Mississippi Administrative Code › Title 12 - Finance and Administration › Part 9 - Office of Personal Service Contract Review Rules and Regulations › Chapter 3 - SOURCE SELECTION AND CONTRACT FORMATION › Sec2 12-9-3-101 - CONTRACTING PROCEDURES › Section 12-9-3-101.01 - Definition of Terms Used in this Chapter

Current through June 25, 2024
(a)
Applicant
means the person, vendor or contractor submitting an
				  application in response to a Request for Applications (hereinafter referred to
				  as "RFA").
(b) Award is the
				  acceptance by an agency of a bid or proposal submitted by a vendor with the
				  intention of entering into a contract for services.
(c)
Best and Final Offer
shall
				  mean a vendor's response to a contracting agency's request that vendors submit
				  their last and most attractive price and terms.
(d)
Bid
shall be defined as an
				  offer submitted by a prospective contractor in response to an Invitation for
				  Bids.
(e)
Bidder
means the person, vendor or contractor submitting a bid response to an
				  Invitation for Bids (hereinafter referred to as "IFB").
(f)
Capability
as used in
				  Section 3-101.01(bb) (Definitions, Responsible Bidder or Offeror), means
				  capability at the time of award of the contract.
(g)
Competitive Bidding
includes
				  Invitations for Bids.
(h)
Competitive Sealed Applications
is the alternative competitive
				  method of procurement for contract worker contracts. It is the process of
				  setting the price and minimum specifications, then inviting and obtaining
				  applications from competing sources in response to the advertised competitive
				  specifications, through the issuance of a Request for Applications (RFA), by
				  which an award is made to the lowest and most qualified applicant meeting the
				  specifications and may include interviews with applicants.
(i)
Competitive Sealed Bidding
is the process of inviting and obtaining bids from competing sources in
				  response to advertised competitive specifications, through the issuance of an
				  Invitation for Bids (IFB), by which an award is made to the lowest and best
				  bidder meeting the specifications and does not include discussions or
				  negotiations with bidders.
(j)
Competitive Sealed Proposals
is the process of requesting and
				  obtaining proposals from competing sources in response to advertised
				  competitive specifications, through the issuance of a Request for Proposals
				  (RFP), by which an award is made to the offeror who receives the highest score
				  based on weighted evaluation criteria outlined in the RFP and includes
				  discussions and negotiations with offerors.
(k)
Competitive Sealed
				  Qualifications
is the process of requesting and obtaining Qualifications
				  from competing sources in response to advertised competitive specifications,
				  through the issuance of a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), by which an award
				  is made to the offeror who receives the highest score based on weighted
				  evaluation criteria outlined in the RFQ and includes discussions with offerors.
(l)
Contract Worker,
for purposes of these regulations, is a worker under contract with the State
				  who meets the requirements for a contract worker under the Internal Revenue
				  Code (See Appendix B) and is compliant with the applicable rules and
				  regulations as stated herein.
(m)Cost
Analysis
is the
				  evaluation of cost data for the purpose of arriving at costs actually incurred
				  or estimates of costs to be incurred, prices to be paid, and costs to be
				  reimbursed.
(n)
Cost
				  Data
is information concerning the actual or estimated cost of labor,
				  material, overhead, and other cost elements which have been actually incurred
				  or which are expected to be incurred by the contractor in performing the
				  contract.
(o)
Cost-Reimbursement Contract
means a contract under which a
				  contractor is reimbursed for costs which are allowable and allocable in
				  accordance with contract terms and the provisions of these regulations, and may
				  receive a fee.
(p)
Discussions,
as used in the source selection process, means an
				  exchange of information or other manner of negotiation during which the offeror
				  and an agency may alter or otherwise change the conditions, terms, and price of
				  the proposed contract. Discussions may be conducted in connection with
				  competitive sealed proposals, competitive sealed qualifications, sole-source,
				  and emergency procurements; discussions are not permissible in competitive
				  sealed bidding.
(q)
Fixed
				  Price Contract
means a contract providing for a firm price, or a price
				  that may be adjusted only in accordance with contract clauses providing for
				  revision of the contract price under stated circumstances.
(r)
Invitation for Bids
means
				  all documents, whether attached or incorporated by reference, utilized for
				  soliciting competitive sealed bids.
(s)
Net-of-Fee Contract
means a
				  contract in which there is no expenditure of state funds from any funding
				  source (state, federal or other).
(t)
Offeror
means the person,
				  vendor or contractor submitting a response to a Request for Proposals
				  (hereinafter referred to as "RFP") or Request for Qualifications (hereinafter
				  referred to as "RFQ").
(u)
Prequalification for Inclusion on Bidders Lists
means determining
				  in accordance with Section 3-402 (Prequalification of Prospective Contractors)
				  that a prospective bidder or offeror satisfies the criteria established for
				  being included on the bidders list.
(v)
Price Analysis
is the
				  evaluation of price data, without analysis of the separate cost components and
				  profit as in cost analysis, which may assist in arriving at prices to be paid
				  and costs to be reimbursed.
(w)
Price Data
is factual information concerning prices, including
				  profit, for supplies services, or construction substantially similar to those
				  being procured. In this definition, "prices" refer to offered or proposed
				  selling prices, historical selling prices, and current selling prices of such
				  items. This definition refers to data relevant to both prime and subcontract
				  prices.
(x)
Proposal
is the document submitted by the offeror in response to a Request for Proposals
				  to be used as the basis for negotiations for entering into a contract. A
				  proposal is usually requested in cases where the selection of a contractor is
				  to be made on the basis of the performance that is offered rather than on that
				  of price alone and may require an outline of details such as the vendor's
				  qualifications and experience and the identification of problems and proposed
				  solutions in addition to details of price.
(y)
Purchase Description
means
				  the words used in a solicitation to describe the services to be purchased and
				  includes the statement of work or deliverables attached to, or made a part of,
				  the solicitation.
(z)
Request for Proposals
means all documents, whether attached or
				  incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting competitive proposals from
				  potential vendors. A Request for Proposals should contain all evaluation
				  criteria, including price and the weight for scoring each of the criteria. It
				  should outline the intended procurement process and include all information
				  required herein.
(aa)
Request for Qualifications
means all documents, whether attached
				  or incorporated by reference, utilized for soliciting Qualifications from
				  potential vendors. A Request for Qualifications should contain all evaluation
				  criteria and the weight for scoring each of the criteria. It should outline the
				  intended procurement process and include all information required herein.
(bb)
Responsible Bidder or
				  Offeror
means a person who has the capability in all respects to perform
				  fully the contract requirements and the integrity and reliability which will
				  assure good faith performance.
(cc)
Responsive Bidder or
				  Offeror
means a person who has submitted a bid, proposal, or
				  qualifications response which conforms in all material respects to the
				  Invitation for Bids, Request for Proposals, or Request for Qualifications.
(dd)
Solicitation
means an Invitation for Bids, a Request for Proposals, a Request for
				  Qualifications, a request for quotations, or any other document issued by the
				  State for the purpose of soliciting bids, proposals, or qualifications relative
				  to performing a state contract.
(ee)
Qualifications Response
is
				  the document submitted by the offeror to a Request for Qualifications to be
				  used as the basis for a determination that the offeror is qualified or has
				  specialized expertise to perform the scope of work or services required by the
				  agency.