1. (a) Notice. When the department elects to use competitive sealed proposals to procure scientific services, notice will be given as follows.

   1. (1) Electronic and newspaper notice. Not less than 10 days before the letter of interest due date, the department will post a notice on an electronic bulletin board and publish a notice in selected newspapers. The notice will contain the:

      1. (A) proposed contract or RFP number;
      2. (B) type of selection in accordance with §9.87(a) of this title (relating to Selection Types);
      3. (C) general description of the project and work to be done;
      4. (D) due date for providers to send letters of interest to the department;
      5. (E) contact person; and
      6. (F) location of the electronic bulletin board that contains more information.
   2. (2) Organizations. The department will publish a quarterly statewide list of projected contracts for scientific services and will provide upon request, or make available on the department's Web site, a copy of the list to community, business, and professional organizations for dissemination to their membership.

2. (b) Letter of interest.

   1. (1) The technical expert shall send a letter of interest to the department notifying the department of the provider's interest in the contract. This letter of interest must be received by the department no later than the deadline published in the notice.
   2. (2) The department will accept a letter of interest by electronic facsimile.

3. (c) Requests for proposals. The department will send each technical expert submitting a letter of interest a copy of the RFP packet. The RFP packet will include:

   1. (1) the requirements for a responsive proposal including:

      1. (A) date, time, and location for submittal of the proposal;
      2. (B) an outline of the required proposal format and content; and
      3. (C) mandatory provider qualifications.
   2. (2) scope of services to be provided by the department;
   3. (3) scope of services to be provided by the technical expert;
   4. (4) proposed contract duration;
   5. (5) proposed method of payment;
   6. (6) any constraints directly relating to the performance of the contract, if applicable;
   7. (7) description of the evaluation criteria including numerical weighting values of evaluation criteria and minimum and preferred qualifications;
   8. (8) a copy of the evaluation matrices;
   9. (9) type of contract selection;
   10. (10) a copy of the proposed contract, with all attachments; and
   11. (11) any special contract requirements.
4. (d) Proposal meeting. The meeting may be either mandatory or optional at the discretion of the department. If the meeting is mandatory, the department will only accept proposals from technical experts represented at the meeting. Every technical expert submitting a letter of interest will be notified of the date and time of the proposal meeting, if one is to be held. The proposal meeting provides an opportunity for the technical expert to seek clarification of questions concerning the contract.

Source Note:The provisions of this §9.83 adopted to be effective March 21, 1999, 24 TexReg 1829.