A Request for Proposals for “STREAMLINING ...project will be the contracting activities performed...

A Request for Proposals

for

“STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES”

ISSUE DATE: August 20, 2007

RFP Number: 1386 Class Codes: 80, 81, 84 Group Number: 80102 – Streamlining Procurement Contracting Contract Period: As Specified Proposal Due Date: October 1, 2007 @ 3:00 PM EST Designated Contact: Mark Joly, Purchasing Agent

New York State Office of General Services Corning Tower, 40th Floor Empire State Plaza Albany, NY 12242 Voice: (518) 474-5981 Fax: (518) 473-2844 Email: [email protected]

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New York State Office of General Services RFP# 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Overview......................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Who Should Respond..................................................................................... 2 1.3. Designated Contact ........................................................................................ 3 1.4. Calendar of Events ......................................................................................... 3

2. BACKGROUND...................................................................................................... 5

2.1. Mission and Organization of OGS .................................................................. 5 2.2. Relevant Business Units................................................................................. 5 2.3. The State’s Procurement Context................................................................... 7 2.4. Problem Statement......................................................................................... 9 2.5. Previous BPI/BPR Efforts in this OGS Business Area.................................. 10 2.6. Documentation of Current Processes........................................................... 12 2.7. Related Efforts and Projects within OGS...................................................... 12 2.8. Related Efforts in Other Organizations ......................................................... 14

3. SCOPE OF SERVICES ........................................................................................ 15

3.1. Goals and Objectives ................................................................................... 15 3.2. Contracting Processes within Scope ............................................................ 16 3.3. Project Requirements ................................................................................... 18 3.4. Outside of Scope .......................................................................................... 24 3.5. Other Project Assumptions, Constraints, and Stipulations ........................... 25

4. GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSALS........................................................................ 27

4.1. General......................................................................................................... 27 4.2. Technical Proposal Content and Format ...................................................... 27 4.3. Cost Proposal Content and Format .............................................................. 31 4.4. Required Statutory/Administrative Compliance Forms Packet ..................... 32 4.5. Pre-Bid Conference ...................................................................................... 32 4.6. Letter of Intent to Bid .................................................................................... 33 4.7. Questions Concerning the RFP.................................................................... 34 4.8. Proposal Submission.................................................................................... 34 4.9. Proposal Submission Checklist .................................................................... 35

5. EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS...................................................... 37

5.1. Overall Approach.......................................................................................... 37 5.2. Submission Review ...................................................................................... 37 5.3. Technical Evaluation .................................................................................... 37 5.4. Cost Evaluation ............................................................................................ 38 5.5. Selection of Finalists..................................................................................... 38

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES

5.6. Interviews of Finalists ................................................................................... 39 5.7. Selection of Successful Proposal ................................................................. 39

6. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION, TERMS & CONDITIONS............................ 41

6.1. Procurement Rights...................................................................................... 41 6.2. Errors and Omissions ................................................................................... 42 6.3. Exceptions to RFP........................................................................................ 42 6.4. Confidentiality of Proposals .......................................................................... 43 6.5. Dispute Resolution Policy ............................................................................. 43 6.6. Future Participation in Streamlining Procurement Initiative .......................... 43 6.7. Summary of Policy and Prohibitions on Procurement Lobbying ................... 43 6.8. Vendor Responsibility................................................................................... 44 6.9. Ethics Compliance........................................................................................ 44 6.10. Examination of Contract Documents ............................................................ 44 6.11. General Requirements for Contracts ............................................................ 45 6.12. Background Checks for Contractors Performing Services For the State of New York .............................................................................................................. 48 6.13. Contractor Insurance Requirements............................................................. 51 6.14. Tax Law 5-a Amended April 26, 2006 .......................................................... 53 6.15. Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises...................................... 54 6.16. Consultant Contractors................................................................................. 56 6.17. New York State Information Security Policy ................................................. 57 6.18. Change Order Process................................................................................. 58 6.19. Billing............................................................................................................ 58

APPENDIX A - STANDARD CLAUSES FOR NEW YORK STATE CONTRACTS...... 61

REQUIRED PROPOSAL FORMS ................................................................................ 63

REQUIRED STATUTORY/ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE FORMS PACKET....... 65

ATTACHMENTS........................................................................................................... 67

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New York State Office of General Services RFP# 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES

1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Overview The New York State Office of General Services (OGS) has a major strategic objective of designing, adopting and implementing streamlined procurement contracting methods. This strategic objective encompasses the development, administration, and use of contracts. It also encompasses the idea that such streamlining should be beneficial to contract users (public purchasers), contractors (private vendors), and contracting staff (OGS employees). Public sector contracting is, in essence, a means to resource government/public activities by connecting qualified suppliers/producers with customers/clients in need of services and materials. The Commissioner of OGS is the Chief Procurement Official for the State of New York. Procurement Contracting is one of OGS’ key business processes and results in the establishment of procurement contracts for commodities, services, and technology. These contracts are, in some instances, developed and used exclusively for OGS’ own needs; in other instances, they are developed for and used by purchasing agents in state agencies, local government agencies, and other eligible entities throughout New York State. In the latter situation, they represent a major “product” that our agency provides to our external customers and there are more than five thousand such contracts. There are many indications that our current processes are increasingly out-of-date, slow, cumbersome, and non-customer-friendly in comparison with what is possible given the information management, communication, workflow, and electronic commerce tools available today. It is also clear that around the world, others have moved much further ahead in taking advantage of these possibilities. Consequently, OGS anticipates and embraces the need for a significant degree of transformation in our total approach. As a key step toward realizing its strategic objective concerning its procurement methods, OGS is requesting proposals from qualified consulting firms to assist our agency with an important initial phase. This phase is anticipated to have a duration of approximately six months. Specifically, OGS seeks the services of a consulting firm1 to guide, facilitate, collaborate, coordinate and document on our behalf the following critical activities:

1 Throughout this RFP document, the terms “Vendor,” “Proposer,” “Bidder,” “Consultant,” and “Contractor” will all be used interchangeably to refer to potential providers as well as to the eventual selected provider of the services to be contracted for pursuant to the RFP. Word choice is merely a matter of context in which the word is used and the various standard source documents that have been incorporated to create the composite RFP package.

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Analyzing the procurement contracting processes currently used in our agency (in

particular, in the Procurement Services Group and the Division of Financial Administration);

Studying and considering the innovative practices tried and used elsewhere in the

public and private sectors that might be worthy of adoption by OGS and the State of New York;

Developing detailed, innovative design for “reengineered” processes that will be

more efficient and effective for key stakeholders involved in, and affected by, OGS contracting initiatives; and

Developing a detailed implementation plan that OGS can use to both guide our

change process and accomplish the acquisition of additional services and technology as necessary for enabling and completing the transformation.

This Request for Proposals (RFP) outlines the background, scope of services, terms and conditions, and all applicable information required for submission of a proposal to provide the requested services. To prevent disqualification, consulting firms planning to submit a proposal should pay strict attention to the Deadline for Submission of Proposals, as defined in Section 1.4 Calendar of Events. Proposals should also be maximally responsive to the Section 3. Scope of Services and adhere to the format and instructions as outlined in Section 4. Guidelines for Proposals. The agreement resulting from this RFP will become effective on the date on which final approval is given by the Office of the State Comptroller and will remain in effect for a period of one year, with an option to extend for one additional year if needed. However, it is OGS’ desire and intention that the work solicited via this RFP will be performed and completed within approximately six months of the date of contract approval. (See additional discussion of project work plan requirements in Sections 3 and 4.)

1.2. Who Should Respond OGS invites responses from consulting firms that can demonstrate capabilities, prior project experience, and success in the following areas: (1) project management; (2) business process improvement/business process reengineering (BPI/BPR), including change management; (3) benchmarking analysis; (4) procurement methodologies; (5) public sector management and operations; (6) enterprise content management and automation of business processes; and (7) work group facilitation.

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES 1.3. Designated Contact In compliance with the Procurement Lobbying Law (see Section 6.7 of this RFP for more explanation), Mark Joly, Purchasing Agent, NYS Office of General Services, has been named the Designated Contact for this procurement solicitation. He can be reached by email, voice or fax for all related inquiries. Mr. Mark Joly, Purchasing Agent Division of Financial Administration NYS Office of General Services Corning Tower, 40th Floor Empire State Plaza Albany, New York 12242 Voice: (518) 474-5981; Fax: (518) 473-2844 Email: [email protected] Alternate Designated Contact: Ms. Diane Robinson, Senior Purchasing Agent Email: [email protected] Ms. Robinson may be contacted if Mr. Joly is not available. Her other contact information is the same as that for Mr. Joly.

1.4. Calendar of Events The table below outlines the schedule for important action dates. If OGS finds it necessary to change the dates, notification will be accomplished through an addendum to the RFP. Dates after the submission deadline are tentative. Action or Milestone Date Release of RFP August 20, 2007 Pre-Bid Conference (Mandatory) September 7, 2007 Letter of Intent (Mandatory) September 11, 2007 Question Submission Deadline September 11, 2007 Question & Answer Addendum Provided September 18, 2007 Proposal Submission Deadline October 1, 2007 Interviews of Finalists (Estimated) October 24-31, 2007 Notification of Selected Vendor (Estimated) November 5, 2007 All Contract Approvals Completed (Estimated) January 11, 2008 Project Start (Estimated) January 15, 2008

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mailto:[email protected]




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2. BACKGROUND

2.1. Mission and Organization of OGS The New York State Office of General Services was created in 1960 to provide essential support services for the operations of state government. Over the years, OGS has evolved in its size, scope of services, complexity, and manner of operation. OGS’ current mission statement is:

The New York State Office of General Services manages and leases real property, designs and builds facilities, contracts for goods, services and technology, and delivers a wide array of support services. We provide government and nonprofit agencies with innovative solutions, integrated service, and best value, enabling the State of New York to function optimally.

A basic concept driving OGS’ formation, and still relevant today, is that many services essential for effective governmental operation can be provided with less administrative effort and at reduced cost when centralized. Procurement is a prime example of where centralization will generally result in more efficient and less expensive purchasing. As indicated in the above mission statement, procurement contracting is a core service that OGS supplies to its many customer organizations. OGS is organized into several major business units that include: Executive; Real Property Management and Development; Design and Construction; Support Services; Information Technology/Procurement Services; and Administration. See Attachment 1: OGS Organization Chart For more information about OGS, visit the OGS Web site at ogs.state.ny.us.

2.2. Relevant Business Units The focus of this RFP is on OGS’ procurement contracting activities. All OGS business units are involved with contracting to varying degrees. Contracting activities carried out throughout OGS will be examined at a high level as part of the study. The focus of the project will be the contracting activities performed in the following two units where development and administration of contracts constitute a core function and contracts are a core product.

Procurement Services Group (PSG); and Division of Financial Administration (Finance).

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Procurement Services Group – This unit, comprised of approximately 110 staff, establishes and administers statewide procurement contracts. There are currently more than 2,800 contract awards yielding approximately 5,200 individual contracts.2 Each contract is a “product” that may be used by state agencies (including OGS), local governments in New York, and eligible non-state agencies (e.g., political subdivisions, schools, libraries) to obtain commodities, services and/or technology. An estimated 5,700 separate entities purchase from PSG contracts. The estimated annual expenditure for PSG commodity, service and technology contracts exceeds $3 billion. PSG also provides information, technical assistance, and training for purchasing officials, other public and nonprofit employees, and representatives of businesses so they may buy and sell, respectively, through state contract mechanisms. See Attachment 2: PSG Organization Chart Division of Financial Administration, Purchasing Unit – Financial Administration provides a wide array of financial administration services (budgeting, purchasing, billing, accounting, payroll, internal controls, statewide financing, etc.) to OGS as a whole, to specific OGS business units, and approximately 15 other small state agencies. The OGS Purchasing Unit within Finance has responsibility to establish contracts for commodities, services, and technology needed by these customers. This unit provides contracting services primarily where the needs are not already met by existing contracts established and administered by PSG. There are 12 staff in the Purchasing Unit. While the two units have different customer bases, the contracting responsibilities and processes performed in the two units share many of the same or similar characteristics. For example, both PSG and Finance solicit bids, award contracts, provide contract administration, comply with statutory requirements, executive orders, and control agency requirements, troubleshoot problems, respond to emergencies, develop procedures, and respond to audits by oversight agencies. Therefore, OGS has chosen to address them together within the scope of this undertaking. The OGS Legal Services unit interacts with Finance and PSG on many aspects of the contracting process. This interface needs to be included in the scope of the study. Other business units within OGS (in particular, Real Property Management and Development (RPMD), and Design and Construction (D&C)) also have contracting processes. The intent is to review their contracting processes cursorily within the study’s scope to determine where similarities exist and where efficiencies from streamlined processes for PSG and Finance might be adopted in other units as well. See Attachment 3: OGS Financial Administration Organization Chart

2 A “contract award” is made as a result of a solicitation. A single solicitation may generate multiple contracts with various vendors.

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES 2.3. The State’s Procurement Context The New York State Office of General Services’ procurement business processes occur within a substantial legal and administrative context. OGS’ streamlining efforts will need to take into account the opportunities afforded by, as well as the constraints imposed by, the increasingly complicated provisions of law, rule, regulation, and administrative practice that the Legislature, Executive Chamber, Division of the Budget, Office of the State Comptroller, Department of Law (Attorney General’s Office), and OGS have laid down over many decades. The legal basis for state procurement begins with State Finance Law Article 11: State Purchasing. In 1995, the Procurement Stewardship Act (PSA) updated, reformed and consolidated the State’s procurement law to assist state agencies in their purchasing of commodities, services and technology. The PSA has been amended subsequently and its originally scheduled sunset date has been extended. Its current provisions extend through June 30, 2008. New York State’s procurement system rests on several foundational concepts. First and foremost, it must support effective and efficient government. New York’s system emphasizes purchasing based upon competitive bidding, but it recognizes and authorizes alternative methods of procurement to balance the requirements of state agencies with statewide social and economic goals. Further, it is generally agreed that purchasing policy and practice must:

Facilitate the accomplishment of agency missions;

Enable acquisition of commodities, services and technology of the highest quality at the lowest practicable costs within available resources;

Offer a level playing field for the business community;

Provide balanced and fair methods for evaluation of bids and awarding of

contracts, with terms and conditions that protect the State’s interests;

Ensure the use of only responsive and responsible vendors, and promote accountability of contractors; and

Provide safeguards against favoritism, improvidence, extravagance, fraud, and

corruption in procurements. Bedrock principles such as the above will need to be comprehended, integrated and preserved through all phases of this initiative, including the designed and implemented solutions.

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES State Finance Law authorizes the Commissioner of the Office of General Services, through his staff, to act as Chief Procurement Officer, managing the bidding and contracting for commodities and services. OGS establishes both centralized contracts and agency-specific contracts. This role expanded in 1995 to include procurement of services and technology through centralized and single agency contracts. As noted, in addition to state agencies, local governments and eligible not-for-profits use OGS contracts. (Other state agencies engage in significant procurement activities on their own to meet their form, function, and utility needs, however these activities are outside of scope here.) The State Comptroller, through his staff, reviews contracts to ensure that the procurement process has been properly conducted. Depending on the type of contract, this role takes the form of a pre-approval by OSC, which is performed prior to the contract award, or a post-audit, which is performed at any point after the contract award and involves review of actions pursuant and relating to the contract. As a result of the PSA and other administrative actions, in recent years there have been numerous changes in the State’s procurement policies and practices, particularly with respect to the following:

Changes in Discretionary Buying Limits Use of Preferred Sources Procurement Lobbying Establishment of Vendor Responsibility State Tax Law Implications Consultant Contractor Reporting Requirements

It continues to be a markedly dynamic policy environment. Consequently, ongoing future adaptability of process designs, together with the underlying systems and tools, will also be paramount to enable a robust and enduring approach and to enable procurement offices and staff to improve and sustain high performance over time. A full explanation of the challenging legal/administrative context that must be accommodated within our business process improvement and reengineering efforts is not possible here. Potential Proposers unfamiliar with this legal and administrative context are strongly advised to review the OGS Web site pages relating to Procurement Law, Guidelines and Procedures to obtain more detail. Existing contract awards and bid opportunities currently being conducted by OGS PSG can also be reviewed on nearby Web pages. For more information including the text of State Finance Law Article 11, see: http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/Purchase/aboutpsg.asp

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES 2.4. Problem Statement Each year, OGS successfully enables government agencies and non-profit agencies to save hundreds of millions of dollars through its contracting vehicles. We have also maintained an overall good reputation for the provision of customer-focused procurement services. However, in the past five to ten years, the agency’s capacities and capabilities to deliver quality services in this field have been very seriously challenged by several converging factors, which include but are not limited to: Major loss of staff and staff knowledge as a result of retirements and staffing level

reductions. – In 2003, about 25% percent of procurement services staff were lost due to a statewide retirement incentive. Since then, key procurement professionals in the agency have continued to leave, mostly for retirement, at an alarming rate. The agency has been trying to fill positions but it has not been able to replace the knowledge and manpower at a rate that matches the losses.

Additional complexity in the associated processes as a result of new mandates

(laws, rules and administrative requirements) – Increasing complexity due to changes in procurement legislation and policy over the past several years, coupled with reduced staffing levels over the same time period, create an increasingly difficult task for both PSG and Finance staff to produce and administer this large volume of contracts.

Lack of access to computer software tools that might assist in reducing task burdens

– Current contracting methods rely heavily on outdated, paper-intensive, serial processes. Staff manually retrieve documents from storage boxes. Many projects include literally box-loads of information. Storage in the central filing unit is limited, and retrieval is very time-consuming. Some information is electronic (documents and email) while much information from bidders arrives in paper format. Additional information comes from legal staff, other agencies, and the vendor community, none of which is located centrally and most of which is paper. The need to improve efficiency is critical. Presently OGS does not own enterprise content management software (Web content management, work flow tools, etc.) capable of supporting fully automated workflow.

Performance declines – PSG’s contract timeliness performance measure has

slipped dramatically over the past several years. The target goal is for all commodity contracts to be awarded two weeks before the previous contract expires and for all service contracts to be awarded one month before the previous contract expires, thereby allowing for seamless contract transition for customers. Contract timeliness (on-time award before expiration) fell from 90% in 2002 to 50% in 2005. Finance is having similar problems. Contracts are expiring and new requirements are emerging sooner than Finance is able to establish successor or new contracts. Alternative measures are being taken to cover gaps in contract coverage. In some cases,

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customers are experiencing disruptions in service due to delayed contract implementation.

Growing Customer Dissatisfaction – OGS has a very large customer base that

depends on our contracts. While we continue to receive positive feedback for our service efforts from many grateful purchasing officials and staff, increasingly some have come forward with complaints. They perceive that we are “losing the battle” between the extraordinary volume of needs (and the timing of those needs), on the one hand, and our ability, using our present processes and resources, to get the job done, on the other.

Growing Vendor Dissatisfaction – Vendors also have voiced considerable frustration

with the slowness and complexity of the process they encounter when seeking to participate in our contracting initiatives.

Lack of staff appropriately skilled and available to lead and coordinate change

initiatives – Streamlining contracting has been one of the strategic objectives of the agency since at least 2003-4. Progress has been impeded by the press of immediate priorities and insufficient in-house expertise and resources to conduct the business process reengineering with the intensity and scope required.

These issues have begun to snowball into an extremely challenging situation for our office. We know we must change, and that we must embark on a deliberate, aggressive, systematic, and sustained approach to accomplish it.

2.5. Previous BPI/BPR Efforts in this OGS Business Area At the same time that it is coping with the challenges highlighted above, OGS has managed to introduce several business process improvements during the last decade. While these enhancements are only a modest start on the more extensive change we envision is needed, each was a significant step nonetheless. Examples include: Online Vendor Registration / Bidder Notification System – OGS permits vendors who

are interested in selling their commodities, services and technology to New York State and other eligible parties through OGS procurement contracts to register online. This registration provides OGS with email addresses that OGS can use to notify the businesses of bid opportunities. The system enables the companies to receive notifications in the categories of interest to them. Currently there are roughly 41,500 registered companies in this system. This system has realized obvious, tremendous advantages (e.g., saving time, reducing administrative cost, and expanding the bidding pools). It also has created some new problems that consume staff time and resources. For example, OGS staff is now constantly coping with the ramifications of hundreds of obsolete or incorrect email addresses.

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Online Purchaser Registration / Notification – OGS PSG also provides an online

registration site for government purchasers and others interested in receiving information about OGS commodities, services and technology contracts as well as other procurement-related information. Currently, there are 5,681 registrations. Once again, this speeds information to intended audiences, but we face ongoing problems in maintaining and using these electronic registrations.

Centralized Vendor Responsibility Determination Unit – The standards for

establishing vendor responsibility (a component task in the establishment of contracts) have become more stringent. This burden was greatly reducing productivity of the procurement teams within PSG. In 2006, PSG reorganized its staffing structure and centralized in a specialized unit the task work to determine vendor responsibility. This mitigated somewhat the immediate struggle. Nevertheless, PSG and other units of OGS continue to devote a substantial amount of time and attention to work involved in meeting the standards. Current methods also place an acknowledged administrative burden on vendors.

Expanded Use of Aggregated Purchase Method – Beginning in 2005, OGS PSG has

worked successfully with the State Chief Information Officer, Division of the Budget, and other agencies to conduct major aggregated technology purchases that have saved millions of dollars. This technique is a process change that we believe has great potential to be expanded.

Use of a Multi-State Consortium for Commodities – While in the majority of cases,

individual states conduct procurements on their own, OGS PSG is a participant in a Multi-State Cooperative Procurement Contracting Initiative. NYS began participating in this years ago with the procurement of pharmaceuticals on a multi-state basis via a contract administered by the State of Minnesota. Using this initiative, interested states collaborate throughout the entire bid development process, including creation of bid documents, advertisement of the resultant invitation to bid or request for proposal, and evaluation of proposals. Each state is responsible for issuance of the award document to be used by entities in their state in accordance with that state’s laws and regulations. The National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) formalized the process for conducting cooperative (multi-state) procurements in the last several years with their issuance of a Cooperative Procurement Agreement that states can then voluntarily sign. NYS is a signatory to this agreement.

Additional information on Cooperative Multi-State agreements can be found on NASPO’s Web site, www.naspo.org, select “Cooperative Purchasing” from the options listed on the right side of the home page. In its earlier quest to conduct a comprehensive BPI/BPR project on its own, OGS was only able to commit management and staff resources on an intermittent basis to perform preliminary project planning and information gathering. As noted above, this work was

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES repeatedly interrupted and hampered by other more pressing priorities for attention and these distractions and deviations from the course continue to arise. This experience has brought us to conclude that the assistance of external consultants is essential if we are to move forward.

2.6. Documentation of Current Processes The BPI/BPR efforts mentioned above produced a file of several dozen documents that represent partially completed PSG process descriptions and diagrams. Most of these were drafted in 2004-5. They were not necessarily validated at the time and may also now be out of date. Finance has assembled some comparable information in preparation for this study. While its contents are by no means complete, well organized or formalized, this electronic folder of documents constitutes a substantial amount of detailed information about current processes. The folder and documents will be made available for inspection (electronically) on September 12, 2007 to those Vendors who submit a Letter of Intent to Bid (required by September 11, 2007; see Section 4.6 of this RFP). However, for general consideration, potential bidders may wish to review a summary table that briefly identifies numerous work processes performed by the Procurement Services Group. See Attachment 4: Procurement Services Group Processes Summary

2.7. Related Efforts and Projects within OGS Information Technology Strategy / IT Governance and Portfolio Management In 2002-03, with the help of consultants, OGS developed an IT Strategic Plan. This provided, among other things, a long-range view of the Information Management / Information Technology environment (information architecture, technology architecture) that OGS would work to establish to support and enhance its core business processes into the future. The project established a set of common IT principles as summarized in the following chart:

OGS IM/IT PrinciplesBusiness Data Application Technology

1. Primacy of Principles 2. Maximize Benefit to OGS 3. Information Management is

Everybody's Business 4. Business Continuity 5. Compliance with Law 6. Adherence to OGS IM/IT

Governance and Project Management Frameworks

7. Common Use IM/IT Resources 8. Interoperability

9. Data is an Asset 10. Adherence to OGS

Data Architecture 11. Data Quality Trustee 12. Common Vocabulary

and Data Definitions 13. Data Security

14. Adherence to OGS Application Architecture

15. Ease of Use

16. Business Requirements-Based Change

17. Responsive Change Management

18. Adherence to Technology Architecture

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES These principles were reflected in a detailed IT Plan. The project resulted in the establishment of IT governance and portfolio management that has been established practice in OGS since 2003. The goals and objectives cited in the 2003 IT Strategic Plan remain pertinent here. For example, here are excerpts:

“Provide effective computer programs (applications) for an effective and efficient automated work environment.

o Examine the implementation of an OGS-wide contract management system. Assess the business requirements and feasibility of implementing an OGS-wide contracting system.

Integrate the agency’s computer applications, advancing the level of service to OGS customers.

o Capture key OGS workflows using standard tools for workflow management. The strategy is to target key workflows and then implement standard tools to capture, help rationalize and then support their selective automation.

o Selectively automate workflow synchronization points. Identify and selectively automate manual synchronization points between supporting workflows.”

In 2004, OGS published an updated agencywide Strategic Plan. That plan, too, sought to jumpstart the initiative to implement change in the contracting procedures used in OGS. The description included such “to be” intentions as:

“-The business processes used for contract establishment and administration will be measurably less burdensome and less time consuming. -The workflow entailed in contracting will be supported by automation as much as possible. -Unnecessary variation in contract development projects will be reduced. -Vendors, contractors, and contract users will experience new efficiencies and the contracts will be more user friendly than they are today.”

Our statements about how to get there included:

“-Involve customers and businesses in identifying specific opportunities to improve the contracting processes. -Continue outreach with control agencies to strengthen relationship and promote timely and effective contracting. -Expand the effort to standardize contract development steps and contract components where practicable. -Design and implement an automated workflow management system to support efficient contract development. -Analyze the proliferation of forms in use in OGS contracting activities and streamline where possible. -Identify and implement ways to leverage investments we have made in streamlining to support other agencies conducting contracting activities. -Pursue a business process reengineering effort encompassing all phases of procurement contracting. -Explore better methods for tracking and evaluating contract processing and utilization.”

As noted earlier, OGS has taken several steps to move in this direction. However, as of 2007, procurement contracting work flow remains largely unautomated, processes

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES remain non-standardized, forms still proliferate, and tracking the actual usage of contracts by purchasers is often difficult for OGS. In other words, the 2004 vision for a transformation is still one to be realized. Enterprise Content Management – Preliminary Market Research & Needs Assessment In conjunction with the project that is the subject of this present RFP, OGS is currently conducting a smaller but related project to investigate and compare the features and functionalities of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software suites available on the market. OGS has several other business processes (apart from Procurement) that appear to require some of the capabilities of this class of software. Internally, we have initiated work that will collect information from throughout the agency to gain a better understanding and document (at a high level) what OGS business units’ requirements might be for imaging, workflow support, version control, and other such functions typically provided through ECM modules. While the design work for Procurement Streamlining is proceeding, OGS may make a decision to go ahead and acquire ECM products to satisfy other needs it has for these tools. Such a decision would be made with consideration to the implications for the Project that is the subject of this RFP and its successor projects.

2.8. Related Efforts in Other Organizations OGS is aware that other governmental agencies (such as the federal government, other states, and other countries) have undertaken to reform their procurement systems holistically. We further recognize that there are global and domestic corporations that have “reinvented” their company’s procurement systems. We have looked at some of these informally and sporadically. OGS has started to assemble a file of Web addresses where illustrative and pertinent reports and articles can be found. This file is just a starting point. To date, OGS has not been able to accomplish a careful, comprehensive, comparative review and benchmarking analysis to inform our present initiative. Through benchmarking, we seek to gain a better understanding of the major functions, features and characteristics of similar or related initiatives, especially those that might be transferable to New York State. At the same time, the articles and reports examined to date indicate that such initiatives have encountered difficulties in both implementation and operation. In view of the high risks and impacts of failure, we feel it is important that our own efforts be cognizant of pitfalls and lessons that may be drawn from the experiences in other procurement modernization/automation efforts. This will be an important aspect of this project. See Attachment 5: Procurement Reform in Other Settings: Sample Benchmarking Links

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3. SCOPE OF SERVICES

3.1. Goals and Objectives Long-term Goals and Objectives OGS seeks ultimately to implement ways to enable public agencies (including OGS), and their purchasing staff, to obtain needed commodities, services, and technology in as timely, convenient and least costly a manner as possible, so these agencies can accomplish their missions effectively and efficiently. OGS also seeks ultimately to improve the opportunities, convenience, and overall efficiency for vendors participating in our contracting processes. To make the processes more effective, we are striving to streamline and modernize how procurement contracting is performed. This will be accomplished largely through (but not limited to) the use of computerized information management, automated workflow, and Web-based communication and commerce. Specifically, the long-range objectives are to:

Reduce or eliminate limited-value and redundant tasks;

Reduce reliance on paper-based methods;

Facilitate workflow;

Improve version control;

Reduce the cycle time necessary to create contracts and improve contract timeliness (i.e., new or successor contracts are available when the customers need them);

Improve our ability to administer contracts, once established, throughout their life cycle;

Improve the administrative convenience for purchasers;

Improve the administrative experience for vendors interested in becoming and who become contractors (suppliers) to state agencies and other contract users; and

Improve productivity and job satisfaction of personnel involved in creating and using contracts.

August 20, 2007 15

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES We perceive that these goals and objectives will be achieved through major process changes, dramatically expanded use of computer-supported automation, organization and staffing changes, and other types of adaptation. Objectives within the Scope of the Project The project covered by this RFP will concentrate on developing a new (“reengineered”), comprehensive business process design that will constitute a blueprint solution for how the above goals and objectives will be realized in OGS. Thus, within the scope of the immediate project, the objectives are to:

Provide an accurate baseline view and description of the beginning to end processes currently in use (“As Is Process Design”) to discover the essential and nonessential aspects of these process inputs, activities and outputs;

Identify the most evolved, innovative, and effective procurement processes used

elsewhere, any where in the world, that are potentially transferable to New York State and specifically to OGS;

Determine specifically how automation can most effectively be used in facilitating

the processes; and Create a “To Be Design” and a roadmap that OGS can follow for implementation

of the design. The project does not include implementation of the design or acquisition of any computer hardware and software needed for implementation.

3.2. Contracting Processes within Scope The Office of General Services has many business processes that need to be examined within the scope of this project. The following types of purchasing/contracting will be included in the analysis:

Discretionary Purchasing Procurements using a T-contract Request for Quotes (for Financial

Administration) Sole Source Contracting Single Source Contracting Mini-bid Contracting (using a Backdrop Contract) Piggyback Contracting Quick Contracting Competitive Contracting (using an Invitation for Bid [IFB])

August 20, 2007 16


Negotiated Contracting Competitive Contracting (using a Request for Proposals [RFP])

See the OGS Web site for definitions of these various forms of procurement used by OGS: http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/purchase/Definitions.asp In general, the component elements of a procurement contracting process include:

Determine Needs Select Method of Procurement Develop and Distribute Solicitation Receive and Evaluate Proposals Select Vendor Approve Selection and Make Contract Award Distribute Award Notification Administer Contract Close Contract

These component processes are typically sequential except that “Administer Contract” Administration will begin at or before the point of “Select Vendor” and continues through to “Close Contract.” OGS perceives that for this project to be successful, each process will need to be examined end-to-end. OGS uses the RFP, IFB, Mini-Bid, and Negotiated Contracting processes heavily and perceives that the greatest benefit will be realized by analyzing these contracting process types as a priority. Examples of some specific areas where OGS wants to pay particular attention to the identification of improvement opportunities are:

Developing the Solicitation: o Following predefined procedures to ensure completeness and accuracy o Developing a precise scope of work for inclusion in requests for bids o Developing an effective evaluation methodology for reviewing proposals

Securing Approvals: o Accomplishing internal reviews and approvals efficiently o Preparing consistent contract packages for external review

Administering Contracts: o Publicizing new and amended contracts o Monitoring contract use o Collecting fees from contract holders where applicable

August 20, 2007 17

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Potential bidders wishing to obtain a sense of the variety of component processes that go into the creation of procurement contracts should review the aforementioned Attachment 4: Procurement Services Group Processes Summary. This chart is illustrative rather than inclusive.

3.3. Project Requirements This subsection itemizes OGS’ requirements for the planning, proposing and performance of the project. Those items marked as Mandatory must be addressed and met in the Proposal and the subsequent Project. Those items that are identified as Non-mandatory, as well as sentences that appear within a mandatory item but that qualify the item with a non-mandatory aspect of the requirement, do not need to be addressed or met. Project Approach Mandatory 1. The methods applied to this project, especially to the creation of the To Be Design

and Implementation Plan, must take a comprehensive approach using a valid, holistic business process improvement and reengineering (BPI/BPR) model. Such a model would typically address multiple frames of reference such as:

o External context of operation / policy and procedures o Business strategy (mission, strategies, funding resources to commit) o Organization structure o People (skills, culture, adapting to change) o Work methods and workflow o Tools / information technology o Physical infrastructure / office design

2. The project methods must incorporate a high level of collaboration between

members of the consulting team and OGS managers and staff engaged in leading, planning, advising, performing, administering, and assisting with procurements.

3. The project methods must incorporate a facilitative approach such that the core

ideas for change are formulated and adopted as much within OGS as by the consultants. Buy-in by management and staff is an important desired outgrowth of this project. The methods and style applied during the performance of the project should foster employee buy-in and successful adaptation to and acceptance of change.

4. The project methods must use more than one means - such as focus groups,

interviews, surveys, or other methods - to elicit input and ideas from OGS staff whose various jobs provide different perspectives on the procurement processes.

August 20, 2007 18

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES 5. The project methods must draw as much as possible on best practices and lessons

learned in other procurement/purchasing reform initiatives, so that OGS will be able to benefit from successful solutions (or successful aspects of solutions) used elsewhere and, hopefully, will be able to avoid repeating unsuccessful methods and solutions (or unsuccessful aspects of methods and solutions) used elsewhere.

Project Deliverables Mandatory There will be four mandatory Major Deliverables required from the Contractor on this

project. The Proposer is encouraged to bring the company’s experience and ideas into the specifics of the proposal for developing and delivering the four major deliverables as outlined here, helping OGS achieve the immediate objectives as described in Section 3.1, and setting us on the right path for achieving our longer range objectives also outlined in Section 3.1.

Required deliverables include:

1) A Comprehensive “As Is” Process Review and Identification of

Improvement Opportunities Report

o This deliverable must address in a detailed manner the Procurement Contracting Processes scope as identified in Section 3.2. These are the activities performed primarily by the OGS Procurement Services Group and the OGS Purchasing Unit in Financial Administration. The current processes should be reviewed and analyzed.

o This deliverable must also address (review and analyze) in a general

manner (i.e., high level) the contracting activities in OGS Legal, RPMD, and D&C insofar as they support, complement, compare, and contrast with the contracting activities of the focal units for this project.

o This deliverable must assist in discovering, sorting and documenting the

essential versus non-essential work that is currently being performed.

o This deliverable must also help OGS discover and document the process trouble spots, deficiencies, duplications, gaps, and barriers preventing higher performance.

o This deliverable must also itemize and describe significant opportunities

for changes and improvement in: Policies and procedures Work methods and workflow

August 20, 2007 19


Supporting information technology Organization structure and staffing Vendor relations Purchaser (contract user) relations Other areas as identified by the Contractor and OGS during the

study

o While the organization of the report cannot be precisely prescribed at this point, this deliverable must address the points of similarity and differences in processes as the work is actually performed in PSG and Finance.

o It is important for Proposers to understand that the purpose for this step

and this deliverable is not so that OGS can automate existing processes. Examination of current processes within the scope of this project is intended simply to serve as a stepping-stone toward designing a new and better way to meet OGS’ procurement mission. For this reason, the work effort that will be devoted by OGS and the Contractor to preparing this deliverable should be proportionately smaller than the work effort that will be devoted to Deliverables 2-4.

2) A Comprehensive Best Practices/Benchmarking Report

o This must be a detailed report on best practices and lessons learned in other settings where procurement is conducted on a large scale such as that for which OGS is responsible.

o This deliverable must include, but need not be limited to, a summary and

implications for New York State OGS of procurement reform initiatives from:

The US General Services Administration At least five other non-federal public sector jurisdictions (i.e., states,

major counties, and/or major cities) At least two other countries At least three other private corporations

o This report must describe in detail the potential application of each

practice to OGS and the State of New York. o Because the legal and administrative contexts governing procurement will

differ in each jurisdiction, the potential transfer of successful practices elsewhere to New York’s procurement system may be contingent on implementing legislative change. These specific implications will need to be identified and addressed in the report.

August 20, 2007 20


o Content with which to meet the requirements for this deliverable must be developed through facilitated discussions with OGS personnel.

3) A Comprehensive “To Be” Process Design Report

o This report must embody a complete blueprint for an improved/reengineered total process for procurement contracting in OGS.

o This deliverable must provide a new, reengineered design that, when

implemented, would best support achievement of the long-term goals and objectives as set forth in Section 3.1 of this RFP.

o The To Be Design must thoroughly address:

Policy and procedures Work methods and workflow Supporting information technology Organization structure and staffing Vendor relations Purchaser (contract user) relations Other areas as identified by the Contractor and OGS during the

study o This deliverable must identify those elements of the Design that can be

implemented within a year and those that will require two to five years to implement.

o The deliverable must identify the general requirements and dependencies

that exist for the Design to be successful.

4) A Comprehensive Implementation Plan

o This Plan must specify recommended activities (key tasks and subtasks)

to enable OGS to implement effectively the Design in as expeditious and complete a manner as possible.

o This Plan must specify an appropriate, explicit Change Management

strategy, and associated activities, as recommended by the Contractor.

o This Plan must provide a feasible Roadmap and projected Timetable for all recommended implementation activities.

o This Plan must provide rough Estimated Costs that OGS should anticipate

in order to implement the Design.

August 20, 2007 21

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Project Time Frame / Work Plan Mandatory The Contractor must prepare and provide, as part of the proposal, a detailed plan for

accomplishing the project objectives and completing all deliverables. The work plan must be as efficient as possible in accomplishing the proposed, planned work activities.

This work plan must accomplish all requirements within approximately six months.

The plan must be presented both in narrative format and in a legible Microsoft

Project (or equivalent) Gantt chart format. Project Staffing, Roles and Responsibilities OGS OGS will have a single OGS Project Manager responsible as the point of contact for

the project. The Project Manager will coordinate:

o All arrangements from OGS’ end to enable the project to proceed effectively and efficiently as planned

o Project communication o Project progress monitoring o Project change control

OGS will have two designated Project Sponsors. These will both be senior executives within our agency: the Deputy Commissioner for IT/Procurement Services and the Chief Financial Officer. These sponsors will be available to the Contractor to resolve any issues and barriers encountered during the project that cannot be resolved through the Project Manager. Sponsors will review and comment on all deliverables.

OGS will have a Core Project Team that includes representatives from PSG,

Finance, Legal, Information Resources Management (IT), and Organizational Effectiveness/Project Management Center. OGS’ Project Team, and/or other staff as designated, will participate in work sessions and review and comment on all deliverables.

August 20, 2007 22

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Contractor Mandatory OGS requires that the Contractor’s Project team include a Project Manager with

suitable credentials to serve effectively in this role. Although not mandatory, OGS prefers that this individual be certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP).

OGS requires that the Contractor’s Project Team, collectively, have significant

background and experience as consultants and practitioners in the following key areas:

Project Management BPI/BPR Benchmarking Analysis Procurement Services Public Sector Management and Operations Use of Enterprise Knowledge & Content Management Tools Work Group Facilitation

The Contractor’s Project team will be responsible to:

Plan, lead and facilitate all work sessions Develop any tools, such as interview protocols, survey instruments, and

worksheets, needed to collect information Capture and document all work session outputs Prepare all written deliverables as specified above and provide version

management on them Prepare and provide status reporting Prepare and deliver presentations to keep affected OGS staff informed

about the project

OGS requires that the Proposer demonstrate that the project team will have sufficient capacity to support this project without undue competing or conflicting interests that would impede the project.

Non-Mandatory

Based on the consulting company’s other previous projects with similar characteristics, the Proposer may suggest and provide additional resources, roles and responsibilities that will enhance the success of the project.

August 20, 2007 23

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Project Communication Mandatory OGS requires that the Contractor will participate in weekly status meetings during

the project. OGS requires that the Contractor will also provide concise, written weekly project

status reports. OGS requires that the Contractor will provide presentations (lasting approximately

one hour or less) for all the affected OGS program staff at least three times during the course of the project (for example, at the beginning, midway, and at the end).

Non-Mandatory The Proposer may suggest additional communication practices that will be beneficial

to the successful planning and execution of this project. Project Budget Mandatory OGS requires that the project costs be broken down by Major Deliverable.

OGS requires that the Contractor offer flexibility to provide additional service beyond

the scope if needed. This would be accomplished through a change order process. Non-Mandatory OGS has a limited appropriation of approximately $500,000 to use to fund this

project and related projects. This should not be taken as a target figure. Lower bids are encouraged.

3.4. Outside of Scope The project does not involve the implementation of any design ideas,

recommendations, and/or agreed-upon plans. The project does not involve the acquisition and customization of computer tools

needed to implement the design ideas, recommendations, and/or agreed-upon plans.

August 20, 2007 24

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES The project does not include the procurement contracting that other state agencies

may perform on their own behalf. The project will not include a detailed examination of the purchasing activities that

state agencies perform by placing purchase orders against pre-established statewide or centralized contracts. However, Proposers are encouraged to review other aspects of procurement.

The project does not include the activities that a purchasing agency and the Office of

the State Comptroller perform in relation to the payables process triggered by the process referenced above.

3.5. Other Project Assumptions, Constraints, and Stipulations OGS expects that the work will be conducted in Albany.

OGS will provide temporary office space, including at least one PC, with Internet

access, and a landline for telephone use only, in the Corning Tower of the Empire State Plaza for the Contractor’s Consulting Team to use at no charge while they are working on site.

OGS will provide temporary ID cards to the Consulting Team to enable access to

OGS facilities during the project. OGS will make every effort to identify, schedule, assemble, and commit the time of

appropriate agency executives and staff, as needed, to participate in the project and enable it to proceed as planned. However, OGS will be unable to commit any staff member on a full-time basis to this project. The Contractor must recognize that OGS personnel who are key to this project will have other duties throughout the term of the project, thus requiring some flexibility in the schedule of project events.

OGS will make every effort to comply with a standard of 10-business-days for the

review and comment periods following submission of each version of each deliverable.

OGS anticipates that at least one iteration (yielding a version 2) may be needed for

each deliverable before it is able to confirm acceptance. Contractors will be able to submit monthly invoices for work completed.

August 20, 2007 25



August 20, 2007 26


4. GUIDELINES FOR PROPOSALS

4.1. General In order for OGS to evaluate proposals fairly and completely, Proposers should closely follow the content and format guidelines described in this RFP and provide all the information requested. Proposals that do not adhere to these requirements may be considered non-responsive. The Proposal must be as concise as possible in responding to the requested information, while also providing sufficiently complete and understandable information to permit the evaluators to consider the merits of the proposal. All proposals submitted will become the property of OGS and will not be returned. Proposals must remain open and valid for 120 days from the opening date, unless the time for awarding the contract is extended by mutual consent of OGS and the Proposer.

4.2. Technical Proposal Content and Format OGS recommends that the Technical Proposal be presented in a tabbed binder, in the order of the Proposal Checklist, to facilitate review and evaluation. There must be no reference to costs, rates, or prices anywhere within the Technical Proposal package. Doing so will result in disqualification. The Technical Proposal must have the following parts: Proposal Cover Sheet

Complete and include as the first page in the Technical Proposal the “Form 1: Proposal Cover Sheet” provided with this RFP package.

Company Cover Letter

Provide a Proposal Submission letter signed by a Company Official authorized to submit proposals on the firm’s behalf. This letter must confirm the company’s interest, commitment and ability to deliver the work as proposed, if selected. The cover letter should specify the primary contact person for the Proposal.

August 20, 2007 27

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Project Objectives

Summarize the project objectives as understood and interpreted by the Proposer. Proposer’s Capabilities – Company Overview

Provide a general description of the company submitting the bid. Include mission, core business capabilities, size, and location(s).

Identify previous or current clients, particularly those in the government sector,

for whom the company has performed business process improvement, reengineering, benchmarking analysis services, workflow automation, project management, and facilitation, such as will be required within this project.

Provide abstracts or descriptions of exemplary major projects performed for

clients. OGS is most interested in reading about those projects where the engagement had characteristics, requirements, deliverables, and/or methods comparable to the subject project in this RFP. Include project scope, start and end project dates and if possible the approximate cost of the contract. Provide sufficient explanation to demonstrate the relevance of this experience to OGS’ needs in the present project. OGS is most interested in those projects that were completed within the last three to five years.

If additional companies will act as subcontractors to the project, provide the

above information for all subcontractors. Project Deliverables

Identify Major Deliverables (as described in Section 3.3 of this RFP) and sub-deliverables as appropriate that the Contractor will—with OGS’ full participation—create.

Provide sufficient information and description to enable the evaluators to gain a

good, clear understanding of what OGS can expect will be contained within each Major Deliverable and sub-deliverable that will be delivered by the consultant.

Project Approach

Provide a synopsis of the Consultant’s proposed approach for meeting the project’s objectives and developing the deliverables.

This part of the Proposal should also describe the methods, activities and tasks,

and their general sequence, that the Consultant proposes to use.

August 20, 2007 28


This section must make it clear how the Consultant will engage and interact with OGS personnel and others to acquire and exchange information, develop and consider ideas, and develop and deliver the work products required by and associated with this project.

Project Work Plan

Provide a detailed proposed plan of work for accomplishing the project’s objectives and developing and completing the deliverables.

All work proposed to meet the expectations of this project must be performed

within an approximate six-month time frame, to begin at the time of the Project Award (anticipated to occur in January 2008).

The work plan should reflect an effective and efficient sequence of activities and

tasks to produce the deliverables. The work plan should include explanatory narrative and be presented and

described in such a way that it is possible for evaluators to understand the work plan’s logic, feasibility, and ability to yield the best quality deliverables within the time frame constraint.

Provide a detailed Gantt chart of the proposed project schedule, using Microsoft

Project (or an equivalent). This must show the planned duration, timing and sequence for all planned work on the project. Major milestones must be evident. The project schedule chart provided in the Proposal must be reproduced in a legible format.

Provide the estimated total work hours to be applied by the Contractor’s project

staff to produce each major deliverable. Break these out by the following three job categories: (1) Project Management and Oversight Staff, meaning the project manager and other executive oversight staff to be supplied by the vendor; (2) Research and Technical Analysis Staff; and (3) Clerical/Administrative Staff. The estimated work hours shown in this section of the proposal must correspond directly with the equivalent information provided in the Cost Proposal (see Section 4.3). However, do not identify any costs, prices or rate information here.

Provide an estimate of the OGS resource requirements for the project, broken

out by deliverable, that would be appropriate and could be anticipated in light of the proposed work plan.

August 20, 2007 29

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Project Personnel

Complete and include the “Form 2: Project Staffing Roster” provided with this RFP. – Use this form to specify the proposed composition of the project team and any other personnel that may be provided by the Contractor to oversee, perform, and provide quality assurance on this project. Specify the titles on the project, reporting relationships, brief description of roles each will play on the project, and indicate the estimated hours each member of the project staff will contribute to performance of the project.

Complete and include a “Form 3: Project Staff Member Skills, Experience, and

References Summary” for each person who will be assigned by the Contractor to perform work on this project. – This form will document specific skills and experience the individual has corresponding to the knowledge, skills and experience areas that OGS considers necessary for this project: Project Management; BPI/BPR; Benchmarking Analysis; Procurement Services: Public Sector Management and Operations; Use of Enterprise Knowledge & Content Management Tools: and Work Group Facilitation. Provide three references for each project team member.

Form 3 is not required for Clerical/Administrative staff.

Provide detailed resumes including work history and education for each project

team member. Biographical statements consisting of only a few sentences are insufficient.

Resumes are not required for Clerical/Administrative staff.

The proposal must include information describing previous project experience

that relates directly to the work each Contractor Project Team member will perform on this project.

Samples of Work

Proposers are invited to supply (no more than five) samples of written work products resulting from similar projects conducted for other customers. These will help the evaluators gauge the capabilities and quality of work output.

OGS is primarily interested in work product samples that reflect work performed

by the personnel being proposed for the project.

OGS will give more consideration to work samples that reflect projects completed within the past 3-5 years.

August 20, 2007 30


Inclusion of work product samples with the proposal package is recommended but not mandatory.

Additional Supporting Documentation

The Technical Proposal may be accompanied by additional supporting documentation directly relating to the proposal.

Such documentation must be sufficiently cross-referenced in the Proposal so that

evaluators can readily locate all the important elements of the document. Otherwise it may not be considered for evaluation purposes.

4.3. Cost Proposal Content and Format Core Project Costs

Complete and include the Form 4: Cost Proposal Detail and Summary. Cost information must be presented using the form provided. The Proposer may provide additional annotation as necessary to further explain the cost proposal.

The Cost Proposal must be kept separate from the Technical Proposal. It must

be sealed separately, labeled and provided with the complete submission package.

As shown on Form 4, costs must be broken down by deliverable.

As shown on Form 4, the costs for each deliverable must be further broken down

into: Personal Services; and Non-Personal Services.

The proposed staffing costs specified for each deliverable must be further broken down into blended rates x hours, for each job category of staffing resources to be applied to the project. Three categories are defined: (1) Project Management and Oversight Staff (the project manager and other executive oversight to be supplied by the vendor); (2) Research and Technical Analysis Staff; and (3) Clerical/Administrative Staff. The proposed personnel rates and costs, as presented on Form 4, do not need to be further broken down by individual position.

With respect to Non-Personal Services, travel costs should be for the contractors’

staff only and should not include any travel that may be required by OGS staff during the course of the project.

August 20, 2007 31


Although OGS has specified that other countries be examined in the context of Deliverable 2, OGS does not anticipate that foreign travel will be included in this project.

For the purposes of calculating the contractors‘ travel costs, bidders are advised

that reimbursement for all consultant travel, meal and lodging expenses will be made based upon, and will not exceed, the rates authorized by the New York State Office of the State Comptroller for State employees as set forth on the OSC Web site.

See information on OSC travel reimbursement guidelines at http://www.osc.state.ny.us/agencies/gbull/g-215.htm

The total costs that the bidder proposes will represent a Total Not-to-Exceed

Price that OGS will pay for the proposed total Scope of Work.

Costs for Additional Work

NOTE: If, as a result of a change order to this project (See Section 6.18), OGS requires additional work from the Contractor beyond the original scope of services, the rates that OGS will pay for contractor personnel will be consistent with and will not exceed the highest blended hourly rates (within each job category) that are proposed by the successful Contractor for Deliverables 1-4.

4.4. Required Statutory/Administrative Compliance Forms Packet

The Proposer must complete and sign all forms as instructed in the Statutory/Administrative Forms Packet that is included with this RFP.

This completed packet must be submitted along with the Technical Proposal

Package.

4.5. Pre-Bid Conference Mandatory OGS will conduct a pre-bid conference on September 7, 2007. The purpose will be to clarify the requirements as described in this RFP. Vendors who plan to bid on this project must send a representative to the conference.

Location: Meeting Room 1, Convention Center, Empire State Plaza, Albany, NY Date/Time: September 7, 2007 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

August 20, 2007 32

http://www.osc.state.ny.us/agencies/gbull/g-215.htm


Registration: Vendors are strongly encouraged to pre-register. Contact Michele Osterhout at (518) 473-3933 or [email protected] to provide the names of all company representatives who will be attending.

Vendors who are seriously considering submitting a proposal and who plan to attend the pre-bid conference are strongly encouraged to send questions to OGS prior to the date of the conference if possible. This will enable OGS to address as many questions as possible during the conference itself. All questions must be emailed directly to this RFP’s Designated Contact: [email protected] In accordance with State Finance Law §139-j(3) (a) (3) (see Section 6.7), the pre-bid conference is covered by the “permissible subject matter authorization.” Accordingly, potential bidders are authorized to speak about this RFP with OGS representatives other than Mark Joly, the Designated Contact, only for the purpose of posing questions orally during this conference.

4.6. Letter of Intent to Bid

Vendors planning to submit a proposal in response to this RFP must indicate their intent to do so by sending a Letter of Intent to Bid to the OGS’ Designated Contact named below. This letter must specify the name of the company, the name of the company’s primary contact person for the purposes of all future communication regarding the RFP and bidder’s proposal, and the contact person’s address, telephone number, fax number and email address. The letter must specifically reference the RFP #1386. The Letter of Intent to Bid must be emailed. The letter must be received by OGS by September 11, 2007, and it is the bidder’s responsibility to verify receipt.

Designated Contact: Mr. Mark Joly Email: [email protected]

After September 11, 2007, communications from OGS to potential bidders regarding this solicitation will only be made to those companies that have submitted a Letter of Intent to Bid and, more specifically, only to those individuals named as a Primary Contact Person. The Letter of Intent to Bid does not obligate the company to provide a proposal. It is, however, the only way to ensure receipt of any updates or addenda to the RFP during the bid process.

August 20, 2007 33



New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES 4.7. Questions Concerning the RFP There will be an opportunity available for submission of questions. Questions must be submitted, via email, to the Designated Contact as indicated above. All questions must cite the particular page, section, and paragraph number, where applicable. Please submit questions as early as possible following receipt of the RFP and, where possible, prior to the Pre-Bid Conference scheduled for September 7, 2007. The final deadline for submission of any questions regarding this RFP is September 11, 2007. Questions received after the deadline for inquiries may not be answered. OGS will distribute a document with all Questions and Answers via email on September 18, 2007, to the Primary Contact Person for all vendors that attended the Pre-Bid Conference and that have submitted a Letter of Intent to Bid. Vendors that have registered their Intent to Bid will also receive any additional updates regarding this RFP, as necessary.

4.8. Proposal Submission Proposals are due by October 1, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. All required originals and copies must be submitted to:

Designated Contact: Mr. Mark Joly Purchasing Agent Division of Financial Administration NYS Office of General Services Corning Tower, 40th Floor Empire State Plaza Albany, New York 12242

The number of originals and copies required is not the same for all components of the Submission. The Proposal Submission Checklist in Section 4.9 below specifies how many copies are required to be submitted. Please follow the specifications.

August 20, 2007 34


4.9. Proposal Submission Checklist

Item Number of Originals (original signatures

required)

Number of Additional

Copies TECHNICAL PROPOSAL • Form 1: Cover Sheet • Cover Letter (signed) • Proposal Body

Project Objectives Proposer’s Capabilities – Company Overview Project Deliverables Project Approach

oo Chart of Estimated Work Hours (by

Deliverable and Job Category)

Gantt Chart of Work Plan

Project Staffing oo Form 3 – Project Team Member

Technical Skills and Experience Summary Sheet

Form 2 – Project Staffing Roster

o Resumes for All Project Staff • Proposal Attachments

Samples of Work (optional) Additional Supporting Documentation (optional) Signed Addendum(a) to the RFP (as issued by

OGS)

4 8

COST PR P O OSAL (IN SEPARATE SEALED PACKAGE) Form 4: Cost Proposal Detail and Summary

4 1

STATUTORY/ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE FORMS ACKET P

4 1

August 20, 2007 35



August 20, 2007 36


5. EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCESS

5.1. Overall Approach OGS will evaluate all proposals received based on the “Best Value” concept. This means that the proposal that best “optimizes quality, cost, and efficiency among responsive and responsible Proposers” will be selected for award (State Finance Law, Article 11, Section 163). OGS, at its sole discretion, will determine which proposal best satisfies the requirements. OGS reserves all rights with respect to the award of this contract. All proposals deemed to be responsive to the basic requirements of this procurement will be evaluated and scored for technical qualities and cost. Proposals failing to meet the basic requirements as stated in this document will be eliminated from further consideration. Qualified OGS staff will evaluate all submitted proposals. OGS may request clarification of a proposal. The evaluation process will include separate technical and cost evaluations. Finalists based on the technical and cost evaluations will be interviewed. The interviews will be part of the overall evaluation as further described below.

5.2. Submission Review OGS will examine all proposals that are submitted in a proper and timely manner to determine if they meet the proposal submission requirements and include the proper documentation as stated in this RFP. Proposals that are materially deficient in meeting the submission requirements, in the sole opinion of OGS, may be rejected.

5.3. Technical Evaluation All proposals deemed to be responsive to the Submission Requirements will receive a Preliminary Pass/Fail Evaluation. In the Preliminary Evaluation, OGS will review each proposal to be sure the Mandatory Requirements have been met on a pass/fail basis. Proposals failing to pass the Preliminary Evaluation will be considered non-responsive, will not be evaluated any further, and will be eliminated from consideration. All proposals passing the Submission Requirements and the Preliminary Evaluation will be evaluated and scored for technical qualities. An Evaluation Team comprised of OGS staff will read the Technical Proposals and, if needed, will collect information from references. Team members will independently

August 20, 2007 37

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES score each Technical Proposal meeting the submission requirements and passing the preliminary evaluation. Proposals will be scored based on responses provided as requested in Sections 3 and 4. The Evaluation Team members will base the technical evaluation score on:

The competency of the company, focusing on operating capabilities, stability, reputation and performance of the company.

The capacity, skills and competencies of the project staff as they relate to the anticipated needs of this project.

The past experience of the company and proposed project staff in conducting similar or related projects.

The anticipated effectiveness of the bidder’s proposed approach to accomplishing the scope of services.

The anticipated efficiency and feasibility of the work plan. The technical/reference evaluation is 65% of the final score. The 65% for the technical evaluation will break down among the key factors as follows:

• Company competencies = 5% • Project staff capacity, skills, and competencies = 15% • Company and project staff experience with similar projects = 15% • Effectiveness, including breadth and depth, of the proposal to meet project

objectives, accomplish the scope of work, and yield useful deliverables = 20% • Efficiency and feasibility and of the proposal’s work plan and schedule for

accomplishing the work = 10%

5.4. Cost Evaluation After the completion of the technical evaluation, the cost proposals will be examined for all proposals that meet the submission requirements and pass the Preliminary Evaluation of the RFP. The cost proposals will be scored separately and independently of the technical evaluation. Scoring will be based on a maximum score (20%) allocated to the lowest total cost. All other cost proposals will receive a proportionate score based on the relation of their cost proposal to the firm offering the lowest cost. The cost evaluation is 20% of the final score.

5.5. Selection of Finalists The results of the Technical and Cost Evaluation scores will be combined. Finalists will be identified based on these combined scores. Specifically, the “finalists” will be the five

August 20, 2007 38

New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES top scoring (combined scores) proposals. If any of these top ranked proposals have combined scores of lower than 15 percentage points from the top ranked proposal, they will not be interviewed. At this point, to preserve objectivity during the interviews, neither the rankings nor the actual scores of the finalists will be revealed to those who will be conducting the interviews.

5.6. Interviews of Finalists Bidders in the finalist pool will be invited for interviews to be conducted by the OGS Evaluation Team. The Consultant’s Proposed Project Team is expected to appear and play a substantial role in the interview. If it is not feasible for the entire team to appear, at a minimum the principal members of the team, including the proposed Project Manager, must do so. Although not preferred this appearance could be by teleconference. OGS will make every effort to schedule the interviews within the defined time frame and to accommodate required participants’ schedules. The interview evaluation is worth 15% of the final score. NOTE: If an interview with a finalist yields information that would have affected the bidder’s technical score, the Office of General Services has the right to rescore the technical proposal. In this event, OGS will recalculate the combined technical and cost scores. This may alter the finalist pool and OGS may potentially need to interview additional competitors as a result of this recalculation. .

5.7. Selection of Successful Proposal The technical, cost and interview evaluation scores will be combined to determine the composite score for each finalist. Based on these evaluations, OGS staff will submit a recommendation for award to the Proposer with the highest composite score. OGS will notify the selected Proposer of the award and will prepare the contract. The contractual agreement will be in effect upon approval by the Office of the State Comptroller’s Bureau of Contracts. Non-selected bidders will be notified at the same time that the selected Proposer is notified of the award.

August 20, 2007 39



August 20, 2007 40


6. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION, TERMS & CONDITIONS The following administrative requirements, terms and conditions will apply to this RFP. Failure to comply fully with these requirements may result in disqualification.

6.1. Procurement Rights The State of New York reserves the right to: 1. Reject any and all proposals received in response to this RFP. Reject any

proposal that contains false or misleading statements, or which provides references that do not support an attribute, condition, or qualification claimed by the Proposer.

2. Disqualify a Bidder from receiving the award if the Bidder, or anyone in the Bidder's employ, has previously failed to perform satisfactorily in connection with public bidding or contracts.

3. Waive or modify minor irregularities in proposals received, after prior notification to the Bidder.

4. Utilize any and all ideas submitted in the proposals received. 5. Negotiate with Bidders responding to this RFP within the RFP requirements to

serve the best interests of the State. 6. The State may begin contract negotiations with another bidding Contractor(s) in

order to serve the best interests of the State of New York should the State of New York be unsuccessful in negotiating a contract with the selected Contractor within 21 days.

7. In the event that a requirement set forth in this RFP cannot be met by any bidder and such inability reasonably appears to OGS to be beyond the control of all such bidders, then OGS may, in its discretion, waive such requirement so long as such waiver is applied to all bidders.

8. The State is not liable for any cost incurred by a Bidder in the preparation and production of a proposal or for any work performed prior to the issuance of a contract.

9. All proposals will become State agency records, which, in accordance with the Freedom of Information Law, will be available to the public after the award. Any portion of the proposal that a Proposer believes constitutes a trade secret entitled to confidential handling, as an exception to the Freedom of Information Law, must be clearly and specifically designated in the proposal. If OGS agrees with the trade secret claim, the designated portion of the proposal will be withheld from public disclosure. Blanket assertions of trade secret material will not be accepted, and

August 20, 2007 41


failure to specifically designate trade secret material will be deemed a waiver of any right to confidential handling of such material.

10. If two or more offers (composite scores) are found to be substantially equivalent, the Commissioner of OGS, at his sole discretion, will determine the award.

6.2. Errors and Omissions OGS may modify any part of this RFP prior to the Deadline for Submission of Proposals by issuance of an addendum to all Contractors who received access to this RFP. If the potential Contractor discovers any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, omission, or other error in this RFP, they shall immediately notify OGS of such concern in writing and request clarification or modification of the document. Prior to the Deadline for Submission of Proposals, OGS may provide such clarifications by email notification to all vendors who received access to this RFP. After the due date for Letters of Intent to Bid, OGS will send clarifications on the RFP by email to the Primary Contacts named in the Intent to Bid letters. These clarifications will be made by addenda. Any addendum issued by OGS will become part of the RFP and the subsequent contract. If, prior to the final proposal filing date, a Proposer fails to notify the contracting officer of a known error or an error that reasonably should have been known, the Proposer shall assume the risk of proposing. If awarded the contract, the Proposer shall not be entitled to additional compensation by reason of the error or its correction.

6.3. Exceptions to RFP OGS will consider all requests to waive any RFP requirement. However, Proposers should be aware that failure to obtain a waiver of any RFP requirement in advance of proposal submission could result in rejection of the proposal and disqualification from the bidding process. Bidders wishing to obtain an exemption or waiver for any part of this solicitation must contact the Designated Contact named in Section 1.3 by the Questions Submission Deadline as identified in the Calendar of Events in Section 1.4. The request must cite the specific section and requirement in question, and clearly identify any proposed alternative. Requests will be considered and responded to in writing, either with the “Questions and Answers Addendum” identified in the Calendar of Events (if the response results in a change to the RFP), or directly to the requesting vendor.

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES 6.4. Confidentiality of Proposals During the evaluation process, OGS will hold in confidence the content of each proposal and will not reveal the details except as may be required under the Freedom of Information Law or any other state law. The Freedom of Information Law provides for an exemption from disclosure for trade secrets or information whose disclosure would cause injury to the competitive position of commercial enterprises. This exception would be effective both during and after the evaluation process. Proposers who feel that the firm’s proposal contains any such trade secrets or other confidential or proprietary information must submit a request to except such information from disclosure. This request must be in writing, must state the reasons why the information should be exempted from disclosure, and must be provided at the time of submission of the subject information. Requests for exemptions of the entire contents of a proposal from disclosure have generally not been found to be meritorious and are discouraged. The Proposer should limit any requests to bona fide trade secrets or specific information the disclosure of which would cause substantial injury to the firm’s competitive position.

6.5. Dispute Resolution Policy It is OGS’ policy to provide vendors with an opportunity to resolve administratively all disputes, complaints, or inquiries related to bid solicitations or contract awards. OGS encourages vendors to seek resolution of disputes through consultation with OGS Financial Administration staff. This must be initiated with the OGS Designated Contact. All such matters will be accorded impartial and timely consideration. Interested parties may also file formal written disputes. A copy of the “OGS Financial Administration Dispute Resolution Procedures for Vendors” can be obtained by contacting the Designated Contact identified in Section 1.3 of this RFP.

6.6. Future Participation in Streamlining Procurement Initiative As the RFP indicates, reengineering of procurement processes and acquisition of necessary additional services and technology is anticipated to take place in future phases of work. The successful bidder for this procurement is not precluded from participating in future solicitations so long as services to be provided pursuant to this RFP do not trigger the provisions of §163-a of the State Finance Law, Vendor preparation of specifications for technology procurements; prohibition, or do not present an obvious conflict of interest, as determined by OGS at its sole discretion.

6.7. Summary of Policy and Prohibitions on Procurement Lobbying Pursuant to State Finance Law §§139-j and 139-k, this solicitation includes and imposes certain restrictions on communications between OGS and an offerer/bidder during the procurement process. An offerer/bidder is restricted from making contacts from the

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES earliest notice of intent to solicit offers/bids through final award and approval of the procurement contract by OGS and, if applicable, the Office of the State Comptroller (“restricted period”) to other than designated staff unless it is a contact that is included among certain statutory exceptions set forth in State Finance Law §139-j (3) (a). Designated staff, as of the date hereof, is identified in Section 1.3 of this solicitation. OGS employees are also required to obtain certain information when contacted during the restricted period and to make a determination of the responsibility of the offerer/bidder pursuant to these two statutes. Certain findings of non-responsibility can result in rejection for contract award and, in the event of two findings within a four-year period, the offerer/bidder is debarred from obtaining governmental procurement contracts. Further information about these requirements can be found on the OGS Web site: http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/aboutOgs/regulations/defaultAdvisoryCouncil.html.

6.8. Vendor Responsibility Proposers are required to fully and accurately complete the New York State Standard Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire included in the Required Statutory/Administrative Compliance Forms Packet that is part of this RFP. The State’s execution of any agreement resulting from this RFP is contingent upon the State’s determination that the Contractor is responsible. The State will be relying upon the Contractor’s responses to the Questionnaire in making that determination. If the State finds that the Contractor’s responses were intentionally false or intentionally incomplete, OGS may terminate the agreement resulting from this RFP by providing ten days notification in writing to the Contractor. The State’s termination shall in no case be deemed a breach of the agreement, nor shall the State be liable for any damages for lost profits or otherwise that may be sustained by the Contractor as a result.

6.9. Ethics Compliance All bidders/contractors and their employees must comply with the requirements of §§73 and 74 of the Public Officers Law, other state codes, rules, regulations, and executive orders establishing ethical standards for the conduct of business with New York State. In signing the Contract, the Contractor certifies full compliance with those provisions for any present or future dealings, transactions, sales, contracts, services, offers, relations, etc., involving New York State and/or its employees. Failure to comply with those provisions may result in disqualification from the bidding process, termination of contract, and/or other civil or criminal proceedings as required by law.

6.10. Examination of Contract Documents 1. Each bidder is under an affirmative duty to inform itself by personal

examination of the specifications of the proposed work and by such other

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http://www.ogs.state.ny.us/aboutOgs/regulations/defaultAdvisoryCouncil.html


means as it may select, of the character, quality and extent of the work to be performed and the conditions under which the contract is to be executed.

2. Each bidder shall examine specifications and all other data or instruction pertaining to the work. No pleas of ignorance of conditions that may be encountered or of any other matter concerning the work to be performed in the execution of the contract will be accepted by the state as an excuse for any failure or omission on the part of the bidder to fulfill every detail of all the requirements of the documents governing the work. The bidder, if awarded the contract, will not be allowed any extra compensation by reason of any matter or thing concerning which such bidder might have fully informed itself prior to bidding.

3. Any bidder in doubt as to the true meaning of any part of the solicitation or the proposed contract documents shall submit to the Designated Contact a written request for an interpretation thereof. If a major change is involved to which all bidders must be informed, such request for interpretation shall be delivered, in writing, no later than September 11, 2007. Any interpretation of the proposed documents will be made only by an addendum duly issued. A copy of such addendum will be emailed via the electronic OGS Procurement Services Group Bidder Notification System (BNS) or by direct email to vendors who have registered an Intent to Bid.

4. Any addendum to the solicitation issued during the time of bid process must be acknowledged by the Proposer by signature and date and be submitted with the Proposal. (Refer back to the Proposal Checklist in Section 4.9 to determine how many copies are required.) In awarding a contract, any addendum to the RFP will become a part of the Contract.

5. Any verbal information obtained from, or statements made by, representatives of the Commissioner of the Office of General Services at the time of examination of the documents or site shall not be construed as in any way amending contract documents. Only such corrections or addenda as are issued, in writing, to all bidders shall become a part of the contract.

6.11. General Requirements for Contracts Appendix A — Standard Clauses for New York State Contracts, dated June 2006, attached hereto, is hereby expressly made a part of this solicitation as fully as if set forth at length herein. Appendix A shall be retained for reference by the Proposer. The agreement resulting from a successful award will include the following documents. Conflicts between these documents will be resolved in the following descending order of precedence:

Appendix A – Standard Clauses for OGS Contracts OGS Request for Proposal Number 1386 (This Document) Selected Contractor’s Proposal

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES Additional Contractual Requirements:

1. The Commissioner’s interpretation of specifications shall be final and binding upon the Contractor.

2. The Contractor must agree to adhere to all State and Federal regulations in

connection with the contract. 3. The contract shall be void and of no effect unless the Contractor shall secure

compensation for the benefit of and keep insured during the life of this contract, such employees engaged thereon as are required to be insured by the provision of the Workers’ Compensation Law.

4. The contract shall be deemed executory only to the extent of the money available for the performance of the terms of this contract and no liability shall be incurred by the Office of General Services and/or the People of the State of New York beyond the money available for such purpose.

5. In the event that any claim shall arise under this agreement against the Contractor, OGS shall be entitled to collect all cost of litigation and reasonable attorney fees.

6. The Contractor shall be completely responsible for their work, including any damages or breakdowns caused by their failure to take appropriate action.

7. The Contractor must agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the State of New York against any and all losses, damages, costs and expenses which it may hereafter suffer or pay out by reason of any claims, actions and rights of action in law or equity, valid or invalid, arising out of damage occurring to, suffered by any person or persons, caused in whole or in part, by the contractor, any of its officers, employees, agents or representatives or any person, firm or corporation directly or indirectly employed or engaged by the contractor.

8. The Contractor’s liability for any claim, loss or liability arising out of, or connected with, the products and services provided, and whether based upon default, or other liability such as breach of contract, warranty, negligence, or misrepresentation, shall in no case exceed direct damages in an amount equal to two times the contract value as specified at the time of final contract approval.

9. The Contractor must agree that the resulting contract may not be assigned, transferred, conveyed or the work subcontracted without the prior written consent of OGS.

10. For reasons of safety and public policy, the use of illegal drugs and/or alcoholic beverages by the Contractor or its personnel shall not be permitted while performing any phase of the work herein specified.

11. In performing the scope of work under this engagement, the selected Contractor will be required to comply with all applicable facility and information security policies and procedures (both present and future) of OGS and the State.

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12. The Office of General Services reserves the right to reject and bar from the facility any employee hired by the Contractor.

13. The State will not be liable for any expense incurred by the Contractor for any parking fees or as a consequence of any traffic infraction or parking violations attributable to employees of the Contractor.

14. The selected Contractor will take all appropriate action to protect the confidentiality of all information supplied to it or developed by it during the course of its performance of the terms of the agreement.

15. Upon project completion, the selected Contractor will return all documentation in hard copy and in electronic format and other documentation that OGS offered to the selected Contractor to assist in their efforts.

16. The Contractor must agree to retain all records for a period of six (6) years after final payment of the contract. In the event of unresolved audits, records must be maintained until a resolution has been reached. In addition, the Contractor’s records may be audited at any time during the contract period. The Contractor must further agree to make all records available to authorized representatives of the state at any reasonable time during this period.

17. The relationship of the Contracting Firm to OGS will be that of an independent Contractor. In accordance with such status as an independent Contractor, the Contracting Firm covenants and agrees to act consistently with such status.

18. With respect to any contract or employment as an independent Contractor, the Contracting Firm hereby covenants and represents that there is no conflict as to duties required to be performed pursuant to the terms of this proposal.

19. In the performance of work under this Agreement, the selected Contractor remains primarily liable for the successful completion of all services described herein, and jointly and severally liable for the timely performance of all services furnished pursuant to this Agreement by third parties acting for or through the selected Contractor.

20. In the event that a force majeure occurrence prevents performance of the contract – which nonperformance cannot be prevented through exercise of reasonable diligence – the Contractor will provide OGS with written notice of the force majeure occurrence as soon as the delay is known. A force majeure occurrence is an event or effect that cannot be reasonably anticipated or controlled. Force majeure includes but is not limited to acts of God, acts of war, acts of public enemies, strikes, fires, explosions, actions of the elements, floods, or other similar causes beyond the control of the Contractor or OGS in the performance of the contract. Neither the Contractor nor OGS shall be liable to the other for any delay in or failure of performance under the contract due to a force majeure occurrence. Any such delay in or failure of performance shall not constitute default or give rise to any liability for damages. The existence of such causes of such delays or failure shall extend the period for performance to such extent as determined by the Contractor and OGS to be necessary to enable

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complete performance by the Contractor if reasonable diligence is exercised after the cause of delay or failure has been removed.

21. OGS reserves the right to stop the work covered by this proposal and the contract at any time that it deems the successful bidder is unable or incapable of performing the work to the State’s satisfaction. Such notice will be in writing. In such event, OGS will have the right to arrange for the completion of the work in such manner as it may deem advisable and if the cost thereof exceeds the amount of the bid, the successful bidder and its surety will be liable to the State of New York for any such costs. In the event that OGS issues a stop work order, the Contractor will have ten working days to respond before the stop work order becomes effective.

22. Termination for cause – For a material breach that remains uncured for more than 30 days or other specified period after written notice to the Contractor, OGS may terminate the contract at the Contractor’s expense where the Contractor becomes incapable of performing, or meeting any requirements or qualifications set forth in the contract, or for non-performance, or upon a determination that the Contractor is non-responsible. Such termination shall be upon written notice to the Contractor. In such event, OGS may complete the contractual requirements in any manner it may deem advisable and pursue available legal or equitable remedies for breach.

23. Termination for convenience – By written notice, OGS may terminate the contract at any time for convenience upon 60 days written notice or other specified period without penalty or other early termination charges due. If the contract is terminated pursuant to this provision, OGS shall remain liable for all accrued but unpaid charges incurred through the date of the termination. The Contractor shall use due diligence and provide any outstanding deliverables.

6.12. Background Checks for Contractors Performing Services For the State of New York

1. Requirements of this clause apply to the successful awardee(s) of the contract that will be performing work for the New York State Office of General Services under the contract.

2. Definitions. For purposes of this clause, the following definitions apply: a. Suitability: “Suitability” refers to identifiable character traits and past conduct

which are reasonably sufficient to indicate whether a given individual is likely or not likely to be able to perform the requirements of a contract for OGS without undue risk to the interests of the State.

b. Suitability Determination: A “Suitability Determination” is a determination that there are reasonable grounds to believe that an individual will likely be able to perform the contract requirements without undue risk to the interests of the State.

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3. Applicability. a. Contractors shall perform background checks and make suitability

determinations on contractor employees before the individual employees can perform contract services for OGS.

b. The Commissioner of the Office of General Services, or his/her designee (the “Commissioner”), on a case-by-case basis, may, either temporarily or permanently, waive the requirements of this clause, in whole or in part, if they determine in writing that background checks and suitability determinations are not necessary or for a specific individual, in order to protect the State’s interests.

4. Background Check. a. The Contractor is responsible, at its own expense, for completing

background checks and making suitability determinations on its employees prior to the employee beginning work. Compliance with the requirement for performing a background check and making a suitability determination shall not be construed as providing a contractor employee clearance to secured areas. Contractors are required to maintain records of background checks and suitability determinations for the term of the contract, and to make them available to the State when requested.

b. At a minimum, the background check and suitability determination must include an evaluation of: i. Verification that the individual is not listed on a national watched

person database. The following link has information about data available. http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/index.html. The following link has a PDF file of a list that has SPECIFICALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS AND BLOCKED PERSONS. http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf

ii. Criminal History checks using a national database that contains criminal histories and supplement this search by checks of NYS Office of Court Administration and comparable searches of the states where the person lived, worked or attended school during the past five (5) years or by obtaining the record of convictions from NYSOCA directly and from their equivalents from other states where the person might have lived, worked or attended school during the past five (5) years;

iii. DMV driving records; iv. Credit report, if the applicable position involves access to cash or

property subject to theft; v. Social Security Number trace; vi. Verification of U.S. citizenship or legal resident status;

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http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/index.html

http://www.treas.gov/offices/enforcement/ofac/sdn/t11sdn.pdf


vii. Employment history (past five (5) years), if other than entry level position requiring minimal skills;

viii. Education history (highest degree verified), if other than entry level position requiring minimal skills;

ix. Reference names and phone numbers must be required on employment application and need to be verified if specifically directed by the State.

x. Residence for past three (3) years (should be requested on employment application to compare against data from DMV license and other searches for verification);

xi. Military service discharge notice; and xii. Professional license and certification, if applicable.

5. Background Check Guidelines. a. In making a suitability determination, the contractor shall consider the

following factors and evaluate them against the work to be performed, the performance location, and the degree of risk to the State: i. Any loyalty or terrorism issue; ii. Patterns of conduct (e.g., alcoholism/drug addiction, financial

irresponsibility/major liabilities, dishonesty, unemployability for negligence or misconduct, criminal conduct);

iii. Dishonorable military discharge; iv. Felony and misdemeanor offences; v. Drug manufacturing/trafficking/sale; vi. Major honesty issue (e.g., extortion, armed robbery, embezzlement,

perjury); vii. Criminal sexual misconduct; viii. Serious violent behavior (e.g., rape, aggravated assault, arson, child

abuse, manslaughter); ix. Illegal use of firearms/explosives; and x. Employment related misconduct involving dishonesty, criminal or

violent behavior. b. The contractor shall evaluate any adverse information about an individual

by considering the following factors before making a suitability determination: i. The nature, extent and seriousness of the conduct; ii. The circumstance surrounding the conduct; iii. The frequency and recency of the conduct;

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iv. The individual’s age and maturity at the time of the conduct; v. The presence or absence of rehabilitation and other pertinent behavior

changes; vi. The potential for pressure, coercion, exploitation, or duress; vii. The likelihood of continuation of the conduct; viii. How, and if, the conduct bears upon potential job responsibilities; and ix. The employee’s employment history before and after the conduct.

6. Employee Removal. Whenever a contractor becomes aware that any employee working at a location or on a system under OGS under a contract becomes an unacceptable risk to the State; the contractor shall immediately remove that employee from the site, notify the Commissioner that such a removal has taken place, and replace them with a qualified substitute. If the approval of the Commissioner was initially required for the removed employee, Commissioner approval is required for the replacement employee.

7. Commissioner’s Notification. Prior to commencement of contract performance, the contractor shall notify the Commissioner that the background checks and suitability determinations required by this clause have been completed for affected individuals.

8. Each suitability determination should be documented in a narrative. If negative items are mitigated by subsequent passage of time or completion of substance abuse programs this rationale should be included in the narrative. A negative suitability determination must be supported by a finding that the adverse information has a direct bearing on the potential job duties or that it is deemed sufficiently serious to bar the employee from a state site.

6.13. Contractor Insurance Requirements Prior to the commencement of the work to be performed by the Contractor hereunder, the Contractor shall file with The People of the State of New York Office of General Services (OGS), Certificates of Insurance evidencing compliance with all requirements contained in this contract. Such Certificates shall be of form and substance acceptable to OGS. Acceptance and/or approval by OGS do not and shall not be construed to relieve the Contractor of any obligations, responsibilities or liabilities under the contract. All insurance required by the contract shall be obtained at the sole cost and expense of the Contractor; shall be maintained with insurance carriers licensed to do business in New York State, and acceptable to OGS; shall be primary and non-contributing to any insurance or self insurance maintained by OGS; shall provide written notice be given to New York State Office of General Services (OGS) at least thirty (30) days prior to the cancellation, non-renewal, or material alteration of such policies, which notice, evidenced by return receipt of United States Certified Mail, shall be sent to NYS Office

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES of General Services Financial Administration, Purchasing Unit, Corning Tower, 40th Floor, Albany, NY 12242 and shall name The People of the State of New York, its officers, agents, and employees as additional insureds thereunder. The additional insured requirement does not apply to Workers Compensation, Disability or Professional Liability coverage. The Contractor shall be solely responsible for the payment of all deductibles and self-insured retentions to which such policies are subject. Deductibles and self-insured retentions must be approved by OGS. Such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. The Contractor shall require that any subcontractors hired carry insurance with the same limits and provisions provided herein. Each insurance carrier must be rated at least “A-” Class “VII” in the most recently published Best’s Insurance Report. If, during the term of the policy, a carrier’s rating falls below “A-” Class “VII”, the insurance must be replaced no later than the renewal date of the policy with an insurer acceptable to OGS and rated at least “A-” Class ”VII” in the most recently published Best’s Insurance Report. The Contractor shall cause all insurance to be in full force and effect as of the commencement date of the contract and to remain in full force and effect throughout the term of the contract and as further required by the contract. The Contractor shall not take any action, or omit to take any action, that would suspend or invalidate any of the required coverages during the period of time such coverages are required to be in effect. Not less than thirty (30) days prior to the expiration date or renewal date, the Contractor shall supply OGS updated replacement Certificates of Insurance, and amendatory endorsements. The Contractor, throughout the term of the contract, or as otherwise required by the contract, shall obtain and maintain in full force and effect, the following insurance with limits not less than those described below and as required by the terms of the contract, or as required by law, whichever is greater (limits may be provided through a combination of primary and umbrella/excess policies):

A. Commercial General Liability Insurance with a limit of not less than $1,000,000 each occurrence. Such liability shall be written on the ISO occurrence form CG 00 01, or a substitute form providing equivalent coverages and shall cover liability arising from premises operations, independent contractors, products-completed operations, broad form property damage, personal & advertising injury, cross liability coverage, liability assumed in a contract (including the tort liability of another assumed in a contract) and explosion, collapse & underground coverage.

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B. Workers Compensation, Employers Liability, and Disability Benefits as required by New York State. If employees will be working on, near or over navigable waters, US Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act endorsement must be included.

C. Comprehensive Business Automobile Liability Insurance with a limit of not less than $1,000,000 each accident. Such insurance shall cover liability arising out of any automobile including owned, leased, hired and non owned automobiles.

Waiver of Subrogation. Contractor shall cause to be included in each of its policies insuring against loss, damage or destruction by fire or other insured casualty a waiver of the insurer’s right of subrogation against OGS, or, if such waiver is unobtainable (i) an express agreement that such policy shall not be invalidated if Contractor waives or has waived before the casualty, the right of recovery against OGS or (ii) any other form of permission for the release of OGS.

6.14. Tax Law 5-a Amended April 26, 2006 Tax Law §5-a, as amended, effective April 26, 2006, requires certain contractors awarded state contracts for commodities, services, and technology valued at more than $100,000 to certify to the Department of Taxation and Finance (DTF) that they are registered to collect New York State and local sales and compensating use taxes. The law applies to contracts where the total amount of such contractors’ sales delivered into New York State are in excess of $300,000 for the four quarterly periods immediately preceding the quarterly period in which the certification is made, and with respect to any affiliates and subcontractors whose sales delivered into New York State exceeded $300,000 for the four quarterly periods immediately preceding the quarterly period in which the certification is made. This law imposes upon certain contractors the obligation to certify whether or not the contractor, its affiliates, and its subcontractors are required to register to collect state sales and compensating use tax, and contractors must certify to DTF that each affiliate and subcontractor exceeding such sales threshold is registered with DTF to collect New York State and local sales and compensating use taxes. The law prohibits the State Comptroller, or other approving agency, from approving a contract awarded to a contractor meeting the registration requirements but who is not so registered in accordance with the law. Contractor certification forms and instructions for completing the forms are attached to this RFP. Form No. ST-220-TD must be filed with and returned directly to DTF. Unless the information upon which the ST-220-TD is based changes, this form only needs to be filed once with DTF. If the information changes for the contractor, its affiliate(s), or its subcontractor(s), a new Form No. ST-220-TD must be filed with DTF. Form ST-220-CA must be filed with the Proposal and submitted to the procuring covered agency certifying that the contractor filed the ST-220-TD with DTF. Proposed

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES contractors should complete and return the certification forms within two business days of request (if the forms are not completed and returned with bid submission). Failure to make either of these filings may render a bidder non-responsive and non-responsible. Bidders shall take the necessary steps to provide properly certified forms within a timely manner to ensure compliance with the law. Vendors may call DTF at (800) 698-2909 for all questions relating to Tax Law §5-a and a company's registration status with the DTF. For additional information and frequently asked questions, please refer to the DTF Web site: http://www.nystax.gov

6.15. Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises In July of 1988, the New York State Legislature passed Article 15-A of the Executive Law. This legislation provides specific rules, regulations, and procedures for minority and women-owned enterprise (M/WBE) participation in certain state contracts. The Office of General Services (OGS) is required to implement the provisions of Article 15-A for all of its contracts: (1) in excess of $25,000 for labor, services, supplies, equipment, materials, or any combination of the foregoing; and (2) for contracts in excess of $100,000 for real property renovation and construction. For the purposes of this contract, OGS hereby establishes a goal of 1% for minority owned business (MBE) participation and 1% for woman owned business enterprises (WBE) participation. In order to be awarded an OGS contract, every bidder must comply with the requirements, rules, and regulations outlined in Article 15-A.

Policy and Provisions It is the policy of the State of New York to promote equality of economic opportunity for minority and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBEs) in state contracting. In order to comply with the State's objectives, the Contractors shall use "good faith efforts" to provide meaningful participation by M/WBE subcontractors or suppliers in the performance of this contract. For the purpose of determining a Contractor’s good faith effort to comply with the requirements of Article 15-A or to be entitled to a waiver there from, the contracting agency shall consider:

I. whether the Contractor has advertised in general circulation media, trade association publications, minority-focus and women-focus media. In such event,

II. whether or not certified minority or women-owned businesses which have been solicited by the Contractor exhibited interest in submitting proposals for a particular project by attending a pre-bid conference; and

III. whether certified businesses which have been solicited by the Contractor have responded in a timely fashion to the Contractor’s solicitations for timely competitive bid quotations prior to the contracting agency’s bid date; and

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IV. whether there has been written notification to appropriate certified businesses that appear in the Directory of Certified M/WBEs prepared pursuant to paragraph (f) of subdivision three of section three hundred eleven of this article; and

V. whether the Contractor can reasonably structure the amount of work to be performed under subcontracts in order to increase the likelihood of participation by certified businesses.

Goals The MBE and WBE participation goals as stated earlier are based on the availability of M/WBEs currently certified by New York State and geographically located to be able to perform the work in the region where the project is located. The total dollar value of the contract, scope of work, the supplies, and equipment necessary to perform the project, are also considerations used to determine the percentage goals.

Utilization The Contractor may count as M/WBE participation: subcontracting part of the contract to certified firms or purchasing supplies and equipment used to perform the terms and conditions of the contract from certified firms. Upon a showing by the Contractor of every good faith effort to achieve the goal for M/WBE participation in the work, the State will waive a Contractor’s failure to achieve the goal for M/WBE participation.

Minority and Women Owned Business Officer The Contractor shall designate an Affirmative Action officer and assign the officer the responsibility and authority to monitor the M/WBE program for this contract.

Non-Discrimination The Contractor must agree not to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, national origin, gender, age, disability, or marital status, in any respect, against any potential subcontractor, supplier, or other company, firm, or enterprise in any manner relating to the performance of the contract.

Pre-Award Clarifications Prior to final contract approval, in the event a Proposer on this RFP needs assistance in interpreting and meeting the M/WBE requirements as discussed in this subsection, this assistance should be obtained through the Designated Contact for the RFP.

Reports The successful Contractor will be required to submit a Utilization Plan (BDC-328) to OGS within 14 days after notification of award. The Contractor must also submit the MBE/WBE Letter of Intent to Participate (BDC-49). Such letter is a commitment by the Contractor and the subcontractor/supplier that the terms and conditions for M/WBE participation on this contract are agreed to. Any modifications or changes to the agreed

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES participation by certified M/WBEs, over the term of the contract, must be reported on a revised Utilization Plan.

Post Award After notification of award, the Contractor must submit to the OGS Office of Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise Programs, the following additional forms, by the tenth day of each month during the term of the contract:

1. (BDC-58) Cumulative Monthly Income Statements 2. (BDC-25) Monthly Affirmation of Income Payments

OGS will provide additional guidance concerning these requirements at the time of the award.

6.16. Consultant Contractors Chapter 10 of the Laws of 2006 amended the Civil Service Law and the State Finance Law relative to maintaining certain information concerning contract employees working under state agency service and consulting contracts. State agency consulting contracts are defined as “contracts entered into by a state agency for analysis, evaluation, research, training, data processing, computer programming, engineering, environmental health and mental health services, accounting, auditing, paralegal, legal, or similar services” (“covered consultant contract” or “covered consultant services”). The amendments require that certain contract employee information be provided to the state agency awarding such contracts, the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC), the Division of the Budget (DOB), and the Department of Civil Service (CS). To meet these new requirements, Proposers are required to complete “Form A: The Contractor’s Planned Employment Form” (found in the Required Statutory/Administrative Compliance Forms Packet.) Proposers are further advised that the selected Contractor will be required to complete and submit Form B: “The Contractor’s Annual Employment Report during the term of the contract by May 1st of each year that the contract is in effect. The following information will be reported on that form: Total number of employees employed to provide the consultant services, by

employment category Total number of hours worked by such employees Total compensation paid to all employees that performed consultant services under

such contract The information to be reported is applicable only to those employees who are directly providing services or directly performing services that are covered consulting services. However, such information must also be provided concerning employees of

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES subcontractors who perform any part of the service contract or any part of the covered consultant contract. This information does not have to be collected and reported in circumstances where there is ancillary involvement of an employee in a clerical, support, organizational, or other administrative capacity. The Contractor will be required to simultaneously report such information, using Form B, to the Office of General Services, Office of the State Comptroller, and Department of Civil Service. The Contractor is advised that the information to be provided on Forms A and B, as described above, will be available for public inspection and copying pursuant to §87 of the New York State Public Officers Law (Freedom of Information Law). If OGS or another state agency makes such a disclosure, it is obligated to redact all individual employee names and social security numbers prior to such disclosure.

6.17. New York State Information Security Policy 1. This clause is applicable to all contracts that include information technology

resources or services in which the Contractor must have physical or electronic access to sensitive OGS information. For the purpose of this clause, the term “Sensitive” is defined by the guidance set forth in the NYS Information Security Policy (P03-002), issued by the NYS Office of Cyber Security and Critical Infrastructure Coordination (CSCIC). There is a presumption that all information technology systems contain some sensitive information. Information technology resources include, but are not limited to, system software, application software, and information (data). Information technology services include, but are not limited to, the management, operation (including input, processing, transmission, and output), maintenance, programming, and system administration of computer systems, networks, and telecommunications systems. The Contractor shall be responsible for implementing sufficient information technology security to reasonably prevent the compromise of OGS resources for all of the contractor’s systems that are interconnected with an OGS network, as well as for OGS systems that are operated by the Contractor.

2. All Contractor personnel performing under this contract, and all Contractor equipment used to process or store OGS data or to connect to OGS networks, must comply with the requirements contained in:

The NYS Information Security Policy (P03-002). To obtain a copy, contact CSCIC (http://www.cscic.state.ny.us/contact.htm);

NYS information technology policies, standards and best practice guidelines (http://www.oft.state.ny.us/policy/PolicyByPubDate.htm); and

OGS information security policies, procedures, and standards. 3. For all Contractor-owned systems for which performance of the contract requires

interconnection with an OGS network or that OGS data be stored or processed

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on them, the Contractor shall provide, implement, and maintain an IT Security Plan. This plan shall be submitted to OGS prior to the commencement of any work under the contract. It shall describe the processes and procedures that will be followed to ensure the appropriate security of IT resources that are developed, processed, or used under this contract. The plan shall also describe those parts of the contract to which this clause applies. The plan shall meet IT security requirements in accordance with NYS policies and procedures that include, but are not limited to:

The NYS Information Security Policy (P03-002) To obtain a copy, contact CSCIC (http://www.cscic.state.ny.us/lib/policies/cs_policyp03-002v2.1.pdf);

NYS information technology policies, standards and best practice guidelines (http://www.oft.state.ny.us/policy/PolicyByPubDate.htm); and

OGS information security policies, procedures, and standards. 4. The Contractor shall incorporate this clause in all subcontracts that meet the

conditions in paragraph (1) of this clause.

6.18. Change Order Process In the event that OGS finds it necessary to change some aspect of the service agreement resulting from this solicitation, OGS reserves the right to request such changes through a change order process. Costs for any such change orders will be established based upon the hourly rates and titles submitted in the Cost Proposal. OGS will complete and submit to the Contractor a change order form. The Contractor will reply promptly with a written proposal indicating whether or not the change order can be accomplished and its plan for implementation, the dates of service, the number of working hours, and the rates per hour. OGS will then indicate in writing whether or not the proposal is acceptable. Change orders may require the approval of the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). The Contractor will not be permitted to proceed with a change order until after receiving a copy of the written approvals of OGS and OSC (if necessary).

6.19. Billing For the purposes of this contract, the Contractor will submit monthly invoices for payment for services satisfactorily completed during the previous month. Billing for work performed will cover a period of not less than 30 days. The Contractor may use a company invoice or New York State Standard Voucher. Each invoice or voucher will contain the Contract ID number (i.e.: CMSXXXX) and, either in its body or as an attachment, will itemize work completed during that month on

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New York State Office of General Services RFP # 1386 STREAMLINING PROCUREMENT CONTRACTING PROCESSES WITHIN THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES each deliverable and provide detail indicating the number of hours worked in each job category. Submitted invoices will be processed in accordance with established procedures of the Office of General Services and the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC). The Proposer must indicate any special requirement in an attachment to the Cost Proposal Form. All invoices or vouchers must be submitted for payment to: THE CLAIMS UNIT DIVISION OF FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES EMPIRE STATE PLAZA STATION P. O. BOX 2117 ALBANY, NEW YORK 12220-0117 A copy of each invoice, along with a monthly report, must also be forwarded to the designated OGS Project Manager (to be named) at this address: OFFICE OF ORGANIZATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS / PROJECT MANAGEMENT CENTER OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES TOWER BUILDING, 29th FLOOR EMPIRE STATE PLAZA ALBANY, NY 12242 Electronic Payments: The Office of the State Comptroller offers an “electronic payment” option in lieu of issuing checks. Contact OSC to obtain an information packet at 518-474-4032 or email to [email protected] or visit their Web site at: www.osc.state.ny.us. OGS will retain 10% on each payment, pending final written acceptance of all deliverables.

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APPENDIX A - STANDARD CLAUSES FOR NEW YORK STATE CONTRACTS

This document will be included with the RFP as a separate PDF file.

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REQUIRED PROPOSAL FORMS These forms will be included with the RFP, in a separate folder, as PDF files. These forms will be made available in Word format to those vendors submitting a

Letter of Intent to Bid. However, the documents included in this original RFP are the official documents of record.

Form 1: Proposal Cover Sheet Form 2: Project Staffing Roster Form 3: Project Team Member Skills, Experience and References Summary Form 4: Cost Proposal Detail and Summary

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REQUIRED STATUTORY/ADMINISTRATIVE COMPLIANCE FORMS PACKET This packet will be included with the RFP as a single, separate PDF file. The forms in the packet will be made available in Word format to those vendors

submitting a Letter of Intent to Bid. However, the documents included in this original RFP are the official documents of record.

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ATTACHMENTS These attachments will be included with the RFP, in a separate folder, as PDF files. These forms will be made available in Visio and Word format, as appropriate, to

those vendors submitting a Letter of Intent to Bid. However, the documents included in this original RFP are the official documents of record.

Attachment 1: OGS Organization Chart Attachment 2: PSG Organization Chart Attachment 3: Financial Administration Organization Chart Attachment 4: Procurement Services Processes Summary Attachment 5: Procurement Reform in Other Settings: Sample Benchmarking Links

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A Request for Proposals for “STREAMLINING ...project will be the contracting activities performed...

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