Section 648-1-2 - COMPETITIVE PROCUREMENTA.Competitive Bidding Process. Except as provided in Section 3, the Efficiency Maine Trust shall select service providers and grant recipients through a competitive bidding process. Competitive bidding processes shall be conducted by issuance of one of the following documents: 1. Request for Proposals (RFP)2. Request for Qualifications (RFQ)3. Program Opportunity Notices (PON) The processes shall be designed to maximize participation from qualified bidders.
B.Development of RFPs/RFQs/PONs. When the Efficiency Maine Trust is to select a service provider or grant recipient by competitive bid, it shall develop and issue an RFP, RFQ, or PON.1. Each RFP and RFQ will contain sufficient information to permit bidders to develop responsive proposals. This information will include, at a minimum: a. A description of the scope of work required;b. The required content and format of the bids;c. A list of the bid evaluation criteria and scoring weights to be applied;d. The date, time and place that the proposal is due. Open solicitations may alternately specify a notice period for closing the solicitation;e. The name, address, and contact information for the Efficiency Maine Trust contact person; andf. A copy of the standard agreement or applicable alternative agreement as described in Section 4. In each RFP or RFQ, the Trust will establish reasonable timeframes for the submission of bids, the evaluation of bids, and the selection of the winning bidders.
2. Each PON will be a formal request for programs or projects within an area or market sector that require bidders to detail their own approach to the PON's topic. A PON will describe the objectives of the program opportunity but the bidder is then responsible for providing a detailed statement of work that represents a solution to the opportunity outlined in the PON. Cost-sharing by the contractor may be required.C.Notice of RFPs, RFQs and PONs. The Efficiency Maine Trust will maintain a list of interested persons who will be notified whenever the Trust issues a RFP, RFQ or PON related to a program or project. The Trust will reasonably advertise each RFP, RFQ and PON. Each RFP, RFQ or PON will be posted on the website maintained by the Trust.D.Written Questions and Pre-Bid Conferences. The RFP, RFQ, or PON will specify the manner in which written questions may be asked. The Efficiency Maine Trust at its option may hold a pre-bid conference. Answers to written questions and to all questions raised at a pre-bid conference will be posted on the website maintained by the Trust.E.Submission of Bids. To the extent practicable, the Efficiency Maine Trust will accept bids electronically in response to RFPs, RFQs, or PONs. All timely submitted bids will be turned over to the Contract Administrator. The Contract Administrator shall keep a written record of the bidder's names, the date and time the bid was received, the cost/price of the bid and the bidder's contact person. The written record kept by the Contract Administrator shall be a public document as defined in 1 M.R.S.A. §401. The bids received in response to an RFP, RFQ or PON shall be treated as confidential and not subject to public disclosure from the date of submission until notification of the contract award by the Contract Administrator. After the notification of the contract award, the bids become public documents.F.Rejection of Noncompliant or Untimely Bids; Rejection of All Bids. The Efficiency Maine Trust shall reject all bids that do not comply with the requirements of this Chapter or the RFP, RFQ or PON, or that are not submitted before the deadline for submitting bids established pursuant to subsection B of this section. The Trust may reject all bids if it finds that the bids are unreasonably high in cost or that acceptance of any bid will not be in the public interest as determined by the Trust in accordance with the Triennial Plan and laws governing the Trust.G.Evaluation and Selection1.Proposal Review Team. Responses to each RFP, RFQ and PON will be reviewed and evaluated by an assigned Proposal Review Team. Each Proposal Review Team shall be comprised of a minimum of three persons. The chairperson of each Proposal Review Team shall be the Executive Director of the Efficiency Maine Trust, or the Executive Director's designee. The chairperson of each Proposal Review Team will select the other members of the Proposal Review Team. The other members may be members of the Trust staff or other persons who have training or experience relevant to the program or project for which the competitive bidding process is held.2.Criteria. Evaluation and selection criteria will be listed in each RFP, RFQ or PON. Criteria may include, but are not limited to: b. For service providers, to the extent practicable, the extent to which the proposal promotes the development of resources, infrastructure and skills within the State.c. Experience and qualifications.d. Responsiveness to the solicitation.e. Other criteria as the Executive Director of the Efficiency Maine Trust may determine consistent with the Triennial Plan and the laws governing the Trust.3.Bid Review. Each member of the Proposal Review Team will individually review all bids based on the criteria established in the RFP, RFQ or PON. The Proposal Review Team will document the scoring and the substantive information that supports the scoring, and select the winning bidder(s).4.Review Process. The Proposal Review Team may take any of the following steps, either with respect to all of the bids received, or to a subset of bids selected as superior to the others: a. Consult with prior clients on the performance of bidder or particular persons proposed for the program or project.b. Schedule presentations or interviews with representatives of the bidder or persons proposed for the program or project.c. Conduct a review of past performance, including a review of reports, analyses, or other materials that would reflect on the bidder's performance.d. Request additional data or material to support bids from any or all bidders.5.Bidder Discussions. The Proposal Review Team may review bids and award a contract based on the bids received without discussion with any bidders, or may conduct limited discussions or negotiations with all bidders or a selected subset of bidders determined to have presented superior bids. The Proposal Review Team may review and score bids after any amendments to the bids as a result of the discussions or negotiations. The Proposal Review Team may enter into price negotiations for a "best and final offer" with selected bidders, prior to contract award. The Proposal Review Team will not substantially change the nature of the proposals sought by the RFP without notifying bidders and permitting all bidders to modify their bids.6.Contract Award. The Proposal Review Team may make one or more contract awards to fulfill the requirements of the RFP, RFQ or PON. The contract award will be made to the highest rated proposal or proposals that conform to the requirements of the RFP, RFQ or PON.7.Bid Rejection. The Proposal Review Team may summarily reject any bid that it finds contains false or misleading material information. The Contract Administrator may bar any entity or person that has submitted false or misleading material information as part of a bid from participating in any contract award for a period of up to three years.8.Notification. The Efficiency Maine Trust shall notify all bidders responding to an RFP, RFQ or PON of the contract award decision in writing, postmarked or electronically mailed a minimum of 14 calendar days prior to contract effective date.9.Contract Execution. After 14 calendar days from the contract award notification, the Executive Director of the Efficiency Maine Trust, or the Executive Director's designee, shall execute a written contract with the winning bidder or bidders.10.Final Approval. Standard agreements or other agreements, as described in Section 4, between the Efficiency Maine Trust and selected service providers or grant recipients shall be given final approval by the Executive Director of the Efficiency Maine Trust, at least seven calendar days prior to the proposed contract effective date.11.Effective Date. The effective date of the agreement shall be the date the Executive Director approves the agreement.H.Delegations. The authority to develop and issue RFPs, RFQs and PONs, and to otherwise administer the RFP, RFQ, and PONs processes as described in this section, is delegated to the Executive Director of the Efficiency Maine Trust.95- 648 C.M.R. ch. 1, § 2