Rules

2. Washington Incorporation/Location. Bidder must be either an entity that is incorporated in the state of Washington as a Washington domestic corporation or, if not incorporated, an entity whose principal place of business is located within the State of Washington.

3. WEBS Certification. Bidder must have certified its Veteran-Owned business status in Washington’s Electronic Business Solution (WEBS).

4. WDVA Certification. Bidder must have provided certification documentation to the Washington Department of Veterans’ Affairs (WDVA) and be certified by WDVA and listed as such on WDVA’s website (WDVA – Veteran-Owned Businesses).

According to Chapter 39.26.010 RCW, to qualify as a Washington Small Business, Bidder must meet three requirements:

1. Location. Bidder’s principal office/place of business must be located in and identified as being in the State of Washington. A principal office or principal place of business is a firm’s headquarters where business decisions are made and the location for the firm’s books and records as well as the firm’s senior management personnel.
2. Size. Bidder must be owned and operated independently from all other businesses and have either: (a) fifty (50) or fewer employees; or (b) gross revenue of less than seven million dollars ($7,000,000) annually as reported on Bidder’s federal income tax return or its return filed with the Washington State Department of Revenue over the previous three consecutive years.
3. WEBS Certification. Bidder must have certified its Washington Small Business status in Washington’s Electronic Business Solution (WEBS).

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15. Amendment, Cancellation/Rejection of Bids, Reissuance of Solicitation 

DSHS may amend or add to, retract from or cancel this Solicitation at any time, in whole or in part, and without penalty. DSHS may reject all bids and cancel or reissue this Solicitation. All amendments and notifications of cancellation shall be posted on the competition website. In the event of a conflict between amendments or between an amendment and this Solicitation Document, the document issued latest shall control.   

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16. Request for Change in Solicitation Requirements  

If Bidder believes that this Solicitation contains requirements which would unreasonably prohibit or restrict Bidder’s participation, or believes that different requirements would provide better value to the State, Bidder shall submit a written explanation of the issue together with proposed alternative requirements to the Competition Sponsor at william.taplin@dshs.wa.gov no later than three business days following the Q&A Webinar. The Competition Sponsor shall not be required to consider requests for changes after this date. If any changes are made to the Solicitation requirements, an amendment setting forth those changes will be posted on the competition website. 

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17. Complaints 

In the event a Bidder believes that this Solicitation either: (a) unnecessarily restricts competition; (b) contains an unfair or flawed evaluation or scoring process; or (c) contains inadequate or insufficient information to permit preparation of a Response, the Bidder shall submit a written complaint to the Competition Sponsor at william.taplin@dshs.wa.gov. The Competition Sponsor will forward the complaint to the DSHS Chief of Central Contracts and Legal Services for review. The complaint shall include a proposed remedy and shall be submitted no later than five (5) business days prior to the date when Responses are due. Responses to complaints will be posted on the competition website.  

Should a Bidder’s complaint identify a change that would be in the best interest of DSHS to make, DSHS may issue an amendment modifying this Solicitation. Modifications to the challenge Rules or Application will be posted under News. The DSHS decision regarding a complaint is final and no further administrative appeal is available. If no complaint is filed, a Bidder cannot later file a protest based on any of the above complaint criteria. 

18. DSHS Award Options; Improvement of Bid Offers 

After Responses are received and written evaluations are completed, DSHS may (but shall not be required to) request best and final offers from one or more Responsible and Responsive Bidders. The written Responses of Bidders invited to provide a best and final offer may be re-evaluated and the point values may be adjusted based upon changes to pricing or proposed services, deliverables or methodologies that are included in a best and final offer, prior to DSHS’ determination of the Apparent Successful Bidder.   

Alternatively, after reviewing all Responses, DSHS may enter into negotiations with the highest ranked Responsive and Responsible Bidder in order to determine if the Bid may be improved before identification of the Apparent Successful Bidder.  

DSHS shall not be required to request best and final offers or to enter into negotiations and reserves the right to make a Contract award without further discussion of the Response. Therefore the Response should be submitted on the most favorable terms that Bidder intends to offer.  

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19. Selection of Apparent Successful Bidder  

The eligible Bidder that receives the highest total number of possible points in each solution category will be presented to DSHS management for consideration as a finalist for the Apparent Successful Bidders. 

The selection process shall determine which Bidder provides the best value in meeting the needs of DSHS in each solution category. Selection of each Apparent Successful Bidder depends upon DSHS’ assessment of multiple factors, including Bidders’ qualifications, capabilities, efficiency, experience, reliability, responsibility, integrity, quality of proposed services and deliverables, timelines, cost and potential impact on DSHS’ needs. DSHS may consider whether the Response encourages diverse contractor participation; whether the Bid provides competitive pricing, economies and efficiencies; whether the Bidder considers human health and environmental impacts; whether the Response appropriately weighs cost and non-cost considerations; and life cycle cost, as applicable. DSHS may also consider a Bidder’s performance on prior State or other contracts and may reject Responses of any Bidder who has failed to perform satisfactorily under any previous contract with the state or another party. DSHS reserves the right to select a Bidder whose Response is deemed to offer the best overall value and that is in the best interests of DSHS and the State of Washington. 

DSHS management shall make the final determination as to which Bidder(s), initially designated as finalist(s), shall be officially selected and announced on the competition website and WEBS as the Apparent Successful Bidder(s) on or about the date and time set forth in the Competition timeline. DSHS may also notify the Apparent Successful Bidder(s) and the unsuccessful Bidder(s) of its determination via email on or about the date and time specified in the Competition timeline.  

DSHS’ decision will be subject to the execution of a Contract satisfactory to DSHS within a reasonable period of time following the announcement of the Apparent Successful Bidder on WEBS. In the event the parties are unable to reach agreement on the final details of a Contract, consistent with the Sample Contract, DSHS shall have the option of negotiating with the next highest ranked Bidder and of revising the announcement of the Apparent Successful Bidder.   

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20. Debriefing Conferences 

No later than 5:00 p.m. on the third business day following the posted announcement of Successful Bidder(s) on WEBS, Bidders may send an email to the Competition Sponsor at william.taplin@dshs.wa.gov requesting a Debriefing Conference. Unless a different date is agreed upon by the Coordinator, the Debriefing Conference will be held on a date designated in the Competition timeline. Discussion at the debriefing conference will be limited to the following: 

• If the Bidder’s proposal was rejected, the reason for its rejection 

• Evaluation and scoring of the Bidder’s Response 

• Critique of the Response based on the evaluation 

• Review of Bidder’s final score in comparison with the other final scores   

No comparisons between Bids will be allowed during the Debriefing Conference, which shall be conducted by telephone, unless the Coordinator agrees to an in-person meeting, and shall last for a maximum period of thirty (30) minutes. 

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21. Grounds and Filing of Protests 

A Bidder who has participated in a Debriefing Conference may file a formal Protest if the Bidder asserts that there are facts that indicate error in the evaluation of Bids on one or more of the following grounds:  

• Bias, discrimination or conflict of interest on the part of the evaluator or in the process 

• Mathematical errors in computing the score 

• Non-compliance with procedures described in the Rules or in DES policy 

Protests must be emailed to the Competition Sponsor at william.taplin@dshs.wa.gov and must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) on the fifth (5th) business day following the day of the Bidder’s Debriefing Conference. The Protest must adhere to the requirements set forth in this Section or it will not be considered. This Protest procedure constitutes the sole administrative remedy available to Bidders from DSHS under this Solicitation. 

Protests must include the protestor’s mailing address and phone number and the name of the individual responsible for filing the Protest. The Protest must state the competition title, the grounds for the Protest, specific facts to support these grounds, and a description of the relief or corrective action being requested.    

Protests not based on one of the grounds set forth in this Section will be rejected. It is not grounds for a protest to question an evaluator’s professional judgment on the quality of a Response or DSHS’ assessment of its own needs or requirements. 

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22.  DSHS Protest Review Process 

The Competition Sponsor will immediately forward any Protest to the Chief of Central Contracts and Legal Services to assign to a Protest Coordinator for review.  The Protest Coordinator, an individual who was not involved in the Solicitation, will consider the record and all available facts and will endeavor to issue a decision within ten (10) business days following receipt of the Protest.  If additional time is required, the protesting party will be notified of the delay. 

In the event a Protest may involve the conduct of or information submitted by another Bidder that also submitted a Response, such Bidder will be given an opportunity to submit its views and any relevant information on the issue(s) raised by the protest to the Competition Sponsor. 

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23. Determination of Protests   

The Protest Coordinator shall issue a written determination regarding the Protest. This written determination shall include one or more of the following determinations: 

• Upholding DSHS determination of the Apparent Successful Bidder(s) on the basis that there are insufficient facts to establish the alleged error; or 

• Upholding DSHS’ determination of the Apparent Successful Bidder(s) on the basis that there are only technical or harmless errors in DSHS’ evaluation process; or 

• Finding errors and identifying actions which may be taken by DSHS, such as: correction of errors and reevaluation of all bids, cancellation and reissuance of the Solicitation (in which case all the Bidders will be notified), or other corrective actions as may be appropriate  

There is no further administrative process or remedy available within DSHS to appeal the determination that resulted in a Protest. If the protesting party does not accept DSHS’ determination, the protesting party can seek relief from Superior Court in Thurston County, WA. 

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24. Other Rules (updated October 8, 2024)

24.1 Your application must be in English.

24.2 All applicant communications relevant to this Competition must be addressed in writing to questions@businessintegritychallenge.org, with the exception of communications regarding Changes in Solicitation Requirements, Complaints, Debriefing Conferences, and Protest which should be sent to william.taplin@dshs.wa.gov. Applicants should rely only on Competition website content. In no event will oral communications regarding the Competition be binding. Applicants are encouraged to make any inquiry regarding the Competition as early in the process as possible to allow consideration and, if warranted, response to the inquiry. If an applicant does not notify the Business Integrity Challenge team or Competition Sponsor of an issue, exception, addition, or omission, DSHS may consider the matter waived by the applicant for protest purposes.  Notices should be sent to questions@businessintegritychallenge.org or william.taplin@dshs.wa.gov. If applicant inquiries result in changes to the Competition, written amendments will be issued and posted on the competition website. Unauthorized applicant contact regarding this Competition with other state employees involved with the Competition may result in bidder disqualification.

24.3 You must complete registration to participate in the Competition. You cannot reside in nor be governed by countries that are prohibited by law, regulation (including United States or other applicable export laws and regulations), treaty or administrative act from entering into trade relations (including export of technology) with the United States of America or its citizens.

24.4 Your Entry should meet the application requirements stipulated on this website. You are required to register in advance of any deadlines for the submission of an Entry, and You must comply with all other deadlines posted on this website. Your Entry may not, in the sole and unfettered discretion of Competition Sponsor and/or Carrot, contain obscene, provocative, defamatory, or otherwise objectionable or inappropriate content. Competition Sponsor reserves the right to cancel, modify or suspend Competition in whole or in part without liability to You. Competition Sponsor and/or Carrot also reserves the right to disqualify You from participating.

24.5 By participating in the Business Integrity Challenge, You represent, warrant, and agree that, ^{at the time of submission of an Entry}:

1. You are the sole author, creator, and owner of the Entry;
2. the Entry is not the subject of any actual or threatened litigation or claim;
3. the Entry does not and will not violate or infringe upon the intellectual property rights, privacy rights, publicity rights, or other legal rights of any third party;
4. the Entry does not and will not contain any harmful computer code (sometimes referred to as "malware," "viruses" or "worms"); and
5. the Entry, and Your use of the Entry, does not and will not violate any applicable laws or regulations, including, without limitation, applicable export control laws and regulations of the United States and other jurisdictions. If the Entry includes any third party works (such as third-party content or open-source code), You must provide the Competition Sponsor with all appropriate licenses and releases for such third party works. In the event You cannot provide all such required licenses and releases, the Competition Sponsor reserves the right, in the Competition Sponsor's sole discretion, to disqualify the applicable Entry.

^{Applicant acknowledges its obligation to notify the Competition Sponsor of any changes in the representations and warranties above.}

24.6 You may participate by registering, but You may not register more than one true and uniform identity; multiple registrations for a participant using multiple identities are only allowed for the purposes of submitting one application for each solution category, as applicable. Competition Sponsor and/or Carrot reserve the right to disqualify any Entry made by a participant violating this limitation, regardless of whether all of the respective parties had knowledge of such violation. You may only submit one Entry per solution category.

24.7 The application requirements for your Entry are clearly described on this website. Upon submitting Your Entry, the Entry will be subjected to an Administrative Review, to ensure compliance with all of the requirements. Valid Entries will then be assessed by five Judges, who will be assigned to score your Entry either randomly or after considering any potential conflicts of interest, using the scoring rubric and any other judging criteria that are also described on this website. In cases where a Judge indicates any potential conflict of interest, the Entry will be assigned to another Judge. Judges will be responsible for scoring your Entry.

24.8 Once a rank order of Entries has been calculated, up to four (4) Apparently Successful Bidders (ASBs) will each be awarded up to $250,000 and separate contracts and statements of work will be executed with the Competition Sponsor. Awards will be paid according to a schedule based on dates the deliverables are completed and invoices are submitted (see Rules Section 12 above). The top-scoring Entries will be reviewed by the Selection Committee with consideration given to feasibility and other criteria that may incorporate considerations beyond the Judges’ reviews. The Competition Sponsor is permitted to communicate with Competitors directly for the purposes of carrying out due diligence for evaluating Your Entry, but is not required to contact any individual. By participating in the Business Integrity Challenge, You acknowledge and agree to be bound by the final decision of the Competition Sponsor.

24.9 While Carrot is providing an online platform for your participation, Carrot is not responsible for the payment of any Award(s). Payment of any Award(s) is the sole responsibility of DSHS and its designees, and under the Terms each participant has agreed to look solely to DSHS, as the Competition Sponsor, for the payment of any Award.

24.10 By submitting your Entry, you agree to release, discharge and hold harmless the Competition Sponsor and Carrot and their partners, affiliates, subsidiaries, advertising agencies, agents and their employees, officers, directors and representatives from any Loss arising out of your participation in Competition and the acceptance and use, misuse, or possession of any Award(s). Neither the Competition Sponsor nor Carrot assume responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, or delay in operation or transmission; communications line failure; theft or destruction of or unauthorized access to Competition entries or entry forms; or alteration of entries or entry forms. Neither Competition Sponsor nor Carrot are responsible for any problems with or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or any website, human errors of any kind, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to competitors’ or any other persons’ computers related to or resulting from participation, uploading or downloading of any materials related to this Competition. In the event of a dispute about the identity of any Competitor, an online registration will be declared as if made by the authorized account holder of the e-mail address submitted at time of entry.

24.11 THIS COMPETITION IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Competitors agree that this Competition shall be subject to and governed by the laws of the United States of America and the forum of any dispute shall be in the courts of the United States of America. Any arbitration between You and Carrot or Competition Sponsor will be governed by the Commercial Dispute Resolution Procedures and the Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes (collectively, "AAA Rules") of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), as modified by the TERMS, and will be administered by the AAA. The AAA Rules and filing forms are available online at adr.org, by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879.

24.12 If for any reason Competition is not capable of running as planned, due to infection by computer virus, bugs, worms, Trojan horses, denial of service, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of Carrot that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this Competition, Carrot reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual(s) who tamper with the process, and/or to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the Competition. If Competition Sponsor and/or Carrot terminates the Competition, it will not retain any rights in the submitted Entries.

24.13 The Competition Sponsor reserves the right in its sole discretion to disqualify any Competitor who is found to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the Business Integrity Challenge, to be acting in violation of these Rules, or to be acting in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with the intent to disrupt or undermine the legitimate operation of the Business Integrity Challenge, or to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other person.

24.14 Entry into the Business Integrity Challenge does not constitute entry into any other DSHS competition or program, Carrot competition or program, or promotion that may be offered by the Competition Sponsor and/or its affiliates.

24.15 DSHS and/or Carrot reserves the right to disqualify any participant who violates these RULES, the TERMS and any standards of behavior expressed or implied in them.

24.16 The name(s) of the winning bidders will be posted on this website for such period of time as the Competition Sponsor deems reasonable.

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Contact Information

You may contact us with any questions or comments about these RULES.