Dental Clinic on Campus – Request for Proposal (RFP) – Lake Superior College

Notice

This Request for Proposal (RFP) does not obligate the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system, its Board of Trustees or Lake Superior College to award a contract or complete the proposed project and each reserves the right to cancel this RFP if it is considered to be in its best interest. Proposals must be clear and concise. Proposals that are difficult to follow or that do not conform to the RFP format or binding specifications may be rejected. Responders must include the required information called for in this RFP. Minnesota State reserves the right to reject a proposal if required information is not provided or is not organized as directed.

Lake Superior College also reserves the right to waive minor informalities and reserves the right to:

Reject any and all proposals received in response to this RFP;
Reject proposals if it is determined that a Responder’s ability to work with the existing infrastructure will be too limited or difficult to manage;
Select a proposal for contract negotiation other than the one with the lowest cost;
Negotiate any aspect of the proposal with any Responder;
Terminate negotiations and select the next most responsive Responder for contract negotiations;
Terminate negotiations and prepare and release a new RFP;
Terminate negotiations and take such action as deemed appropriate.

Any decision to cancel or reject any and all proposals is the sole discretion of Minnesota State. Minnesota State also reserves the right to change the evaluation criteria or any other provision in this RFP by posting notice of the change(s) on the Vendors and Suppliers at Minnesota State page. Responders should check the site daily for updates (e.g. amendments, responses to questions) and are expected to review information on the site carefully before submitting a final proposal. Such changes or updates above constitutes written notice to each Responder.

Definitions

Wherever and whenever the following words or their pronouns occur in this proposal, they shall have the meaning given here:

Minnesota State: State of Minnesota, acting through its Board of Trustees of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities on behalf of Lake Superior College.

School: Lake Superior College

System Office: The central system office of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities located at Wells Fargo Place, 30 7th Street East, Suite 350, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101.

Vendor/Responder/Supplier: The firm selected by Minnesota State as the successful responder(s) responsible to execute the terms of a contract.

Targeted Group Business (TGB): A business that is at least 51% owned and operated by a woman or person of color.

Minority-Owned Business Enterprise (MBE): Independent business which is at least 51% owned and operated by one or more minority group member (citizen of the United States or permanent resident who is Black, Hispanic, Asian, or American Indian).

Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBE): Independent business which is at least 51% owned and operated by one or more women.

Economically Disadvantaged (ED) Business and Individuals: Independent business which must be located (or the owner must reside) in an Economically Disadvantaged Area in Minnesota as determined by the Department of Administration.

Veteran-Owned Business Enterprise (VO): Independent business which is at least 51% owned and operated by one or more veteran or service-disabled veteran as determined by the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs.

Diversity: The concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect. It means understanding that each individual is unique and recognizing our individual differences. These can be along the dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies.

Equity: The proactive reinforcement of policies, practices, attitudes and actions that produce-equitable power, access, opportunities, treatment, impacts, and outcomes for all.

Inclusion: Authentically bringing traditionally excluded individuals and/or groups into processes, activities and decisions/policy making in a way that shares power.

About Minnesota State and Lake Superior College

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities is the fourth-largest system in the United States. Minnesota State is comprised of 33 state colleges and universities with 54 campuses located in 47 Minnesota communities and serves approximately 270,000 students annually. Please view its website at www.minnstate.edu.

Lake Superior College (LSC) is a combined community and technical college located in Duluth, Minnesota. It is one of 26 public two-year colleges that are part of Minnesota State. LSC is an open enrollment institution. Its mission is to provide high quality, affordable education that benefits diverse learners, employers, and the community. The College achieves its mission through a wide variety of academic, technical, customized training, and workforce development offerings.

LSC awards Certificates, Diplomas, and AA, AS, AAS, and AFA Degrees. Academic offerings include over 90 programs leading to academic awards. LSC serves over 5,000 students each year. Most programs are two years or less and all can be completed in less than three years.

Authority

This RFP is undertaken by Lake Superior College (hereinafter “Minnesota State”) pursuant to the authority contained in provisions of Minnesota Statutes § 136F.581 and other applicable laws. Minnesota State will select the Responder(s) whose proposal(s), and oral presentation(s) if requested, demonstrate in its sole opinion, the clear capability to best fulfill the purposes of this RFP in a cost-effective manner. Minnesota State reserves the right to accept or reject proposals, in whole or in part, and to negotiate separately as necessary to serve the best interests of Minnesota State. This RFP does not obligate Minnesota State to award a contract or complete the proposed project and it reserves the right to cancel this RFP if it is considered to be in its best interest.

Project Overview

Minnesota State is requesting proposals to assist in supporting the Dental Hygiene program at Lake Superior College. The Dental Hygiene program is fully accredited through the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CoDA). This clinic serves between 2,000-3,000 patients during the academic year, while supporting the academic requirements of our Dental Hygiene program students. We are looking for a local dental office/DDS to have a private practice located on our campus in the current clinic space on the main concourse. This dental office would be functioning as independent practioners with a fully functional dental clinic space while helping to support the needs of our campus dental clinic by providing supervisory support. This is based on the MN Board of Dentistry regulations regarding scope of practice for student dental hygienists.

Technical/Functional Requirements

This clinic will need to have the capabilities of a fully operational dental clinic. This will require the remodel of an existing medical clinic space on campus. The selected applicant would receive free rent for the clinic space for covering the needs of the academic community clinic already on our campus.

RFP Information Contact

An authorized representative of Minnesota State for purposes of responding to inquiries about the RFP is:

Name: Anna Sackette-Urness

Title: Dean of Allied Health and Nursing

Address: 2101 Trinity Road Duluth, MN 55811

Telephone:

E-mail Address:

Other persons are not authorized to discuss RFP requirements before the proposal submission deadline and Minnesota State shall not be bound by and Responders may not rely on information regarding RFP requirements obtained from non-authorized persons. Questions must include the name of the questioner and his/her telephone number, fax number and/or e-mail address. Anonymous inquiries will not be answered.

Duration of Offer

All proposal responses must indicate they are valid for a minimum of one hundred eighty (180) calendar days from the date of the proposal opening unless extended by mutual written agreement between Minnesota State and the Responder.

Prices and terms of the proposal as stated must be valid for the length of the resulting contract.

Terms and Conditions

This RFP includes and incorporates Terms and Conditions. Responders should be aware of the terms and conditions in preparing responses to this RFP. Much of the language reflected in any resulting contract with Minnesota State is required by statute. If you take exception to any of the language in the terms and conditions, you must indicate those exceptions in your response to the RFP; certain exceptions may result in your proposal being disqualified from further review and evaluation. Only those exceptions indicated in your response to the RFP will be available for discussion or negotiation.

Authorized Signature

The proposal must be completed and signed in the Responder’s name or corporate name of the Respondent and must be fully signed by an authorized representative of the Responder. Proof of authority of the person signing must accompany the response.

Selection and Implementation Timeline

Monday, July 21, 2025
Publish RFP notice in State Register and LSC website

Monday, August 4, 2025
Deadline to submit clarifying questions

Friday, August 15, 2025
Deadline to publish responses to RFP questions

Monday, August 25, 2025 @ 12:00pm CST
Deadline for RFP proposal submissions

Monday September 15, 2025
Responder(s) selected and notified

Monday September 22, 2025
Request approval from Minnesota State Board of Trustees at Board Meeting

Minnesota State reserves the right to not award a contract. The dates noted above are estimates, but are reasonable for the purposes of presenting deadlines.

Contract Term

Minnesota State desires to enter into a contract with the successful Respondent(s) effective January 12, 2026 or on the date the last recognized signature is obtained, whichever occurs later. The length of such contract will be 5 years. If Minnesota State and Respondent are unable to negotiate and sign a contract by December 1, 2025, then Minnesota State reserves the right to seek an alternative Respondent(s).

Proposal Deadline

Submitted proposals must be received at the following address not later than Monday, August 25th, 2025 at 12:00pm CST:

Institution: Lake Superior College, Business Office

Name: Mike Francisco

Title: Purchasing Specialist

Mailing Address: 2101 Trinity Road Duluth, MN 55811

Format of Proposals and Submission

Responders shall submit one printed copy of its RFP response and one copy on digital media with the RFP response in Microsoft Word format. Proposals are to be sealed in mailing envelopes or packages with the Responder’s name and address clearly written on the outside.

Proposals received after the proposal deadline date and time will not be considered. Fax or mail responses will not be considered. Proposals made in pencil will be rejected. Alterations in cost figures used to determine the lowest priced proposal will be rejected unless initialed in ink by the person responsible for or authorized to make decisions as to price quoted. The use of “white out” is considered an alteration.

Proposal Content

Responders must submit the following information:

Adherence to Minnesota State Terms and Conditions: A statement of the objectives, goals, and tasks to show or demonstrate its view and understanding of the nature of the contract.
Work Plan: A description of the deliverables to be provided by the Responder along with a detailed work plan that identifies the major tasks to be accomplished and be used as a scheduling and managing tool, as well as the basis for invoicing.
Company Qualifications and its Personnel: An outline of the Responder’s background and experience with examples of similar work complete by the Responder and a list of personnel who will conduct the project, detailing their training, and work experience. Resumes or other information about project personnel should not, if possible, contain personal telephone numbers, home addresses or home email addresses. If it is necessary to include personal contact information, please clearly indicate in the proposal that personal contact information is being provided.
Cost/Value: Identify the level of the participation of Minnesota State in the contract, as well as any other services to be provided by Minnesota State, and details of cost allowances for this participation.

Terms of Payment

Payment shall be made by Minnesota State promptly after Responder’s presentation of invoices for services performed and acceptance of such services by an authorized representative of Minnesota State. All services provided by the Responder pursuant to the resulting contract shall be performed to the satisfaction of Minnesota State, as determined at the sole discretion of its authorized representative, and in accordance with all applicable federal, state and local laws, ordinances, rules and regulations. The Responder shall not receive payment for work found by Minnesota State to be unsatisfactory or performed in violation of any applicable federal, state or local law, ordinance, rule or regulation.

Required Documents and Forms

Affidavit of Non-Collusion. All Responders must complete the Affidavit of Non-Collusion and submit it with the response.
Conflicts of Interest. Responders must provide a list of all entities with which it has relationships that create, or appear to create, a conflict of interest with the work that is contemplated in this request for proposals. The list should indicate the name of the entity, the relationship, and a discussion of the conflict.
Workforce Certificate. For all businesses with 40 or more employees and a contract is estimated to be in excess of $100,000, Responders are required to complete the Minnesota Department of Human Rights Workforce Declaration Page and submit your certification with the response (including extension options).
Equal Pay Certification. For all businesses with 40 or more employees and a contract is estimated to be in excess of $500,000, Responders are required to complete the Minnesota Department of Human Rights Equal Pay Declaration Page or claim exemption prior to contract execution. Submit your certification with the response (including extension options).
Preferences for TG/ED/VO Businesses and Individuals. If applicable, eligible certified TG/ED/VO businesses will receive preference in the evaluation of its cost proposal as outlined below. Submit your certification with the response.

Selection Process

The selection process includes the Director of the Dental Hygiene program, Dean for Allied Health and Nursing Division, Purchasing Specialist, and Chief Financial Officer. This group will evaluate the proposals and make the final decision.

RFP Evaluation Factors

The following factors and their identified weight will be used by Minnesota State to evaluate the responses:

Evaluation Factor: Work Plan that identifies support of on campus clinic
Weight: 50%

Evaluation Factor: Qualifications of Responders and its personnel (experience of personnel who are committed to work on the contract will be given greater weight than that of the company)
Weight: 20%

Evaluation Factor: Completeness, thoroughness and detail of response as reflected by the proposal’s discussion and coverage of all elements of work listed above
Weight: 30%

TOTAL: 100%

Minnesota State reserves the right to name a date which all responding Responders will be invited to present demonstrations or participate in an interview.

Minnesota State does not agree to reach a decision by any certain date although it is hoped the evaluation and selection will be completed by the date identified in the Selection and Implementation Timeline.

Supplier Diversity

In accordance with Board Policy 5.14, Minnesota State is committed to enhancing and optimizing business and contracting opportunities that promote economic growth and prosperity in the communities we serve. We are committed to developing mutually beneficial relationships with historically underutilized minority-owned, women-owned, and disability-owned business enterprises. The goal is to ensure that diverse suppliers that satisfy our procurement and contractual standards have opportunities to provide goods and services system-wide. Suppliers are encouraged to complete and submit the Supplier Diversity Form with their RFP, which will be used to confirm eligibility based on their status and/or commitment to meeting the stated diversity goal for the specific project.

Preference to Small TG/ED/VO Businesses and Individuals

In accordance with Minnesota Rules, part 1230.1810 and Minn. Stat. §16C.16, the basis of award is that of a certified prime TG, ED, and VO business or individual will receive a six percent (6%) preference. Preferences are not cumulative; the total percentage of preference granted on a contract may not exceed the highest percentage of preference allowed for that contract. The points are applied to the final cost of the evaluation of the project. Eligible, verified, small businesses currently listed in the Directory of Certified TG/ED/VO are eligible for the preference.

Responders interested in becoming a certified should refer to the Office of Equity in Procurement with the State of Minnesota.

Dental Clinic on Campus – Request for Proposal (RFP)