Instructions for Writing a Short Form IAS TORFP

In this section, we will assume that you have determined that the Short Form IAS TORFP Template best fits your needs. Here is information related to filling out the form:

Section 1 General Information

IAS TORFP Name - Enter a descriptive name for the procurement.
IAS TORFP Number - Using the ADPICS procedures found in the Service Center, obtain an ADPICS number that will provide an identification of the TO from an accounting perspective.
Anticipated Start Date - Projected Start Date for the TO.
Period of Performance (POP) - The time duration of the TO. Generally, the POP should not be longer than six (6) months.
Contract Type - Enter Fixed Price (FP) or Time and Materials (T&M). FP by deliverable is preferred, and should be used unless it is not possible to clearly define deliverables.
Pre-Proposal Conference (PPC) - Either “No” if there is no PPC, or, if a PPC is required, the date, time and location of the PPC.
Oral Presentation Required? Yes or No.
Designated Small Business Reserve? Yes or No.
MBE Goal (If applicable) - Enter the MBE goal for the procurement. Note: if there is a MBE Goal, then the MBE attachment described below must be included with the IAS TORFP.
VSBE Goal (if applicable) - Enter the VSBE Goal for the procurement. Note: if there is a VSBE Goal, then the VSBE attachment described below must be included with the IAS TORFP.
Issue Date - Enter the date that the IAS TORFP is released for proposals.
Due Date - Enter the date that proposals are due.
Time (EST) - Enter the time that proposals are due.
Place of Performance - Enter the place of performance.
Special Instructions - Enter any information here as necessary.
Security Requirements - Enter any are particular security requirements here.
Special Invoicing Instructions - Enter here specific information on how and where invoices are to be delivered.

Section 2 Agency Information

Agency/Division Name - Enter name of agency
Agency PO Name - Enter the name of the Procurement Officer (PO)
Agency PO Phone Number - Enter the phone number for the PO
Agency PO email address - Enter the email address of the PO
Agency PO FAX - Enter the FAX number for the PO
Agency TO Manager Name - Enter the name of the agency Task Order (TO) Manager
Agency TO Manager email address - Enter the email address of the agency TO Manager
Agency TO Manager FAX - Enter the FAX number of the TO Manager

Section 3 Scope of Work

Independent Assessment Objective - Enter, in a few sentences, the objective of the assessment engagement.
Independent Assessment Requirements - Enter the requirements for the assessment. Be logical, specific and as clear as possible describing exactly what you expect the TO Contractor to accomplish during the engagement.
Independent Assessment Deliverables, Acceptance Criteria and Schedule -
In this section, describe each deliverable required during the engagement, as well as the acceptance criteria and schedule. The description of the document and the acceptance criteria need to describe the deliverable sufficiently well to make it easy to determine whether or not the deliverable provided by the TO Contractor is acceptable or not. It is particularly important to have well-articulated and clear Acceptance Criteria if the IAS TORFP is to be priced and paid on a Fixed Price by deliverable model.

Describe the schedule in number of business days since Notice to Proceed (NTP) (e.g. NTP+30 business days)
Minimum Personnel Qualifications -
In this section, identify any key personnel that you wish to evaluate in the IAS TORFP. There are a couple of things to be aware of:

1. You many not identify more than four (4) key personnel.

2. No substitution of key personnel by the Offeror is permitted before award. If the TO Contractor cannot provide key personnel at NTP, it is grounds for disqualification from the TO.

This section also asks you to provide minimum qualifications for each key person. Remember that the person must also meet the requirements of the RFP Labor Category as well. Any minimum requirements that you list here should be IN ADDITION TO minimum requirements stated in the RFP for the Labor Category being used. To see a description and the requirements in the Labor Category consult Section 2.7 of the IAS RFP. Consulting the Labor Categories can also assist you in selecting the most appropriate Labor Category for the position.

Any requirements that you provide must be verifiable and unambiguous. For example, “Has 3 years of experience managing a Call Center” is verifiable from the resume provided with the IAS TORFP. “Is experienced in Call Center Management” is not verifiable as it is not quantifiable.
Preferred Qualifications - 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.

Section 4 Proposal Submission Instructions

Note - Read the notes carefully. You need to put an X in either the Yes or No spaces to indicate if you wish Offerors to provide a project schedule or project plan with their proposals. Notice that the Offeror will need to add several attachments to their proposal and that the format for these attachments is provided as attachments of the IAS TORFP.
Other Required Documents - In this section list any other documents that need to be provided with the Offeror’s proposal. If there is a Template for these documents, you should add them as additional attachments to the IAS TORFP in order to provide them to Offerors. If the IAS TORFP has either MBE or VSBE requirements, then these forms should be required here and added as attachments.

Section 5 Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation Criteria - In this section, you need to provide, in descending order of priority, the factors that you will use to evaluate the proposals. The evaluation criteria should be linked to the requirements and to the proposal instructions. If you asked Offerors to provide particular information, ensure that there is an evaluation factor to enable you to evaluate the information provided. Conversely, ensure that you ask for information that you intend to use as an evaluation criteria in Section 4 so that Offerors will consistently provide the information that you need to evaluate the proposals.
Basis for Award - There are check boxes in this section to indicate if technical merit or cost will be more important in the evaluation process. Check one (1) of the boxes indicating your choice.

Attachment 1 Short Form IAS TORFP Technical Proposal Template

IAS TORFP Name - In this field, enter the name of the IAS TORFP
IAS TORFP ADPICS Number - In this field enter the ADPICS number for the procurement. These are the only fields that you need to fill out in this attachment.

Attachment 2 Labor Category Personnel Resume Summary

This attachment is used by the Offeror to provide resume information for all key and named personnel identified in the IAS TORFP. No action is required for the author on this attachment.

Attachment 3 Price Proposal

This attachment has two forms: 3-1 which is used for FP pricing and 3-2, which is used for T&M pricing. Depending on the type of pricing required, the Offeror should submit ONLY ONE of these forms.

If the Contract Type selected in Section 1 is FP, then fill in the ADPICS number and the deliverable name in Form 3-1. In Form 3-2 insert the words DO NOT USE THIS FORM. In the Labor Category field.
If the Contract Type selected in Section 1 is T&M then fill in the ADPICS number and labor category and evaluation Hours for each position in Form 3-2. In Form 3-1 insert the words DO NOT USE THIS FORM in the Deliverable Name field.

Attachment 4 Conflict of Interest Affidavit

No action by the author is required for this attachment.

Attachment 5 Living Wage Affidavit

No action by the author is required for this attachment.

Attachment 6 MBE Provisions and Forms

This attachment is ONLY required if the IAS TORFP has an MBE goal greater than 0%.

If the IAS TORFP has an MBE Goal, then no action is required by the author.

If the IAS TORFP does not have an MBE Goal, then the entire attachment except for the title should be deleted and replaced with “This attachment is not required for this IAS TORFP”.

Next Steps

Well, you are done with the hard part! At this point, review Short Form IAS TORFP Process, as it fully explains the process for submitting the IAS TORFP for review and moving the procurement forward. In very general terms, the steps are:

Execute any internal Agency review and approval steps required by your agency procurement process.
Send the IAS TORFP to ITPO.doit@maryland.gov for review and approval. It is likely that DoIT will request some additional rework of the IAS TORFP.
When the IAS TORFP has been approved by DoIT, your agency procurement shop will be authorized to send the IAS TORFP to the five (5) Master Contractors on the IAS contract for them to bid on the IAS TORFP.
When the proposal deadline has been reached, all proposals which have been received will be evaluated and a Master Contractor will be selected to perform the work.
The Award Package is submitted to DoIT for approval by the agency Procurement Officer.
When DoIT approves the Award Package, the IAS TORFP can be awarded, and the Notice to Proceed issued so that work can begin.

Final Quality Control

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

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.
Do the same process with the word “section”, and ensure that each section reference is correct.
Perform a spell check.