{"Scope":"Through this Request for Proposal (RFP) the Agency of Digital Services in partnership with the Agency of Human Services, Department of Disabilities, Aging and Independent Living, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (hereinafter the “State”) is seeking to establish contracts with one or more companies that can provide a Vocational Rehabilitation Customer Relationship Management System (CRMS).","Purpose":"The Contractor shall provide development and design services, project and operations management, support and maintenance, consulting, training, engineering and application development, monitoring, support, backup and recovery, change management, technology updates and upgrades and other professional services as described herein (individually and collectively referred to herein as the “Services”), as necessary for the State’s productive use of the Solution as further set forth in this Contract.","Experience":"Provide the names, addresses, and phone numbers of at least three companies with whom you have transacted similar business in the last 12 months.","User Base":"The State of Vermont is interested in obtaining bids to meet the following business need(s): The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired (DBVI) are seeking estimates for a Customer Relationship Management System to assist their staff in delivering services to approximately 6,000 Vermonters with disabilities.\n\nUsers overall (Programs combined usage):\n• 220 total active user accounts\n• 200 concurrent users\n• 30,000 payments annually\n• 500,000 transactions per year\nCases: Approximately 13,000 client cases annually, of which 5,000 are new cases.\n\nThe DVR system has between 180 and 200 users, while the DBVI system has between 40 and 50 users. Additionally, there are 25 to 30 users who utilize both systems.","Go-Live/Launch Timeline":"Up to 2 years implementation","Hosting":"The State is open to evaluating all platforms, whether vendor-hosted or state-hosted, that meet the security requirements outlined in the RFP","Legacy System":"AWARE (Alliance Enterprises)","Data Migration":"• All open cases: 5,000 total anticipated.\n• Closed cases: 45,000 total anticipated. Preferred retention period for closed cases is 10 years for longitudinal tracking and reporting purposes, 6 years minimum per State retention rules. Cases with Cost Reimbursement paid claims must be retained indefinitely for SSA audit purposes.","Reporting & analytics":"A case management system designed to effectively manage and comply with VR and IL reporting requirements while streamlining data entry","Maintenance Support":"• Regular Support: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM (local time).\n• Emergency Support: 24/7 availability for critical issues","Initial Contract Term":"Any Contract(s) arising from this RFP will be for a period of 7 years (up to 2 years implementation, plus 5 years for annual operating (maintenance and services). The State anticipates the start date for such contract(s) will be February 1, 2027. \nThe earliest anticipated start date is June 1, 2026.","Estimated Budget by State":"The State does not offer an estimated or maximum budget range during the RFP process; however, funding for the procurement has been secured..","Integrations":"For solutions with integrations to other systems, the State prefers standardized web services developed in MuleSoft using REST API and security protocols\nand developed for reuse. Provide a written description of how integrations with other systems will be developed.","Warranty":"The default state warranty period is 90 days. Defects identified during this period will be fixed under warranty even if the resolution extends beyond the warranty period.","Pricing":"Bidders must price the terms of this solicitation at their best pricing. Any and all costs that Bidder wishes the State to consider must be submitted for consideration. If applicable, all equipment pricing is to include F.O.B. delivery to the ordering facility. No request for extra delivery cost will be honored. All equipment shall be delivered assembled, serviced, and ready for immediate use, unless otherwise requested by the State.\nPrices and/or rates shall remain firm for the initial term of the contract. The pricing policy submitted by Bidder must (i) be clearly structured, accountable, and auditable and (ii) cover the full spectrum of materials and/or services required.","Offshore resources":"Offshore resources may not have access to any production environments and data. All data must reside on US soil. Offshore resources may not access any environment with production data.","Submission Method":"All bids under this RFP must be submitted electronically in accordance with the submission requirements herein. Electronic bids will be accepted via email submission to SOV.ThePathForward@vermont.gov.","Sub-contract":"The State hereby consents to the use by Contractor of these subcontractors, provided however that any such consent is not deemed acceptance of the terms of any subcontracts by the State.","Training":"The State favors a train-the-trainer model for this system. The vendor will provide training to trainers and administrators in either a virtual or hybrid format.","MWBE/SDVOB":"*Contractor must actively include small, minority-owned, women-owned, and labor-surplus firms whenever possible.\n*Must list qualified small/minority/women-owned businesses in solicitations.\n*Must ensure these businesses are invited to bid when they are potential suppliers.\n*Break work into smaller pieces when feasible to help them participate.\n*Set delivery schedules that support their involvement.\n*Use agencies like SBA and MBDA for support.\n*Require subcontractors to follow the same steps.","RETAINAGE:":"At the discretion of the State, 10% of the total amount payable will be withheld from invoice payments until satisfactory completion of deliverables or final acceptance The State will notify the Contractor when acceptable to provide the State with a separate invoice for the withheld retainage.","Payment Terms":"Percentage discounts may be offered for prompt payments of invoices; however, such discounts must be in effect for a period of 30 days or more in order to be considered in making awards.","Mobile App":"No, State is not seeking mobile-solution at this time.","E-Signature":"The State does not recommend or require any specific tools. Some State solutions do utilize DocuSign.","Folder Link":"https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1pyKDe6bjRIMCEKoiz-e9owI_fTgQpoQv?usp=drive_link"}
Assumptions
- Cardinality Solution will be hosted on AWs GovCloud for the production instance.
- Hosting includes one production and four non-production instances - Development, Integration Testing, UAT and Staging
- Cardinality SaaS license includes - Yearly 2 upgrades, monthly hot fixes and level 3 support
- All resources would be based out of the US
- The Cardinality SaaS license cost is provided for up to 270 internal users
- Cardinality will leverage the Adobe or DocuSign licenses of the Agency for e-signature
- The Operations & Maintenance Support phase is assumed to start after DDI phase of 12 months followed by 3 months of Warranty