ADDENDUM #1 (July 12, 2023) RFP 758 2300000411-2

• Addition of Attachment H – Commonwealth’s Response to Vendors’ Written Questions

ATTACHMENT A

Commonwealth of Kentucky Request for Proposal (RFP)

For Learning and Employment Records

Digital Wallet Pilot Project

RFP 758 2300000411

Release Date: June 26, 2023

CLOSING DATE AND TIME July 28, 2023 3:30pm ET

Issued by The Finance and Administration Cabinet

On Behalf of Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS) in the Education & Labor Cabinet (ELC)

Commonwealth Buyer:

Susan S. Noland, KCPM

Division Director

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION CABINET

Office of Procurement Services

200 Mero Street, 5th Floor

FRANKFORT KY 40622

(502) 564-5951 Susan.Noland@ky.gov

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Proposal Submission Checklist Section 1 – Summary Section 2 – Introduction Section 3 – Scope of Work Section 4 – Commonwealth Office of Technology Requirements Section 5 – Procurement Requirements and Instructions Section 6 – Proposal Submission Section 7 – Proposal Evaluation Section 8 – Negotiations Section 9 – Contract Requirements Section 10 – Standard Terms and Conditions Section 11 – Attachments mailto:Susan.Noland@ky.gov

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION CHECKLIST

The vendor MUST include the following with the proposal submission.

If the items highlighted below are not submitted with the proposal submission, the Commonwealth MUST deem the proposal non-responsive and SHALL NOT consider for award.

All other items MUST be submitted prior to award.

*PROPOSED TECHNICAL SOLUTION

*PROPOSED COST SOLUTION

TRANSMITTAL LETTER [see Section 6.7(A)]

REVENUE FORM 10A100 KENTUCKY TAX REGISTRATION APPLICATION IF

APPLICABLE (see Section 6.7 (C)], CERTIFICATE OF AUTHORITY- REGISTRATION WITH SECRETARY OF STATE BY

A FOREIGN ENTITY IF APPLICABLE [see Section 6.7 (D)]

REQUIRED ANNUAL AFFIDAVIT AND OTHER AFFIDAVIT(S)

https://finance.ky.gov/office-of-the-secretary/FinanceForms/Annual%20Required%20Affidavit%20for%20Bidders%20Offer ors%20and%20Contractors.pdf

EEO FORMS IF APPLICABLE [see Section 10.19]

*Please see Attachment E - The Protection of Personal Information Security and Breach Investigation Procedures and Practice Act (KRS 61.931), et seq.

effective January 1, 2015.

https://finance.ky.gov/office-of-the-secretary/FinanceForms/Annual%20Required%20Affidavit%20for%20Bidders%20Offerors%20and%20Contractors.pdf https://finance.ky.gov/office-of-the-secretary/FinanceForms/Annual%20Required%20Affidavit%20for%20Bidders%20Offerors%20and%20Contractors.pdf https://finance.ky.gov/office-of-the-secretary/FinanceForms/Annual%20Required%20Affidavit%20for%20Bidders%20Offerors%20and%20Contractors.pdf

SECTION 1 - RFP SUMMARY

1.1 Estimated Schedule of RFP Activities

The following table presents the anticipated schedule for major activities associated with the RFP distribution, proposal submission, proposal evaluation process, and contract award. The Commonwealth reserves the right at its sole discretion to change the Schedule of Activities, including the associated dates and times.

Anticipated Schedule of Activities

Release of RFP

June 26, 2023

Vendors’ Written Questions due by 8:00 AM ET

(SUBMIT QUESTIONS ON ATTACHMENT D-VENDORS’

QUESTION FORM)

July 5, 2023

Commonwealth’s Response to Vendors’ Written Questions and Deviations

July 12, 2023

Proposals due by 3:30 PM ET

July 28, 2023

1.2 Issuing Office

The Commonwealth of Kentucky, Finance and Administration Cabinet, Office of Procurement Services, is issuing this RFP on behalf of the Kentucky Center for Statistics (KYSTATS) in the Education & Labor Cabinet (ELC). The Finance and Administration Cabinet is the only office authorized to change, modify, amend, alter, or clarify the specifications, terms and conditions of this RFP.

A contract, based on this RFP, may or may not be awarded. Any contract award from this RFP is invalid until properly approved and executed by the Finance and Administration Cabinet.

1.3 Agencies to Be Served

This contract shall be for use by KYSTATS. No shipments shall be made except upon receipt by vendor of an official delivery order from the using agency.

Extending the Contract Use to Other Agencies The Office of Procurement Services reserves the right, with the consent of the vendor, to offer the Master Agreement resulting from this solicitation to other state agencies requiring the product(s) or service(s).

SECTION 2 - INTRODUCTION –

2.1 Purpose

The purpose of this Request for Proposal (RFP) is to solicit proposals for competitive negotiations pursuant to 200 KAR 5:307.

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is seeking services to plan, design, develop and conduct a pilot of a Digital Wallet as part of a learning and employment records (LER) system that will benefit Kentucky learners, earners, employers and academic / training institutions.

The LER is a comprehensive digital record of a worker’s skills and competencies.

LERs can document learning wherever it occurs, and they may include records of people’s credentials, degrees, and employment histories. The Digital Wallet is an individual’s secure and verified repository of these credentials, serving as the connection between the issuer of such credentials (e.g., universities, certified trainers) and the consumer of them (e.g., employers).

When Laffer Associates researched the economic benefits that can occur by shortening the time it takes when a worker loses their job and starts new employment, they found that, with a full-scale implementation of a digital instant-placement program, the average unemployed worker would benefit by almost $6,000 and the average firm would benefit by over $21,000, translating to aggregate gains for the U.S. economy of nearly $437.6 billion.

There is a variety of participants in the public and private sectors moving in the same direction required to realize these benefits. KYSTATS, under the auspices of the Education and Labor Cabinet, is seeking proven expertise in identifying and mobilizing stakeholders to define key objectives and requirements for the design and implementation of a pilot LER Digital Wallet, in which these skills, degrees and certifications will reside. This Digital Wallet will be the initial phase of a statewide Learning and Employment Records (LER) system.

2.2 Background

2.2.1 Benefits to the Commonwealth

For the workforce at large, LER connects education and training more directly to employer demand. Learners and earners gain the mobility to move out of poverty by more quickly obtaining entry and mid-level roles with the transferable skills required to move laterally between industries. Education and training providers can use LER to establish classroom-to-career pathways, while also identifying programs to meet upcoming hiring needs. Employers can use LER to align their recruitment efforts with business results rather than resumes and can realize efficiencies in screening applicants.

2.2.2 Context

Entities such as the T3 Innovation Network, a consortium hosted by the U.S.

Chamber of Commerce Foundation and co-funded by Wal-Mart, Google, Microsoft, and others, are supporting LER efforts through standardizing the data structures and formats across academic and business domains.

There are active pilot projects in the states of North Dakota and Alabama that are in their early stages and have carved out a small scope of users, industries, and employers to prove the concepts. These states communicate and collaborate with each other, as well as the T3 Group and other participants, including credential verifiers, workforce development boards, and licensing agencies.

SECTION 3 – SCOPE OF WORK

PROPOSALS THAT DO NOT MEET MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS WILL BE

DEEMED NON-RESPONSIVE AND WILL NOT BE CONSIDERED. REFER TO

ATTACHMENT F– MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS CHECKLIST.

Mandatory Requirement means a condition set out in the specifications or statement of work that must be met without exception.

3.1 Scope of Work/Technical Requirements

The Vendor shall indicate their ability and commitment to fulfill the requirements listed below by responding “Yes” or “No” to each Mandatory requirement in Attachment F – Mandatory Requirements Checklist.

1. The Vendor shall help identify appropriate stakeholders and facilitate the definition of stakeholder objectives and requirements

a. Based on the Vendor's documentable subject matter expertise, the Vendor shall identify appropriate stakeholders from business, education, state and local agencies, licensing boards and workforce development boards

b. Using proven techniques, the Vendor shall facilitate these stakeholders to consensus to establish the objectives, in-demand pathways, and key requirements for a Digital Wallet pilot

c. The Vendor shall provide complete documentation of this consensus and associated decisions

2. The Vendor shall design, develop, and implement the base technical infrastructure for the Digital Wallet, using open source components The Vendor shall identify and use technical components that are open source and non-proprietary

a. The Vendor shall provide both data and process interoperability between education and business entities and the Digital Wallet

b. The Vendor shall provide an infrastructure base capable of scaling up to production levels of use on a statewide basis, without redesign and re-development

3. The Vendor shall develop, implement, help conduct, and support a proof-of-concept Digital Wallet pilot

a. Based on the stakeholder objectives and requirements, the Vendor shall plan, develop and enable testing of the functionality of the Digital Wallet.

b. This functionality should include the transmission of secure, verified credentials from a trusted source (e.g., a university) to an individual secure and sovereign Digital Wallet. These credentials will be accessed and readable by a trusted receiver (e.g., an employer)

c. The pilot should include at least 2 awarders (Credentialing institution and/or licensing board)

d. The pilot should include at least 20 learner/earners

e. The pilot should include at least 1 employer relevant to the awarders

f. The method by which learners/earners consent to the use of their data shall be described prior to the pilot deployment

4. The Vendor should plan, conduct, and document an After Action Report (AAR)

a. After the pilot period, the Vendor should plan and conduct an AAR / Lessons Learned session for key stakeholders

b. The Vendor should document the AAR proceedings, pursuant to making a recommendation to the senior leadership of our Cabinet regarding next steps for LER and the Digital Wallet

5. The Vendor shall develop and publish a project plan that identifies the tasks, durations, and efforts for items 1 - 4 above

a. Estimates of effort and duration of both Vendor and KYSTATS resources for these tasks shall be included.

b. Timeline to include major milestones/deliverables with estimates of effort for both the vendor and KYSTATS personnel.

SECTION 4 – COMMONWEALTH OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY (COT)

REQUIREMENTS

4.1 Hosting

The Commonwealth is seeking a vendor who can provide a solution per the RFP requirements. If the vendor is proposing a cloud solution, the Commonwealth prefers the proposed cloud solution to be hosted on either AWS or Azure government cloud platforms. If AWS or Azure government cloud is not proposed, the vendor shall propose a commercial Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) - certified or HITRUST Cloud platforms. The proposed solution must accommodate the Commonwealth Office of Technology (COT) oversight that includes an isolated tenant, cloud network access (peering connection) and monitoring solutions.

4.2 Commonwealth Information Technology Policies and Standards

A. The vendor and any subcontractors shall be required to adhere to applicable Commonwealth policies and standards.

B. The Commonwealth posts changes to COT Standards and Policies on its Commonwealth Office of Technology - Home - Commonwealth Office of Technology (Kentucky) website. Vendors and subcontractors shall ensure their solution(s) shall work in concert with all posted changes. Vendors or subcontractors that cannot comply with changes must, within thirty (30) days of the posted change, request written relief with the justification for such relief.

The Commonwealth may: 1) deny the request, 2) approve an exception to the policy/standard, or 3) consider scope changes to the contract to accommodate required changes. Vendors or subcontractors that do not provide the response within the thirty (30) day period shall be required to comply within ninety (90) days of the change.

4.3 Compliance with Kentucky Information Technology Standards (KITS)

A. The Kentucky Information Technology Standards (KITS) reflect a set of principles for information, technology, applications, and organization. These standards provide guidelines, policies, directional statements and sets of standards for information technology. It defines, for the Commonwealth, functional and information needs so that technology choices can be made based on business objectives and service delivery. The vendor shall stay knowledgeable and shall provide a solution that works in concert with these standards for all related work resulting from this RFP.

https://technology.ky.gov/about-the-agency/Pages/kits.aspx

B. The vendor and any subcontractors may be required to submit a technology roadmap for any offered solution. Additional roadmaps will be submitted upon request of the Commonwealth. If required, the roadmap shall include, but is not limited to, planned, scheduled and projected product lifecycle dates and historical release/patch or maintenance dates for the technology. In addition, any guidance on projected release/revision/patch/maintenance schedules would be preferred.

4.4 Compliance with Industry Accepted Reporting Standards Based on Trust Service Principles and Criteria The vendor must employ comprehensive risk and threat management controls based on defined industry standards for service organizations such as ISO AICPA TSP section 100, Trust Services Principles and Criteria. The vendor must annually assert compliance and engage a third-party certification registrar to examine such assertions and controls to provide a Report, such as ISO 9000, ISO 14001, AT101 SOC 2 type 2, on Controls at a Service Organization Relevant to Security, Availability, Processing Integrity, Confidentiality, and Privacy, which contains an opinion on whether the operating controls effectively support the https://technology.ky.gov/Pages/index.aspx https://technology.ky.gov/Pages/index.aspx https://technology.ky.gov/about-the-agency/Pages/kits.aspx assertions. All such reports, including publicly available reports (i.e. AT 101 SOC

3) shall be made available to the Commonwealth for review.

4.5 System Vulnerability and Security Assessments

The Commonwealth reserves the right to conduct, in collaboration with the vendor, non-invasive vulnerability and security assessments of the software and infrastructure used to provide services prior to implementation and periodically thereafter. Upon completion of these assessments, the Commonwealth will communicate any findings to the vendor for action. Any cost relating to the alleviation of the findings will be the responsibility of the vendor. Mitigations will be subject to re-evaluation after completion. In cases where direct mitigation cannot be achieved, the vendor shall communicate this and work closely with the Commonwealth to identify acceptable compensating controls that will reduce risk to an acceptable and agreed upon level. An accredited third-party source may be selected by the vendor to address findings, provided they will acknowledge all cost and provide valid documentation of mitigation strategies in an agreed upon timeframe.

4.6 Privacy Assessments

The Commonwealth reserves the right to conduct privacy assessments of the collection, use, maintenance and sharing of Commonwealth data by any vendor services, software, and infrastructure used to provide services prior to implementation and periodically thereafter. Upon completion of this assessment, the Commonwealth will communicate any findings to the vendor for action. Any cost relating to the alleviation of the findings will be the responsibility of the vendor. Mitigations will be subject to re-evaluation after completion. In cases where direct mitigation cannot be achieved, the vendor shall communicate this and work closely with the Commonwealth to identify acceptable compensating controls or privacy practices that will reduce risk to an acceptable and agreed upon level. An accredited third-party source may be selected by the vendor to address findings, provided they will acknowledge all cost and provide valid documentation of mitigation strategies in an agreed upon timeframe.

4.7 Privacy, Confidentiality and Ownership of Information

The Commonwealth is the designated owner of all Commonwealth data and shall approve all access to that data. The vendor shall not have ownership of Commonwealth data at any time. The vendor shall not profit from or share Commonwealth data. The vendor shall be in compliance with privacy policies established by governmental agencies or by state or federal law. Privacy notice statements may be developed and amended from time to time by the Commonwealth and will be appropriately displayed on the Commonwealth portal (Ky.gov). The vendor should provide sufficient security to protect the Commonwealth and COT data in network transit, storage, and cache. All Commonwealth data, including backups and archives, must be maintained at all times within the contiguous United States. All Commonwealth data, classified as sensitive or higher, as defined in Enterprise Standards, must be encrypted in-transit from vendor’s network and at rest while stored on vendor’s laptops or other portable media devices.

4.8 Data Quality

The vendor shall provide proposed levels of data quality per the following dimensions.

Data Quality is the degree to which data is valid, accurate, complete, unique, timely, consistent with all requirements and business rules, and relevant for a given use. The vendor shall provide data quality definitions and metrics for any data elements. Data has to be of the appropriate quality to address the needs of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The following dimensions can be used to assess data quality:

• Validity – The data values are in an acceptable format.

• Accuracy – The data attribute is accurate.

• Completeness – There are no null values in a data field.

• Uniqueness – There are no duplicate values in a data field.

• Timeliness – The data attribute represents information that is not out-of-date.

• Consistency – The data attribute is consistent with a business rule that may be based on that attribute itself, or on multiple attributes.

• Adherence to business rules – The data attribute or a combination of data attributes adheres to specified business rules.

4.9 License Agreements

Any proposed software agreements, i.e. license agreement, subscription agreement, end-user license agreement, etc. shall include the following, or similar, language:

“All terms in this agreement/EULA shall be read as applicable only to the extent permitted by Kentucky law and no term in violation of the Kentucky law, inclusive of Kentucky Procurement Law, shall be given effect.”

Any third-party software licenses and cloud resources necessary for the proposed solution may be procured via the Commonwealth’s existing contracts.

4.10 Software Version Requirements

All commercially supported and Commonwealth approved software components such as Operating system (OS), Database software, Application software, Web Server software, Middle Tier software, and other ancillary software must be kept current. In the event that a patch interferes with the solution, the vendor must present a plan for compliance to the Commonwealth outlining the constraints and an appropriate plan of action to bring the solution in to compliance to allow this patch to be applied in the shortest timeframe possible, not to exceed three (3) months, unless otherwise negotiated with the Commonwealth.

4.11 Network Connection Requirements

A. Vendor shall work with COT to establish any network connections. If a secure site-to-site connection is required, the vendor shall employ a secure site-to-site connection procured by the Agency from COT.

B. Vendor shall, at COT’s discretion, provide appropriate access to enable the Commonwealth to perform additional security measures, such as decryption of the network traffic if required for inspection. If the proposed solution does not have the ability to meet this requirement, the vendor must provide an alternative such as audit reporting of this function.

C. Vendor should provide notifications to the Commonwealth Service Desk for unplanned outages within fifteen (15) minutes.

D. Vendor shall notify COT Change Management, through the Commonwealth

Services Desk, a minimum of two (2) business days prior to any planned outage.

E. Vendor, in conjunction with the agency, shall provide a Business Impact

Assessment (BIA) to appropriately classify all data before production/go-live.

F. Vendor shall include a Web Application Firewall when application houses any data classified as sensitive or higher as defined in KITS standards.

G. Vendor shall provide Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point

Objective (RPO) services. Vendor shall provide those services to achieve those SLAs.

4.12 OS Requirements

A. Non-On Prem Solutions

1. No Commonwealth data shall be co-mingled with another entity, without the prior approval of the Commonwealth.

2. Vendor shall provide a solution to move data to the Commonwealth, if required by the Commonwealth.

a. At the end of the contract, the vendor shall provide all agency data in a useable standard data format (such as asci, csv, etc.) that can be converted to a subsequent system. The vendor shall cooperate to this end with the agency and/or a vendor of the agency’s choice, in a timely and efficient manner.

b. Vendor shall address the destruction of Commonwealth data as defined in CIO-092 and provide a certification of the complete and permanent deletion the Commonwealth data.

B. Infrastructure as a Service

1. Vendor shall work with the agency and COT to establish all administrative personnel engagements.

2. Vendor shall meet certification requirements for classification of data being stored.

3. Vendor shall, at COT’s request, provide appropriate access to enable the Commonwealth to perform additional security measures in compliance with Commonwealth Enterprise Policies, Standards, and/or any Federal or State requirements.

4. Vendor shall provide an Exit Strategy, to move all data to the Commonwealth Data Center, if required by the Commonwealth.

a. At the end of the contract, the vendor shall provide all agency data in a form that can be converted to any subsequent system of the agency’s choice. The vendor shall cooperate to this end with the vendor of the agency’s choice, in a timely and efficient manner.

4.13 Project Governance

Vendor shall work with the agency and appropriate COT offices, when needed, in the cases of data governance, security aspects, hosting, integration, etc., provided that such work does not expand the scope of the services as described in Section 50 of this RFP absent a corresponding change order agreed to by the parties reflecting such expansion.

4.14 Monitoring Requirements for On Premise and Cloud (SaaS)

Vendor shall work with the agency and COT to establish a monitoring solution.

Vendors shall provide a view into their environment either by providing a COT and agency approved comprehensive dashboard or allow COT to install their KITS compliant infrastructure and application monitoring solution; to include but not limited to performance and availability.

4.15 Application and Service Requirements

Current Enterprise Applications and Services

1. COT provides a number of Enterprise Shared Services to State agencies.

Vendor shall use published IT Applications and Services provided on KITS for: Enterprise Service Bus, Enterprise Content Management, Data Warehousing, Data Analytics and Reporting, Business Intelligence, Web Services, GIS, unless explicitly approved by COT.

2. Vendor provided dedicated application components (i.e., Application Servers, Databases, etc.) shall comply with KITS or if the technology is not included in KITS, the technology must be accepted by the Commonwealth for inclusion in KITS or granted a written exception to KITS according to COT Information Technology Standards Policy currently

CIO-051.

3. Vendor applications must describe in detail all available features and functionality accessible via APIs.

4. All business applications must support the ability to use modern authentication for authentication and authorization. Modern authentication technologies would include SAML 2.0, WSFED, OAuth, or OpenID Connect.

4.16 Project Management Requirements

The COT Division of Governance and Strategy (COT-DGS) is responsible for overseeing large and complex technology projects throughout the Commonwealth. The vendor shall adhere to Project Management standards and reporting requirements established by COT-DGS, which are posted at https://technology.ky.gov/services-and-support/Pages/About-the-Project- Management-Branch.aspx. These include, but are not limited to, having a documented project schedule, risk management, issue management and reporting project status to the CIO monthly in the format defined by COT-DGS. In addition to the project management standards required by COT-DGS, agency specific requirements may be defined in Section 50 of this RFP.

4.17 Applicable Security Control Framework Compliance

The vendor must have an awareness and understanding of the NIST Special Publication 800-53 Security Control Framework and employ safeguards that meet or exceed the moderate level controls as defined within the standard. The vendor must provide sufficient safeguards to provide reasonable protections around the Commonwealth’s data to ensure that the confidentiality, integrity, and availability is maintained at an appropriate level. These include but are not limited to:

• Access Control The vendor must employ policy and process that provide for stringent control to limit physical and logical access to systems that house Commonwealth data, on a need to know basis, provide clear separation of duties, and adheres to least privilege principles.

• Awareness and Training The vendor must provide the appropriate role specific training for staff to ensure that there is awareness and understanding of roles and responsibilities as they relate to the protections around the Commonwealth’s data.

• Audit and Accountability There must be sufficient auditing capability to ensure that actions are tracked and there is individual accountability for all actions taken by vendor staff.

• Configuration Management The vendor must work within established baselines that provide minimal functionality needed to ensure service delivery without exposing unnecessary risk. The vendor must also employ structured change control processes that provide a level of coordination with the client agreed upon in a Service Level Agreement (SLA).

• Contingency Planning https://technology.ky.gov/services-and-support/Pages/About-the-Project-Management-Branch.aspx https://technology.ky.gov/services-and-support/Pages/About-the-Project-Management-Branch.aspx

The vendor must employ contingent planning policy and procedures that ensure service delivery based on agreed SLA levels while maintaining all Commonwealth data within the continental Unites States.

• Identification and Authorization The vendor must employ appropriate identity and access management policies and procedures to ensure that access is appropriately authorized and managed at a level to ensure that access is provisioned and de-provisioned in a timely and efficient manner.

• Incident Response The vendor must employ policy and procedures to ensure that an appropriate response to all identified security incidents are addressed in a timely manner and are reported to the appropriate parties in an agreed upon SLA timeframe.

The vendor must also ensure that all staff are sufficient trained to ensure that they can identify situations that are classified as security incidents.

• Maintenance The vendor must employ policy and procedures that ensure that all maintenance activities are conducted only by authorized maintenance staff leveraging only authorized maintenance tools.

• Media Protection The vendor must employ policy and procedure to ensure that sufficient protections exist to protect Commonwealth data on all storage media throughout the media lifecycle and maintain documentation from media creation through destruction.

• Physical and Environmental Controls The vendor must employ physical and environmental policies and procedures that ensure that the service and delivery infrastructure are located in a physically secure and environmentally protected environment to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of Commonwealth data.

• Personnel Security The vendor must employ policies and procedures to ensure that all staff that have access to systems that house, transmit, or process Commonwealth data have been appropriately vetted and have been through a background check at the time of hire and periodically thereafter.

• System and Communications Protections The vendor must employ physical and logical protection that protect system communications and communication media from unauthorized access and to ensure adequate physical protections from damage.

SECTION 5 – PROCUREMENT REQUIREMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS

5.1 Procurement Requirements

Procurement requirements are listed under “Procurement Laws, Preference, Regulations and Policies” and “Response to Solicitation” located on the eProcurement Web page at https://finance.ky.gov/eProcurement/Pages/procurement-laws-regulations-and-policies.aspx and https://finance.ky.gov/eProcurement/Pages/doing-business-with-the-commonwealth.aspx respectively. The vendor must comply with all applicable statutes, regulations and policies related to this procurement.

5.2 Access to Solicitation, RFP, and Addenda

The Commonwealth wants each prospective vendor to have full and complete information on which to base a proposal response. Only information presented or referred to in this RFP and any additional written information that is supplied by the Commonwealth Buyer shall be used by vendors in preparing the response.

The solicitation, addenda, and attachments shall be posted to the Kentucky Vendor Self Service link at https://vss.ky.gov

It is not necessary to register to access the solicitation. Unregistered vendors can access solicitations by clicking on public access.

In the event of any conflict or variation between the solicitation or modification as issued by the Commonwealth and the vendor’s response, the version as issued shall prevail.

5.3 RFP Terminology

For the purpose of this RFP, the following terms may be used interchangeably:

o Proposer, Offeror, Contractor, Provider, or Vendor o Commonwealth Buyer, Buyer, Purchaser, or Contract Officer o RFP, Solicitation, or Procurement o Bid, Proposal, or Offer o Commonwealth of Kentucky, Commonwealth, or State, Agency, KYSTATS o Fiscal Year will be defined as the Commonwealth fiscal year: July 1 through

June 30 o Biennium will be defined as the Commonwealth biennium: July 1 of each even numbered year through June 30 of the next even numbered year o Requirements that include the words “Shall”, “Will”, “Must” indicate a mandatory requirement o Mandatory Requirement means a condition set out in the specifications or statement of work that must be met without exception.”

5.4 Restrictions on Communications

The Commonwealth Buyer named on the Cover Sheet of this RFP shall be the sole point of contact throughout the procurement process. All communications, https://finance.ky.gov/eProcurement/Pages/procurement-laws-regulations-and-policies.aspx https://finance.ky.gov/eProcurement/Pages/procurement-laws-regulations-and-policies.aspx https://finance.ky.gov/eProcurement/Pages/doing-business-with-the-commonwealth.aspx https://finance.ky.gov/eProcurement/Pages/doing-business-with-the-commonwealth.aspx https://vss.ky.gov/ oral and written (regular, express, or electronic mail,), concerning this procurement shall be addressed to the Buyer.

For violation of this provision, the Commonwealth shall reserve the right to disqualify the vendors’ proposal response.

5.5 Confidentiality of Contract Terms

The contractor and the Commonwealth agree that all information communicated between them before the effective date of the contract shall be received in strict confidence and shall not be necessarily disclosed by the receiving party, its agents, or employees without prior written consent of the other party. Such material will be kept confidential subject to Commonwealth and Federal public information disclosure laws.

Upon signing of the contract by all parties, terms of the contract become available to the public, pursuant to the provisions of the Kentucky Revised Statutes.

The contractor shall have an appropriate agreement with its subcontractors extending these confidentiality requirements to all subcontractors’ employees.

5.6 Written Questions Regarding this RFP

Vendors are encouraged to submit written questions pursuant to Section 1.1 of this RFP. Written questions shall be submitted to the Commonwealth Buyer via email at Susan.Noland@ky.gov. Vendors should submit questions on Attachment D Vendors Question Form. No questions shall be accepted after the date(s) listed in Section 1.1 unless the question(s) is considered material to the procurement. The Commonwealth shall respond to salient questions in writing by issuing an addendum to the solicitation. The addendum shall be posted to the Kentucky Vendor Self Service site.

5.7 Vendor Response and Proprietary Information

The RFP specifies the format, required information, and general content of proposals submitted in response to the RFP. The Finance and Administration Cabinet will not disclose any portions of the proposals prior to Contract Award to anyone outside the Finance and Administration Cabinet, representatives of the agency for whose benefit the contract is proposed, representatives of the Federal Government, if required, and the members of the evaluation committees. After a contract is awarded in whole or in part, the Commonwealth shall have the right to duplicate, use, or disclose all proposal data submitted by vendors in response to this RFP as a matter of public record.

Although the Commonwealth recognizes the vendor's possible interest in preserving selected data which may be part of a proposal, the Commonwealth must treat such information as provided by the Kentucky Open Records Act, KRS

61.870 et sequitur.

mailto:Susan.Noland@ky.gov

Informational areas which normally might be considered proprietary shall be limited to individual personnel data, customer references, selected financial data, formulae, and financial audits which, if disclosed, would permit an unfair advantage to competitors. If a proposal contains information in these areas that a vendor declares proprietary in nature and not available for public disclosure, the vendor should declare in the Transmittal Letter [see Section 6.7 (A)] the inclusion of proprietary information and shall noticeably label as proprietary each file containing such information. Proprietary information shall be submitted separately and identified as “Proprietary Data”. Proposals containing information declared by the vendor to be proprietary, either in whole or in part, outside the areas listed above may be deemed non-responsive to the RFP and may be rejected.

5.8 Notification of Award of Contract

The procurement process will provide for the evaluation of proposals and selection of the successful proposal in accordance with State law and regulations. KRS Chapter 45A of the Kentucky Model Procurement Code provides the regulatory framework for the procurement of services by State agencies.

All applicable statutes, regulations, policies and requirements shall become a part of an award as well as the Information Technology requirements.

For additional award information, vendors may email the Commonwealth Buyer.

5.9 Protest

Pursuant to KRS 45A.285, the Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, or his designee, shall have authority to determine protests and other controversies of actual or prospective offerors in connection with the solicitations or selection for award of a contract.

Any actual or prospective offeror or contractor, who is aggrieved in connection with solicitation or selection for award of a contract, may a file protest with the Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet. A protest or notice of other controversy must be filed promptly and in any event within two (2) calendar weeks after such aggrieved person knows or should have known of the facts giving rise thereto. All protests or notices of other controversies must be in writing and shall be addressed and mailed to:

Holly M. Johnson, Secretary

COMMONWEALTH OF KENTUCKY

FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION CABINET

200 MERO STREET, 5TH FLOOR

FRANKFORT, KY 40622

The Secretary of Finance and Administration Cabinet shall promptly issue a decision in writing. A copy of that decision shall be mailed or otherwise furnished to the aggrieved party and shall state the reasons for the action taken.

The decision by the Secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet shall be final and conclusive.

5.10 Vendor Notification – Ineligible for Award

The Commonwealth will not consider or evaluate any proposal submitted by a vendor when the vendor, the vendor’s employees or agents, had any involvement, contribution or participation in the development, preparation or review of this RFP prior to its issuance. The vendors proposal will be deemed ineligible for award.

5.11 Past Vendor Performance

Past vendor performance may be considered in the award of this Contract.

Vendors with a record of poor performance in the last twelve (12) months may be found non-responsible and ineligible for award.

SECTION 6 – PROPOSAL SUBMISSION

6.1 Disposition of Proposals

All proposals become the property of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. The successful proposal shall be incorporated into the resulting contract by reference.

Disposal of unsuccessful proposals shall be at the discretion of the Commonwealth Buyer.

6.2 Rules for Withdrawal of Proposals

Prior to the date specified for receipt of offers, a submitted proposal may be withdrawn by electronic or written notice by submitting a signed written request for its withdrawal to the Commonwealth Buyer.

6.3 Commonwealth’s Right to Use Proposal Ideas

The Commonwealth of Kentucky shall have the right to use all system ideas, or adaptations of those ideas, contained in any proposals received in response to the RFP. Selection or rejection of the proposal will not affect this right.

6.4 Submission of RFP Response

Each qualified offeror shall submit only one (1) proposal. Alternate proposals shall not be allowed. Failure to submit as specified shall result in a non-responsive proposal.

Acknowledgment of Addenda It is the vendor's responsibility to check the web site for any modifications to this solicitation.

Failure to specifically acknowledge addenda with submission will not excuse the vendor from adhering to all changes to the requirements of the solicitation set forth therein nor provide justification for any pricing changes.

6.5 Electronic Proposal Submission

Proposals shall be received by electronic submission in the eProcurement system.

An electronic proposal shall be authorized by the proper agent of the firm by the act of submitting it electronically through the eProcurement system.

Proposal information MUST be completed online. Response must contain all required information for the Solicitation. All bidders MUST be registered in the Commonwealth eProcurement System via the Vendor Self Service System at https://vss.ky.gov

Allow 24 – 48 hours to complete Vendor Registration. Vendors must be logged in to their Vendor Self Service (VSS) account in order to submit a response. Registrations completed the day of bid closing must be completed by the Vendor in the VSS portal. The Customer Resource Center is not able to complete registrations and activate accounts on the same day. Closing dates will not be extended for Vendors not registered by the date/time of the bid closing.

Vendor Self Service Registration Guides are provided at https://vss.ky.gov

All bidders are cautioned to begin their electronic submission in sufficient time to complete before the closing date and time. Delays due to technical difficulties or document upload impediments shall not be justification for acceptance of a late bid or proposal. Vendor attention to this advisory is encouraged. If you need assistance, please contact the Customer Resource Center (CRC) by email at Finance.CRCGroup@ky.gov or phone 502-564-9641 or toll-free 877-973-HELP (4357).

Proposals shall be submitted in three (3) parts: The Technical Proposal, the Cost Proposal, and Proprietary Information. Each part should consist of one document attachment. Do not submit multiple document attachments as Technical, Cost or Proprietary. All files shall be labeled accordingly. Attachments may not exceed

65,000 KB.

Proposals submitted online must be in an “Accepted” status and shall be assigned a date and time stamp from the eProcurement system at the time of final acceptance and formal submission by the vendor. The system will not allow submission of an online proposal after the published date and time for closing.

mailto:Finance.CRCGroup@ky.gov

A proposal may be modified or withdrawn by electronic or written notice ONLY if received prior to the bid closing date and time. An electronic offer may be modified by applying the appropriate electronic signature and following the procedure in the state’s eProcurement signature.

6.6 Format of Response

A. . Proposals shall be submitted in three (3) parts: the Technical Proposal, the Cost Proposal, and Proprietary Information. Each part should consist of one document. Do not submit multiple documents as Technical, Cost or Proprietary.

1. Proposals must be submitted electronically in the eProcurement

System: See Attachment G - How to Respond to an Online Bid through the Kentucky Vendor Self Service site.

a. The Technical Proposal should be submitted on one (1) document marked Technical (in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel or PDF format ONLY) and include the attached Requirements Response Template. Do not include embedded documents, hyperlinks or hyperlinks to videos. The document should be named in the following manner: Technical – Name of offeror RFP number

b. The Cost Proposal should be submitted on one (1) document marked Cost (in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel or PDF format ONLY). Do not include embedded documents, hyperlinks or hyperlinks to videos. The document should be named in the following manner: Cost – Name of offeror RFP number.

c. Any Proprietary Information shall be submitted on one (1) document marked Proprietary (in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel or PDF format ONLY). Do not include embedded documents, hyperlinks or hyperlinks to videos. The document should be named in the following manner: Proprietary – Name of offeror RFP number

Pricing shall only be provided in the Cost Proposal. DO NOT SUBMIT

ANY PRICING INFORMATION IN THE TECHNICAL PROPOSAL.

All submitted Technical and Cost Proposals shall remain valid for a minimum of six (6) months after the proposal due date.

6.7 Technical Proposal Content

A. Transmittal Letter

The transmittal letter should be on the vendor’s letterhead and signed by an agent authorized to bind the vendor. The transmittal letter should include the following:

i. A statement that deviations are included, if applicable. Proposed deviations must be outlined in the transmittal letter. Any deviation from the provisions of the solicitation must be specifically identified by the vendor in its proposal, which if successful, shall become part of the contract. Such deviations shall not be in conflict with the basic nature of this solicitation. The Commonwealth reserves the right to reject any and/or all deviations in whole or in part.

ii. A statement that, if awarded a contract as a result of this solicitation, the vendor shall comply in full with all requirements of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act, and shall submit all data required by KRS 45.560 to 45.640;

iii. A statement pursuant to KRS 11A.040 that the vendor has not knowingly violated any provisions of the Executive Branch Code of Ethics;

iv. A statement of that the vendor is in compliance with Prohibitions of Certain Conflicts of Interest;

v. A statement of certification in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.209-5, Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and Proposed Debarment that to the best of its knowledge and belief, the vendor and/or its principals is (are) not presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, or declared ineligible for the award of contracts by any State or Federal agency.

vi. The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the contact person for this RFP. The address shall be one in which the major overnight delivery services will deliver.

vii. The name, address, telephone number, and email address of the contact person to serve as a point of contact for day-to-day operations.

viii. Subcontractor information to include name of company, address, telephone number and contact name, if applicable.

ix. Federal Tax ID

x. A statement that the vendor agrees to comply with items included in the

Mandatory Checklist, if applicable.

B. Disclosure of Violation of Statutes Pursuant to KRS 45A.485, contractors are required to reveal final determinations of violation of certain statutes incurred within the last five (5) years and be in continuous compliance with those statutes during the contract. Where applicable, the vendor is required to complete and submit Report of Prior Violations of Tax and Employment Laws.

C. Kentucky Tax Registration Application

Revenue Form 10A100, Kentucky Tax Registration Application effective July 2008, is a form to be completed by any person or entity wishing to contract with the Commonwealth to provide goods or services subject to sales and use tax pursuant to KRS 139.200.

https://revenue.ky.gov/Forms/10A100.pdf

In accordance with administrative regulation 200 KAR 5:390, this form has to be completed and submitted, before a contract can be awarded. Section 2 of the regulation also notes: “Failure to submit the required documentation or to remain registered and in compliance with the sales and use tax filing and remittance requirements of KRS 139.540 and KRS 139.550 throughout the duration of the contract shall constitute a material breach of the contract and the contract may be terminated.”

D. Registration with the Secretary of State by a Foreign Entity

Pursuant to KRS 45A.480(1)(b), an agency, department, office, or political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Kentucky shall not award a state contract to a person that is a foreign entity required by KRS 14A.9-010:

to obtain a certificate of authority to transact business in the Commonwealth (“certificate”) from the Secretary of State under KRS 14A.9-030:

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=40424 therefore, foreign entities should submit a copy of their certificate with their solicitation response. If the foreign entity is not required to obtain a certificate as provided in KRS 14A.9-010:

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=44318, the foreign entity should identify the applicable exception in its solicitation response. Foreign entity is defined within KRS 14A.1-070:

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50474

Businesses can register with the Secretary of State at:.

https://www.sos.ky.gov/bus/business-filings/Pages/default.aspx

E. Required Annual Affidavit and Other Affidavit(s)

F. EEO Forms if applicable (see Section 10.19)

G. Proposed Solution (see Section 6.8)

6.8 Proposed Solution Content

Response should be based on the RFP requirements and should include the following:

A. Executive Summary

a. A brief overview of the Vendor’s proposed solution, its value and the vendor’s differentiation from their competition https://revenue.ky.gov/Forms/10A100.pdf https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=40424 https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=44318 https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=50474 https://www.sos.ky.gov/bus/business-filings/Pages/default.aspx

B. Company Background

a. A brief description of the company’s history, ownership, industry position and offerings

b. A complete list of clients for whom similar work was performed, along with clients contact information and a brief description of the work performed

c. At least one (1) reference from clients for whom similar work was performed, along with clients contact information and other relevant experience

d. A description of any litigation the Vendor has been involved with, in the last five (5) years

C. Respond to Section 3.1.1

D. Respond to Section 3.1.2

E. Respond to Section 3.1.3

F. Respond to Section 3.1.4

G. Respond to Section 3.1.5

DO NOT INCLUDE ANY COST IN THE TECHNICAL RESPONSE. COST

SHOULD BE SUBMITTED SEPARATELY

6.9 Cost Proposal Content

The vendor should provide its costs for the proposed solution as instructed on the Cost Proposal Form. (see Attachment B)

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is Tax Exempt. Do not include Federal Excise Tax, Kentucky Sales or Use Tax in proposed costs.

Costs for developing the proposals are solely the responsibility of the offerors. The Commonwealth of Kentucky shall not provide any reimbursements for such costs.

A proposal shall not be considered for award if the price in the proposal was not arrived at independently without collusion, consultation, communication, or agreement as to any matter relating to such prices with any other offeror or with any competitor.