Section 4d-3-15 - Competitive negotiation(a) Proposals shall be evaluated only on the basis of evaluation criteria stated in the request for proposals, which may include some or all of the following criteria, the relative importance of which shall vary according to the type of information technology personal property or services being procured:(1) the plan for performing the required services;(2) ability to perform the services as reflected by technical training, education, general experience, and specific experience in providing the required information technology personal property or services;(3) the qualifications and abilities of personnel proposed to be assigned to perform the services;(4) the availability of personnel, equipment, and facilities that are necessary or appropriate to perform the services;(5) records of past performance of similar work in regard to information technology personal property or services;(7) standards or criteria as may be required by Chapter 61 of the Connecticut General Statutes.(b) Pre-proposal conferences, as appropriate, may be conducted. Such conferences may be held anytime prior to the date established for the submission of proposals.(c) Proposals shall be time-stamped upon receipt and held in a secure place until the established due date. Proposals shall not be opened publicly nor disclosed to unauthorized persons, but shall be opened in the presence of two or more procurement officials.(d) It will not be sufficient for vendors to merely state generally that the proposal is proprietary in nature and not therefore subject to release to third parties. Any proposal that makes such a general or overarching claim may be subject to disqualification. Those particular sentences, paragraphs, pages or sections, which a vendor believes to be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), must be specifically identified as such. Convincing explanation and rationale sufficient to justify each exemption consistent with the FOIA, must accompany the proposal. The rationale and explanation must be stated in terms of the prospective harm to the competitive position of the Vendor that would result if the identified material were to be released and the reasons why the materials are legally exempt from release pursuant to the FOIA. Between the vendor and the State, the final administrative authority to release or exempt any or all material so identified rests with the State. All such material shall be submitted in a separate sealed envelope and marked 'confidential'. This includes any information requested in an electronic format.(e) The CIO shall evaluate all proposals submitted and may conduct discussions with any proposer in accordance with the provisions of section 4d-3-16 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.(f) Proposals may be modified or withdrawn at any time prior to the conclusion of discussions.(g) After the conclusion of the validation of qualifications, evaluation, and discussion as provided in subsections (e) and (f) of this section, the CIO shall select, in the order of their respective qualification rankings, no fewer than three acceptable proposers (or such lesser number if less than three acceptable proposals were received) deemed to be the best qualified to provide the required information technology personal property or services.(h) The CIO shall select from the best qualified proposers the proposer whose proposal the CIO deems to be the most advantageous to the State and negotiate a contract for the required information technology personal property or services.Conn. Agencies Regs. § 4d-3-15
Adopted effective August 9, 2004