Submitting an Unsolicited Proposal

Welcome to the Procurement Department’s web page describing the two (2) types of Unsolicited Proposals.

The purpose of this page is to provide basic information about how CFX receives Unsolicited Proposals from a Vendor.

DEFINITION

An Unsolicited Proposal is defined as a written proposal for a new or innovative idea that is submitted to CFX, on the initiative of a Vendor, for the purpose of obtaining a contract with CFX.

An Unsolicited Proposal IS NOT in response to a Request for Proposals or CFX announcement.

 

CFX entertains the following two (2) types of Unsolicited Proposals and processes for a potential Vendor:

1. Unsolicited Proposals – Third Party Apps
The Unsolicited Proposals – Third Party Apps involve potential opportunities using software designed to run on a mobile device or tablet, that customers leverage to perform some type of CFX and/or E-PASS-related activity. The following mobile application technologies represent examples of Unsolicited Proposals – Third Party Apps services:

  • toll account management
  • toll payment management

A Vendor must perform the following steps for CFX to consider an Unsolicited Proposal – Third Party Apps opportunity:

  1. Complete all sections of CFX’s Business Opportunity Review (BOR). The BOR serves as a business case for Vendors to define their third-party service and how it potentially integrates with CFX’s information technology environment and the prospective impacts on CFX systems, operations and customers. This process requires vendors to demonstrate alignment with CFX’s business and strategic objectives.Each BOR submittal shall include enough detail and information for CFX to evaluate the BOR in an objective and timely manner to determine if the BOR benefits CFX. If a BOR submittal is not deemed by CFX to be complete or to have enough detail, it may be rejected by the Director of Procurement. It is not the intent or obligation of CFX’s Procurement Department to assist a Vendor in completing a BOR. CFX’s Procurement Department shall bear no responsibility to itemize or advise a Vendor of the incomplete items or terms of the BOR.
  2. Submit the completed BOR electronically via email to: unsolicited.proposal@cfxway.com.
  3. Provide a non-refundable processing fee of $2,000.00 payable to CFX. Payment shall be made by cashier’s check or other non-cancelable instrument. Personal checks will not be accepted. A Vendor’s payment shall be submitted as follows:

    Central Florida Expressway Authority
    Attention: Procurement Department – Unsolicited Proposals – Third Party Apps
    4974 ORL Tower Road
    Orlando, FL 32807

    Unsolicited Proposal – Third Party Apps processing fee shall be received by CFX no later than five (5) business days of a Vendor’s BOR submission or CFX may exercise the right to reject the BOR.

2. Unsolicited Proposals – General or Other
The Unsolicited Proposals – General or Other involve unique ideas, concepts, methods or approaches that can help CFX accomplish its Mission.

CFX reserves the right to charge an initial processing fee, which will be due at the time of submission of any unsolicited proposal. In addition to the initial process fee, CFX reserves the right to charge the proposer an additional fee to cover the costs of processing, reviewing, and evaluating any unsolicited proposal, including a fee to cover the costs of attorneys, engineers, consultants, and financial advisors incurred by CFX. The fees charged for the review and response to the proposal, will be established by the Director of Procurement and will not be greater than the direct costs associated with evaluating the unsolicited proposal. “Direct costs” may include but are not limited to: (i) the cost of staff time required to process, evaluate, review, and respond to the proposal, (ii) the costs of advertising the proposal, and (iii) the costs of attorneys, engineers, financial advisors and other consultants retained by CFX to assist them in the review and evaluation process. Failure on the part of the private entity to provide such additional fees within thirty (30) days of receipt of CFX’s written request may result in CFX stopping any further review or consideration of the Unsolicited Proposal until such time the fees are provided.

Any unsolicited proposal shall include sufficient detail and information for CFX to evaluate the proposal in an objective and timely manner and to determine if the proposal benefits CFX. If such proposal is not deemed by CFX to be complete or have sufficient detail, it may be rejected by the Director of Procurement. The proposer shall be informed in writing of the reason(s) for rejection. It is not the intent or obligation of CFX’s Procurement Department to assist the proposer in completing the proposal and CFX’s Procurement Department shall bear no responsibility to itemize or advise the proposer of the incomplete items or terms of the proposal.

Any unsolicited proposal shall contain at a minimum the following items, as appropriate to the proposed project:

  1. A concise title and abstract of the proposed effort that contains the following information:
    • Objectives of the project.
    • Method of approach of the project.
    • The nature and extent the anticipated results.
    • The way the work will help to support the accomplishment of CFX’s Vision and Mission.
  2. The proposed schedule for development of the project and/or the proposed term for operation of the project, along with an estimate of the life cycle cost of the proposed project.
  3. A statement setting forth a method to secure any property interests required for the proposed project.
  4. A statement setting forth the plans for developing, financing, constructing and/or operating and maintaining the project.
  5. Names and addresses of persons who may be contacted for further information concerning the request.
  6. Information on how the project would benefit CFX.
  7. Performance guarantees, if any, and any proposed bonding to be provided by the proposer.
  8. The names of owners, directors, and officers of the proposer, and such information as may be necessary to evaluate the qualifications of the critical personnel to be engaged in the project.
  9. Names and resumes on the key personnel or firms who would be involved, including alternates.
  10. A listing of all proposed obligations and requirements of CFX and any other governmental agencies, including, but not limited to, contributions to the project financing, staffing and permitting.
  11. Such additional material and information that a public entity may reasonably expect, in order to review and evaluate such proposal.
  12. Brief description of the organization, previous experience, and relevant past performance of similar projects.
  13. The names, telephone numbers, and/or email addresses of CFX staff who may have been previously contacted regarding the project.
  14. Proposer’s name and contact information, with the signature of the person authorized to represent and contractually obligate the entity.

A. Evaluation

The Procurement Department is responsible for the coordination of all unsolicited proposals.

  1. Upon receipt of an unsolicited proposal and payment of any required fees by the proposer, the Director of Procurement shall note the date and time of receipt of such proposal.
  2. Director of Procurement will determine within ninety (90) days whether to accept the unsolicited proposal. Alternatively, the Director of Procurement shall reserve the right to reject the proposal within such ninety (90) days. The initial review time may be extended by CFX, as needed, when in the best interest of CFX.
  3. In determining whether to accept the unsolicited proposal, CFX shall take into consideration such factors as:
    • Whether the proposed project is in CFX’s best interest;
    • The costs of the proposed project and its funding sources;
    • Whether the proposed project may be accomplished using CFX’s resources; and the need for the proposed project;
    • The contribution of the proposal to CFX’s goals and objectives;
    • The qualifications, technical and management capabilities and experience of the proposer.
    • The reputation and financial condition of the proposer and its team members
    • The financial viability and feasibility of the submitted’ proposal;
    • The cost, if any, to CFX to proceed with implementation of the proposal; and
    • Any other information CFX deems appropriate for such initial evaluation.
  4. CFX may seek the advice of internal staff or outside advisors, attorneys or consultants, or any combination thereof, with relevant experience in determining whether to accept the unsolicited proposal and/or whether to enter into an agreement with the private entity or any competing proposer. At its option, CFX may seek further clarification of the proposal.
  5. If the accepted unsolicited proposal proposer will not get paid by CFX then the Procurement Department does not need to publish a competitive solicitation statement.
  6. If the accepted unsolicited proposal proposer will get paid by CFX, then the Procurement Department shall publish a competitive solicitation statement that CFX has received a proposal and will accept other proposals for the same project. The timeframe within which other proposals may be accepted shall be determined on a project-by-project basis based on the complexity of the project and the public benefit to be gained by allowing a longer or shorter period of time within which other proposals may be received; however, the timeframe for allowing proposals must be at least twenty-one (21) days.
  7. Once CFX decides to receive competitive proposals, it shall utilize the Procurement Procedures for evaluating the proposals. The unsolicited proposal proposer shall respond to the competitive solicitation and offer to CFX a proposal with terms not less favorable to CFX than the original proposal.
  8. Proposal documents submitted by private entities are public records under Chapter 119, Florida Statutes (Florida’s Public Records Law), subject to any exemption otherwise provided by law. Any competing proposer may request and receive a copy of such proposal, and CFX reserves the right to publish such unsolicited proposal and solicit competing proposals within the Response Period. Proposers are advised to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Public Records Law and to seek legal advice regarding any proprietary or intellectual property rights which they may have in the proposal. In no event shall CFX be liable to a proposer for the disclosure of all or a portion of a proposal submitted under this subsection.
  9. When the private entity requests that CFX not disclose information that is exempt from the disclosure requirements of the Public Records Law, the private entity must (i) invoke the exemption when the data or materials are submitted to CFX or before such submission, (ii) identify the data and materials for which protection from disclosure is sought, and (iii) state· why the exclusion from disclosure is necessary, citing the specific exemption to Chapter 119, Florida Statutes, that the proposer believes applies. CFX’s determination as to confidentiality shall be final and binding upon the proposer. The proposer shall bear all attorneys’ fees and costs associated with litigation for public access to claimed confidential documents. CFX’s need to maintain certain information confidential may be taken into consideration in CFX’s decision not to publish a solicitation.
  10. CFX shall utilize CFX’s Procurement Procedures to evaluate, rank the proposals and award a contract.CFX may negotiate with the top-ranked proposers in the order of their ranking, and may through such negotiations, aim to arrive at a mutually satisfactory agreement.If only one proposal is received, CFX may negotiate in good faith with the one proposer and if not satisfied with results, may at its discretion terminate negotiations with the proposer.
  11. No proposer is guaranteed the award of a contract as a result of being favorably ranked for this project. The issuance of an unsolicited proposal shall create no rights in the proposer including rights as a bidder, under contract or intellectual property: CFX, in its discretion, reserves the right to reject all proposals at any point in the process prior to the full execution of a contract with a proposer.
  12. The bid protest process provided for in CFX’s Policy for Resolution of Protests shall not apply to any decision to reject an unsolicited proposal but shall apply to any decision to recommend a contract award rejection, unless such protest is waived. The Cone of Silence shall be imposed only following the publication of the competitive solicitation.
  13. The intent of this section is to be supplementary to the provisions relating to unsolicited proposals under Florida law.
    • All contracts for Contractual Services, Design Professional Services, and Professional Services shall contain a provision in substantially the following form:“If, during the term of this Contract and any renewals hereof, Contractor/Consultant desires to subcontract any portion(s) of the work to a subcontractor/subconsultant that was not disclosed by the Contractor/Consultant to CFX at the time this Contract was originally awarded, and such subcontract would, standing alone or aggregated with prior subcontracts awarded to the proposed subcontractor/subconsultant,  equal  or  exceed  twenty  five thousand dollars ($25,000.00), Contractor/Consultant shall first submit a request to the Director of Procurement for authorization to enter into such subcontract. Except in the case of an emergency, as determined by the Executive Director or his/her designee, no such subcontract shall be executed by the Contractor/Consultant until it has been approved by the CFX Board. In the event of a designated emergency, the Contractor/Consultant may enter into such a subcontract with the prior written approval of the Executive Director or his/her designee, but such subcontract shall contain a provision that provides that it shall be automatically terminated if not approved by the CFX Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.”Requests to subcontract services shall be made by the contractor/consultant using the Request for Authorization to Sublet Services form. (Exhibit A-31)
    • Although not technically a procurement process, a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is an invitation to firms to submit their qualifications to provide specific goods or services to CFX. An RFQ may or may not result in a Request for Proposal or an Invitation to Bid from firms who meet the qualification requirements and does not create any right in or expectation to a contract with CFX. However, if an RFP or an ITB is the ultimate goal of the RFQ, the process for selecting a contractor to provide the required goods or services includes review of information provided by interested contractors in response to the RFQ. Contractors will be shortlisted based on evaluation and scoring of the contractor’s demonstrated technical capabilities by an Evaluation Committee, and/or “pass/fail” criteria specific to the goods or services being procured. A contractor must receive a minimum average score established by the Committee for technical capabilities and “pass” all criteria in order to be shortlisted. Only shortlisted contractors will proceed to the next step in the process which would include preparation and submittal of a sealed bid or a technical proposal. If the shortlisting is based exclusively on “pass/fail” criteria, a review by the Committee will not be required and the “pass/fail” determination can be made by the requesting department in consultation with the Director of Procurement.
    • The technical capability and “pass/fail” criteria for the RFP or ITB will be established on a project by project basis by the requesting department with assistance for the Procurement In general, technical capability criteria will include consideration and review of a contractor’s understanding and approach to providing the required goods or services, ability of its staff, its organization and management, its prior experience with providing the required goods or services, and its quality control and safety programs. An interview with the Committee may also be part of the qualification process. The “pass/fail” criteria should include items that can be objectively evaluated such as copies of specific certifications or prequalification documents from a governmental agency or nationally recognized organization, verification that CFX bonding requirements can be met, and verification that insurance coverage can be provided that meets CFX requirements. A contractor would “pass” if the specified documents satisfied the submittal requirements in all aspects.

B. Submittal Process

  1. Submit the completed document electronically via email to: unsolicited.proposal@cfxway.com.
  2. Contact CFX’s Procurement Department at unsolicited.proposal@cfxway.com to determine the amount of the non-refundable processing fee payable to CFX for Unsolicited Proposals – General or Other. Payment shall be made by cashier’s check or other non-cancelable instrument. Personal checks will not be accepted. A Vendor’s payment shall be submitted as follows:

    Central Florida Expressway Authority
    Attention: Procurement Department – Unsolicited Proposals – General or Other
    4974 ORL Tower Road
    Orlando, FL 32807

    Unsolicited Proposals – General or Other processing fee shall be received by CFX no later than 10 business days of CFX providing the Vendor the amount of the non-refundable processing fee, or CFX may exercise the right to reject the submittal.

Frequently Asked Questions

The fee that accompanies an unsolicited proposal shall be used to cover CFX’s costs to evaluate the opportunity. The fee is non-refundable. In addition to the initial fee, CFX reserves the right to charge the proposer an additional fee to cover extended time and effort for the evaluation for the proposal.

The level of effort involved with evaluating the two types of unsolicited proposals may vary widely based on the complexity of the opportunities proposed.

The evaluation of an unsolicited proposal is a multi-stage process:

    • Response Validation – CFX’s Procurement Department shall verify that a Vendor has submitted the determined fee amount for an unsolicited proposal. Upon receipt of an unsolicited proposal, CFX will note the date and time of receipt.
    • Resources Review – CFX will conduct an initial assessment of internal technical and operational resources necessary to implement and maintain a Vendor’s unsolicited proposal.
    • Response Review – CFX’s Evaluation Team members shall review and independently score the Vendor’s submittal.
    • Score Verifications – CFX’s Procurement Department shall verify the score calculations from each of the CFX Evaluation Team members.
    • Executive Leadership Review – CFX’s leadership team shall assess the response reviews from the evaluation team and determine whether to move forward into contract negotiations with a Vendor.
    • Public Meetings – Meetings involving the review of unsolicited proposals involving CFX’s Evaluation Team and/or Executive Leadership fall under the Sunshine Law, Section 286.011, Florida Statutes, and require posting of appropriate notices.

The Director of Procurement will determine within ninety (90) days whether to accept the unsolicited proposal. Alternatively, the Director of Procurement shall reserve the right to reject the proposal within such ninety (90) days. The initial review time may be extended by CFX, as needed, when in the best interest of CFX.

Unsolicited Proposals – General or Other will follow the evaluation steps outlined in section “A. Evaluation” of this document.

If the accepted unsolicited proposal proposer will not get paid by CFX then the Procurement Department does not need to publish a competitive solicitation statement.

If the accepted unsolicited proposal proposer will get paid by CFX, then the Procurement Department shall publish a competitive solicitation statement that CFX has received a proposal and will accept other proposals for the same project. The timeframe within which other proposals may be accepted shall be determined on a project-by-project basis based on the complexity of the project and the public benefit to be gained by allowing a longer or shorter period of time within which other proposals may be received; however, the timeframe for allowing proposals must be at least twenty-one (21) days.

Responses shall be assessed on a first-received, first-reviewed basis.

This depends on the situation. CFX’s current procurement policy and process follows that if a solicitation is competitively bid, CFX posts a “notice of award.” If an unsolicited proposal is not competitively bid, CFX’s current procurement policy and process follows that no “notice of award” is posted.

CFX abides by Ch. 119.071(1)(b)2 that states, “sealed bids, proposals, or replies received by an agency pursuant to a competitive solicitation are exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), Art. I of the State Constitution until such time as the agency provides notice of an intended decision or until 30 days after opening the bids, proposals, or final replies, whichever is earlier.”

Vendors shall clearly mark each section of the unsolicited proposal response that contains trade secrets or any confidential, commercial, financial or other information the Vendor believes should not be disclosed outside of CFX.

CFX E-Procurement

Registration

Solicitations

Procurement

Phone: 407-690-5000
Fax: 407-690-5032
Email: Procurement@CFXway.com

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