§ 3-16 HHS Accelerator.
RCNY § 3-16
(a)Policy.
(1)Client services contracts must be procured through HHS Accelerator unless the HHS Accelerator Director authorizes, with the approval of the CCPO, the use of a different procurement method. Notwithstanding the above, the authorization of the HHS Accelerator Director is not required for procurements pursuant to 9 RCNY § 1-02(d); 9 RCNY § 1-02(e); 9 RCNY § 3-04(b)(2)(iii); 9 RCNY § 3-05; 9 RCNY § 3-06; 9 RCNY § 3-08; 9 RCNY § 3-09; and 9 RCNY § 3-13.
(2)The HHS Accelerator Director prequalifies vendors by evaluating their qualifications to provide client services (including subcategories of specific client services). When procuring client services pursuant to this Section, an agency must issue a solicitation for a specific contract to HHS Accelerator prequalified vendors in accordance with the provisions of this Section. The ACCO may permit joint ventures of two or more prequalified vendors. A procurement using HHS Accelerator is considered a "special case" under these Rules without the requirement for a further determination.
(b)Criteria. In developing the HHS Accelerator PQL, the HHS Accelerator Director may use any of the criteria listed in this subsection. Criteria that may be used to prequalify vendors for HHS Accelerator include, but are not limited to: (1) current and past experience with similar projects; (2) references, past performance, and reliability; (3) organization, number of staff, staff abilities and experience, and the organization's ability to undertake the type and complexity of work; (4) financial capability, responsibility and reliability for such type and complexity of work, and availability of appropriate resources; (5) compliance with all federal, state, and local laws, rules, licensing requirements, where applicable, and executive orders, including but not limited to compliance with existing labor standards; (6) compliance with equal employment opportunity requirements and anti-discrimination laws; (7) business integrity of vendor.
(c)Public Notice of HHS Accelerator PQL.
(d)Prequalification Questionnaire. A vendor must complete and submit a prequalification questionnaire developed by the HHS Accelerator Director in consultation with the CCPO. After prequalification, a vendor may update information contained in HHS Accelerator as needed. At least once every three years, and when submitting any bid or proposal in response to a solicitation from the HHS Accelerator PQL, vendors must affirm that there has been no change in the information included in the prequalification questionnaire, or if there have been changes, provide the changed information.
(e)Making the Prequalification Decision. Prequalification questionnaires will be reviewed by the HHS Accelerator Director and other personnel with knowledge, expertise, and experience sufficient to make a fair and reasonable determination, as appropriate. The HHS Accelerator Director must approve or deny prequalification within ninety days from the date of submission of a properly completed prequalification questionnaire.
(f)Denial or Revocation of Prequalification.
(3)HHS Accelerator PQLs must be reviewed at least once every three years to ensure that firms that no longer meet prequalification criteria are not retained on the list.
(g)Appeal of Denial or Revocation of Prequalification.
(4)Notification. A copy of the decision of the HHS Accelerator Director must be sent to the vendor, stating the reasons for the decision and informing the vendor of the right to appeal. A copy of the determination must be sent to the Comptroller's Office and to the CCPO to modify the VENDEX database.
(5)Appeal to OATH. The decision of the HHS Accelerator Director shall be final unless appealed to OATH. If a vendor wishes to contest the HHS Accelerator Director's decision, it may appeal to OATH, which shall hear and take final action in the matter in accordance with its rules. The petition to OATH shall be filed by the vendor within fifteen days of the date of the decision. Supporting documentation, if any, shall be included. The vendor shall, at the same time, send a copy of its appeal to the HHS Accelerator Director, CCPO, and Comptroller's Office. The HHS Accelerator Director shall forward a copy of all appeal-related documents within fourteen days of its receipt of the copy of the vendor's appeal to OATH. During the pendency of the appeal, an Agency may proceed with the solicitation. OATH shall review the decision and determine whether that decision is arbitrary or capricious and whether it is based on substantial evidence. Copies of OATH's determination shall be sent to the vendor, HHS Accelerator Director, Comptroller's Office, and, where the decision results in the revocation of prequalification, to the CCPO for any modifications to the VENDEX database.
(h)Prequalification Not a Finding of Responsibility. That a vendor has been prequalified does not imply a finding of responsibility for a particular procurement. Between the time of receipt of proposals or bid opening and contract award, the ACCO may determine that a prequalified vendor is not responsible for a particular procurement pursuant to 9 RCNY § 2-08. If the ACCO makes such determination, in addition to the requirements of 9 RCNY § 2-08, he or she must also notify the HHS Accelerator Director, who will then determine whether a vendor should be removed from the PQL.
(i)Solicitation from HHS Accelerator PQL. The solicitation of bids or proposals through HHS Accelerator is limited to vendors on the HHS Accelerator PQL who are prequalified in the specific category(ies) of client services being solicited. The solicitation of bids or proposals through HHS Accelerator must be publicly advertised to provide notice to vendors of the solicitation and an opportunity to apply for prequalification in order to submit a proposal.
(j)Requirement for a Concept Report for a New Client Services Program. At least 45 days prior to issuing a Client Services Requests for Proposals ("CS-RFP") for a new client services program, the agency must publicly release a concept report regarding such CS-RFP.
(6)Non-compliance with this section shall not be grounds to invalidate a contract.
(k)CS-RFP Contents. CS-RFPs must include the following data: (1) statement that the contract award will be made only to vendors that are prequalified through HHS Accelerator at the time that proposals are due; (2) statement that the contract award will be made to the responsible proposer whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the City, taking into consideration the price and such other criteria that are set forth in the RFP; (3) statement of work or scope of services statement, performance requirements, and any special instructions; (4) the specific criteria and the relative weight of each criterion or category of criteria that will be used to evaluate the proposals; (5) statement of how price will be evaluated. In addition, the following statements regarding price must be included: (i) a notice that prices shall be irrevocable until contract award, unless the proposal is withdrawn, and that offers may be withdrawn only after the expiration of ninety days (or such longer period as is specified in the solicitation) after opening of proposals, in writing received by the agency prior to award; (ii) if applicable, request for cost breakdown of the proposed price; (6) proposal submission requirements including requirements, if any, for the electronic submission of proposals, including through the use of documents contained in the HHS Accelerator document repository; if applicable, that technical and price proposals must be submitted in separate sealed envelopes (paper) or attachments (electronic); and the time and date after which proposals will not be accepted as well as the location of proposal submission; (7) other information such as delivery dates or time frames within which the work must be completed. Where it is anticipated that a contract will extend beyond one year, the following information must be included in any solicitation, in addition to any other requirements of these Rules: (i) a statement of intent to award a multi-term contract, and an estimate of the quantity of services required for the proposed contract period; (ii) a request for a proposal of a total price which shall be binding in the first year and may be negotiable from year to year thereafter; (iii) that the multi-term contract is subject to modification or cancellation if adequate funds are not appropriated to the agency to support continuation of performance in any fiscal year succeeding the first; (iv) that the multi-term contract is subject to modification or cancellation if the vendor's performance is not satisfactory; (v) that the Contracting Officer must notify the vendor as soon as is practicable that the funds are, or are not, available for the continuation of the multi-term contract for each succeeding fiscal year; (vi) whether proposers must submit prices for the first year, for the entire period of performance, or for some portion of the period; and (vii) a statement setting forth those costs, if any, for which the vendor will be reimbursed in the event of cancellation; (8) general as well as special terms and conditions, if applicable; (9) a notice of the proposer's rights to appeal certain decisions; (10) a notice of the City's prompt payment policy, including an explanation of the requirements for invoicing; (11) a requirement for acknowledgment of amendments; (12) if applicable, a request for a description of experience in the line of work being considered (including references); (13) if applicable and necessary in the judgment of the Contracting Officer, a request for description of staff capability along with the resumes of key individuals who will work on the contract; (14) a notice that although discussions may be conducted with offerors submitting acceptable proposals, award may be made without any discussions; (15) if applicable, a provision on the submission and consideration of multiple or alternate proposals; (16) a provision that proposers should clearly identify those portions of their proposals that they deem to be confidential, proprietary information or trade secrets and provide any justification why such materials, upon request, should not be disclosed by the City. Such information must be easily separable from the non-confidential sections of the proposals; (17) a notice that contract award is subject to the provisions of the MacBride Principles Law; (18) a notice that contract award is subject to applicable provisions of federal, state, and other local laws and executive orders requiring affirmative action and equal employment opportunity; (19) if applicable, a notice that contract award is subject to completion of a VENDEX questionnaire and review of that information by the Department of Investigation; (20) where applicable, all information required pursuant to Section 312(a) of the Charter; (21) the following statement: The New York City Comptroller is charged with the audit of contracts in New York City. Any vendor who believes that there has been unfairness, favoritism, or impropriety in the proposal process should inform the Comptroller, Bureau of Contract Administration, 1 Centre Street, Room 727, New York, NY 10007; telephone number (212) 669-2323; and (22) name, address, and telephone number of contact person; and (23) if applicable, information regarding multiple award task order contracts for services.
(l)"Open ended" CS -RFPs. For a client services program in which there is available funding for more than the available responsible vendor, and for which the requirements and qualifications are unusually complex and difficult to predict (such as Uniform Land Use Review Procedures approvals of appropriate sites, licenses, etc.) and for which interested potential vendors may become qualified during the course of a year, the ACCO may designate the applicable RFP as an "open -ended RFP." If an RFP is so designated, the agency must publish quarterly in the City Record a notice of solicitation, clearly stating that the RFP may be obtained at any time and that proposals may be submitted in response to the RFP on an on-going basis. When an agency decides to terminate the open-ended RFP, it must publish the termination in the City Record.
(m)Proposal Preparation Time and Form.
(n)Public notice.
(ii)Content. Such notice must include: (A) agency name; (B) PIN; (C) title and/or brief description of the goods, services, or construction to be procured; (D) name and address of the vendor; (E) dollar value of the contract; and (F) procurement method by which the contract was let.
(o)CS-RFP Handling Procedures.
(7)Late Modifications. A late modification of an accepted proposal that makes its terms more favorable to the City must be considered at any time it is received and, if accepted by the ACCO, must be so documented in the Recommendation for Award.
(8)Record. A record must be made of each request for acceptance of a late proposal or modification. A late proposal or modification that is not accepted by the ACCO must not be opened until after registration of the contract.
(9)Receipt and Registration of Proposals. The identity of an offeror shall not be disclosed prior to the established date and time for receipt of proposals. Proposals shall not be opened publicly. Proposals and modifications shall be time and date-stamped upon receipt and held in a secure place until the established due date and time. After the date and time established for the receipt of proposals, a Register of Proposals including shall be prepared and available for public inspection after award of a contract.
(p)Evaluation Process. Award, if any, must be made to the responsible proposer whose proposal is determined to be the most advantageous to the City, taking into consideration the price and such other factors or criteria that are set forth in the RFP. In evaluating the proposals, the agency may consider only price and the criteria set forth in the RFP. In considering price, the agency may use methods such as ranking technically viable proposals by price, evaluating price per technical point, or evaluating proposals in accordance with another combination of price and technical merit. Such methods may result in the agency selecting the highest technically rated proposer over another technically qualified proposer who offered a lower fee as a result of factors including, but not limited to, the selected vendor 's superior technical skill and expertise, increased likelihood of timely completion, and/or ability to manage several projects simultaneously with lower overall costs to the City, including costs in City personnel time and consultants.
(iii)If there is a need for any substantial clarification of, or change in, the RFP, the RFP must be amended to incorporate such clarification or change and the amended RFP must be provided to all proposers.
(iv)Auction techniques (revealing one proposer's price to another) and disclosure of any information derived from competing proposals are prohibited.
(v)Any oral clarification of a proposal must be confirmed in writing by the proposer.
(vi)Best and final offers must be evaluated in accordance with 9 RCNY § 3-16(q).
(q)Mistakes in Proposals.
(r)Vendor Selection and Documentation. The ACCO must make a determination showing the basis on which the contract award was made to the responsible proposer whose proposal was determined to be the most advantageous to the City, taking into consideration the price and other criteria in the RFP. This determination must be included in a Recommendation for Award. Each Recommendation for Award must include at a minimum the following information: (1) justification of the award; (2) if the award is for client services for which there is agency price history, a price comparison of the proposed price versus previous price, with reasons for any increases as supported by a cost/price analysis; (3) reasons for multiple award contracts; (4) any special terms and conditions included in the proposed contract that were derived from a cost/price analysis; (5) affirmative finding of responsibility for the selected proposer(s); and (6) efforts to negotiate better value. Upon determination of the most favorable proposal and after obtaining all required approvals, the Contracting Officer shall award the contract to that proposer. (Amended City Record 1/29/2016, eff. 3/1/2016; amended City Record 12/15/2023, eff. 1/14/2024)
