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State of Georgia State Entity: Department of Public Health Event Name: Georgia Registry of Immunization Transactions & Services (GRITS) eRFP (Event) Number: 40500-DPH0000199

(For informational purposes only)

GRITS Background and Scope of Work

02 - GRITS Background and Scope of Work

Table of Contents

1 Background

2 Current Processing Environment

3 Roles and Responsibilities

4 Project Deliverables and Expectations

5 Supplier Tasks and Deliverables

6 Work Environment

7 Oversight

8 Independent Validation and Verification (IV&V)

9 Enterprise Portfolio Reporting

10 Performance Measures and Remedies

11 Third Party Service

12 New Technology

13 Versions and New Releases

14 Obsolescence Assurance

15 Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery/Emergency Preparedness

16 Turnover

17 Source Code and Licenses

18 Data Ownership

19 Warranty

20 Maintenance/Support Services

21 Incident and Problem Management

22 Procedures and Standards

23 Appendix A - Project Management and Project Deliverables

1 Background

The Georgia Department of Public Health (hereafter" State Entity", "DPH", "State" or "Georgia DPH") manages and maintains the Georgia Registry of Immunization Transactions and Services (GRITS). The GRITS system is designed to capture and securely store immunization and demographic records for all immunizations administered within Georgia and for all Georgia residents.

It is used to monitor and report on immunization statistics, provide medical practitioners the ability to record and report patient and immunization information and order publicly funded vaccines. At the point of clinical care, GRITS provides consolidated immunization records and forecasts to support clinical decisions. At the population level, GRITS provides aggregate data and information on vaccinations for surveillance, program operations and public health action. The system also provides meaningful data that is shared with the broader immunization community to monitor progress toward meeting public health objectives including monitoring immunization coverage and vaccine inventories.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began an effort to standardize GRITS systems by issuing GRITS Functional Standards in 1997. Since then, these standards have been revised based on input from GRITS stakeholders and the CDC’s Immunization Information Systems Support Branch (IISSB). The most current version, GRITS Functional Standards, v4.1 was released in 2017.

According to the CDC, “the GRITS Functional Standards reflect the functionality a GRITS should strive to attain to fully support program and stakeholder immunization-related goals.” In addition to the GRITS Functional Standards, the American Immunization Registry Association’s (AIRA’s) Modeling of Immunization Registry Operations Workgroup (MIROW) provides best practice guidelines for GRITS operations (refer to https://www.immregistries.org/mirow for additional information).

The current Georgia DPH GRITS system was implemented in 2003, incorporating a real time bi-directional interface to support interoperability between Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems and GRITS. The 2019 COVID Pandemic indicated the need for enhancements to the current system to accommodate additional federal reporting requirements related to the pandemic vaccination response activities.

GRITS currently has over 16,500 organizations enrolled and over 49,000 active users. An increase in the number of users is anticipated due to a number of non-traditional and mass vaccination immunization providers enrolling to assist with the Pandemic response. Users accessing the system includes, but is not limited to, immunization providers (public health and non-public health) and their staff, State Entity staff, school nurses and other authorized school administrators, insurers, and correctional facilities.

The Georgia DPH is providing its full requirements to Suppliers through this procurement with the understanding that the Georgia DPH and the selected Supplier will agree on a scope that can be delivered on or before September 30, 2023.

https://www.immregistries.org/mirow

2 Current Processing Environment

Currently, the Georgia DPH utilizes two systems for vaccine management functionality. GRITS, based on a platform provided by Gainwell Technologies, is used for all vaccination programs except pandemic related vaccine and Vaccine Management System (VMS) used for pandemic programs like COVID-19. Please refer to Procurement item GRITS Application Overview Reference.pdf and VMS Application Overview Reference.pdf for more details regarding these systems.

GRITS uses bidirectional data exchanges with many other Georgia health facilities using CDC PHINMS, or WSDL Web Service interfaces. Please refer to GRITS Interfaces section in the Procurement item GRITS Application Overview Reference R-3.pdf for more details regarding GRITS’ current data exchange Interfaces.

The primary business outcome sought from this procurement is for Georgia DPH to have a single system that that combines the functionality of GRITS and VMS.

3 Roles and Responsibilities

3.1 Key Personnel and Staffing Changes

The term “Key Personnel” for purposes of this procurement, means the GRITS Supplier staff deemed essential by Georgia DPH to the GRITS Supplier’s satisfactory performance of all requirements contained in this eRFP. GRITS Supplier Key Personnel must be the primary team that delivers the System being procured. Supplier Key Personnel must also ensure successful Maintenance and Operations (M&O) for application support with the understanding that the Key Personnel in those two phases may differ. The GRITS Supplier shall obtain Georgia DPH’s approval of vendor's proposed Key Personnel and resources. The GRITS Supplier will identify all Key Personnel positions in a project governance structure and provide the Georgia DPH with resumes of proposed Key Personnel and resources for review. The GRITS Supplier will provide specific descriptions of roles and responsibilities, detailing, by position, the education, experience, and other qualifications of each person in a Key Personnel position.

The GRITS Supplier must include names and resumes for proposed Key Personnel as part of its Proposal to demonstrate the proposed Key Personnel’s ability to perform the role as described. The GRITS Supplier must ensure Key Personnel have and maintain relevant current license(s) and certification(s). Changes to the proposed positions and responsibilities are only allowed with prior written permission from Georgia DPH. If the GRITS Supplier believes that an alternative organizational design could improve service levels or decrease the State’s costs related to this acquisition, a justification of these options and their benefits should be included in the response to this eRFP.

The GRITS Supplier must have Georgia DPH approval before hiring or replacing any Key Personnel.

If requested by Georgia DPH, the GRITS Supplier shall remove and replace Key Personnel within two (2) weeks of the request for removal.

The GRITS Supplier must provide Georgia DPH with written notification of anticipated vacancies of Key Personnel within two (2) business days of receiving the individual’s resignation notice, the GRITS Supplier decision to terminate an individual, or the position otherwise becoming vacant.

Replacements for Key Personnel shall have qualifications that meet or exceed those specified in this section and require Georgia DPH advance written approval. The GRITS Supplier shall provide Georgia DPH with written status update reports every week on the progress of the replacement candidate recruiting process until a qualified candidate is hired, including a project impact assessment. In the event that key personnel resign, are removed, or are terminated, the GRITS Supplier shall provide the Georgia DPH with immediate written notice of the vacancy and an action plan for backfilling the position until a fulltime replacement is found and approved by the Georgia DPH. A key personnel position must not be vacant for more than ten (10) consecutive calendar days from the date the position becomes vacant and have a permanent fulltime qualified replacement by sixty (60) calendar days from the date the position becomes vacant. A position is considered vacant even with a substitute (i.e., temporary replacement) serving in that role. The GRITS Supplier may not fill vacant key personnel positions with other existing key personnel without written approval by the Georgia DPH. The Georgia DPH will also have the authority to approve proposed replacements of key personnel by the vendor. If a vacancy occurs in a key role, the vendor shall fill the position in compliance with identified SLAs.

3.2 Georgia DPH Project Roles and Responsibilities

Georgia DPH has identified roles and staff that it will assign to the Project. GRITS Supplier’s Proposals must identify any additional personnel that it expects Georgia DPH to provide.

A. Georgia DPH Leadership Project Team

Georgia DPH leadership roles will be filled before the project starts. It is important to note that, although this team will provide project level leadership, other project team members will lead specific tasks and/or work streams which are not cross-functional. Additionally, this team will be augmented by part-time resources with specific skills (e.g., legal counsel) to execute some of the project management processes. The Georgia DPH leadership roles are:

• Project Executive Sponsor: The project Executive Sponsor is the person at the highest level of the project. The Sponsor typically represents the benefiting business area and is responsible for the investment. The Sponsor provides leadership and ensures the project is aligned with organizational strategy.

• GRITS Director: The GRITS Director directly oversees the Georgia GRITS Program and provides guidance to the local Georgia GRITS teams. This role will also co-manage the GRITS Project Manager and oversee the GRITS Subject Matter Experts who will be members of the Project team.

• GRITS Project Manager: This full-time role serves as a liaison between the Project and the Georgia GRITS Program. The GRITS Project Manager reports directly to the PMO Director, with a dotted line to the GRITS Director. This role will manage any work needed to implement GRITS, provide guidance and direction to the Project, and ensure that the specifications and design meet Georgia GRITS functional and operational needs. The individual to fill this role will be procured externally.

• PMO Director: The PMO Director manages the Program in partnership with the Project Managers. This role ensures the direction from the Executive Sponsor and the PMO are shared and executed across the projects under the program. This role also helps identify any cross-project dependencies and escalates risks and issues, as appropriate, to the PMO.

• Contract Administrator: The Contract Administrator will be responsible for all contract related issues. The Contract Administrator will be responsible for facilitating all contract related issues and obtaining approving for all contract changes and amendments with inputs from the Georgia DPH Project Manager, and project management leadership.

B. Georgia DPH Project Team

The Georgia DPH project team will have all the skills required to complement the GRITS Supplier’s project team. The team will include both full-time and part-time resources. The Georgia DPH Project Team will include:

• GRITS Subject Matter Experts: GRITS Subject Matter Experts from the Georgia DPH will assist the GRITS Supplier with establishing the detailed system specifications, vetting the design, testing the system, providing guidance on training, and assisting with change management efforts. The GRITS Subject Matter Experts will report to the GRITS Director. Local clinic staff will participate along with State office staff in focus groups, Supplier evaluations and provide overall subject matter expertise for the implementation of GRITS. Local clinic staff will be chosen from a diverse selection of local agencies. Selected State and local clinic staff will become Super Users of the new system. Additionally, Georgia DPH staff and local clinic staff will work with the project team on the implementation of the new GRITS system. Tasks and activities will include, but not be limited to, participating in design sessions and UAT, as well as serving in a support role during rollout.

• Technical Team: Members of the Technical Team will support the Project to ensure that the GRITS Solution’s technologies and processes are efficient, effective, and compliant with Georgia’s technology needs.

• Organizational Change Management Team: The Organizational Change Management (OCM) Team will work with Georgia GRITS team to develop and execute strategies that help and manage through the transition from the current system and processes to the new GRITS system and processes.

C. Georgia DPH Project Staffing Level

Georgia DPH’s staffing levels will vary throughout the project. The table below outlines the Georgia DPH staffing commitments. The GRITS Supplier must consider these staffing levels while developing a Proposal.

Table 1. Georgia DPH Staffing Level

Role Notes, Assumptions

• Project Executive Sponsor

• GRITS Director

• GRITS Project Manager

• PMO Director

• Executive Sponsor is assigned less than 5%

• GRITS Director will be 50% time on this project.

• GRITS Project Manager will be full time.

• PMO Director will be part time, on this project.

• GRITS SMEs

• Technical Team Members

• Organizational Change

Management Team Members

• Contract Administrator

• Two Functional SMEs at 50% FTE will be assigned with significant additional support during certain phases of the project

• Technical SMEs will be part-time; involvement will vary based on tasks required by the project

• Organization Change Management Team members will be part-time and augmented/supported by Functional SMEs as needed throughout the project

• Contract Administrator will be part-time; less than 5% for the duration of the project

3.3 Supplier Project Team Roles and Responsibilities

The GRITS Supplier is responsible for leading the requirements validation, design, configuration, development, data conversion, testing, training, Pilot, deployment, and maintenance and support of the GRITS Solution. The GRITS Supplier must describe the roles of each proposed staff in the phases they shall be participating.

Also, included in this solicitation is a request for Maintenance and Operations (M&O) services for the GRITS Solution. To fulfill these implementations and M&O responsibilities, the GRITS Supplier must provide a team that works collaboratively with the Georgia DPH team at all levels of the Project.

The GRITS Supplier shall also coordinate and integrate with other Suppliers as necessary to complete these deliverables.

A. Project Management

The GRITS Supplier shall develop a Project Management Plan and Project Schedule for the duration of the Project. This includes leading the project management processes for the duration of the Project, providing communications, and managing a smooth transition into M&O. The GRITS Supplier’s Project Manager must meet the following qualifications including:

• A minimum of seven (7) years' project management experience managing projects of similar size and scope, preferably in the healthcare industry. This experience must include relevant experience within the last three (3) years from the release date of the RFP.

• Project Management experience should include each phase of the system development life cycle.

• Project management certification through the Project Management Institute (PMI) is preferred.

B. Environments Management

Provide specifications for the required hardware and software necessary to implement and run the GRITS Solution.

C. Integration Management

The GRITS Supplier must designate an Integration Lead to manage the design, configuration/build, integration, defect management, and implementation of the supplier's scope of work.

D. Data Interfaces and Conversion

The GRITS Supplier shall lead the data interface work with the Georgia DPH team to define the data conversion plan, develop tools to automate the conversion of data and lead the data conversion testing efforts. The GRITS Supplier shall provide tools for Georgia DPH users to validate the conversion.

The GRITS Supplier shall perform one or more trial conversions as necessary, before final conversion of the data, and present the trial conversion(s) results to the State.

The GRITS Supplier shall continue to perform trial Conversions until the Georgia DPH deems the results satisfactory. The GRITS Supplier shall produce the reports necessary to demonstrate adequate checks and balances within the data conversion process.

The older data will be available from the Georgia DPH in the event the older data is required to be converted for use in the new system at a later time.

E. Testing

The GRITS Supplier shall provide a Testing Lead who must meet the following qualifications including:

• Minimum of three (3) years’ experience leading testing activities for a project similar in size and scope to this project.

• In-depth understanding of the testing lifecycle and all artifacts required to successfully validate the system.

The GRITS Supplier shall lead the testing effort through all testing cycles including writing and executing the test scripts in conjunction with the Georgia DPH until the GRITS is fully tested (i.e., unit, integration, performance) and ready for UAT, as well as provide the test reports to the Georgia DPH for approval. At a minimum, the GRITS Supplier shall provide sufficient segregated environments to support testing processes that are equivalent to the following:

• Integration Testing: End-to-end testing performed to expose defects in the interfaces and in the interactions between integrated module components or other systems and validate the system's readiness to meet non-functional requirements.

• System testing: The process of demonstrating that a program, function, or integrated system components meets its requirements and objectives as stated in the requirements specification.

This includes non-functional requirements not already addressed in a testing process.

• Regression Testing: Testing of a previously tested function following modification to ensure that defects have not been introduced or uncovered, as a result of the changes made. It is performed each time the software or its environment is changed, and typically involves automated testing scripts.

• Parallel Testing: Validates that the system achieves the same results as compared to another system (e.g., a legacy system) or previous software version.

• Performance and Load Testing: Verifies the performance of a system will meet service level agreements and also measures the behavior of the system with increasing load (e.g. number of parallel users and/or numbers of transactions to determine what load can be handled by the system).

• User Acceptance Test: Testing conducted by the user or customer to determine whether or not a system satisfies the defined user acceptance criteria in an isolated environment.

The GRITS Supplier shall ensure, in order to release code to UAT or production, it must meet the criteria established by the Georgia DPH along with the minimum acceptable defect levels of:

• Critical: 100% have been resolved.

• High: 100% have been resolved.

The GRITS Supplier shall ensure that the Project Work Plan allocates sufficient time to the Georgia DPH user acceptance testing activities relative to the detailed scope of work, requirements and gaps, the number of manually executed test cases, and the complexity of integration. The GRITS Supplier will be responsible for extended user acceptance testing if the proposed testing duration is not sufficient for the Georgia DPH to verify the testing deliverable/artifact.

F. Training

The GRITS Supplier shall maintain and update the training environment(s) with anonymized training data to use during user training.

G. Organizational Change Management and Training

The GRITS Supplier shall lead the effort to prepare the organization and stakeholders for System implementation, taking overall OCM direction from the Georgia DPH Team. The GRITS Supplier will own the business process development of OCM which includes documenting procedures, technology, and systems. This includes performing training needs assessments, developing, and delivering stakeholder communications plans, creating the required training and user guide materials, as well as using a train-the-trainer approach for delivering the required training to the following audiences:

• Georgia DPH, State, District, County staff

• Providers (Public and Private)

H. Go-Live

The GRITS Supplier shall manage the Pilot and go-live of the new System including the technical deployment and a 60-day stabilization period after the System is implemented. The GRITS Supplier shall develop the rollout plan subject to Georgia DPH approval. GRITS Supplier will also submit Statewide Implementation Readiness documents for review and approval upon completion of the designated increments.

3.4 Additional Supplier Staff Roles

Georgia DPH expects the GRITS Supplier to propose a staffing model with the skills required to implement the GRITS System as specified herein and on schedule.

A. Supplier Subcontractor Roles

The GRITS Supplier shall allow Georgia DPH personnel direct access to all sub-contractor or third-party personnel serving in critical roles on the project and shall not act as an intermediary between the Georgia DPH and such parties for questions about the proposed GRITS Solution or operation of the proposed GRITS Solution. The Georgia DPH reserves the right to discuss design, configuration, implementation, operation, routine maintenance, and enhancement of the GRITS Solution(s) directly with any sub-contractor or third parties involved in performing work for the Georgia DPH. The Georgia DPH shall have the right to review and approve any subcontracts through the GRITS Supplier for the GRITS proposed GRITS Solution.

The GRITS Supplier shall provide Georgia DPH a detailed description of all work that is to be subcontracted to third parties.

B. Partner Supplier Roles and Responsibilities

Other suppliers shall be involved in supporting Georgia DPH technologies and the Project while the Project is being performed. These partners include The Georgia Technology Authority (GTA). GTA currently manages the delivery of IT infrastructure services and provides managed network service.

C. Maintenance and Operations Staff

The GRITS Supplier must provide a team to support and operate the GRITS System once it is accepted by the Georgia DPH. This team shall maintain and operate the system by providing Help Desk support. The GRITS Supplier must establish and maintain a ticket tracking system to record and manage incidents and monitor Service Level Agreement (SLA) objectives and actuals.

The GRITS Supplier must staff a dedicated Help Desk during, and one year after the end of, the warranty period. At the end of that period, the GRITS Supplier will transition the Help Desk responsibility and its related artifacts (e.g., tickets) to the Georgia DPH. As part of the transition, the GRITS Supplier is responsible for training the Georgia DPH help desk staff and that transition is to be completed no later than 90 days prior to the end of the Supplier's Help Desk tenure.

The Help Desk must be available for all system users to contact with issues and needing technical assistance. The Help Desk must be available from 8:00AM to 5:00PM EST during the normal work week, excluding holidays recognized by the State of Georgia.

The Help Desk shall provide support at Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 levels, and be integrated with Georgia DPH’s operational processes. The GRITS Supplier Help Desk tier levels follow:

• Tier 1 — customer self-service and basic support. This is the first point of contact and is responsible for logging the issue and, if possible, assisting the user

• Tier 2 — moderate technical support that relates to operation of the system and includes as appropriate, escalation to the State

• Tier 3 — technical and integration support related to the implementation of functionality of the system

The GRITS Supplier must provide Hypercare support for six (6) months immediately following Go -live. Hypercare is an elevated level of support to ensure the seamless adoption of the new system.

The main purpose is for the GRITS Supplier to closely monitor customer service, data integrity, availability and operations.

The GRITS Supplier’s M&O team shall consist of a core team of resources dedicated to maintaining and supporting the System. The GRITS Supplier shall ensure adequate continuity between the Project and the M&O teams while developing the Application Maintenance and Operations plan. The GRITS Supplier’s M&O team must also have the capability to add staff with significant knowledge of the technology implemented, so enhancements/upgrades are completed as scheduled. The GRITS M&O team will be a different team than the team working on Warranty items.

4 Project Deliverables and Expectations

The Project must use a deliverables-based approach to determine progress and completion. Georgia DPH and the GRITS Supplier shall establish specific expectations for deliverables using the Deliverables Expectation Document (DED) process described below. All deliverables must be reviewed and approved using this process. Any work done by The GRITS Supplier that does not follow this process risks not being accepted or compensated by Georgia DPH.

The Project Management Plan (PMP), developed by the GRITS Supplier and approved by Georgia DPH, shall further detail the processes, roles, and templates to be used in the DED and deliverable approval process. The GRITS Supplier must receive approval from Georgia DPH of Implementation Deliverables by the scheduled dates agreed to in this procurement.

4.1 Deliverables Expectations Documents (DEDs)

The GRITS Supplier must develop DEDs, in an approved Georgia DPH format, and Project deliverables must adhere to the information within the DED. The GRITS Supplier must not perform any work on any deliverable until the DED has been approved in writing by Georgia DPH.

The GRITS Supplier must use a standard template for all DEDs that will include at least the following:

• The purpose and a description of the deliverable

• An outline/table of contents for the deliverable including a description of the anticipated content

• Identify the reviewers and approvers of the deliverable

• Acceptance criteria

• Define the approach to managing changes to the deliverable after the deliverable is approved

• Interim steps the GRITS Supplier must perform and work products the GRITS Supplier must provide in completing the deliverable, so Georgia DPH feedback can be incorporated early in the process and reduce the risk of delays when the final deliverable is produced

As each Project deliverable is submitted, the GRITS Supplier must include a copy of the previously approved DED.

4.2 Controlled Correspondence

To track and document requests for decisions and/or information, and the subsequent response to those requests, Georgia DPH and the GRITS Supplier shall use Controlled Correspondence.

Each Controlled Correspondence document must be signed by the Georgia DPH Project Manager (or designee) and the GRITS Supplier Project Manager (or designee). No Controlled Correspondence document shall be effective until the signatures of both are attached to the document.

The Controlled Correspondence process may be used to document mutually agreeable operational departures from the specifications and/or changes to the specifications. Controlled Correspondence must be used to document the cost impacts of proposed changes, but Controlled Correspondence shall not be used to change pricing.

Controlled Correspondence must not be the basis of a claim for equitable adjustment of pricing. Any changes that involve a change in pricing must be by a Purchase Order Change Notice.

Controlled Correspondence documents must be maintained by both parties in ongoing logs and must become part of the weekly status reporting process.

4.3 Deliverable Acceptance

All GRITS Supplier deliverables must be reviewed by Georgia DPH before final approval, acceptance, and payment. Where appropriate, the GRITS Supplier must perform a walkthrough of a draft version of the deliverable with all appropriate Georgia DPH staff and solicit feedback before submitting the Deliverable for approval.

Acceptance of all GRITS Supplier deliverables must be completed via a Deliverables Acceptance Document (DAD) in a format approved by Georgia DPH and drafted for each deliverable by the GRITS Supplier.

Review time must depend on the complexity of the deliverables. Georgia DPH will have adequate time to complete its review of the deliverable, particularly when more than one deliverable is under review concurrently. The number of days for Georgia DPH to review deliverables will be agreed upon by Georgia DPH and GRITS Supplier in the contract. Georgia DPH will accept or reject the deliverables in writing using Controlled Correspondence and the DAD. In the event of the rejection of any deliverable, the GRITS Supplier must be notified in writing via Controlled Correspondence, giving the specific reason(s) for rejection. Unless agreed by Georgia DPH due to the complexity of the deliverable, the GRITS Supplier shall have five (5) working days to correct the rejected deliverable and return it to Georgia DPH via Controlled Correspondence. Failure by Georgia DPH to complete activities within the timeframes noted does NOT constitute acceptance, approval or completion unless otherwise agreed upon by Georgia DPH and the GRITS Supplier.

All payment requests (e.g., invoices) must include copies of the relevant DADs signed by the Georgia DPH stakeholder authorized to approve the deliverable. Deliverables and submitted/approved DADs must be tracked by the GRITS Supplier in a tracking tool approved by Georgia DPH.

5 Supplier Tasks and Deliverables

The RFP Response Templates must be used to detail the Supplier’s Proposal in each of the requested areas.

The Project scope includes the entire implementation from Initiation through Implementation and successful hand-off to M&O for a predetermined amount of time after the GRITS is fully deployed.

The GRITS Supplier must produce deliverables throughout the Project to show continued progress.

This document provides detailed requirements and expectations related to each deliverable.

Georgia DPH encourages the GRITS Supplier to use industry best practices for project management (e.g., PMBOK) and describe its recommended approach within the Response Templates. Georgia DPH anticipates other work products will be produced during the Project; however, these shall not be subject to the formal deliverable’s approval process.

The GRITS Supplier must perform the activities and provide the resulting deliverables listed below in “Appendix A – Project Management and Project Deliverables”. These are representative of what Georgia DPH is seeking.

Suppliers may propose alternatives to the Implementation approach and must map each item in Appendix A to one or more items from their proposed Implementation approach.

• Suppliers must note any items that do not map to their proposed Implementation approach. In the event something does not map it should be noted in some way.

The State recognizes that in the process of building the RFP response, suppliers may need to make key assumptions. Suppliers are invited to share those key assumptions with the State as part of their response package. The assumptions are to be used by the State during the RFP review.

• Any shared assumptions will not be subject to scoring and will not be treated as a contact item.

6 Work Environment

6.1 Team Structure and Knowledge Transfer

The GRITS Supplier must propose a suitable engagement and partnership model with the Georgia DPH team to ensure proper knowledge transfer throughout the life of the Project. This shall include collaboration and knowledge transfer work with identified Georgia DPH resources so that Georgia DPH Project staff becomes fully familiar with the design and operation of the new System.

The GRITS Supplier Key Personnel associated with this Project must have the appropriate staff available for UAT and Pilot. The GRITS Supplier must propose a structure that shall best meet this requirement.

6.2 Facilities and Equipment / Location of Contracted Personnel

The GRITS Supplier staff must be available to participate in Project-related meetings as scheduled by Georgia DPH. Work must be performed during normal State business hours, Monday through Friday 8:00 AM until 5:00 PM EST, but GRITS Supplier staff must be available for meetings beyond normal business hours if an urgent issue arises. Georgia DPH and GRITS Supplier shall work together to provide and agree upon a work location when the GRITS Supplier must be on site.

All GRITS Supplier employees as well as Suppliers and sub-Supplier’s employees must be located within the U.S.

The GRITS Supplier shall establish appropriate protocols to ensure the security of the physical property/facility and that data confidentiality safeguards are maintained.

At no time must the Supplier maintain, use, transmit, or cause to be transmitted information governed by privacy laws and regulations outside of the United States and its territories.

Pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 1-4-1, the following is the list of state holidays when the Capitol and state agencies will be closed:

6.3 GA State Holidays

• New Year's Day

• State Holiday

• Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday

• Washington's Birthday

• State Holiday

• Memorial Day

• Juneteenth

• Independence Day

• Labor Day

• Columbus Day

• Veterans Day

• Thanksgiving Day

• Christmas Day

7 Oversight

The State of GA has two primary oversight groups. The Large IT Project Executive Decision Board and the Enterprise Critical Panel Review.

Effective January 1, 2017, the Large IT Project Executive Decision Board process was established as part of State IT policies, standards, and procedures. The purpose of the Board is to ensure that Large IT Projects over $10 million are properly managed and implemented through established governance processes that support business outcomes and achieve the State’s interest.

The GRITS Supplier shall be required to periodically assist Georgia DPH in preparing for Large IT Projects Executive Decision Board Meetings. The Enterprise Critical Projects Review Panel provides a business context for large, critical technology investments. It provides a forum for the State Agency head to ensure they have the commitments and resources needed to deliver on their initiative successfully. The GTA facilitates this forum and discussion through a disciplined approach and presents the results to the Governor’s Office on-a-monthly basis.

The GRITS Supplier shall be required to assist Georgia DPH with data collection (e.g., schedule updates, budget updates, risk, and issue status updates and/or completion of web-based status questionnaires) to:

• Create monthly dashboard reporting.

• Attend GTA critical panel review meetings, either in person or via teleconference, as required. These meetings last less than one hour and occur no more than once per month. The GRITS Supplier’s Project Manager and/or the appropriate designee must attend.

• Attend Governor’s Office critical panel review meetings, if requested. These meetings last less than one hour and occur no more than once per month. GRITS Supplier attendees should include the Project Manager and Engagement Manager or appropriate designee. Note:

GRITS Supplier attendance at the Governor’s panel review is very rare.

8 Independent Validation and Verification (IV&V)

IV&V activities are performed by an entity not under control of the GRITS Supplier. Georgia DPH, in collaboration with GTA, will select an IV&V Supplier that is technically, managerially, and financially independent to check that the deliverables provided by the GRITS Supplier meet the State’s needs (Validation), and check that the deliverables are well engineered (Verification). During all phases of the project, the IV&V Supplier shall be acting with the full authority of the State in performing activities. The GRITS Supplier shall be required to:

• Provide project management deliverables to IV&V Supplier as requested for review

• Respond to requests from IV&V Supplier for project information

• Make project resources available for periodic meetings and/or interviews with the IV&V Supplier (no more than one to two hours per month)

9 Enterprise Portfolio Reporting

The State maintains information on technology investments and implementation in the enterprise portfolio management tool – Georgia Enterprise Management Suite (GEMS). GEMS hold the State’s inventory of investments and provides dashboard reporting on project progress for the duration of the project lifecycle. The GRITS Supplier shall be required to:

• Provide regular status updates to the Georgia DPH Project Manager

• Respond to automated survey questionnaires generated monthly from the GEMS tool; only select project team members will be asked to respond (the effort to support this is expected to be less than one hour per month)

10 Performance Measures and Remedies

The GRITS Supplier shall meet the GRITS Service Level Agreements and integrate all tools necessary for monitoring of the system’s performance. The GRITS Supplier shall also create the necessary reports of those monitoring results or supply a dashboard that supports SLA reporting.

The GRITS Supplier shall give advance notice (to be determined at the contract time and included in the SLA) to the Georgia DPH of upgrades (e.g., major upgrades, minor upgrades, system changes) that may impact service availability and/or performance.

Georgia DPH and the GRITS Supplier must agree that failure by the GRITS Supplier to meet the performance standards and timelines outlined in this eRFP shall result in damages sustained by Georgia DPH and that it is difficult to quantify Georgia DPH’s actual damages sustained because of such failure. Both parties must agree that this eRFP shall establish the baseline measure for GRITS Supplier performance. It must, therefore, be agreed that Georgia DPH may require the GRITS Supplier to pay Liquidated Damages for failure per the criteria to comply with agreed Service-Level Agreement (SLA) as outlined in GRITS Service Level Agreements.

For failure by the GRITS Supplier to meet an SLA, Georgia DPH may require the GRITS Supplier to pay Liquidated Damages, and the GRITS Supplier must agree to do so, until the SLA is met and accepted as corrected and approved by Georgia DPH. Liquidated Damages are not intended to be punitive. However, Georgia DPH, at its sole discretion, may begin exercising the use of Liquated

Damages at any point during the Project or M&O periods during which the GRITS Supplier has failed to meet timeliness, performance standard, documentation, work product, or deliverable date(s), regardless of any previous actions.

11 Third Party Service

Georgia DPH may contract with a third-party to perform any service outside the scope of the Contract and reserves the right to procure services to augment or supplement the Contract. The GRITS Supplier shall cooperate with Georgia DPH and any third-party requests by the Contract Administrator, including providing:

• To the extent available, written requirements, standards, and policies for any systems so that the developments of the third-party may be operated or supported by GRITS Supplier

• Assistance and support services to third-party

12 New Technology

GRITS Supplier shall, at no additional cost to Georgia DPH:

• Be proactive in identifying opportunities to implement new technologies that will improve and support the System

• Work together with Georgia DPH, to identify opportunities to implement new technology which may be advantageous concerning the System

• Maintain a level of currency, knowledge and technology that allows Georgia DPH to take advantage of technological advances concerning the System

• Meet with Georgia DPH periodically to inform Georgia DPH of any new technology or technology trends that GRITS Supplier is developing or is otherwise aware of, that could reasonably be expected to have an impact on the System

• Provide Georgia DPH, upon receipt of Georgia DPH’s prior written approval, with the benefit of any improvements made to the technology for the System

13 Versions and New Releases

GRITS Supplier must understand that Georgia DPH desires to implement the System using current releases of all deliverables whenever possible. The GRITS Supplier will provide their Release Management Process documentation to Georgia GTA and Georgia DPH for review. The Release Management Process should describe the GRITS Supplier's schedule for releasing new or modified software as related to the GRITS, including the frequency for scheduled releases, the quality assurance/quality control for releases, how release notes are provided to Georgia GTA, how internal testing is conducted, and how Georgia GTA and Georgia DPH can conduct User Acceptance Testing of any releases before they are moved to a production environment. The process for how any "hot fixes" are released should be described as well. The GRITS Supplier shall evaluate for inclusion and make a recommendation to Georgia DPH, as to whether it is feasible to implement the current release of each deliverable. The GRITS Supplier will ensure the version implemented is no less than N-1. If different from the version currently included in the pre-testing version of the deliverable, the GRITS Supplier must explain why it is to Georgia DPH’s advantage and confirm whether the version is:

• Available in an actual production version (rather than as a beta or Pilot version)

• Proven to be stable and error-free in production

• Provides new functionality within the scope

• Shall not impair the overall robustness of the System or otherwise interfere with the requirements

If the above conditions are met, then GRITS Supplier shall recommend to Georgia DPH that current release or any major release be implemented before the commencement of testing, subject to any mutually agreed upon terms regarding the schedule and price of such implementation if the originally agreed upon schedule and pricing are affected in any way. Georgia DPH, in its discretion, shall make the final determination regarding whether to implement any such current release or any major release recommended by GRITS Supplier.

14 Obsolescence Assurance

Georgia DPH expects that the technology supporting the services sought under this eRFP will not become obsolete during the term of the Contract. In the event, any technology reaches its end-of-service-life during the term of the Contract, the GRITS Supplier shall replace the affected technology with like functionally equivalent technology that is supported without additional cost to Georgia DPH.

Notwithstanding the preceding, if the GRITS Supplier is made aware of a planned obsolescence of any technology in-connection-with the System during the term of the Contract, the GRITS Supplier shall provide written notice thereof to the Contract Administrator.

15 Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery/Emergency Preparedness

Promptly following the execution of the Contract, the GRITS Supplier must coordinate with Georgia DPH staff to provide Georgia DPH with a copy of disaster recovery plans. Georgia DPH will be responsible for the Business Continuity plan. The GRITS Supplier’s shall demonstrate the ability to continue the Project and to secure Georgia DPH assets in the event of a disaster.

At all times during the duration of the Contract, GRITS Supplier must agree to invoke the business continuity plan and/or the business continuity and disaster recovery plan when necessary. GRITS Supplier must collaborate with GTA, Georgia DPH’s hosting provider, for business continuity and disaster recovery services. See Procurement item GETS Infrastructure Services Reference R-1.pdf

The GRITS Supplier shall support continuity of operations during an emergency, including a pandemic. Georgia DPH needs a strategy from the GRITS Supplier for maintaining operations for an extended period. One part of this strategy is to ensure that essential contracts that provide critical business services to Georgia DPH have planned for such an emergency and put contingencies in place to provide needed goods and services.

16 Turnover

At least twelve (12) months before the start of the final Contract year (including option years that have been exercised) the GRITS Supplier shall provide, its Turnover Plan to the Georgia DPH. The Plan must include:

• Proposed approach to turnover.

• Tasks and subtasks for turnover.

• Schedule for turnover.

• Updated operational tasks and procedures during turnover.

• Description of GRITS Supplier coordination activities that will occur during the turnover task and implementation of the activities to ensure continued system and services as deemed necessary by the Georgia DPH.

• List of incomplete tasks, such as system defects, modifications or enhancements, mass adjustments, reference updates, and configuration requests.

• A detailed description of the services that would be required by another vendor to fully take over system, technical, and business functions outlined in the Contract. The description shall also include an estimate of the number and type of personnel required to support the technical GRITS Solution and supporting services.

• The data and documentation shall be organized in a format required by the Georgia DPH (e.g., by provider unique ID and provider name).

17 Source Code and Licenses

The GRITS Supplier must turn over all existing software, access codes, passwords, keys, any information necessary to gain full access to the system, or other authentication mechanisms to provide administrative access to systems upon request, or in the event the GRITS Supplier’s contract is ended.

During the turnover transition period resulting from contract ending or possible termination, the GRITS Supplier shall provide the Georgia DPH (or Georgia DPH’s designee) with ownership of all software licenses and assets.

The GRITS Supplier shall participate in all activities required to support the smooth transition of suppliers, including but not limited to the preservation of continuity of service, management transition, any necessary transition of assets (sites, inventory, etc.), and data migration.

The GRITS Supplier shall identify and describe the licenses necessary for the scope of work to support the infrastructure that will provide sufficient bandwidth and redundancy to ensure accessibility, reliability/fault tolerance and acceptable performance.

The GRITS Supplier must provide Software Escrow services, either directly or through a third party, that protects all data, source code, related assets (e.g., build files, configuration files, etc.) and documentation necessary for Georgia DPH's uninterrupted use of the GRITS Solution.

18 Data Ownership

The State will own all right, title and interest in its data (and their associated data models) that is related to the services provided by this contract. The GRITS Supplier shall not access State user accounts or State data, except (1) in the course of data center operations, (2) in response to service or technical issues, (3) as required by the express terms of this contract or (4) at the State's written request.

The GRITS Supplier shall not download and shall not store State data to a non-State location.

The State shall have the ability to import or export data in piecemeal or in entirety at its discretion without interference from the GRITS Supplier, at any time. This includes the ability for the State to import or export data to/from other service providers.

For additional information refer to GTA’s Terms and Conditions for Cloud Services (SM-14-010 ) at the following link: https://gta-psg.georgia.gov/psg/terms-and-conditions-cloud-services-sm-14-010.

19 Warranty

The objective of each Warranty Period for the GRITS solution is to affirm that the system and its components operate in accordance with applicable specifications. Items that are eligible for Warranty are defined as system defects that deviate from the approved system design. This includes all programs, screens, reports, subroutines, utilities, file structures, documentation, integration, conversions, or other items provided by the GRITS Supplier or its sub-Suppliers. This warranty shall apply to the base package, plus any customized programs, screens, reports, subroutines, interfaces, conversions, utilities, file structures, documentation, or other items proposed and delivered by the GRITS Supplier specifically for this procurement. Any code changes as a result of data conversion issues are to be considered defects and not enhancements.

• Implementation Warranty: The GRITS Supplier shall provide warranty support for a period of 180 calendar days beginning the first day after final system rollout. The GRITS Supplier https://gta-psg.georgia.gov/psg/terms-and-conditions-cloud-services-sm-14-010 will be responsible for correcting all defects through the end of the Warranty Period at no additional cost to the State. Items that are eligible for Warranty are defined as system defects that deviate from the approved system design. This includes defects in the application code developed or modified by the Supplier. The warranty activities are separate from Maintenance & Operations (M&O) activities.

• Enhancements Warranty: During the Maintenance & Operations (M&O) phase of the project, a 90 calendar day period is defined for the identification of Warranty items associated with each Enhancements release – beginning on the first day the associated enhancements are released into the Production environment.