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Madison Metropolitan School District

Understanding Madison Metropolitan School District’s Procurement Process

This document is intended to provide vendors with a better understanding of Madison Metropolitan School District’s overall formal procurement process. It is informational and does not replicate current operating policies and procedures.

For more information, feel free to contact:

Madison Metropolitan School District
Administrative Services (Purchasing Services)
4711 Pflaum Road
Madison, WI 53718

Telephone: (608) 663-5931

The Board of Education intends that the procurement take place in a manner that maximizes the use of public funds. With that in mind, Madison Metropolitan School District (“MMSD” or “District”) procurement practices strive to be open, ethical and sound. Qualified vendors are encouraged to compete for the District’s business through a fair and consistent process. The District carries out procurement responsibilities in accordance with MMSD Policies and Procedures (6242 and 6244) which can be found on the District’s website for review.

MMSD strives to take advantage of Board-authorized cooperative agreements/contracts when available or will utilize one of three procurement tools:

  1. The Request for Proposal (RFP) process is a formal process that is typically used for upper threshold purchasing. Typically, the District is seeking a solution as described within the Request for Proposal, rather than a bid meeting firm specifications. Compliance with MMSD’s AA/EEO plan is a mandatory part of this process prior to making a recommendation to the Board of Education for approval.
  2. The Request for Bid (RFB) process is a less formal process typically used for middle and upper level threshold purchasing in which the outcome is based solely on a specific product/service, conditions and bid pricing. This process also includes AA/EEO compliance documentation for a recommendation to the Board of Education for approval.
  3. The Request for Quotation (RFQ) process is the least formal process and is typically used for lower threshold purchasing, with the outcome based solely on specific product/service, conditions and amount of the price quotation.

The Madison Metropolitan School District publishes all Request for Proposal and Request for Bid opportunities on the District’s website at the following location:

http://oldweb.madison.k12.wi.us/doingbusiness/rfps.cgi

In addition, the District publishes nearly all Requests for Proposals and Bids on the State of Wisconsin Bureau of Procurement VendorNet System at the following location:

http://vendornet.state.wi.us/vendornet/default.asp

We recommend that vendors frequent our website for opportunities and/or register with the State of Wisconsin Bureau of Procurement VendorNet System to receive notification of future opportunities that are published.

The Request for Proposal, Bid and Quotation documentation provides the necessary instructions and description(s) of the requirements, specifications, and terms and conditions to enable vendors to prepare and submit a proposal, bid or quote. Responding vendors are responsible for carefully reading the documentation and understanding the contents. Vendors who have responded to past opportunities should not assume there have been no changes.

Proposals should be submitted as indicated in the Request for Proposal document and should include the following:

  1. Cover Page (Sign and complete specific Request for Proposal cover page)
  2. Vendor/Proposer Qualifications (typically section 4 within the specific Request for Proposal)
  3. Response to Requirements (typically section 5 within the specific Request for Proposal)
  4. Cost Proposal (typically section 6 within the specific Request for Proposal)
  5. Required Forms (typically section 9 within the specific Request for Proposal)

We understand that questions may arise. We encourage questions and provide an opportunity for interested vendors to submit questions or inquiries during the Request for Proposal timeline. Responses will be made to any questions submitted by the established deadline, and responses will be publicized such that all vendors will be able to read every question submitted and its response, regardless of who posed the question. Along with the deadline to submit questions, there are likely other important dates and deadlines vendors should monitor, including the date and time proposals are to be received (by us). We recommend that you work backward from the deadline to schedule sufficient time to prepare the necessary materials for submission. We also recommend that you schedule adequate time for additional reviews and contributions from key players.

Packaging is crucial to how a proposal is received and viewed. Document layout should be clean and legible, and in the basic provided. Please use the numbering system that is provided and ensure that all required forms have been submitted.

We require an original proposal (identified as such), hard copies, and an electronic copy on a CD, memory stick, or other media. Carefully review how many copies are required, as the number may vary from one request to another. In addition, the cost proposal and one copy must be submitted in a separate sealed envelope that is marked accordingly, but can be packaged with the overall proposal.

Ensure that submission is packaged, sealed and delivered on time. To maintain the integrity of the process, you must include the following information on the outside of the package.

  1. Proposer’s name and address
  2. Request for proposal number
  3. Proposal due date

Proposals/bids must be submitted in the manner indicated and must be time/date stamped as received by Administrative Services on or before the specified date and time provided. At proposal/bid opening, only the names of responding vendors will be provided. No further information will be available until a decision is made and final action is taken (including Board of Education approval when applicable).