the percent reduction in the total price offered through any reverse online auction or negotiations.
News Releases. Offerors shall not issue news releases, Internet postings, advertisements or any other public communications pertaining to this Project without prior written approval of the Issuing Office, and then only in coordination with the Issuing Office.
Restriction of Contact. From the issue date of this RFP until the Issuing Office selects a proposal for award, the Issuing Officer is the sole point of contact concerning this RFP. Any violation of this condition may be cause for the Issuing Office to reject the offending Offeror’s proposal. If the Issuing Office later discovers that the Offeror has engaged in any violations of this condition, the Issuing Office may reject the offending Offeror’s proposal or rescind its contract award. Offerors must agree not to distribute any part of their proposals beyond the Issuing Office. An Offeror who shares information contained in its proposal with other Commonwealth personnel and/or competing Offeror personnel may be disqualified.
Issuing Office Participation. Offerors shall provide all services, supplies, facilities, and other support necessary to complete the identified work, except as otherwise provided in this Part I, Section I-22.
Term of Contract. The term of the contract will commence on the Effective Date and will end after five years. The Issuing Office will fix the Effective Date after the contract has been fully executed by the selected Offeror and by the Commonwealth and all approvals required by Commonwealth contracting procedures have been obtained. The selected Offeror shall not start the performance of any work prior to the Effective Date of the contract and the Commonwealth shall not be liable to pay the selected Offeror for any service or work performed or expenses incurred before the Effective Date of the contract.
Offeror’s Representations and Authorizations. By submitting its proposal, each Offeror understands, represents, and acknowledges that:
A. All of the Offeror’s information and representations in the proposal are material and important, and the Issuing Office may rely upon the contents of the proposal in awarding the contract(s). The Commonwealth shall treat any misstatement, omission or misrepresentation as fraudulent concealment of the true facts relating to the Proposal submission, punishable pursuant to 18 Pa. C.S. § 4904.
B. The Offeror has arrived at the price(s) and amounts in its proposal independently and without consultation, communication, or agreement with any other Offeror or potential offeror.
C. The Offeror has not disclosed the price(s), the amount of the proposal, nor the approximate price(s) or amount(s) of its proposal to any other firm or person who is an Offeror or potential offeror for this RFP, and the Offeror shall not disclose any of these items on or before the proposal submission deadline specified in the Calendar of Events of this RFP.
D. The Offeror has not attempted, nor will it attempt, to induce any firm or person to refrain from submitting a proposal on this contract, or to submit a proposal higher than this proposal, or to submit any intentionally high or noncompetitive proposal or other form of complementary proposal.
E. The Offeror makes its proposal in good faith and not pursuant to any agreement or discussion with, or inducement from, any firm or person to submit a complementary or other noncompetitive proposal.
F. To the best knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror, the Offeror, its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers, directors, and employees are not currently under investigation by any governmental agency and have not in the last four years been convicted or found liable for any act prohibited by State or Federal law in any jurisdiction, involving conspiracy or collusion with respect to bidding or proposing on any public contract, except as the Offeror has disclosed in its proposal.
G. To the best of the knowledge of the person signing the proposal for the Offeror and except as the Offeror has otherwise disclosed in its proposal, the Offeror has no outstanding, delinquent obligations to the Commonwealth including, but not limited to, any state tax liability not being contested on appeal or other obligation of the Offeror that is owed to the Commonwealth.
H. The Offeror is not currently under suspension or debarment by the Commonwealth, any other state or the federal government, and if the Offeror cannot so certify, then it shall submit along with its proposal a written explanation of why it cannot make such certification.
I. The Offeror has not made, under separate contract with the Issuing Office, any recommendations to the Issuing Office concerning the need for the services described in its proposal or the specifications for the services described in the proposal.
J. Each Offeror, by submitting its proposal, authorizes Commonwealth agencies to release to the Commonwealth information concerning the Offeror's Pennsylvania taxes, unemployment compensation and workers’ compensation liabilities.
K. Until the selected Offeror receives a fully executed and approved written contract from the Issuing Office, there is no legal and valid contract, in law or in equity, and the Offeror shall not begin to perform.
Notification of Selection.
A. Contract Negotiations. The Issuing Office will notify all Offerors in writing of the Offeror selected for contract negotiations after the Issuing Office has determined, taking into consideration all of the evaluation factors, the proposal that is the most advantageous to the Issuing Office.
B. Award. Offerors whose proposals are not selected will be notified when contract negotiations have been successfully completed and the Issuing Office has received the final negotiated contract signed by the selected Offeror.
Debriefing Conferences. Upon notification of award, Offerors whose proposals were not selected will be given the opportunity to be debriefed. The Issuing Office will schedule the debriefing at a mutually agreeable time. The debriefing will not compare the Offeror with other Offerors, other than the position of the Offeror’s proposal in relation to all other Offeror proposals. An Offeror’s exercise of the opportunity to be debriefed does not constitute nor toll the time for filing a protest (See Section I-27 of this RFP).
RFP Protest Procedure. The RFP Protest Procedure is on the DGS website at
. A protest by a party not submitting a proposal must be filed within seven days after the protesting party knew or should have known of the facts giving rise to the protest, but no later than the proposal submission deadline specified in the Calendar of Events of the RFP. Offerors may file a protest within seven days after the protesting Offeror knew or should have known of the facts giving rise to the protest, but in no event may an Offeror file a protest later than seven days after the date the notice of award of the contract is posted on the DGS website. The date of filing is the date of receipt of the protest. A protest must be filed in writing with the Issuing Office. To be timely, the protest must be received by 4:00 p.m. on the seventh day.
Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP. This RFP is being made available by electronic means. If an Offeror electronically accepts the RFP, the Offeror acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to insure that no changes are made to the RFP. In the event of a conflict between a version of the RFP in the Offeror’s possession and the Issuing Office’s version of the RFP, the Issuing Office’s version shall govern.
PART II
PROPOSAL REQUIREMENTS
Offerors must submit their proposals in the format, including heading descriptions, outlined below. To be considered, the proposal must respond to all requirements in this part of the RFP. Offerors should provide any other information thought to be relevant, but not applicable to the enumerated categories, as an appendix to the Proposal. All cost data relating to this proposal and all Small Diverse Business cost data should be kept separate from and not included in the Technical Submittal. Each Proposal shall consist of the following three separately sealed submittals:
A. Technical Submittal, which shall be a response to RFP Part II, Sections II-1 through
II-8;
B. Small Diverse Business participation submittal, in response to RFP Part II, Section II-9; and
C. Cost Submittal, in response to RFP Part II, Section II-10.
The Issuing Office reserves the right to request additional information which, in the Issuing Office’s opinion, is necessary to assure that the Offeror’s competence, number of qualified employees, business organization, and financial resources are adequate to perform according to the RFP.
The Issuing Office may make investigations as deemed necessary to determine the ability of the Offeror to perform the Project, and the Offeror shall furnish to the Issuing Office all requested information and data. The Issuing Office reserves the right to reject any proposal if the evidence submitted by, or investigation of, such Offeror fails to satisfy the Issuing Office that such Offeror is properly qualified to carry out the obligations of the RFP and to complete the Project as specified.
Statement of the Problem. State in succinct terms your understanding of the problem presented or the service required by this RFP.
Management Summary. Include a narrative description of the proposed effort and a list of the items to be delivered or services to be provided.
Work Plan. Describe in narrative form your technical plan for accomplishing the work. Use the task descriptions in Part IV of this RFP as your reference point. Modifications of the task descriptions are permitted; however, reasons for changes should be fully explained. Indicate the number of person hours allocated to each task. Include a Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) or similar type display, time related, showing each event. If more than one approach is apparent, comment on why you chose this approach.
Prior Experience. Include experience in competency assessment, examination development, preparation and grading, licensing examination administration, service to candidates and any similar or related areas as specifically stipulated in Part IV, below. Experience shown should be work done by individuals who will be assigned to this project as well as that of your company. Studies or projects referred to must be identified and the name of the customer shown, including the name, address, and telephone number of the responsible official of the customer, company, or agency who may be contacted.
Personnel. Include the number of executive and professional personnel, analysts, auditors, researchers, programmers, consultants, etc., who will be engaged in the work. Show where these personnel will be physically located during the time they are engaged in the Project. Indicate the responsibilities each individual will have in this Project and how long each has been with your company. For all professional staff, include the employee’s name, education, and experience through a resume or similar document.
Offerors must submit the resume of the individual(s) who are to be named the Project Manager(s), along with a minimum of two references for each individual, to demonstrate the required skills and experience outlined in Section IV-4(C)(14) of the RFP. Offerors must also submit a resume and references of the individual with the same or better qualifications who will act as the substitute/temporary Project Manager in the case that the assigned Project Manager is unavailable for an extended period of time.
Identify by name any subcontractors the Offeror intends to use and the services they will perform.
Training. If appropriate, indicate recommended training of agency personnel. Include the agency personnel to be trained, the number to be trained, duration of the program, place of training, curricula, training materials to be used, number and frequency of sessions, and number and level of instructors.
Financial Capability. Describe your company’s financial stability and economic capability to perform the contract requirements. Provide your company’s financial statements (audited, if available) for the past three fiscal years. Financial statements must include the company’s Balance Sheet and Income Statement or Profit/Loss Statements. Also include a Dun & Bradstreet comprehensive report, if available. If your company is a publicly traded company, please provide a link to your financial records on your company website in lieu of providing hardcopies. The Commonwealth reserves the right to request additional information it deems necessary to evaluate an Offeror’s financial capability.
Objections and Additions to Standard Contract Terms and Conditions or Special Terms and Conditions. The Offeror will identify which, if any, of the terms and conditions (contained in Appendix A) it would like to negotiate and what additional terms and conditions the Offeror would like to add to the standard contract terms and conditions. The Offeror’s failure to make a submission under this paragraph will result in its waiving its right to do so later, but the Issuing Office may consider late objections and requests for additions if to do so, in the Issuing Office’s sole discretion, would be in the best interest of the Commonwealth. The Issuing Office may, in its sole discretion, accept or reject any requested changes to the standard contract terms and conditions. The Offeror shall not request changes to the other provisions of the RFP, nor shall the Offeror request to completely substitute its own terms and conditions for Appendix A. All terms and conditions must appear in one integrated contract. The Issuing Office will not accept references to the Offeror’s, or any other, online guides or online terms and conditions contained in any proposal.
Regardless of any objections set out in its proposal, the Offeror must submit its proposal, including the cost proposal, on the basis of the terms and conditions set out in Appendix A. The Issuing Office will reject any proposal that is conditioned on the negotiation of the terms and conditions set out in Appendix A or to other provisions of the RFP as specifically identified above.
In addition to the Standard Terms and Conditions, the Department requires agreement with the Special Terms and Conditions, attached hereto as Appendix D. Should the Offeror have any objections to the terms contained therein, the Offeror shall identify those objections in its proposal. The Department may, at its sole discretion, negotiate the Special Terms and Conditions upon contract award.
Small Diverse Business Participation Submittal.
A. To receive credit for being a Small Diverse Business or for subcontracting with a Small Diverse Business (including purchasing supplies and/or services through a purchase agreement), an Offeror must include proof of Small Diverse Business qualification in the Small Diverse Business participation submittal of the proposal, as indicated below:
A Small Diverse Business verified by BDISBO as a Small Diverse Business must provide a photocopy of its DGS issued certificate entitled “Notice of Small Business Self-Certification and Small Diverse Business Verification” indicating its diverse status.
B. In addition to the above certificate, the Offeror must include in the Small Diverse Business participation submittal of the proposal the following information:
1. All Offerors must include a numerical percentage which represents the total percentage of the work (as a percentage of the total cost in the Cost Submittal) to be performed by the Offeror and not by subcontractors and suppliers.
2. All Offerors must include a dollar value which represents the total value of the total cost that the Offeror commits to paying to Small Diverse Businesses (SDBs) as subcontractors. To support its total dollar value SDB subcontractor commitment, Offeror must also include:
a) The dollar value of each subcontract commitment to a Small Diverse Business;
b) The name of each Small Diverse Business. The Offeror will not receive credit for stating that after the contract is awarded it will find a Small Diverse Business.
c) The services or supplies each Small Diverse Business will provide, including the timeframe for providing the services or supplies.
d) The location where each Small Diverse Business will perform services.
e) The timeframe for each Small Diverse Business to provide or deliver the goods or services.
f) A subcontract or letter of intent signed by the Offeror and the Small Diverse Business (SDB) for each SDB identified in the SDB Submittal. The subcontract or letter of intent must identify the specific work, goods or services the SDB will perform, how the work, goods or services relates to the project, and the specific timeframe during the term of the contract and any option/renewal periods when the work, goods or services will be performed or provided. In addition, the subcontract or letter of intent must identify the fixed percentage commitment and associated estimated dollar value that each SDB will receive based on the total value of the initial term of the contract as provided in the Offeror's Cost Submittal (attached as Appendix E). Attached is a Letter of Intent Template (Appendix F) which may be used to satisfy these requirements.
g) The name, address and telephone number of the primary contact person for each Small Diverse Business.
3. The total dollar value for each SDB subcontractor commitment will become contractual obligations once the contract is fully executed.
4. The name and telephone number of the Offeror’s project (contact) person for the Small Diverse Business information.
C. The Offeror is required to submit two copies of its Small Diverse Business participation submittal. The submittal shall be clearly identified as Small Diverse Business information and sealed in its own envelope, separate from the remainder of the proposal.
D. A Small Diverse Business can be included as a subcontractor with as many prime contractors as it chooses in separate proposals.
E. An Offeror that qualifies as a Small Diverse Business and submits a proposal as a prime contractor is not prohibited from being included as a subcontractor in separate proposals submitted by other Offerors.
Cost Submittal. The information requested in this Part II, Section II-10 shall constitute the Cost Submittal. The Cost Submittal shall be placed in a separate sealed envelope within the sealed proposal, separated from the technical submittal. The Cost Submittal shall indicate the examination fee per candidate for each type of examination and shall be in the format set forth in Appendix E. Offerors should not include any assumptions in their cost submittals. If the Offeror includes assumptions in its cost submittal, the Issuing Office may reject the proposal. Offerors should direct in writing to the Issuing Office pursuant to Part I, Section I-9, of this RFP any questions about whether a cost or other component is included or applies. All Offerors will then have the benefit of the Issuing Office’s written answer so that all proposals are submitted on the same basis.
All examination fees are paid directly to the Contractor by the candidates. No fees will be paid by the Commonwealth.
Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification. Complete and sign the Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification contained in Appendix G of this RFP. Offerors who seek consideration for this criterion must submit in hardcopy the signed Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification Form in the same sealed envelope with the Technical Submittal.
PART III
CRITERIA FOR SELECTION
Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements. To be eligible for selection, a proposal must be:
A. Timely received from an Offeror;
B. Properly signed by the Offeror.
Technical Nonconforming Proposals. The two (2) Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements set forth in Section III-1 above (A-B) are the only RFP requirements that the Commonwealth will consider to be non-waivable. The Issuing Office reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (1) waive any other technical or immaterial nonconformities in an Offeror’s proposal, (2) allow the Offeror to cure the nonconformity, or (3) consider the nonconformity in the scoring of the Offeror’s proposal.
Evaluation. The Issuing Office has selected a committee of qualified personnel to review and evaluate timely submitted proposals. Independent of the committee, BDISBO will evaluate the Small Diverse Business participation submittal and provide the Issuing Office with a rating for this component of each proposal. The Issuing Office will notify in writing of its selection for negotiation the responsible Offeror whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the Commonwealth as determined by the Issuing Office after taking into consideration all of the evaluation factors.
Evaluation Criteria. The following criteria will be used in evaluating each proposal:
A. Technical: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Technical criterion for this RFP as 50% of the total points. Evaluation will be based upon the following in order of importance: Examination Administration/Candidate Services, Examination Administration/Board Services, Approach to Exam Development and Revision, Prior Company Experience/References and Qualifications and Sufficiency of Personnel Assigned to Project. The final Technical scores are determined by giving the maximum number of technical points available to the proposal with the highest raw technical score. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Technical Scoring Formula set forth at the following webpage: .
B. Cost: The Issuing Office has established the weight for the Cost criterion for this RFP as 30% of the total points. The cost criterion is rated by giving the proposal with the lowest total cost the maximum number of Cost points available. The remaining proposals are rated by applying the Cost Formula set forth at the following webpage: .
C. Small Diverse Business Participation: BDISBO has established the weight for the Small Diverse Business (SDB) participation criterion for this RFP as 20 % of the total points. Each SDB participation submittal will be rated for its approach to enhancing the utilization of SDBs in accordance with the below-listed priority ranking and subject to the following requirements:
1. A business submitting a proposal as a prime contractor must perform 60% of the total contract value to receive points for this criterion under any priority ranking.
2. To receive credit for an SDB subcontracting commitment, the SDB subcontractor must perform at least fifty percent (50%) of the work subcontracted to it.
3. Ranking.
Priority Rank 1: Proposals submitted by SDBs as prime offerors will receive 150 points. In addition, SDB prime offerors that have significant subcontracting commitments to additional SDBs may receive up to an additional 50 points (200 points total available).
Subcontracting commitments to additional SDBs are evaluated based on the proposal offering the highest total percentage SDB subcontracting commitment. All other Offerors will be scored in proportion to the highest total percentage SDB subcontracting commitment within this ranking.
Priority Rank 2: Proposals submitted by SDBs as prime contractors, with no or nominal subcontracting commitments to additional SDBs, will receive 150 points.
Priority Rank 3: Proposals submitted by non-small diverse businesses as prime contractors, with significant subcontracting commitments to SDBs, will receive up to 100 points.
SDB subcontracting commitments are evaluated based on the proposal offering the highest total dollar value SDB subcontracting commitment. All other Offerors will be scored in proportion to the highest total dollar value SDB subcontracting commitment within this ranking.
Priority Rank 4: Proposals by non-small diverse businesses as prime contractors with no SDB subcontracting commitments shall receive no points under this criterion.
To the extent that there are multiple SDB Participation submittals in Priority Rank 1 and/or Priority Rank 3 that offer significant subcontracting commitments to SDBs, the proposal offering the highest total dollar value SDB subcontracting commitment shall receive the highest score (or additional points) available in that Priority Rank category and the other proposal(s) in that category shall be scored in proportion to the highest total dollar value SDB subcontracting commitment.
D. Domestic Workforce Utilization: Any points received for the Domestic Workforce Utilization criterion are bonus points in addition to the total points for this RFP. The maximum amount of bonus points available for this criterion is 3% of the total points for this RFP.
To the extent permitted by the laws and treaties of the United States, each proposal will be scored for its commitment to use domestic workforce in the fulfillment of the contract. Maximum consideration will be given to those Offerors who will perform the contracted direct labor exclusively within the geographical boundaries of the United States or within the geographical boundaries of a country that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement. Those who propose to perform a portion of the direct labor outside of the United States and not within the geographical boundaries of a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement will receive a correspondingly smaller score for this criterion. See the following webpage for the Domestic Workforce Utilization Formula:
.
Offerors who seek consideration for this criterion must submit in hardcopy the signed Domestic Workforce Utilization Certification Form in the same sealed envelope with the Technical Submittal. The certification will be included as a contractual obligation when the contract is executed.
Offeror Responsibility. To be responsible, an Offeror must submit a responsive proposal and possess the capability to fully perform the contract requirements in all respects and the integrity and reliability to assure good faith performance of the contract.
In order for an Offeror to be considered responsible for this RFP and therefore eligible for selection for best and final offers or selection for contract negotiations:
A. The total score for the technical submittal of the Offeror’s proposal must be greater than or equal to 70% of the available technical points; and
B. The Offeror’s financial information must demonstrate that the Offeror possesses the financial capability to assure good faith performance of the contract. The Issuing Office will review the Offeror’s previous three financial statements, any additional information received from the Offeror, and any other publicly-available financial information concerning the Offeror, and assess each Offeror’s financial capacity based on calculating and analyzing various financial ratios, and comparison with industry standards and trends.
An Offeror which fails to demonstrate sufficient financial capability to assure good faith performance of the contract as specified herein may be considered by the Issuing Office, in its sole discretion, for Best and Final Offers or contract negotiation contingent upon such Offeror providing contract performance security for the first contract year cost proposed by the Offeror in a form acceptable to the Issuing Office. Based on the financial condition of the Offeror, the Issuing Office may require a certified or bank (cashier’s) check, letter of credit, or a performance bond conditioned upon the faithful performance of the contract by the Offeror. The required performance security must be issued or executed by a bank or surety company authorized to do business in the Commonwealth. The cost of the required performance security will be the sole responsibility of the Offeror and cannot increase the Offeror’s cost proposal or the contract cost to the Commonwealth.
Further, the Issuing Office will award a contract only to an Offeror determined to be responsible in accordance with the most current version of Commonwealth Management Directive 215.9, Contractor Responsibility Program.
Final Ranking and Award.
A. After any best and final offer process conducted, the Issuing Office will combine the evaluation committee’s final technical scores, BDISBO’s final small diverse business participation scores, the final cost scores, and (when applicable) the domestic workforce utilization scores, in accordance with the relative weights assigned to these areas as set forth in this Part.
B. The Issuing Office will rank responsible offerors according to the total overall score assigned to each, in descending order.
C. The Issuing Office must select for contract negotiations the offeror with the highest overall score; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT AN AWARD WILL NOT BE MADE TO AN OFFEROR WHOSE PROPOSAL RECEIVED THE LOWEST TECHNICAL SCORE AND HAD THE LOWEST COST SCORE OF THE RESPONSIVE PROPOSALS RECEIVED FROM RESPONSIBLE OFFERORS. IN THE EVENT SUCH A PROPOSAL ACHIEVES THE HIGHEST OVERALL SCORE, IT SHALL BE ELIMINATED FROM CONSIDERATION AND AWARD SHALL BE MADE TO THE OFFEROR WITH THE NEXT HIGHEST OVERALL SCORE.
D. The Issuing Office has the discretion to reject all proposals or cancel the request for proposals, at any time prior to the time a contract is fully executed, when it is in the best interests of the Commonwealth. The reasons for the rejection or cancellation shall be made part of the contract file.
PART IV
WORK STATEMENT
Objectives.
A. General. The Commonwealth requires the services of a qualified and approved professional testing organization for a five-year term beginning on or before October 1, 2016 to:
1. Develop valid, reliable and legally defensible licensing examinations (both theory and performance) for applicants for licensure by various professional licensing boards;
2. For certain licensing boards, administer theory examinations via a computerized (electronic) testing system and/or written theory examinations and in-person practical examinations;
3. Grade examinations for certain licensing boards; and
4. Perform related services for a five-year term beginning on or before October 1, 2016.
B. Specific. Each task required of the Contractor has one or more objectives, which are described in Part IV-4, below. Overall, this RFP has four specific objectives:
1. To obtain valid, reliable and legally defensible licensing examinations and examination scores;
2. To obtain a comprehensive examination administration program that covers all services (for certain licensing boards) from a candidate's application request through the reporting of examination scores;
3. To obtain for candidates efficient examination administration services, including information, applications and scheduling, that are continuously available during normal business hours; and
4. To obtain basic support services for the Bureau so that Bureau staff may concentrate on discretionary and regulatory tasks.
IV-2. Nature and Scope of the Project. This RFP encompasses all services necessary for the development, administration and grading of state examinations to obtain licensure as a notary public, auctioneer, funeral director, land surveyor, osteopathic physician, podiatry radiologist, and psychologist. Also, the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists will require examination administration and grading services for national examination programs. Additionally, the State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators will require examination development for the state examination.
This RFP sets forth the Department’s requirements and its understanding of examination development and administration. If the Offeror desires to propose a different method to accomplish the goals of this RFP, while still meeting the Department’s requirements, it may do so. However, the Offeror must fully explain any deviations from the tasks and services set forth in this RFP. The deviations and explanation shall be contained in a separate Appendix to the proposal. The Appendix should be clearly labeled and the cost should not deviate from the Cost Submittal (See Appendix E - Cost Submittal Format).
The Contractor shall furnish all labor, materials, applicant eligibility determinations, supplies, examination facilities, personnel, training, data processing services, and the security required to perform the necessary services. The necessary examinations and corresponding requirements, including locations, are more fully described in Part IV-4(C) below.
IV-3. Requirements.
A. Estimated Volume of Candidates. Based on recent experience, the Bureau estimates an annual volume of up to 13,130 total candidates for all examinations. Please refer to Attachment A for a board-by-board description.
However, the above figures are only estimates and not a guarantee of the actual number of candidates who may apply to take the examinations during the term of any contract resulting from this RFP. The actual number of candidates to be examined during each year of the contract term may be higher or lower than the above estimates. For each scheduled administration of each examination, the Contractor's facilities and services shall be adequate to accommodate any number of candidates who are approved to take the examination.
B. Contractor Performance Standards. The Contractor shall administer only valid, reliable, and legally defensible examinations to all candidates who are approved to take the examinations. The specific quality control procedures, timeliness requirements, performance standards, and performance deadlines that the Bureau expects the Contractor to meet are described in Part IV-4 and IV-5 below.
C. Emergency Preparedness. To support continuity of operations during an emergency, including a pandemic, the Commonwealth needs a strategy for maintaining operations for an extended period of time. One part of this strategy is to ensure that essential contracts that provide critical business services to the Commonwealth have planned for such an emergency and put contingencies in place to provide needed goods and services.
1. Describe how you anticipate such a crisis will impact your operations.
2. Describe your emergency response continuity of operations plan. Please attach a copy of your plan, or at a minimum, summarize how your plan addresses the following aspects of pandemic preparedness:
a) Employee training (describe your organization’s training plan, and how frequently your plan will be shared with employees)
b) Identified essential business functions and key employees (within your organization) necessary to carry them out
c) Contingency plans for:
i. How your organization will handle staffing issues when a portion of key employees are incapacitated due to illness.
ii. How employees in your organization will carry out the essential functions if contagion control measures prevent them from coming to the primary workplace.
d) How your organization will communicate with staff and suppliers when primary communications systems are overloaded or otherwise fail, including key contacts, chain of communications (including suppliers), etc.
e) How and when your emergency plan will be tested, and if the plan will be tested by a third-party.
IV-4. Tasks. The following is an outline of the tasks required of the Contractor based on preliminary Bureau analysis. In its proposal, the Offeror shall explain in detail how it will accomplish these tasks and provide all the services required by this RFP.
A. Examination Development
1. The Contractor shall develop the following theory examinations:
• Pennsylvania Notary Public Examination - Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, Division of Commissions, Legislation and Notaries
• Pennsylvania Auctioneer Licensing Examination - State Board of Auctioneer Examiners
• Pennsylvania State Rules and Regulations Examination - State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators
• Pennsylvania Funeral Director Licensing Examination; Pennsylvania Funeral Director Law Examination - State Board of Funeral Directors
• Pennsylvania State Specific Land Surveying Examination - State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists
• Pennsylvania Auxiliary Personnel Performing Radiologic Procedures - State Board of Podiatry
• Pennsylvania Psychology Law Examination - State Board of Psychology
Additional specific requirements for each exam are more fully described in Attachment A. The examinations shall be developed in accordance with Section 812.1(a), of the Act of April 9, 1929 known as The Administrative Code of 1929. The examinations shall also be in accordance with recognized standards for test construction and evaluation.
(a) The Offeror's proposal shall describe the procedures that the Offeror intends to use to develop a valid, reliable and legally defensible examination. Procedures shall include, without limitation, the following:
A job or task analysis, including a task survey. The Offeror shall identify the content of each examination by linking required job knowledge and skills to the examination's specifications.
Item writing. The Contractor shall write multiple-choice items based on the legal requirements from the statutes and regulations for each licensure category.
Item review and revision using Subject Matter Experts and the Department to establish examination validity, reliability and legal defensibility. Each item written by the Contractor shall be reviewed by the Contractor for subjective bias and readability, and shall be analyzed statistically.
Field testing of examination items on a selected group of licensees and/or candidates to determine how each item performs under actual examination conditions.
Item analysis and revision by Subject Matter Experts based upon review of the statistical performance of the examination items. The Contractor shall rewrite examination items as necessary.
Test assembly. The Contractor shall assemble approved examination items into a final examination form.
Standard setting. The Contractor shall use Subject Matter Experts to properly set a passing score for each examination. The Contractor's objective shall be to set a passing score that distinguishes at least minimally competent candidates from incompetent candidates. (See also Part IV-4(D)(1)(b), below.) This procedure is of key importance to the Department, which are charged with protecting the health and safety of the public.
Preparation of an Examination Administration Manual that sets standards and procedures for ensuring uniform, secure examination administrations. (See also Part IV-4(C)(5), below.)
Preparation of a Candidate Information Bulletin (CIB) that describes, among other things, the content areas of the examinations. (See also Part IV-4(C)(6), below.)
The Contractor shall employ or contract with a qualified psychometrician to assist with test development and evaluation.
• The Contractor shall only assemble approved examination items into the final examination.
• The Contractor shall recommend a passing score, which shall be subject to the approval of the Department. The passing score must distinguish minimally competent candidates from incompetent candidates.
The Department shall have the right to approve the following in advance of the commencement of any work by the Contractor: the Contractor's choice of Pennsylvania Subject Matter Experts; the references used by the Contractor in writing examination items; and the examination development procedures to be used by the Contractor.
2. The Contractor shall develop and administer a performance examination for the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Diagnosis and Manipulative Therapy Licensing Examination. See Attachment A for the detailed requirements of State Board of Osteopathic Medicine.
The Offeror's proposal shall describe the procedures that the Offeror intends to use to develop and administer a valid, reliable and legally defensible performance examination.
B. Examination Revision
1. The Contractor shall make a reasonable and continual effort to revise and amend the examinations to maintain their validity, reliability and legal defensibility. The Contractor shall develop new examination items or revise existing items as necessary to reflect new occupational requirements and changes in the law and the Department’s regulations. Any revisions required due to legislative or regulatory changes must be implemented as soon as possible after the final passage of regulatory or legislative changes. The Contractor shall monitor all regulatory and legislative activity with regard to the licensing boards during the term of the contract so that the Contractor is prepared for potential changes. The Contractor must submit a task plan within 30 days of any regulatory or legislative changes. The task plan should include a timeline for updating based on statutory or regulatory changes. The Department must approve the task plan.
(a) The Contractor shall perform examination item analyses as necessary, but at least once during the contract term, to maintain the validity, reliability and legal defensibility of the examinations. The Contractor shall use Subject Matter Experts chosen with the approval of the Department.
(b) The Contractor shall review the item bank of each examination with the Board, at their discretion but no less than annually, in Harrisburg or another agreed-upon location. Such review shall be coordinated by the Contractor with the Board Administrator, and the Contractor shall pay any and all expenses related to the item bank review.
2. In its proposal, the Offeror shall describe procedures and policies for ensuring that the Department and candidates have sufficient notice prior to the effective date of any changes in the content or administration of the examinations.
C. Examination Administration
The examination services required for each licensure category differ slightly and, therefore, the following requirements may vary. The Contractor shall work with each Board Administrator or Division Chief to determine the applicable procedures.
The Offeror's proposal shall describe its examination, administration policies and procedures, which shall include, but not be limited to, the following subjects: examination security; the responsibilities of examination administration supervisors and other administration personnel; examination irregularities and emergencies; the handling of candidate complaints at examination locations; and the cancellation and rescheduling of examinations in the event of inclement weather and similar emergencies. The Offeror's proposal shall describe its policies and procedures regarding examination cancellation and the refund of examination fees to candidates.
The following requirements must be met unless the Contractor is otherwise directed, in writing, by the Board Administrator or Division Chief:
1. At a minimum, the Contractor shall administer each examination for which there is an eligible candidate or candidates throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania on the dates required, as outlined in Attachment A.
2. The Contractor shall prepare, print and distribute to candidates (subject to Department approval) examination application forms and licensure application forms, as set forth in Attachment A.
3. The Contractor shall process examination applications (which include the collection of authorized examination and licensure fees where applicable for all candidates). The Department has the authority to set forth eligibility requirements for candidates to qualify for the examinations. Please refer to Attachment A for candidate eligibility determinations. With the prior approval of the Department, the Contractor shall prepare, print and distribute to the appropriate staff an Examination Eligibility Manual containing instructions for the evaluation of candidate eligibility for each Board or Division. The Contractor shall review and revise the Manual's content as necessary, and obtain the Department’s approval prior to issuance. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the Manual to the Department and the appropriate Board or Division. The Contractor shall obtain the Department approval of any revisions prior to printing and distribution.
4. The Contractor shall schedule approved candidates for examinations.
5. The Contractor shall prepare, print and distribute to the appropriate staff an Examination Administration Manual that prescribes instructions for the secure and uniform administration of the examinations. The Contractor shall review and revise the Manual's content as necessary. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the Manual and any Manual revisions to the Department and Board or Division.
6. For each licensure examination, the Contractor shall prepare, print, and distribute a CIB for each examination that describes the methods of examination and scoring, examination administration procedures, and the content areas of the examinations. The CIB shall also contain forms that the Contractor requires candidates to use. The CIB is subject to Department approval prior to distribution. See Attachment A for specific distribution requirement for each Board or Division. Upon request, the Contractor shall provide copies of the Bulletin to the appropriate Board or Division and the Department. The Contractor shall ensure that a sufficient supply of CIBs are available at all times. The Contractor must anticipate that requests will exceed the number of applicants.
7. The Contractor must develop procedures and a fee for obtaining a duplicate score report, procedures for investigating and resolving alleged examination irregularities or suspected cheating, and procedures for reporting and resolving candidate complaints.
8. The Contractor shall be available to provide customer service to candidates, at least Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM Eastern time. The Offeror shall describe in its proposal the number of service representatives and the proposed service level for responding to candidate inquiries, complaints and comments. At a minimum, the Contractor shall respond within 24 hours or the next business day.
9. The Contractor shall establish, maintain and advertise a toll-free telephone number for use by candidates for Pennsylvania licensing examinations. This number shall also be contained in the CIB.
10. The Contractor shall maintain adequate examination facilities and shall describe those facilities in detail in its proposal. At a minimum, each examination location must:
a. Be safe and accessible to all candidates.
b. Have adequate lighting, ventilation, electrical supply, climate and other environmental features appropriate and conducive to the taking of examinations.
c. Be free of noise and other distractions.
d. Be legally accessible to individuals with disabilities.
e. Have adequate restroom and parking facilities.
f. Have on-site, limited-access security adequate to guarantee the integrity and confidentiality of the examinations and examination materials.
g. Have adequate seating and work space that is comfortable for adults and appropriate to the format of the examinations.
The Contractor shall ensure that facilities at each of the examination locations must, at a minimum, be reasonably comparable to one another.
11. The Contractor shall prepare the examinations for administration, deliver the examinations to and from the examination sites and ensure the security of the examinations during all phases of preparation and delivery.
12. The Offeror shall describe its procedure for admitting candidates to the facilities and verifying the identity of each candidate. At a minimum, the Contractor shall require the candidate to provide photo identification prior to being admitted into the examination location. In the event that a candidate does not have photo identification because the candidate objects to being photographed for legitimate religious reasons, the Contractor shall implement a reasonable accommodation with the approval of the Department.
13. The Contractor shall permit authorized Department staff or other persons with written authorization from the Department to observe any examination at any time, without advance notice and upon confirmation of identity. No persons other than approved candidates, the Contractor's examination personnel, and Department staff or other persons authorized by the Department shall be admitted to an examination location.
14. The Contractor shall employ trained examination facility supervisors as well as a sufficient number of trained examination administration personnel at each facility to ensure fair, professional and secure examination administrations. The Contractor shall:
a. Describe in detail in its proposal the examination administration personnel/candidate ratio, and list the qualifications and experience of each examination facility supervisor.
b. Provide copies of the policy, procedure and instructional manuals used for training examination administration personnel and facility supervisors.
c. Describe the plans to address proctor tardiness or absences including last minute notification. At a minimum, if a suitable proctor cannot be provided, the Contractor shall attempt to make contact with scheduled candidates as soon as the Contractor is aware that a proctor will be unavailable and also advise the Board Administrator or Division Chief.
15. The Contractor shall receive from candidates with disabilities all requests for reasonable accommodations, accompanied by supporting documentation. The Contractor shall make reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities as required for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act ("the Act"). No person with a disability shall, on the basis of such disability, be excluded from receiving or participating in the services provided by the Contractor under the terms of any contract resulting from this RFP. As a condition of accepting and executing any such contract, the Contractor shall comply with all applicable regulations promulgated under Title II of the Act. At its sole expense, the Contractor shall make reasonable accommodations as required by the Act, including examination facility modifications and the providing of auxiliary aids. The Contractor shall review and render a decision regarding the granting of the request. If the Contractor disapproves an accommodation request, the Contractor shall notify the candidate that he/she may appeal the Contractor’s decision to the Department.
16. The Contractor shall establish a written procedure for investigating candidate complaints and examination irregularities. The Contractor shall have a qualified psychometric consultant available to respond to candidate critiques of the examinations. The Contractor shall inform candidates in its CIB and at examination locations that any examination complaints are to be directed in writing to the Contractor. The Offeror's proposal shall identify the persons who will investigate candidate complaints and examination irregularities and describe their training and experience.
17. The Contractor shall respond to candidate complaints as follows:
a. As to complaints received by the Contractor via a candidate's written examination critique or other writing, the Contractor shall conduct a full and complete investigation, and respond to the candidate in writing within ten (10) business days of the Contractor's receipt of the complaint. The Contractor shall provide a copy of the response to the Department, and attach copies of the complaint, record of investigation, and findings by the Contractor. In the event that the Department receives a candidate's written complaint, the Department shall forward the complaint to the Contractor, and the Contractor shall thereupon investigate, respond and provide a copy to the Board Administrator or Division Chief as set forth above. If the Department finds it necessary, appropriate action may be taken against the Contractor.
b. As to complaints or comments received by the Contractor orally or via telephone, the Contractor shall respond to the candidate within forty-eight (48) hours (holiday and weekend hours excepted), and this response must be made in writing. If the complaint or comment relates to a major problem or irregularity in the examination program or an appropriate response requires the Contractor to conduct an investigation that cannot be completed within the aforementioned forty-eight (48) hour period, the Contractor shall respond to the complaint or comment in accordance with the preceding subparagraph 17(a).
18. The Offeror shall describe its procedures for handling incidents of cheating or suspected cheating by candidates, which shall include:
a. Contractor’s notification to candidate;
b. Contractor’s notification to the Board or Division;
c. Contractor's method of withholding scores if cheating is suspected prior to the issuance of results; and
d. Contractor’s security procedures.
19. The Offeror shall describe procedures and policies for ensuring that the Department and candidates have sufficient notice prior to the effective date of any changes in the content or administration of the examinations, including changes in the location of test sites.
20. The Contractor shall submit a report to the Board or Division whenever there are problems or irregularities with any aspect of the Contractor's obligations for examination development, administration or scoring. The report shall include, but is not limited to the following: a description of the problem or irregularity; an assessment of the impact; possible courses of action (including the advantages and disadvantages of each); the Contractor's recommendations; and other information requested by the Department or the Board or Division. The report must be submitted to the Board or Division via email within twenty-four (24) hours (weekend and holidays excepted) of the discovery of the problem or irregularity.
D. Examination Scoring
1. The Contractor shall score all examinations in a valid, reliable and legally defensible manner. The Contractor's determinations as to correct examination answers and the number of correct answers on each examination shall not be altered or amended without the express written consent of the appropriate Board or Division.
a. The Contractor's proposal shall fully describe scoring policies and procedures for examinations that shall be in accordance with recognized professional standards.
b. The Contractor shall set a minimum passing score for each examination ("cut score"). The Contractor shall set each cut score in accordance with recognized professional standards to distinguish candidates who are minimally competent to practice from candidates who are not. The Contractor shall review cut scores as necessary to address examination item revisions. In setting a cut score, the Contractor shall give due consideration to the reciprocal licensing requirements of other jurisdictions.
c. The Contractor shall report all examination scores to candidates and the appropriate Board or Division as scaled scores. The Offeror's proposal shall describe the method proposed to convert raw examination scores to scaled scores.
d. The Contractor shall send to the appropriate Board or Division a score roster of passing candidates in an electronic format compatible with the Department’s technology. The score roster must include the following data elements: Name (first, last, middle separately), DOB, SSN, provider ID, license number, profession, license type, course, dates of attendance, topics- topics covered in the course, number of hours, and other relevant data. The contractor shall connect and submit the data through a website- provider portal, web service, or FTP. If submitting the data through a web service, the contractor will work with DOS IT resources to setup the connection, perform testing in staging, and process the data in production. If submitting the data through an FTP site, the contractor will work with DOS IT resources to setup the connection and confirm the file format. A CSV file format is required and must be formatted as directed by DOS IT resources. The contractor is required to perform testing in staging and process the data in production.
e. The Contractor shall use item analysis statistics to evaluate the adequacy of all examination items before the release of score reports. The Offeror's proposal shall describe policies for identifying and handling flawed or defective examination items.
2. The Offeror shall submit a sample score report that includes information such as: the candidate score (expressed as a scaled score), the examination cut score, and performance feedback for failed candidates. The Contractor's score report form shall be approved in advance by the appropriate Board or Division. A sample score report must be submitted with the Offeror's proposal. (A complete score report is not necessary for the Osteopathic Exam. Only a pass/fail is necessary.)
a. The correct examination answers and the number of correct answers on each examination shall not be altered or amended without the express written consent of the Board or Division.
b. The Offeror shall describe policies for identifying and handling flawed or defective examination items. If there is a question about the integrity of an examination item, at the Board’s or Division’s request, the Contractor shall schedule an item bank review. If it is discovered that an item has been mis-keyed, all examinations containing that item shall be re-scored and candidates who failed those examinations shall be eligible to take the exanimation again at no charge.
3. Examination results must be prepared, checked for accuracy, and mailed to candidates within ten (10) business days after the examination unless there is an examination irregularity that warrants withholding the score. Any such irregularities must be immediately reported to the Board or Division.
4. The Contractor shall establish written policies and procedures for the hand-scoring of examinations. Upon the request of the appropriate Board or Division, the Contractor shall hand-score any examination at no cost to the Board or Division and at no additional cost to the candidate.
5. Upon request and the presentation of identification, the Contractor shall provide to authorized Department personnel written or verbal confirmation of any candidate's examination score.
6. Except as provided for hereinabove, the Contractor shall not disclose examination scores verbally, electronically (including via telephone and facsimile transmission), or in writing. The Contractor shall not disclose an examination score to or discuss an examination score with any person other than the candidate or personnel authorized by the Department.
7. Upon request, the Contractor shall immediately, and at no additional cost, provide a duplicate score report to any candidate who does not receive a score report within 20 business days after the date of the examination.
E. Record Retention
1. The Contractor shall maintain a record of the following information for the duration of the contract and shall transfer these records to any subsequent examination provider: the name of each candidate examined; the examination(s) administered to each candidate; the examination date(s); the administration location(s); and the score report for each candidate.
2. The Contractor shall maintain examination questions and examination responses for each examination administration for a period of at least three (3) years from the examination administration date.
3. Successful candidate application files are to be returned in alphabetical order, microfilm ready, to the Department.
IV-5. Reports and Project Control.
The following reports are required:
A. Task Plan. The Offeror shall prepare a work plan that identifies the work elements of each task required by Part IV above, the resources assigned to the task, the time allotted to each work element and the deliverable items to be produced. Where appropriate, a time line chart display should be used to show project, task and time relationship. The Offeror shall include a proposed Task Plan in its response to the RFP. The Contractor shall submit a final Task Plan that has been approved by the Department, in writing, at the time the Contractor presents a signed contract resulting from this RFP.
B. Status Report. The Contractor shall submit to the Department a status report covering the Contractor's progress, activities, problems, and recommendations for correction or improvement of the examination administration program. The status report shall include all necessary supporting documentation (e.g., statistics, flow charts, forms, questionnaires, etc.), and provide a detailed schedule for implementing any recommended improvements or problem solutions. The status report should follow the work plan developed by the Offeror in its proposal, as amended or approved by the Board or Division. The status report shall be submitted monthly during the first calendar year of the Contract and quarterly thereafter.
C. Problem Identification Report. The Contractor shall submit to the Board or Division an "as required" written report, identifying major problems or irregularities in the examination program. The Contractor shall notify the Board or Division within twenty-four (24) hours (weekend and holiday hours excepted) by written report of any examination security breach or examination program interruption. Problem Identification/Irregularity Reports shall include the following: a description of the problem or irregularity; an assessment of the impact; possible courses of action (including the advantages and disadvantages of each); the Contractor's recommendations; and any other information requested by the Department.
D. Final Candidate Report. The Contractor shall submit a monthly Final Candidate Report to the Division of Commissions, Legislation and Notaries and, if requested, a quarterly Final Candidate Report to the remaining Boards that shall include:
1. The number (expressed in total and as a percentage) of all candidates scheduled, tested, absent, passed and failed. These totals and percentages shall also be provided for each examination type, each examination location, and each school from which candidates graduated.
2. The number of first-time and repeat candidates for each examination.
3. A summary of the Contractor's activities to include, without limitation: problems encountered in the scheduling of candidates or the processing of required forms; scheduling errors; candidate complaints and complaint resolutions; program improvements; meetings with Department staff; number of hand-scoring and duplicate score report requests processed; and a summary of any requests received for Americans with Disabilities Act accommodations.
IV-6. Contract Requirements— Small Diverse Business Participation.
All contracts containing Small Diverse Business participation must also include a provision requiring the selected contractor to meet and maintain those commitments made to Small Diverse Businesses at the time of proposal submittal or contract negotiation, unless a change in the commitment is approved by the BDISBO. All contracts containing Small Diverse Business participation must include a provision requiring Small Diverse Business subcontractors to perform at least 50% of the subcontracted work.
The selected contractor’s commitments to Small Diverse Businesses made at the time of proposal submittal or contract negotiation shall, to the extent so provided in the commitment, be maintained throughout the term of the contract and through any renewal or extension of the contract. Any proposed change must be submitted to BDISBO, which will make a recommendation to the Contracting Officer regarding a course of action.
If a contract is assigned to another contractor, the new contractor must maintain the Small Diverse Business participation of the original contract.
The selected contractor shall complete the Prime Contractor’s Quarterly Utilization Report (or similar type document containing the same information) and submit it to the contracting officer of the Issuing Office and BDISBO within 10 workdays at the end of each quarter the contract is in force. This information will be used to determine the actual dollar amount paid to Small Diverse Business subcontractors and suppliers. Also, this information will serve as a record of fulfillment of the commitment the selected contractor made and for which it received Small Diverse Business participation points. If there was no activity during the quarter then the form must be completed by stating “No activity in this quarter.”
NOTE: EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY AND CONTRACT COMPLIANCE STATEMENTS REFERRING TO COMPANY EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY POLICIES OR PAST CONTRACT COMPLIANCE PRACTICES DO NOT CONSTITUTE PROOF OF SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS STATUS OR ENTITLE AN OFFEROR TO RECEIVE CREDIT FOR SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS UTILIZATION.
Attachment A
Specific Information and Requirements
STATE BOARD OF AUCTIONEER EXAMINERS
Examination Development: The Contractor shall develop the Pennsylvania Auctioneer Licensing Examination. The examination is a computer-based test for the professional practice of auctioneering that is conducted twelve months of the year on an as scheduled/needed basis based on the applicants’ availability.
The existing item bank for the Auctioneer Examination shall be utilized for examinations developed and prepared for administration from the date of contract award.
The Pennsylvania Auctioneer Licensing Examination consists of one part. The existing item bank consists of approximately 300 questions. The Board shall have ownership rights to any newly developed items. The examination is the property of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.
Law/Regulations Regarding Exam Content: Act 85 of 1983 and 49 Pa Code Chapter 1 located at:
Candidate Eligibility: Examination candidates shall apply to the Contractor for admission to the licensure examination and pay the examination fee as well as a Board fee of $50.00 directly to the Contractor.
The examination candidates’ eligibility will be determined by the Contractor, in accordance with the Board’s requirements for qualifications, unless the applicant is applying based on experience. If any applicant is applying based on experience (apprenticeship), the Contractor shall immediately forward the application to the Board for review of the applicant’s experience and determination of examination eligibility.
In addition, a nonresident examination candidate must submit an application for examination approval, to the Auctioneer Examiner Board office, for approval to sit for the licensing examination. Once the nonresident examination candidate has been approved to sit for the licensing examination, both the examination candidate and the Contractor will be notified of the approval, in writing, by the Board office.
The Contractor shall not schedule any examination applicant, applying based on experience (apprenticeship) or as a nonresident, without having first received written approval from the Board, for the candidate.
If a candidate fails the examination once, a candidate may take the next scheduled examination or the examination following the next scheduled examination. If the candidate fails the licensure examination twice, the candidate must seek Board approval to take any subsequent examination.
Requests for accommodations in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act will be made to the Contractor.
The Contractor will mail examination results directly to each candidate and mail or electronically transmit, in a format compatible with the Department’s technology, a score roster of passing candidates to the Board office on a weekly basis.
Upon successful completion of the examination, Contractor shall send the application for licensure to the examination candidate.
The Contractor shall maintain a copy of the candidate’s complete examination file, including examination score results. The Contractor shall return the original examination file, including examination score results, to the Board office, microfilm ready, on a weekly basis.
The Contractor will be responsible for providing the Board with a list of all examination candidates and their examination results on at least a monthly basis.
Any changes made to examination scheduling forms, information handouts, information bulletins, manuals, or other material must receive approval from the Board prior to being provided to candidates.
Retake Policy for Failing Candidates:
If a candidate fails the examination once, a candidate may take the next scheduled examination or the examination following the next scheduled examination. If the candidate fails the licensure examination twice, the candidate must seek Board approval to take any subsequent examination.
Examination Administration
Exam Dates: Daily
Exam Sites: Per Testing Service Contract
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year: 125
Application Fees to be collected and forwarded to the Board: $50.00 per candidate
Results: The Contractor will mail examination results directly to each candidate and mail or electronically transmit, in a format compatible with the Department’s technology, a score roster of passing candidates to the Board office on a weekly basis.
Attachment A
Specific Information and Requirements
STATE BOARD OF FUNERAL DIRECTORS
Examination Development: The Contractor shall develop the Pennsylvania Funeral Director Licensing Examination; Pennsylvania Funeral Director Law Examination - State Board of Funeral Directors.
Law/Regulations Regarding Exam Content: Act 295 of 1968 and 4 Pa. Code Chapter 13 located at:
Candidate Eligibility: The Contractor shall determine candidate eligibility. Upon approval of becoming an Intern, the Board forwards the candidate’s information to the Contractor. The Contractor will send a packet of testing information (Scheduling form, Candidate Information Bulletin, case history forms and preceptor’s affidavit (provided by the board).
Retake Policy for Failing Candidates:
Candidate may continue to take exam. There is no time limit for re-taking the exam.
Examination Administration
Exam Dates: Daily
Exam Sites: Per testing contract
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year: 200
Application Fees to be collected and forwarded to the Board: $20.00 per candidate
Results: The Contractor shall provide results to the board via mail. The Department anticipates revising its IT system to allow for the automatic upload of examination results directly from the Contractor. When this occurs, the Department will work with the Contractor to develop mutually agreeable procedures.
Attachment A
Specific Information and Requirements
STATE REGISTRATION BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS, LAND
SURVEYORS AND GEOLOGISTS
Examination Development: The Board requires examination development and administration services for one examination, The Pennsylvania Principles and Practices of Land Surveying. The requirements are set forth in Section I. below. In addition, only examination administration services are required for multiple examinations that are developed by National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) and the National Association of State Boards of Geology (ASBOG). They are references set forth in full in Section II below.
I. Examination Development Services: The Contractor shall develop the Pennsylvania Specific Land Surveyor Exam, (State PLS).
The Contractor shall obtain the existing item bank for the State PLS from the Pennsylvania Society of Land Surveyors. The Contractor shall develop, revise and administer the examination in accordance with the Engineer, Land Surveyor and Geologist Registration Law (63 P.S. § 148 et seq.) and the Regulations of the State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists, 49 PA. CODE, Chapter 37. The Board shall have ownership rights to any newly developed items. The examination is the property of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.
Law/Regulations Regarding Exam Content: Act 367 of 1945 and 49 Pa. Code Chapter 37 located at:
II. Examination Administration Services: The State Board of Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists contracts with the national agency, National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) for the development and scoring of the national exams.
Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) for engineer in training certification and Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) for surveyor in training certification – Computer Based Testing at Pearson Vue testing sites available throughout the year. Open test windows are: January, February, April, May, July, Aug, October and November.
Principles and Practices (PE) of Engineering Examination (for professional engineer license applicants); Principles and Practices (PS) of Land Surveying (for professional land surveyor license applicants): Please note starting October 2016 the PS exam will be computer based.
Geologist Exams National Examinations: Developed and scored by ASBOG (the National Association of State Boards of Geology): Fundamentals of Geology (FG) and Principles/Practices of Geology (PG).
Month(s) of Administration: April and October
Examination Date(s): Established by NCEES; Principles/practices exams usually the 3rd or 4th Friday and April, and the 3rd or 4th Saturday of October. The 16 hour SE exams offered are two 8 hour exam components typically offered the 3rd or 4th Friday in April and 3rd or 4th Saturday in October.
Candidate Eligibility: All candidate eligibility for the principles/practices (PE and PS) examinations and the fundamentals (FS) of land surveying is determined by the Board. Note: Application deadlines are December 1st for the Spring examination and July 1st for the Fall examination (FS is computer based at Pearson Vue test sites and available year round). **The Contractor shall receive the candidate's PE (principles/practices) Board application, application fee, and the required application documentation (amplified record of experience, educational transcripts, verifications and certifications, reference forms, etc.). Once the file is complete, the Contractor shall immediately forward the completed Board application files to the Board office for review of eligibility by the application deadline date established by the Board. The fundamentals of engineering (FE) pre-approval applications received by the Contractor are forwarded to the board for review and approval. The pre-approval FE applications are for those candidates who do not have an ABET accredited engineering degree.
The principles/practices (PS) of land surveying and the fundamentals (FS) of land surveying applications are submitted directly to the board office by the candidate.
As candidates are approved to sit for the examination (PE, pre-approval FE, PS and FS, the board office will send an electronic roster of approved candidates to the Contractor.
The Contractor is required to contact NCEES, 280 Seneca Creek Road, PO Box 1686, Clemson, SC 29633-1686 to obtain and purchase any and all security and examination procedures manuals, proctor procedures and guidelines manuals as well as any additional information, manuals or materials relating to guidelines, procedures and/or requirements available from NCEES for the PS and PE examinations.
The Contractor is responsible for adhering to any and all security, proctor, administration, and reporting guidelines established by NCEES. Any and all requirements established by NCEES must be strictly adhered to and NCEES requirements will supersede any requirements of this contract.
The Contractor shall be responsible for purchasing the required examination materials and scoring services from NCEES.
Requirements:
a. Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) applicants - Eligibility is determined by the Contractor, in accordance with the Board’s requirements for qualification, unless the applicant is applying based on experience. If any applicant is applying based upon experience, the Contractor shall immediately forward the pre-approval application to the Board for their review of applicant's experience and determination of examination eligibility. The Contractor shall direct candidates to the NCEES website for a copy of the FE Reference Handbook (supplied by NCEES to each approved candidate).
b. Principles and Practice of Engineering (PE) applicants and Principles and Practice of Land Surveying (PS) applicants – All candidate eligibility is determined by the Board. **The examination Contractor will receive the candidate's PE Board application and pre approval FE application and the required application documentation (amplified record of experience, transcripts, verifications and certifications, etc.), and once the file is complete, the Contractor shall immediately forward the completed Board application files to the Board office for review of eligibility by the application deadline date established by the Board.
c. Successful FE; PE, PS and FS applicants: The Contractor shall provide results information in the required electronic format to the board.
d. The Contractor shall provide a listing to the board of all successful FE applicants, indicating which were student (junior/senior year) applicants, and have not yet submitted the required transcript. Applicants with the acceptable degree must provide transcripts that show their graduation date. The listing must also indicate which FE applicants applied based on experience without an acceptable degree or no degree.
e. The Contractor shall maintain files for each examination date in alphabetical order of passing FE candidates with the required transcript and prepare the application file for shipment to Board.
f. The Contractor shall maintain files of student applicants and provide the Board with a monthly list of the names, addresses and dates of those who passed the examination and submitted the required transcript. This information must also be provided to the Board in electronic format at the same time (monthly) for issuance of the EIT certificate by the Board.
g. The Contractor shall integrate the original application and examination file for each passing candidate in alphabetical order, and prepare them for shipment to the Bureau. Shipment of files shall be made to the Bureau within 10 days of the completion of the examination results.
Special Requirements - Professional Engineers
The Contractor shall make it clearly known (in multiple formats i.e. hard copy, electronic, etc…) to all candidates that the Contractor shall conduct an examination review for Professional Engineer candidates, at a site procured by the Contractor in the Harrisburg area, or another site, subject to approval by the Bureau, to be held a minimum of at least twice a year following release of examination results, on a date selected by the Contractor.
The Contractor shall provide complete and accurate information and instructions to candidates informing them of all of the procedures necessary for them to participate in the examination review, at a fee paid by the candidate directly to the Contractor and approved by the Bureau. Information and instructions provided to candidates and review procedures are subject to prior approval by the Bureau.
The Contractor shall conduct the examination review under the supervision of one (1) administrator, and one (1) proctor for every fifty (50) candidates. Other proctors will be provided as necessary to provide a secure environment.
The preparation for examination review for each candidate involves the following procedures:
1. The solution pamphlets (a.m. and p.m. booklets) are pulled from the cartons of pamphlets that are returned from the NCEES.
2. The NCEES mandates that review candidates may not receive the original solution pamphlet, thereby eliminating the possibility for changes to the original answers.
3. A copy of each page of the a.m. and p.m. solution pamphlet is made.
4. Candidates also receive a copy of each examination item that they chose to answer.
5. Candidates may not receive the entire test booklet and therefore each item must be copied individually for each candidate.
6. In addition, the official NCEES solution to each problem the candidate chose is photocopied for inclusion in the packet.
7. Once the copying is completed, all copied pages of the solution pamphlet are compared against the candidate's original pamphlets.
8. All copies of the examination items and official solutions are verified against the examination question numbers indicated by the candidate on the solution pamphlets.
9. A second verification is done to ensure that each candidate's packet is complete and correct.
10. A separate review packet is prepared for each candidate which includes the copies of the solution pamphlets, examination items chosen, dated and numbered scratch paper (they may not remove scratch paper from the review session), and accompanying NCEES format regarding request forms.
11. The Contractor shall process candidate challenges of the examination to the NCEES.
12. The Contractor shall indicate the fee for this examination review service in the bid proposal.
Special Requirements - Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) and Principles and
Practice of Engineering (PE)
a. The Contractor shall make it clearly known (in multiple formats, i.e. hard copy, electronic, etc…) to all candidates that the Contractor shall process requests from candidates, for a fee, to have a hand score of the candidate’s answer sheet conducted by NCEES.
b. To do so, the Contractor will forward all requests and examination forms used by the candidate to NCEES along with their required fee in order that NCEES will hand score the examinee answer sheet to provide verification of examination scores.
c. An NCEES fee is assessed for each request, and requests must be made by a certain NCEES deadline following release of examination scores.
d. The Contractor shall make it clearly known to all candidates what the exact fee to be submitted is and what the exact deadline for filing a request is.
Special Requirements - Fundamentals of Engineering (FE)
Retake Policy for Failing Candidates: Candidates will contact the Contractor to reschedule the examination.
Exam Dates: April and October
Established by NCEES; PE exams usually the 3rd or 4th Friday and April, and the 3rd or 4th Saturday of October, 16 hour SE exams offered are two 8 hour exam components offered the 3rd or 4th Friday in April and 3rd or 4th Saturday in October usually.
Exam Sites: April exam: Altoona, Allentown, Erie and Harrisburg
October exam: Altoona, Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year:
PE – 1700
FE – 3500
PS – 95
FS – 75
Application Fees to be collected and forwarded to the Board: $50.00 per PE applications; $25.00 per FE applications.
Results: Successful FE; PE, PS and FS applicants: The Contractor shall provide results information in the required electronic format to the board.
Candidate Eligibility: Candidate eligibility for the State PLS is determined by the Board. Applications are submitted to the Board office by the candidates. A listing of approved candidates for the State PLS examination shall be provided by the Board office, directly to the Contractor. The Contractor shall not permit any candidate to sit for the State PLS if they have not received notification of the candidate’s approval to sit for the examination.
The board office will submit an electronic roster to the Contractor as candidates are approved to sit for the examination.
Retake Policy for Failing Candidates: Candidates may contact the Contractor to reschedule the examination.
Examination Administration
Exam Dates: Established by NCEES; usually (but not always) the 2nd or 3rd Friday and Saturday of April and of April and the 3rd or 4th Friday and Saturday of October.
Exam Sites: Allentown, Altoona, Erie, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, State College
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year: 75
Application Fees to be collected by the Board: N/A
Results: The Contractor shall provide results information in the required electronic format for successful State Specific examination applicants to the board office.
Candidate Eligibility: Applications are submitted to the Board office by the candidates. A listing of approved candidates for the Fundamentals of Geology and the Principles/Practices examinations will be provided by the Board office directly to the Contractor. The Contractor shall not permit any candidate to sit for the Fundamentals of Geology or the Principles/Practices of Geology if they have not received notification of the candidate’s approval to sit for the examination. Contractor shall direct all candidates to the ASBOG website for a copy of the Professional Geologists Candidate Handbook.
Board will provide a list of approved candidates electronically to the Contractor.
The Contractor will be responsible for purchasing the required FG and PG examination materials and scoring services from ASBOG, , P. O. Box 11591, Columbia, South Carolina 29211-1591.
Retake Policy for Failing Candidates: Candidates may reschedule with the Contractor to retake examinations.
Examination Administration
Exam Dates: Established by the National Association of State Boards of Geology; usually Friday of the 1st week of March and Friday of the 1st week of October.
Exam Sites: Harrisburg
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year: 50
Application Fees to be collected and forwarded to the Board: N/A
Results: Successful Fundamentals of Geology (FG) (geologist-in-training/GIT) and Principles/Practices (PG) applicants: The Contractor shall provide exam results information in the required electronic format for successful applicants for issuance of the geology in training certificate or professional geologist licensure.
Attachment A
Specific Information and Requirements
STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS OF NURSING HOME ADMINISTRATORS
Examination Development Services: The Contractor shall develop the Pennsylvania State Rules and Regulations Examination.
Law/Regulations Regarding Exam Content: Act 122 of 1970; Pennsylvania Code, Title 49, Chapter 39 located at:
Pennsylvania Code, Title 28: Health and Safety, Part IV. Health Facilities, Subpart A, General Provisions, Chapter 51 located at: secure/data/028/subpartIVAtoc.html
Pennsylvania Code, Title 28: Health and Safety, Part IV. Health Facilities, Subpart C. Long
Term Care Facilities, Chapters 201, 203, 205, 207, 209 and 211 located at:
secure/data/028/subpartIVCtoc.html
Code of Federal Regulations, Title 42: Public Health, Chapter IV, Part 483, Requirements for States and Long Term Care Facilities (State Operations Manual, Appendix PP) 42 CFR §483.1 to §483.75 located at:
Implementation: The existing item bank shall be utilized for examinations developed and prepared for administration from the date of contract award. Contractor shall complete analysis of the current item banks and report its findings and recommendations to the Board within 120 days of contract award. The Board shall have ownership rights to any newly developed items. The examination is the property of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs. Contractor shall provide the examination directly to Professional Examination Service (PES) for computer-based testing administration simultaneous with PES’s administration of the national examination.
Candidate Eligibility: The Board determines candidate eligibility.
Examination Administration
PES administers the exam via computer-based testing for the convenience of candidates, who must also take a national examination administered by PES.
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year: 125
Attachment A
Specific Information and Requirements
STATE BOARD OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
Examination Development: The Contractor shall develop the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Diagnosis and Manipulative Therapy Licensing Examination, a clinical assessment (performance) examination.
Law/Regulations Regarding Exam Content: Act 108 of 1985 and 49 Pa Code Chapter 25
Candidate Eligibility: The Contractor determines candidate eligibility. An applicant is eligible for admission to the practical examination after graduation from an approved osteopathic medical college.
Examination Administration: The Contractor shall coordinate and perform the training of examiners for this examination. Examiners will be hired by the Contractor with Board approval and will fulfill criteria established by the Board. Contractor shall be responsible for costs incurred in the training of the examiners.
The Contractor shall hire licensed osteopathic doctors as examiners for this examination approved by the Board. Requirements that must be met by examiners are:
(1) Examiners must be currently licensed Osteopathic Physicians, in good standing with the Pennsylvania State Board of Osteopathic Medicine, with a minimum of five (5) years experience as a practicing Osteopathic Physician with experience in OMT.
(2) Examiners may not examine an individual who is or was their student, or someone they know personally.
(3) Examiners should not hold a position that adjudges the practice and/or fees of licensed Osteopathic Physicians.
(4) Examiners must agree to attend any training session(s) held by the Contractor.
Exam Dates: Monthly (January through December)
Exam Sites: Philadelphia and Erie area
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year: 100
Application Fees to be collected and forwarded to the Board: $45.00 per candidate
Results: Contractor to release scores to candidates within 10 business days after the examination
Attachment A
Specific Information and Requirements
STATE BOARD OF PODIATRY
Examination Development: The Contractor shall develop the Pennsylvania Podiatry Radiology Examination, an examination for auxiliary personnel who perform radiological procedures in the office of a licensed podiatrist.
The existing item bank for the Podiatry Radiology Examination shall be utilized for examinations developed and prepared for administration from the date of contract award beginning on or before the October 1, 2016 examination. The Contractor shall complete analysis of the current item bank and report its findings to the Board, including presentation of any new items developed. The Board shall have the ownership rights to any newly developed items. The examination is the property of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.
Law/Regulations Regarding Exam Content: Act 505 of 1963 and Title 49 Pa. Code Chapter 29 located at:
Candidate Eligibility: There are no eligibility requirements; an application to schedule is submitted directly to the Contractor.
Examination Administration
Exam Dates: Daily
Exam Sites: Per testing service contract
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year: 10
Application Fees to be collected and forwarded to the Board: $25.00 per candidate
Results: Contractor to release scores to candidates
Attachment A
Specific Information and Requirements
STATE BOARD OF PSYCHOLOGY
Examination Development: The Contractor shall develop the Pennsylvania Psychology Law Examination.
Law/Regulations Regarding Exam Content: Act 52 known as the “Professional “Psychologists Practice Act” and 49 Pa. Code Chapter 41 located at:
The existing item bank shall be utilized for examinations developed and prepared for administration from the date of contract award. Contractor shall complete analysis of the current item banks and report its findings and recommendations to the Board within 120 days of contract award. The Board shall have ownership rights to any newly developed items. The examination is the property of the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.
Candidate Eligibility
The Board determines candidate eligibility.
The Board administrator will provide a listing of eligible candidates to the Contractor.
The Contractor will provide scheduling forms and Candidate Information Bulletin to each eligible candidate.
When completed scheduling forms are received, the Contractor will confirm eligibility with the Board Administrator before processing scheduling forms.
Retake Policy for Failing Candidates:
Failing candidates must apply to the Board for permission to retake the exam.
Examination Administration
Exam Dates: Daily
Exam Sites: Per testing contract
Estimated Number of Candidates Per Year: 300
Application Fees to be collected and forwarded to the Board: None
Results: The Contractor will mail examination results directly to each candidate and upload scores to the Board’s computer system on a weekly basis.
Attachment A
Specific Information and Requirements
BUREAU OF COMMISSIONS, ELECTIONS AND LEGISLATION
DIVISION OF COMMISSIONS, LEGISLATION AND NOTARIES
Examination Development: The contractor shall develop the Pennsylvania Notary Public Examination. It is a written examination for first-time applicants for appointment and commission as a Pennsylvania notary public. The examination should be a computer-based test that is conducted twelve months of the year on an as-scheduled/as-needed basis based on the applicants’ eligibility and availability.
There is no existing item bank for the examination. The Contractor shall develop an item bank and report its findings to the Bureau, including a general presentation of items developed, within 90 days of commencement of contract. The Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation (Bureau) believes that the test should consist of 25-50 questions and be no longer than two hours in length, but the Contractor should use its expertise to determine these items. The Bureau believes that the applicant should score 80% or better to pass the examination, but the Contractor should use its expertise to determine the pass rate. The Contractor shall ensure that the item bank consists of an adequate number of questions, which are rotated as needed and randomly generated for each exam. The examination will be the property of the Bureau.
Law/Regulations Regarding Exam Content: The examination must be based upon Act 73 of 2013 (57 Pa.C.S. §§ 301-331), known as the Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts, and the rules and regulations of the Bureau relating to notaries public, found at 4 Pa. Code, Part VIII, Subpart C, Chapters 161 and 167 located at:
Candidate Eligibility: An examination candidate must submit an application for appointment and commission to the Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation (Bureau) for authorization to sit for the examination. The Bureau determines examination candidates’ eligibility for examination, prior to subsequent appointment and commission as a notary public.
Once the examination candidate has been authorized to sit for the notary public examination, both the examination candidate and the Contractor will be notified of the approval by the Bureau. The Bureau will notify the candidate by email or by U.S. mail, if necessary. The Bureau will notify the Contractor electronically on a daily basis (Monday through Friday) of those individuals who are authorized by the Bureau to take the examination [exam-authorized status in database]. The Bureau will provide the following information to the Contractor via email in XML format:
|Applicant/notary ID number |
|Applicant first name |
|Applicant middle initial |
|Applicant last name |
|Applicant suffix (if any) |
|Applicant date of birth |
|Applicant business address |
|Applicant business phone |
|Applicant business county |
|Applicant email address |
|Exam-authorized date |
|Exam-expired date (six-months from exam-authorized date) |
Once authorized by the Bureau, an applicant may take the examination as many times as needed during a six-month period, but may not take the examination more than once in 24 hours. An applicant may not take the examination after the six-month period has expired. The applicant must be re-authorized by the Bureau for another six-month period.
Examination Administration
Examination Dates: The examination shall be offered daily Monday – Saturday with convenient evening hours as needed.
Examination Sites: Exam site(s) must be made available by at least one testing site in all 67 counties. The Contractor must provide more sites as needed to meet the demand for testing in counties with large populations of notaries, including Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, Bucks, Delaware, Chester, Lancaster, York, Berks, Lehigh, Westmoreland, Dauphin and possibly other counties (see table of active notaries by county supplied by Bureau).
Estimated Number of Candidates per Year: The Bureau estimates there will be 6,700 notary public examination candidates per year.
Upon receiving authorization by the Bureau to sit for the notary public examination, successful candidates will apply to the Contractor for admission to the examination and pay the examination fee directly to the contractor. It is the Contractor’s responsibility to communicate directly with the examination applicant to schedule or reschedule the examination. Scheduling for the exam must be made available online.
The Contractor shall not schedule any examination applicant without having first received approval from the Bureau for the candidate to sit for the examination. The Contractor shall ensure that no candidate takes the examination after the exam-authorized period of six months has expired.
The Contractor shall ensure the identity of the exam applicant on the day of testing, by verifying the name, date of birth and appearance or signature, using a current, unexpired driver’s license, nondriver identification card or passport. If these are not available, another form of government-issued identification may be used to identify the applicant. That other form of identification must be current, contain the signature or photograph of the applicant and be satisfactory to the Contractor.
The examination candidates shall be informed whether they passed or failed the examination prior to leaving the testing site, as well as emailed the official results within three days of the date of examination.
The Contractor shall maintain a copy of the candidate’s complete examination file, including examination score results. Contractor shall notify the Bureau electronically on a daily basis (Monday – Friday) of all examination score results within three days after the results for that candidate are released to the candidate. The Contractor will provide the Bureau with the following information via FTP in XML format for each candidate:
|Applicant/notary ID number |
|Applicant first name |
|Applicant middle initial |
|Applicant last name |
|Applicant suffix (if any) |
|Exam date |
|Exam score |
|Exam pass or fail |
The Contractor will be responsible for providing the Bureau via email with a list or spreadsheet of all examination candidates, the date of examination and their examination results (pass or fail) on at least a weekly basis. That list or spreadsheet should contain the information from the above chart, as well as whether the exam candidate was a first time, second time, etc. taker of the examination.
The Contractor is responsible for providing the Bureau with a sufficient supply of the Candidate Information Bulletins (CIB’s) including any necessary scheduling forms (forms subject to Bureau approval) for distribution to examination candidates. The CIB must be made available in both paper and electronic format.
Any changes made to examination scheduling forms, information handouts, information bulletins, manuals, or other material must receive approval from the Bureau prior to being provided to candidates.
APPENDIX A – STANDARD CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
RFP# DOS-2016-1
.
APPENDIX B - PROPOSAL COVER SHEET
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
RFP# DOS-2016-1
Enclosed in three separately sealed submittals is the proposal of the Offeror identified below for the above-referenced RFP:
|Offeror Information: |
|Offeror Name | |
|Offeror Mailing Address | |
|Offeror Website | |
|Offeror Contact Person | |
|Contact Person’s Phone Number | |
|Contact Person’s Facsimile Number | |
|Contact Person’s E-Mail Address | |
|Offeror Federal ID Number | |
|Offeror SAP/SRM Vendor Number | |
|Submittals Enclosed and Separately Sealed: |
|( |Technical Submittal |
|( |Small Diverse Business Participation Submittal |
|( |Cost Submittal |
|Signature |
| |
| |
|Signature of an official authorized to bind the Offeror to the provisions contained in the Offeror’s proposal: |
| |
| |
|Printed Name |
| |
| |
|Title |
| |
| |
| |
| |
FAILURE TO COMPLETE, SIGN AND RETURN THIS FORM WITH THE OFFEROR’S PROPOSAL MAY RESULT IN THE REJECTION OF THE OFFEROR’S PROPOSAL
APPENDIX C – TRADE SECRET CONFIDENTIAL PROPRIETARY INFORMATION NOTICE FORM
COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
RFP# DOS-2016-1
APPENDIX D – SPECIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS
RFP No.: DOS-RFP-2016-1
Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs
Multi-Board Examination Program and
Bureau of Commissions, Election and Legislation, Division of Commissions, Legislation and Notaries (Pennsylvania Notary Public Examination)
[pic]
APPENDIX E – COST SUBMITTAL
RFP No.: DOS-RFP-2016-1
Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs
Multi-Board Examination Program and
Bureau of Commissions, Election and Legislation, Division of Commissions, Legislation and Notaries (Pennsylvania Notary Public Examination)
Cost figures shall be presented per applicant for each service indicated.
THESE PRICES SHALL BE IN EFFECT FOR THE TERM OF THE CONTRACT, OCTOBER 1, 2016 THROUGH SEPTEMBER 30, 2021, PROVIDED REGULATORY APPROVAL HAS BEEN RECEIVED PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF THE CONTRACT.
Per-Candidate Examination Fee
I. Examinations requiring comprehensive development, preparation and administration and scoring services:
|Examinations |Estimated No. of |Exam Cost |Total = |
| |Exams | |No. of Exams x |
| |Annually | |Cost |
|State Board of Auctioneer Examiners |125 | | |
|Pennsylvania Auctioneer Licensing Examination | | | |
|State Board of Funeral Directors |200 | | |
|Pennsylvania Funeral Director Licensing Examination | | | |
|Pennsylvania Funeral Director Law Examination | | | |
|State Registration Board for Professional Engineers |65 | | |
|Land Surveyors and Geologists | | | |
|Pennsylvania Principals and Practice of Land Surveying Examination | | | |
|State Board of Osteopathic Medicine |100 | | |
|Pennsylvania Osteopathic Diagnosis and Manipulative Therapy | | | |
|Licensing Examination (OMT) | | | |
|State Board of Podiatry (Radiology) |10 | | |
|Auxiliary Personnel Performing Radiologic Procedures | | | |
|State Board of Psychology | 300 | | |
|Pennsylvania Psychology Law Examination (PPLE) | | | |
|Bureau of Commissions, Elections and Legislation, |6,700 | | |
|Division of Commissions, Legislation and Notaries | | | |
|Pennsylvania Notary Public Examination | | | |
| |- |- | |
| | | | |
|SUB TOTAL | | | |
II. Examinations requiring administration and grading services only for State Registration Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors and Geologists:
|Examinations |Estimated No. of |Exam Cost |Total = |
| |Exams | |No. of Exams x Cost |
| |Annually | | |
|Fundamentals of Surveying (FS) |75 | | |
|Principals and Practice of Surveying (PS) |95 | | |
|Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) |3,500 | | |
|Principals and Practice of Engineering |1,700 | | |
|(PE) | | | |
|Fundamentals of Geology (FG) |85 | | |
|Principals and Practice of Geology (PG) |50 | | |
|SUB TOTAL |- |- | |
III. Examinations requiring development and preparation only:
|Examination |Estimated No. of Exams |Exam Cost |Total = No. of Exams x|
| |Annually | |Cost |
|State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home |125 | | |
|Administrators | | | |
|Pennsylvania State Rules and Regulations | | | |
|Examination | | | |
|SUB TOTAL |- |- | |
Cost will be scored base on the aggregated totals of Section I, II and III.
|Section |Sub Total |
|Section I | |
|Section II | |
|Section III | |
|TOTAL | |
Note: The Contractor agrees that this cost proposal will remain valid for at least 120 days from the date of the bid opening, or until the Contract is fully executed.
Contractor’s Business Name: ________________________________________________
Business Address: ________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Business Telephone Number: _______________________________________________
Business Fax Number: _____________________________________________________
Business Email Address: ___________________________________________________
Contractor’s Federal Tax Id Number: _________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
(Contactor/Authorized Rep. Signature) (Title)
APPENDIX F
SMALL DIVERSE BUSINESS
LETTER OF INTENT
[DATE]
[SDB Contact Name
Title
SDB Company Name
Address
City, State, Zip]
Dear [SDB Contact Name]:
This letter serves as confirmation of the intent of [Offeror] to utilize [Small Diverse Business (SDB)] on RFP [RFP number and Title] issued by the [Commonwealth agency name].
If [Offeror] is the successful vendor, [SDB] shall provide [identify the specific work, goods or services the SDB will perform, and the specific timeframe during the term of the contract and any option/renewal periods when the work, goods or services will be performed or provided].
These services represent [identify dollar value commitment] for the initial term of the contract. SDB represents that it meets the small diverse business requirements set forth in the RFP and all required documentation has been provided to [Offeror] for its SDB submission.
We look forward to the opportunity to serve the [Commonwealth agency name] on this project. If you have any questions concerning our small diverse business commitment, please feel free to contact me at the number below.
Sincerely, Acknowledged,
Offeror Name SDB Name
Title Title
Company Company
Phone number Phone number
APPENDIX G
DOMESTIC WORKFORCE UTILIZATION CERTIFICATION
To the extent permitted by the laws and treaties of the United States, each proposal will be scored for its commitment to use the domestic workforce in the fulfillment of the contract. Maximum consideration will be given to those offerors who will perform the contracted direct labor exclusively within the geographical boundaries of the United States or within the geographical boundaries of a country that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement. Those who propose to perform a portion of the direct labor outside of the United States and not within the geographical boundaries of a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement will receive a correspondingly smaller score for this criterion. In order to be eligible for any consideration for this criterion, offerors must complete and sign the following certification. This certification will be included as a contractual obligation when the contract is executed. Failure to complete and sign this certification will result in no consideration being given to the offeror for this criterion.
I, ______________________ [title] of ____________________________________ [name of Contractor] a _______________ [place of incorporation] corporation or other legal entity, (“Contractor”) located at _________________________________________________________ [address], having a Social Security or Federal Identification Number of ________________________, do hereby certify and represent to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ("Commonwealth") (Check one of the boxes below):
All of the direct labor performed within the scope of services under the contract will be performed exclusively within the geographical boundaries of the United States or one of the following countries that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement: Aruba, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom
OR
________________ percent ( _____%) [Contractor must specify the percentage] of the direct labor performed within the scope of services under the contract will be performed within the geographical boundaries of the United States or within the geographical boundaries of one of the countries listed above that is a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement. Please identify the direct labor performed under the contract that will be performed outside the United States and not within the geographical boundaries of a party to the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and identify the country where the direct labor will be performed: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
[Use additional sheets if necessary]
The Department of General Services [or other purchasing agency] shall treat any misstatement as fraudulent concealment of the true facts punishable under Section 4904 of the Pennsylvania Crimes Code, Title 18, of Pa. Consolidated Statutes.
Attest or Witness: ______________________________
Corporate or Legal Entity's Name
_____________________________ ______________________________
Signature/Date Signature/Date
_____________________________ ______________________________
Printed Name/Title Printed Name/Title
................
................
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