Data Governance RFQ - Bid Summary and Standard Provisions~1.pdf

THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

TRIAL COURT

OCM FISCAL- PROCUREMENT & STRATEGIC SOURCING | 2 Center Plaza 9th Floor Boston, MA 02108

Bid Summary & Standard Provisions

COMMBUYS Bid #: BD-27-1107-1107T-TRC01-133033

COMMBUYS Department & Location Office of Court Management, 2 Center Plaza 9th Floor Boston MA 02108 UNSPSC/NIGP Code(s): 81-11-00 Computer Services OSD Statewide Contract #: ITS81 - Category 1: EDM (Enterprise Data Management) Data Analytics Bid Title: Data Governance Strategy and Implementation Plan Requesting Department Contact: Name: TBD | Title: TBD Email & Phone: Email: TBD | Phone: TBD

6 Anticipated Expenditures, Funding or Compensation for Expected Duration:

☒ Contract will have a Maximum Obligation Amount: TBD based on award ☐ Contract based on Rates Compensation: firm-fixed price by accepted project deliverable. Optional time extension does not automatically increase the Maximum Obligation.

7 How to respond: All responses must be uploaded to COMMBUYS by the Bid Opening date/time. COMMBUYS helpdesk:

COMMBUYS@state.ma.us | 1-888-627-8283 or 617-720-3197.

8 Bid Opening: Date: October 9th,2026 | Time: 3:00PM Eastern Time

9 Pre-Bid Conference: ☐ No ☒ Yes September 17th, 2026 11:00AM ET

10 Deadline for Questions through COMMBUYS Bid Q&A: September 23rd, 2026, at 3:00PM Eastern

Official Answers Published (Estimated): September 30th, 2026

1 Brief Description of Bid (Limited to 500 Characters including spaces):

The Trial Court seeks an active ITS81 Category 1 vendor to assess its current data governance environment and develop a Data Governance Strategy and Implementation Plan, including a current-state assessment, best-practices review, gap analysis, options and recommendations, and an actionable implementation plan. Implementation services are not included.

2 Acquisition Method: ☒ Fee for Service ☐ Outright Purchase ☐ Rental ☐ License ☐ Term Lease

3 Number of Vendors: ☒ Single ☐ Multiple

4 Contract User(s): ☒ Massachusetts Trial Court Departments Only ☐ Other Eligible Entity

5 Expected Duration of Contract: Initial Duration: 12 months | Extension Option: Yes - one option up to 6 months

Maximum anticipated duration: 18 months from contract execution.

Bid Summary and Standard Provisions

Standard Provisions All responses must be submitted in accordance with the specific terms of this Bid Solicitation. Unless otherwise specified in this RFQ, all communications, responses, and documentation must be in English, all measurements must be provided in feet, inches, and pounds and all cost proposals or figures in U.S. currency. Standard operating hours for court locations are Monday through Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm. Standard FTE schedule is 37.5 hours per week.

Purchasing Authority. This bid is issued under laws, rules, procedures, and practices applicable to the Judicial Branch of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Judicial Branch is not subject to 801 CMR 21.00 et seq. which governs the procurement process of the Executive Branch of the Massachusetts state government. Vendors responding to this bid should not assume that Judicial Branch procurement practices correspond directly to the procurement practices of other branches, agencies, departments, or divisions of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Additional terms and conditions may be introduced at the vendor selection and contract negotiation phases.

Cooperative Purchase Agreements. When conducting a procurement pursuant to an OSD Statewide Contract, other cooperative contract agreement or other departmental master agreement, the Trial Court adheres to the requirements of those agreements. All terms and conditions of the referenced agreement are incorporated herein and made a part hereof.

Amendment and Cancellation of Procurement. The Trial Court reserves the right to amend or cancel this bid at any time. The Trial Court may cancel this bid at any time prior to the execution and approval of a contract, in which case all responses received will be rejected.

Addenda and Modifications to Bid. It is the responsibility of each vendor to verify that it is in possession of the latest addenda or modifications to a solicitation for which it intends to bid. The Trial Court accepts no liability and will provide no accommodation to vendors who submit a bid based upon an out-of-date solicitation document. Vendors may not alter the bid or its components.

Modifications to the body of the bid specifications, terms and conditions, or any other documents that would change the intent of the bid, are strictly prohibited. Any modifications, other than where the vendor is prompted for a modification or alternative, may result in disqualification of a response.

Accuracy of Bid and Related Documents. The Trial Court will not be bound by or be responsible for any explanation, interpretation or conclusions concerning this bid for those explanations, interpretations or conclusions not otherwise provided by the Trial Court through the issuance of an addendum, clarification or other document published by the Trial Court on COMMBUYS during the bid process.

Should a vendor find discrepancies or omissions in this bid, or any other documents provided by the Trial Court pertaining to this bid, the vendor should immediately notify the Trial Court of such potential discrepancy by written correspondence submitted to the contact named as Requestor on the COMMBUYS Bid page. Any correspondence relating to any discrepancies in this bid identified by a vendor must only address the discrepancy identified and must not contain any unrelated questions, comments, or other information.

Clarifications. If the Evaluation Committee requires clarification of a section of a Response, then all Bidders will be provided with the same opportunity for clarification of the identified section. Clarifications are explanations of what is stated in a Response and may not be used as an opportunity to submit supplemental information or a change to a Response, unless the Department specifically requests these submissions or changes as part of the clarification of all Responses.

Corrections. The Evaluation Committee may allow the correction of minor informalities in a Response. Minor informalities are matters of form rather than substance and include clerical errors or minimal or insignificant mistakes that can be corrected without prejudice to other Bidders. If the mistake is obvious to the Evaluation Committee, they may note the correction on the Response.

Restrictions on Contact with Court Personnel. From the issuance of this bid, until a contract resulting from this bid is executed by the selected vendor, any contact with personnel employed by or contracted to the Massachusetts Trial Court, other than as permitted in this bid, including contact made pursuant to any pre-existing obligation, which results in discussing, commenting or seeking information about this bid, will be considered a failure on the vendor’s part to conform to the provisions of this bid and may result in the vendor’s disqualification.

Vendors currently under contract with the Massachusetts Trial Court, or that are otherwise already providing goods or services to the Massachusetts Trial Court for other projects, shall not make any contact with the Trial Court regarding this bid as part of any communications related to their pre-existing obligation(s). Any attempts at communication regarding the current bid process will be considered a failure on the vendor’s part to conform to the provisions of this bid and may result in the Vendor’s disqualification.

During the aforementioned time period, no vendor shall approach any Trial Court personnel or contractor concerning this bidding and contracting process or their proposal.

Violation of these conditions will be considered as sufficient cause by the Evaluation Committee, acting on behalf of the Trial Court, to reject a vendor’s proposal and/or selection irrespective of any other consideration. Should the need arise, the Trial Court may contact vendors for clarifications pertaining to that particular vendor’s proposal at any time during the solicitation process.

Use of Trade Names. The use of a proprietary or trade name in any description of any services, equipment or software mentioned in this bid is not intended to restrict this bid to the manufacturer or proprietor mentioned; instead, it is intended only to describe, by convenient reference to familiar products, the features or characteristics required by the Trial Court. Further, the use of any trademark in any description of equipment or software does not constitute an endorsement of the product by the Trial Court.

Notwithstanding the above, the Trial Court will indicate when the use of a proprietary or trade name is a requirement of the bid.

Brand Name or Equal. Unless otherwise specified in this RFQ, any reference to a particular trademark, trade name, patent, design, type, specification, producer or supplier is not intended to restrict this RFQ to any manufacturer or proprietor or to constitute an endorsement of any commodity or service, and the department may consider clearly identified offers of substantially equivalent commodities and services submitted in response to such reference.

Firm and Irreversible Proposal Terms. The signed vendor proposal shall be considered a firm-offer on the part of the Vendor. All proposals (including all statements, claims, declarations, and specifications in the vendor’s proposal) shall be considered firm and irrevocable for purposes of future contract negotiations unless specifically waived in writing by the Trial Court. The selected vendor’s signed proposal to this bid and any relevant correspondence and other documents submitted with the response, shall be incorporated into any resulting contract.

Duration of Response Validity. Vendor responses must remain in effect for at least 90 days from the date of bid submission, or for a longer period of time if mutually agreed upon by the Trial Court and the Vendor.

Costs of Vendor Proposals to bid. Vendors shall bear all costs associated with their proposal, including preparation, photocopying, postage, delivery costs and any travel expenses that may be incurred during the solicitation process. No costs or expenses incurred by vendors in responding to this bid, or by participating in the bid process, will be borne by the Trial Court.

Vendor Acceptance. By submitting a response to this bid you are indicating that you understand and will adhere to all terms and conditions for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. form_commonwealth-terms-and-conditions.pdf or the IT Terms and Conditions, if applicable.

Submission of Marketing Materials. Bidders are discouraged from including extraneous promotional or marketing materials in their responses and excessive promotional or marketing materials may detract from the Bidders’ overall score.

Ownership, Use and Availability of Proposal. All materials submitted by vendors in response to this bid become the property of the Trial Court. The Trial Court considers the responses to this bid to be internal, working documents which will become the property of the Trial Court. The Trial Court will not agree to any statements or endorsements in proposals or related documents submitted in response to this bid that conflict with Trial Court practices related to such documents and material. The Trial Court shall be under no obligation to return any proposal or materials submitted by a vendor in response to this bid.

Public Records. The Judicial Branch is not subject to G.L. c. 66, § 10, the pertinent section of the Massachusetts public records statute.

Debriefing Non-Successful Vendors. Notwithstanding the provision regarding Ownership, Use and Availability of Proposal, Vendors not selected as the final Vendor for the contract may request a debriefing after contract execution with the Selected Bidder. A vendor seeking feedback must submit its request within fourteen (14) days of the notice of contract award to the selected vendor (notice of the contract award to be provided via COMMBUYS). The request for evaluation input is not a forum to debate the Evaluation Committee’s decisions. This section provides the means through which a Bidder/Vendor may improve its response to future competitive procurements and solicitations. For that reason, the Trial Court will not respond to requests in which, in the sole judgment of the Trial Court, a vendor attempts to debate or argue the Evaluation Committee’s decisions. The feedback provided will be in writing unless the Trial Court, in its sole discretion, chooses to give the feedback in person.

Marketing & Promotional Use. No marketing or promotional materials using the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Seal of the Trial Court of Massachusetts or listing the Trial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as a customer of Vendor may be released, issued, distributed, or otherwise published in any form of media, including but not limited to print media, radio, television, world-wide web, by Vendor without the prior written approval of the Trial Court of Massachusetts. Use of Flag, Coat of Arms, and/or the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for promotional or marketing purposes is prohibited. See 950 CMR 34.12. Vendor may use the said marks in https://www.macomptroller.org/wp-content/uploads/form_commonwealth-terms-and-conditions.pdf connection with performing their obligations under this Agreement and for other non-marketing, non-promotional purposes such as audits.

Prime Contractor Responsibility. The Massachusetts Trial Court requires a single point of responsibility for any contract resulting from this bid. Subcontractors, when approved by the Trial Court, may be used, but the vendor selected through this bid agrees by responding to the bid to act as prime contractor. The prime contractor, not the Trial Court, will be responsible for performance of all its subcontractors and for any payments due to liabilities incurred by any of its subcontractors in the course of their activity related to any contract resulting from this bid.

Taxes. The Trial Court is a tax-exempt governmental entity. The Trial Court represents that it is exempt from federal excise taxes and that sales to it are exempt from Massachusetts sales and use taxes. Any other taxes imposed on a vendor on account of this agreement shall be borne solely by the vendor.

Reasonable Accommodation. Bidders with disabilities or hardships that seek reasonable accommodation, which may include the receipt of RFQ information in an alternative format, must communicate such requests in writing to the contact person.

Requests for accommodation will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. A Bidder requesting accommodation must submit a written statement which describes the Bidder’s disability and the requested accommodation to the contact person for the bid. The OCM reserves the right to reject unreasonable requests.

Alternatives. A response which fails to meet any material term or condition of the RFQ, including the submission of required attachments, may lose points or be deemed unresponsive and disqualified. Unless otherwise specified, bidders may submit responses proposing alternatives which provide equivalent, better or more cost-effective performance than achievable under the stated RFQ specifications. These alternatives may include related commodities or services that may be available to enhance performance during the period of the contract. The response should describe how any alternative achieves substantially equivalent or better performance to that of the RFQ specifications.

The department will determine if a proposed alternative method of performance achieves substantially equivalent or better performance. The goal of this RFQ is to provide the best value of commodities and services to achieve the procurement goals of the department. Bidders that propose discounts, uncharged commodities and services or other benefits in addition to the RFQ specifications may receive a preference or additional points under this RFQ as specified.

Contractors may also propose alternatives for equivalent, better or more cost-effective performance than specified under the contractor’s original response to enable the department to take advantage of enhanced technologies, commodities or services which become available during the term of the contract.

Emergency Standby Commodities and/or Services. Due to a declaration of a state of emergency where the safety and well-being of Commonwealth citizens are at risk, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts may request specific commodities and/or services from its contractors. Contractors may be called upon to supply and/or deliver to the Commonwealth on a priority basis such commodities and/or services currently under contract. Such accommodations may be requested from a contractor during an actual emergency. To accommodate such requests, contractors may be requested and must make every effort to service these requests from regular sources of supply at the rates set forth in any standard contract resulting from this Bid Solicitation.

Environmentally Preferable Products and Services. The department and contractor(s) may negotiate during the contract term to permit the substitution or addition of Environmentally Preferable Products (EPPs) when such products are readily available at a competitive cost and satisfy the department’s performance needs.

Estimated Provisions. The Commonwealth makes no guarantee that any commodities or services will be purchased from any contract resulting from this bid. Any estimates or past procurement volumes referenced in this bid are included only for the convenience of bidders and are not to be relied upon as any indication of future purchase levels.

Performance and Payment Time Frames Which Continue Beyond the Duration of the Contract. All term leases, rentals, maintenance or other agreements for services entered into during the duration of this contract and whose performance and payment time frames extend beyond the duration of this contract shall remain in effect for performance and payment purposes (limited to the time frame and services established per each written agreement). No new leases, rentals, maintenance or other agreements for services may be executed after the contract has expired. Any contract termination or suspension pursuant to this section shall not automatically terminate any leases, rentals, maintenance or other agreements for services already in place unless the department also terminates said leases, rentals, maintenance or other agreements for service, which were executed pursuant to the main contract.

Billing. The billing must be submitted in an invoice format in accordance with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bill Pay Policy. Payments are processed with a 45-day payment cycle through Electronic Funds Transfer in accordance with the Prompt

Payment Discount Policy for investment and cash flow purposes. The Trial Court may NOT negotiate accelerated payments and Payees are NOT entitled to accelerated payments UNLESS a prompt payment discount (PPD) is provided to support the Commonwealth’s loss of investment earnings for this earlier payment or unless a payment is legally mandated to be made in less than 45 days (e.g., construction contacts, Ready Payments under G.L. c. 29, 23A) (see Prompt Pay Discount Policy). PPD is identified as a percentage discount which will be automatically deducted when an accelerated payment is made. Reduced contract rates may not be negotiated to replace a PPD. If PPD fields are left blank on the Standard Contract Form or Prompt Payment Discount Forms please identify the exemption: (1) Statutory/legal/Ready Payments (2) federal/grant/trust or (3) initial state grant or entitlement payments for startup cost. Full details are available: Commonwealth of Massachusetts Bill Paying Policy.

CORI Requirement. The Massachusetts Trial Court is authorized by Massachusetts’ Criminal History Systems Board to conduct criminal offender record information (CORI) background checks on vendor staff or subcontractors working for or on behalf of the Trial Court Offices. All staff members and subcontractors assigned to work on the resulting contract with the Trial Court may be required to successfully complete a criminal background check (CORI), a records check and to sign a Confidentiality Statement prior to beginning work on the project. This requirement may be required of all staff and subcontractors assigned to the project regardless of their work location.

The Trial Court may require otherwise qualified prospective vendors to identify any and all vendor personnel or subcontractors who will be working under this contract with students, or working in an educational setting, or who will be assigned to work at the Trial Court’s offices, for the purpose of assisting the Trial Court in completing required CORI checks. Also, the successful vendor shall:

(a) notify the Trial Court before making any staffing changes during the term of the contract, so that the Trial Court may conduct a CORI check, if necessary, prior to any new personnel commencing work under the contract; and (b) notify the Trial Court of any issues that may affect the eligibility of identified vendor personnel or subcontractors to work for or on behalf of the Trial Court under the contract. The Trial Court may need to contact identified vendor personnel or subcontractors directly for the purpose of completing required background checks.

Completion of any and all CORI checks of all identified personnel, if necessary, will be the final step in executing the contract.

Other entities (including but not limited to other Judicial Branch entities, state agencies, Commonwealth cities, towns, districts, counties, authorities and school districts), who are eligible to utilize this procurement under a separate contract execution, must complete their own vendor CORI check, if applicable. Prequalification on a departmental master service agreement does NOT include a CORI check.

Acceptable Forms of Signature. Effective June 15, 2021, for all 1) CTR forms, including the Standard Contract Form, W-9s, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) forms, ISAs, and other CTR-issued documents and forms, or 2) documents related to state finance and within the statutory area of authority or control of CTR (i.e. contracts, payrolls, and related supporting documentation), CTR will accept signatures executed by an authorized signatory in any of the following ways: 1. Traditional “wet signature” (ink on paper); 2. Electronic signature that is either: a. Hand drawn using a mouse or finger if working from a touch screen device; or Page 2 b. An uploaded picture of the signatory’s hand drawn signature 3. Electronic signatures affixed using a digital tool such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign. If using an electronic signature, the signature must be visible, include the signatory’s name and title, and must be accompanied by a signature date. Please be advised that typed text of a name not generated by a digital tool such as Adobe Sign or DocuSign, even in computer-generated cursive script, or an electronic symbol, are not acceptable forms of electronic signature.

Pending Litigation. Bidder must affirm that there is no pending litigation involving the Bidder, Provider, or the services provided in the response, that may impair or interfere with the Purchasing Entity’s right to use the services. Bidder must warrant that there are no actual or threatened actions arising from, or alleged under, any intellectual property rights of any third party.

https://public.powerdms.com/MAComptroller/documents/1779666 https://public.powerdms.com/MAComptroller/documents/1779647 https://public.powerdms.com/MAComptroller/documents/1779647