B-48838 EGMS Question and Answer Addendum 1.docx

26-586SBE-FINAN-B-48838

SBE: Electronics Grants Management System Subscription/Transition Question and Answer Addendum #1

1. Have you had demos or presentations from vendors within the last 12 months and if so what vendors?

ANSWER: Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) virtually attended the Technology Demo Day facilitated by National Grants Management Association (NGMA) on January 22, 2025. The demonstrations provided were high-level in nature. However, no demonstration has been provided specifically for ISBE.

2. Is there an approved budget for this project and can the budget be shared?

ANSWER: Yes, there is an approved budget for this project though it cannot be shared at this time. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Matthew Seaton if the proposed response is fine as-is, please mark this comment resolved. Otherwise, please edit the answer and then mark the comment resolved.

3. Is the incumbent eligible to bid on this project?

ANSWER: Yes.

4. Can we request a 3-week extension to the due date?

ANSWER: An extension has been granted to 2:00 PM on Wednesday, August 25, 2025. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Matthew Seaton please populate the answer and then mark this comment as resolved.

5. The RFP makes reference to 7 staff who manage the grants. Are these the staff who create and manage the setup and ongoing management of the grants?

ANSWER: Yes.

6. The RFP makes reference to 300 users who are involved in the grants processes.

a. Do these staff only play roles in reviewing and approving certain types of grants?

b. What system do they currently use for this part of the process in the current systems?

c. How is it identified which users are assigned these roles on grants?

ANSWER: Staff play multiple roles in addition to reviewing and approving grants. These roles can include grant design and maintenance, troubleshooting, interfacing with other ISBE systems to facilitate disbursement and/or tracking of funds, data storage, etc. ISBE systems used include but are not limited to IWAS, GPRS, FRIS, MIDAS, SIS, and other ISBE data collection/reporting systems. ISBE users are assigned to various roles according to program need. There are different roles assigned to the ISBE Staff based on the work they will be doing as part of the Grant. Here are some of the roles: Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Annie Brooks Please provide answer to question, then mark the comment as resolved.

Grant Admin ISBE Fiscal ISBE Grant Admin ISBE Program Admin 1 ISBE Program Admin 2 Program Admin 1 Program Admin 2 Program Admin 3 Program Admin 4 Program Admin 5 Reader

7. Can you please clarify what the FRIS system is and what it is used for and how it fits into the grants process?

ANSWER: The Financial Reimbursement Information System (FRIS) is an LAN based proprietary system that serves as the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE’s) grants accounts payable system. Staff in the Department of Funding and Disbursements (F&D) primarily use FRIS to write payment vouchers to the agency’s grantees. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Andrew Krupin Please provide answer to question, then mark the comment as resolved.

FRIS is a middleman between our current electronic Grants Management System (eGMS) and our accounting system, MIDAS. For budget based projects, grantees fill out a budget within eGMS that is imported into FRIS. Grantees then submit electronic expenditure reports demonstrating how they are spending the funding granted to them through the IWAS based Electronic Expenditure Reporting (EER) system. Expenditure reports are imported into FRIS by F&D staff each morning.

State funded projects are paid based upon a payment schedule they include as part of their eGMS application; grantees identify how much cash they anticipate needing to operate the project on a monthly basis. Federally funded projects are paid on a reimbursement basis, based upon electronic expenditure reports submitted by the grantees. FRIS automatically calculates the reimbursement due to grantees by comparing the current amount of expenditure compared to the previously reported amount of expenditure.

Once a week, ISBE staff go into FRIS and run queries to see if any payments are due to be paid from the various programs the agency operates. F&D staff proceed to write vouchers in FRIS, which are automatically transmitted to MIDAS. Staff in the Department of Fiscal Support Services then perform cash draws (for federal projects) and transmit the vouchers to the Illinois Office of the Comptroller for payment.

FRIS also serves as a compliance tool. Reports are available for F&D staff to identify who is delinquent on expenditure report submission and can automatically send emails to grantee financial contacts on demand advising them that they are delinquent. Further, FRIS automatically calculates if more funding has been disbursed to a grantee compared to their reported level of expenditure. FRIS automatically calculates refunds due and writes refund due letters that can be printed and put into the mail. FRIS freezes payments to grantees for a given project when they are noncompliant.

Nearly every piece of information contained in FRIS and every transaction completed in FRIS is displayed to the public via FRIS Inquiry on the ISBE website. FRIS Inquiry is available at: https://apps.isbe.net/frisinquirynet

8. If the FRIS is replaced will data need to be converted to the new system?

ANSWER: Yes, the field will expect to be able to see historical information related to their grants and the transactions that were previously conducted in FRIS. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Andrew Krupin Please provide answer to question, then mark the comment as resolved.

9. The RFP makes reference to the ability for the public to generate and extract reports on the information from FRIS.

a. Can you please provide details on the numbers and types of reports that are required to provide access to the public?

b. How is the information currently published to the ISBE websites for the public?

c. Can this method continue to be used or would you want it replaced?

ANSWER: On a project by project basis, the public is able to see each approved budget, the submitted expenditure reports and the record of disbursements which includes vouchers written on what date, for what amount, and the voucher number associated with the voucher that can be referenced against the Illinois Office of the Comptroller’s data for reconciliation purposes. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Andrew Krupin Please provide answer to question, then mark the comment as resolved.

Other reports that are made available in FRIS Inquiry include a record of vouchers that are awaiting processing by the Illinois Office of the Comptroller, projects with an overdue expenditure report, projects that have payments frozen either due to noncompliance or manual freeze (and for what reason), and summary reports that demonstrate the amount of budget, disbursement, and reported expenditure on a grantee by grantee basis for an entire program (such as Revenue Code 4300: Title I).

Information is published via FRIS Inquiry, found at https://apps.isbe.net/frisinquirynet. FRIS Inquiry is a Power BI system.

It would be appropriate to rename FRIS Inquiry if we sunset FRIS through this RFP, but the structure of FRIS Inquiry can stay the same.

10. The RFP refers to 115 grant programs.

a. Are there 115 different sources or types of grants?

b. Can additional information be provided on the different grant programs to help us understand how the system will need to be configured to support these programs?

ANSWER: There are 115+ funding streams, but three types of grants: Grants are currently categorized by ISBE as Other State Programs, Competitive RFP, or Non-Competitive. Other State Programs are typically member initiatives with a limited and specific set of associated grantees. Competitive RFP grants are those where various applicants may apply and ISBE performs a review to assess which applicants will receive grant funds. Non-competitive grants allow for comprised of the following sub-types: Continuation, Formula, Sole Source, Non-FRIS / Data Collection, and Other. The various grants are funded through federal, state or combined sources. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Annie Brooks Please review/edit proposed answer, then mark the comment as resolved.

11. Are WINS, Health/Life, School Maintenance and Pupil Transportation the grants programs?

ANSWER: They are tools ISBE created to support specific, complex grant programs. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @David Williams @Madan Damodaran Please review/edit proposed answer, then mark the comment as resolved.

· Background detail on WINS the application may be found here – https://www.isbe.net/Pages/School-Nutrition-Applications-and-Reports.aspx - though it should be noted that it was created to support the National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Illinois Free Lunch and Breakfast Program, and Special Milk Program grants.

· Additional information for School Maintenance can be found here – https://www.isbe.net/Pages/School-Maintenance-Project-Grant.aspx

· Pupil Transportation’s tool was created to support funded reimbursements. FAQ details for Pupil Transportation are posted here – https://www.isbe.net/Documents/pupil-transp-faq.pdf#search=Pupil%20Transportation

12. For each of the above referenced programs can you please clarify the following

a. If the new system has the ability to allow users to submit these applications can the system point users to the new system to submit their applications or does the system require some of the information to be stored on their system for these applications?

i. If the system needs information does this include updated statuses on the grants as they progress through the process?

ANSWER: The above applications access data from the current eGMS system in a read-only format. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @David Williams @Madan Damodaran Please populate answer, then mark the comment as resolved.

13. For the references to reimbursements. Are these disbursements related to a grant that has been issued?

ANSWER: Reimbursements are not just restricted to grants. Each application has their own reimbursement definitions, rules and processes utilizing the FRIS application. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @David Williams @Madan Damodaran The question refers to section A.2 of the RFP which touches on FRIS, WINS, Health/Life Safety Processing System, School Maintenance, and Pupil Transportation. Please provide answer to question.

14. Can you please provide more details on what MyISBE is, who uses it and for what please?

ANSWER: MyISBE is an “under construction,” homegrown role-based authentication portal that utilizes OAUTH2. All accounts are either Microsoft or Gmail based. This authentication portal is the main portal to access all ISBE related web applications. Release date expected calendar year 2027. This will be utilized by all external and internal end users seeking access to any ISBE web applications.

15. Can you please provide more details on the "internally created applications" and what functionality they provide in the overall grants process so we can assess if these can be replaced?

ANSWER: Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Madan Damodaran @David Williams Please review/edit proposed answer, then mark this comment as resolved.

ISBE has a large number of internally developed applications that collect data for multiple purposes. Some of these applications read data from eGMS. This data is collected for multiple internal departments and cannot be replaced but needs to be identified for system dependencies.

16. Can you please provide additional information on the IWAS and GATA systems and how they fit into the overall business processes for grants?

a. Are these intake portals?

ANSWER: The GATA system downloads prequalification information and risk assessment scores then transfers into eGMS through scheduled nightly batches. Information is linked between the two systems through the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Danielle Marinelli please work with IT if needed, then populate answer and mark comment as resolved.

17. How many data sources are there for data conversion into the new system? (ex. eGMS, FRIS etc.?)

ANSWER: One for data conversion, but numerous application touch eGMS and need to be recognized for system dependencies. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Annie Brooks @Madan Damodaran Please provide answer to question, then mark this comment as resolved.

18. What is the total data storage for the systems being replaced?

ANSWER: Approximately 187 GB for production environment. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: lto:MDAMODAR@isbe.net"@Madan Damodaran and @David Williams please populate answer for this recently received question from Procurement, then mark comment as resolved.

19. Is records retention required within the new solution to align with ISBE's records retention policies?

ANSWER: Yes. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Annie Brooks please edit as needed, then mark comment as resolved.

20. Where or how are documents currently stored that are related to grants?

ANSWER: The eGMS systems stores grant documents. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Annie Brooks Please provide answer to question, then mark this comment as resolved.

21. What is the total storage size of documents (MB or GB) for each of the last 3 years of grant applications and awards?

ANSWER: ISBE does not have this information readily available. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @David Williams or @Madan Damodaran Please provide answer to question, then mark this comment as resolved. Comment by Madan Damodaran: @Carmelo Reyes Multiple departments have grants we don't know where they keep those submitted documents. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Annie Brooks would this information be available through the current eGMS system? Comment by Denise Blaney: eGMS does not know the total storage size of documents for last 3 years.

22. Is it possible to request a waiver for the diversity requirements?

ANSWER: ISBE advises all vendors to carefully and thoroughly review the Utilization Plan document which includes instructions regarding waivers.

23. The competitive grants program makes reference to RFPs. Are the RFPs the result of an approved grant that is then seeking outside contractors to provide the services?

ANSWER: The RFP referenced is a NOFO and the competition is the selection process of the potential grantees. Candidates submit an application to be considered for receipt of grant funds. ISBE reviews and performs an assessment to determine which candidates will become grant recipients and the amount of funding. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Annie Brooks Please reviewe/edit answer to question, then mark this comment as resolved.

24. Could you please clarify the reason for the cancellation of RFP 25-586SBE-FINAN-B-46379, to help us better understand any changes in scope or requirements beyond what is reflected in the new solicitation?

ANSWER: In order to provide additional clarity to the vendor community, ISBE elected to make updates to the RFP. Please carefully and thoroughly review the entire solicitation and all related documents. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Jason Perry or @Sara Power , please populate answer. Comment by Jason Perry: @Carmelo Reyes @Matthew Seaton done.

25. On page 5 of the RFP document titled “ISBE Electronic Grants Management System_July 2025”, under Section B.1 (Overview & Background), it states: “There are over 300 internal ISBE program staff that access the grants system to read, review, and approve/disapprove grant applications.” Could you please clarify how many of these staff are exclusively involved in reviewing applications?

ANSWER: There are 162 ISBE users who can review and/or approve grants. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Annie Brooks please populate answer for this recently received question from Procurement, then mark comment as resolved. Comment by Denise Blaney: This is a question for David Williams/Madan; we do not know/have a report to pull the number of users for eGMS systems inIWAS. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Madan Damodaran and @David Williams please see Denise's comment above and address/reply.

26. Could you please provide an estimate of the number of unique external, non-ISBE accounts that have logged in over the past two years?

ANSWER: Approximately 10,300 accounts. Comment by Carmelo Reyes: @Madan Damodaran and @David Williams please populate answer for this recently received question from Procurement, then mark comment as resolved.

28. I’m requesting an extension to the August 19, 2025 submission deadline for RFP 26-586 SBE-FINAN-B-48838 (Electronic Grants Management System Subscription/Transition).

ANSWER: Please refer to the response to question 4 above.

29. We noticed that the new solicitation was published last week, would you please tell us know if any major change of the solicitation that we should be pay attention to?

ANSWER: Most of the edits were included to address questions raised in the prior solicitation. These are itemized below.

Section A.1 – enhanced and extended the final sentence in the first paragraph.

Section A.2 – enhanced the final paragraph with SQL clarification language.

Section A.3 – schedule dates revised.

Section A.4 – enhanced and extended the final sentence in the first paragraph.

Section B.1 – added detail after the second paragraph.

Section F.1 > Requirement F.1.1 – enhanced the language in the opening paragraph, as well as sub-bullet numbers 4 and 5 in order to proactively address potential questions. Sub-bullet number 4 was also modified to more explicitly describe acceptable file formats for RFP responses.

Section F.1 > Requirement F.1.5 > Performance reporting and evaluation subsection – enhanced the wording in point 8 by introducing clarification regarding RCDT.

Section F.2 > Requirement F.2.5 – enhanced with further clarifying language.

Section F.3 > Requirement F.3.3 – modified to more explicitly describe acceptable file formats for RFP responses.