This section provides the information you need to write a Long Form IAS TORFP. The Long Form IAS TORFP has no restrictions on:

• Cost
• Period of performance
• Number of hours
• Number of tasks
• Complex pricing methods
• Multiple agency support
• The use of work orders

As a result, Long Form IAS TORFPs will tend to be significantly more complex than Short Form IAS TORFPs. In this section of the document, we will provide information to assist you in understanding how the Long Form Template can be used. The Long Form IAS TORFP Template has a great deal of additional informational information in the template (shown in blue shaded text, which should be removed during the editing process). For the rest of this section, the headings will correspond to the headings in the Long Form IAS TORFP however, not all headings will be shown or discussed.

A General Note: Do not delete headings as this will change the numbering scheme for the entire section or document (depending on what level you are at). Instead, just indicate that the section is not applicable to this IAS TORFP. In that way, section reference integrity is maintained. If you need to add more sections, do so at the BOTTOM of the section so it does not alter the section numbering for other sub-sections in the same section.

Key Information Sheet

Much of the information on the Key Information Sheet is self-explanatory, and some of it, such as the dates, is not entered until just before the IAS TORFP is released. There are, however, a few fields that are worth discussing:

1. TO Type: In this space, insert the types of costing that will be used for this procurement. Typically it is either Fixed Price (FP) or Time and Materials (T&M) or some combination of the two. If both are used in the procurement, then enter both.
2. Period of Performance (POP): The POP can be up to five (5) years, and can include one (1) or more option years (total years with option years can be no more than five (5)).
3. MBE/VSBE Goals: See the instructions for the MBE process in the Service Area. This section is filled out after the PRG meeting. MBE and VSBE goals are satisfied by sub-contractors, even if the prime contractor is MBE or VSBE certified. In fact even if the prime is an MBE, the MBE goal can only be satisfied by having another MBE contractor as a sub-contractor.
4. Small Business Reserve (SBR): Selecting the IAS TORFP as a SBR procurement means that only SBR certified contractors can respond to this IAS TORFP. The IAS Master Contract has two (2) SBR certified vendors.

Section 1 Administrative Information

All of the sub-sections in Section 1 are self-explanatory or have instructional text sufficient to assist the author in selecting the correct choices. Let the agency Procurement Officer make the selections in this area.

Note: the headings in the sections below are numbered to correspond with the section in the Long Form IAS TORFP Template that is being discussed. Text segments shaded in light blue are examples.

Section 2 Scope of Work

2.3 Project Background

The purpose of this section is to provide insight to the Offerors about the background information on the project. You need to provide sufficient information in this section to give Offerors enough information to properly size and price the IAS Assessment. Providing insufficient information in this area will result in TO Contractor misunderstandings with regard to the nature of the work involved or the level of effort needed to complete the job.

2.5 Requirements

This is the most important section in the IAS TORFP. You will spend a majority of your time writing this section. It is essential that you have a good idea of exactly how you want to structure the tasks BEFORE you begin this section. While you are free to alter the organization of this section to meet your needs, in general, you should stick to the template as much as possible. In this section, do not use bulleted lists. Instead, use numbered lists so that specific requirements can be specified, either in other places in this document or in other documents.

2.5.1 Project Management Requirements

Every project needs to be managed, and IAS engagements are no exceptions. Here is recommended language for this section which will work for most IAS Assessments:

TO Contractor shall provide the following Project Management services in support of this TO:

1. Project Kickoff Meeting. Specific requirements found in Section 2.7.4.
2. Project Plan. Specific requirements found in Section 2.7.4.
3. Project Schedule. Specific requirements found in Section 2.7.4.
4. Bi-weekly status reports. Specific requirements found in Section 2.7.4.
5. Bi-weekly, TO contractor shall hold a status meeting to discuss ongoing activities with the TO Manager. The status report will be the basis for these discussions.

The Lead Investigator shall serve as the project manager and single point of contact between DoIT and TO Contractor for project management matters and shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Fulfil the role of the TO Contractor Manager as defined in Section 1.2
2. Responsible to the TO Manager for the delivery of all deliverables under this TO in compliance with Section 2.7

 
Adjust this language as necessary. You will note that this language references Section 2.7.4. This is the section that is used to define deliverables. In the requirements section, identify deliverables, but avoid describing them. That is properly done in Section 2.7.4.

2.5.2 Independent Assessment Requirements

This is the section in which the main requirements for the Assessment are placed. You can use sub-sections as necessary to sub-divide the requirements as necessary. It is essential that requirements be easily understood. The requirements need to be:

1. Complete: If requirements are not complete, then change orders will be required later on, and it is likely that costs and schedule will increase.
2. Organized: Requirements need to be well organized so that they can be easily referenced and understood.
3. Understandable: If the requirements are confusing, then the quality of proposals will be lower, price proposals will be erroneous, and there are serious downstream risks once the TO is in execution.

Keep the requirements as direct and simple as possible. Even if the issue being assessed is complex, it is usually possible to describe the requirements in simple, easy to understand terms. Here is a sample requirement that illustrates one good way of expressing requirements:

Note: This example is using the first sub-heading under Section 2.5.2 to illustrate one method of organizing and expressing assessment requirements.

2.5.2.1 Requirements Analysis and Report
During this task, the TO Contractor shall investigate DoIT’s existing voice TELCOM infrastructure in order to fully understand DoIT’s current environment as well as current and future requirements. This task will provide valuable context for follow-on tasks. This task consists of the following components:

Req. No	​Requirement	Deliverable (see Section 2.7.4 for deliverable details)
2.5.2.1.1 ​	​Review and validate configuration documentation for DoIT’s existing XX PBX switches which are candidates for replacement. Where necessary, TO Contractor will update existing configuration documentation to conform to the switch’s current configuration.	​Updated Configuration Documentation for XX PBX Switches. Consolidated summary of current TELCOM infrastructure.
2.5.2.1.2​	​Review Agency CIO feedback provided by TO Manager with respect to Voice TELCOM requirements	​None
​2.5.2.1.3	I​nterview XX Agency personnel to understand and validate Agency requirements.	​None
​2.5.2.1.4	Interview XX DoIT personnel to understand program level requirements and strategic directions​	​None
​2.5.2.1.5	​Develop Requirements Summary documenting Agency and DoIT requirements	​TELCOM Requirements as described in Section 2.7.4.6.

In this case, this task is one of several tasks required in this IAS TORFP. The other tasks are formatted in a similar manner.

2.7 Deliverables

2.7.4 Deliverable Descriptions/ Acceptance Criteria

This section describes the deliverables which are identified in Section 2.5 and provides acceptance criteria for each deliverable and a proposed delivery date. Delivery dates are expressed in terms of days (state business or calendar days) from the NTP. It is important that the deliverables stated in Section 2.5 are aligned with the deliverables described in Section 2.6.4. Here is a sample:

The TO Contractor may suggest other subtasks, artifacts, or deliverables to improve the quality and success of the assigned tasks.

ID #	​Deliverable Description	Acceptance Criteria​	​Due Date / Frequency
2.7.4.1 ​	Project Kickoff Meeting (Section 2.5.1)​	​TO Contractor shall plan and hold a Kickoff Meeting to begin the TO. As a minimum, the meeting will address: Introductions Purpose of the Assessment Review of Draft Project Plan and Project Schedule Contract and invoicing details Next Steps	​NTP + 5 days or as mutually agreed to by the State and TO Contractor
2.7.4.2 ​	​DRAFT Project Plan and Project Schedule (Section 2.5.1)	​Project Plan shall utilize the DoIT Project Plan Template found at http://doit.maryland.gov/SDLC/ Pages/Templates.aspx and shall follow standard Project Management Body of Knowledge standards (PMBOK) as established by the Project Management Institute (PMI). The project plan shall reflect an effective Work Breakdown Structure and shall: Provide realistic estimates for work load and duration of tasks Provide clear linkages with both predecessor and successor tasks Clearly delineate the Critical Path Provide resource loading linked to members of the project team that describes who will conduct each task, and when the work will occur.	​Deliverables shall be provided for review at the Kickoff Meeting
2.7.4.3​	​Final Project Plan and Schedule (Section 2.5.1)	​Final Project Plan and schedule shall reflect feedback and comments provided by DoIT.	​5 days after review and comments on Draft Project Plan and Schedule by DoIT.

2.8 Minimum Qualifications

Unlike CATS +, the IAS TORFP Template does not have a section for Company minimum qualifications. This is because there are only five (5) Master Contractors, and it is not necessary to further filter the list of eligible companies. In addition, unlike CATS +, IAS was a competitive procurement and the Master Contractors are considered to be pre-qualified for the scope of work included in the IAS Master Contract.

2.8.1 Minimum Personnel Qualifications

This section should list all positions that are considered to be key personnel and should identify the labor category and minimum qualifications for each position. No more than four (4) positions can be designated. Each person must meet the minimum qualifications for the designated labor category, so minimum qualifications listed here should be qualifications in addition to the minimum qualifications listed for the Labor Category.

In order to ensure that you are picking the correct Labor Category and to understand the minimum qualifications for that Labor Category, consult the IAS RFP, Section 2.7.

2.9 TO Contractor and Personnel Other Requirements

If you have any additional personal qualifications that you wish to use in the evaluation process, you can provide them in this section. Failure to have one of these qualifications does not disqualify the Master Contractor from participating in the competition; however the defect may affect their evaluation. This is a good place to put qualifications which are not completely unambiguous.

2.12 Work Orders

This section is optional, and if not needed should have the body of the section deleted. Do not delete the section header, but instead include the statement “Not Required for this IAS TORFP”. Work Orders provide a flexible way of tasking the TO Contractor with additional work that is within the scope of the original tasking in the TO after the TO has been awarded. Here are some things to keep in mind with using this capability:

1. The tasks directed in the Work Order MUST be within the scope of the original TO. It is a good practice to include a section in the Requirements Section (Section 2.5) that describes in general terms the types of Work Orders that may be issued during the course of the POP.
2. If the funding level on the contract is reached, a Change Order is needed to increase the funding cap on the TO.
3. Work Orders can be either FP or T&M. If Work Orders are anticipated, then be sure to include a schedule in the Price Sheet for Offerors to provide yearly rates for each Labor Category that may be used in a T&M Work Order. These rates do not need to be evaluated, but they must be there in order to use them in a Work Order. Rates cannot be modified or additional Labor Categories added after the TO is awarded. If in doubt, include the Labor Category, you cannot correct the situation after award. T&M rates may not exceed the rates originally proposed for the RFP, but they may be less.
4. Work Orders are fast and easy to put into place. Attachment 15 of the IAS TORFP Template provides a form that is filled out by the TO Manager and then provided to the TO Contractor to provide a price. When the document is signed by both sides, (and assuming that there is funding available on the TO) work can commence.

Section 3 TASK ORDER PROPOSAL FORMAT AND SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

3.4 Proposal Format

3.4.1 TO Technical Proposal

For the most part, this section is usually left intact, however you need to consider:

1. If you have specific areas of technical expertise of experience that you wish to evaluate on, you MUST ensure that the proposal instructions provide a place for Offerors to provide the necessary information for you to use to evaluate them. Feel free to edit this section as needed to accomplish this.

Section 4 TASK ORDER AWARD PROCESS

4.2 TO Proposal Evaluation Criteria

In this section, edit the evaluation criteria based on your needs. If you wish to evaluate on specific items, be sure that you insert this into the evaluation criteria. This needs to synchronized with section 3.4.1 above.

4.3 SELECTION PROCEDURES

In this section one item needs explanation, and that is how minimum qualifications work. In Section 2.8.1 you inserted minimum personnel qualifications for key personnel. The Offeror demonstrates that these qualifications are met by providing a Labor Classification Personnel Summary for each key person which lists their experience and qualifications. Prior to turning the Technical Proposals over to the Evaluation Committee, the Procurement Officer must check to ensure that each Offeror meets the minimum qualifications. If, in his/her judgment, the Offeror’s personnel does not meet the minimum qualifications, then the Offeror is “judged to be not susceptible to award” and is disqualified from the evaluation process prior to review by the Evaluation Committee.

Final Quality Control

Before the IAS TORFP leaves your hands, perform the following three steps without fail (lest it come back to bite you):

1. Starting at the top of the document, use the advanced search function to search for each attachment one at a time to ensure that all attachments are named and referenced properly.
2. Do the same process with the word “section”, and ensure that each section reference is correct.
3. Perform a spell check.