1-302-26-Grant Management Software RFI.pdf

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State of Texas Office of the Attorney General

REQUEST FOR INFORMATION (RFI)

GRANT MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Posting Number: 302-26-Grant Management Software RFI

CLASS: 208 ITEM: 68

Posting Date: November 14th, 2025

Version: 1.0 RFI Response Deadline: December 12th, 2025

2:00 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST) ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Acronyms and Definitions

2 DISCLAIMER

3 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

3.1 Background

3.2 Current Environment

3.3 OAG Objectives

4 GENERAL INFORMATION AND RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

4.1 Point of Contact Information

4.2 Schedule of Events

4.3 Response Submission Instructions

4.4 Product Demonstrations

5 REQUESTED INFORMATION

5.1 Vendor Information

5.2 Software Overview

5.3 General Functional Capability Requirements

5.4 Implementation and Support

5.5 Cost Model

5.6 References

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1 INTRODUCTION

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) of Texas, through its Grants Division, is issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to gather information from qualified vendors regarding grant management software solutions. This RFI is issued solely for information and planning purposes.

It does not constitute a solicitation or a promise to issue a solicitation in the future.

The OAG seeks to identify software platforms that can streamline and improve the lifecycle of grant management, from solicitation development through grant closeout and auditing. The ideal solution should align with Texas state IT standards, support transparency, enhance operational efficiency, and ensure compliance with federal and state grant regulations. Information regarding applicable industry standards, best practices, potential performance measures, cost structures or pricing methodologies, and any across-the-board, comprehensive, integrated solution that addresses other related issues is welcome.

1.1 Acronyms and Definitions

When capitalized, the following terms have the meaning set forth below. All other terms have the meaning set forth in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh edition.

Table 1: Acronyms and Definitions

Acronym Definition

ESBD Electronic State Business Daily which is available online at http://www.txsmartbuy.com/sp

Local Time Central standard time (CST) or central daylight time (CDT), as is then prevailing, in Austin, Texas.

OAG Office of the Attorney General

Respondent Any individual, partnership, or corporation submitting a Response. Unless the Contract clearly indicates otherwise, all terms and conditions of this Contract that refer to Respondent apply with equal force to Contractor.

2 DISCLAIMER

The intent of this RFI is to obtain information. It is not a formal request for a bid. There will be no award or contract developed from a response to this RFI. If the OAG decides to acquire any products or services based on the information submitted in response to this RFI, the appropriate procurement method will be used. The OAG offers no assurance or guarantee that a solicitation for procurement will result from this RFI.

This RFI is being issued on behalf of the OAG. Vendors are invited to provide budget information and describe potential services or solutions for planning purposes only.

Expenses incurred in developing, preparing or submitting any information, documentation or other materials in response to this RFI and/or by attending meetings directly or indirectly related to this RFI are entirely the responsibility of the respondents and will neither be paid nor reimbursed by the OAG or any agency of the State of Texas. Respondents develop, prepare or submit any information, documentation or other materials in response to this RFI at their own risk and expense. All information, documentation or other materials submitted in response to this RFI http://www.txsmartbuy.com/sp

Grants Management Software, Version 1.0 Page 2 of 6 become the property of the OAG. Respondents should retain submission copies for their records.

The OAG reserves the right to use any and all ideas presented in any response.

The OAG will strictly adhere to the requirements of (a) Chapter 441, Subchapter L of the Texas Government Code regarding the preservation, management, and retention of state records and

(b) Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code (the “Texas Public Information Act”) regarding the disclosure of public information. As a result, by participating in this RFI process you acknowledge that all information, documentation and other materials submitted in response to this RFI may (a) constitute state records for the purposes of Chapter 441, subchapter L of the Texas Government Code and (b) be subject to public disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act.

The OAG is without authority to agree that any information submitted will not be subject to disclosure. Disclosure is governed by the Texas Public Information Act (the "Act"), Chapter 552 of the Texas Government Code. Under the Act, all information held by governmental bodies is open to public disclosure unless it falls within one of the Act's specific exceptions to disclosure.

Vendors are advised to consult with their legal counsel concerning disclosure issues resulting from this RFI process and to take precautions to safeguard trade secrets and other proprietary information.

If it is necessary for a vendor to include proprietary or otherwise confidential information in its response, the vendor must clearly mark all copies of the proprietary or otherwise confidential information, documentation or materials that are being provided to the OAG with a written notice identifying the specific exception(s) to disclosure under the Texas Public Information Act that the vendor claims apply to such information, documentation or material. Subchapter C of the Texas Public Information Act sets forth the Act’s exceptions to the required disclosure of information.

Please note that claiming a disclosure exception for provided information does not automatically render such information confidential. Further, merely making a blanket claim that all of the submitted information is protected from disclosure because it contains some proprietary information is not acceptable and shall not render the entire submission confidential. Any information that is not clearly identified as proprietary or confidential shall be deemed to be subject to disclosure pursuant to the Act.

In the event that the OAG receives a request under the Texas Public Information Act for a copy of any information, documentation, or other material for which an exception to required disclosure under the Act is claimed, the OAG will undertake its best efforts to provide the vendor with notice of the request for release of provided information and afford the vendor the opportunity to brief the facts that bring the information under the applicable exceptions of the Act. The vendor would submit the brief to the Open Records Division of the OAG. The Open Records Division is the division within the OAG that governmental bodies (including divisions of the OAG) seeking to withhold information under the Public Information Act must apply to for a decision on whether the information is excepted from disclosure. It is not possible to obtain a decision prior to a request for public disclosure being made since the Open Records Division does not render advisory opinions.

3 BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

3.1 Background

The OAG Grants Division manages various state and federally funded grant programs that support victim services, law enforcement initiatives, and legal aid services. Currently, many grant-related functions involve manual processes or disparate systems, creating inefficiencies in application intake, review, award issuance, fiscal management, reporting, and compliance tracking.

The OAG is exploring modern, integrated, and secure cloud-based solutions to support the following goals:

• Reduce administrative burden for both OAG staff and grantees.

• Enhance visibility and reporting capabilities.

• Ensure regulatory compliance and audit readiness.

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• Improve grantee communication and self-service capabilities.

• Seamlessly integrate with existing internal systems (e.g., CAPPS, SharePoint, and external grant systems).

3.2 Current Environment

The OAG Grants Divisions current Grant management environment has many functions that involve manual processes or disparate systems, creating inefficiencies in application intake, review, award issuance, fiscal management, reporting, and compliance tracking.

• $50M+ in over 425 grants to 350+ grant recipients each year (100% reimbursement grants)

• Grant application solicitation, scoring, and reviewing performed in one system.

• Grant application budgets submitted via excel document template with application (not in system).

• Notice of Grant Award and grant contracts executed via email leveraging DocuSign

• Budget adjustments and monthly reimbursement requests managed via email with attached excel document templates.

• Risk assessment and monitoring activities performed via email using word and excel documents.

3.3 OAG Objectives

Through this RFI, the OAG seeks to:

• Understand the range of available grant management solutions.

• Assess potential solutions’ ability to meet specific functional and technical requirements.

• Identify pricing models and cost considerations.

• Determine implementation timelines and support models.

• Evaluate compatibility with State of Texas IT security and accessibility standards.

4 GENERAL INFORMATION AND RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

4.1 Point of Contact Information

Submit all questions regarding this request for information via the following link:

https://texasoag.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/209850

4.2 Schedule of Events

The OAG reserves the right to change the dates shown below.

Table 2: Schedule of Events

Event Date

RFI is distributed 11/14/25

RFI Vendor Deadline to submit Questions to OAG 11/20/25; 2:00 pm CST

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RFI Responses Due 12/12/25; 2:00 pm CST

4.3 Response Submission Instructions

The RFI response deadline is December 12th, 2025, 2:00 p.m. CST. All responses must be submitted through Bonfire at the following link:

https://texasoag.bonfirehub.com/opportunities/209850

Responses must be organized by the topics outlined below. Additional explanation and/or capabilities can also be provided as needed:

1. Requested Information

2. Software Overview

3. Functional Capabilities

a. Pre-Award

b. Post-Award

c. Grantee Interface

d. Reporting and Audit

e. Integration

f. Security and Compliance

g. Accessibility and Usability

4. Implementation and Support

5. Cost Model

6. References

4.4 Product Demonstrations

The OAG at its sole discretion may choose to meet with one or more of the potential respondents to obtain further clarification and/or to schedule a product demonstration.

5 REQUESTED INFORMATION

5.1 Vendor Information

1. Company Name, address, and website

2. Primary Contact, title, phone, email

3. Years in Business

4. Overview of company background, areas of specialization, and relevant work history related to the public sector

5.2 Software Overview

1. Name and version of your grant management software.

2. Is the software proprietary, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS), or custom-developed?

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3. Deployment models available (SaaS, on-premise, hybrid).

4. Are you a cloud-based solution? If so, who is your cloud provider?

5. Are you Texas Risk and Authorization Management Program (TX-RAMP) or Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) certified?

6. Do you have a Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) contract? If so, what is the contract number?

7. Current number of government clients using your solution (state/local/federal).

8. Description of key modules and capabilities.

5.3 General Functional Capability Requirements

5.3.1.1 Pre-Award

1) Grant program setup (up to 15 programs)

2) Solicitation creation and publishing

3) Applicant registration

4) Application intake and validation

5) Review and scoring workflows

6) Award recommendation and approval

5.3.1.2 Post-Award

1) Grant agreement execution (e-signature support)

2) Fund disbursement tracking

3) Budget management and modification workflows

4) Reimbursement and payments

5) Performance and milestone tracking

6) Risk assessment and monitoring

5.3.1.3 Grantee Interface

1) Grantee portal with self-service features

2) Training or onboarding tools for applicants

3) Document upload and submission tracking

4) Communication tools (e.g., alerts, messaging)

5.3.1.4 Reporting and Auditing

1) Standard and custom reporting capabilities

2) Real-time dashboards

3) Audit trails and compliance tracking

4) Export formats supported (Excel, PDF, XML, etc.)

5.3.1.5 Integration

APIs or connectors to federal and state systems (e.g., IRS, FAC, SAM, CAPPS)

1) Single Sign-On (SSO) / Active Directory integration

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2) Document management system compatibility (e.g., SharePoint)

3) Federal grant system (e.g., GMS, JustGrants) integration potential

5.3.1.6 Security and Compliance

1) Compliance with NIST, IRS Pub. 1075, FedRAMP, or other standards

2) Data encryption in transit and at rest

3) Role-based access controls

4) Audit logging and incident response features

5.3.1.7 Accessibility and Usability

1) Compliance with Texas DIR Accessibility Standards and WCAG 2.1

2) Mobile-friendly interface

3) Language translation or multilingual support

5.4 Implementation and Support

1) Average implementation timeline for similar-sized agencies

2) Training options for staff and grantees

3) Ongoing support and maintenance services

4) System customization and configuration capabilities

5) Service Level Agreements (SLAs)

5.5 Cost Model

1) Outline pricing structure (licensing, per user, per module, etc.)

2) One-time and recurring costs (e.g., implementation, hosting, maintenance)

3) Optional features or modules and their costs

4) Estimated total cost of ownership (5-year outlook)

5.6 References

Provide at least three references from government clients similar in size and scope, including:

1) Organization name

2) Contact person, title, and email/phone

3) Project description and implementation year