OFFICIAL CONTACTS ONLY This RFP contains restrictions on contact with NMSU representatives including members of the Board of Regents, ASNMSU, employees and consultants or others working on behalf of NMSU. Violation of this policy may lead to disqualification. (See General Instruction No. 4 on page 8 of this document.) Event Responsibility Date 1. Issuance of RFP NMSU 10/10/2021 2. Deadline to Submit Written Questions Potential Respondents 10/14/2021 @ 5:00 P.M. 3. Response to Written Questions/RFP Amendments NMSU 10/19/2021 @ 5:00 P.M. 4. Submission of Proposals Respondents 10/25/2021 @ 2:00 P.M. 5. Review of Proposals NMSU Evaluation Committee 10/25/2021-TBD 6. Finalist Interviews/Demonstration NMSU Procurement Services/Respondent TBD 6. Best and Final Offers Finalist Respondents TBD 7. Agreement Negotiations NNMSU Procurement Services/Respondent TBD 8. Agreement Awarded NMSU Procurement Services TBD 9. Agreement Effective Date TBD CAUTION!  This entire RFP document may be obtained from NMSU’s on-line bidding system at https://solutions.sciquest.com/apps/Router/SAMLAuth/NMSU. Respondents should not rely upon documents received from any other source. Any addenda or clarification to this RFP will be issued under the attachments tab in the on-line bidding system. Each Respondent is responsible for any information or addenda to this RFP and should check the online bidding system for such information within 5 days of the RFP Upload Deadline shown above.  Respondents are strongly encouraged to submit all bid responses several days in advance of the deadline. Respondent bears sole responsibility for allowing sufficient time for technical problems and taking all other steps necessary to meet the deadline. Proposals not uploaded to the NMSU online bidding system by the deadline will be rejected.  Respondent is advised and informed that the Procurement Code, Sections 13-1-28 through 13-1-199 NMSA 1978, imposes civil and criminal penalties for its violation. In addition, the New Mexico criminal statutes impose felony penalties for bribes, gratuities, and kickbacks. New Mexico State University (NMSU) is the state’s land-grant university, established under the Constitution of the State of New Mexico, and governed by a five member Board of Regents. NMSU serves the educational needs of New Mexico’s diverse population through comprehensive programs of education, research, extension education, and public service. NMSU is comprised of a statewide system providing learning opportunities to all the citizens of the state through cooperative extension offices in 33 New Mexico counties; 13 research and science centers located throughout the state; campuses in Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Doña Ana County, Grants, and Las Cruces; and distance education programs. NMSU is a NASA Space Grant College and a Hispanic-Serving Institution. Enrollment in the NMSU System totals more than 25,000 students. TERMS AND CONDITIONS Following selection of a Contractor, NMSU will enter into good faith negotiation of a formal agreement which will be consistent with the provisions in this RFP and which will include the New Mexico State University Standard Terms and Conditions which can be found at http://purchasing.nmsu.edu. By submitting a proposal, Respondent acknowledges that these terms and conditions will be included in the agreement unless exceptions to the terms and conditions are included in the proposal. NMSU reserves the right to reject proposals requesting major deviations from the standard terms and conditions. DEFINITIONS The following underlined terms have the meaning set forth below when used in this Request for Proposals: Agreement: a written contract for the procurement of professional services resulting from the RFP Award Award: an offer by NMSU to enter into an Agreement with a Responsive Respondent, contingent upon negotiation of the final terms of the proposed Agreement Contractor: a Respondent who has received an Award and has signed an Agreement Determination: the written documentation of a decision by the NMSU Director of Procurement Services, or designee, including findings of fact required to support that decision. A Determination becomes part of the procurement file to which it pertains Evaluation Committee: a committee selected by NMSU to evaluate the proposals. Finalist: a Responsive Respondent whose score on the evaluation factors is sufficiently high to qualify for further consideration by the Evaluation Committee NMSU: the Regents of New Mexico State University Request for Proposal or RFP: all documents, including those attached or incorporated by reference, used for soliciting proposals Respondent: any person, corporation, or partnership who submits a proposal in response to this RFP Responsive Proposal: a proposal submitted by the upload deadline which conforms in all material respects to the requirements set forth in this RFP Responsive Respondent: a respondent to this RFP who submits a Responsive Proposal PROTESTS 1. Any Respondent who is aggrieved in connection with the RFP (Protester) may protest to NMSU Procurement Services in accordance with the requirements of the State Procurement Code. The protest must be made in writing within no later than fifteen days after the facts or occurrences protested are known or should have been known by the Protester. The protest must be emailed to [email protected] (All emails must include the RFP# in the subject line.) 2. In the event of a timely protest under this section, NMSU may not proceed further with the procurement, before resolution of the protest, unless the Director of Procurement Services (or designee) issues a Determination that an Award is necessary to protect substantial interests of NMSU. 3. The Director or his designee has the authority to take any action reasonably necessary to resolve a protest; however, the Director does not have the authority to award money damages or attorneys' fees. 4. The Director or his designee will promptly issue a Determination relating to a protest. A copy of the Determination will immediately be mailed to the Protester and other Respondents. The Determination will: a. State the reasons for the action taken or decision made; and b. Inform the Protester of the right to judicial review of the Determination pursuant to 13-1-183 NMSA 1978. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS All submissions must conform to the following general instructions: 1. Respondents must submit proposals through the NMSU online bidding system at https://solutions.sciquest.com/apps/Router/SAMLAuth/NMSU and the upload of the proposal must be completed no later than the RFP UPLOAD DEADLINE as indicated on the first page of this RFP, at which time proposals will be opened and recorded as received. 2. Proposal submissions should not exceed thirty-five (35) single spaced, single sided letter sized pages, in a font no smaller than 12 point. Not counted against the page limit are the front and back covers, vendor questionnaire, debarment and suspension certificate, non-collusion certificate, copy of In-State preference certificate, any required or requested attachments, blank dividers, table of contents, and forms to meet Federal requirements. Resumes, if included as attachments, should not exceed 2 pages each. 3. Respondents should promptly submit request for clarification upon identifying any ambiguity, inconsistency, or error in the RFP. Submit requests to NMSU Procurement Services at [email protected]. (All emails must include the RFP# in the subject line.) Only NMSU Procurement Services is authorized to answer questions regarding the RFP or other procurement documents. No other NMSU departments or employees have the authority to respond on behalf of NMSU. Any response made by Procurement Services will be provided in to all Respondents by written addendum uploaded into the online bidding system. 4. Prior to the notification of the Award(s), Respondents may not communicate with any NMSU personnel regarding the RFP, other than those in the NMSU Procurement Services office. Unsolicited contact with the Evaluation Committee members, or contact with any other NMSU department or personnel is grounds for disqualification of the proposal. 5. Other than an addendum withdrawing the RFP or extending the deadline for submissions, any and all addendum will be issued and available through the online bidding system at least five (5) days before the RFP deadline for proposals. 6. NMSU and its agents are not responsible for Internet outages, hardware failures, software failures, downtime, internet slowness, acts of God, power failures, or user errors. Respondents are strongly encouraged to submit all bid responses several days in advance of the deadline. Respondent bears sole responsibility for allowing sufficient time for technical problems and taking all other steps necessary to meet the deadline. Proposals not uploaded to the NMSU online bidding system by the deadline will be rejected. 7. NMSU may, in its sole discretion, extend the time for the submission of offers. Such extensions will only be by written addendum to the RFP which will be uploaded to the NMSU online bidding system. 8. Any proposed exceptions to the scope of work must be explicitly noted on the Scope of Legal Services form submitted with the proposal. Unless otherwise stated, the specifications contained in the RFP and its exhibits and attachments are minimum requirements; however, at NMSU’s sole discretion, minor deviations to the listed specifications may be allowed. 9. A Respondent may upload an amended proposal before the deadline for receipt of proposals. Any amended proposal must be a complete replacement for the previously submitted proposal and must be clearly identified as an amended proposal in the transmittal letter. NMSU personnel will not merge, collate, or assemble proposals from multiple submissions. 10. This RFP may be canceled or modified in whole or in part at the sole discretion of NMSU. 11. Any proposal may rejected in whole or in part when doing so is in the best interest of NMSU. 12. NMSU reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive minor defects in Responsive Proposals provided that such defects have no effect on price, quality, quantity, fitness, delivery or any matter to be evaluated in making a selection, and when doing so confers no material advantage on the Respondent whose defect is waived. 13. NMSU will select the Responsive Proposal(s) that are most advantageous and in the best interest of NMSU. 14. All costs incurred by a Respondent related to this RFP, including but not limited to the preparation of the Proposal, the evaluation and selection process, and any negotiations with NMSU, will be borne by the Respondent. 15. Neither issuing this RFP nor the selection of a Finalist(s) obligates NMSU to enter into an Agreement. 16. Pursuant to Section 13-1-116 NMSA 1978, the contents of the Proposals will be kept confidential until NMSU enters one or more Agreement(s). At that time, all Proposals will be open to public inspection as required by state law. NMSU will withhold from inspection any information which the Respondent claims is exempt from disclosure as a trade secret and upon which Respondent clearly stamped, marked or imprinted the words “proprietary” or “confidential”. Confidential information is generally restricted to confidential financial information concerning the Respondent’s organization and data that qualifies as trade secrets in accordance with the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, 57-3A-1 to 57-3A-7 NMSA 1978. The price of products or the cost of services may not be designated as proprietary or confidential information. Information claimed by Respondent to be proprietary or confidential will be readily separable from the Proposal in order to facilitate public inspection of the non-confidential portion of the Proposal. In the event of a challenge to the claimed trade secret exemption, NMSU will promptly notify Respondent, and Respondent will then be responsible for seeking court ordered protection at its own expense. Respondent will bear all costs, including attorney’s fees, related to any challenge to a claim of exemption from the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, NMSA 1978, Chapter 14, Article 2 as it relates to the portion of a proposal that Respondent marked as exempt. NMSU is not required to defend the claimed exemption and will allow inspection within 10 days after notifying Respondent of the challenge, unless Respondent has undertaken to defend the claimed exemption and to indemnify NMSU against any loss, damages or costs associated with the refusal to allow inspection. 17. New Mexico law allows other governmental entities within the State of New Mexico to contract, in accordance with 13-1-129 NMSA 1978, for services with the Contractor under the terms contained in the Agreement. Should that occur, NMSU will not be a party to any engagements entered into pursuant to this paragraph. Contractual engagements accomplished under this provision will be solely between the Contractor and the subject governmental entity. 18. If the Respondent or any of its principals are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, or declared ineligible for award of contract by any federal entity, state agency or local public body, the Respondent will not be considered for an Award. 19. Submission of a Proposal is deemed a certification by Respondent that Respondent has not, directly or indirectly, acted in restraint of competition.

Bid Protests Not Available