Submitting Proposals for CARES Requests for Proposals (RFPs) - YouTube

Hello and welcome. Over the next couple  of minutes, I will guide you through  

downloading an RFP or request for proposal  document and then uploading your response  

for opportunities specifically  funded by CARES Act resources  

to help Long Beach either respond to or address  the impact of COVID-19 on its community.

When the city has a need for a product or service,  

we post a request document on Planet Bids, the  city's online procurement management system.  

This document is like an advertisement for  something the city wants to purchase and provides  

anyone eligible the opportunity  to apply by submitting a response.

These documents contain a lot of details which  will assist you in creating your proposal.  

There are several simple steps to follow once you  have found an opportunity you are interested in.

The first step is to download  the solicitation document  

from Planet Bids. You do this by  logging into your vendor account.

After logging in, click on the  opportunity you are interested in.

Then navigate to the  documents and attachments tab.

Click on the name again and  hit the download now button.  

You should also download the instructions for  entering electronic bits file that appears on  

the list. This contains the steps necessary to  submit your proposal. Please note, you must be  

registered on Planet Bids with the city of Long  Beach in order to download and submit a proposal.  

To access Planet Bids or for a how-to guide on  registering with Planet Bids, please see the city  

of Long Beach purchasing the vision webpage  by visiting the web address on your screen.

Step 2 is ensuring you read the document  thoroughly to understand the details of not only  

what the city wants and what the terms will be  but also what you should include in your response.  

RFPs, though similar in format, will vary from  opportunity to opportunity. If this is your first  

time responding to one, the document itself can  look a bit complicated. Though it is important  

to read the whole document in its entirety, there  are a few places you will want to look at first  

to ensure it is the right fit for  what your organization has to offer  

and to ensure you are willing and able  to abide by the contract terms. Section  

1 provides the overview of the project. This is  the general description of what the city wants.  

Section 3 provides the scope of work  or tells the story of what we need.  

It expands upon the overview of providing a  more detailed description of our expectations.  

It also provides eligibility information.  Sometimes there will be very specific details.  

If there are, those will be found in  Section 7, the project specifications.  

If you feel like your organization will be  a good fit after reading these sections,  

it will then be important to view the remaining  sections of the document which will include  

very important information such as additional  requirements for the funding source Section 12,  

the terms and conditions Section 13, and  contract language Attachment C. These will be  

legally binding if you are awarded a contract  with the city. So you will want to ensure  

you are not only familiar with them,  but willing and able to abide by them.

Once you have a clear understanding of what  the city is looking for and you have decided to  

respond, the next important part is knowing how to  respond which brings us to step 3, creating your  

proposal. Each response is evaluated according  to published criteria which is always provided  

in the document Section 4 submittal instructions,  Section 5 proposal evaluations, and award process.  

Section 9 company background and references  and Section 10 cost will include additional  

information and instructions for your  response for CARES Act specific submissions.  

The process has been streamlined and may look a  little different than you have seen in the past.  

If you have responded to a CD opportunity before  

there are two response forms to complete and  upload to help each organization quickly apply.

The first is the proposal response form found  in attachment A of the document. This form  

helps you provide the information about your  organization the city will use to evaluate it  

against evaluation criteria in Section 5. You  will type or handwrite your responses directly  

onto the form and upload and plan a bid. I'll  explain how to do that in the next section.  

Be sure to limit your response to  each question to 500 words or less.

The other is the proposal cost form found  in attachment B. When completing this form,  

reference Section 10 for more  information about what to complete here.

There are additional attachments  you are required to submit  

including a W-9 form, California secretary  of state registration for your organization,  

and equal benefits or enhance disclosure and  compliance. You may or may not need to include  

financial stability documentation. The specific  request document will indicate what is required.  

Once you have completed all parts and gathered  any required supporting documentation,  

you are ready to upload your response to Planet  Bids. To do this simply follow the instructions  

for entering electronic proposals that you  downloaded from Planet Bids earlier in step one  

in order to ensure successful submission of  your proposal. Please be sure to follow these  

steps. First go to the Planet Bids portal on  the vendor portal page. Log into the system  

with your assigned username and password.  Once logged in click on bid opportunities.

Then click on the RFP number or  description to which you wish to respond.  

The selected RFP will open to allow access to  all tabs documents agenda and other information.

From here click on the addenda and emails tab to  ensure you have read and acknowledged all addenda  

that have been issued for this RFP. This includes  all of the additional clarifying information  

the city provided after the original document was  posted. Please note that the screen will display  

yes or no next to each addendum to indicate  whether you have viewed and acknowledged it.  

If you had not previously acknowledged  an addendum, do so now by clicking on the  

addendum to open it and then on the acknowledge  button to the lower left corner of the screen.

Navigate to the documents and attachments tab  to ensure you have downloaded all necessary  

documents. Another point to note is that if  you have not downloaded all related documents,  

you must download them now in order to submit  your proposal. This screen will indicate which  

documents you have already downloaded. The  next step is to begin entering your proposal.  

To do this click on Planet Bids on  the lower right corner of the screen.  

The RFP terms and conditions  will pop up with a button for  

to accept or acknowledge your  agreement to the terms of the RFP.

You must include your organization's respondee  information in the profile tab in order to submit  

a proposal. Please include the appropriate  information for your organization and  

ensure the respondee email is current and  accurate. This is the email that Planet Bids  

will use to notify you of any changes updates  or agenda regarding the RFP. Upload any required  

documents in the attachment tab. For CARES act  responses please upload the proposal response form  

under the response file and the cost response  form under the costs file. All other attachments  

will go under all attachments. If you do not  have a separate file for your attachments,  

please include them all with the proposal response  form upload. Please check carefully to be sure you  

have included all required documents. The system  does not prompt or validate for attachments.  

It is a proposer's sole responsibility  to include all required documentation  

when uploading your documents. Please make  sure the file name does not contain special  

characters such as commas and periods. Next  when you have finished uploading your proposal  

click on the save button. This will  save your submission as a draft  

for you to review or revise as needed  anytime up to the RFP submittal deadline.  

Finally when you are ready to submit your  proposal, click on the submit button. You  

will receive a confirming message that says  your bid has been successfully submitted.

If you need to revise a proposal after it has  been submitted you may do so anytime prior to  

the submittal deadline. Simply re-enter the  system and re-select Planet Bids. You will  

have to re-accept the terms. Then you will be  able to view, download, remove, re-upload, or  

edit the title of any of your submitted documents.  You may also withdraw your proposal any time prior  

to the RFP deadline by re-entering the system,  selecting Planet Bids, re-accepting the terms,  

and then selecting the green withdrawal icon  on the lower right corner of the screen.

Some things to keep in mind. Be sure to begin  entering your proposal in sufficient time to  

complete and submit prior to the stated deadline  as the official closing time for proposals  

is controlled by the electronic clock in  the city's bid management system. Once a  

deadline is reached the system will not allow  any proposals to be submitted and any proposals  

in process and not submitted are automatically  rejected. Give yourself as much time as you can.  

If you experience any problems submitting your  proposal please contact the purchasing division  

at 562-570-6200 during normal business hours.  Planet Bids also offers technical support at 

818-992-1771 and also provides a  list of frequently asked questions  

which you can access by clicking on the  red question mark icon for support at the  

top right corner of the bid opportunities tab  as well as once you have selected Planet Bid.

That's all there is to submitting a  proposal with the city of Long Beach.  

We would like to thank you for your  interest in providing services to the city  

and look forward to working  with you and your business.