12 Miss. Code. R. 9-6.9
After proposals or qualifications have been evaluated, the Agency shall issue a Notice of Intent to Award to the responsible and responsive offeror(s) whose proposal(s) or qualification(s) is determined in writing to be the most advantageous to the Agency taking into consideration price and the evaluation factors set forth in the RFP or RFQ. No other factors or criteria shall be used in the evaluation.
Following evaluation and determination of the intended awardee(s), a Notice of Intent to Award shall be prepared, explaining the basis for determining the successful offeror(s). The Notice of Intent to Award shall include an Evaluation Committee Report with the following information:
* the names of all offerors who submitted a proposal or qualification;
* the names of offerors who were non-responsive and/or non-responsible;
* a ranking of the responsive and responsible offerors in order of highest overall score;
* the offeror(s) the Agency recommends be awarded a contract;
* the reason(s) why the intended awardee(s) has been selected (a statement such as "the intended awardee received the highest overall score during evaluation" is sufficient);
* the terms, conditions, and scope of services of the contract;
* a copy of the evaluation committee's score sheets;
* a copy of the record of discussions held, as required by Section 6.8.4.5;
* the identities of the members of and advisors to the evaluation committee, as required by Section 6.8.3.1;
* a copy of the post evaluation affidavits as discussed in Section 6.8.5, if applicable;
* notice of an offeror's opportunity to request a debriefing, if applicable;
* notice of an offeror's opportunity to request reconsideration of the intent to award, which can be accomplished by referring to Section 6.9.3 of the PPRB OPSCR Rules and Regulations; and
* notice to the offerors and the public that the Agency Procurement File is available on the Agency's website.
See Exhibit 2 to this chapter for a sample Evaluation Committee Report.
The Notice of Intent to Award and Evaluation Committee Report shall be (1) posted publicly on the Agency website, (2) posted publicly on the procurement portal, and (3) sent directly to all offerors who responded to the solicitation. Evidence of the time and date of distribution shall be maintained in the Agency Procurement File.
A complete copy of the Agency Procurement File shall be made available to the public on the procuring Agency's website at the time the Notice of Intent to Award is posted on the procuring Agency's website. See Appendix D. In addition to all documents related to the procurement and/or required by these rules and regulations, the Agency Procurement File posted on the Agency website shall include a copy of all proposals or qualifications received. Where any offeror submitted a redacted proposal or qualification (proposal or qualification submitted by an offeror which has trade secrets and confidential commercial and financial information redacted) the redacted copy of the proposal or qualification, rather than the complete copy, shall be posted on the Agency website.
Prior to posting the Notice of Intent to Award, Evaluation Committee Report, and Agency Procurement File on the Agency website, procuring Agencies are strongly encouraged to consult with their legal counsel and redact information which may be considered trade secret and/or confidential commercial and financial information. See Mississippi Code Annotated §§ 25-61-9, 79-23-1, and 75-26-1, et seq. However, such redactions should be used sparingly and where there is doubt, Agencies should err on the side of transparency in the procurement process.
The Notice of Intent to Award, Evaluation Committee Report, and the Agency Procurement File shall remain publicly posted on the Agency's website until the procurement is cancelled or a contract resulting from the RFP or RFQ is fully executed following PPRB approval.
Agencies are encouraged to exchange information with vendors in an effort to build and strengthen business relationships and improve the procurement process. In the sole discretion of the procuring Agency, debriefings may be offered to offerors following issuance of the Notice of Intent to Award.
An Agency choosing to offer debriefings shall notify the offerors of the opportunity to request a debriefing in the Notice of Intent to Award. That notice shall include the deadline and specific process to request a debriefing. (e.g., Submit a request for a debriefing via email to agencyofficial@agency.ms.gov on or before 3:00 p.m. CST on October 11, 2024).
If a debriefing is offered, the Agency shall provide one to every offeror who requests one. The means of conducting the debriefing and information discussed shall be at the sole discretion of the Agency. However, a debriefing shall not provide a point-by-point comparison of the debriefed vendor's response with any other responses to the solicitation.
In the sole discretion of the procuring Agency, the contract and Agency Procurement File may be submitted to OPSCR for PPRB approval as described in Sections 1.2.1, 1.2.2, and 14.8 before, during, or after resolution of any requests for debriefing. However, all requested debriefings shall be completed prior to the contract being presented to PPRB for approval. At the point all requested debriefings have been provided, the Agency shall prepare a list of all offerors who requested a debriefing and the date each requested debriefing was completed. That list shall be placed in the Agency Procurement File.
An offeror who responded to an RFP or RFQ has an opportunity to request that the procuring Agency reconsider its intent to award the contract to a specific offeror(s). Any such request shall be filed with the Agency official primarily responsible for the procurement and the Director of OPSCR within three business days following issuance of the Notice of Intent to Award and posting of the Agency Procurement File in compliance with Sections 6.9.1, 6.9.1.1, and 6.9.1.2. It shall be the sole responsibility of the requesting offeror to ensure the request is timely received by all required parties. Failure to timely request reconsideration in compliance with this Section results in waiver of any claim an offeror may have as to the Agency's decision to award the contract.
The request shall contain the requesting vendor's name, a single contact person, all contact information for the contact person, the RFx number of the solicitation, the date the RFP or RFQ was issued, and the date the Notice of Intent to Award was issued. The request shall identify which of these rules and regulations and/or the terms of the RFP or RFQ the requesting offeror believes were violated by the Agency during the evaluation process, explain the factual basis for the alleged violation(s), and specify how the alleged violation(s) affected the outcome of the procurement. The request shall not be based on anything other than the Agency Procurement File, these rules and regulations, and the terms of the RFP or RFQ. The request shall not be supplemented.
Exhibits shall not be included with the request. Rather, the requesting vendor shall clearly identify the portion(s) of the Agency Procurement File, the RFP, or the RFQ at issue in the request. Reference to documents outside of or facts not supported by the Agency Procurement File, the RFP, or the RFQ shall not be considered by the Agency when responding to the request.
If the requesting offeror believes the Agency Procurement File posted on the Agency website is incomplete (i.e., does not contain a document or documents required by these rules and regulations), the requesting offeror shall so state in the request and shall specify what it believes to be missing.
Should the requesting offeror believe the trade secrets and/or confidential commercial or financial information which were redacted from the Agency Procurement File posted on the Agency website contain issues related to its request, the requesting offeror shall state those concerns in the request - even if speculative - in a manner which is specific enough for the Agency to provide a response.
These rules and regulations provide the opportunity to request reconsideration of an Agency's decision to award a contract requiring PPRB approval. No such opportunity exists where the contract will not require PPRB approval unless explicitly so stated by the procuring Agency.
The Agency shall consider whether the violation alleged by the requesting offeror is reflected in the Agency Procurement File and shall issue a written response to the request. The Agency's discretion to make subjective decisions in response to a request for reconsideration is limited only by the requirement that such discretion be supported by a legitimate business reason and be exercised in a manner that is fair to all offerors.
The Agency shall respond to any questions or issues raised related to documents missing from the Agency Procurement File posted pursuant to Section 6.9.1.2. If the Agency failed to post the complete Agency Procurement File, the three-day time limitation for offerors to request reconsideration of the intent to award was not triggered and shall not be triggered until the complete Agency Procurement File is posted.27See Appendix D.
The Agency shall provide the most complete response possible to any questions or issues raised related to the trade secrets and/or confidential commercial or financial information of another offeror without revealing any trade secrets or confidential commercial or financial information.
The Agency decision on the request for reconsideration shall be issued prior to submitting the contract and Agency Procurement File to OPSCR for PPRB approval as described in Sections 1.2.1, 1.2.2, and 14.8. To issue the Agency decision, both the request for reconsideration and the Agency decision shall be (1) sent directly to all offerors, including the requesting offeror; (2) posted, publicly, on the procurement portal; and (3) posted, publicly, on the Agency website. The Agency decision shall be made part of the Agency Procurement File.
Should the Agency determine that its intent to award should be reconsidered in accordance with an offeror's request, the Agency may take any reasonable steps to preserve its procurement pursuant to Section 1.4.8 or may cancel the procurement.
Any contract resulting from an RFP or RFQ in which the total contract value exceeds $75,000.00 and which is not otherwise exempt from PPRB's purview shall be submitted for PPRB approval prior to contract execution. Agencies shall refer to Sections 1.2.1, 1.2.2, and 14.8 regarding submission to OPSCR.
Prior to presenting the contract to PPRB, OPSCR shall review all aspects of the procurement process for compliance with these rules and regulations, including the Agency decision(s) following any request(s) for reconsideration. That review shall be the basis of OPSCR's recommendation to PPRB regarding approval of the contract.
Agencies may execute a contract at any point following oral approval of the contract by the PPRB. Agencies are not required to delay contract execution until the PPRB's minutes are final. See Section 1.1.7.3.
A Notice of Contract Award which complies with the requirements of Mississippi Code Annotated § 31-7-423(2) shall be prepared following (1) approval of PPRB, if required; (2) approval by any other required boards or entities, if required; and (3) full execution of the contract, renewal, or amendment. The Notice of Contract Award shall contain the nature, duration, and amount of the contract; the name of the contracting vendor; a statement that the contract is available for public inspection by contacting the Agency; and an analysis as to why the contract was awarded, renewed, or amended. The Notice of Contract Award shall be (1) posted publicly on the Agency website and (2) posted publicly on the Transparency website. Executive Order 1362, Governor Phil Bryant: Promoting Transparency in Public Contracting, July 31, 2015.
26 [This note provides an explanation of how distribution of the Notice of Intent to Award complies with the statutory 48-hour notice requirement. This note requires no additional action by the procuring Agency.] In compliance with Mississippi Code Annotated § 31-7-423(1), the Evaluation Committee Report shall be available to the public at least 48 hours prior to awarding the contract. The 48 hour period is triggered when the Evaluation Committee Report is distributed with the Notice of Intent to Award as described in Section 6.9.1. Contract Award, as defined in Chapter 2 herein, occurs at execution of a contract following approval of all required entities, including but not limited to PPRB. Thus, to the extent the Evaluation Committee Report has been posted at least 48 hours prior to contract execution, the statutory 48 hour public notice requirement has been met.
27 If the Agency determines the Agency Procurement File posted on the Agency website is incomplete, the Agency shall provide notice to all offerors when the updated Agency Procurement File is posted. Such notice shall be (1) posted publicly on the Agency website, (2) posted publicly on the procurement portal, and (3) sent directly to all offerors who responded to the solicitation. This notice triggers the three-day time limitation to request reconsideration.
12 Miss. Code. R. 9-6.9