Code of Massachusetts Regulations
801 CMR - EXECUTIVE OFFICE FOR ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE
Title 801 CMR 21.00 - Procurement Commodities Or Services, Including Human And Social Services
Section 21.06 - Competitive Procurement Standards
Current through Register 1531, September 27, 2024
All acquisitions of Commodities or Services, or both, must be competitively procured unless the acquisition qualifies as an exception under 801 CMR 21.05. A Procuring Department shall be responsible for conducting a Procurement for single or multiple Contracts for Commodities or Services, or both, in accordance with 801 CMR 21.00 and policies and procedures issued by ANF, OSD and CTR. The policies and procedures shall address, but shall not be limited to, the following Procurement standards:
(1) Procurement File. A Procuring Department shall maintain a paper or electronic Procurement file for each Procurement of Commodities or Services, or both. The file shall contain the original, copies or the file location of the RFR and data or other information relevant to the Procurement and selection of a Contractor, the executed Contract form(s), correspondence with the Contractor and any applicable approvals or justifications.
(2) Duration. The duration of any Contract procured or executed under 801 CMR 21.00 shall include the initial duration of a Contract, either less than one fiscal year, a single fiscal year or multiple fiscal years, and any options to renew beyond the initial duration of the Contract. The duration established for a Contract shall be the period determined by the Procuring Department to be reasonably necessary to obtain the required Commodities or Services, or both, at the Best Value for the Procuring Department and the State and shall be subject to Available Funding for the Contract, as follows:
(3) Scope of Contract Participants. A Procuring Department may draft a Request for Response (RFR) for specified Commodities or Services, or both, to include an option for additional Departments to purchase under the same terms of the RFR and may require Bidders to provide Responses specifying their ability to provide the specified Commodities or Services, or both, to other Departments in addition to the Procuring Department and the rates that will be used for the additional business given to the Contractor.
(4) Request for Responses (RFR).
(5) Identification of Bidders or Public Notice. A Procuring Department shall be responsible for identifying Bidders capable and willing to provide the Procuring Department and the State with the Best Value of Commodities or Services, or both. A Procuring Department shall identify potential Bidders through public notice, newspaper or electronic advertisements or other methods identified by ANF or OSD as appropriate for a particular Procurement, or as required by law.
(6) Procurement Amendments. A Procuring Department may, at any time prior to the execution of a Contract, and without penalty, amend a Procurement or change the Procurement requirements, scope, budget or Procurement schedule upon notice to Bidders.
(7) Procurement Cancellation. A Procuring Department may for any reason, and at any time prior to the execution of a Contract, and without penalty, notify Bidders of a cancellation of a Procurement and the rejection of all Responses.
(8) Corrections or Clarifications to a Submitted Response. A Procuring Department shall determine whether to allow a correction of minor informalities in a Response. Minor informalities are matters of form rather than substance and include clerical errors or minimal or insignificant mistakes that can be corrected without prejudice to other Bidders. A Procuring Department may, upon written request of a Bidder, allow a correction of a minor informality in a Response which is clearly evident, such as a typographical error, transposition error or arithmetical error where the correct answer is obvious, or if the mistake is discovered by the Procuring Department, the Procuring Department may note the correction on the Response. If a Procuring Department requires a clarification of any particular section of a Response the Department must provide all Bidders that submitted Responses with the same notice and opportunity for clarification of the identified section in the Response. Clarifications are explanations of what is stated in a Response and may not be used as an opportunity to submit supplemental information or a change to a Response, unless the Department specifically requests these submissions or changes as part of the clarification of all Responses. No correction or clarification of Response prices, terms and conditions or the submission of supplemental information prejudicial to the interests of other Bidders or to fair competition shall be permitted.
(9) References. A Procuring Department shall have the right to request references at any time during the Procurement process and at any time during the period of Contract performance. A Procuring Department may verify any references included in a Bidder's Response and conduct any other reference or credit checks as the Procuring Department deems appropriate. The Procuring Department may consider any written references, including documentation of performance records of a Bidder on file at the Procuring Department or solicited from any other Department or entity, documentation of reference checks or other documentation solicited by or submitted to the Procuring Department during the Procurement process.
(10) Disqualification. A Procuring Department shall disqualify any Response that the Department determines to be unresponsive, including, but not limited to:
(11) Best and Final Offer, Evaluation of Responses and Selection of Bidder(s). The following options shall be available to a Department even if these options have not been included as part of an RFR:
(12) Notification of Selected Bidders. A Procuring Department shall determine the timing and method of notifying Bidders of the Bidder(s) selected for Contract negotiation or the Contractor(s) that has executed a Contract. Notice may be limited to those Bidders who submitted Responses to an RFR.
(13) Press Conferences or News Release Restrictions. No Bidder shall make any press conference, news releases or announcements concerning its selection or non-selection for a Contract prior to the Procuring Department's public release of said information or prior to the written approval of the Procuring Department.
(14) Debriefing. An RFR may contain the opportunity for non-successful Bidders to request a debriefing to be conducted after Contract execution with Selected Bidder(s). Debriefings are designed to identify the weak areas of a Bidder's Response and suggest improvements for future Procurements. Comparisons with other Responses will not be made during a debriefing. If an RFR is silent as to an opportunity for a debriefing, the Procuring Department shall have the option to grant or deny a debriefing and may limit the number of debriefings granted.
(15) Dispute Resolution Procedures for Human and Social Service Procurements. OSD may issue policies and procedures for conducting debriefings and appeals for Human and Social Service Procurements.
(16) Decisions made pursuant to the provisions of 801 CMR 21.00 are not subject to the provisions of M.G.L. c. 30A, §§ 10 and 11.