Table of Contents
Bid Timetable [2]
1.0 General Bid Information [2]
2.0 Proposal Requirements [5]
**
3.0 Criteria for Selection [5]
4.0 Specifications and Work Statement [6]
Appendix A: Bidder Response Sheet [7]
Appendix B: Evaluative Questionnaire [8]
Appendix C: Price Submittal [9]
Appendix D: Other [9]
Appendix E: Other [9]
Bid Timetable
The ABA will make every effort to adhere to the following schedule:
Activity
Responsibility
Date
RFP submitted for posting on the ABA website and distributed via e-mail to selected bidders.
ABA
05/04/2021
Deadline for unsolicited bidders who located this RFP on the ABA website to submit clarifying questions.
Unsolicited Bidders
05/10/2021
Deadline to submit clarifying questions via e-mail to Rebecca Contreras (rebecca.contreras@americanbar.org)
Bidders
05/10/2021
Deadline to answer clarifying questions
ABA
05/12/2021
Proposals must be submitted electronically to Rebecca Contreras (rebecca.contreras@americanbar.org)by 11:59 p.m. ET May 21,2021.
Bidders
05/21/2021 11:59 ET
Review is completed and finalists are notified
ABA
05/28/201
1.0 General Information
1.1 Purpose. The American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative Mexico (ABA ROLI) is a non-profit program, under the ABA’s Fund for Justice and Education, that implements legal reform programs in roughly 43 countries around the world. ABA ROLI has nearly 350 professional staff working abroad and, in its Washington, D.C. office. With a mission of promoting justice, economic opportunity, and human dignity through the rule of law, ABA ROLI has unique needs.
This request for proposal (RFP) is to find a provider to coordinate and online course in oral litigation studies and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
1.2 Issuing Department. The Rule of Law Initiative has issued this RFP on behalf of the American Bar Association. The sole point of contact in the ABA for this RFP shall be:
Rebecca Contreras
1050 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 450 | Washington, DC 20036
Rebecca.contreras@americanbar.org
Please refer all inquiries to Rebecca Contreras
1.3 Problem Statement or Type of Goods Required.
The university or institute will conduct a diploma/short course in August 2021 on oral litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) under the framework of a comparative law perspective of adversarial criminal systems for 24 people, for a total of 40 teaching hours. Responsibilities include design of an online course with theoretical and practical training activities to be distributed in a minimum of one week and a maximum of two weeks. Design practical activities related to mediation, conciliation and restorative board issues for he ADR Component.
1.4 Type of Contract. The contract needs to comply with the ABA Contract Policy and will be reviewed by the ABA’s General Counsel’s Office. ABA entities do not have separate legal standing to enter into oral or written contracts in their own names. All contracts are entered into on behalf of the American Bar Association. ABA ROLI, in its sole discretion, may undertake negotiations with Bidders whose proposal, in its’ judgment, show them to be qualified, responsible and capable of performing the project or providing the goods. ABA ROLI has the right to select the number of final bidders and the right to use one or more companies to meet its requirements. Only staff authorized by the ABA Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer has authority to execute contractual agreements on behalf of the ABA. **
1.5 Rejection of Proposals. The American Bar Association reserves the right, in their sole and complete discretion, to reject any proposal received because of this RFP. ABA reserves the right to reject all offers, to waive technicalities, and to pursue procurement in a manner that is in the best interests of the organization.
1.6 Incurring Costs. The ABA is not liable for any costs the Bidder incurs in preparation and submission of its proposal, in participating in the RFP process or in anticipation of the award of the contract.
1.7 Pre-proposal Conference. There will be no pre-proposal conference.
1.8 Questions & Answers. If a Bidder has any questions regarding this RFP, the Bidder must submit the questions by email to the issuing employee named in Section 1.2 of the RFP. Questions should be submitted no later than the date indicated on the Bid Timetable. The Bidder shall not attempt to contact the issuing employee by any other means.
1.9 Response Date. To be considered for selection, electronic submissions must arrive to the issuing employee on the date specified in the RFP Bid Timetable. Bidders who send proposals by mail or other delivery service should allow sufficient delivery time to ensure timely receipt of their proposals.
1.10 Proposals. To be considered, Bidders should submit a complete electronic response to this RFP, using the format provided in Section 2.0. In addition to any paper copies of the proposal, Bidders must submit one complete and exact electronic copy of the proposal via e-mail. The Bidder shall make no other distribution of its proposal to any other Bidder or ABA employee or ABA consultant. An official authorized to bind the Bidder to its provisions must sign the proposal in Appendix A. For this RFP, the proposal must remain valid for 120 days taking into consideration time required for evaluation of proposals and processing of the contract or until a contract is fully executed. If the Issuing employee selects the Bidder’s proposal for award, the contents of the selected Bidder’s proposal will become, except to the extent the contents are changed through Best and Final Offers or negotiations, contractual obligations.
1.11 Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Information: The ABA encourages participation by minority, women, and small disadvantaged and disabled veteran businesses as prime contractors, joint ventures, and subcontractors/suppliers. MWBE Businesses are businesses that are owned or controlled by a Minority and Women owned business that have a 51% ownership. The Bidder must provide documentation from a certifying agency, state and federal certification that they are a certified minority or women owned business.
1.12 Discussions for Clarification. Bidders may be required to make an oral or written clarification of their proposals to the issuing employee to ensure thorough mutual understanding and Bidder responsiveness to the solicitation requirements. The issuing employee will initiate requests for clarification.
1.13 Prime Contractor Responsibilities. The contract will require the selected Bidder to assume responsibility for all services offered in its proposal whether it produces them itself or by subcontract. The issuing employee will consider the selected Bidder to be the sole point of contact with regard to contractual matters.
1.14 Proposal Contents. Bidders should not label proposal submissions as confidential or proprietary. The issuing employee will hold all proposals in confidence and will not reveal or discuss any proposal with competitors for the contract, unless disclosure is required:**
a. Under the provisions of any State or United States statute or regulation; or
b. By rule or order of any court of competent jurisdiction.
All material submitted with the proposal becomes the property of the ABA and may be returned only at the issuing employee’s option. The issuing employee, in its sole discretion, may include any person other than competing Bidders on its proposal evaluation committee. The issuing employee has the right to use any or all ideas presented in any proposal regardless of whether the proposal becomes part of a contract.
1.15 Best and Final Offers. The issuing employee reserves the right to conduct discussions with Bidders for obtaining “best and final offers.” To obtain best and final offers from Bidders, the issuing department may do one or more of the following: enter into pre-selection negotiations, including schedule oral presentations and request revised proposals.
1.16 Term of Contract. The term of the contract will be for a three year period. The final contract will contain language extending the agreement by one year with mutual agreement of the parties. The issuing employee will fix the effective date after the contract has been fully executed by the selected Bidder and by the ABA. The selected Bidder shall not start the performance of any work prior to the effective date of the executed contract and the ABA shall not be liable to pay the selected Bidder for any service or work performed or expenses incurred before the effective date of the contract.
The contract is not considered approved until the terms have been reviewed and approved by the Office of General Counsel. An “American Bar Association Office of General Counsel” approval seal will appear on the contract with the signature of the attorney approving the terms of the contract.
1.17 Use of Electronic Versions of this RFP. This RFP is being made available by electronic means. If a Bidder electronically accepts the RFP, the Bidder acknowledges and accepts full responsibility to insure that no changes are made to the RFP.
2.0 Proposal Requirements
Bidders must submit their proposals in the format outlined below in Appendixes A - C. To be considered, the proposal must respond to every requirement in this part of the RFP. Bidders should provide any extraneous information only as a separate attachment to their proposal. Please keep proposal between 3 and 6 pages.
2.1 Statement of the Problem or Goods Required. Briefly state your understanding of the problem presented, services required by this RFP and any unique capabilities that your company has to deliver these services
2.2 Proposed Solution and Approach. Describe your solution in detail for accomplishing the work as specified in Section 4.0 of this document.
2.3 Evaluative Questionnaire (See Appendix B). Bidders must fully answer all questions listed in Appendix B.
2.4 Price Submittal (See Appendix C).** Bidders must not include any assumptions in their price submittals. If the Bidder includes assumptions in its price submittal, the Issuing employee may reject the proposal. All direct pricing information must be submitted in C.
For the online course:
a. Include the cost per work day and hourly rate to design and conduct the online course (including any and all costs for external consultants)
b. Include any administrative/additional fees not included in the cost per work day and hourly rate above
c. Include payment terms outside of the ABA’s standard payments of 45 days after receipt of invoice
d. General Overhead Expenses should be covered in this quote. However, if there are other costs incurred in support of the activities described in the RFP, please detail these in Appendix C.
e. Include any and all additional costs that may be applied.
3.0 Criteria for Selection
3.1 Mandatory Responsiveness Requirements. To be eligible for selection, a proposal must:
a. Be received according to dates set in the Bid Timetable;
b. Be properly signed by a representative of the Bidder who is eligible to bind them in contract with the ABA;
c. Be in accordance with all instructions as set forth in Sections 1 and 2.
3.2 Technical Nonconforming Proposals. The Issuing employee reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive technical or immaterial nonconformities in a Bidder’s proposal.
3.3 Evaluative Questionnaire, See Appendix B.
The Evaluative questionnaire consists of nine questions – bidders should complete all questions.
**
3.4 Criteria for Selection. The following criteria will be used, in no particular order, in evaluating each proposal: **
a. Bidder qualifications;
b. Expertise in oral litigation and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms;
c. Experience organizing courses for foreign law students;
d. Overall costs to the American Bar Association;
e. Ability to coordinate online activities;
4.0 Specifications and Work Statement
4.1 Objectives.
Design and conduct a diploma/short course on oral litigation and alternative dispute resolution under the framework of a comparative law perspective of adversarial criminal systems. Outcomes include developing enhances technical skills to operate in the adversarial system and strengthen theoretical and practical knowledge about the adversarial criminal justice system based on orality and understand the differences in the use of this system in other countries.
4.2 Nature and Scope of the Work needed by the ABA. The ABA requests bidders to describe their process for designing and conducting a short term diploma/course focused on a comparative legal perspective.**
4.3 Requirements. As described in Section 3.4 Criteria for Selection, the Association is focused on the following characteristics of the successful Bidder: Below are example characteristics. (remove before advertising).
- Proven expertise in oral litigation and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.
- Competitive pricing
- Experience organizing courses for foreign law students
- Experience coordinating online activities
- Experience designing educational content about the U.S. justice system oriented towards foreign law students
- Experience working with students from diverse cultural backgrounds or persons with disabilities.
- Ability to provide materials and/or interpretation in Spanish
4.4 Reports and Project Control. The ABA seeks bidders with a demonstrated ability to maintain timelines and regular contact with the Mexico team at ABA ROLI who handles the online course/diploma.
Thank you for your interest in working with the American Bar Association.
Appendix A – Bidder Response Sheet
Bidder Information:
Bidder Name
Bidder Mailing Address
Bidder Website
Bidder Contact Person
Contact Person’s Phone Number
Contact Person’s Email Address
Bidder Federal ID Number If DBA in the U.S.
Signature
Signature of an official authorized to bind the Bidder to the provisions contained in the Bidder’s proposal:
Printed Name
Title
Failure to complete, sign, and return this form with the bidder’s proposal may result in the rejection of the bidder’s proposal.
Appendix B – Evaluative Questionnaire
Statement of the Problem or Goods Required. Briefly state your understanding of the problem presented, services required by this RFP and any unique capabilities that your company has to deliver these services.
Proposed Solution and Approach. Describe your solution in detail for accomplishing the work as specified in Section 4.0 of this document.
Please respond to each question below. Below are example questions. Pose questions related to your selection criteria and use that on the Open Competition Form (remove before advertising).*
What experience do you have designing and implementing online courses?
What expertise does your institution have in oral litigation and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms?
What experience/expertise do you have working with legal topics as they pertain to Latin America?
What experience do you have designing practical activities related to criminal investigation topics?
What experience do you have designing practical activities related to Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanisms?
Are you able to design and coordinate activities for an online course that can be used by people with disabilities or belonging to vulnerable groups?
What experience do you have in providing interpretation services during online course activities?
What experience do you have in organizing courses for foreign law students?
What experience do you have in working or collaborating with programs focused on strengthening the rule of law in Mexico and Peru or the Latin American and Caribbean region?
Appendix C – Price Submittal
Include all costs related to an online course in oral litigation studies and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Please refer to the full list as shown in section 2.4 of this RFP.
How to apply:
Proposals must be submitted electronically to Rebecca Contreras (rebecca.contreras@americanbar.org)by 11:59 p.m. ET May 21,2021.